Creating an essay using pictures with no words creates a new set of challenges and will force you to be creative and thoughtful regarding how you compose, shoot and edit your photos. Certainly, your images should be designed to maximize the emotional impact, whether light or heavy, that you are seeking.

The goal of this essay is to further explore facets of the concept of identity. Using original photography and editing tools, respond to the following prompt:

Details for Completing and Sharing

• Each essay should contain between 12 and 20 images.
• Final images should be in jpg format and uploaded to picasaweb.google.com. The slideshow address can then be shared with the rest of the class. (If you are a Google+ user, you can also upload and access your album from Google+, however, you must use picasa web albums to organize your photos and add the required descriptions.)
• Contact sheets of the final images (2 x 2) should be printed. These can be easily assembled using iPhoto.
• A formal written introduction to the essay should be included. This introduction should briefly describe (~150 words) what you are trying to communicate with the essay, as well as providing any additional information regarding the photos that is essential for the viewer.

For the first multimedia component of the Histories of Our Families project we will be turning your beautiful “I am from” poems into a visual art form using Photoshop. When creating this work it’s very important to spend time thinking about what you want to communicate before you start piling things together. Look at your poem and attempt to take the mental imagery it evokes in your mind and fit it within your page. Additionally, it’s important to think about the design of your type. (Remember type’s dual nature of voice and visual.) Our final images will be printed and displayed for our families to see during our Digital Story Festival on December 13 & 14 in the Library.

You will create at least two versions of your image. Your complete images should be 8″ x 10″ and 150 pixels/inch. They may be oriented horizontally and vertically.

I’ve completed three sample versions of my “I am from” poem for you to see:

I am from mountain tops and river beds

I am from flower filled meadows and craggy rocks

Prime numbers of the Earth

My divide between heavens and the soul

I am from a father gone to Florida

I am from a mother by my side

One and one makes one

One and one and one leaves two

I am from Bob Dylan

I am from Tom Waits

Bourbon on my tongue

Leaning back and forth, back and forth

I am from long highways

I am from longer trails

Foot step jump skip run roll on

Eyes in the sun heart in the wind

I am from passion and dreams

I am from belief in you

Born in every moment we meet

Living in the glow of your light

I am from teaching

I am from fatherhood

What is important is not important

I am here you are here we are here

We are here

In the glow of your light

Heart in the wind

Back and forth

The two of us

Heavens and soul

Our triptychs will be a personal reflection with a title “Yesterday, Me, Tomorrow”. The three panels of the triptych will correspond to the three words in the title. Your task is to conceptualize a design using imagery from the web and your own photography and execute it using the skills you are learning in Photoshop.

Attached is a Photoshop file with the correct dimensions and some additional instructions. To download the file right-click on the link, select “Save link as…”(Chrome) or “Download linked file as…”(Safari) and save the file to your desktop or other folder.

As we have been doing, your finished images will be posted to your blog accompanied by a reflection on the image and how it relates to the theme “Yesterday, Me, Tomorrow”.

The Speaking of I.D.entity project was conceived as a celebration of who you are, the roads you’ve traveled and dreams you hold for yourself. It was conceived to create an opportunity to announce yourself to the world and be empowered to know who you are matters and that your voice can be heard. It was conceived as an opportunity for you to take risks and discover parts of yourself you might not have yet met. It was conceived for you.

The style of monologue you choose goes a long way towards communicating your I.D.entity. And, we encourage you to take risks and stretch yourself in terms of this style. You will receive all the support you need to get your vision created. Never wrote or snag a song? Never rapped? No problem. As long as you’re willing to work at it.

And, be aware that whatever you write comes from you and thus represents you in the way we want to see. Write something deeply personal, write about your dreams, or write a song about preparing for the zombie apocalypse and that will tell us all we need to know about you.

The first draft of your monologue is due Friday, October 21. In the meantime, take a look at some of the risk takers from last years project who had also never done anything like this before but came away transformed.

Gurpreet Singh “Slow Down” from Digital Safari Academy on Vimeo.

Marily Abad “Me Vs. Me” from Digital Safari Academy on Vimeo.

