Hello again, blog readers!
Thought I should inform you on a project that the CyberArts program is doing alongside Humber College called Shazam. Last year, we did scateboard designs that represented the Lakeshore community/Lakeshore Collegiate. This year we're doing t-shirt designs on articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I'm doing my design based on article number 17-No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of their property. This means that the UDHR protects anybody if the government or an agent of the government tries to take something of theirs (for example, if the government needs money and they decide to take someone's house).
For my design, (which I'll upload as soon as it's done), I decided to do a group of cartoon characters; one representing the government, one representing the UDHR, and the last one representing the citizen. The idea was that the UDHR protects the citizen from the government, so I made the UDHR look like a big burly bodyguard, the government guy look like a sneaky thief, and the citizen look like this cute lil' guy with a wagon full of boxes that say "My Stuff" on them.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Web Design-What's Good and What's Bad (Also Tech Post #9)
Hey blog readers!
When trying to design a good website, it's best to follow the 10 Principles of Web Design. Here's a good example of a website that follows some of these principles. The Apple website homepage shows a giant picture of the new iPad with the simple phrase- the iPad is here. This follows principle number 5: Make use of effective writing. This is good because users don't like to read long sentences when they first arrive at a website. Another principle this website follows is "Don't be afraid of the white space". The homepage and most of the website has a white background and the designers did not fill up the page to the brim with ads and such. On some pages, there are a lot of pictures and ads that fill up the page, but it's organized and all the ads advertise Apple products. A third principle that this website incorporates is "Conventions are our friends". The website has a variety of navigator tools and search buttons. The navigator tools are usually located at the top of the page so they're easy to find.
An example of a website that wasn't designed that well would be the Teletoon website homepage. When you first enter the Teletoon website, you must select whether you want Teletoon retro, the Teletoon for older kids and adults, or the kiddie Teletoon. Once you pick one, the webpage becomes crazily busy, with ads and TV shows scattered all over the page. Another problem is the colour of the background and the colours used for the TV shows and such are about the same, so it's hard to tell what is what. Therefore, this website does not follow principle number 6, "keep it simple". Nor does it follow principle number 7, "don't be afraid of the white space", because everything is colourful and there is hardly any white. There are lots of navigation tools, more than the Apple website has to offer (following principle number 9, conventions are our friends), but it's too confusing for the user and they'll just want to leave. A thing I noticed when I went to this webpage was that my computer went a bit slower; this was because there was too much going on and it couldn't handle it all at one time.
When trying to design a good website, it's best to follow the 10 Principles of Web Design. Here's a good example of a website that follows some of these principles. The Apple website homepage shows a giant picture of the new iPad with the simple phrase- the iPad is here. This follows principle number 5: Make use of effective writing. This is good because users don't like to read long sentences when they first arrive at a website. Another principle this website follows is "Don't be afraid of the white space". The homepage and most of the website has a white background and the designers did not fill up the page to the brim with ads and such. On some pages, there are a lot of pictures and ads that fill up the page, but it's organized and all the ads advertise Apple products. A third principle that this website incorporates is "Conventions are our friends". The website has a variety of navigator tools and search buttons. The navigator tools are usually located at the top of the page so they're easy to find.
An example of a website that wasn't designed that well would be the Teletoon website homepage. When you first enter the Teletoon website, you must select whether you want Teletoon retro, the Teletoon for older kids and adults, or the kiddie Teletoon. Once you pick one, the webpage becomes crazily busy, with ads and TV shows scattered all over the page. Another problem is the colour of the background and the colours used for the TV shows and such are about the same, so it's hard to tell what is what. Therefore, this website does not follow principle number 6, "keep it simple". Nor does it follow principle number 7, "don't be afraid of the white space", because everything is colourful and there is hardly any white. There are lots of navigation tools, more than the Apple website has to offer (following principle number 9, conventions are our friends), but it's too confusing for the user and they'll just want to leave. A thing I noticed when I went to this webpage was that my computer went a bit slower; this was because there was too much going on and it couldn't handle it all at one time.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
CyberArts Field Trip- The Sprockets Film Festival
Hello, blog readers!
