Creative Commons

Prior to this I had never used the the creative commons search engine but as I found out its a really neat tool. Using the filter to find the material I needed to complete the assignment. I chose and image of bruce springsteen, the song “heat of the moment” by Asia and hilarious bully vs nerds video on youtube. Each piece of material coincides well with the scene in which it is used. The Although the video has not been created I think these can really be used.

I chose an image of Bruce Springsteen because we will be playing music from the 80’s throughout the promo video. The picture could be used either literally in the video or as a transition within the video. I would like to use it the Springsteen also because Bruce Springsteen is awesome. I chose the song by Asia mostly because its hoaky and corny and fit in well with the nerd motif. The song heat of the moment I felt would be perfect for the scene in the movie when the main character is rocking out with his air guitar. The song’s lyrics somewhat correlate with what’s going on in the scene.

I found a really weird video on youtube made by some kids in middle school from the looks of it. It has no dialogue but depicts some nerds being bullied by two boys they then stick up for themselves and stop them from bullying them. As a result the become friends at the end and put whatever conflict behind them. I was in tears laughing at the end because it was such a bizarre video. That fit well with ours because our video is already very strange so it wont be that much out of the ordinary. I think the CC filter is a really useful tool in this context. Moreover I cant wait to use the youtube video I found in the final video,

 

http://www.allbum.it/images/bruce-springsteen-born-in-the-usa-1.jpg

 

My Podcast and My favorite Bands

As though having a blog about music is not cool enough getting to do an assignment that involves mashing two of my favorite songs together makes it only better for me. I have very minor experience using garage band, but I have a lot of experience editing sound and music so it came naturally to me. But as I am a perfectionist it was rather irritating trying to get the podcast the way I wanted it. By that I mean I constantly was tweaking the fade in and fade out in order to get to the spot that I wanted.

The actual process of using garage band was really easy and the software was relatively intuitive. I actually was more frustrated with the mac hardware, the mouse, and the keyboard. Although that irrelevant to the main subject matter in my new blog about Linux I state very openly my disdain for the mac hardware. But I digress, I chose to use two of my favorite songs by the bands Texas Is The Reason and Last Days of April. Both are late 90’s early 2000’s emo grunge bands Last Days is from sweden and Texas is from the USA. I chose them for new particular reason except to maybe expose people to some different types of music.

I think that the mashup sounds good overall. I wish I could do a little more like add another song to bring in some different tones and speeds just to provide some ambiance. The ability to use garageband well and create podcasts is an invaluable skills. Podcasts have become extraordinarily popular. It allows people to listen to their favorite news anywhere anytime because of the internet. I can see many news and media related companies wanting young people with those skills. Especially when so many older people completely lack said skills. Ill prove that by posting a hilarious article with my post. But if one is looking to be involved in social media this is a very important skill to possess in my opinion.

funny article to coincide

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/07/us-agency-baffled-by-modern-technology-destroys-mice-to-get-rid-of-viruses/?comments=1

I have always watched others Screencast’s but never made one of my own. That said its a really simple to use and I can see it being very useful when applied to training exercises, PowerPoint, and communication. Recording the video was an easy process although the recording system on the website didn’t load up I had to download the recording software my computer. Looking for an ePortfolio was a surprisingly more time consuming then I had thought. It required specific language in the Google search bar.

After finding a WordPress portfolio I looked through both and found the pros and cons although Mike’s WordPress had more cons than pros especially when compared to the other blog I found through Google.The actual Screecasting was really easy, all that was required was pressing the recording button and after recording uploading to YouTube. Because of the ease of use it makes Screencasting a easy and effective.

The recording software has a wide range of uses. Especially in the academic sense, I have generally seen it used as a method of teaching by creating video tutorials. Teaching is important, but it has media uses as well, for example I watch video reviews of films in which the reviewer uses Screencast within the reviews. Depending on the setting there are enormous benefits, once again in the academic sense teachers can use the tool to provide online tutorials and even review assignment while providing detailed comments on the students assignments.

