Sunday, April 14, 2019

Final Components

Here are the final products for my portfolio: 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1M72EHzKZIeqYTHNnsG7CsX76Hche1bE1/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/14ipzMNAi6dVkOhGH95q3fiJ_agQty6lW/view?usp=sharing

CCR

Here is my final CCR :) 

Tomorrowland

     Before I make the last couple of posts featuring the finished components in my portfolio, I want to review some of the technology I utilized after creating my CCR which was missed from the video as well as any changes I made to the social media/website that I was unable to talk about.
     First, I would like to thank Screencast-O-Matic for being the software I used to screen record the website and social media sites on my computer so that I could feature them in the CCR. I wanted to display how I created a sense of branding and how I crafted a product that would engage with the audience adequately. A change I want to note is the new profile pictures I added to the series’ Facebook and Twitter. I believe the choice is clever because it propels the tree forward as the icon representing the whole docuseries rather than having an image from the website be the profile pictures.

     Second, I never mentioned that I would use my phone as the recording device for the bits of audio I created for the narration in the piece. I have an iPhone 8 and used Apple’s audio recording app to capture all my words. 
     As for technology I used and mentioned in the CCR, the list includes: 
-Filmora Wondershare
-WeVideo
-Wix website maker
-Canon EOS Rebel T6
-Canva
     



My Formal Thank You

     I have been able to conduct a majority of this project on my own; from the website, to the filming, to the social media. But there is one important component that I collaborated on that I wouldn't have been able to create otherwise. Taylor Gensolin is an incredible artist who I am very grateful for. I want to dedicate this post to some of her other work that I admire. 

 
     As you can see from these masterpieces, Taylor doesn't have a single style of drawing or painting. She is a talented individual with the ability to create drastically different art, which is why I asked her to adapt my poster concept. I trusted that she'd do an amazing job with the image, which she did. Taylor is also an amazing singer, performer, poet, and writer. I'm glad she took time to help me out, I know my poster wouldn't have come out as good as it did without her. 

Biographies Are Cool

     Hey everyone! Today is the day... GAME OF THRONES COMES BACK! Real talk though, I'm finishing up final touches with the subtitles of the full episode as well as the excerpt and I'll be finished very soon. I want to update the biographies that I made for the other subjects in this post since I finished that up earlier today as well. I want to note that a subject that I had specified earlier, who was one of Anish's parents, was substituted for my friend Debra's father, Nicko. Here are the biographies I've written: 

Nicko:

Nicko Moraitis is a 65-year-old father of two who moved to the US with his parents at the age of 2 from Icaria, Greece. His parents fled to Detroit, Michigan because they sought a better life, recognizing that their home island was still occupied by Nazis by the end of WW2 and their child would be in danger if they stayed. In the US, Nicko graduated high school and has worked as both a salesman and a chef. He has three kids, one daughter and two sons, and remains very close to both of his parents. Nicko is thankful for the vibrance of Greek culture where he lives and the luck he’s had not having to face any blatant discrimination due to his ethnicity and nationality. He is also grateful for having been able to pursue the “American Dream” and giving his kids the opportunity to do so as well. His favorite part about living in the US is having a nice home in a safe neighborhood and that his children receive a stellar education.

Martha: 

Martha Londono is a 51-year-old single mother who was born in Buenaventura, Colombia. She moved to Cali, Colombia when she started her secondary schooling, attending a university until she had her first child, Carlos, at the age of 20. She was a successful businesswoman in Colombia until the death of Carlos’ father, which prompted Martha to rethink the direction of her and her son’s life. Eventually, Martha met her second child’s son, Pedro, and moved to the US to give birth to Lau in 2001. In the United States, Martha encountered discrimination based on the language barrier she faces still to this day. As she prepares for another transition in her life with her son graduating soon, Martha’s daily life currently features working the night shift at Walmart, taking care of their dog Candy, and making sure Lau makes it to the finish line. Currently a single mother due to divorce, Martha prides herself on being independent and strong, looking towards the future with a positive outlook.

Yaw: 
Yaw Kyeremateng is a 27-year-old director of forensics at Concordia University in California. He moved to the United States from Ghana at the age of 17 looking for a better education than he would’ve received in his home country. Yaw studied at the University of Northern Iowa and competed in college forensics. After experiencing the collegiate circuit, Yaw went on to coach college speech and working with high school speech students during the summer at different summer camps such as the Champion Briefs Institute and the Modern Brain Institute. He enjoys activities such as modeling, acting, writing, and most of all, spoken word poetry. Yaw appreciates the US for giving him the ability to express himself freely and openly. 

     The next couple of posts will be wrapping up the rest of my project. Stay tuned! 