Yesterday, all the CyberArts students and teachers (except for Mr. Koczij) went to the Sprockets Film Festival in downtown Toronto where we viewed a series of short films called Future Frames and a main French animated film called U. The Future Frames short films were all created using different medias; some were painted, animated, shot in live action, stop-motion animation, and drawn in pen. My favourite of the short films was called Bonefeather, a short about two birds trying to find mates and they end up trying to win over a lady bird.
The film Bonefeather is directed by Nathan Gillis and Callum Paterson and stars two male birds who are trying to attract mates. One female bird shows up and the two males go to extreme measures trying to get her to pick one of them. I found this movie VERY hilarious and pretty much everyone in the audience was laughing their head off. I think that movie took a very long time to complete because the background and the characters themselves were probably difficult to make and animate. Since the animation was stop motion, it would have been harder to get the birds positioned correctly and make sure the transitions were smooth. Another thing I liked was how bright and colourful the background was. Another of the films, Animal, had a gloomy background and the atmosphere was spooky.
The main feature animated film we watched was a French film called "U" (pronounced "eu"). The story involves a young dog(?) called Princess Mona who is upset because her servants (two ugly rats who complain a lot) treat her badly. One day, she cuts her finger and begins to cry, making a "EUUUUUUUuuu" sound. Suddenly, a female unicorn called U appears and they become best friends. Years later, when Mona is a teenager, a group of musicians come to live in the forest. Mona falls in love with a guitar-playing cat called Kulka, and U begins to worry that Mona won't need her anymore once she's grown up and fallen in love. I won't spoil the ending because that would be very irritating for those who may see it in the distant future.
The interesting thing about this French film is that it seems like a child-friendly movie on the outside, but after watching it the film hints at subjects that might seem a bit advanced for the younger generation (earmuffs, kiddies!). For example, there's a scene when Kulka is on a date with Mona and he's trying to teach her how to kiss the French way (he does a lot of tongue gestures) and kind of sits on top of her. Another thing is that one of the rats is trying to get one of the traveling musicians (she's a female rabbit who doesn't play an instrument) to fall in love with him and the way he goes about it is kind of mature. These are some things that give the movie a more mature nature and probably wouldn't be shown in a western movie.
In conclusion, I enjoyed myself at the Sprockets Film Festival and hope that it's the first of many!
Yesterday, all the CyberArts students and teachers (except for Mr. Koczij) went to the Sprockets Film Festival in downtown Toronto where we viewed a series of short films called Future Frames and a main French animated film called U. The Future Frames short films were all created using different medias; some were painted, animated, shot in live action, stop-motion animation, and drawn in pen. My favourite of the short films was called Bonefeather, a short about two birds trying to find mates and they end up trying to win over a lady bird.
The film Bonefeather is directed by Nathan Gillis and Callum Paterson and stars two male birds who are trying to attract mates. One female bird shows up and the two males go to extreme measures trying to get her to pick one of them. I found this movie VERY hilarious and pretty much everyone in the audience was laughing their head off. I think that movie took a very long time to complete because the background and the characters themselves were probably difficult to make and animate. Since the animation was stop motion, it would have been harder to get the birds positioned correctly and make sure the transitions were smooth. Another thing I liked was how bright and colourful the background was. Another of the films, Animal, had a gloomy background and the atmosphere was spooky.
The main feature animated film we watched was a French film called "U" (pronounced "eu"). The story involves a young dog(?) called Princess Mona who is upset because her servants (two ugly rats who complain a lot) treat her badly. One day, she cuts her finger and begins to cry, making a "EUUUUUUUuuu" sound. Suddenly, a female unicorn called U appears and they become best friends. Years later, when Mona is a teenager, a group of musicians come to live in the forest. Mona falls in love with a guitar-playing cat called Kulka, and U begins to worry that Mona won't need her anymore once she's grown up and fallen in love. I won't spoil the ending because that would be very irritating for those who may see it in the distant future.
