My Humorous Monologue

Hey guys! So recently in GT, we finished our comedic monologues. I've learned so much from this project. One thing I've learned is how to work with iMovie. I don't have a Mac computer at home so I've never had the chance to mess around with it and experiment with things. But this project has also introduced me to the importing process, making new events and projects, editing, and other technical iMovie terms I've never heard of! Another thing I've learned is what B-Roll is and the difference between A-Roll and B-Roll. But one of the most important things I've learned is how to brainstorm and write a humorous narrative. It can be tricky if you don't know how to correctly link ideas and revise your jokes to make sure they are suitable to share with an audience. Lastly, I've learned what a good movie or video should look and sound like.

Pad is a term used in filming and is very significant. It is a few seconds of extra film at the beginning and end of your video. When filming, you should say "rolling" when you start the recording then count to three in your head. Then say "action" after the three seconds. This will help because there is usually a two second delay after hitting the record button. Also, when you are editing, and you don't have pad, then it may cut off the beginning of your sentence. If you do have pad, you'll have loads of extra film that you could easily cut out and still be able to hear the beginning or end of your sentence. As you can see, pad is extremely necessary in the filming process.

Yesterday (Tuesday 29, 2015) we watched everyone's videos and rated them using the system of a 4 being Exemplary work, a 3 being Accomplished work, 2 as Developing, and a 1 as Beginning video. As you can see in the picture below,24 people in my class (including me)voted my video as a 4/ Exemplary video. The other 4 voted it as a 3/ Accomplished video. I'm happy with this, even though it isn't a major impact on our overall quarter grade (speaking of which, we have two more days until 1st Quarter is over. Then it's Fall Break!). Anyways,we also voted for the funniest over all video and surprisingly, I got two votes! I wasn't expecting it! I didn't win though- it was a tie between my friends Wailana Marvin and Kacie Burns (go check out their blogs in the links on the side bar!). They definitely deserved it! I have to say, the hardest part of this project would have been having the class watch my video! So cringe worthy! It was kind of awkward because only a few people laughed when the goal was to make the entire class laugh. But I wasn't expecting the whole class to laugh. A strength I discovered about myself is that I am really good at editing. I always expected it to be really hard but I surprised myself. Cutting, shortening/extending the clips, adjusting the speed and volume of the clips, etc. I think if I ever did this project again, my number one priority would be to make sure it is actually funny! Even with all these mistakes and flaws I'm noticing, I had so much fun doing this project and Mr. Sanderl will do it next year! Anywho, bye bye for now and I'll see you soon! 

Comedy Writing

In GT, we've been talking about humor. Having a good sense of humor is important because it builds confidence and it shows your personality. It also is a common trait that most people find attractive. I believe that laughing is just as healthy as eating healthy. It releases stress and makes memories. Laughing could be the start of a successful life! You never know! My point is to try to have fun and make the best in life! Just laugh- it's important!

Writing a humorous monologue may seem hard at first but once you get the main things first, its a breeze. For example, the first thing you must have is an idea set in your mind. Once you have this, just be creative. Try to make it as relatable as possible. It's also required that it is revised so that you are positive that it is appropriate for everyone (if that is your target)! Kids, adults, elderly, different races, things like that! Before performing, you should probably have a bunch of different close family members or friends listen to it. Also, make sure you know the tone that you are going to use. But most importantly... ENJOY IT! Comedy is for entertainment and the entertainer should also get something out of it. 

My comedic monologue was about me having a life threatening case of... perfectionism. I think its funny because you can see how real the struggle is for me daily. Sometimes it comes in handy, helping me get good grades and all. But sometimes, it is the worst thing ever! I will have five minutes to do something and it'll take me fifteen minutes for me to get it perfect. And I know, you may be saying "Why don't you just ignore it?" But unless you have perfectionism as well, THEN YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND!!!! It's like a completely different person that is stronger than you! It always wins! It is also a trait that gets passed down through the family tree. Almost everyone on my dad's side are perfectionists. Anyways, my monologue will be attached in my nest post so please please go check it out! I hope you think it's funny and if you don't then that's cool! So bye bye for now and I'll see you soon!

Motivational Poster

Hey- Alina here! In GT, we are creating Motivational Posters in PhotoShop. One requirement in this project is that you must have six layers in your PhotoShop document: two text layers and four image layers. One of the text layers is of your Personal Manifesto and the other are your Personal Quotes. Three of the four image layers are your three symbolic images that represent you and  the last one is a portrait of your face. The other requirement you must include in this project are design requirements. These are using the kerning tool, using your chosen triadic color scheme, using blending options and adjustment layers, and finally, creating visual balance. When you are kerning, you should make the words fill in all the blank spaces, whether it making the spacing between the words larger or making the font bigger. To make your Personal Manifesto and Personal Quotes easier to read, you must find your triadic color scheme, and apply it to the chosen text layer. Blending options and adjustment layers are to add some color and to make sure you are able to read all the words. And lastly, visual balance is just to make this project appealing to the eye. Those are the requirements for the Motivational Poster in GT class.

To make the Motivational Poster, I first had to write a personal manifesto and quotes. Once that has been completed, I had to make a new PhotoShop document and title it "Motivational Poster". Then, I made two text layers: one for my personal quotes and one for my personal manifesto. I copy and pasted each text item from Google Docs (you can use anything) into your matching text layers. Then, I inserted four pictures- #gtsym1, #gtsym2, #gtsym3, and a portrait of ourselves. Once they are in, we had to arrange them in a unique way. At this point, everything we needed to do with our pictures was complete so we took them off of the document temporarily by clicking the eye next to each layer. Then, I began working on the text layers again. Since I finished putting the personal manifesto and personal quotes in, I needed to start kerning. It looks best if there are not blank spaces and its just a blanket of text. Before this next step, you must find your own customized triadic color scheme. Once that is complete, you can open up PhotoShop again and apply it to your letters. This makes them more visible when the pictures are behind them. You can also add Stroke, Bevel and Emboss, Outer Glow, and other cool textures. You must also apply Color Balance, Levels, Curves, and Exposure to your pictures. I had to make sure that I stayed very close within my Triadic Color scheme. That is the last step! That is how I made my Motivational Poster.

I must say that the hardest step in this project for me was kerning my text. It took a long time to do and you had to adjust font sizes along with it to make it work. You have to make sure there were no holes or blank patches; it had to be one big blanket of text. Since there were two different text layers, you had to adjust each layer to fit and then edit them together so they didn't overlap. To have an easier time with this, I would advise making sure you have both the Personal Manifesto and your Personal Quotes done before you start. I had the wrong idea of what my teacher meant by Personal Quotes so I had to rewrite them after I started the document. You should make lots of time to spend on kerning. Since I only had 45-60 minutes a day to work on this, it took me a long time but if you have more time, you should definitely work on the kerning! Adding color and textures to your text is also hard but it is more based off of what you like and what you think looks good. Its all yours! Bye bye for now and I'll see you soon!