Blog #5

This semester media 160 has most importantly exposed me to the production process involved in several different types of media. First, we discussed all of the collaborative work involved in making a movie, a documentary, or even a short film. There are so many roles and efforts going on behind the scene that allow the film to actually come together. There is a hierarchy of jobs, from the producer to the boom operator, or the director to the makeup artist, everyone must work together like a team on a tight schedule.

When making our own short film, I quickly became aware of the in depth planning and organization that is required in order to be successful. I finally recognized the importance of storyboards and keeping layers organized and labeled correctly. I was introduced to the editing process, mainly in final cut pro. This program allows editors to manipulate and alter any scene to make the audience interpret it exactly how they want it to be interpreted. It is amazing how much you can do to a scene with music, transitions, sound tracks, sound effects, coloring, etc.

The last type of media we produced was a graphic animation using the program Flash. I now have a good understanding of the tools and potential that flash animation offers. The importance of organization holds just as true for flash animation as it does for final cut pro. Keeping your layers organized and labeled helps dramatically when you start to get in depth with your animations. I never fully comprehended how often flash animation is utilized on the web. We are bombarded with flash animations every day on almost any website you go to. I now understand the process involved in getting these animations up and working.

Overall, this semester has broadened my knowledge of the "behind the scenes" of many different media types. I now have a better understanding of how the final product is produced, edited, manipulated, and ultimately created for us, the audience, to finally see.