All posts by av09ol

Light the Dark by Anna Valerio

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For my final project, I created a song and video. As you all saw, I performed the song live in class and had the video playing in the background. Normally I like to play music with a jazzy vibe to it, however I felt ambient would be best for the mood I was trying to portray. I wanted the project to deal with the difference between light and dark and how the two depend on each other. The original track is roughly 4 minutes, so I had to cut it down to 3 for the presentation.

I will post a link to the full version of the song later. Here is a link to my music video Light the Dark.

I also thought I would post the lyrics if anyone wanted to read them.

Light The Dark by Anna Valerio

Trembling fingers
Cold, cold eyes
Your lips are loose
Your heart is paralyzed

Don’t let yourself fade away
Don’t let it all fade to grey

Without dark there can be no light
Light up the darkness
Without black there can be no white
Light up the darkness

Cold chills
Blood rush
Fever fuss
Love and lust

Take a breath
Hold it in
Let it go
From within
Breathe in deep
The words you can’t keep
Let them go
Let me go

Without dark there can be no light
Light up the darkness
Without black there can be no white
Light up the darkness

Take a breath
Hold it in
Let it go
From within
Breathe in deep
The words you can’t keep
Let them go
Let me go

Without dark there can be no light
Light up the darkness
Without black there can be no white
Light up the darkness

Disintegrating into the nothingness that surrounds you
Don’t let it consume you

Without dark there can be no light
Without black there can be no white

I’ll pull you from the shadows
I won’t let you fall, fall, fall…
I’m here
I’m right here

Anna’s Final Project Proposal.

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For my final project, I want to incorporate video and audio. Since I love creating music, photography, and videography I decided to incorporate all three. I want to make a music video for an original song. I’ll produce the music myself and film the video. I also want to incorporate some stop motion like my last Radiohead video. I want this video to deal with the difference between light and dark, day and night… and how the two depend on eachother. I want to take a scene and film it in light and then in dark, and blend the two together. I will include people as well as different vivid images in my video.

TIME LINE:

Saturday Nov 21 – Complete lyrics/music for the song.

Sunday Nov 22 – Record audio track.

Wednesday Nov 25 – Finish producing audio track.

Friday Nov 27- Saturday Nov 28 – Film project.

Saturday Nov 29 – Monday Nov 30 – Finish editing video.

Tuesday Dec 1 – Dec 2 – work on presentation.

Anna’s Gallery Visit.

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For my gallery visit, I chose to go to the AGO and view the Edward Steichen: In High Fashion, the Condé Nast Years 1923–1937 exhibit. The AGO is filled with many collections and exhibits, but I chose this one in particular because I love film photography, fashion and his work. Click here to view more information about his exhibit on the AGO website. His work is so influential, shaping celebrity and fashion photography. Looking through the magnificient portraits that hung on the walls, I couldn’t help but be drawn into them. Seeing photos such as “Black” modeled by Margaret Horan shows how the focus of his photographs were composition, dramatic lighting, and subject matter.
This made me think of Annie Lebovitz, the celebrity photographer of celebrities. If you look at her photos, the viewer of this day and age instantly recognizes the celebrity. However, with Steichen’s I don’t, and yet I am still drawn to it’s composition.
I myself enjoy fashion photography, and his work most definitely inspires me.

Anna’s Electronics Project.

Web Project

I didn’t expect this project to be easy, but I also didn’t expect it to be as hard as it was. I wanted to create an LED human figure that lights up using LED motion sensors. I was unable to find motion sensors and ended up having to just use a switch to light the LED lights. Then I found a sensor that works using a light source…So the LEDs would turn on once a light is shinned on the sensor. However, this also didn’t work. The entire process was extremely frustrating for me. I tried watching youtube tutorials and doing anything I could to make all the LED lights work. I had to take apart all the wires I tried to connect, because they ended up sparking, burning out, and releasing horrible fumes. Due to time constraints, I have been forced to create a circuit using one LED and a switch. Therefore, out of all the LEDS on my project, only one works (which is slightly embarrassing). I’m not pleased with my final result and if I could I would like to fix it. I have video documentation of my process, but since I am going to submit the final product next thursday I will update my post then with a link to the video.

Anna’s Electronics Project Proposal.

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I’ve had a lot of difficulty thinking of something to create for this project because all my ideas are either too complex or slightly ridiculous.. I’m really fascinated by the idea of interactive LED lights that turn on using a motion sensor. I was inspired by this Interactive LED Coffee Table that I found on youtube. At first I wanted to use some form of glass whether it be a a small side table counter top or a punch bowl, etc. But I finally thought of an idea that I want to pursue.

