Youtube

About two years ago I started a Youtube channel. It had a terribly embarrassing name that at the time I thought was a good idea. My videos were on a low quality camera and in a few of the beginning videos the camera even fell and I left it in the videos. I watched a few recently and thought I can't BELIEVE I ever thought these were good. As I started to watch more recent ones I realized that they got better progressively over time. My media is now a PC computer, Windows Movie Maker 7, and a Nikon Camera D5100. I used to have to verbally address the steps in my videos as I did them because the old movie maker didn't even have a narration option. What I meant to say is I've come a long way.

I needed a new start from my old channel because as I've changed over the years and matured I felt that my channel must as well. In STAC I've learned so much about shots and how to make videos have more flow. I was missing those aspects on my old channel. I've also learned how to cut down footage so that you only need the necessary film and are not watching any unneeded extras that will bore the audience. I also learned that from the statistics Youtube shows me on my videos that the average viewer will click the link to my video and watch slightly less than half of the video. This has brought to my attention in order to keep the viewers interest, have the best footage at the beginning, to hook them in and interest them. Youtube also works on PR and such. I started out posting my videos the summer of 8th grade and began with on average 40 views from posting the links to my videos on facebook, where as now I get about 80. Most people in school know about my videos and tell me they watch them which I find so humbling. I'm just doing what I love and I guess people appreciate that. Youtube in a way is sort of like STAC. I've in so many ways had to be creative, because in order to stand out, you have to have a distinct personality, creativity, and be unique. You need a distinct personality in order to establish a relationship with your audience To bring them into your life and make them feel as if they are a part of the life you live. For creativity, you need to come up with material that is your own. Of course they don't just materialize in your head and you steal ideas from others, but you need to be creative and you cant go around stealing other people's make-up looks because it would be the same video recreated. When Halloween videos role around you need to think of ideas that people will search and want to be. Once you establish a audience base you can basically come up with whatever you want, but until then you are trying to give the people what they want. Unique goes hand in hand with creativity, you never want to be the like someone else on Youtube, because why would someone be interested in something they've seen already?

For me the hardest part of making videos is the actual filming. Most of the time I have a very busy weekend with homework and social events so I try and film whenever I can. Trying to shoot videos yourself is extremely challenging. When I do make-up tutorials its so much easier because the cameras right in front of me and I can focus it myself and press the record button. In my last video I moved as away from my camera as I could but not far enough, so that from a sitting position I couldn't hit the focus button with my toe. On the other hand with fashion videos it is impossible to do singlehandedly. I cannot get the shots I would like by myself. I have to rely on others for that and you can't rely on others to follow through like you can yourself. I struggle with finding someone available constantly. I also struggle with getting rides to locations I intend to film at. I consider Youtube a side job from school. I try my best to put up videos every week or so because being consistent also makes a Youtuber great to subscribe to.

Youtube has taught me so much and contributed to my growth as an artist.

Orange is the New Black

I started watching this series after hearing great reviews about it online and Luke having mentioned it in class. I think that the whole show is about power. How to get it. How to use it. I am on episode three but so far none of the shots have jumped out at me. Which is what I was originally looking for,  but what I've taken from this show is how well they are able to portray a character with the simplest of actions. Also, the show isn't very over dramatic. Everything is so well written in and it is so much more realistic than most. For example, if you've seen the first two episodes you are well aware that they are trying to starve out the main character Piper. While during this starving out period, her ex-lesbian lover tries to give her food but piper throws it away. This shows Piper is stubborn and plays by her own rules. To top it off after that incident the ex-lesbian in the end of the episode isn't given food because the head of the kitchen was told about her giving food to Piper. No part of the show is left untold or goes unresolved. The highlight of this show is all the actions that are put in to show character. You can tell so much by how the person is handling themselves in jail. I also enjoy how the head of the kitchen Red is made out to be a terrible person because she tries to starve Piper to death but then there are flash backs to show that she too was once a regular human being with feelings. My favorite part of all though was at the end of the second episode where all the inmates are watching a movie and Piper does not have headphones, so all she can do is see the picture but then this one girl who previously helped her out sits next to her and offers her headphones. Little naïve Piper takes this as a gesture of kindness, when it was really Suzie's way of asking if she liked her. If she accepted her. It was a brilliant moment.