Saturday, April 13, 2019

A Tale of Two Artists

     I have been translating for the majority of the time that I've been dedicating to this project, but I've also had time to be in touch with the artist of the piece I wanted to use as the poster. Miss Taylor Gensolin is a marvelous artist and peer of mine with a wide range of abilities in the arts. She chose to adapt my concept in water color. Her final product she gave to me Friday looked like this when I went to FedEx to have it scanned: 
     After having this scanned and placed onto a USB for approximately 93 cents, I went home and used Canva to place the artwork onto a poster with the streaming service logos and the tag, which is officially: "A Series About Real Americans." After I placed all the pictures onto a page on Canva, I was able to craft this: 
     After finishing the poster, I decided to add it to the website. The page featuring the piece is the "Where To Watch" tab of the website and looks like this: 
     Last but not least, I chose to update the profile pictures for the docuseries' Twitter and Facebook accounts, as well as make a post and tweet featuring the poster and the official hashtag: #NewSeeds. There is also a consistent sense of branding created by having the profile pictures be the artwork for the main poster. The tree coming out of the book as well as the title easily become an icon. Here is how they ended up looking: 
     I, the digital artist, with the help of the artist with a brush, was able to create a poster that I am beyond proud of. It captures the beauty of immigrants in America, instilling a sense of positivity and hope in anyone that lays eyes on it. With this portion of the project being completed, that leaves me with the last two biographies to write and the excerpt to finish. Despite having a doctor's appointment in the morning (it's 1 AM on the 13th so Im speaking before going to sleep) and my spoken word team's final at a competition in the evening, I feel on track to be peacefully enjoying myself while watching Game of Thrones Sunday night. Wish me luck friends! I'll need it "tomorrow." Keep you guys updated. 




Thursday, April 11, 2019

A Voice To Be Reckoned With

     So after 4 years of speech and debate, 3 years of competitive spoken word poetry, and 2 years of drama at school, it seems my voice is finally coming in handy for one of my projects! Yesterday (but really today because I'm posting this at 12:06 AM) I recorded the narration for the full episode. This was the last thing I had to do before completing my visual piece since I only have to insert the audio and B-Roll footage that goes along with it. Here is the script I used: 


L: Martha, despite having the majority of her family in Colombia, was happy finally moving to the United States, specifically Weston, Florida in the year 2000 with Carlos and her partner at the time, Pedro.
L: Aside from purchasing a house and a car, Martha and her family sought to establish themselves legally as well. After giving birth to her second child, Lau, Martha took several steps to become an American.
L: Before taking any English courses, Martha had to face a 90-day deportation notice due to a mistake with Pedro’s divorce with his ex-wife that prevented a successful submission of residency for Martha. Thankfully, those 90 days didn’t result in disaster. But the fear she felt would stay with her for a lifetime.
L: Martha’s technique avoided a potentially perilous confrontation, eventually leading to a safe acquisition of her residency and citizenship in the decade that followed. Meanwhile, Martha remained unemployed until 2008, relying on capital she received from a company she co-founded in Colombia. In this time, Martha was able to focus on her children’s educations.
L: Martha hasn’t always been able to get by with her weak grasp of English however. In 2008 when she was hired to work at Walmart, intolerant individuals made the experience a nightmare for Martha to endure.
L: Despite facing challenges at work, Martha express content with her job.
L: Martha has applied for higher positions at work as well, seeking better opportunities for herself as a potential supervisor or department manager.
L: Although having recently transferred stores, Martha’s job at Walmart has been the most steady aspect of her life in the last 10 years. Pedro and Martha separated in 2004 and finally filed for divorce in 2012, allowing her to receive her citizenship as his spouse but leaving her without a second income to support the home. Having lost the capital from Colombia in 2008, Martha now faced the possibility of having her home taken away, prompting her to send Lau to live with his dad in 2014 until things were resolved.
L: Some immigrants have the privilege of safely visiting their home country and Martha was lucky enough to be one of them. Martha received her citizenship in December of 2014, giving her the opportunity to return to Colombia after nearly 15 years of being away, even though it was to have surgery.
L: Coming back to the US, however, meant having to come back to a situation where she had lost her home and now had to live in a rented room in a family friend’s home. Fortunately, Lau was able to live with Martha and the dog they had adopted in 2012 once again because of there being another room available. Coming back to the US also meant being able to exercise her new citizenship in 2016 when she was able to vote for the first time.
L: Since coming back from Colombia, Martha’s routine has remained relatively the same. Because of her night shift, she sleeps from around 9 am after walking their dog, Candy, until 12 when she wakes up to pick Lau up from school. After having lunch with him and granting him access to their car, she finds herself falling back asleep with Candy nearby until about 6 when she wakes up to walk Candy again and get ready for work. As the sun is going down, Martha is taking a shower, making her lunch, and putting on her uniform. She then clocks in to work at 10, eventually leaving at 7 the next day to go take Lau to school. The cycle will continue until Lau leaves to study at the University of Southern California, where he will find himself across the country from Martha.
L: Martha’s fear for her son doesn’t simply stem from him moving out and being far away. In 2017, Lau came out as a transgender man, forever changing the lives of him and his mother.
L: Martha has expressed confidence in Lau’s ability to take care of himself regardless of his identity, having no worries and a clear mind for what she would like to do with her time once he leaves.

     Each "L" represents a different bridge between interviews and subjects talked about. I'll be working on inserting all of the narration during class tomorrow instead of working on the poster since there was a slight malfunction with my artist. She was supposed to have it done by today but was unable to give it to me because she had a medical emergency and had to leave school before I could catch her. I will keep everyone updated on the situation (she's okay thankfully) and keep posting about my progress! 
    

Final Components

Here are the final products for my portfolio:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1M72EHzKZIeqYTHNnsG7CsX76Hche1bE1/view?usp=sharing http...