YouTube Assignment

The video My Key Chain Camera was made specifically for youtube and no other use. It begins with a medium close shot as the narrator is speaking directly to the camera (5 seconds), explaining the situation. While visiting Niagara Falls, he bought a $2 souvenir camera key chain from a gift shop and went around asking people if they would take his picture with it even though when they peer through the viewfinder, they only see a slide show of pictures of Niagara Falls.
While he is explaining all this, the shot changes to another medium close shot (3 sec) of him pretending to use the key chain camera.
"It's cute," he begins. The next shot (6 sec) is a close up of the tiny camera and then both the photographer and the narrator move backward to reveal the narrator holding the camera.
The next shot (9 sec) begins the prank and an innocent jingle starts up. It is a medium shot of the unknowing passersby who were probably just too polite to tell the narrator "no." They begin to laugh uncomfortably and the next shot (11 sec) is practically the same, just with new subjects. Occasionally, the photographer pans the camera left and right to show both the narrator and the passersby.
Then there is an other medium shot (3 sec) of the narrator pretending to take pictures with the key chain. This shot is followed by a medium shot (15 sec) of him turning to his neighbor, gesturing for her to take a picture of him with the Falls in the background. She obliges, and as the music wraps up, the last shot (5 sec) is a point of view still frame of the narrator.

The music works perfectly for this video. Since it is a harmless prank, the almost holiday-sounding song accentuated the feeling of innocent fun.
The most difficult part about the video is that the viewer cannot fully see the prank being played out, but one must take into consideration the photographer who had to be discreet. This was not a professional production, just something fun to do, therefore it was not set up as it would be for a television show. If it were to be redone and planned out, the best way to do it would to set up a couple of hidden cameras around; ones that could catch the reaction more clearly. Audio would also improve the effectiveness and humor of the piece so the audience would be able to hear the conversations that are taking place. The mixture of better audio and video would really draw in the viewer to see exactly what was taking place and they would be able to understand the uncomfortable situation the people are in.

link to this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGc5pOtAwOs&feature=player_profilepage#

Poster

This image contains five layers.
Layer 1: The mountain background. This image was found on CrazyFrankenstein.com and it is the base for the poster. The only difference between this and the original is that this image was slightly cropped. The photo is incredibly colorful which is attractive to the eye, and the opening in the clouds is the main drawing point. It is off to the side, demonstrating the rule of thirds.
Layer 2: The quote. Paulo Coelho is a writer whose books often tell a lesson in life as well as a story. It essentially means, "When you want something, the entire universe conspires for you to achieve your dream." This quote is the inspiration for the poster. It is a simple text layer.
Layer 3: The Journey. This is the second text layer. It was warped and adjusted to create its wave-like shape.
Layer 4: The Cowboy. This is a photo taken by my brother, Mike Kalush. This image was cut from its original background, resized, and the edges were blurred to soften up the picture. The blending mode was then changed to "Hard Light" which gives him his transparency and color. He is also positioned off center to display the rule of thirds.
Layer 5: The Star. This image was found on welldressedhome.com and it also was taken from its orignal background, resized, and blurred. On this image, though, the blending mode was changed to "Linear Light" and the Opacity was changed to 56%.

Business Card

Group Project

This project was fun to do. Our group seemed to work pretty well together; our only problems arose in terms of communication and finding times that we all had available to meet up. As that was our only main problem, I cannot see any way to improve how we did the project, therefore I would change nothing.
My favorite part of this project was overcoming the challenge of finding ways to express one word through one picture. I enjoyed seeing everyone's interpretations of the word because a lot of times it was not something I would have thought of. To be perfectly honest, the best thing I learned was how to look at simple objects and see the potential they had given the right angle or proper use of photoshop. This will be incredibly helpful not only in this class, but future communication/visual classes to come, and eventually when I go into the film/media working world.


Group Say-It's word was "secret" and this photo truly demonstrated the meaning. Although this is only a wall of masks with a puppet displayed beside it, the positioning of the subjects suggest that the puppet is whispering a secret to the mask. The photo personifies the objects as they seem to be enveloped in an intense conversation.
The image was intentionally darkened in order to create a mysterious tone which is accented and emphasized by the pitch-black eyes of the subjects. The brighter lights accentuate the darker areas. The rule of thirds is also thrown into play since neither of the two main subjects are directly in the center. There is so much detail in every part of the photo and since the entire photo is in focus, it is all quite noticeable. Not to mention the shadows that are created as well.