demo Reel

Final- The Magician's Act

Final - Work in Progress

I have the beginning and the end done for the most part. i do think that the lion disappearing trick goes by a little fast but that's easily fixable.

revised demo reel

i made a few more closer cuts and fixed the end credits to look like the begining. at this point i still only have a few animations but i think its pretty decent for this point.

Dynamic Imaging DVD Menu

resume

Amanda Willoughby
8201 Everwood Cove Germantown Tn 38138
901-334-8787
abwilloughby90@gmail.com

I am interested in obtaining a media driven position, in a challenging environment that focuses on

Education
Memphis College of Art - August 2008 - present
Candidate for Bachelor in Digital Media, December 2012
3.1 GPA

Artistic/ Technical Skills
Skilled in using Mac and PC
Cinematography - Digital Video recording
Film Editing - Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro
Design - Adobe After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign
Sound Recording and Editing -Logic Pro
Pre-production -Screenwriting, story structure, character development

Experience

Neighborhood Christian Centers Inc. - Paid Internship
September 2010 - present
Assisting multimedia director with all preproduction for summer filming - This includes filming talent auditions, placing talent in roles, writing scripts, developing shot lists, research, and brainstorming material
Acquiring and transporting all production equipment to and from Mud Island daily
Filming all scheduled scenes daily under direction of Multimedia director
Collect, import, and organize all recorded materials
Edit all recorded material
Develop DVDs for distribution to affiliated sites
Assist multimedia director with decorating for all major NCC functions
Film NCC events - organize, edit, and export promotional videos

New Life Holiness COGIC
august 2011-present
Film all sessions of Build-a-Wall program
Collect, import, and organize all recorded materials
Edit four separate installments of program
Produce DVD to be turned into WTWV each week for saturday morning broadcast

Concord Academy - Work study
August 2008-December 2008
Design creative and stimulating art lessons and projects for two classes that meet twice a week
Instruct and oversee class of students
Assist students with art projects

Professional Affiliations
Optimum Studios
Owner- Monroe Ballard

Demo Reel

okay so this is the first edit of my first demo reel. I wish that i could add more, but so far all i have is this class work and digital cinema. If i remember correctly, Jill said to not mix the two. so this reel shows off what i've done in this class. Im content with the way it looks at the moment. I can't wait to finish my final so that i can add more to it.

Work in progress

So (thanks to the stomach flu) i am nowhere near where i would like to be, but i am in a decent place to get moving on this project.
After bringing my assets into AE i noticed a few spots in my character design that bothered me (edges and lines) but i will see how the class feels about it. I may just be too anal about it. also, im pretty sure im not rendering correctly, so i will make sure to address that in class.

Writeup - Progress for Final

So i decided to completely redesign my main character. I went more along the lines of my style in my midterm. My magician actually looks like her older brother or something. anyways i spent much more time ironing out the details of the stage and magician. Im not completely sold on my stage design however. I think i may add the tops of the crowds' head for a little more of an effect. for my progress for class I thought i'd show my new character design in its surroundings in a simple animation.

schedule for completing Final

Monday Nov 28- Work on animating first act.
Tuesday Nov 29- Finish Act 1 animation
Wednesday nov 30- animate Act 2
Thursday- Tweak Act 2 animation
Friday Dec 2- animate act 3
saturday- Have all scenes finished and ready for revision.
Monday- revisions to animation.

still from final

The Magician's Act
Place-Talent show
Time-Evening
Atmostphere- tesnse mood
With a dream of becoming one of the world's greatest magician, Pete is about to perform his first dangerous act; but things go wrong on stage.
Act 1
Character is introduced behind stage becoming very nervous about going on for his act. He pumps himself up for the first trick. After sprinkling magic dust into his hat, a small puff of smoke mushrooms out and a rabbit crawls out coughing. Crowd reacts in shock.

Act 2
a tank of water is being rolled out onto stage for the second act. he is chained and lowered in but drops his secret key and is forced to press the emergency button in his hand. a small figure carrying an ax runs onto stage and breaks the glass.

