Creative Challenge 39

Good afternoon, design friends,

As you may know, we are tasked with completing a creative challenge each week in class to keep our creative juices flowing. As I approach my graduation date, I want to revisit and apply the skills I have learned, as well as explore some new ones, to remain proficient in the programs we've studied. I am determined to excel with these tools, and I believe practice makes perfect. I have the drive and the resources to create wonderful things, and now I want to put that into action.

With that in mind, I decided to revisit Adobe Illustrator today. I was watching a tutorial that mentioned that entry level designers often create custom typefaces using the Pen Tool, which is exactly how I did it previously. However, I learned that professionals tend to use the Pencil Tool. Since I hadn't tried it yet, I felt inspired to create a typeface by outlining letters in Illustrator and then using the Pencil Tool to modify each letter and arrange them as I liked.

This exercise was purely for practice, allowing me to become familiar with the Pencil Tool. Keep in mind that this was my first attempt, and I was pleasantly surprised. This method was so much better than using the Pen Tool! I’m really glad I tried it, and I encourage you to do the same if you haven't already. Here's what I created.

Trippy :)

Creative Challenge 38

Good evening, Design friends!

This week, I wanted to challenge myself by creating something haunting and suspenseful using images. I also aimed to incorporate audio and transitional effects that worked together to enhance the theme I was going for. I searched for an audio clip that captured the suspenseful mood and rhythm that I felt matched the segment and transitions.

I realize that my work is quite amateur, but the purpose is to learn, grow, and improve. One of my goals was to enhance my timing. To achieve this, I experimented with fading images in and out, applied various transitional effects, and adjusted opacity and scaling to match the beat of the track. My hope was to create a more suspenseful vibe through these techniques.

Did it work?

Adobe Premiere Pro: How to create a trippy blend effect

Good Afternoon design friends!

I learned this effect using Adobe Premiere tutorials on YouTube, and it was a lot of fun! I discovered how to remove audio by right clicking on the audio portion of the video, unlinking it, and then deleting or replacing the audio. 

I found that if you duplicate the audio clip and drag it to video track V2, then apply the "Difference" blend mode, you can hold down the Alt/Option key and use the arrow keys to move it over a few times to create an really cool effects. I experimented a lot with this and noticed that adjusting the velocity of the clip also influences the effect, as well as the amount you move the top clip to the right.

I then added an adjustment layer and experimented with various blend modes and overlays because I felt the effect was too dark. Ultimately, I chose the "Screen" blend mode for the adjustment layer and added some luminosity to tweak the exposure and contrast a bit. 

I feel like there are countless adjustments you can make with endless possibilities, leading to varying intensities of the final result. Cool stuff!

https://youtu.be/QAiRiWDGYSQ?si=2EX82G9B_PqASfbK

Adobe Premiere Pro: How to create motion blur transition effects

Good Afternoon design friends!

I took three clips of serene images from the Adirondacks. This project helped me gain a better understanding of adjustment layers and how to create a motion blur transition effect. I initially had some difficulty getting the timing right to achieve the transition I wanted. 

Basically, to create the transition, you start by adding an adjustment layer. Then, you apply the offset effect to that adjustment layer. Create a keyframe at the point where you want the transition to start, scrub forward a few frames, and adjust the width on the shift center to set another keyframe for when you want the transition to end. For the first keyframe, click “Ease Out,” and for the second keyframe, click “Ease In.” 

Next, add the directional blur effect to the same adjustment layer. Move to the middle of the two keyframes and set the blur length to 180 degrees, with the direction set to 90 degrees to create a rightward blur. Then, go back to where the first keyframe starts and set the blur length to 0. Do the same at the end of the transition keyframe. This creates a motion blur effect, which can be a bit tricky if the timing isn't right, but is fairly easy overall.

I found it helpful to press the "M" key to create a marker, and then hold down the Alt/Option key and drag a duplicated adjustment layer to the next location where you want the motion blur transition effect. The final result looks nice when completed. 

In addition to the visual effects, I wanted to enhance the experience with audio. I added two audio clips: one with tranquil music that I eased in and out, and underneath that, I added a clip of birds and insects. I eased that audio in and out as well, keeping it at a lower volume while varying it slightly to create a natural fade. 

Overall, I think this was great practice, and I had a lot of fun doing it. If you have any suggestions for improvement, I welcome any constructive criticism. Thank you for your time!

https://youtu.be/QAiRiWDGYSQ?si=5EHWUz46H0QtJUD_

Creative Challenge 37

Good Evening.

