My Life

For our final project, my class was given the opportunity to create a video. I chose to speak about how my life has changed in the past year. I hope this video will help someone who is feeling sad. <3

Music

The soundtrack to my life would be all over the place, which makes sense. You see that album cover. I obviously can't choose just one color. And I can't choose just one genre. So enjoy!

My Album Cover

My album cover went through several designs and concepts before I chose and finalized this one. This album cover is total C.R.A.P. There is contrast in color with the alternating stripes, between the background and picture of me, and with the two fonts. Repetition can be found with the multiple stripes and colors. Things are aligned evenly with the picture being in the right third of the album cover. Proximity occurs because everything is spaced well. 

Image 1: Jessica! happy times & good sunshine

The title "happy times & good sunshine" comes from a quote by Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys. He once said "Summer means happy times and good sunshine." This quote inspired me because I absolutely love summer and the sunshine! I added a little lens flair to portray the summer vibe. It is faint, but adds some dimension to the bottom half of the album cover.

Album Cover Inspiration

I want my album cover to portray my love of summer and color.

I decided to look up Beach Boys albums and came across That's Why God Made the Radio. I really liked that there were multiple waves of different colors.

Image 1: The Beach Boys "That's Why God Made the Radio"

I also gathered inspiration from Mika's Life in Cartoon Color. This album is super bright, colorful, and happy, much like his music. I also really liked the fonts chosen, especially the contrast between the bold "MIKA" and cursive "life in cartoon motion". The long shadow coming from MIKA really caught my eye.

Image 2: Mika "Life in Cartoon Motion"

Finally, I got inspiration from the One More Time by Daft Punk (apparently the other album cover I liked was fake...I double checked and this one is real!). I like how minimal but fun this album cover is.

Image 3: Daft Punk "One More Time"

Adjusting Composition

In COMM 5390 we are learning how to properly compose still images and then editing the frame. Here are some photos that my pal Bobby shot of me that I am editing. The original photos can be found here.

#7 image in 3:2

#7 image in 4:3

#7 image in 16:9

#6 image newly composed

#1 transformed to #2

#3 transformed to #4

The Crocodile Hunter

The premier of The Crocodile Hunter may not be the most obvious historical event, but the show, which has been seen by more than 500 million people in 130 countries, has inspired millions of people and has kick-started numerous conservation efforts.

The Crocodile Hunter (image to be licensed from Google)

The Crocodile Hunter first aired in 1996 and starred Steve Irwin, an Australian zookeeper and conservationist. The show ran until 2004 following Steve Irwin's untimely death.

Public Domain Video from archive.org

Steve's mission was to save wildlife which he accomplished through his television activism and the Wildlife Warriors, an organization that he and his wife, Terri, started in 2002. 

The Crocodile Hunter (public domain)

The Crocodile Hunter featured Steve Irwin interacting with various animals in the wild and in the Australia Zoo.

Steve Irwin presenting (public domain)

He was known for his enthusiasm and excitement for wildlife.

Steve Irwin getting show ready (public domain)

Fair use (cut multiple clips together on YouTube)

Steve Irwin received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in April 2018 because of his work on The Crocodile Hunter.

Original photo of Steve Irwin's Hollywood Walk of Fame Star

His family, Terri, Bindi, and Robert, as well as his close friend Wes attended on Steve Irwin's behalf.

Original photo of the Irwins and Wes at the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Class Photos

These photos of Aimee Anderson were taken to practice composing still images for COMM 5390.

Image 1: Symmetrically balanced composition

Image 2: Asymmetrically balanced composition 

Image 3: Photo that obeys the rule of closure

Image 4: Photo that does not obey the rule of closure

Image 5: CU with appropriate headroom

Image 6: LS with appropriate headroom

Image 7: Balanced image that obeys the rules of thirds, balancing subject with weight of gaze

Saving the oceans one bracelet at a time

At this point, it is widely known that plastic pollution is a huge problem. There have been several initiatives to reduce single-use plastic such as Starbucks banning straws, grocery stores charging for plastic bags, and having more recycling bins available, but 4Ocean is doing even more. 4Ocean is an organization that is attempting to reduce the amount of plastic in our oceans by sending crews out on the water to scoop up plastic and trash. The plastic they collect is then turned into a bracelet that can be purchased on their website. Each bracelet that is sold helps to collect one pound of trash from the ocean. 4ocean focuses on optimizing technology to remove trash from the ocean, creating job, educating and spreading awareness, and creating new global economies. In this commercial, the co-founders of 4Ocean, Andrew Cooper and Alex Schulze, introduce and invite others to their movement. The commercial uses intense images of plastic-filled water to set a scene of necessity and urgency. To understand their message, here is the full commercial:

