Author: tgonzal8

1. Over the next four years, I plan to take classes necessary for graphic design. Some of the classes crucial for this major are Drawing 1, Typography 1, Graphic Design 1, and the list goes on. It is important to know what classes to take because it will help prepare you for whats to come within the next four years here. Having this major will help prepare a career in the future by giving me all the knowledge I need to know. After I take all of the classes and having an internship somewhere, I should have all the skills required to do my own freelance work within graphic design. But, if this major does not work out, I will switch to be a business major so I can run my father’s construction business in the future.
2. As of right now, my minor is in photo communications. I chose to minor in photo communications because I have always been interested in photography and I believe that it can become useful with a major in graphic design. This minor could also be beneficial to me because I may complete my graphic design major here, but what if it does not work out as well as I want it to? I could use my minor to try to become more successful in life.

The sequence movie I chose to watch was called Run Lola Run. This movie is about a girl named Lola who tries to save her boyfriend Mani from getting killed by major drug dealers. In this movie, we see many examples of sequence and two huge sequence curves that many may not have expected.

When the movie initially starts, we see Mani and Lola talking on the phone. In this sequence, Mani is explaining to Lola how he lost all of the money from a drug deal that happened previously. While telling his story, the scenes turn black and white to show that the video being played is a flashback while the audio from the phone call is still being played. This demonstration of sequence lets the viewer picture how his story actually happened instead of just hearing it from the phone call. Another small sequence that was used a great amount of times within this movie is when Lola is running. While Lola is running, the editor would sometimes cut to another scene then cut back to her running. Doing this made the viewer realize that the two scenes that just took place were happening at the same time but in two separate places. They also achieved this kind of sequence further into the movie whenever they split the screen in half to show the two sequences happening at the same exact time. Doing this was clever because it didn’t call for a cut scene and it achieved the same effect. When watching, one would notice that the director of the movie used a lot of the same kind of sequences throughout the film. Although there were many of the same kind of sequences scattered throughout the film, there were two main sequences that truly boggled the mind. This would be when Lola got shot and when Mani got ran over by a truck. In these sequences, the audience expected Lola and Mani to actually die. But, in actuality, everything that lead up to those points were actually just Lola’s thoughts on how to save Mani. She played out the whole sequence in her head and when it was over, she created a new sequence to start. The director included this to show that Lola was thinking about all of the possibilities and outcomes that could happen when trying to save Mani so when she actually tried to save him, she would have a well-devised plan.

This movie is filled with all types of sequencing and it is truly remarkable how the director used these film strategies to accomplish his vision. After watching this movie and reading the sequence readings, my mind has become more aware of what sequencing actually is and how complex it can become.

 

1. My greatest strengths in my ARTS-1311 class are the ability to generate clever ideas and to use those ideas quickly and accurately. My greatest strengths in my Visual Studies class are being able to pay attention well and being able to retain the information quickly. I take pride in this strength because it allows me to become a better and informed student. My biggest strength in my finance class is also being able to pay attention well. Lastly, my biggest strength in my writing class is the ability to write a well-formed paper.
2. For greater success in these classes, I would say I need to take pride in my work. It has always been a struggle of mine to truly like the work I do in my classes.

Computer Skills:

1. My computer skills include: knowing how to navigate and use all of my apps, some Photoshop knowledge, some LightRoom knowledge, and some GarageBand knowledge
2. I need to learn how to work Photoshop and LightRoom to the best of my abilities because I will need these applications with the field of work I am choosing to work within.

Research and writing skills:

1. My greatest strengths as a researcher/writer include: being able to ask thought-provoking questions, argue my points, and having a well-formed paper
2. I need to work on these aspects of research and writing: getting started on my writings, reading more research articles, and actually researching more
3. I learn best and accomplish most when I am engaged with the topic, focused, and motivated to pass.

Action Plan

10 ways I could improve my performance in Rhetoric and Composition:

1. Be more attentive in class
2. Engage in the discussions
3. Start homework earlier
4. Go to my teacher’s office hours for help on assignments
5. Go more into depth on class topics on my own
6. Ask classmates for help
7. Go to the writing center in the library for help on my papers
8. Find a tutor when I am absolutely confused with a topic
9. Write something every day even when I don’t need to
10. Never give up, no matter how much work it takes

While working on these hybrid collages, I think I decided to get more creative and weird at the same time. I tried experimenting more while working on these collages and I think the experimentation worked out well. On the first and second picture displayed below, I experimented by printing directly onto a page from a magazine. I thought this would be a cool affect to add to my pieces. On my last picture, I printed directly onto different cut pieces of pages from a book. Doing this gave me a simple affect and I thought it turned out pretty well. Overall, I think my work has been improving after each critique session.

