Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Media Magic Day 10

Today at Children's Media Project we went over to the Mid-Hudson Heritage Center. We interviewed those who worked there. We interviewed them about the artwork that was set up there. The Center had some interesting pieces of artwork on display. They could've filled it with more artwork, but one of the main pieces of artwork that caught my attention was the photographs of people floating or levitating. One of the people in one of the photos looked like he had super powers and he was flying through the city.

At the end of the day we started on another project. The project that we're working on is a silent movie project and there will be two short movies that will be made.

Who would win in a fight between a caveman and an astronaut? I believe that a caveman would win in the fight because cavemen have intense physical strength, and at most the astronaut can be a regular person.

-DonDrè

Reflections on our Interviews at the Animal Hospital

Media Magic!


When Media Magic visited the Mid-Hudson Animal Hospital, everyone worked as a team and were assigned different roles in the film making process.  Here are some of our reflections on our teamwork and experience.

---

Name: Courtney
Role: B Camera

One thing I liked about my role was...
I got to take shots of the background.
One thing I didn't enjoy about my role was...
 people were in the way.
Something I learned about animals during the trip...
 parrots have tongues.
Something I learned about film making...
it takes multiple cameras to get different shots.
I would recommend this trip to a friend...
 because animals are great.

We arrive at the front desk, ready to meet the hospital staff.

Name: DonDré
Role: Unit Director
One thing I liked about my role was...
that I was making sure everyone in my group was doing what they were supposed to.
One thing I didn't enjoy about my role was...
that I didn't get to talk much.
Something I learned about animals during the trip...
was that animals can catch many diseases.
Something that I learned about film making...
is that you should get many different angles.
I would recommend this trip to a friend...
 because it was fun, educational, and awesome.

Welcome to the Mid-Hudson Animal Hospital!
Name: Sarah
Role: Camera A
One thing I liked about my role was...
I got to be there during the interview with the doctor.  I got to see how he interacted with his own animal.
One thing I didn't enjoy about my role was...
the lack of creativity I could do with the camera when filming the interview.
Something I learned about animals during the trip...
parrots don't repeat everything that we say.
Something I learned about film making...
what the second cameraman does.
I would recommend this trip to a friend...
because it was a fun experience where I learned lots of information about both animals and the job of someone working in an animal hospital.


We asked the hospital staff questions that we had prepared 
the day before.  Being prepared helped us conduct informative 
and engaging interviews.

Name: Shaquille
Role: Camera A
One thing I liked about my role was...
 I was head on.
Something I learned about animals during the trip...
 is they feel pain like any human.
Something I learned about film making...
is you have to be alive - you can't look dull.
I would recommend this trip to a friend...
 because one of my friends was sick when we were on the trip to the animal hospital.


All the animals at the hospital were friendly and well cared for.

Name: Felipe
Role: Host/Interviewer
One thing I liked about my role was...
I liked asking the questions to the vet.
Something I learned about animals during the trip...
is that bulldogs don't get heart disease as much as I thought.
Something I learned about film making...
 is that you can learn a lot of things about animals.
I would recommend this trip to a friend...
 because my brother would love to be there.


Name: Jévon
Even though I wasn't there, I learned that animals have hospitals too.  Something I learned about film making is that you need to be expressive.

Name: Charles
Role: B Camera
One thing I liked about my role was...
being able to look around and explore.
One thing I didn't enjoy about my role was...
trying not to shake the camera.
Something I learned about animals during the trip...
is that they have doctors just like us.
Something I learned about film making...
is that the establishing shot can greatly improve your film.
I would recommend this trip to a friend...
because I enjoyed the experience, so my friend might too.


The parrot at the hospital made friends with us very quickly!

Name: Billique
Role: Host/Interviewer
One thing I liked about my role was...
that I got to introduce the people at the hospital.
One thing I didn't enjoy about my role was...
that I lost my nerve during the video.
Something I learned about animals during the trip...
was that animals can get sick like people.
Something I learned about film making...
is that you have to know background information on the place or person you are interviewing.
I would recommend this trip to a friend...
because it would be pretty fun to learn about animals.


Here we are filming an interview at the front of the hospital.






Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Media Magic visit to Occupy Poughkeepsie

In November 2011, Media Magic visited Occupy Poughkeepsie, an encampment representing the 99% who successfully occupied Hulme Park in Poughkeepsie for several months last fall.

The sight of people from all walks of life working together really inspired everyone. We were welcomed and encouraged by all the folks there, and their courage and perseverance remain an inspiration to us all!




Filmed by Nick, Nate, Dondre, Sebastian, Louise, and Domo, with help from Mary Ellen and Victoria.
Edited by Nick
Music envisioned by Nick and Brian.
Score by Brian.

With thanks and support to Occupy Poughkeepsie

www.occupypoughkeepsie.org

Media Magic Day 8

With Green Day in our hearts and a thirst for media we visited the Mid-Hudson Animal Hospital in Hyde Park. It was a very fresh and emotional experience, seeing  all the animals who were being taken care of with the love and help of the fine staff. From Ryan getting a close look at an exotic bird to chatting away with the head doctor, every student learned what it truly means to care for animals.

(Speaking of Ryan and the parrot . . . someone liked Ryan's hat a little too much! Check it out)


We interviewed the staff and got to see all around the facilities, I myself really enjoyed it.

In a fight between an astronaut and a caveman I honestly believe that a caveman would win hands down, because cavemen are ruthless men who hunt, gather, and fight to survive. An astronaut does ... what? Sits in a spaceship and goes to far planets...big whoop.

