Week 12 - The End

Well it's time to say farewell to BDC 192. Along with that, my great instructors in Maayan, Lisa, and Laurie. In general I found this course fun, delightful, and challenging. I was tested and expected to make projects in programs I have never used before; programs which are essential to the industry of digital media. I found it quite difficult because I had never worked with Photoshop or AE before, but it forced me to learn these wonderful and complex programs and make the process a bit easier for me.

The aspects that I thought worked well with the course were: the freedom of expression in our projects; we could basically do anything we wanted to do, the style of the lecture; very laid back, entertaining, and insightful, the style of the lab; we could watch/listen to Maayan and her tidbits before going off to work on our own projects and tutorials. I thought this was a very effective way of learning; the laid back feel in the lecture and lab, the freedom, and the help through the tutorials in creating a better learning atmosphere.

The aspects that should be improved is maybe having more instructors at the lab, or having some assistants have a concrete lab schedule where they could be there to help students with problems or technical issues. Many classes I would get stuck and I would have so many questions that I felt embarrassed to ask since I was so lost. Another thing is that when I would want to ask a question, the instructors would be busy helping someone else. So I think the only thing to improve on is to get more instructors in and out of class time.

This course has changed the way I look at digital media and things in general. Today I was looking at a magazine and examining how a picture was cropped in there probably by the use of Photoshop. I envisioned this process and knew how it was done. I also saw some films with special effects and realized that AE or a program similar to it was used to create these effects, and I had a basic grasp of how it was done. Now working on html, I saw some complex websites and was astonished at their complexity as I know the basic codes and I could now appreciate the work put into them. The course has made me realize how digital media is created and where it comes from, it has allowed me to appreciate everything much more.

 

I think the most important skill I have learned in this course is the use of Photoshop. Photoshop is essential in creating images for basically any medium whether it's a magazine, newspaper, personal photo, website, film/video, or anything else. I now have the knowledge and skills to manipulate a picture or photo and create my own spin on it and I find that very important.

In the end, I had a great semester full of fun, entertainment, and learning. I hope all you guys have a great holiday break and enjoy your time off!!!!