Week four & overwhelmed
Posted: September 26, 2011 Filed under: iMedia Leave a commentWeek four of the iMedia program is coming to a close. How have I already been in school for a month? Life has been extremely busy the past four weeks and I have a feeling it’s not going to slow down anytime soon. I keeping thinking I will get used to the flow and I won’t feel so overwhelmed, but by the time that happens, I will be wearing a cap and gown.
I am always hesitant to use the word overwhelmed, but I have decided that it isn’t so bad. Merriam-Webster defines it as “to over come completely, submerge.” That is exactly what is happening, my life has been completely overcome with iMedia. And that is not a bad thing, since I enjoy it. If this was easy for me, there would be no point in me being here.
In the last four weeks I have created self-portraits, Flash timelines and slider bars, written numerous blog posts and a research proposal. I have even read a whole book. It feels great to see how much I have accomplished in such a short period of time!
This weekend I am heading to St. Louis to celebrate my Dad’s 60th birthday! (Check out the Flash card I made him.) My goal is to make sure my parents truly understand what I am doing in the iMedia program. Wish me luck!
Flash is not dead
Posted: September 13, 2011 Filed under: Flash Leave a comment
Starbucks website uses Flash video
One of our production based classes in the iMedia program focuses on Adobe Flash. Creating Flash animation can be a lot of fun, but very frustrating when not working properly. Along with Flash, we are learning Action Script 3 (AS3), a computer programing language. With AS3, you can write code and your animation will come to life. Programing languages are new to many of us and are the root of our all-nighters.
Many people seem to think learning Flash is unnecessary and will not be around very long (Because iPad and iPhone do not support it—more on that in a later post.). While I think Flash is a challenging program to learn, when I look around, I see so many instances of big companies using Flash, that I know it is still a useful skill.
I love the New York Times website. I check it daily to learn what is going on in the world. Everyone once in a while an add pops up before you can access the homepage. Recently there was a great Flash animation for Starbucks new fall drink line. Starbucks along with ESPN, NY Times and many more use Flash to support video on their sites.
With all of these big names using Flash, I doubt it will be going anywhere soon. I am glad to have Flash in my bag of tricks.
10-month all-nighter
Posted: August 17, 2011 Filed under: iMedia Leave a comment
As I begin my journey in the Elon iMedia Program, it seems only appropriate to blog about it. While I love blogs, I have never kept my own since Xanga was popular (that was a long time ago!).
The iMedia Program is an intense 10-month exploration of all things interactive, such as websites and smartphone and tablet applications. In August we immersed ourselves in three-week boot camp to learn Flash, Photoshop, Illustrator, HTML/CSS, FinalCut Pro and much more.
I love every second of the program, even though I often feel like I am working on the edge of my abilities, experiencing “flow.” I have been reading Reality Is Broken by Jane McGognial in a theory class and she often references flow.
Questions and suggestions are welcome as I proceed in my journey!
iMedia Love 