Final Presentation

Here is my video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZL6sBEFU_aM&feature=g-upl

I would have embedded it into the post, but I guess I'm still a little technologically daft.

I'm very grateful to have been through this class, for it forced me to do what I have been capable of for many years. I've learned the lesson that I've got to start applying myself in life, so that I don't just end up as that hobo on a park bench playing a game boy and owing everybody money.

Thanks again Rob. :D

Week 10

Project is being converted, clipped and worked on in other ways as well. Finally ripped Last Action Hero to my computer, so I was able to add in clips from the movie. I'm actually very proud of what came out of this, I was nothing but lazy throughout this term and I still managed to catch up and make a really great video (or at least soon to be). I sat down scanning the movie and very carefully picked which clips to insert into the video, and I can tell I chose wisely.

All I need now is to do a few clever editing tricks to spice up the usually monotonous youtube fan video. I guess I have a bit of trouble being too stoked about it considering I made the damn thing. Nevertheless I feel really accomplished, and have learned a lot about myself this term. This project inspired me to cover more songs on the guitar, and to take a new interest in my new hobby of video editing.

Update 009

I've finally realized what I've done. The truth is that I have royally fucked up this term. My only slightly valid excuse is that I have been making the transition from on-campus college life to life as a commuter. My old study habits have failed me and it became obvious mid-term that I needed to make a change. However, by the time that change had been made, it was too late.

I'm not even able to picture the cool screen effects for this video I am making, basically it will be the master track of Megadeth's original song "Angry Again", with my visually strumming along inserted with clips of the movie "Last Action Hero". The action-satire of the early 1990's is what initially popularized the song, and it is one of my personal favorites to date, both the movie and the song. The bias of the average youtube user will rip me a new asshole, but hey, I deserve it for being so fucking lazy.

As I was going to record the audio for my own playing of the song, I remembered that the hardware I used for such actions in the past had mysteriously broken on me years ago, casting me deeper into a pit of uncertainty. At this point, straight C's would be a wet dream come true for the end of this term. But this has taught me an important lesson, the lesson that I had better pull myself together before I end up on academic suspension.

Eighth update

All of the basic video clips are adjusted to the master track. All that remains now is the ripping of Last Action Hero and the recording of my own audio from home. I will be ordering a used copy of the movie from amazon with over-night shipping to make the process quite a bit faster as far as the issue of the movie goes. Ripping straight from netflix could potentially be illegal in my current jurisdiction of the law, so to buy the DVD first will make me feel much safer about it. It's a great movie, so I won't mind watching it over a few times to make my choices of favorite scenes.

I have downloaded audacity onto my laptop at home, and dug up my old microphones, mic stands and affiliated attachments to begin recording the audio as soon as possible. While it will be frustrating, the result will make me feel like I have learned something fun and interesting. Might have to buy another 1/8" converter, unfortunately. Regardless, I look forward to it ending.

Seven was the name, and this update had game...

After learning a little bit about final cut pro with Rob's help, I proceeded to carefully align the visual elements of my guitar playing with the master track, ripped from youtube. Proving to be a decently tedious affair, I realize now that I will have to leave some spots of my actually playing either blank or have something else be shown. After a bit of thinking, I have decided that I am going to rip Last Action Hero the movie to my computer, and carry it on a thumb drive to the computer lab on a future date. After copying it to final cut, I will be adding some choice clips of a very underrated flick to this music video, which I think would have been a good idea even if I hadn't had any issues with timing. The human eye can only be amused for a small amount of time by one type of stimulus.

I will also be re-recording my own audio from home, so that nobody on youtube can say I'm faking it.

Take the number of my last update and add 1...THIS is that number update!

We have begun recording guitar tracks and I must say that it is pretty tedious. Not only is playing the guitar parts correctly an issue, Robert and I spend a good amount of time getting JUST the right camera angle for each shoot. For anyone who has not tried it before, the recording is actually almost never very much fun. The result is what is to look forward to, and that is what I am doing right now.

After a hectic week, we finally got all of the guitar tracks recorded. That is to say, all of the VIDEO tracks recorded. In all honesty, I am thinking it might be a good idea to re-record the guitar solo, because I am not entirely sure I did it correctly down to the absurdly finite detail (this is a joke, and THIS is the part where you start giggling through your nose). I will be doing my best to get the audio recorded on my own at home using a free audio-recording software known as audacity. Hopefully there is more time to do some fine-tuning than I think, because I would honestly like this video to stand out above the current cover videos on youtube.

Midterm Report (update five)

I have finally begun practicing the song "Angry Again" by Megadeth on my guitar. It is rather tedious, as is learning any other song, if you ask me. For the most part, I am an improv guitar player. This means that usually I play my own music, songs that I have made, or that I have made with a few legitimate colleagues. I already know that learning the guitar solo will be the hardest part, but I also know that it will be a very helpful step in more than just one area.

It's fun to know that we as a class get to meet in the RVTV building now. The old classroom was a bit boring and honestly (at first) made the entire class as a whole seem the same way. The computer lab is superb- all of the latest and greatest recording software, including final cut pro, which would have costed me a lot of freakin' money to get on MY computer. Final Cut has to be what I am the most excited about for this project- learning how to edit videos with professional software will open my eyes to a whole new world!