I’m going to use a picture frame with a piece of glass, black bristol board, LED lights, a switch, and hopefully some sort of light motion sensor. I want to outline a human figure on the black poster using white LED lights and inside the body I will create a heart using red LED lights and place the black board underneath the glass. The lights will not be seen unless a human hand hovers over them. I’m trying to show how the lights are in fact there, you simply need to go over them to actually see them. This relates to human beings in a sense that we tend to have people in our lives that are there for us, yet we take them for granted and don’t notice them.

I think the most difficult task will be finding a light motion sensor that will work for my idea. Hopefully I can pull it off and I’m quite excited to get started on it now.

Anna’s Video Project

Video Project

The process I went through for my video project was very time consuming but overall rather enjoyable. I filmed a music video for the song “Everything In It’s Right Place” by Radiohead. The song is originally about four minutes long but unfortunately I had to cut it down to two. This was one of the most difficult tasks for me since I wanted to incorporate many parts of the song into my video… I cut the song down into a few parts and had some difficulty piecing it together so that it didn’t sound choppy. As for the actual filming/photographing process, it was done over the course of three nights. In the end, I had over an hour of footage… all for a two minute video. I really had to choose the best parts and cut everything down to fit it in. The editing process also took quite a while, but I enjoyed it and didn’t have many difficulties with it. This video was based off of my interpretation of the song and it is meant to be obscure… So if you get lost, you’re right where you should be.

Everything In It’s Right Place

Anna’s Video Proposal

Video Project

For this project I propose to create a music video for the song “Everything In It’s Right Place” by Radiohead. Anyone who recognizes this song can understand how surreal it is. The lyrics are both simple and complex. In my perspective, these lyrics have to do with dreams and the human condition. This video will be based off of my interpretation of the lyrics and a series of dreams I’ve had.

In this video I will incorporate stop-motion, slow motion, and reverse motion. It will follow a girl who wakes up from a nightmare and goes through a series of abnormalities trying to differentiate between what is reality and what is imaginative. There will be flashing between slow motion and fast motion scenes to represent the lyrics, “There are two colours in my head.” I will be shooting this in black and white, focusing on lighting and shot techniques and editing it using iMovie.

Anna’s Web Project.

Uncategorized, Web Project

My experience with creating this web space was both simple and complex. I used to really enjoy web design, so I am a little familiar with HTML as it is. The challenges I faced were working with some CSS and definitely working from home. I have a MacBook Pro, however, I do not have Fetch. Therefore, I downloaded a program called Cyber Duck, which does the same as Fetch. I had a lot of trouble trying to set it up and getting it to work. Finally, I got it to work and everything is up and running smoothly. I also had issues with trying to get the right design attributes for the links and text since I chose a busy background image. Another issue I’ve been having is uploading my screen shot. For some reason it won’t let me attach it or add it as a link.

Overall, minus the tricky tasks, I found it quite enjoyable creating this project.

Here is a link to my web space.

Hello, my name is Anna.

Hello My Name Is

 

Hi, my name is Anna.

 I’m not entirely sure what to say… I feel like I’m writing an ad for a dating website. So I guess I like candle-lit dinners and taking long walks on the beach. Just kidding.

I am nineteen years old and I’m from London, Ontario. I graduated in 2008, but decided I would return to high school for a victory lap in the fall. I thought I wanted to go into psychology, but I ended up dropping out of the semester and realizing what I truly wanted to do. My high school photography teacher told us to NEVER pursue a career in photography, because it is such a competitive field and we would live a starving artist lifestyle. But then I thought, so what? I rather live my life doing what I love, even if I am a starving artist. At my interview for OCAD I showed up with a portfolio of photographs and had forgotten to write the piece on why I should be accepted to OCAD, so I had to write it on a piece of lined paper with a pencil. When I walked into the room there were so many other individuals with huge canvases and sculptures. I wondered why I was even there, doubting that I would be accepted considering I’ve never taken any formal art classes before. And now, here I am! Never doubt what you may be capable of.

I am currently in first year art, and I want to major in photography (evidentially). I mostly enjoy to do themed photography. I love the entire process from planning a theme with an underlying meaning, to setting up a shoot, to styling a models hair and make-up and clothing, to capturing the image itself. I love digital photography, but not as much as I love film. Today almost anyone can be a “photographer” in the digital world. Film photography is a long process but I find it so enjoyable. I also enjoy photo manipulation, videography, fashion and music. I am a singer/song-writer as well as a musician. I play the violin and piano self-taught. I have had some really exciting opportunities and am currently working on my own music. I would say my music has a jazz/soul/ambient vibe to it, and I hope to do some local shows soon. 

You can view my photography at www.flickr.com/photos/annavalerio

As much as I am nervous about taking some formal art classes at OCAD, I know it’ll be worth it in the long run.