This week was a rough one. I learned quite a lot about myself through our assignments. One, that I appreciate the aesthetics and value of visual art. Two, that I’m not very good at the execution of design. I was much better when I wasn’t out of practice. Anyways, I had some fun (when I … Continue reading Weekly Summary #6 →

If there’s one thing that I learned from reading the Vignelli Canon (of course, there are more), it’s that aesthetically pleasing things are generally balanced and set to grids, be they imaginary or otherwise. In previous graphic design classes, it was a concept I’d heard of numerous times. While I understand that this aesthetic value … Continue reading The Vignelli Canon →

One of the things that I immediately noticed was the shifting of camera angles during dialogues. Whenever someone spoke, the camera shifted behind whomever was listening to give a clear view of them. Something as simple as that seems to work effectively because it breaks the mundanity of remaining still for too long. This dynamic camerawork, … Continue reading Planet of the Vampires – A response →

They met during their junior year of college. He was shy and awkward at first, but she made him feel comfortable. With himself and with life. His anxieties consumed him at times, generally in regards to social expectations, but his girlfriend was bright and calming. “It’s okay to care about what people think, but sometimes … Continue reading Love at first shot →

For the star assignment, Create Your Own DS106 Wallpaper, I did just that! I started with an image that I found using Bing and opened it in GIMP. From there, I went to DaFont.com to download a new typeface to use! I couldn’t figure out how to properly install it and my impatience got the better … Continue reading My DS106 Wallpaper! →

I can truthfully say that I’ve never attempted to make a maze before. As a first attempt, I used paint. Short, simple, to the point. I used the line tool to make most of the segments that you’ll see, but I also decided to use the rectangle tool and then make careful erasures for some … Continue reading My A-Maze-ing Puzzle →

This assignment revolved around expressing who you are in a single image. I find myself to be very complicated, so this took me a while. Most of the time actually went into trying to hone myself and accurately portray myself. As far as introductions go, I’d say this one was a fairly decent product. I … Continue reading Who am I? →

This assignment was a lot of fun! I went through freesounds.com and found some clips that fit what I wanted to do with my story. From there, I placed them into Audacity and changed some things around. With some of the shorter clips, I decided it would be best if I rearranged them or had … Continue reading Scary Sound Effect Story →

The assignment was to create an original poem, but I took it one step further. I decided to improvise the entire thing! Now, I do actually write poetry and I wouldn’t call what I did here anything special. BUT I do think this was an interesting challenge for me. Maybe later in the semester I’ll … Continue reading AUDIO ASSIGNMENT – An Original Poem →

I shouldn’t even have to explain why I did this assignment, but I will. Simply put: because I’m real. The realest. Like 100% farm fresh dairy, no pasteurization required… yet. Fresh grated cheese kind of real. Homemade yogurt real. I can call up Ben & Jerry for a pint of ice cream at 3:00am real! … Continue reading AUDIO ASSIGNMENT – Real Housewife →

I found myself working with the local news outlet to report on traffic conditions in the area. Lo and behold, I managed to find myself face-to-face with an actual car chase! Or, so I thought. Perhaps I got a little carried away. Hear my wonderful voice here! And check out the footage I so ceremoniously … Continue reading Um… interesting. →

I had a lot of fun messing around with audio projects this week. To be completely honest, though, I was dreading the thought of it all. But, I’m happy to say that by powering through it, I had a great time and learned how to better use Audacity (and plenty of file converters…). The toughest … Continue reading Weekly Summary #5 →

Hello, friends. I’m sure we’ve all had a busy week, so why don’t we all just take a second to relax? Here I have an incredibly smooth radio bumper for our beloved DS106 Radio, so kick back and enjoy.