In reference to creative projects I really enjoy watching Linux tutorial that utilize Screencasting in order to teach different aspects of the OS. It would be really cool if a Screencast was made on installing the OS for people whom have never done it before. As well as tutorials on using the different software within the OS.

 

Creating the Header

I’ve never been that skilled at drawing or creating art. That said I generally find these types of assignments frustrating as I always have trouble feeling satisfied with my creation. One of the most difficult parts for me was the first, finding an image that I like. I spent a lot of time on google looking for an image that appealed to the blog and my personal tastes. At first I wanted to go with something more literal, like an image of a basement but I felt like that was boring and that I could come up with something better.  I ended up going with a cool schematic of an old basement and placing some representative images of how I think the music scene is in New Brunswick. Although the picture of the sloth has no real symbolism I thought it was cool and catchy if someone was to read the blog.

Working with pixlr was a little frustrating at times. Its option were limited and a little clunky. When layering the pictures it took me a little time to learn how to properly place and edit in the pictures. I spent a lot of time using the lasso tool in order to crop out the images properly. Often time they are not cropped properly which forces me to go back and retrace them a time consuming process. But overall I enjoyed being able to create a header from scratch using my own ideas and creativity all for free!

I tried to put the picture in terms of reception analysis. I hope that the readers will place their own meaning into the images. That said, Ang says it also matters who is reading my blog. But because the people who are reading it would most likely share the same sense of humor interest (music) then its likely they will interpret it as I intended.

Zines the Ancient Blog

As a former member of the punk scene and thus the sub culture I have had some experience with zines and social media alike. Going to punk shows and meeting all the different bands from all over the country and even the world. I have come into contact with Zines, short stories and some of the coolest fly art I have ever seen. I can recall a punk show I went to about a year and a half ago where I read a short zine about mental health. I was also a short story about one of my friends experience in a mental institution. It was only a few pages but the imagery was immense and one of a kind. In relation to the reading Zines were once the blogs before the internet. Focusing on specific genres and topics. You might say they immerse the reader more by being a physical manifestation and full of hand drawn images.

Duncombe talks a lot about the culture of Zines and the irony surrounding a group of people who choose the life of slum and punk. While they come from middle class families with parent who are professionals. In the punk subculture Zines focused on music and social issues alike. Another side to Zines are music flyers and pamphlets. When I was more involved in the punk rock scene I would receive a new one almost every show and many contained hand drawn artwork or a subliminal message.

In reference to my experience with digital media I have been using different types for school for years. Generally tools like prezi and powerpoint are easy and popular forms. I have experience using video editing equipment for short film. However, wordpress has been my most immersive use of digital media as of late.

First Band post!

These guys are fantastic local favorite s piece from New Brunswick. With there bluesy popy sound they will ensnare you!

Here is there band camp:

http://francetheband.bandcamp.com/album/remember-kids-your-pigeon-is-sacred

My First post!

Setting up the blog for the first time felt a lot like a deja vu in a way. In other words, this is not the first time setting up a blog. In fact I have done it numerous times for different reasons many of which are for school. However this time around was different because I did it correctly. Creating a blog is a step by step process that requires careful consideration and above all else effort. Using the article by Bob Dunn on how to create a blog from the ground up best explains that process. I started out by looking at a number of blogs that contain the same subject matter. By observing other blogs I was able to build off them and formulate my ideas of what I want my blog to look like. Setting up the blog was a easy process and very straightforward one. Funny enough because I work alot at my full-time jobs I created all of my pages using the iPhone app while at work during a slow bar shift. After that I looked to find a theme that would compliment my blog well. I ended up using one that catches the readers attention and caters to the theme of music. Using the editing mode on WordPress was always very easy as well. It took me very little time to remove and add the widgets need to complete that part of the  assignment. Finally writing the content for each page I wanted it to look professional but fun and invit

ing for the readers. I tried to use language that was inviting, young and youthful for the demographic that would read the blog. In addition I attempted to add as much personal information as possible so the readers would gain a sort of personal connection and feel it conveyed to them when they read my blog posts. Overall I enjoyed building the blog and I can’t wait to continue!