Who do you think you are

I have been always interested in exploring different cultures. I moved to New York four years ago and ever since have been amazed by the diversity of the city. Exploring various visual mediums like film, video and photography helps me to get a better understanding of culture. Issues around identity, language and cultural change could be analyzed not only through text but also through films and photography. In my free time I like walking around the city and taking pictures of buildings or billboards that I find interesting in a certain way. Sometimes words are not enough to express myself. Thus, photography is helping me to tell a story and remember it. I mostly enjoy taking pictures of people. I find it compelling that a single shot can reveal so much of someone’s emotions. In front of the camera people tend to expose a different side of their personality. Each picture tells a certain story. However, the story that I see behind a certain picture might be different from the story that you see. That’s the beauty of photography; everyone is free to have its own interpretation of a picture. There are no written rules.

Final Blog -Impressions

As a whole I really enjoyed the course because it enhanced my knowledge in many different ways. Every assignment was challenging and interesting. I should admit that there were no boring lectures or labs. I learned something new after each class. Actually, for me it was all new information. I was a bit intimidated in the beginning of the semester because I never took a class that requires additional Lab work. However, I really enjoyed the time spend over the lab hours. All assignments were lots of fun and helped me to get a better understanding of the material. My favorite exercise was the in-class shooting assignment. I also enjoyed the postage stamp exercise. I felt like I was able to express myself and to create a design tells something about me. I think that the trip to the Museum of the Moving Image was a great idea because it helped me to get a better understanding of the topics that we covered. The assigned readings were very informative and intriguing at the same time. I wish that we were able to discuss some of the readings that were on Black Board more deeply. I think that this way I would get a better understanding of the material covered in the readings. There were many definitions and I had hard time remembering all of the concepts. I wish that there was a review sheet for the midterm as well as for the final exam. The concept sheets were helpful but they did not cover all the material. To be honest the hardest part for me was the final exam because I had a tough time to remember all the information. Ironically, in the beginning of the semester I thought that I will be suffering to create my portfolio, thus perform well on the exams. At, the end it turned out to be the other way around. Moreover, the course was very educational and I do not regret that I signed for it .

Design I like
Design is everywhere; it is like a natural part of our environment. However, if you stop to notice the lines and colors of a particular design that means that there is something special about it. There are many different designs that I like. However, for this particular assignment I decided to focus on a favorite book cover. One of my favorite book covers is the one of Eclipse which is the third book in the Twilight series by Stefanie Meyer. If you stop to notice the lines and colors of that book cover you will see that they are both functional and appealing. What I mostly enjoy about the book cover is its simplicity. In my opinion simplicity often creates beauty. In general, I tend to like simple designs a lot. I believe that it is much harder to create a simple design that will strike the attention of the viewer. The cover of Eclipse features a torn red ribbon illustrated in a simple black background. The design is beautiful and functional at the same time. The thorn ribbon carries a symbolic meaning to the public. The composition is very simple as well as the choice of colors. However, I believe that depicting red in a black background is a good technique because it catches the viewer’s attention. In my opinion the designer of the cover found the most effective way to represent the message of the book. In conclusion, the design that I choose proves the theory that simplicity creates beauty.

What I See

The movie that I picked up for this assignment is The Hurt Locker. This beautifully shot film demonstrates how using the right tools enable directors to create an amazing, unforgettable picture. Even the movie is not a documentary; it is shot in a way that makes me think of it as a documentary. The choice of the lenses and the camera movements contribute to the realistic look of the film. The camera was right there with the actors and every little detail was depicted. I believe that the use of zoom lenses made the picture more vivid and realistic. There were moments when the camera was very close to the actors, this created a very unique atmosphere of feeling. The story was told through the images and the little details which were captured in a seamless manner. For example, there was a shot of the ground shaking during an explosion and another one of a bullet shell hitting the floor. Thus, it is the latter one that I strongly admire. The shot was very high in terms of contrast and also very clear and vivid. At some point the frame was shaky and unstable. In my opinion this technique greatly contributed to the documentary style of the movie. The movie was shot in a slow motion manner which creates a strong feeling of realism. Some of the scenes were extremely tensed and conveyed in me the feeling of anxiety.
I believe that the structure of the film was very interesting and unique at the same time. The cinematography itself was far from typical. The technical choices strongly contributed to the final picture and created a realistic atmosphere.

Museum Trip

The trip to the Museum of the Moving Image helped me to get a better understanding of the history and technology of film and digital media. It was very educational in terms of understanding how different digital media techniques operate. The exhibitions of artifacts and artworks were very diverse. It is fascinating how much technology has changed over the years. Seeing all these different artifacts and artworks at the same place, helped me to imagine the past more clearly and actually picture how technology has been operating back in the days. The trip to the museum also made me think about the progress that people have achieved over the years. I find it compelling how much technology has changed over the past few decades. I have been also thinking about the future and questioned myself “what comes next?’
Among all the different exhibitions that we saw, I mostly enjoyed the one featuring different TV sets. I have seen pictures of old-fashioned TV sets before. However, it was a whole different experience to see all these different TV sets, in the museum. Each of them had a different character. I found it very interesting that in the past TV’s were a very important part of the furniture. Of course, they are still part of the interior. However, the concept changed so much over time. I believe that all the changes related to technology have a great impact on our culture.