The video starts out with Alex and Andrew reminiscing on a recent surfing trip to Bali, Indonesia (figure 1). They are located on a beach with their surfboards behind them and are both wearing swim trunks. This makes them look trustworthy and relatable. We can trust two dudes hanging out on a beach to understand and care about the ocean. On this trip they noticed the water was full of trash, especially plastic. The phrase "we saw firsthand just how bad the world's plastic pollution crisis really is" overlayed with images of plastic-filled water sets the stage for introducing the problem (plastic pollution) and their mission to solve the problem. 

Figure 1: Alex Schulze and Andrew Cooper, the co-founders of 4Ocean. 

The video then shows the two founders swimming around looking disgusted at the trash both in the water and on the beach (figure 3). The images are powerful and portray Bali in a way it normally isn't. When I think of Bali or other beaches around the Indian Ocean, I think of crystal clear water, white sand beaches, blue skies, and plenty of healthy plants and animals. This clip shows the reality of the situation. There are handfuls of plastic in the water and so much trash on the shoreline that you can hardly see the sand.

Figure 2: Alex Schulze disgustingly picking plastic out of the water.

This introduces the solution, cleaning up the oceans, by first showing Alex and Andrew diving to collect garbage (figure 3). This is an important section of the commercial because it shows that Alex and Andrew are just like you! They're just two guys going out to pick up trash. If they can do it, so can you! All it takes is a mask and collecting bag. Easy!

Figure 3: Alex Schulze and Andrew Cooper diving down to pick up trash.

But Alex and Andrew realized that they can get much more done by recruiting help. They note that 4Ocean is the world's largest ocean cleanup company and employs captains and crews in 27 different countries that have helped remove over 2 million pounds of trash from the ocean. The next section shows groups of people with their trash treasures.

Figure 4: A group of 4Ocean workers celebrating their recent garbage pickup. 

There are multiple clips of workers standing on boats collecting garbage with nets (figure 5)...

Figure 5: A 4Ocean worker standing on a boat scooping up trash.

...as well as workers on land gathering the collected trash and moving it to dumpsters and bags (figure 6).

Figure 6: 4Ocean workers standing on a pile of plastic.

Now that Alex and Andrew have explained the problem and their solution, the commercial ends by inviting you to join their clean ocean movement (figure 7)! The video shows excitement and celebration. The cleanup crews are smiling and cheering, a stark contrast to the serious and hard-working images previously shown.

Figure 7: A large group of 4Ocean supporters celebrating.

The 4Ocean bracelet is made from plastic and recycled glass bottles that were collected by the 4Ocean team (figure 8). These bracelets are very important to 4Ocean's mission because the cleanup process is funded entirely through the sales of bracelets. Each bracelet that is sold funds the removal of one pound of trash from the ocean. By visiting their website and purchasing a bracelet, you can become a part of the solution.

Figure 8: The 4Ocean bracelet.

This commercial is very powerful because it introduces a problem, shows their solution, and explains how you can be involved by simply purchasing a bracelet. Many people are hesitant to help the environment because they don't know what to do or think what they are doing will not make a difference. 4Ocean presents an easy way to get involved and even shows exactly how your purchase helps their movement.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium

I have loved the ocean and marine animals for as long as I can remember. My dream job is to do social media marketing for an aquarium so I can share my love for the ocean, animals, and conservation with people all over the world. One of my favorite social media accounts is the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium has had a livestream of their shark tank broadcasting since February 28, 2019. The tank is full of different species of sharks, rays, fish, and eels that can be seen constantly throughout the day.

Leopard Shark at the Monterey Bay Aquarium

In addition to the shark livestream, they also have two separate jellyfish livestreams as well as livestreams of their birds and surrounding waters. Not only is the Monterey Bay Aquarium YouTube channel superb, their Twitter account is, too! I'm a huge fan of their tweets because they combine creativity with facts. For example, often times they will jump on the latest meme bandwagon or tweet a cute or funny tweet and follow up with information explaining the tweet. 

Like this!

 Or this one!

Even this!

See...cute, fun, AND informative! What could be better??