In the junior narrative project in Freestyle we learned how to further develop our technical skills in order to make things creatively. We also learned how to effectively story tell with characters and plot that makes sense and moves the story along. This unit finally started to put the pieces together to create stuff that I am proud of.
I really valued the ability to create things completely myself, from writing stories to designing images to making films.
In English class we were tasked with creating a short story or “Flash Fiction”. This is a very brief 1-2 page story with a full plot, character development, and world building. This assignment pushed me to write fast and effectively. I decided to write my story about a little girl who picks up strange items off the ground and gets attached to them. I was drawn to this idea because I often did this as a kid and thought it was an interesting plot to develop.
After finishing writing my story, I used Adobe Audition to create an audio. I read the story aloud in the isolation booth with a mic and then uploaded the audio to Audition. I added sound effects and music that matched the tone of the story I was telling and each moment.
Button Blues
She spent her walk surveying the world beneath her. Small plants making homes in crevices on the concrete sidewalk, bits of gum stepped on thousands of times, and fallen leaves beginning to brown. Always a leaf crunching beneath her shoe or a puddle being upset.
On that ordinary Tuesday, she began her walk to school. The sun shyly peeking out above the clouds as dew from overhanging trees occasionally dropped onto the top of her head. Her hair neatly plaited by her mother the night prior. At times, she would skip along the path or walk slowly, taking in every detail. Occasionally, she would bend down to pick up a peculiarly shaped pebble, or stray marble, ever so careful to not disturb the objects around it. An object embedded in the dirt caught her eye, a round button no bigger than her thumbnail, dusted off to reveal a cerulean hue with partially worn off shiny lacquer.
She carefully ran the button between her thumb and pointer finger taking in the tactility of the slightly thicker lip and four holes gently scraping at her skin. The rest of the day, her button was the only thing that mattered, it lived in her coat pocket and every few minutes she would clutch it in her fist. At lunch she didn’t eat, just sat on a bench and stared at the button. It was just like her, lost in the sea of bigger, stronger beings in control. She started at it. One and a half of the four holes were clogged with dirt so she took a small twig and carefully pushed it out. She just stared at it for the first fifteen minutes of lunch, mentally documenting every scratch, scrape, nick, indent, speck of dust that the button donned. That was before the tiny button slipped from her fingers, rolled into the gutter, clattered like a coin and slipped ever so gracefully into a drain. Her face went pale as she scrambled to claw it out, with no luck, jumping down from the bench and getting her knees scraped on the concrete. Her futile efforts to retrieve the button were fleeting yet intense as she accepted defeat, collapsing to the ground before lifting up her pant leg to find her knee massacred by the concrete. A tear trickled down her chin but she wiped it away and ran into the bathroom. She stuffed her pant legs with paper towels and cried until the bell rang. When it did, her class lined up, she sniffled all the way to the classroom sitting. She lay her cheek down on the cool plywood desk surface and ignored whatever her teacher was saying about subtraction. The other kids paid no attention to her as they fiddled their pencils about, and soon enough the teacher was done talking and starting handing out work sheets.
She could hear the footsteps getting closer and closer as worksheet after worksheet was being handed to each student. She figured if her teacher thought she was asleep she wouldn’t disturb her. She did her best to squeeze her eyes shut and make soft snoring noises as the click clack of shoes on the linoleum floor got closer. She felt a gentle tap on her shoulder before instinctually jolting up from the sudden contact.
“What’s wrong dear?”, her teacher asked. She simply shook her head as if to say “I’m fine” as she accepted one of the worksheets. Her teacher told her to wait after class to talk but she didn’t listen. When the bell rang she ran out of the classroom, back to the bathroom to replace the now blood soaked towels before walking home on the very same path she walked to school on.
I think I used SFX effectively to tell my story. I am proud of the way that everything blends cohesively. During the process I learned a lot about how audio books, audio shows, etc are produced and it gave me a new found appreciation for such media.
Adobe Illustrator can be used for a number of things. From producing logos, professional design elements, and illustrations, it is an incredibly versatile tool. It uses a vector system, allowing for smooth lines that are calculated by the computer and the ability to easily make adjustments.
The exquisite corpse assignment had us create a segment of a drawing without knowing what the other parts (drawn by my classmates) looked like. We were given start and end points and told to make whatever we wanted within those constraints. I made the second drawing, of the eye. I really like how our final piece turned out.
Following the short story audio production, we designed album covers to go on Sound Cloud with Adobe Illustrator. I decided to do a button, as that is what the story is about. I used the gradient tool a lot in this design to get a 3d effect.
For our Illustrator project, we got to design whatever we wanted and have it physically made. I decided to go with a t-shirt, here are some process pictures below as well as the final product.
In my experience comparing Photoshop to illustrator, both allow me to use my creativity in different ways. Photoshop is more organic and closer to how one would draw on paper and more similar to the drawing applications I am used to. It also allows for easy photo editing, as evident by the name and helps to enhance photos as well as creating new ones. On the other hand, Illustrator allows for more precise and specific placement of shapes. The end product that Illustrator produces feels a lot more professional and adequate for logos, clothing designs, etc.
I chose to design a t-shirt design because I really wanted to be able to wear my art. When sketching the initial design, I took a look at some of my old drawings and sketches from the past few years. I have been drawing half and half butterflies for years at this point and felt it was something that really represented me. The left side represents chaos, with an angular design, and the right represents beauty with exaggerated flowy shapes. The piece is about learning to live with both. I also generally think this type of imagery looks really cool. I chose a t-shirt because I have a lot of t-shirts in my wardrobe that I often reach for and figured this would be the perfect addition.In my t-shirt design production, I focused on making the two sides of the butterfly different but similar enough to tell it was a cohesive item. I liked the simplicity of a single colored design and really enjoyed how it looked with white over black. After heat pressing the image, I cut the neckline off the shirt as well as cropped it so that it would fit me how I wanted it to. I also scraped off some of the ink and removed sections with acetone to achieve a cool distressed look that was more true to my personal style. Overall I am very happy with the end product I produced as well as the skills I learned from making it. I am very exited to wear it!
Making digital illustrations proved to be very fun. I have used drawing software before, but nothing like Illustrator. It was interesting to see the different things that can be done digitally in the creative world.
For the music recording project, we got into groups and learned how to use the music studio. We each played/sang a different part of the music and then put it all together to create a finalized track.
After learning how to use Pro Tools, we had to relate a short music clip, composed and played by us. I decided to make a fun upbeat tune that reminded me of summer. I also created an album cover using Photoshop.
Griffiths Pattern is a film making technique used to establish the setting, characters, and motivation. We got into groups in order to practice this.
After learning how to effectively craft suspense, we made a short scene in groups to utilize these skills.
We were tasked with individually creating a short chase scene. This project taught me how to use the 180 degree rules, establish characters, setting, and motivation, and overall put a scene together.
We started writing for our narrative project in partners in November and after months of that, we casted, location scouted, filmed, and edited the film through mid-May.