 

 

Part 1

Michelle the art major– I found Michelle’s talk on Friday to be very informative and interesting. Her pieces of art were not my style but I do admire how much work she puts into all of her pieces. I also found it informing when she talked about how we could get teaching jobs at the place she works at. Overall, she did a great job presenting her work.

Hana the graphic design major– While listening to Hana speak, it made me realize that I do not want to be a graphic design major. I really admired her work and all the work graphic designers do, but I do not think this field is for me. I found her leaf font work to be very cool and inspiring but that is definitely something I wouldn’t enjoy.

Alexis the interactive game studies major– Alexis’ talk was very blunt and to the point. She didn’t really sugarcoat things when it came to her major. She told us that it’s not an easy major and that it will take a lot of work and with all that work, it is still hard to find a job because you are competing against people from all over the world. It was great to include that because that can ultimately change a student’s mind when choosing a major. As for her work, I thought it was cool that she can design her own games. That kind of work seems way too complicated for me.

Clara the Photography major– Clara’s talk had the biggest impact on me while listening to her. Her work made me realize that I would like to be a photography major. I have always had an interest in photography but after seeing her beautiful pictures, it made me sure that I wanted to major in that field. Everything she talked about urged me even more to be a photography major. Overall, her work was phenomenal and her talk was great.

 

Part 2

Leanne Surfleet- http://www.leannesurfleet.co.uk/

After browsing the web, I stumbled upon a film photographer named Leanne Surfleet. I chose her website because I love the style she uses with the film. The vintage look of her pictures is very compelling to me.

Andrew S Gray- http://andrewsgray.photography/galleries/latest/

I chose Andrew S Gray’s website because I find the abstract in his work very compelling. His use of color is phenomenal and very pleasing to me.

Alexey Titarenko- http://www.alexeytitarenko.com/

This photographers portfolio is an amazing display of black and white photography and the main reason why I chose this website. I believe that black and white pictures are fascinating and are a great form of photography.

Banksy- http://banksy.co.uk/out.asp

Unlike the other websites I chose, this website is a street artist’s portfolio instead of a photographer. I chose the website because I find his message behind his work very meaningful and powerful. His paintings are also very beautiful and captivating.

These are my 2nd collages for the harmony project. Going into this assignment I was very scared because I had absolutely no experience with Photoshop whatsoever. The in-class workshop helped me out but I was still having trouble trying to figure out some things within the program. Overall, I’m pretty happy with how they turned out and I’m excited to learn more about Photoshop.

Part 1

1. The Goal of this assignment was to create a collage that was harmonic.
2. I went about reaching this goal by using similar pictures to add to the collage to make them all come together.

Part 2

1. I believe that the strongest aspect of this work is the simpleness involved in it.
2. I think the weakest aspect is that this project was completely done in Photoshop and I am not the best at photoshop. I believe I could have made them better if I was physically cutting and pasting the pictures.
3. I think these projects could be strengthened conceptually by using different pictures to make the project as a whole stand out.
4. The project can be strengthened technically if I knew what I was doing in Photoshop.
5. Overall these projects were very challenging to me but were also some of my favorite homework assignments I have ever had.

Line

Shape

Texture

Contrast

Color

Plane

Volume

Mass

Space

Light

Time/MotionUnity

VarietySymmetry Scale/Proportion

Emphasis

When first learning about this project, I had no clue how challenging this project was actually going to be. I believe this project requires a completely different way of thinking than the last project and that is what makes it so challenging. Even looking like a crazy person peeling stickers off of light poles was difficult. Although tedious, I think this project is very beneficial to me because it will help me think outside of the box and ultimately make me a more creative person. Also, I learned that cutting images with an exacto knife can be quite the challenge and will leave your fingers sore for a little bit.

An artist that inspires me and that I also really like is the graffiti artist Banksy. If you don’t know, Banksy is a street artist from the United Kingdom who specializes in graffiti stencil art. He is primarily known for his controversial and political work that he displays at random places in any given city. Starting his career as a graffiti artist in the 90’s, Banksy has since become one of the most well-known street artists in the world. So why is he so successful? I believe he is successful because of the powerful message behind most of his work. Typically when we see street art, we just see words in a fancy font. But, Banksy puts a thoughtful message in almost every single piece of art he makes. For example, there is a wall in Israel called the West Bank wall. This wall was made to help prevent terrorism in Israel. Banksy painted a picture on this wall of two children imagining to be on a beautiful beach. This is a very intriguing image because it makes the viewer think about the evils of terrorism and that children should not be brought up in that kind of lifestyle. Also, the simpleness of his art is another factor of why I like him so much. Overall, Banksy has played a major role in inspiring me creatively.