Continue Blogging?

The question is will I continue blogging? As of now, the answer is no. I'll stick with focusing on my own social media platforms at first. It can be difficult to think of ideas on what to write with a restrained topic area. For all these blogs on here we had to focus writing on new media, social media, or our portfolios.

 

Writer's Block

With already having writer's block, one of my first posts was about that. Definitely not a good start. It does not help when my head is swarming with a whole bunch of items in my life at once, it's just how I am.

I do not have a problem writing once I get into it and I am passionate for it. Sometimes it may take a bit to get going, but I will get it done in the end. 

 

Other Topics

If I did write blogs in the future, I'd use what I learned during my social media campaign which was write about events along what I was passionate about. Even though I'd probably write about events I do love, hockey being one of them. 

 

Views

Lately I feel like many people are obsessed with views. I admit I had an addiction when I saw the Facebook page likes going up, but I think if you focus on what you're passionate about.. people will eventually see that. The way I think about it is from a youtuber's perspective. They do what they love daily and many of them have millions of views and subscribers. Sure, some of them cared about a bit of views at the start, but they generally enjoyed what they made. Same thing should go for whatever we post online, on any platform. Yes, even if it's a cute cat video. 

Photo by fousik

 

My Future?

Who knows what the future will hold, but I may continue. We'll see. The time I had learning in Social Networking, whether be from blogging here or from other social media, it was a good experience.

Kitchen Surfing

This was a class project where my Partner and I decided to create a fictional cooking show where we show you how to make delicious pizza. This idea was derived from our passions for food. Since my partner was the head chef and main actor and I was the cooking show host. I was in charge of all the camera work. From shooting stationary shots, to getting different angles, and perspectives of the creation of the pizza. I also was in charge of editing a majority of the footage and making sure all the transitions were good. I chose the music from a royalty free library on the internet, and thought it was quite suitable for the purpose of the show.

This project was a lot of fun to create and really gave me an idea of the complete process of video production. From making sure all the audio levels and mics are working, to lighting, and having a shot list for different perspective was a great way to exercise my production skills.

The creative process behind this animation.

The creative Process behind this Charge Rabbit Animation.

Charge Rabbit is a Shopify App that can be used to sell subscriptions right from your shopify store.  This app was built by my friend and he needed a video describing the app for his splash page in the shopify store. 

I consulted him on the features of the app to make sure to include all of the important information a user would want.  

I summarized his notes into a simple script and brainstormed the visuals that would allow people to understand exactly what this app does:  It connects Shopify with the subscription power of Stripe, which is a tool that allows business to accept and manage online payments. 

Connecting things, linking two apps together, that wouldn't otherwise be used together..the missing link.. puzzle pieces! 

So puzzle pieces became my characters, and illustrator and after effects became my new closest companions. I recorded the script, created all the necessary elements in illustrator and then brought them into After Effects for animation. 

#Hashtags?

Remember when the # symbol meant pound? Or when it meant number sign? Now a days it’s usually referred as a, “hashtag”.

What is a Hashtag?

A hashtag is usually a short meaning of an event, place, thing, or saying. It’s used in social media such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and so on.

Top Five Weekly Trends

Each week there is a pattern to the some of the most used hashtags across these platforms.

Monday: #MCM (Man Crush Monday)

Where people post of a picture of their current guy crush.

Wednesday: #WCW (Woman Crush Wednesday)

Where people post of a picture of their current woman crush.

Thursday: #TBT (Throwback Thursday)

Where people post a picture of a past event and would like to share what happened.

Friday: #FB/#FBF (Follow Back Friday)

Usually used when you want people to follow you back, but keep in mind people may unfollow you if you do not follow them back. It’s kind of a trade off.

Sunday: #Selfie (Seflie Sunday)

Where people post a picture of themselves.

Why I mention these?

Right now I am currently working with a group to promote Robert Testini’s social media accounts in hope of bringing more traffic to his real estate website. What I found out while working on his instagram account is some popular hashtags.

Popular Hashtags?

#sunset

#skyline

I learned that these got the most likes on his Instagram account, which is one of the goals that my group and I wanted to achieve. It seems to me that people enjoy seeing nature shots around the world.  Anything to do with weather or nature will generally do well.

Before I used to cringe at the word, “hashtag”, but now I’m starting to realize the potential it has to bring in an audience for yourself or clients.

Time Management

As the saying goes "their aren't enough hours in a day" it really seems like this is true when living a busy lifestyle. Balancing work, school, your social life, eating, and even sleeping, can really start to get you unorganized and exhausted. 

In this blog I will show you a few tips and tricks to make time work for you. 

The first tip and one of the most important is, keeping notes, either in a journal, a white board or even sticky notes on your fridge. it may not seem like its that important but this is the easiest way to stay organized.

the second tip is to prioritize your projects and most important stuff going on in your life. I know it can be a burden and seem like a chore but starting with cleaning your personal environment doesn't only help improve your time management but will help you work more comfortably in your own space which will lead to better time spent. 

The third tip I'm going to share with you is to get a regular routine or schedule. This will come as second nature but sometimes its easy to fall back on bad habits and procrastinate what really needs to get done. Start by creating a daily hourly schedule. this will really give you a great visual representation of what you need to accomplish in a day, enabling you to manage your time in the most effect manner.

If you follow these three simple steps in your daily routine, you will find your time being spent at the utmost potential.

cheers!

After Effects Project

View from BCIT Vancouver Downtown Campus

About Me

My name is Sarah Christie and I am currently in my seventh month of the program, "New Media and Web Development" at BCIT in Vancouver. 

Today we're in our Social Networking class and we're learning about blogging. Every week I'll be updating on my experience of how my portfolio work is coming along.

Week One

After Effects

This will be one of the busiest weeks of the term because of midterms and projects. One of the bigger projects I am working on is an After Effects project. We're supposed to choose a myth and make an animation based on it. Hence why it's known as the, "Mythbusters Project". My myth is wondering if Vancouver is the rainiest in Canada or not? Believe it or not, Vancouver is not the rainiest in Canada.

Sneak peek of the Mythbusters Project

                                                    

Challenges

One of the challenges I find for this project is that I want to create more complex effects, but can only do so much with what is given by default.  I hope in the future I can explore more of the plugins especially for the upcoming music video that I will be creating. 

Youtube Channel

Eventually I would like to have these videos I created on my youtube channel, but that is in the works right now. I might even show the video of where I "acted".  Stayed tuned for more incoming projects and yes, I will leave on cliffhanger.

Bike Vancouver Promo Video

The Idea:

Hi! My name is Ocean Mattei-Tomlinson, and I'm in a New Media Design and Web Development program at BCIT. 

Todays blog is on a video project I did for my video shooting and editing class.  It was my second project in the class and a lot of fun to create.

The idea for this promotional video was derived for my passion and my project partner’s passion for cycling. We decided to show case the designated bike streets and pathways in Vancouver to promote cycling in the city as it is not only a great way to get around town but also a great way to lesson the carbon footprint.

Production:

This was our first project where we had to shoot all our a-roll and b-roll footage, create music, and mix down the audio, and edit the entire project. We ran into some minor challenges and speed bumps due to weather and mic issues but managed to successfully complete the video.

Enjoy!