Truth be told, audio is an extremely crucial part of storytelling in my opinion. Why do I say that? Ambience. When I imagine someone telling a story, some concepts are better perceived when heard. For example, someone’s voice can sometimes give insight into their character through intonation, inflection and pauses while speaking. In addition to … Continue reading Audio in Storytelling →

A couple of ideas that I had for my radio show include: Myself, playing myself, as a host that introduces scary stories or people who’d like to tell them. Simple, but effective. I could spend a part of the week looking up stories to read and practicing before shows with groupmates. Another option might be … Continue reading Radio Show Ideas →

I enjoyed doing this week’s work. While having very limited experience with photography in practice, I’ve studied it before and forgotten most everything that I’ve learned. However, I did find it interesting that this week focused more on it. To that end, I also enjoyed doing this week’s assignments. The first one that I tackled … Continue reading My Weekly Summary (#4) →

This movie is an excellent example of horror for many reasons. As such, I want to take my time and explore some reasons that explain why. The first of these is depth. One great example of depth in this movie is one of the hallway scenes following the child on the tricycle. I say that … Continue reading The Shining, an analysis by James Rives →

That’s the last time I ever take a selfie with this old phone, I swear. I knew this thing was a piece of junk when I bought it, but I suppose there’s no accounting for taste… I just wanted something that would work when and if I needed to make calls, text someone, or listen … Continue reading A paranormal happening… →

      At risk of sounding like a bad commercial, I chose to use this bottle cap because I’ve recently embraced being 21 and found this cap to be interesting. I suppose I just like the way to logo fits perfectly onto the face of it? I guess that’s one way to put it. … Continue reading Larger Than Life →

            This here is my bucket list collage! I’ve always wanted to skydive, despite my immense fear of heights. I’ve also wanted to climb a mountain (I have before, but I want to climb a larger one). Then, once I’ve conquered my fear of heights and mountain lions, I’d like … Continue reading Super Duper Collage →

When thinking of what to do for this assignment, my first thought was to place myself onto an image of MLK, Jr. Why? When I was little, I was often said to look a lot like him (I never saw the resemblance…). This isn’t my best work, but I think it turned out fairly decent. … Continue reading The Forrest Gump Project →

My edition of “Make that money!”, an assignment worth 3 1/2 stars.

Using my time this week, I’ve reflected on how little I’ve actually dabbled into photography. Aside from participating in this week’s assignments, I rarely ever take photos on my own. I’ve taken the occasional selfie and I’ll gladly hop into a photo with a friend, but I can scarcely admit that I’m the mastermind behind … Continue reading Visual Storytelling →

My List 1.) Power plugs are ubiquitous. Can you make a creative photo of such a common thing? 2.) Get closer and fill the frame. 3.) Take a picture that reminds you of your childhood, 4.) Make a photo of a thing is not like the other two in the picture (e.g. 2 dogs and … Continue reading Photoblitzer! →

I may have said the same thing last week, but I truly believe this week I’ve outdone myself. I even took on a couple of extra projects for the heck of it (a visual one and another web assignment). Aside from that, I focused my readings on the comic “Last Respects” and the story by … Continue reading Week 3 Summary →

Victor Barethean. A man of indeterminate age (though he looks to be mid-30’s). Short, dark hair and a thick mustache. No one’s sure what his eye color is, but some reports suggest that he suffers from heterochromia: one eye is said to be green and the other… changes. At times it will appear blue-ish gray. Other … Continue reading Introducing… →

I wasn’t sure what exactly the title of this video meant, but Vonnegut’s explanation of shapes won me over in the end. Every good story has its arcs, and while they need not necessarily follow the same flow, more formulaic ones will and they fit the mold Vonnegut speaks on. From there, I want to … Continue reading Vonnegut’s Shape of Stories →

This piece didn’t necessarily strike me as creepy or spooky or outright frightening but it still retained an element of horror that I felt was more subtle: the unknown. One thing Jackson did well was giving us enough information about the characters present to feel as though we could begin to know them without having … Continue reading Response to The Lottery by Shirley Jackson →

I’ve never read a comic in this series before but when I was younger I watched the TV version of Tales from the Crypt fairly regularly. Starting the comic, I wasn’t sure where the twist would be or what significant spookiness there’d be but I can surely say that it delivered in the end. I’m … Continue reading Response to Last Respects →

A bald crow dared eat from God’s hand in Judas’ kitchen. Likewise, making no option present, quiet rarities sit tentatively under vehicles while xylophones yell “Zebra!”   ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