Act 3
the final trick
pete rolls out a cage with a lion inside and throws a tarp over it. the audience is fearful now. pete does the magic wave and presto! the lion has disappeared. the crowd is amazed and pete gets applause.

revised travel fellowship

I’ve always wanted to make the most of my college experience. No matter what I’m working on I put the best effort in, to get the best experience and results out. I would love to use the travel fellowship as an opportunity to document a personal quest. Furthermore, Italy would be the ideal location for my travel experience. More specifically, the city of Rome. It is a beautiful place full of rich culture and history. For my project, I would like to create documentary depicting my personal journey of discovery and self-growth in an unfamiliar place with new experiences. I’ve never left the country before, so this honor would be an extremely exciting thing for me.
I am unfamiliar with the customs and pace of Roman life, but through studying art and architecture of Rome I have become familiar with its rich history; and I want to take this as a chance to “do as the Romans do”. I could really benefit from seeing and living in a completely different world. My home has been in Memphis my entire life, and I believe that in order to see things differently and more openly one must put oneself in a place where they can see life from a completely different side. I have already done this is a way. Since starting school, I’ve grown more than I could have possibly imagined just by living alone and becoming self-sufficient (which was a big adjustment). I am sure that I can handle a trip like this with complete confidence.
During the course of my travel, I would like to address a few questions and topics in detail for my project. First, I will address the topic of my feelings toward this travel experience. What is a typical day like for the average Italian? Where are the best places for locals to congregate? What will be my initial reaction to the Roman life? What are the differences from home? What effect does will each visited attraction have on me? Will my way of thinking change?
The classes I’ve taken here at MCA pertaining to digital media are Digital Cinema, Dynamic Imaging, and Sound. The coursework for these classes have left me with very good skills in Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, Logic, and After Effects. I’ve also been working on an internship in filming and editing for the past year. I’ve gained endurance and a real love for filmmaking over the past year. I was even inspired to change my major from sculpture to digital media with only three semesters left in school.
I’ve chosen Rome as my main city of interest mainly because of the architecture. I’ve studied most of the places that I want to visit in my art history classes. I’m interested in the history behind the city and how it has shaped the city into the major tourist attraction it is today. To find the answers I need, I would first make sure that I’m well read in anything that I’m diving into. Asking informed questions on my outings is the best way to get quick and directed information.
To find out more about everyday life, I’ll put my people skills to use- talking to locals and getting to know more about them. I’d use these times as opportunities to record conversations. Everything will be recorded in both writing and some digital format.
After arriving in Rome, the first thing is to check into Hotel Aphrodite. It is one of the best and most affordable four-star hotels in Rome. Also, it happens to be located just 15 minutes from the Colosseum and other famous attractions. Nearby, there is a place to rent scooters. I’ve read that seeing the city on scooter will be a nice advantage in navigating through many of the heavily populated pedestrian areas. The cost of renting is about fifty eruos per day.
After settling in, there’ll be a small walk to find a place to get a simple but great meal. According to travel guides, the Piazza Trillusa is a wonderful evening spot. There are beautiful lights overlooking a gorgeous fountain. This is a place where Roman locals and tourist hang out at night. There are small shops and bars in the plaza. Each night, I’ll give myself reflection time to organized everything collected that day. This means I will definitely need to bring a laptop with me.
My first full day in the city will be full of tours. I’ve never had that “tourist” experience, but I think it’s important to spend time as the student of a city if it’s unfamiliar. As far as food goes, my plan is to find a few good “hole-in-the-wall” restaurants. Those are usually the places with the best food for the best prices. To find those, I’ll have to ask around. Moreover, instead of eating big meals I want to try as much variety as possible.
The next day will be a bit different. It’ll consist of more relaxed experiences. I’ll start with a visit to the Pantheon. Next, I want to see an Italian movie at a theater. I don’t speak any Italian, but I’m really interested in cinema from other countries. Next, I can’t leave Italy without going shopping; however, those funds would be strictly my own. Then I’d take the evening and use it for exploring the Roman nightlife.
To sum up, for the summer of 2012, I believe that I would make a good candidate for the Travel Fellowship. This is an opportunity that I would take full advantage of and it could have a huge lasting impression on my life.


