Final Portfolio
Why I took CMDP 1400
Hi, I'm Will Pastorius a 20-year-old looking to get into social media work and capture the world through media. I took this course because I have always been interested in media production. From Hitchcock films to social media edits, I love watching videos. from professional photo galleries to the photos on my camera roll of my drunk friends, I love seeing moments captured. Additionally, the form of media production I am most passionate is music production. My dream is to be a professional music producer. I understand that to pursue that career you have to learn about the basics of media itself. What draws people to art, what is media, what makes a piece of media stand out from the rest. All of those things are critical for me to learn if I want to be a music producer. One thing I took away from this course that really stuck with me was how complex media is as a whole, yet it's so simple at the same time. There are so many different names for ways to take a photo or capture something, yet ultimately media production is at heart about picking what you feel the audience will enjoy most, and what you will enjoy the most.
Critical Theme Connections
"No Way"
This photo connects to Wodiczko's writings on "Interrogative Design" and "Public Projection." Wodiczko's main point in the papers is that public art should confront social realities and engage peoples critical thinking. Overall, he believes that public art should question the world that it is in. The graffiti artwork I captured in this photo, does just that. It provokes my critical thinking and questions the world. It makes me wonder what the graffiti artist was protesting against with the phrase "No way." What are they saying no to do?
"Snowy Mountains"
The concept of Charles A. Hill’s “The Psychology of Rhetorical Images" is that images make things feel exaggerated and much more important. When you can physically see something, you can understand it better than just hearing about it. For example, a photo of dead soldiers on a battlefield will leave a much greater impact on someone than an article on it will. The idea is that images provoke more emotions than text. The photo I chose is one I took of the mountains while I was skiing. I feel like this photo does a great job at making the mountains seem important, and you can almost feel as if you're in the image. You can feel the fresh, cold air. I could try and make someone jealous about my amazing ski trip by telling them, or I could save my words and just show them this photo.
"Phone On Top of The World"
One of the themes we talked about in CMDP 1400 is surveillance and the idea of constantly being watched. I chose this photo because I think it perfectly encapsulates that theme. For one, I am taking a photo of him while he is not looking. He wasn't aware I was taking a photo of him, instead he thought I was strictly catching the scenic view behind him. Additionally, I think this photo speaks to today's world. You could be in the most beautiful place, on top of the world, but ultimately your still brought back down to the reality that lies in your phone. Whether that reality be messages that remind you of your day to day life, or the reality that is phone addiction.
Six Images That Show How My Eye Changed Throughout the Course
I feel my photography skills and eye changed immensely over the course. I feel like I understand the idea of an artistic photo better Overall. I feel like first photos were dull, boring, and don't make the viewer feel anything. These photos below really portray a vibe or an emotion. I think I was able to get better at giving life to my photos through multiple techniques. I learned how to use lighting to enhance a photo. In all of the photos below lighting is a huge aspect. All of the photos are taken at night, so the lights contrast beautifully. For example, the light reflecting off the snow in the Flat Iron photo, or the way the sparks coming off the performer's flames look like a million little stars in the pure black sky behind them. Overall, lighting is the biggest technique or cheat code I learned. However, in the grand scheme of things I learned that a photo has to capture a mood to make the viewer feel anything.
Social Media Short Story
Explore the background behind my social media Short Story
I feel like the use of the social media platform helped tell my story. I think one of the great things about social media is that it is a concise and straight to the point form of media. A twitter post, or in this case a Facebook post is almost always short and to the point. Similarly, a tik to post is often under a minute long. This is because people don't want to spend a lot of time on one thing. I could go on a long rant about how I feel my first dog has become overshadowed by my second dog, but I think that the post tells the viewer everything they need to know efficiently. Additionally, especially in the case of dogs, if the viewer sees my sweet and adorable dog, they will be much more upset that my dog is not receiving as much love. People get emotional when they see cute things. That is why the commercials for dog pounds and adoption centers are so successful, because they are filled with that guilt inducing imagery.
I chose to do a maker drawing because I love the feeling of drawing with marker. This might sound strange to most, but for me pencils are too sharp and rigid. There is something smoother and more satisfying about drawing with a marker or pen. I chose to do a drawing because I feel like the post kind of has a childish aspect to it. Realistically a post like that would probably be done by a child, rather than an adult. So, I felt the child like drawing just made sense. Also, there is something kind of cartoonish about marker drawings and I felt the idea of the post was a bit cartoonish.