Oh Youtube

While I was reading the article "Youtube Videos Pull In Real Money" on nytimes.com, my Interactive Journalism teacher asked my class to blog about what we would do if we had our own youtube channel. What I think I would do is, something kind of like the t.v. show "The Soup" on channel E!. I would pretty much report news about celebrities and make fun of them. 

And So In This Hour

I haven't blogged in a while because I've been working on my autobiography project in my Interactive Journalism class. At first, Final Cut seemed pretty hard to work with. Now, I know how to work around it and such. In my autobiography, I have pictures, and I'm the one narrating it. I also have a video of me being interviewed. In the background of it all, I have music playing. What I narrate in my autobiography, is where I was born, and a very brief information about it, my childhood, my recent life, my favorite things, and where I want to see myself in the future. I should be done with it by the end of this week.

Inside The Teenage Brain

PBS Frontline's documentary about the teenage brain says that the teenage brain, undergoes some of the same changes as the as the first 18 months of a baby because they both change very fast. When going into the teenage years, the teenage brain is almost like it's been "taken over" by a different brain. Teenagers now-a-days have different lifestyles from teenagers in past decades. Experts say that the changes in mood are part in hormones. Teenagers see sadness when there isn't sadness and anger when there isn't anger. Thus, making the teenage brain different then the adult brain. Teenagers say that adults think that they're all dumb. The teenagers argue that the adults are hypocrites. Experts say that even if parents think that their teenager has understood what they have said, they either haven't or understood it differently. As a society we're less active then ever.

Basic Video Knowledge (in my own words)

Shot Composition : the way you arrange the shots in the video.
Wide Angle : point of view with a 45 degree angle or more.
Low Angle : point of view with less than 45 degrees.
Close Up : zooming in.
Extreme Close Up : zooming in too much.
Linear Editing : when one video is copied from another; old form of editing before computers were available.
Non-Linear Editing : when the footage is edited in the software and can be brought back to the tape.
Live Editing : when you edit the footage live.
Narration : giving an overall concept of the story.
Documentary : re-creating an event.
Fiction : fake
Non-Fiction : not fake.

In the video Sweet Potato Stir Fry, there is a lot of close up in the video because it's a video about how to make a meal. It is non-fiction. I'm pretty sure it's non-liner editing.

In the video Mixed Martial Arts Goes To School there are a lot of close up and extreme close of shots because it's a video on martial arts. There is also narrations and it's non-fiction.


These videos can be found here : http://video.nytimes.com/


In my autobiography, I'm going to use narration, and non-linear editing, and it will be non-fiction.

Video Compositions

In my Interactive  Journalism class we were told to go to www.nytimes.com and watch some videos. I watched a video called "Out Of Work In China." The video starts off with a shot of the Chinese citizens and chattering in Chinese. The narrator soon comes in and starts narrating the story. It shows a lot of them in line, waiting to get paid for their jobs and close up shots of a Chinese woman stamping papers. The shots are all very steady. There are interviews with good spacing of the person and the background features which evens out. In the interviews there are voice overs of people translating Chinese into English, too.

NY Times Online

NY Time's Politics section online is an interactive place. On the middle right of the page, there are multimedia links of the presidential win of Obama.  There is an "electoral shift" map, where it shows how people shifted more towards the democratic side this year. There are also stories from each state. Including the reaction of people from Selma, Alabama(one of the emotional centers of the civil rights movement).  There are also pictures from around the world where people show sympathy towards the win of Obama. There is also an interactive timeline of McCain's and Obama's lives and careers.

BBC Online

BBC Online is an interactive website. It has stories from around the world, adds, weather forecast, radio stations, and even a search bar.

On the "Brazilian Grand Prix" article, it's talking about how Lewis Hamilton is now the youngest F1 champion, and how the race went. There's also an article of quotes that Hamilton said, an article about people's reactions, a place to interact about the race, and a photo section. On the side of the page, there are some tabs to all-things Formula One. Such as inside the car, car guide, drivers.

