Tuesday, March 23, 2010

The ACTUAL Belgian Grocery Store video from the previous post...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXN7u5rZmuU


Ahh yes yes you are right Mr. Nichols, I thought my last video had posted through Blogspot but apparently it didn't. Butttt after much time spend trying to figure out the whole youtube posting thing (it STILL wouldn't post to youtube either but I found a tutorial that explained the correct way to save an IMovie video and upload it to youtube correctly). So, read the blog below and then watch this video!

Saturday, March 13, 2010

My first....video!





I know this video is not the best, but I am honestly proud of myself that I was even able to get this far with IMovie. I'm glad that we had this assignment so I can begin to learn different things about the program and get more familiar. I literally had no idea about Imovie or how to even put video clips together-- so I feel quite accomplished for having made it at least this far so far!!

What I wanted to do was show what a pain it can be to go to the grocery store most of the time. It's quite the process....we go to the metro, take a tram, walk for quite a while, get to the grocery store...and don't forget you have to bring your own plastic bags! Also, you can never get more than you can carry home! Which also involves being very crowded on a metro, so literally you cannot get much. It does truly make me miss Walmart- where you get your own bags, can get as much as you want because you have a buggy that takes it to your car for you, and actually drive your groceries home! That is quite a luxury. Honestly though I do really appreciate Belgium's efforts to conserve and have us bring our own bag; think of how much money and plastic they save.

Working with Imovie was quite the experience, we had a few fights but I can't wait to learn more about the program and definitely improve my skills. I need to continue working on putting together my final projects!

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Major Projects : Attack Plan!

First off....I want to say WOW! The Australia study abroad video that was posted was very inspirational and gives me something to look up to. I was so impressed! He did such an incredible job and was able to experience and see so many things while in Australia-- I'm quite jealous! Already in my short time in Belgium, I feel that I have been able to see so much and also travel to many other places. For my personal video, I can't wait to tell a story of my travels and experiences through a video composition. I am however, quite nervous about figuring out how IMovie works. I've never used it before and although I was in broadcasting while in high school, I left the video editing up to the editors and I stuck to anchoring. It always seemed incredibly difficult and just by seeing them do it, I would easily get confused. So I plan to make myself very familiar with IMovie as soon as possible.

I am a marketing major, so for my professional video, there are unlimited things that I could look at and examine how it's marketed. I could examine how beer is marketed here in Belgium versus in the United States; I have found that very interesting. Drinking beer here is a much classier affair, and advertisements are greatly different. Belgium is also home to many many breweries; Belgium is incredibly famous for beer and many people want to responsibly experience several different types while traveling through Belgium. If not beer, I could look at how chocolate is marketed here in Belgium vs the US. Chocolate is something else that Belgium is very famous for. Any ideas or suggestions?

For public issues, recycling is HUGE here. They take it very seriously and make sure we sort all of our trash into different color bags for proper disposal and reuse. I find it great how important the environment is to Belgians over here. I feel the US should take note! Belgium is definitely doing their part. There does seem to be some confusion though about which items to put into which bags, so I have now seen notices and posters around Belgium explaining proper disposal. Or for my public issue, I have thought about the topic of 'Going Green', especially with incredibly small 'smart cars' and promoting public transportation everywhere. I take the metro everyday and it is packed!!! Any thoughts?

I look forward to exploring IMovie and hopefully staying frustrated free!

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Tropos in Photography

Picture 1: Just looking at this picture immediately makes me smile. I absolutely love the atmosphere and everything this picture stands for, and especially all of the people in it. In the foreground of the picture, everyone is showing their excitement for the countdown on New Years Eve. Everyone's expressions are so varied and classic; I love how the pure joy in everyone is captured. The fact that we were all celebrating together is what made New Years Eve so special, and I so happy this picture proves that.


Picture 2: The symmetry of this picture is what is so impressive. Antonio Gaudi's architecture is incredible. The way the shot was correctly framed is what really shows off the symmetry, and then us as the subjects just adds a little more. This picture tells the story of our travels through Barcelona, and how seeing architecture was such an important thing to all of us.


Picture 3: I just couldn't resist the opportunity to capture the beautiful sunset while taking a plane home from visiting my brother in Idaho (he's a fighter pilot for the Air Force and was stationed there). The colors in this picture are so vivid and contrast each other so well, and the angle that the picture is taken has the sunset going down right beside the wing of the airplane which I just love. Off in the distance you can even see the rivers that we're flying above. The purples, pinks, oranges and yellows make up my perfect color scheme and I am just in love with this picture.


Picture 4: The tropos behind the 4th picture is the beauty behind NYC. So many times we think of New York City as a city constantly moving and people in chaos everywhere, yet this picture captures my walk through Central Park and there are no people in this picture; I was focusing solely on the water, duck, and buildings in the background. I love how all the elements of this picture work so well together. I especially like the lighting of the shot, it was dusk time right before dinner , which was able to really bring out the lights of the buildings in the background. I would love to go to NYC again soon!

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Photography

I have alwaysssss had a very huge interest in pictures. My dad was a professional photographer for a while before I was born, always photographing weddings and such. He's taught me a few good tricks while growing up but I've never had a really cool camera like his Nikon is. I really do have a strong love for my Canon Power Shot though, I feel like Canon quality has never disappointed me.


This first picture is an example of a horizontal picture. This was from New Years Eve 2010...what an incredible time we all had together!! Everyone in this picture is from all over and it was so fun to come together for a night of celebration. My Aussie friend was even there!



This is also a horizontal picture and an example of lighting. I love this picture...we just took it in Barcelona, Spain and it's amazing architecture from Antonio Gaudi...his style of architecture is absolutely bizzare and so incredible. I would recommend you look him up! I really enjoyed exploring Barcelona and seeing his mark on the city. We used no flash.




