I chose this assignment because I enjoy mixing different sounds to create something new. For this project, I had to combine all of my most hated sounds into a single track. Luckily for me, I have plenty to choose from!
I used Soundtrap and SoundCloud for this assignment. Soundtrap made it easy to layer the tracks together, and I ended up using: nails crackling, styrofoam, cardboard box stacking, and metal squeaking. When I combined them, the result was truly a sound from hell. I could only listen to it for about 10 seconds before my ears begged me to stop.
Soundtrap is a beginner-friendly audio editing software that made it easy to arrange and layer the sounds. Once I finished, I uploaded my track to SoundCloud, and I was surprised by how simple the process was. It was actually pretty cool!
Listening to Moon Graffiti was such an immersive experience. The audio was done so well that I could picture everything happening, almost like I was right there. It wasnāt just about hearing the story, it was about feeling it. The way sound effects and shifts in audio were used made the whole thing come alive.
Iāve always found it interesting how our senses connect to memory. A certain smell or song can instantly take us back to a specific moment in our lives. I think that plays a big role in audio storytelling too. Sound taps into something deeper, linking memory and imagination. In Moon Graffiti, little details like the crackling radio, the odd silence of space, and even the astronautsā breathing made the story feel real. Those sounds didnāt just tell me what was happening they made me feel the isolation, the tension, and the weight of the moment.
Abumrad talks about how sound isnāt just something we hear, it’s something we experience. He mentions this idea of āco-Authorization,ā where the listener actively builds the story in their mind based on sound. Moon Graffiti does exactly that. it lets the sounds guide us, so we create the picture ourselves.
This technique isnāt just in audio storytelling we see it in movies and TV shows. A horror scene wouldnāt be as scary without creaky floors or distant whispers, and a dramatic moment wouldnāt hit as hard without the right music in the background. Sound shapes mood, builds atmosphere, and pulls us in.
White background: Controversial opinion: I’ve always hated red and white. I understand from a marketing perspective why you would want a poster that immediately grabs people’s eyes, but there are so many other ways to do it that would be visually appealing for me personally. I also don’t really care for raunchy humor, which may explain my distaste for this style of poster.
Groan Ups, 2019
White (in general): I find these to be cleaner and classier than their red cousin, which I appreciate. It also stands out in a similar way which is good for marketing. I thought it was interesting that he said it portrays what to expect from the movie. I can appreciate honest advertising.
Forrest Gump, 1994
Blue: I enjoy a sleek blue that provides a mysterious vibe to the movie poster. They are often used in action/thriller posters and have the (main) character running in the middle. To me, this poster specifically was a great example of this color scheme and I really liked how it looked. And, he says it, “has its roots in film noir”, very cool!
Paycheck, 2003
Film noir: Definitely my favorite so far. I love old time-y movie posters. It reminds me of Archie comics.
This Gun For Hire, 1942
Yellow: Apparently this is used to represent low-budget indie movies, which I wouldn’t have been able to guess, but it does make sense. I like yellow so I definitely appreciate this one,
Capitalism, A Love Story, 2009
XeroxQuality: I know I said film noir was my favorite, but this definitely takes the cake. I imagine that maybe one is based off of the other? I love these kinds of posters. This is the kind of movie poster I would put up on my wall. I know technology is all about getting better, more impressive, and more modern, but you just can’t beat perfection.
Wake in Fright, 1971
Black, white, & orange: I don’t know if it’s me and my lack of interest in action movies, but I don’t care for this at all. I find it to be too severe and has too much going on. Can’t say I like it, unfortunately.
Transporter 3, 2007
Blue and Orange: I knew I loved it as soon as I saw it, but them, when he said that the orange is used to “lead the eye to the key focus of the narrative”? Too good. I loved Star Wars: A New Hope as a kid, if it could be made even better. No notes.
When I watched Stranger Things, I didn’t really watch the title sequence because it creeped me out too much. I liked seeing the other typographics they looked at before choosing theirs. ITC Bengat is very recognizable so I thought it was a great choice. Using the kodaliths to look even more 80’s was very impressive to me. It’s cool to recognize the work that goes into something that I wouldn’t even notice, like a title sequence.
In order to create this I had to dust off my Canva skills. I googled “Beach” and found the on this website. I used a website to invert the photo and put some transparent images onto it. It’s one of my favorite songs!
DON’T SCROLL PAST THE PHOTO IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO GUESS. I will put the answer well below it, there is a hint as well.
I am going to put the answer well below this; if you would like to know the answer, continue scrolling.
Want a hint? “Devils roll the dice, angels roll their eyes.”
When I was 17, I knew I would get a tattoo. When I was 18, I was like, “I’m 18, I can’t make a choice for something to be on my body longer than I will be in it”. When I was 19, I knew I would get a tattoo if I felt really committed to it and had wanted it for a while (like, at least a year). Now, I’m 20. I don’t have a tattoo, and I probably won’t get one anytime soon. If I did, it would be something for my siblings or my pets or something, but that’s not a super fun idea for an assignment. Gun to my head, right now, if I had to get a tattoo, I think I would get one on my ankle or arm of the Japanese maple tree growing outside the front of my childhood home. The beauty of Japanese maples is how colorful they are, and getting a tattoo with color ink and not the regular black has a higher risk of allergies, so I don’t know that I would ever risk it.