The History of Halloween

Years ago, Keltic farmers believed that there was a day where the spirits of the dead rised from their graves and walked among the living. The Kelts would dress up in disguises to scare away the spirits. In the 8th century, Pope Gregory III established All-Hallow's Day to honor all the saints, on November 1st. Europeans thought that that was a good idea. They also decided to celebrate their old rituals and called it "All-Hallow's Eve", which soon became known as Halloween. Until the mid 19th century, when a potato family brought over a thousand Irish people to the United States. The bond fires created the carved pumpkins. The disguises that the Irish used became is now the costumes that are used today. The origins of trick-o-treating are unclear. It is believed that it started as kids asking for food. Since then, Halloween is celebrated all over the United States.

What Makes A Good Biography?

In my opinion, what makes a good biography is a biography that has both images and videos for the visuals. Having interviews with the person that the biography is about and other people that have been in their lives. Instead of just focusing on the person's past and present, it's also good to predict their future(that is if they're not dead). For the narration, I think it's best to have a good speaker narrate it. 

Home Sweet Home

I haven't blogged in a while because I was sick and in the hospital. But I'm all better now. I got home friday afternoon. Now I have to catch up in all my classes so I won't be more behind than I already am. But it feels good to be back to my everyday life.

Why is an autobiography important to being a good journalist?

I think that an autobiography is important to being a good journalist because you have to know yourself first before you go out and try to find out about other people. It also helps put your life in order and figure out who you really are and where you came from.

Ughhh

I hate this type of weather. It's cold and dark and ugly outside. I'm always in a bad mood when there's weather like this. I don't look nice today, at all. I'm wearing leggings, a big hoodie, UGGs, my hair is in this really messed up and ugly bun, and I'm not wearing much make up. Today is going to be a long day. I can already tell. I also have to write an essay for english class about The Great Gatsby that's due tomorrow. I'm also really tired. Yep. This is going to be a very long day.

Qoutations

These are just a few of my favorite quotes:

"I know it hurts. But it's life, and it's real. And sometimes if fucking hurts, but it's life, and it's pretty much all we got."

-GARDEN STATE

"Base decisions on what you think is right and what will make you happy, not anyone else."

-PAUL DIGIOVANNI(Boys Like Girls)

"You are not alone. Your life matters. Your story is important. You are alive tonight for a reason. You were created to be loved. You were not meant to be alone. You are not alone. You were meant to do life with other people. You need people who know you. You need to know people. Your voice matters."

-JAMIE TWORKOWSKI(To Write Love On Her Arms)

"What I mean is that there are things -  simple things - that without our knowing, mean the world to us and when they change, they change for our good, because whether we like it or not, we are looking out for ourselves. We do it unconsciously -  but we do it. We do it to stay happy and to stay alive... and above all else, that's what matters.

-ALEXANDER WILLIAM GASKARTH(All Time Low)

"People change, as do intentions and as a result, consequences. Live for yourself - love those around you, but realize that they've got their own agendas."

-ALEXANDER WILLIAM GASKARTH (All Time Low)

"The only dreams that matter are the ones you have when you're awake."

-JOHN O'CALLAGHAN(The Maine)

"Stories wait for endings, but songs are brave things bold enough to sing when all they know is darkness."

-JAMIE TWORKOWSKI (To Write Love On Her Arms)

"Things change. And friends leave. And life doesn't stop for anybody."

-THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER

"And in that moment, I swear we were infinite."

-THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER

And so...

Today my Interactive Journalism class finished watching the "Cool Hunters" documentary. In my opinion, it was a pointless documentary. When they were showing the girl's life and how she said she always has to look good, they put that in the documentary by showing that girls ALWAYS need to look good. When in reality, we only look good when we're having a good day or feel like dressing up and putting make up on. Take today for example, I was too lazy to dress up and fix my hair and put the usual amount of make-up that I put on. I don't always have to look good. That part about showing the girl and how she behaves and comparing it to other girls, pissed me off because not all girls are the same way. The makers of this documentary we're obviously too bored with their own lives, and wanted to know what teenagers thought we're "cool." I mean come on, how pathetic is that?!