These two pictures are examples of rule of thirds. The first picture I took out of the airplane when coming back to SC after visiting my brother in Idaho. The next one I took while walking in Central Park in NYC to go to one of my friends agent's apartment in the Upper East Side. Remember Miss Teen SC USA on the national pageant that made the big fumble talking about maps and 'THE Iraq??' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WALIARHHLII . That's actually one of my friends from home that I grew up with, so her agents had us over for dinner in NYC when I was visiting there. Too cool and I even got a great picture out of it! I had both of those pictures blown up at my apartment in Clemson. I really like them!




This is another cool rule of thirds picture that I took during the Clemson snow last year, March 1st, 2009. I can't believe I just missed the Clemson snow that happened over Valentines weekend! I have come to hate the snow in Belgium, but really love the snow in SC for some reason. Go figure!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Belgian McDonalds! Yes and No thanks!

The first difference I notice on the Belgian McDonalds website (http://www.mcdonalds.be/fr/index_FR.php) is that it is all in French! Yes of course I know that is to be expected, but with my lack of French language skills, it can be difficult to read. The tabs at the top to click on include 'a la carte', 'enfants', 'qualite', 'restaurants', 'emploi', and 'entreprise'. A few different tabs the distinguish the USA McDonalds site from the Belgian site are 'Health and Nutrition', 'Havin' fun', 'Get shoppin', and 'good works'. The USA McDonalds is also offering free wi-fi everywhere beginning January 15th, 2010. I feel that is a great marketing technique they're using; free wifi in the USA McDonalds could only mean more customers and more profits. If only they did that in Belgium, I would be there more often! Also, we all know how big Facebook is these days. I can't believe on the USA website they actually have a Facebook link saying 'become a fan'! Well actually, I can believe that. Facebook is a way to reach a mass amount of people, so why wouldn't McDonalds have a fan page? I also feel that the USA McDonalds website is more aesthetically pleasing.

I've had the chance to visit several McDonalds locations in Belgium ALREADY since being here :) Who can resist a little taste of home when you pass it on the street? I've already been to McDonalds in Belgium, London, and Germany.

I was in Europe two years ago, and I remember taking this picture in the train station of Berlin, Germany. It was before the USA McDonalds had adopted the new 'McCafe'. They started 'McCafe's' over in Europe to test the market here first, I suppose. I remember literally being in awe that a McDonalds had a cafe attached to it, which is absolutely my dream. And just seeing how modern the McDonalds are over here, just look at the tables! Seeing this was absolutely huge for me 2 years ago, but I am very excited that they are starting to adopt this new modern, cafe theme in the USA as well.



This McDonalds in Brussels is so cool, because the outside architecture is of course old European architecture, but the inside is McDonalds! :)



Look how advanced and nice the inside of McDonalds is here! I love how they have all of the world clocks, so you can see what time it is in different large cities around the globe. Although the insides of the McDonalds here are way cooler than they are at home (everytime I pass a McD's here, I get so excited in front of everyone and HAVE to go inside to see it...), I do have many problems with the McDonalds here. For example : PRICE! Everything at McDonalds here is crazy expensive. The euro already is terrible for us compared to the US dollar, so even the small 'Euro menu' that they have here doesn't help. Also, the Euro menu here only has a hamburger and fries on it. I ate at McDonalds one night this week, and got a small fri, medium drink, and little chicken wrap (that they have on the dollar menu at home). My whole meal cost 5.80 euro, which is equivalent to about 8 or 9 USD! AH! Also, I saw that there was no ketchup, so I asked for some ketchup. Of course at home they hand you as many packets as you need, but here, for ONE packet, I was charged 60 euro cents! Not kidding! I had to have my ketchup so I HAD to buy it, but that is absolutely ridiculous. All in all, going to McDonalds in Europe is considered a 'treat' for me, versus going to McD's in the US when I have no other options and it is the last choice. Never would have thought that McDonalds would be a luxury, but for the remainder of my stay, it will be. At least I find every McD's here very interesting with the way it is decorated. Maybe I'll run into some McDonalds while I'm traveling Spain this weekend!!

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Yes, Google is Making Me Stupid!

What an incredible article this was for me to read. I was wondering if there were any other people out there in the world that feel like me when it comes to reading, and apparently there are! Even just in the span of reading that one article, I was constantly distracted by the internet. I feel like my brain has definitely been trained now to be very short term and to not retain much information, which I feel really hurts me when it comes to studying for tests and exams. I grew up in the age of computers, so it's always easy to turn to a computer and get consumed in the world wide web versus getting consumed in a great piece of literature.

"Our writing equipment takes part in the forming of our thoughts"

Just like Carr agrees, I couldn't agree more either. When I have a pen and paper in hand to write a letter, my thoughts are so much more sincere. I feel that it is because it takes much more time, therefore more thought and preparation. When writing an email or a message online, it seems to be all about how fast you can type and how short of an amount of time it takes to send a message. Time is everything when you're online; you want to get things done so you can move onto the next website you're searching for. Just like one of Nietzsche's friends noticed a change in the style of his writing, I've noticed a large difference in my writing when it's typed on the computer versus being handwritten. Also, the fact that we can just search for anything online now without ever having to do research is complete instant gratification. Yes, I love the fact that I can do that and it's so incredibly helpful, but I feel in the long run it's really going to hurt today's youth. We learn to rely on sites such a Google, but what about when Google isn't there anymore or we are actually required to do real research for a thesis paper? I sadly wouldn't even know where to begin. Thanks Google for allowing me to be ADD and not having to focus on any one thing for too long; it will quickly catch up with me and ultimately hurt me.