Speaking of I.Dentity by the Class of 2010, the Class of 2011, and the Class of 2012 at Vimeo

For our next step, we will start with the music and then shoot the video. Instead of starting from scratch, the music and lyrics become our script. Our objective becomes, first, the visualization and storyboarding of the song (our “script”) and, second, how to use video and editing to make that vision come alive. Unlike our silent films which, possessed simple or completely undeveloped plots, the “stories” you start with here will be much more developed. Thus, rather than focusing on simple shot making, I want you to make great shots that are connected to the music you are assigned. And, I want you to tell a story.

Each group will be working with the song “A Girl, a Boy and a Graveyard” by Jeremy Messersmith. The lyrics are rich and visual and will provide you with, I hope, a solid foundation from which to film your story. When developing your visuals and your story, in addition to the literal meanings found in the lyrics, I encourage you to explore the eternal truths in the song. These eternal truths may lead you to a more creative and original expression of the song. Good luck.

 A Boy and a Graveyard

lucy takes the long way home
meets me in a field of stone
she says “i don’t know how i’m s’pose to feel
my body’s cold my guts are twisted steel.”

and i feel like i’m some kind of frankenstein
waiting for a shock to bring me back to life
but i don’t want to spend my time
waiting for lightning to strike.

so underneath the concrete sky
lucy puts her hand in mine
she says “life’s a game we’re meant to lose.
but stick by me and i will stick by you.”

cause i’m like a princess in a castle high
waiting for a kiss to bring me back to life
but i don’t want to spend my time
waiting for just another guy.

Here are a couple of the best from last year…

In The Summertime from Digital Safari Academy on Vimeo.

Sundress from Digital Safari Academy on Vimeo.

For each of the “problems” below, choose an appropriate typeface that best expresses the characteristics of the individual listed. Then create an image, using your name as the centerpiece that demonstrates those characteristics.

It is important to consider the style of the typeface, letterspacing, size, color, placement and other elements you include in the image. In addition, while you may add graphic details to the image, the details should only support the answer and not BE the answer.

Easy Peasy.

To get the images to your computer, click on each, then right click on the larger images and save them to your desktop. When you are finished post the images to your blog and describe, in order of steps (use a numbered list) what you did to get the final image.

You can assist each other verbally as much as you wish, however only you can manipulate your image and no one else can touch your computer, keyboard, and mouse.

So, before we move to project creation let’s take a look at some new techniques and terminology and make sure these shots are part of our repertoire.

Camera Techniques

Next, in order to take this step to proficient video producer, each small group will shoot and edit a 2 minute silent movie. As we do this, you will learn more about working with our video cameras and editing with Final Cut Express – important steps in the creation of your own I.D.entity videos later in the semester.

For this assignment, composition, pace, and mood are the most important items to focus on. The “story” should be simple, or even abstract, and include very few characters. Don’t get caught up in trying to communicate complex stories, instead think about single “snapshots” that could be part of a larger story.

Upon completing and editing the short film, we will be learning how to score movies in GarageBand. So, as you film, think about how the pace, mood and composition will ultimately drive the music.

Here are a couple of what I think are really good short films to get you thinking about where we’re going…

PETAL from Matthew Brown on Vimeo.

Brooklyn Creative: Kayla Camstra: Lumix Gh1, 720/60p from Mike Kobal on Vimeo.

And, one of ours…

Late Nerd from Digital Safari Academy on Vimeo.

old typewriter      —>    colored!

model              +              amsterdam             =           omg!

You also need to upload:

• Ranch House (colorization)
• Old Typewriter (colorization)
• Dress (colorization)
• Model City (Compositing)
• Burning Down the House (Compositing)
• Old Image (Restoration)
• Daniel’s Images

In addition to posting your images, I’d like you reflect on the process. Discuss how you accomplished the changes, what you learned, how you feel about your finished product, what you did well, what you need to continue improving upon. And, ensure that you are working on your multimedia vocabulary (masking, adjustment layers, cloning, opacity, filters, blending, etc.)

This cycle of creation –> posting –> reflection will be a part of most everything we do in the DSA and will make you more creative, a better designer, and stronger student.

To Set Up Your Post:

• Save both edited and unedited versions of the image for the web in the jpg format. To do this, go to File>Save for Web… Make sure to save the different versions with different names (i.e. I saved “old_typewriter.jpg” and “old_typewriter_color.jpg”)
• Log-in to your blog and upload the images through the media section of the dashboard.
• To add the  images to your blog post, 1) click the insert image button from the top of the post window. 2) In the window that pops up, click on the “Media Library” tab. 3) Click show, then insert into post.

Have fun! It’ll be great to watch you grow.