Blogged by Nicholas (bishop) Jackson

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Media Magic Day 7

As Media Magic went through day seven, we discussed animal rights and continued our interviewing skills. This was done by all the students going out on the field to interview and report on the story of inanimate objects. Afterwards, we improved our record time in filming our intro. Bryan made a song for the intro which we used while we were performing! Everyone was very hyped for all the activities that were thrown at them. I, personally, had a little problem trying to adjust to the new roles given to me for filming the intro. I am now the man being interviewed by Nick Jackson. The lines were very long and complex to learn and had me stumbling a few times, but I made it through.

Who would win between an astronaut and a caveman? Obviously the mermaids would take them both out with aqua-nukes!

Blogged by the GREAT Charles Smith!









Thursday, February 16, 2012

Media Magic Day 6

Today we the kids of the magic team worked on the interviews. We started out by breaking up into groups of two and used a flip cam to record the new interviews. But before we did that we talked about the way the media represents the "boy code." The "boy code" is how guys feel they have to act to be a boy.  I think the boy code starts off the first time you turn on your tv because the media, in a way, tells you how a boy should act in life. To overcome any problem, you have to follow the boy code.  That's what the media wants you to think.

Magic Question? Who will win in a fight, an astronaut or a caveman?
I think a caveman would win because they are trained to survive everyday and forced to learn the hard way.

`blogpost by Shaquille






Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Media Magic Day 5

Today we covered test runs for the Media Magic intro.  We were then asked to represent Poughkeepsie in three shots for lost aliens.


Today I felt that we progressed in a direction that was overall helpful to our goals.

I would think that a caveman would win in a fight against an astronaut, most likely because an astronaut would be weighed down by his suit and a caveman would have greater free body motion.



Next session we will use our test shots to finally film the final version of the intro.


blogpost by Jack


(PS, a note from Mary Ellen: We also experimented with stop-motion animation. 
Here we are playing around with how it works and getting a feel for the camera. Enjoy!)



Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Media Magic Day 4

Today, the first thing we did at Childrens Media Project, we looked at two pictures which can be seen differently once we saw the entire picture. Then afterwards, we sat down and talked about our ideas about the filming we did last time. We came up with great ideas to add to the film. The reason for this is because we thought that the work we did last time did not reflect on who we are and what we do. After the changes, we rehearsed the new ideas and we really liked it.

I enjoyed adding to the ideas and participating in the filming process. Next time we will be putting all of our ideas into action.

I believe that an astronaut would win in a fight against a caveman because the astronaut could lure the caveman onto a spaceshutle by throwing a raw fish into it and just ship the caveman into the moon.

`By Felipe Benitez

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Media Magic Day 3

The events of the day were pretty beast we began making an intro to our webisodes and its too funny, especially if you love random things that link all together.We had a quick rehearsal before actually recording the footage and we nailed it the second  time around. In the end we discussed what we liked about our hard work today.

The way I felt about today was that it was extremely fun today to the point where we could have had bloopers. I think we should do this like every week and post it and show people we have fun and do things in that general area.

Next week we should be putting the final touches to our intro for media magic which is awesome. We are going to be brainstorming the ideas of how to make it even better for the viewers.
Also if a astronaut and a cave man fought ..... I believe that a caveman would win in this fight mainly because he has a club and what does the astronaut have a tire iron? Yep a caveman wins this fight hands down today people, I look forward to next week see ya.

-- By Billique

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Media Magic Day 2

Today was day two of Media Magic. We started off with an ice breaker. The idea was to have two circles of people, one circle inside and the other surrounding it. Each person in a circle was face to face with another person. Mary Ellen would ask a question, and you and the person sitting across from you would answer and try to have a conversation about it. It was a good and easy way to learn more about one another.

Here's some footage of the awesome conversations we had:


After getting warmed up to one another, we turned our chairs towards the screen to review our radio round table interviews that we had taped yesterday. The point was to see how we could improve if we were to ever do it again. We analyzed our video interviews more closely because instead of just sound, we also had video. That means we also had to consider the different settings and angles of the shot. To get an idea of what we wanted to do as a group for our own intro to a video series, we looked at some of our favorite television intros. To brainstorm, we sat down, received our journals and began free writing. After, we drew story boards. 

Here's footage of us freewriting and freedrawing:



To end our day we made "humanimation," which is basically just our term for pixellation. The day was productive, and I can't wait to begin filming the intro!
- By Sarah Glassberg

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Media Magic Day 1

The Media Magic Program is a great program for kids in this area to experience. Through the activities that the instructors created, the kids learn more about themselves and the people around them. By shooting podcasts and asking peer personal questions, I feel that the kids learn to express themselves more comfortably in front of the camera and strangers. Today, we started off by playing "getting to know each other" games. They were silly for sure, but they were fun! Next, we found out what the group is skillful at, uncomfortable with, good at, and what their secret talents are. Some were strange and funny, but I really felt that the environment is healthy and everyone here is quite accepting. Lastly, everyone split up into smaller groups. We asked each other questions such as: "Who are you?," "What are three things people couldn't know about you just by your appearance?," "What are some problems you want to know how to solve?," and at the end we made up our own questions. The way kids responded to these questions really surprised me; for each and every one of us, there's so much more to a person than just what's on the surface. For example, in school, kids feel that if they express themselves about what their goals and passions are, they will not "seem cool." This program is really good for them, because they can feel good about being passionate about something they love or want to do. After responding to the questions, we recorded the interviews. Each group got to choose their style and location for the videos. At the end of day one, everyone shared their feelings, thoughts, and experiences about the first day at Media Magic at "radio round table." More updates from MEDIA MAGIC coming soon!