Budget and Timeframe
Timeframe (all costs are converted from the eruro)
Date Location Time Cost
7-9-12 Depart Memphis 4:15pm (15hr) $1514 (round trip)
7-10-12 Arrive in Rome 2:05pm
Check in Hotel Aphrodite 3:00pm $540 (4 nights)
Rent Scooter 4:00pm $272 (4 days)
Restaurant - Dinner 5:00pm $30
Piazza Trillusa 7:00pm $60
Return to Hotel 10:00pm
Organize & record any project data 10:00-11:30pm
7-11-12 Colosseum 10:00-11:00am $30
Lunch at Gusto 11:30-12:30 $40
St Peter’s Basillica 1:00-5:00
Wax Museum 5:30-6:30 $15
Dinner 6:45-7:45 $50
Trevi Fountain 8:15-9:30
Piazza Navona 9:45-10:30
Return to Hotel 11:00pm
Organize & record any project data 11:30-1:00am
7-12-12 Pantheon 10am-12 $40
Lunch 12-1:00
Movie 1:30-3:30 $15
Shopping 4:00-6:00 (personal funds)
Dinner 6:00-7:00
exploration 7:30-11:00 $100

7-13-12 Board plane for US

This table details the itinerary of my trip. I have chosen locations that will give me the most info into Italian life. Each restaurant chosen is within fifteen minutes walking distance from the prior location. A few of the location of interests have tours that I plan to take. The admission and concession prices are included in the costs.

storyboard for final

I've made some adjustments to my story since last class. it seems that everything was going downhill too much in my plot so i altered the rabbit section and the ending. instead of dying, the main character completes his final act and the crowd loves him.

Travel Fellowship

Amanda Willoughby
Travel Fellowship Proposal
I’ve always wanted to make the most of my college experience. No matter what I’m working on I put the best effort in, to get the best experience and results out. I would love to use the travel fellowship as an opportunity to document a personal quest. Furthermore, Italy would be the ideal location for my travel experience. Its is a beautiful country full of rich culture and history. My project I would like to create documentary depicting my personal journey of discovery and self-growth in an unfamiliar place with new experiences. I’ve never left the country before, so this honor wou ld be an extremely exciting thing for me.
During the course of my travel, I would like to address a few questions in detail. What is a typical day like for the average Italian? What makes Italian food so unique? What kind of history can I find in the art and architecture? How will I react to my first trip abroad? How does Italian culture differ from American cinema?
The classes I’ve taken here at MCA pertaining to digital media are Digital Cinema, Dynamic Imaging, and Sound. The coursework for these classes have left me with very good skills in Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, Logic, and After Effects. I’ve also been working on an internship in filming and editing for the past year. I’ve gained endurance and a real love for filmmaking over the past year. I was even inspired to change my major from sculpture to digital media with only three semesters left in school.
I’ve chosen Rome as my main city of interest. I’m interested in the history behind the city and how it has shaped the city into what it is today. To find the answers I need, I would first make sure that I’m well read in anything that I dive into. Asking informed questions is the best way to get quick and directed information. Secondly, I’d partake in as many tours as possible – Colosseum, Pantheon, St Peter’s Basillica, boat tours, ext.
To find out more about everyday life, I’ll put my people skills to use- talking to locals and getting to know more about them. I’d use these times as opportunities to record conversations. Everything will be recorded in both writing and some digital format.
To sum up, for the summer of 2012, I believe that I would make a good candidate for the Travel Fellowship. I have the passion, drive, and skills to function abroad and make the most of this opportunity.

Final Project - The Magician's Act

We open with a magician on stage. He doesn't look like a normal magician ( he's actually dressed like a wizard). He does his first trick- sprinkling magic dust on and object - then steps back to let the audience see the magic, but nothing happens. Then his hat falls over and a dead rabbit falls out. The magician squeals and tosses it under his table quickly. Next he pushes out a tank of water and submerges himself in upside down. he drops his key and is forced to use his emergency hammer to get out (spashing the bored crowd). For his last trick he blows himself up accidentally, then the audience finally gets up to cheer.

The Effects Fiasco!

I struggled with what I was going to do for a while. First i tried doing just the demon eye, but I had trouble with the motion tracking (eventually i just found a way around that by using keyframes). So I next wanted to try the skin displacement that i found on videocopilot. It was looking kinda janky so i dropped that... then I saw some roto brush tutorials and thought that would be a cool tool to learn (WHICH IT WAS). But by the end I each project just looked too simple... so i put them all together in one. It looks pretty horrible, but this was a fun learning experience.


Here are the tutorials that i watched to complete this.


skin displacement- Videocopilot
http://www.videocopilot.net/tutorial/skin_displacement/

3D practice

Midterm (version 4) Writeup

so I had a critique with Jill and got some insight on a few more things that needed to be fixed. I took out the lighting fixture in the shots where my character is seen from the book's perspective. I also fixed the ending shots with the text. the area when the character is brought back home is where i reversed the sucked in shot to make it more of a transition back home. I must say that I did not complete all that I should have but I will and this animation will look great when im done. there are just some tweaks... plus i am going to adjust the speed of the opening to slow it down and set more of a foundation for the piece cuz it really moves too fast at the begining.

