What Makes SCSU Great Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQwcgmU4z2w&feature=player_embedded

Campus Safari #5 SCSU vs. UNH

 VS.

  This Saturday I attended the football game between the Southern Owls and the UNH Chargers. Unfortunately we were completely man handled and lost 9 to 38. Although we did not win I did enjoy my time there. There was a lot of school pride from both schools, but nothing to the extreme. They were both good sports, not only the players but the viewers as well. I had a very good time because there was so much enthusiasm in the crowd and the atmosphere was so positive that it would have taken a lot of work to not get pumped up or riled up.  I have to say though it was a little embarrassing that we lost by such a large margin especially because I went with my friend who is a student at UNH, but since this week has been so focused on school spirit, I stood by and showed pride in Southern even though we suffered a humiliating defeat.

What I Think About Tharp

After reading the first three chapters of “The Creative Habit” my initial thoughts were that it really was an interesting, fun, and easy read. The actual set up of the book with different fonts and sizes makes it hard to get bored or drift off and the actual content is interesting to read as well. I found this book to be interesting because a lot of what she mentions is very conflicting with what I have grown to believe. Her idea that creativity is a habit and is trained through a routine was a very different idea to me. Like Tharp mentions most of us do believe that creativity means on the spot and spontaneous, and that it just comes naturally. I am not a dancer but I do draw and paint, and now that I have been introduced to this idea, I really started thinking of what I do and how I create my artwork. For me, I realized that everything is very much planned. I sit there and I think of what color I want to put where and from there I have to think of all the other colors that I am going to use and where I want to put them so that they go together, your basically trying to think three steps ahead. I never realized I did that, I always just imagined that I had that picture in my subconscious and it all just flowed unto the canvas in a strike of creativity. I also realized that I do have a routine when I am trying to create art. First off I always do everything on the floor, so I set all my materials in front of me and I blast my music. From there it’s easy to see all my materials and visualized what would go together and what I can create. Another idea that I think Tharp was right about it, is that we fear creativity. I feel that fear all the time when I first start off. The first line is always the hardest because you’re so afraid of ruining the canvas or of not creating something good enough that you do become paralyzed by that fear and a couple of time I did end up just putting everything away because I just didn't “feel’ creative at that moment. I am interested in learning more about Tharp’s ideas and suggestions of how to be creative in the readings up ahead, I can tell that this book is not only fun to read but it really does make you think out of the box and or out of the normal for you, and I am excited to read more. 

Reflection: Video #2

This video project, I thought was a lot easier and more enjoyable than the previous. Having already experimented with the iMovie process of actually putting the video together and having an idea of how to navigate through the maze that is iMovie, the process of putting it together was easy and for me it went quite smoothly. I liked this video project better mainly because I did not have to get interviews. Last time this was one of my biggest problems because the audio from the recordings I took would not play and it was complicated to make the video run smoothly, so that it would look like it flowed. For this assignment we were able to be more creative. We picked our own topics and really didn't have many criteria that we had to meet. This video I think I did a lot better than my other one, mainly because I already had practice with the iMovie program, and secondly because I planned better. I left myself enough time so that if a problem would arise I had enough time to fix it, I spaced the work out, and I didn't procrastinate. As far as how good I feel about the final product, I would say that I am pleased, I mean there is always room for improvement and more that one could have done, but I’m pretty content with it. I think that one of my video’s strength is in the pictures and the set up of it. I feel like I did a good job distinguishing the intro, the middle (informational part), and the conclusion. I feel like my video lacked in the audio department. I did my video in the Mac Lab at school and I wasn't quite sure of how to get my music to the computer to be able to use it. So that is something I should look into for the next project.  Even though this time around I had a much more pleasant encounter with the video assignment, I still wish we didn't have to them. 

Midterm Grades

So after what seemed like weeks of being stressed out over midterms, I finally know where I stand academically. I am actually pretty content with my grades except for my grade in my online communication class. I feel like the first semester probably and hopefully is the hardest, just because you’re trying to get accustomed to the “way” of college and basically you’re developing your habits a little more.  I also like to think of the first semester as a test trial, you see what does and doesn't work for you and you improve the second semester. My grades do and don’t represent the effort I put into a class, for example in my math class I don’t put any effort into it because it is very basic but I still received an A. But in my Online Communication class because I don’t like it I don’t put in as much effort as I should and I received  a C so that did reflect the amount of effort I put in. As far as how content I would be if my midterm grades were my final grades, I am torn. On one hand I receive three As and I’m completely satisfied but on the other hand I received a B and a C and though some might say that that’s good I don’t want them I want the A.  To get that A I know that I have to step up and do more, I now also have confidence in myself to get the top grade, to know that it is achievable as long as I do what I am suppose to do. 

Finding Art

So for this week’s post we had to go around the school campus in search of art. A while back I walked around the John Lyman Center for the Performing Arts, and found some pretty amazing stuff. The paintings that called out to me were mainly the abstract ones, with bold colors. The one painting that I want to talk about is this one:

So what I like about this painting is the mainly the placement of the colors and the strategic placement of the black to sort of even out or balance out the painting. I also like the paint splatter component to it of the white mixed in with the blue to make it pop out. It reminds me of graffiti art done on buildings and I really loved that about this piece of art. So to me the background of the painting seems to be buildings and it is overlapped by many different colors, what I interpret from this is that the background is representative of a community and the colors represent the many attitudes or personalities of a community. The white splatter to me means uniqueness within the community, standing out within a group of people that are all unique and equally distinguished. This painting reminds me of Southern and the message that it tries to send out to all of its students; that we are all part of an amazing community where each and every one of us has something unique to contribute to the community.  Overall I think the painting was pleasing to look at and because of the bold colors it stands out and I love the fact that it is abstract because you’re able to make your own conclusion of what the painting means. The artist definitely had a motive and message that they wanted to share with us but ultimately in an abstract painting it’s the viewer who gets to discern the meaning that’s “right” with them.      

Campus Safari

For this week’s Campus Safari I wanted to talk about the major exhibit/exposition we had last week. I personally did not find it helpful for two main reasons; one is that there wasn't really anyone to help those who were undecided and two all the majors wanted me to ask them specific questions but I didn't have any really prepared. I felt like they found it annoying to answer basic questions about the major but for someone like me, the basic questions are what is really important to get a feel for that specific major. I also found that with some majors I would stand there and pick up brochures that were on the table, but the people didn't seem to interested in the fact that I was there and carried on with their conversations. For me this major exhibit was a fail because I feel like I didn't get the help I wanted.