For this assignment I had to choose one of my favorite athletes and create a highlight reel video. I selected the famous ice skater, Carolina Kostner. She is an Italian figure skater and has been a role model for me since I was little. In 2003, the Figure skating world championships was held in Washington D.C. and I had just begun to take private lessons and was getting into skating so, my mom took me to the practices so I could watch the competitors. I was amazed and thought all of the skaters were great. I was allowed to get some autographs from the skaters. But, when I went to get Carolina’s autograph she was a lot nicer than the other skaters and to this day I remember that and how it made an impact on me. During that practice she was falling all over the place but just kept getting back up and trying again. I have watched her over the years and she continued to improve and become more consistent and as a result her placements improved. Some of her accomplishments include being the 2014 Olympic bronze medalist, 2012 World Champion, and five time European champion. Another reason she has been a role model for me is because at 5’7” she is very tall for a figure skater. Over the years I have been told by some people that I would be too tall to be skater or comments that are similar. But, just like she kept getting back up after each fall on that practice and has persevered, I have learned not to give up or listen to negative criticisms and comments from others who try to discourage me. So, thank you Carolina! Below is a mashup video containing different clips of Carolina Kostner skating. I created it using Windows Movie Maker then uploaded it youtube.

This assignment was worth five stars contributing to the required 16 stars of video assignments for this week.

For this assignment, we had to create a short video of our favorite thing to do. Well mine is obvious, I love to play field hockey. I have played basically my entire life just about 365 days a year and have dedicated a lot of time, money, and heart to the game. To make this video I used iMovie and compiled some pictures and clips of some exciting moments from this past season. Since I got the hang of iMovie when making the video essay I found this assignment to be fairly easy and fun to do. I also added some background music because I really could play field hockey all night!

I completed the two and a half star assignment Exercise and Socialize.

I walk my dog daily in the neighborhood, so choosing this assignment made sense. Using my iPhone and a friend, I recorded myself walking through my neighborhood:

To complete this video I chose the Mr. Roger’s neighborhood theme song. I found it appropriate and upbeat. To obtain this song I converted a youtube recording of the song into an mp3. Using iMovie, I edited the video together with a bit of transitions at the beginning and end.

This wasn’t a hard assignment, for this reason it was designated two and half stars. I enjoyed it though.

I videoed myself doing my favorite thing at the moment for the three and a half star assignment My Favorite Thing To Do.

I chose this assignment so I could share my current favorite hobby. I can only do it so often nowadays. Honestly, I miss the days where I could practice it everyday. Here it is:

Using my iPhone I recorded myself pretending to nap throughout the week. I figured recording thirty seconds of the same shot would be a bit boring. It turns out thirty seconds of myself napping in different shots isn’t much better. It’s my favorite thing to do right now though. I can only nap so much nowadays and whenever I can it’s a pleasure.

We were directed to review a video this week for the Video Essay assignment.

I chose to review the opening scene from Django Unchained. I chose to watch this movie as opposed to another movie simply due to its accessibility on Netflix.

It begins in the middle of nowhere featuring opening credits in red. These opening credits standout in contrast to the background creating a tension on the screen which alludes to Ebert’s idea of intrinsic weight. Furthermore, examples of Ebert’s ideas in the article are displayed when the characters come into view and march off to the right of the shot. The direction of their march is into the future. I suppose marching to the left would just strike me as odd. It would seem as if they were making their last appearance in the movie if they were to walk out of the shot to the left.

Another general rule I noticed is an example of how the “top” of the shot is dominant. In the scene the doctor sits atop a carriage above all of the other characters, showcasing his power over them. To reinforce his display of power, the doctor is shot at a lower angle during his first shot. This implies he has a certain power. Higher angles display weakness, while lower angles imply power. To further support his importance, the doctor is placed in the center of the shot. If he was placed any further to the left his importance would be undermined.

This scene is full of examples from Ebert and Tony Zhou. One just needs to look.

I’ve got a lot of favorite things I enjoy, but this one seemed fitting after coming home from a long week.

My dog Boomie loves everyone. She is the most un-loyal dog there is! All I had to do was walk through my door and act excited. I filmed this using a horizontal view on my iPhone camera and simply uploaded it to youtube to link to here. I hope you guys enjoy my dog as much as I do!

Saw this assignment and thought it seemed pretty fun, so I chose Gaelic Storm’s Johnny tarr. I doubt many people listen to this type of music, but its great! So I just had some fun and sung along to it!

When I edited the song into the video, it ended up perfectly fitting on top of the video, no finessing needed to get it to line up!

Here’s a youtube link to the song if anybody wants it, Johnny Tarr

This week we were assigned to complete 10 stars worth of video assignments. I have linked them both below with a little description.

The first one I completed required I create a product commercial. Considering I had just gone to Wawa and bought a Peach Iced Tea, I decided to create the commercial off the tea. I first thought of how I wanted to film the video and thought about modern day commercials. I then incorporated shots with sound clips and audio, as well as text, to give it that ooh la la effect. One thing I do wish I could of change is that I wish I had bought a tripod prior to filming to reduce the shaking in the camera.

The next video I created was a “How To” video. I wanted to do a little spin off the assignment, and decided to create a parody of a “How To” video. My idea was how to become a video gamer, in a jokingly way, so if you do watch this video (and are a gamer) please do not take offense. This is simply a joke. To do this, I used my boyfriend who is seriously into popular video game, Super Smash Brothers, and directed the way I wanted the clips to be filmed. I then joined the clips with audio and a voiceover to create the final product.