the party's over...

It’s hard to believe that our time at the Virginia Ball Center has come to an end. I remember being so very nervous at the beginning of the semester. I was questioning if it was really a good idea, if I would get anything out if it, wondering if I should have taken regular classes, etc. However, this seminar turned out to be one of the best experiences of my college career.

Even though it’s been said a hundred times, the VBC felt like a workplace to us. It felt as if we were going to a job every day rather than going to class. Rather than attempting to please only our professor, we were attempting to please both the staff of the Ball State University Museum of Art and high school students and teachers. Which, in case you’re wondering, is much harder than it sounds. We were working for clients, on a project that will actually be used in the world. It won’t just be something we show to our professors and them only. It is a tangible, usable, product.

Going into this project, I knew very little about art. I knew some things; I had obviously taken art before in school. My sister is an art teacher, and I’ve learned a lot from her over the years. Art was often discussed in humanities classes here at Ball State. I think my real problem was I never really understood it. When we would go to an art museum or exhibition, I would look at the art for a minute, then just try to mimic everyone else’s facial expression. I never knew what it was I was supposed to be looking for. This class though, made me realize it’s okay to just look at what’s there. I didn’t immediately have to start deducing the meaning of a work of art; I could just stand there and absorb the fact that a painting is of a sponge. By simply looking at something, my ability to decipher it’s meaning grew. While I’m sure I’ll never have quite the appreciation as some other people, I know as a result of this class I have more appreciation for art than many other people.

One thing that was important to me in this project was improving my technical skills. I wanted to be able to get in Dreamweaver so I can say I’ve done work in there. I wanted to sit down in Final Cut Pro and start applying editing techniques I hadn’t had the chance to. I wanted to listen to what professional’s had to say about the work I wanted to run off with the Sony Z1U and learn more about it. I can happily say I did all of those things. As I packed up the Z1U to turn back in yesterday, a small part of me died. I am so sad I don’t have 24/7 access to one anymore. A fun part of this project that I normally don’t get in the tcom department was free reign. I was free to take the cameras, take final cut, and really make what I wanted. I had some stipulations, but for the most part, it was the project of students.

While obviously everything I learned in the seminar is invaluable to me, I cannot say enough how incredible this group of people is. First off, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a group work together so well. We had plenty of issues, but for the most part, we were a well-oiled machine that could get work done, and that could do It will. Secondly though, pretty much everyone in this group was just fun. We all enjoy each other’s company so much. The other night we were out and I told Laura that I am deathly afraid of drifting apart from everyone and not staying friends. However, I will stop here because I could ramble about the people forever. For that you can refer to my post titled “why we’re awesome.”

After all this, I can safely say that my semester at the VBC has, so far, been the best semester of my college career.

Finishing Up

Week 15:

This past week was definitely a week for finishing things up. My main focus was on the documentary. While I had the majority of it edited and put together, I had about 3 minutes that still needed edited, not to mention all the color and audio editing I had to do.

Putting the last 3 minutes on wasn't very difficult. I knew essentially what I wanted, so it wasn't terribly difficult to put it together.

What WAS difficult was the color correcting and audio editing. I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist when I begin editing videos. Even if a clip is only on the screen for 2 seconds, I want it to look just as good as the rest. So, I obsessed over the color and audio for 3 or 4 days until I was happy with it. I will never be done with the documentary though, I'll be editing it for the rest of my life. It's something long and varied enough that I will always make changes. It will never be completely done in my eyes, this is just the first finished version.