Journal - 4/29/13

Journal - Who is the oldest family member of your family you have ever met? What do you know about your family history? Have your parents ever told you anything thing about your family history?  Do you know what kind of heritage you have? Explain as much as you can about your family and any history you have knowledge of.

The oldest family member I have ever met is most definitely my grandmother, Virginia Paulsen. Before her death, she was at least 98 years old, but suffered from dementia in the last ten years of her life. Her mentality slowly withered away until she couldn't even remember how to eat. The majority of my family hails from Mennonites. My grandfather, Delbert Fast, migrated to the city life because he didn't find the regular Mennonite lifestyle (which didn't consist of any recreational technologies, such as television or radio). He moved to Kansas, where he got a job as a busboy in a diner and started dating the proprietor's daughter, Mary Jane Koehn, who eventually became his wife. The Koehns also heiled from Mennonite heritage, but were not as devout as the Fasts. Delbert and Jane had two sons, Scott and Jason, the former which is my father. Scott married Lori Paulsen in 1991, and they had me in 1995. My sister, Madysen, was born in 1998. Lori was the youngest daughter of Wayne and Julie Paulsen, who in contrast to my other grandparents were natural born city folk. Aside from my mom, they had another daughter named Lisa. It's safe to say she and my mom don't get along. At all.

Journal - 4/22/13

Journal - Which web design platform did you choose - Wix or Weebly? What are three things you've learned about Web Design so far?

I picked Wix for by web design platform. There is very little I've learned that I didn't already know, but a few things I didn't know are as followed. I learned how to change the opacity and reception of some pictures or texts that don't always come out so perfectly. I learned how to actually integrate the page onto other websites, such as links. I also learned how to make a website. Oh, really? Isn't that what this whole thing was about. Ha, kidding. So that's it I guess.

Journal - 4/18/13

Journal - What have you learned about making a website? Explain.

I've learned only a few things I didn't realize before. One of them is that people can be really judgmental towards some websites (ex. Justine). Also, it takes a lot of work and planning to actually figure out what to actually put on the website, such as background information, data, and anything that would actually be able to warrant someone's attention towards the site.

Journal - 4/16/13

Journal - What do you know about building and creating a website? Have you ever done it before?  List qualities of a well designed and well functioning website.
I've never created a website, in all the time I've used the internet. But, I'm guessing it is probably time consuming, and a slow process with all of the updating and new features that are added over time. I'm not to sure on good qualities of a website, but a few I can guess at would be viable sources, materials, and bandwagon appeal.

Top 3 Stop-motion shorts

Top 3 Stop-motion videos

1. How to Draw Black by Jared Demmel - This video definetely must have taken a lot of effort and time to finish. The photos taken were always focused on the exact spot, so it did not look as though the camera was being wobbled around like in most videos.
2. Rubix Cube by Maggie Connors - This video was simple and didn't require any real effort. Which is commendable, so I can't help but like it a lot more than most.
3. Driving by Will Munholland - This video was by far the longest. I can't imagine how long it must have taken to drive and park the car so many times. Again, the effort and time taken is what makes it good.

Journal - 4/11/13

Journal - Tell me about two things you've learned while creating your stop-motion animation video. Go in to detail about those two items.

One thing I learned is that you need to remember to move your hand out of the shot, because even one mistake like that can jeaporadize the video. I had to retake a single photo just to fix that mistake. Another thing I learned is that I probably should have thought of what kind fo music to put into the video. All that time I spent working on the video, I never even considered the music. There's always gotta be something...

Journey - 4/8/13

Journal - What step are you currently on in your stop-motion animation video? Tomorrow you need to have all your pictures on your computer when the bell rings. Will you be ready? If not, why? What do you plan on getting done in class today. Make a 'To-Do' List on your blog.

I have taken most of the photos, but right now I am working to actually put them in the necessary order. As you can imagine, it takes a while to get all of the photos ready for a stop motion video. It appears short when it plays, but it takes an hour or more to actually create it. Hopefully, it will be ready to upload by tomorrow.

Journal - 4/5/13

Journal - What are you planning on doing for your stop-motion animation video? What story are you going to tell? How will your video be fun and different? Who is taking your photos? When are you taking your photos?

That remains to be seen. I don't plan on having any real people present in the video, and I'm not looking at making it to terribly long. The photos are being taken mainly by me, with a little assistance from some family members. The photos have been done in my house, my backyard, and a small park some distance from my home.

Journal - 4/4/13

Journal - What do you know about Stop-Motion Animation? Have you ever heard of it before? If you haven't, what do you think it is? Explain.
I know that it is very time consuming. Even if the presentation is to be a mere five minutes long, the process can take up to an hour or more the complete. Of course I've heard of it. This day in age I don't really think there are many people who haven't. I haven't seen many examples nowadays, but I do know that it was used multiple times back in the 90s. The biggest example I know are the Wallace & Gromit films, which I watched when I was a kid. The process was also used for classical films like King Kong and The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms.

Journal - 4/1/13

Journal - What kind of story is your 5 Frame Storyboard going to tell? Did you take photos over the weekend? How is your project going to be creative and different, not just normal and plain? Explain.

First off, Happy April Fool's Day (not really). Anyway, the 5 Frame Storyboard will depict something that I don't really feel like explaining as of this point. But I will say that according to some people that have already listened in on the idea, it's considered 'wonderfully weird.' I took as many photos as I could over the weekend, which honestly wasn't that many so I still need a little work. And how is my project going to be creative and different, not just normal and plain, you ask? Well I'm plan on making the situation in the story simple, but also strange and unnatural as well. I hope all that was understandable. Thank you.