Late Arrival Nov 1, 2011

I will be late to class today, but my work is on the server. The new folder wasn't up so i dropped my assignment into the class folder. My work is also posted to my blog. (except for the video: youtube was taking forever to upload but i will have it up asap)

more demo reel reviews

This one was subtle. It had a really surprising start, then goes into this slow song with all these animations. It was nice, but it could have been so much better. The only thing that gives it any credit was the work put in it. The text could have definitely been handled better.


I got bored 36 seconds in and stopped watching. A lot more could have gone into just the camera angles. the shots also hold for too long and there's too much showing off pre-work.


This biggest problem with this is that it just plays too long... from the start all of the shots are holding for a long time. The music goes decently well (however I personally think that demo reels shouldn't have music with voice - its a little distracting from the visuals)


This reel's problem is that the student is showing off how he did the shots at the beginning. This was very misleading, it had a high energy start then slows down majorly.


Beautiful! it almost looks like a video you'd see at the opening of a video game. The music really packs some emotion and the work itself is gorgeous

Midterm (version 3) Writeup

After hours of playing with fonts, I decided to not get TOO fancy with my title and credits. They will simply fade in and out, and at the end the "created by" and "amanda Willoughby" pop up at different times. I found this font on dafont.com (its called "where the stars shine bright"). It looks hand-written, so it fits with the whole style that I'm going for. I made the text orange-ish (similar to the skin tone of my character). Overall, I'm decently satisfied with the outcome of this animation. I'm really excited to start working with 3D effects in After Effects.

Stills

Miderm Revise Writeup

I fixed more of the issues in this edit. I have just about everything done, but i just need to add one more clip before my character interacts with the spider. I also added a title and credits, but they're really plain. We will be working on text today in class so I'm excited to see how far I can take my text.

things to fix on midterm

add title sequence
feather the tunnel on book
-keep the text moving
remove pan to bear
fix text
fix flower scene (add a pause)(closeup)
interact with web before we see it
transition to end clearly
credits

Travel Fellowship- Brainstorm

Places to visit:
Colosseum
Pantheon
Trevl Fountain
St. Peter's Basillica
Forum Romanum
Vatican Museum
Plazza di Spanga
Arch of Titus
Castel Sant'Angelo
Palatine Hill
Arch of Constantine
Vatican City
Theater of Marcellus
Museum of Roman Civilization
Pyramid of Calus Cestlus
Temply of Hadrian

Personal Reasons for wanting to travel:
Italian Theater
Movies
Culture and Customs
Getting to know the people
Boat trips
the Lanuage
Never left the country before
the food
will probably never get this opportunity again

Demo Reel Reviews

This is a student demo reel that i found on youtube. I would say this is a kinda bad one. I like the way that this one starts and moves into the text, but after that I got bored. It starts pretty fast paced and explosive, then we have the 3d animations which are slow and makes you wanna hit the stop button. The biggest problem with this demo reel is that it has no direction. This person is pretty much showing off everything instead of one type of media. The web design should come out and the vector animaition runs too long. Oh and the titles above the animations are unecesscary in my opinion.

Okay this is a really bad one!
another student demo reel...first of all, there's no sound. I will give them credit for the logo at the begining and end but that's all that's there. the quality of the film is really bad and the clips just run too long. everything is just really random. Plus the work in itself is bad.


This one is actually pretty cool! My attention is held throughout and I just want to keep looking. All of the graphics move with the music (which makes it more aesthetically pleasing) and the work is NICE. Unlike the other demo i reviewed, the text labeling the work didn't bother me because the reel transitioned really nicely.


I like this one, but at the same time I don't. The soundtrack and clips work really well together but i feel like im watching a lot of the same thing over and over again. i found myself turning this one off halfway through.


I think this one works pretty well for what it is. This one is a company showing off what it can do for prospective clients. I've seen better, but this one works well for me. This is a good example of grabbing the viewer at the opening. The text and the sound effects really pulled me in. I would love to work with text in after effects.


I think i fell in love with this one at about 20 seconds in. My eyes were glued to this video. I felt like i was watching one continuous video of something really cool. these shots were put together gorgeously and are complemented greatly by the music. The music drives the pace of the demo reel . This is just absolutely gorgeous.


Im diggin this one too!

