Dear incoming CSCI 1300 students,
I have one little bit of information for you to rule your life by for this class:
Go
to
class.
It makes everything easier, and it's always harder to try and teach yourself something out of the book in your own room. Prof. Belisle is a super nice lady and is always willing to help you. If you push yourself you can even finish your homework in class, so just go there!
Have the class early in the morning? Deal with it. I had to. It's a class worth your time.
Heed my warning...
-Alex
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Worthy Websites
We had some awesome websites presented the other day. Best layout and design was by far Moira's, with a very simplistic and chic approach. It was easy to navigate with the pictures and navbars. Most unique and nifty was Travis's, with all of his witty pop-ups and navigations that provided much humor. And finally I also enjoyed Allison's photo gallery, she had some really great shots from all over the world.
Bravo 830 class, keep up the good work for 2 more weeks...
Bravo 830 class, keep up the good work for 2 more weeks...
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
New Website!
Check out my website at http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~aholmes2
This wasn't my very first site that I have made, so the process was fairly simpler. Not to mention that the last time I coded anything I wasn't using a GUI program and was typing straight HTML, and I was in 7th grade...
For this specific site I used Microsoft Web Expression. My favorite part of the page is my hobbies section. It has a nifty little image map that takes you all over the place and has TONS (over 50) hyperlinks to various things.
If I go back to change anything it will be simply for aesthetics and rearranging things, I like the template of sorts that I've created by scanning in doodles that I drew for the nav bar and what not. Sometimes it was tough getting certain items centered, and at one point I had completely misplaced hyperlinks in a few sections, but they all got worked out. I plan on showing the site to the class soon, and who knows, maybe I'll make one for fun sometimes.
This wasn't my very first site that I have made, so the process was fairly simpler. Not to mention that the last time I coded anything I wasn't using a GUI program and was typing straight HTML, and I was in 7th grade...
For this specific site I used Microsoft Web Expression. My favorite part of the page is my hobbies section. It has a nifty little image map that takes you all over the place and has TONS (over 50) hyperlinks to various things.
If I go back to change anything it will be simply for aesthetics and rearranging things, I like the template of sorts that I've created by scanning in doodles that I drew for the nav bar and what not. Sometimes it was tough getting certain items centered, and at one point I had completely misplaced hyperlinks in a few sections, but they all got worked out. I plan on showing the site to the class soon, and who knows, maybe I'll make one for fun sometimes.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Pictures That Lie
Concluding our education of Photoshop and photo editing software, we have been practicing and studying manipulating and manipulative photos. And despite the entertainment and fun that can be provided through photo enhancement/manipulation, it can hurt and help a company.
In The Advertising Age Nat Ives talks about how magazines are relying more and more on photo editing in order to have more attractive articles, covers, etc. However at the same time they are losing their credibility as reliable sources of information by altering their photos beyond belief. Unfortunately (in my own opinion) these alterations are here to stay. For entertainment and humor purposes I believe that altering photos is ok, but for medical commercials (Proactive is the perfect example) they are completely wrong. They are portraying an extremist non realistic perspective.
Here is my own "Picture that lies":
Because I am not making a false claim or advertisement, I see no harm in my photo. As you can see, I combined a photograph of Mr. Fred Rogers (from the all too familiar Mr. Rogers Neighborhood), along with a picture of the earth from Planet Earth. I wanted to portray the idea of what a more perfect world could be like, and I think under Mr. Rogers' wisdom, Earth could be a better place. "We are all neighbors" is a simple yet meaningful quote that gets this idea across. The only manipulations in the photo were the color changes on the earth to make the land more green and the ocean more blue, along with placing the photos together with each other. If one pays close attention to the trolley under Mr. Rogers Arm has been changed to say "Planet Earth Trolley." It could be a vehicle to transport to a better, happier world.
In The Advertising Age Nat Ives talks about how magazines are relying more and more on photo editing in order to have more attractive articles, covers, etc. However at the same time they are losing their credibility as reliable sources of information by altering their photos beyond belief. Unfortunately (in my own opinion) these alterations are here to stay. For entertainment and humor purposes I believe that altering photos is ok, but for medical commercials (Proactive is the perfect example) they are completely wrong. They are portraying an extremist non realistic perspective.
Here is my own "Picture that lies":
Because I am not making a false claim or advertisement, I see no harm in my photo. As you can see, I combined a photograph of Mr. Fred Rogers (from the all too familiar Mr. Rogers Neighborhood), along with a picture of the earth from Planet Earth. I wanted to portray the idea of what a more perfect world could be like, and I think under Mr. Rogers' wisdom, Earth could be a better place. "We are all neighbors" is a simple yet meaningful quote that gets this idea across. The only manipulations in the photo were the color changes on the earth to make the land more green and the ocean more blue, along with placing the photos together with each other. If one pays close attention to the trolley under Mr. Rogers Arm has been changed to say "Planet Earth Trolley." It could be a vehicle to transport to a better, happier world.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Power Point Presentations (PPP)
In the past week our class has viewed some amazing PowerPoint presentations. We've gone from deadly biohazard zones and sea snakes to sun screen and air planes.
One of the most notable presentations was the Shake It, presented by Travis Halff. He presented to us the new and revolutionary Shake It, which allows its users to burn fat and get ripped with little to no cost, be it time or money. The presentation itself was humorous and well planned out. Travis successfully captured his audiences attention through humor and slick design.
Another impressive PowerPoint was Larissa Lozano's on Catholic Community service helping immigrants Americanize. It was a very moving powerpoint, and quite possibly had the smoothest transitions out of all of the slideshows we saw.
One of the most notable presentations was the Shake It, presented by Travis Halff. He presented to us the new and revolutionary Shake It, which allows its users to burn fat and get ripped with little to no cost, be it time or money. The presentation itself was humorous and well planned out. Travis successfully captured his audiences attention through humor and slick design.
Another impressive PowerPoint was Larissa Lozano's on Catholic Community service helping immigrants Americanize. It was a very moving powerpoint, and quite possibly had the smoothest transitions out of all of the slideshows we saw.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Collage
This digital collage masterpiece is dedicated to all those who attended the San Antonio Zoo one fateful, sunny day only to find that it was nap time at the zoo. Everyone knows it's important for the well-being of the animals that they get their beauty sleep and sun baths.What a life to lead.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Picture Perfect (?)
Currently in the world of the CSCI1300 class, we begin to delve into images, and naturally accompanying such is photo editing software. Today we examine a picture that has been edited in order to create a more child-friendly picture.
This is a picture of Clement Hurd, who illustrated the child's book Goodnight Moon (thus the reason I chose this picture, as it was my favorite growing up). From the dust cover of the book itself, we can see that Hurd is awkwardly holding his right hand up to his chest in almost a "come here" motion. This is because before the photo was rendered he was holding a cigarette. The image was most likely changed to be more appealing to the parents who would buy this book for their children, as smoking is often considered a terrible habit. In the long run, I doubt this editing was harmful to anyone, but it could possibly help market the book better.
All the same I'd read it to my kids, cigarrete or not.
This is a picture of Clement Hurd, who illustrated the child's book Goodnight Moon (thus the reason I chose this picture, as it was my favorite growing up). From the dust cover of the book itself, we can see that Hurd is awkwardly holding his right hand up to his chest in almost a "come here" motion. This is because before the photo was rendered he was holding a cigarette. The image was most likely changed to be more appealing to the parents who would buy this book for their children, as smoking is often considered a terrible habit. In the long run, I doubt this editing was harmful to anyone, but it could possibly help market the book better.
All the same I'd read it to my kids, cigarrete or not.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