The interesting thing about this French film is that it seems like a child-friendly movie on the outside, but after watching it the film hints at subjects that might seem a bit advanced for the younger generation (earmuffs, kiddies!). For example, there's a scene when Kulka is on a date with Mona and he's trying to teach her how to kiss the French way (he does a lot of tongue gestures) and kind of sits on top of her. Another thing is that one of the rats is trying to get one of the traveling musicians (she's a female rabbit who doesn't play an instrument) to fall in love with him and the way he goes about it is kind of mature. These are some things that give the movie a more mature nature and probably wouldn't be shown in a western movie.
In conclusion, I enjoyed myself at the Sprockets Film Festival and hope that it's the first of many!
Friday, April 16, 2010
Film Shoot
Hey blog readers!
On Friday night, I went to a film shoot for an upcoming series called My Babysitter's a Vampire. I had a really great time and learned a lot. The series is directed by Bruce Macdonald, who also directed a Canadian zombie movie called Pontypool. I learned that one scene has to be reshot about 5-10 times before the director likes what he sees. Also, sometimes 2 cameras will be set up so you get the same scene shot at different angles, depending on which looks better.
I brought a hand-held video camera to this shoot and was kind of following people around and shooting different things. I haven't managed to upload them yet and sorry, they don't have the dialogue from the scene. When shooting, only certain people like the director, producers, and other important people get to wear headphones that broadcast the character's dialogue. It was also interesting to see how long it took to set up a scene; sometimes it took almost an hour to get things set up and ready to be shot. When the scene is ready to be shot, everyone has to be absolutely quiet and still. Once the cut is over, everyone bustles around again.
Some curious neighbours came by and were snapping pictures (we were shooting in the country at a gigantic mansion) and a fair number of cars drove by (even though we were shooting at 3:00am. I got home right at 4:00am yet everyone else was still shooting until 5:30am. The actors were mostly teens so they missed school; they received 2 hours of tutoring on Thursday and Friday.
On Friday night, I went to a film shoot for an upcoming series called My Babysitter's a Vampire. I had a really great time and learned a lot. The series is directed by Bruce Macdonald, who also directed a Canadian zombie movie called Pontypool. I learned that one scene has to be reshot about 5-10 times before the director likes what he sees. Also, sometimes 2 cameras will be set up so you get the same scene shot at different angles, depending on which looks better.
I brought a hand-held video camera to this shoot and was kind of following people around and shooting different things. I haven't managed to upload them yet and sorry, they don't have the dialogue from the scene. When shooting, only certain people like the director, producers, and other important people get to wear headphones that broadcast the character's dialogue. It was also interesting to see how long it took to set up a scene; sometimes it took almost an hour to get things set up and ready to be shot. When the scene is ready to be shot, everyone has to be absolutely quiet and still. Once the cut is over, everyone bustles around again.
Some curious neighbours came by and were snapping pictures (we were shooting in the country at a gigantic mansion) and a fair number of cars drove by (even though we were shooting at 3:00am. I got home right at 4:00am yet everyone else was still shooting until 5:30am. The actors were mostly teens so they missed school; they received 2 hours of tutoring on Thursday and Friday.
How To Train Your Dragon
Hi blog readers!
Just yesterday I saw the movie How To Train Your Dragon. It's an animated movie done in 3D by Dreamworks Entertainment. The movie is about a boy called Hiccup who's the son of the Viking chief Stoick. Stoick, who wishes Hiccup was more of a dragon-hating Viking than the clumsy, sarcastic person that he is instead, puts Hiccup into dragon training class. Meanwhile, Hiccup captures and befriends a wild dragon, who he names Toothless. I really liked the way the background was done. There was lots of detail and it was colourful.
Another thing I really enjoyed about this movie was the design of the dragons. They were simple and the way they were animated was really well done. Below is a picture of the main character's dragon, Toothless. I liked how expressive the animators made him because he couldn't talk so they made him express what he was thinking through the sounds and expressions he made. I recommend this movie for everyone who loves dragons and Vikings.