Midterm (final)

Self Critique
I took a good chunk of the advice from my critique and reworked this project. I made a closer cut in the first two clips. Also fixed the warping sequence to make it more appealing. Seeing that the words are a big part of being sucked into the book, i slowed down that part and made the words do a swirl. I am much more pleased with this version; however, I didn't give myself the necessary time to do as much as i would have liked. for example, the text is the same as in the first edit. I tried changing it but it came out looking worse. I know Jill doesn't like it but, i just kept it the same. The spider sequence has an added shot of the hole in the sky being seen behind the spider web. This gives the viewer a little more spacial clarity. My overall, assessment of myself for this project is that I was not organized like i should have been. I was working with so much, that finished clips weren't named clearly and some things were lost due to my working on multiple shots in one project.

Travel Fellowship Statement

The opportunity to travel abroad in Europe would be the chance of a lifetime for me. This kind of privilege doesn't come along often in one's lifetime, and I know that I couldn't take off the time to do this on my own, so I'd definitely take full advantage of this honor. The first place that comes to mind for me to go is Italy. I love all of the historical architecture and art within. I hear many students mostly visit museums on these trips, but I would completely put myself into the Italian culture from the food, to the clothing, to the language and the social scene. Being a digital media major, I'd also see as many Italian movies and theatre shows as possible. I've never left the country before, so it's really exciting for this travel fellowship to be offered. My GPA has been in good standing since I've started here at MCA. I've also already fulfilled my internship opportunities for class credit, so I want to involve myself more.

Midterm Assignment Writeup

This animation came out longer than i thought it would. I like the overall premise of it, but with a little more time this animation could be much better. I did manage to finish, so that's a plus, but I did cut down the scenes where my character fights a flower and then ties up a spider. I would really like to extend those parts so I will surely be doing more work with this.There are some spots when my character seems to be kinda stiff. I'm also curious as to what others will think about how my character interacts with the other characters in the story. I was going to work in HD, but changing everything i'd already done proved to be way too time consuming. I do think this would look awesome in HD. There's a lot more i want to do to this project, but given the time we had to work on this and the enormous amount of time I spent in MacLab 3 I think i did a pretty okay job.

so here it is...

work progress writeup

So i focused my time on ironing out the setting of the world that my character falls into. I took Jill's advice and worked large in my design (which helped so much) and that will cut down on my work in photoshop. I think my little world looks a lil too realistic in color. Im thinking that i should maybe make the sky or clouds pink or purple or change some other colors to give it a more funky look. We'll see after critique. I animated a short clip of my character falling into this world, but i know she falls too close to the bottom of the frame. I also will move that warphole to a different spot.

Travel Fellowship

The opportunity to travel Europe would be awesome and the first place I'd want to go is Italy. The historical architecture in Rome peaks my interest the most. I am especially interested in seeing the chapels and cathedrals. As a Digital Media major, there are a multitude of audio and video projects that I could make. Going to Italian theaters to see stage plays and movies would be right up my ally. I must admit Cinema Paradiso is the only Italian film that I've seen, and it was pretty good, and it would be really beneficial to familiarize myself with more foreign films. I want to experience the Italian culture and my work would definitely benefit from knowledge i'd gain. Not to mention, this Travel Fellowship would look awesome on my resume. My job requires me to interact with many different types of people on a daily basis and I've found that I'm a real people person, and I think that the person who is awarded this fellowship should be able to represent herself and MCA to the best. I'm really good at adapting to unfamiliar situations and through past experiences, I'm able to work well regardless of conditions. Granted that I'm new to digital media, I think that this could be a sweet advantage. I used to be a sculpture major, and I learned to really appreciate the sculptural aspects art ( and Italy has some AMAZING sculptures. I want to see, up close, the work of some of the greatest artists who have ever lived. I've studied so many great works and the chance to travel to the places that I've been marveling at in my art history books would be greatly inspiring. I also hear that real Italian food is like nothing we'd buy here.

Thinking about my goals at the beginning of the semester, I was really open minded to all aspects of digital media because I'd just changed my major. I'm really happy i did this because I now know that this is where I'm supposed to be. I'm starting to think that I want to work with live action video with more focus on creating post-production effects. So far, I've got one digital cinema class, digital imaging, and sound acquisition and editing under my belt. I honestly haven't done much traveling and my summers are usually spent working. It would be really nice to take a summer off and be paid to experience something as amazing at traveling out of the country. I only have one year left in school and I have never left the country and I know that an opportunity like this Travel Fellowship probably wont come up again. Plus, my GPA is looking pretty good at the moment so I would probably be a good candidate. If given the chance, I'd also travel to France, Amsterdam, and the UK.

