I really enjoyed watching all of the projects for the class. I really enjoyed Jeff’s movie simply because it was fun to watch and very well done. I would like to take a little bit of a look at why I liked his movie so much.

The first thing I noticed about the movie was the soundtrack. The songs that were played throughout the entire movie were children’s songs that most of us would recognize as being from educational television programs. I think that these choices of songs helped lend some credibility to the movie because of the association they had with the television shows.

The other thing I liked about the movie was the mixture of video and still images. The lady who was interviewed had a wonderful “interview giving” style, which made the movie much better. What she talked about and how she said it gave the movie a kind of cohesiveness only possibly through the interview. I also liked the fact that she discussed the program in terms of the schedule of a normal day. And that the movie followed along with that timeline. These elements all combined to make one outstanding movie.

Andrew Brubaker

I have been working on editing my movie for my final project. And it has become a bigger task than I had anticipated. I didn’t realize it at the time but most of the footage that I have gathered only has audio recorded into one channel. So that has presented an obstacle that I am not quite sure how to overcome. I also found that a lot of the footage I have gathered talks mainly about the church and its worship service but not a lot about programs for children, adults, and other ministries. There are great parts of interviews that will be great additions to my movie. In order for this film to be coherent and have a sense of structure about it, I am going to need a narrator. And since I am available when necessary, I think that I am going to be that narrator. So the obstacle I am running into right now is writing a script that enhances the movie rather than weakens its purpose.

Andrew Brubaker

I was watching some Home Improvement episodes this week (I have Seasons One and Two on DVD) and noticed in the cinematography of a couple of the episodes. I noticed this particular technique in two of the episodes. When the scene starts, the camera fades in and then immediately begins panning to the upcoming center of action. However, when the camera fades in, the camera is focused on an action that moves off the screen as the camera pans. For example, there is a scene where Brad is pulling dishes out of the cabinet and placing them on the counter behind him. The camera starts with Brad pulling the dishes out of the cabinet and then begins panning to the right where Tim and Jill begin a conversation. But as the camera pans, Brad is still in the picture until he hits the point where he stops to place the dishes on the counter. The effect this camera movement had on me was that it set up the scene and gave a sense of activity going on that was not the main focus of the scene while smoothly transitioning to the main focus of the action of the scene.

Andrew Brubaker

When I was taking the videography test, I found the music video to be very interesting. Not only did I enjoy watching it from an entertainment perspective, I also enjoyed watching the videography of it. I felt that the cinematic techniques used in the video were extremely telling of the story that was being expressed in the film. I also found the video near the end of the test to be very interesting. Because the question had asked the viewer to identify two sound techniques used and their purposes I was forced to watch the movie a couple of times before I was able to pick up on some techniques. However, I did find it interesting to notice the way that the sound enhanced the film. And I noticed things in the film when listening especially to the sound that I had not noticed the first couple of times that I watched it.

Andrew Brubaker

For the Visual Media Review #2 I reviewed "2001: A Space Odyssey." While I did not enjoy the film from an entertainment perspective I found that the film used many of the same techniques that were discussed in class. This film was heavy in its use of the rule of thirds.

Andrew Brubaker

For the Literacy Reflection #2, I reviewed Apple’s Apple Learning Interchange program and its use of computers in education. I also looked at how Apple’s iLife suite has revolutionized digital media in education.

Andrew Brubaker

For the Literacy Reflection #1, I reviewed the articles that were handed out in class. The two articles that I reviewed were "A Teacher’s Use of Digital Video with Urban Middle School Students: Expanding Definitions of Representational Literacy" by Jayne Beilke and Matthew Stuve and "Learning by Visualizing With Technology: Recording Realities With Video."

Andrew Brubaker

This montage takes the viewer on a tour of the Magic Kingdom park at Walt Disney World. It highlights some of the major attractions of the park and some of the most popular sights of the park.

Andrew Brubaker

I found the Visual Media Review #1 to be very interesting. I chose a movie that reminded me of a TV show that was on in the early 90s. But I found it most interesting to watch how they exaggerated everything in the movie to get their point across. In today’s more “elegant” movies these techniques are much more subtle. And it adds a more flowing feel to the film. But there are some times where the obvious and exaggerated are perfect and this was one of those cases. Here is the link to my Visual Media Review #1.

Andrew Brubaker

I liked watching the music video in class. The video brought a new meaning to the music and gave it more of a life. I remember when working on a project last semester that I came across a project made by a teacher with one of the first versions of iMovie. She took the song We Didn’t Start the Fire by Billy Joel and placed images that matched the lyrics of the song. Here is the URL for the movie http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/movie/fire.html. But the most interesting thing for me was listening to a song that I had heard numerous times before and watching a video that corresponded with it. the reaction I had was completely different. It was the first time I really understood how visuals can change the meaning of a song or anything.

Andrew Brubaker