Steven Spielburg

This week I did not have to come up with something to start out my search for the "Library Post." In Social Studies class I was shown the beginning of Steven Spielburg's movie Amistad and I was completely amazed in the opening shot where it shows the slaves face sweating in flickers because there's lightning. I loved the fact that Spielburg shows the nitty gritty details and can get the story across on everything that's going on without words. That being said I goggled "Steven Spielburg" and a few other variations of that and through my chain of internet surfing I found a few video clips explaining the process in the making of Jaws . It was very interesting to say the least. What I expected to find was filming techniques and process. The library post is about finding things you can steal, for example shots. In watching these series of clips I watched something which I deem as much more important. In the video clips various people who contributed to the making of the film explain that their biggest problem was the shark. How the shark malfunctioned so much because they were pressed for time and how because of this the mechanical kinks they would hear more often then not over the walkie-talkies that the shark is not working. One of the people interviewed even explains that most scenes that include the shark was the only usable film. They also explain that in more recently people are trying to top one another and create bigger and better. Then Steven Spielberg says,"Sometimes bigger isn't better necessarily, sometimes bigger is too much." Which applies for so much of what we do in STAC. What I am going to steal from these clips is the mindset that getting a finished product is so much more important than trying to perfect it or making it "original." Sometimes you need to work with what you have just like the crew who were new to working on the ocean everyday for Jaws and even on occasion feel off their boats into the water. Work with what you are given.

 

http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/shark-week/videos/the-shark-is-still-working.htm

Kickstarter

Earlier I was poking around on Kickstarter. I was looking at different projects, ones that have just been successfully funded and others that have just started today. By looking at other peoples videos and layouts you can learn so much about what works and what doesn't. One thing I noticed is that people who for their blurb wrote an essay made me not want to fund them. Everything should be sort, simple, and directly to the point. People who wrote excessive detail almost bored me to death. When people in the videos said "ummmmmm" or "like," especially those who were in their 20's made me immediately want to hit them over the head with a chunk of wood. They should know better. We need to speak clearly and intelligently in our video. We have to tell people EXACTLY what they are giving us money for. I was watching a Kickstarter video called "Unspoken" and the concept and idea was so incredibly cool, yet in the video after countless interviews of different people in the project starts to talk about a past project. THIS IS A BIG NO-NO, save the credentials to the blur under the video. It confused me and I'm sure I was not the only one. We also must show not tell the audience, in too many of these videos people stand in front of a camera only explaining what the project will be and not their process or even clips of what it might look like. Personally I feel that this can give the audience the wrong idea and make them believe you are waiting for the money to even start the project. It just makes is seem you said to someone "Hey this is a brilliant idea, maybe I can get people to give me money and figure it out from there," it doesn't seem professional. Lastly our video must be unique and interesting to watch. BORING IS NOT GOING TO GET US ANYWHERE. If you show our video to someone they shouldn't be looking around waiting for it to be over or staring blankly ahead; captivate the audience. For length, it probably should not be more than AT MOST 4 minutes.

Shadows

Preparing for the talent show Friday, Today I worked out the kinks with my performance piece. I played around with the lights and brought my own white backdrop from home because after previously experimenting with sheets and cloth I needed something plain and thicker. The cloth blurred my shadow and the other material had paint all over it, which was distracting. So then today I played around with how close I need the backdrop to be for my shadow to be seen well and what to use for an "operation" table. A real table didn't work because it made my shadow unclear. Today I figured out I can use two stools. Originally I was going to perform this piece solo but after experimenting I realized although it would be an accomplishment, it is already confusing enough with me playing two doctors, there's no need for more confusion and it will be easier to understand this way. Julian will be the body in the scene, and by body I mean patient (he just doesn't say anything) . The  original script I was going to use didn't work out because the movements were too minimal and it did nothing for me personally when I tried it out behind the backdrop. So I am using four lines from the original script of an episode of 24 and just wrote my own dialogue. Tonight and tomorrow I will memorize. This idea also gave me another idea of a series of scripts I could possibly write and or perform behind a sheet where lets say, you think the couples arguing about someone being unfaithful but really its to get rid of the husbands mother or something and at the end of the scene the curtain is pulled away and you know what its really about.