Work Progress

So far I've worked out some designs for my midterm project. Here are my main characters and a few scenes from be begining of my story. Its taking me longer than i originally thought to design the world that my character gets sucked into. I've also made some changes to my story and to the types of shots im using. im not exactly happy with how the bear turned out so im going to do some revisions to him.

Storyboard for Midterm

My Meeting with Gadsby

After meeting with Gadsby, I now have a better idea of where I should be headed at this point. We talked about how my current internship is going and even though I have been offered a full-time job after graduating, I still want to expose myself to as much as possible while I still have time. I have already used up my for-credit internships and I'm not at the point where I'm ready to apply for any jobs; so my plan for now is to gain as much experience as possible in TV and film before I graduate. That way, I can gain more the skills that are in demand for jobs. I also want my resume to be as impressive as possible. She recommended that I apply for more internships; however, if the internship is strictly for students gaining credit then I should still call these places to see if I can intern, shadow, or tour.

Recommended Local Internships:
Im going to visit each one of these places for a tour. Just to get a feel for the type of atmosphere each one of these places has and to gain some new contacts.

WMC TV 5
Internship information:
WMC-TV 5 is proud to offer a limited number of internships each semester. Students will work closely with news professionals to gain a better understanding of the news process. Students will learn the basics to news writing, researching and gain experience with production techniques.
1960 Union Ave
901-722-7827
contact: Clint Moore


WREG-TV
803 Channel 3 Drive
901-543-2161

Palm Coast Imports
3059 Forest Hill Irene Road
901-494-1903

Running Pony Productions- Graphic/Animation Assistant
1770 Kirby Parkway
901-683-6693

Insurance Media Services
1440 Central Ave
901-302-9755

WYPL FM 89.3
3030 Poplar Ave
901-415-2757

New Line Cinema

Physical Production
Interns learn the process of physical production, from pre-production through wrap, by assisting in the day-to-day operations of the studio production office. Interns assist with administrative duties, distributing schedules, organizing project documents and answering phones. Previous entertainment experience or film-related major strongly preferred. Applicants must be currently enrolled in a college, trade school or extension program.


A. New Line Cinema has been producing films for 44 years. Learning the ins and outs of organizing a feature-length film and gaining real-world experience in all aspects of the film development process in a large studio is a dream of mine, and New Line Cinema has produced many of the classic films that I grew up watching.

B. I am currently a rising senior and Digital Media major at Memphis College of Art. I have experience in production on a small scale and with organizing the details of media production. I am familiar with production schedules and how intense they can become. I am very comfortable with working in an office-based setting

Local Internships

These two companies do a basically the same type of work - Full Service Media Production

Running Pony Productions

A. Running Pony Productions does almost anything video-related for their clients. They are based locally and have made a great name for themselves since their start in 1994. Running Pony has an extensive client base and their clients have won awards including Emmys, Tellys, Clarions, Cine Golden Eagles, Bronze Anvils, Addys, and Vox awards. Video production companies are not prevalent in Memphis, so it would be very exciting to work with this company.
B. I am currently a Digital Media major at Memphis College of Art. I have extensive knowledge in Photoshop, After Effects, Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro, DVD writing software and more. For the past year, I have been an employee of he Neighborhood Christian Centers Inc. as their Multimedia Intern. Thus, I am very familiar with a fast-paced working environment. I am also contracted with New Life Holiness Church; recording and editing services and programs that are televised weekly on WTWV. I have always had an interest in video production, but haven’t found out exactly what area I’m most interested.




Optimum Studios (
A. Optimum Studios does the type of work in which I am interested in gaining real-world experience. I have viewed commercials, documentaries, music videos, and other work produced at Optimum Studios and I feel that my passion for film could be a great asset to this company. I am well acquainted with the driven staff and talented owner, Monore Ballard. Moerover, I have had a chance to tour Optimum studios and the privilege using the facility and equipment for a past project. I am very impressed by the work and atmosphere of Optimum Studios and would love to be considered for an intern position.

B. I am currently a Digital Media major at Memphis College of Art. For the past year, I have been an employee of he Neighborhood Christian Centers Inc. as their Multimedia Intern. Thus, I am very familiar with a fast-paced working environment. I am also contracted with New Life Holiness Church; recording and editing services and programs that are televised weekly.

