Blog Post #1
What is digital storytelling and why does it matter for me?
In my opinion, "Digital storytelling" is a new term that describes the practice of how everyday common people use digital tools to tell their 'story'. Digital stories often present in compelling and emotionally engaging formats, and can be interactive. We are seeing an increase in vloggers that are taking advantage of YouTube’s relatively new tool that allows channel owners to gain monetary rewards in exchange for their high amount of video views, subscribers, and ad clicks.
This matters to me because, like for others, it can be a means of an additional income. But not only that, it is a way for me to express myself and allow the world to see my ideas. Being able to share the things I create is therapeutic and it also give me a sense of purpose.
THE LIFE AND DEATH OF JEFFERY: MY FIRST CAR ACCIDENT
THE LIFE AND DEATH OF JEFFERY: MY FIRST CAR ACCIDENT (IMPROVED AUDIO)
VALENTINES DAY
ANGER STORYBOARD
Blog Post #3
Pulp Fiction vs. Psycho
The two films mentioned, "Pulp Fiction" and “Psycho", are quite different structurally. In comparison and differentiation of the two films, “Pulp Fiction” contains more violence, sexual subject matter and explicit language than “Psycho”.
Let’s start with “Pulp Fiction”. The 1994 film follows a non-linear storyline structure. The structure of this film is very intricate, and you have to really pay attention to follow along without getting lost. The dialogue consists of various amounts of detail that can be considered unnecessary information for the viewer. The film is broken up into several segments that are not in ascending order and are told from different views. Personally, It made it frustrating to follow and overly complex.
On the other hand, we have the 1960’s film “Psycho”, were the viewers are presented with and maintains a linear storyline structure that follows a main character by the name of Marion Crane. She ends up being murdered by Norman Bares due to the mental illness the suffers from. With Hitchcock’s “Psycho”, the structure has clean cut linear slope where the characters & setting are introduced, to the plot, climax, and finally a resolution. However, with Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction”, depicts an accumulation of small or short stories within one conclusive storyline.
Whereas some would view “Pulp Fiction" as a complete storyline narrative in correspondence to “Psycho”, I feel that having an open ending or leaving some questions left un snared leaves room or the opportunity for revisitation and or imagination of the viewers.
Video Game Treatment Blog Post
When you think of the term sustainability, most people think of it from an environmental approach. The term sustainability one of the definitions listed is, "the ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level". When I think of this I think of in what ways can we maintain or health both mentally and physically. The goal of my sustainable lifestyle video game is to encourage college students to make better care of our bodies both physically and mentally.
The name of my video game is called College Hill, where players can create their own character in their own image (Kind of like the SIMS). From there the player starts off their experience as a freshman on campus, and they have to begin by selecting their dorm, the the types of classes and extra circular activities they participate in and so on. Once they have their experience personalized the game actually begins. The idea of this is so that the storyline isn't fixed, but constantly changing and moving based on the path the player takes. Along each path, players will be presented with obstacles and be forced to make decisions that will either lower or increase their increase their likeliness of living a longer life. (DISCLAIMER: This video game is in no way promoting that by taking care of yourself physically and mentally will make you immortal. There are outside unforeseen circumstances that might cause premature death such as car accidents, hereditary diseases, etc. However, we are trying to promote healthier lifestyles in hopes that this will lengthen your lifespan.) Players will be rewarded for choosing tasks like drinking more water vs. surgery drinks or alcohol, meal prepping and cooking meals at home vs. eating fast food, or taking mental health breaks to meditate just to reduce stress levels.
For an example, a long weekend of partying, drinking and eating fast food consecutively would lower your lifespan rate compared to a balanced combination of the few. The main goal is to teach beneficial behaviors that can be adapted in real life.
$200K Video Game Contract Blog Post
If an investor gave me $200,000 and 2 years to turn my gaming idea of "College Hill: L.S." into a reality I would start off by doing vigorous research on game design and video gaming companies to see what approach would be best to seat off. I'd find partners and interns that are highly skilled in video game design to help me with the structure of creating my game and to give me advice on along the way. You are only as strong as your support system and team. I defiantly wouldn't be able to do it by myself so a team of graphic designers, engineers, and video game specialist will be vital! It's important to keep strict deadlines in order to keep myself on task and focused. I feel like the biggest problem I would have is time management by overloading myself with other work during this 2 year period.
It's important to build relationships with brands and industry professionals because that networking will really come in handy especially when you are needing creative solitons for problems you might face going forward. This contract will definitely be a learning experience, if not anything else.
Further Thoughts on Developing "College Hill: L.S." Blog Post
The game I proposed above called "College Hill: L.S." will put the player in the shoes of a college student with real scenarios that put their overall mental health to the test. The conflict of this video game is balancing between your school and social life. Will you graduate and get that degree or end up dropping out because of the stress? It's up to you. Players will fuel their charters by performing acts that positively impact their mental health like, mediation, completing their course work in a timely fashion, eating foods that are good for your body. Players will also lose points when too much stress is impacting their mental health. This can stem from falling behind in class, too much partying, and letting drama consume your life in other ways.
HOW TO FIND AN INVESTOR
I would reach out to Stem and engineering programs for resources for grants and collaborators. I think applying for grants and fellowships/residencies would allow the possibilities to learn and network with people in the tech and gaming industry to help me gain more knowledge to produce my game. Conferences and Austin City Limits would allow me to get the word out as well. Kickstarter would also allow me to get the word out and raise more funds for my project.
STORYTELLING IN ADVERTISING LYNDA.COM VIDEO
Today we watched a video in class on Lynda.com about Storytelling and Advertising. This video touched on what makes visual stories worth sharing and how to create them. In the video, the man goes in depth on the story structure, how to build a story through narrative, and how these structures apply towards advertising. He beings with going in depth on the 5 Part Story Structure: 1. Exposition, 2. Inciting Incident, 3. Rising Action, 4. Climax, and 5. Resolution; the 2 World Structure: 1. The World That Is, and 2. The World That Could Be; and the 6 Base Emotions: 1. Love, 2. Joy, 3. Surprise, 4. Anger, 5. Sadness, and 6. Fear. The instructor also mentions that the advertising can't force these emotions, only draw them out. He
"AT&T knows when OK just isn't enough" Ad Campaign
MOBILE VIDEO EDITING: LIVE MUSIC CONCERTS
For my series or three videos, I decided to edit them all together to create a 90 second clip. I used the Adobe Rush CC App on my iPhone 7plus. This allowed me to edit easily with all the tools I needed (including adding titles) and upload to my desktop using the cloud when finished. Everything is saved to the cloud with my Adobe Creative Cloud Subscription. How effortless and manageable?!
AVENO AD #1
AVENO AD #2
AVENO AD VR Concept
When it comes to the Virtual reality world, I am in no way well versed, With that being said, I feel like a VR aspect that allows the viewer to go in and see how the product is actually made in warehouse production would be interesting They would get to see the behind the scenes production of products that they use at home and the process of of the formulation. I think with would also instill more trust in the company as well.