CCR Blog

1. CREATIVE CRITICAL REFLECTIO

1. How does your product use or challenge conventions AND how does it represent social groups or issues?

    Most people think skateboarding is a bad thing. Lots of people think that skateboarding is a hard thing to master. They think people who skateboard are lazy! However, I think differently.

I think skateboarding reflects peace and adventure. Skateboarding reflects adventure because you can skate to wherever you like. I feel really independent, confident, and capable when I skateboard.

     Skateboarding for me has helped me learn how to keep trying even when I failed at first. It was something I could do alone or with other people. It taught me to be willing to make mistakes in front of other people. Skateboarding is traditionally associated with punk or rock music. My music video is centered around getting people interested in skateboarding; but also in hip hop music. Lupe Fiasco was doing this too when he made this awesome song. It worked! Over time skateboarders started listening to more hip hop and embracing that type of music. I think my video does include social groups. The social groups are skateboarders, surfers, anyone who finds skateboarding interesting, and anyone who has had a lifelong love of a certain sport or other goal.

    I used videos from when I was a really young skateboarder, just learning, and to current videos because even to this day I still skateboard.

    I even used the same skateboard which is a penny board in my newer videos that I used when I first started out. I loved skateboarding when I was young because you got to be free and adventurous at the same time. My video reflects on the theme of never giving up. Lots of people tend to give up on skateboarding because it is too hard and they always fall but the video teaches you to get right back up and try again until you succeed

2. How does your product engage with audiences AND how would it be distributed as a real media text?

    My project engages with the audiences because it shows that skateboarding isn’t boring. Skateboarding is a very fun sport.

    Skateboarding has lots of different techniques that make skateboarding easier, however skateboarding sometimes can be very challenging once it comes to tricks, so there is something for the beginner and something for the advanced skateboarder.

    It also teaches you to persevere even when you make mistakes. It teaches you the joy of learning something new. Skateboarding shows how a hobby can stay with you from youth all the way to adulthood. It shows that all sorts of people can enjoy the same thing. Any audience can grab a skateboard and travel around on it. You don’t always have to go on ramps to love skateboarding. Skateboarding can be a leisure thing or anything you want to take to the next level. It can also be a way to get from here to there.

     I remember my first time on a skateboard and I used to fall and hurt myself. I loved the sport though so I had to get up and keep on going because this helped me persevere and make my dreams of becoming a skateboarder true.

    In order to get my video seen, I would do the same thing as Lupe Fiasco release my music video on MTV and YouTube and anywhere I could. I would also release my video on skateboarding Facebook groups and release it to skateboard shops. All of this is would be for the purpose of getting more people involved in a sport that is fun and entertaining.

    The skateboard shops would have my video play on it as they walk around the shop and look for skateboards and parts. I would make sure that my video is well presented and entertaining so many people will become interested in a hobby that is fun. I love skateboarding and I would want people to view my video and see that skateboarding isn’t just a boring thing but a thing that gives you life lessons and also gives you adventure.

3. How did your production skills develop throughout this project?

    I remember the first time I ever touched a camera my production skills were horrible. I would look at all the buttons and switches that I could possibly find on the camera. Every time I would push a button to see what would happen. I would use the camera every 15 minutes and make a mistake every time and have to go back and figure out what was going wrong.

    This project has most definitely improved my production skills. I learned so much on how to use a camera and the different features that come with it. Now I know how to use a camera and edit.

    The first time wasn’t the best. The camera focus would not focus so I had to figure that out but other than that I fixed it. The camera would sometimes glitch so I would have to turn it off and back on. The camera would also malfunction where photos weren’t taken and that was a problem.

    I used to have trouble taking the photos themselves because I would be hitting the wrong button and playing around with the controls  to make sure they were the right hue and brightness. The camera was super confusing at first and watching you tube videos was super helpful. I also used to go on You tube and watch videos on how to use my camera to better help me with my production skills.

    This project and class have helped me learn the mistakes I made on production and how to fix those mistakes to improve my production skills.

4. How did you integrate technologies – software, hardware and online – in this project?

     I integrated technology by using a filling software for my project, Spotify for the background music, my iPhone to shoot the shots and my skateboard to use as a prop. The filing software was a bit tricky at first as there were so many features such as AL Script and Image Editor, where you can fix the image with filters and other stuff. Other than the filming software it was all pretty easy. I also used i-phone to obtain the old video and stills from when I was little, transfer those shots and films to i-movie through email and then put the ones I wanted into the music video.

    The hard part was putting together the video because you had to time the switch with the lyrics and sometimes it was a bit tricky for me, as well as the photos. Sometimes the photos wouldn’t sync and it would be hard to download and then insert. I also had trouble with the music in the background. I had to convert the Spotify link to the filing software and then insert the link and select what song length I wanted. It was super confusing at first but then I got it and it was easier. Overall this project and the software was challenging but easy at the same time.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/11yZkTnetKjw157dzobh7l0APQ93DwEiz0OSjCmj98C0/edit?usp=sharing