Library

If not everyone knows by now I make tutorials on Youtube. Being someone who is into fashion I also watch many videos for enjoyment and also to steal things from. There is this Youtuber Evelina Barry whose videos I've always liked but one of her most recent videos just blew me away. A get ready with me video for people who don't watch them, is you filming yourself getting ready to go somewhere (hair, make-up, outfit) and most of the get ready with me video's on youtube is a person turning on their camera and fast forwarding the footage. Evelina's husband films her videos but the quality and shots of this one were stunning and so creative. Most of her videos are unique and quite unheard of, such as this one fashion video she did underwater. This specific video is so well edited and filmed it just flows so smoothly. I love all her videos because she takes her own creative spin on these boring videos that are all the same and makes them into her own. Yes, it might be her husband who films these videos but she edits them and is the idea behind it. I would watch it even if you're not into make-up because its mostly about the feel of the video and not even the main idea of a get ready with me video. I will be stealing some of these shots in the future especially the one from above the door.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5ljBiko3UA

Talent Show

For the Talent show Friday I've had this idea for a while of performing behind a white sheet, in the dark with a light behind me with my shadow being the main focus of the piece. I think it would be visually captivating. Today I brainstormed the idea of having the piece be doctors operating and play both doctors and patient because it would mildly entertaining. I am currently searching for a script to use but so far the only thing I have found is an old episode of 24 which starts out in Korean (with English translations) and I love it but its too short so I will continue to until I find a piece that is both decent in length and quality. I am picking a script no matter what tomorrow so I can start to memorize and rehearse. This year I am hoping to rediscover a love for one of the disciplines but in the process I might try them all before I do.

Them Heavy People

I looked up the song "Them Heavy People" by Kate Bush and I'm honestly not a big fan, but that's probably because I have a specific kind of music I like and its not hers. Other than that personally I had to listen to the words and minimize the video because otherwise the video would put someone else's idea of what the songs about in my head. Listening to the song to me it seems the songs about her view on humanity. That being said this is the verse I added

They open my eyes to a new experience
They get me ready to explore
They make me ooze with emotion at times
It's not only anxiety, but I'm given butterflies too

Artistic Autobiography

Grace Theresa Macedo was born in New Hyde Park, New York on March 17^th, 1997.  She lived in a basement apartment with her Great Grandma until she was Two and a half and moved into the house she currently resides in in New Hyde Park. Grace as a child was very over dramatic so naturally she felt acting was her calling. Her first audition was for the Ellie Greenwich Musical at Center Street Elementary School. She landed a singing role as Dee Dee singing "Today I Met the Boy I'm Gonna Marry."

After her first taste of theater Grace was hooked and later starred in various Herricks Middle School productions such as The Music Man, The Sound of Music, and Guys and Dolls. Grace's biggest role and personal favorite was of Elsa in the Sound of Music because she felt the character had similar struggles to her own. During the course of her middle school career Grace took private singing lessons at Laconia Music Center and also from Susan Kalman. Grace is a free spirited girl and as a result took up painting in her middle school time as well. She was inspired by the works of Georgia O'Keefe, mainly painting different types of flowers. As high school grew close Grace auditioned for a special arts program named STAC. She auditioned for acting, singing and submitted pictures she had taken for photography. She was accepted into the program her freshman year. Grace worked in acting workshops in STAC, but when the fall play came around she was surprised when she did not make the cut. Taken aback by this rejection she slowly dabbled in the field of moviemaking. Grace had a fascination with abusive relationships at the time and decided to make a music video about it to the song "Unbeautiful," by Lesley Roy . Grace continued to write different scripts for different projects and after being in charge of some movies decided she liked directing. Grace continues to switch fields in the artistic community trying to find her true calling.

 

            Graces’s philosophy is to do whatever makes her the happiest, which is the main reason she is always trying something new.  She is still searching for her passion within STAC (Students Television Arts Company) run by Luke Delalio at Herricks High School. At the moment Grace is unsure of what she wants to do in any aspect of her life and hopes to be able to figure that out sooner rather than later.