Just yesterday I saw the movie How To Train Your Dragon. It's an animated movie done in 3D by Dreamworks Entertainment. The movie is about a boy called Hiccup who's the son of the Viking chief Stoick. Stoick, who wishes Hiccup was more of a dragon-hating Viking than the clumsy, sarcastic person that he is instead, puts Hiccup into dragon training class. Meanwhile, Hiccup captures and befriends a wild dragon, who he names Toothless. I really liked the way the background was done. There was lots of detail and it was colourful.
Another thing I really enjoyed about this movie was the design of the dragons. They were simple and the way they were animated was really well done. Below is a picture of the main character's dragon, Toothless. I liked how expressive the animators made him because he couldn't talk so they made him express what he was thinking through the sounds and expressions he made. I recommend this movie for everyone who loves dragons and Vikings.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Walls and Barriers-What is Segregation?
Segregation is the act of separating either a person or a group of people from the rest of society for reasons like race, religion, and culture. It involves unequal treatment to the people being separated; for example, Black people were thought of as inferior to White people and were treated as lower beings. This treatment caused uprising among Black people.
Rosa Parks, a Black woman born in Tuskegee, Alabama, rebelled against this unfair treatment by refusing to move from her seat so a White person could sit there. She did not give in when 3 other people moved and did not mind when the bus driver had her arrested. Here is a quote from Rosa Parks from her autobiography "My Story". "People always say that I didn't give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn't true. I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was forty-two. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in." Later on, Rosa Parks became active human rights movements with Martin Luther King Jr.
Another form of segregation was the harsh treatment of Jews. In Europe, Jews were forced to live in ghettos and were top of the list when Hitler was rising in power during WW11 to be sent to concentration camps. Hitler had an extreme dislike towards Jews and tried to eliminate all of them. 11 million people were killed during WW11 and 6 million of them were Jews. Luckily, nowadays Jews are much better off than they were 60 years ago.
Segregation still exists in society today, but a lot of obstacles have been overcome and are being overcome. In 1968, racial segregation was outlawed and many people realized that treating others as lower life forms was unjust. The forms of segregation that you might come across would be a boss not hiring someone because of racial or cultural reasons or a person not being able to buy a house because of racial or cultural reasons.
This post is part of the El Anatsui: Walls and Barriers project :P
Mr Toast
Helloo again blog readers!
Have you heard of the cuddly yet scary Mr. Toast? No? Well, he is a piece of toast called Mr. Toast (obviously). Here is a picture of him below (careful-his gaze has been known to hypnotize people).
The World of Mr. Toast was invented by Dan Goodsell. Other than Mr. Toast, there are Joe the Egg, Lemonhead, Professor Encyclopedia, and many more. The thing I love about these characters is that Dan Goodsell gave ordinary, mundane things importance. A piece of toast is pretty boring on its own, but once you give it a name and a face or put it on a t-shirt, suddenly it's a lot more interesting!
If you're interested in checking out the world of Mr. Toast, go to theimaginaryworld.com or this link. click for Toast There are comics that you can read, animations to watch, and you can order Mr. Toast merchandise!
Have you heard of the cuddly yet scary Mr. Toast? No? Well, he is a piece of toast called Mr. Toast (obviously). Here is a picture of him below (careful-his gaze has been known to hypnotize people).
The World of Mr. Toast was invented by Dan Goodsell. Other than Mr. Toast, there are Joe the Egg, Lemonhead, Professor Encyclopedia, and many more. The thing I love about these characters is that Dan Goodsell gave ordinary, mundane things importance. A piece of toast is pretty boring on its own, but once you give it a name and a face or put it on a t-shirt, suddenly it's a lot more interesting!
If you're interested in checking out the world of Mr. Toast, go to theimaginaryworld.com or this link. click for Toast There are comics that you can read, animations to watch, and you can order Mr. Toast merchandise!
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