Internship Research

NPR (National Public Radio)
635 Massachusetts Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20001
internship@npr.org

Audio Engineering Internship
Shadows a Broadcasting/Recording Technician to learn the operation of the record centrals and broadcast studios. Has the opportunity for hands-on practice on the technical equipment. Does simple feed recordings and mixes. Candidates with technical experience and/or background preferred.


Optimum Studios
Memphis, TN
http://www.optimummemphis.com/new/
Monroe Ballard
Interns assist in day-to-day studio operations. Students have a unique opportunity to learn the ins and outs of video production, audio production, photography, graphic design, marketing and performing from successful working professionals using the latest state-of-the-art equipment.


PRODUCTION:
Develops and produces series, specials and long-form programming in the studio and on location, giving special consideration to content, style, location and talent issues, programming, scripts and packaging. Areas include: news, documentaries, promos, live, home video, creative, off-channel and concert.



Focus Features
Digital Content (New York Only)

An internship with the Manager, Digital Content, would expose the student to working with cross-departmental initiatives that appeal to the company’s audiences on new and innovative platforms. Through various projects, Interns will learn how to curate program offerings on digital platforms like iTunes and video on demand. Additional projects will cover tracking added-value content from brainstorm to production, screening new movies with these initiatives in mind, helping to create marketing and publicity materials and prepare films for release on digital platforms.

Post-Production
Post-Production Interns will learn about the field’s technology and logistics. Duties include script analysis, basic editing (Final Cut Pro), and compiling research for executives. Additional tasks include covering incoming telephone calls, updating department databases, scanning, and filing.

Warner Bros. Entertainment Group
New Line Cinema
United States - California - Los Angeles
Physical Production
Interns learn the process of physical production, from pre-production through wrap, by assisting in the day-to-day operations of the studio production office. Interns assist with administrative duties, distributing schedules, organizing project documents and answering phones. Previous entertainment experience or film-related major strongly preferred. Applicants must be currently enrolled in a college, trade school or extension program.

CMT/MTV NETWORKS INTERNSHIP PROGRAM - NASHVILLE, TN
MTV Networks - Nashville is currently in search of motivated students who excel in a fast paced environment. All of our opportunities are unpaid, credit-only positions. Each opportunity in our internship listing provides the exact major, experience and number of hours that the internship requires. The ideal intern will be energetic, creative, have a positive attitude.

Breakfast scare

The task for this assignment was to experiment with masks. I used a mask on the oatmeal steam to make it seem more steam-like. Im not as happy with this assignment as I could be. There are revisions to the background that I would like to add. I also had a tough time with animating my character sitting down. I will definitely be making another one of these to improve the entire composition. After making this project I had the idea of using a mask to make a magical snow globe, so i think i will be trying that next.

thumbs

reference- sit in chair

stand up and sit down reference from Daniel Asher Harman on Vimeo.

Daydream in a field

my character will be standing in front of a tree. she will then see the tree come to life by swaying and leaning down a branch to give her some of its fruit. Nadia then will toss the fruit into the air. Instead of that one ball coming back down, a shower of fruit will fall and disappear.

Animating - Assignment 3

It definitely helped to have the reference videos; however, this task was pretty challenging. I spent the longest amount of time working on the legs, thighs, and feet: i figured that area would make or break this exercise. I had fun with this.



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Assignment 3 Writeup

My character will be performing the action of picking up an object off the ground that she is fascinated with. This action is a really important one for me to master because my character will come in contact with many objects that she will be "daydreaming" about. Before I started any animating I went into Photoshop to do some revisions to my character's look. First, I turned my character to a profile view. Instead of wearing a dress, she is now in a bodysuit with shorts. I did this to give myself more range in the character's leg motions. I also added eyes and gave her hair texture. Since I have two designed heads, I decided to play with using them both. I did a lot of research, AND FOUND a great site for REFERENCE VIDEOS FOR ANIMATORS! Im pretty anxious to get started.

pick up / set down ball one hand reference from Daniel Asher Harman on Vimeo.

Assignment writeup- Create and Animate Character

This process is very tedious. I could be much happier with these, however for a first shot im not too disappointed... however do think i limited myselft having this character viewed from the front, so i will be making her from different views.


one small issue i ran into was the dress and how it limited my character's movements, so I made a small alteration.

Character comes to life...