I asked Chat GPT to give me a good idea for a Creative challenge this week. This is what it said:

“30-Minute Franken-Story”

Theme: Rapid ideation & constraint-based creativity

1. Set a timer for 30 minutes.
2. Randomly open three different sources (novel, magazine, Wikipedia, Spotify playlist).
3. Jot the first phrase you see/hear from each; those must all appear in your story.
4. Write a flash-fiction piece (max 300 words) connecting the phrases into a beginning, middle, and twist ending.

I then opened up Pandora and took the first couple of lines from the first song that played randomly.

Then I took the first headline that grabbed my attention on my news app.

Lastly, I randomly opened a Goosebumps book and pointed to a random sentence in the book and used that.

So I tried to create a story using the following :

"One by one, one by one, we all fall. Open your arms wide. Open your eyes wide.

Brother, run fast!

They're coming your way! Oh, brother, run fast

They're headin' your way!"

"Greg and his friends didn't turn around until they were across the street. Breathing noisily, they looked back and cried out in relieved surprise."

"A driver does a double take when he sees bag labeled cats on the side of the highway!"

This is my little story! Not to shabby Hope you like it( no AI used either😉)

I couldn't sleep, tossed and turned, I fluffed my pillow, but to no avail. I opened my eyes, sat up straight, placed my feet on the floor, and sighed in frustration. I decided to go for a walk.

I walked down my street listening to the sound of my sneakers crunching on the gravel road, and then became almost mesmerized by the rhythmic sound of my steps.

Suddenly, I heard a voice call to me, 

"One by one, one by one, we all fall. 

Open your arms wide. Open your eyes wide.

Brother, run fast!

They're coming your way! Oh, brother, run fast

They're headin' your way!"

My eyes frantically searched the dark wooded surroundings, my heart beat quickly, and I saw nothing." Who is there?" I cried out, "Who are you?" Still nothing, not a sound." Sleep deprivation", I thought to myself.I decided it was time to turn around and go home.

I opened the door of my house, entered, and made sure to lock it behind me.

I chucked out loud to myself."

I must be losing my mind," I mumbled out loud.

I decided to turn on the TV. I thought to myself, "maybe I can find something to distract my busy mind, and hopefully fall asleep".

As soon as I ease into my chair with my favorite blanket, I hit power on the TV remote and hear at a ridiculously high volume

"breaking news! A driver does a double take when he sees bag labeled cats on the side of the highway!"

I nearly jumped out of my skin and turned the TV off as quickly as I had turned it on.

"On second thought, maybe no TV," I thought to myself.

I began to climb the stairs back up to my room to give sleep another try.

Suddenly, I hear my friend Greg outside calling my name!

"Are you serious right now?" I thought. I peered out my window, afraid of what I may see, and sure enough, there was Greg and his friends running and screaming my name as if they were in trouble.

I ran downstairs, out the front door, and called to them. Greg and his friends didn't turn around until they were across the street. Breathing noisily, they looked back and cried out in relieved surprise.

 "Something is chasing us" Greg cried! 

I saw his friends each out of breath and visibly shaken.

I  had no words.

What in the earth was going on ?!.  I tried to digest all that has transpired....  

The sound of a shrill alarm in my ears. 

All is black.

I open my eyes.

 I'm in my bed safe..  I guess I had finally fallen asleep. 

It was a nightmare, I suppose.  

What a bizarre nightmare.

Adobe Premier Pro - Tutorial fun!

Good evening, designer friends!

This week, I began exploring a new Adobe program: Adobe Premiere Pro. At first, I was a bit apprehensive about tackling this software, as I feared it would be overwhelming and complex. However, I’ve found myself having a lot of fun experimenting with the various tools and options it offers. Watching numerous tutorials has truly helped me grasp the range of features available to me.

I decided to jump into one of the projects from the tutorials that I thought would be both enjoyable and beneficial for learning practical effects. I chose the tutorial titled "Discover Blend Modes." It really helped me understand how to layer clips and see how they interact, especially with video 1 and video 2. I experimented with nearly every blend mode on my first video clip and then on the second one. I also adjusted the opacity of the blends and alternated between having one clip with a blend and another without it.

Not wanting to stop there, I found a website https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/featured/  where I can download various audio clips for free. There's a membership required, but I opted for a free trial to see what the site had to offer, and I was really impressed. I picked two audio clips that I thought would work well together. I manually adjusted the keyframes on the kids' laughter, tweaking the volume to ease in and out. Then I layered a second clip of bubbles underneath, keeping its volume low and doing a similar easing in and out effect. 

I even added the laughter clip again, following the same easing technique and layering it with the bubbles for a fade out effect. While it’s not perfect, and I realize I could improve on timing and layering, the important thing is that I learned from it. I think I am starting to get the hang of it!