How I Hate...

Monday mornings. There's no point in them. It just makes everyone tired and lazy. Especially when you're sick. I started getting sick yesterday[Sunday] and it made the end of my weekend really sucky. Then I got a job for being Lannen Fall's merch girl for today. I went to go tell my dad and he said that I couldn't go because it was a school night. These are times when I wish i was 18.

MTV

I think that MTV is overrated. Now-a-days they have the most stupidest shows, ever. It's almost like they lost all their creativity. All their reality shows are so fake and scripted. So why call it a "reality T.V. show?!" The only thing I watched there was TRL, but now it's cancelled. But one thing that I don't understand, is why they started to put Slipknot and Korn in it. Some people say that MTV make the musicians "sell-outs." I kind of agree. They get really famous and rich, and forget why they wanted to be musicians in the first place. One band I lost a lot of respect for was Good Charlotte. They started off as a band that loved music and just wanted to have a better life. They even wrote a song called "Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous." In that song they're basically talking crap about rich people and how they act and live. Which is ironic, because now, they're just like the song. Joel Madden got Nicole Richie preganant, and Benji Madden is going out with Paris Hilton. They also stopped writting deep meaningful lyrics. In my opinion, their last album was a diasaster. I wish the old GC would come back. But everything happens for a reason, right?

Here's the link to the Good Charlotte song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVeRplP_zUE

Mooks

In my Interactive Journalism class, we watched a video about "mooks." In urbandictionary.com there are three definitions of what a mook is.
1.
(adj) a jerk; not that nice of a person.
2.
Coined in the Scorsese film, 'Mean Streets', meaning a arsehole or loser.
3.
A term coined by Douglas Rushkoff in an episode of PBS's "Frontline" entitled "The Merchants of Cool." Mooks are archetypal young males(teens-early 20s) who act like moronic boneheads. They are self centered simpletons who live a drunken frat-boy lifestyle(or are frat-boys). Examples can be found anytime someone watches "Jackass." Rushkoff claimed that the media glorifies this ideal and stifles natural self expression, however, some people might argue teenage boys have always acted like morons(its actually a long-standing stereotype). Nonetheless, standardized conformist dumbass-culture behind a veneer of exhuberance is a scary notion indeed.

With this being, I don't think any girl would be interested in these mooks. It also seems like they're not very good people to be around with.

What Is Cool?

In my opinion there's no such thing as a definition for "cool." "Cool" is just a word used by people to describe the things that they like. Usually the majority of people will like the same things, hence making it "cool." When people are called cool, it's because they're "in." Which means that they either have the latest trends or are really good at a certain thing. What I think is cool, are things that attract my attention, not what most people like.

Monday Morning

Well it's Monday morning and I'm in my Interactive Journalism class. This past weekend was alright. Nothing too exciting happened. It's been raining since Thursday night because of Hurricane Kyle. I did discover some awesome bands though. One underground band that I discovered was The Dangerous Summer. It's up-beat, but with a little of alternative sound to it. One local Bostonian band that I discovered was Hollywood Lies. There was also another band called Beneath The Sheets. They kind of the same style as The Dangerous Summer, and all the other bands I listen to. I'll blog more about these bands later, but for now I'll post their Myspace so you can check them out.

Beneath The Sheets:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=300302338

Hollywood Lies:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=147490164

The Dangerous Summer:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=103298179

Welcome

Hi, my name’s Camila and I created this blog because I take Interactive Journalism in my high school. My teacher thought it would be a good idea for us [the students] to have blogs so we can interact and know what it’s like to have a blog. The name of my blog is called “oh how cliche” because I can be very cliche, and because it’s a name of a really good song by a band called ‘The Audition.’ Which brings me to what this blog is going to be about. I know a lot of underground and local Bostonian bands, and I thought that this would be a good way to promote them and get more people to know who they are.