This is the rough idea of what my character looks like. This took me a LOT longer than I expected. A later version should have more detail. I didn't want to spend too much time in photoshop because I really want to spend the bulk of my practice in After Effects.

Character Portrait- Nadia "Dreamer"

Nadia
female
age: 14

Mother: Works 2 jobs
Single mother
Father: Deceased
formerly a writer

Nadia is a quiet girl who often has moments when she seems to be frozen in place for minutes at a time. To others, she is odd and most just keep away from her. She is very friendly and energetic, and would like to make friends, but she can't. To Nadia, the world is aesthetically pleasing in every way. Every little detail and object has a story, and only Nadia can see it magically come to life. Her daydreams/visions seem completely real to her until they dissolve away. Nadia has a dream of someday, and somehow, showing the world to the world through her eyes.

Nadia has just started the ninth grade. Her mother works all night and sleeps all day. Things were once different. Her mom used to be a happy housewife; and her father, Noel, was a very successful fictional writer of children's stories. Nadia was a happy and well-adjusted child who spent many hours playing with her dad. Two years ago he was diagnosed with lung cancer and after a year, he was dead. Noel and Nadia were very close; in fact, many of his short stories were created by Nadia during their play. Even at the age of three, Nadia could dream up delightfully detailed origins stories about random objects and toys.

After her father's death, Nadia became a loner; however, her gifted imagination was in did not disappear. In fact, something inside her changed and it stayed with her for the rest of her life. At her father's funeral, Nadia sat next to her crying mother starring into the air. She did not move nor did she speak for the entire ceremony- only her eyes moved. No one knew it, but Nadia was having her first vivid daydream. While her father's favorite song was being sang, Nadia saw golden angels and multicolored butterflies emerge from the stained-glass painting behind the choir. They gracefully glided down to Noel's casket and lifted his golden soul into the air. He was wearing a golden robe and had wings that seemed to stretch ten feet. His soul slowly rose through the air like a spinning rocket and as they flew up into the ceiling, he looked at Nadia as he danced with the angels and flew away.

After this Nadia had visions often, sometimes fifty a day.They were triggered by little things: a pencil, a crack in the floor, patterns in woodgrain, the wind, a smell. At first, she thought something was wrong with her, but many of her visions made her think of her father so Nadia told no one of her secret. Although she didn't speak of the things she saw, other people noticed something weird about her. Most thought it was just her way of dealing with her father's death, so they left her and any questions alone.

Since her mother slept and worked so often, Nadia often spent her free time roaming the city. Neither television nor playing with friends enticed her interest. Instead, Nadia explored her surroundings thoroughly imagining magic.

Not all of Nadia's visions are delightful. She has a dark side, and her visions many times stem from her emotions. Six months ago, she caused a huge scene in a grocery store because she saw something that scared her.

She reads her father's books everyday and also keeps a diary of all the things that she sees.

Ten years from now, Nadia will be a writer of fantasy novels.

Writeup - Animating My Digital Diorama

This is my first attempt with animating in Adobe After Effects. I'm really excited about this project because I have wanted to know how to do this for a LONG time. As I started working, i realized how important my notes were (im happy that i took good ones), because i forgot a good bit of details. This seemed so much quicker and easier in class. Anywho, i went back into my photoshop document in order to merge a few layers that didn't really need to be separate. Then I went back into After Effects to do my animating. It got easier as I played with it and im pretty happy with where it's going. The scene starts with us seeing only the background sky and the ground in the front. The hills then rise into position. Then the trees will pop into their place. Leaves grow on trees then fall off.

Digital Diorama- Assignment 1 writeup

From the jump I knew that I wanted to deal with textures for this project; it was the first thing that popped into my head. I found some artificial leaves and decided that those would be my objects of choice to animate. I didn't go with too many leaves because i thought it might distract from the rest of the scene. I went with the scene of the last leaves falling during an autumn sunset. I personally think autumn is the best season of the year: it feels great outside, the colors outside are gorgeous, and my favorites clothes are all meant for the season.
I started by scanning in the leaves. I used the texture of the brightest leaf as the background sun. for my hills, i scanned the sleeve of my jacket: played with the distances by varying the closeup of the stitching. For the trees i used the texture of the mousepad and I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. im not one hundred percent sure i did everything correctly when it came to image sizing, but i think its okay.
I have played with adobe AE before, but this will be my first time using it for animating so im pretty excited to learn how all this works.

I really got into making this diorama and there's some more elements that I would like to later add to this piece.