The Japanese maple in question, in all its glory.
In a perfect world; however, I could get whatever tattoo of whatever color, it would have no negative repercussions, and I could remove it with a snap of my fingers if I ever didn’t care for it anymore. If this were the case, of course I would get the gorgeous tree of my childhood home tattooed on me. I would get something like this! It’s obviously not perfect or exactly what I would want, but I’m happy with how it looks.
It was lots of fun getting to design something meaningful that I would put on my body forever (maybe).
When making this assignment, I wanted to try to make some kind of symbol for the resistance, for the robots, or just for Zer0 in general. I decided on a symbol for the resistance, highlighting that they are robots and often have glowing symbols on their faces. The lines with a triangle on the end are present on Zer0’s face. I used Krita again, trying to make it look a bit neon with an airbrush and multiple layers. I tried capturing cyberpunk and tech noir vibes with the dark background and neon, while also trying to think of what would separate the robots from the humans. Maybe there are many robots in the resistance that have triangle LEDs on their faces. Maybe it’s something they thought of that doesn’t particularly match a human face. They could’ve taken attributes from multiple members of the resistance and merged them together. Whatever the reason, this is the symbol they decided on.
I took this picture of my desk after a particularly vigorous crafting session, but managed to have many of my favorite things in the image. I’m sure that there were easier ways to do this project, but I opted for convenience of device. Instead of loading up Photoshop on my laptop, I used Procreate on my iPad. I imported the photo and copied the layer, and made the top layer black-and-white. After that, I just erased the areas on the black-and-white layer that I wanted to be shown in color.
See if you can find all of them!
The Emotional Support Water Bottle: I LOVE my water bottle, and I carry it with me everywhere. I mentioned this in an earlier post, but there is almost never water in it.
Show Buttons: I have a pin from each of the shows that I have worked on in Klein Theatre, which is all of them! I have a display on my backpack and bulletin board.
Owen’s Farm Mug: This was the last trip my family took together before COVID, and my parents snuck this mug into my college stuff. It broke last year when I accidentally launched it across the kitchen while trying to wash it, so while it no longer holds coffee, it does hold pens.
Memory Box: I have one of these for each year of college, and it holds playbills/scraps of paper/playing cards/anything else that has something of importance to me.
Pothos: I have a lot of plants, but this one is the first one I got from my Mom.
Photos of my Roommates and I: We took these pictures at Fall Formal this year, and I adore this photo reel (and my roommates!).
Love Postcard: I got this in a box for a bracelet from my grandmother and, while I didn’t like the jewlery, this postcard has traveled with me.
NYC Card: I bought a lot of art on my first trip to New York, and this one is just so cute.
Dad’s Jacket: At some point I stole this jacket from my Dad, and I love that it’s getting so much wear from both him and me. It just goes with everything!
Work in Progress Art: I bought this right before college to remind me that I am always learning to be better. Cheesy, I know.
This is an edited version of a photo of me that was taken in 2023. I tried putting different filters over it in Krita and ended up on Increase Saturation HSV. Changing the color didn’t affect the picture, but changing the saturation (how vibrant or dull it was) did. When I saw this, it stood out to me how vibrant the background had become and how Zer0 looked pretty much the same whether the filter was on or not. I like the contrast between Zer0 and the environment, which used to be just as gray and dull as him. I think it makes him stand out more and ironically gives the picture more life. To me, it makes the background look more like a painting. This could be used as a metaphor for how Zer0 doesn’t belong or have a place in the world. Robots are not naturally occurring things and are ostracized in the story. Parking decks, concrete, and cars are things people are much more accustomed to and trusting of.
The assignment takes you to a website that allows you to make your own trading card! I thought this would be a good assignment for something fun and simple. I knew I needed an assignment incorporating my character so it worked out really well.
I did the 20 minute Photoblitz last night, here were my prompts:
Find a grid pattern somewhere: I struggled to find something interesting, so here are the tiles on the ground of the common area in my dorm.
Make a photograph of a smile, either literal or symbolic: I hoped to get a photo of my cat that looked like she was smiling, but it didn’t work out. Make your reflection on the screen will show you the smile I was looking for?
Make an artistic photo that involves one of your toes: I like to call it “Reflecting on one’s atoenement” It doesn’t really mean anything, but the play on words was too good for me to not use.
Giraffes are brilliant. Show us what it would be like if they lived in human society: I didn’t have a good way to demonstrate this, so I drew it, it was probably the thing that took the most time, maybe 7-8 minutes.
No ocean, surely you can find some water around you to take a photo of: This is my cat’s water filter, she stays well hydrated thanks to it so I am very grateful for it.
How do ants see the world? Change your viewpoint: Cute, right?
Doors can have a lot of character, be it in the hinges, knob, or style: This is a door in my dorm building, it’s been painted over a few times and this building is long overdue for a renovation, but I like it better than my door to my dorm.
I can’t say that this was my favorite activity, but I did really enjoy the creative exercise, I felt like I gained from it!
