Christy R.’s blog

My finished MTV MID against the required specifications set by MTV:

• Duration: 30 seconds, yes it followed the required duration.
• Music: Yes it followed the rule of original music or mtv templates because I used MTV templates.
• Yes my MID was original and it is verifiable.
• Most likely yes, it followed the screen resolution, 352 x 288 WMV, 25 FPS, 44.1 kHz for audio because Mrs. Wilson was able to convert both the animation and audio into wmv and I was able to upload it.
• My video does not contain obscene language, any sign of racism, legally objectionable material, or material that may infringe upon any person’s personal or property rights. It cannot be considered unethical because it is not…! And, it is not dangerous.

Result? Hopefully a 6/6 grading by MTV staff for following their technical specifications!

Evaluating my work at each stage of the project:

• Criterion A - Investigate: I followed through each of the instructions and ticked all the boxes as I went through and I also finished before due date was over so I think this part was satisfactory :). I didn’t contact the MTV Creative Director with a legitimate question however because I didn’t really have one since I couldn’t come up with any questions my head wanted to agree with. - Do you like cheese? -
• Criterion B - Design: Yes I followed all the guidelines for design and I posted it before the required time too so I can only hope that I did good on it.
• Criterion C - Plan: I had difficulty uploading my Criterion C but I worked on it and finished on time. I was able to upload it finally because I sent it to myself and put it on words and uploaded it from words. I was never quite sure why it didn’t upload though. The message I received was something like ‘is not legal’ or so. It was a funny/bizarre message that contained the word ‘legal’. I did not do anything out of the ordinary when I made my table! =| Trying to follow my plan was a whole different story though. Macromedia was difficult to follow and when I made mistakes I had to learn from them and that took a long time because I saw the tutorial videos but they only tell you how to do something. They don’t explain to you what you should do in case of errors. I spent much more time than intended for my Criterion D.  (It would’ve really really helped if I had flash! But I could not download it anymore - I should’ve came up with the idea of downloading it on my dad’s computer earlier… .. … … or I could’ve bought a flash and stole the school’s macromedia program! But I didn’t have a flash.)
• Criterion D - Create: As stated above, I spent more time than what I planned because I’m a little slow with flash. Just a little…!! Something I’m afraid that I have not really done on time is asking 3 friends to comment on my MID. Many have seen it but I always forget to ask for comments.
• Criterion E - Evaluate: I don’t know. I’m trying to include anything I can think of. Hope I’m doinge a good job!
• Criterion F - Attitude: It’s tempting to get out of my seat and roam around because I see so many people do it, but I was able to tame myself. Yay! =) I only got out of my seat when it was necessary, like when it was a request from a classmate to comment on their MID or to try to solve something or go to the bathroom(it’s necessary!). The only time I can remember getting out of my seat for no necessary reason was when I wanted to see Beom Su’s MID animation.

I’m not going to grade myself because I’d be kind since I know I tried! =-) The effort I put in is most important to me. The only times I would not do good for sure is when I’m mentally exhausted and when I forget. I don’t do it on purpose. =-) (Thanks for not making things so intense and for always being considerate about things like those. =-))

Summary of things I did different:

- More frames than storyboard boxes so my flash would go smoother. Next time, I should experiment with the program first so I won’t be just using my storyboard as a guide but a plan part next time.

- More time taken than planned on C because I’m slow on grasping Macromedia Flash.

- Instead of a butterfly that comes to life rising out of my MTV logo, I made the flower animate rainbow colors, a heart with MTV in it, and finally added the MTV music television logo. This was because I did not have more time and no macromedia to continue at home. Next time, I’d bring a flash disk so I could steal the program from school computers :p.

My plan for creating my MID

Ordinary bud blossoming into a flower of warmth.

Unique elements that I think can make a video ‘pop’.

- colors, colors alternates

- colors and object working correspondingly to each other.

- special effects are relative.

- varying shapes

- decent length

- appropriate music.

- focused, elements working each other out.

My video will start with many colors, then black, it will turn into a bud of green on a black background, the color of the background growing lighter as the bud starts opening up, and as the bud finishes blooming, the flower has powerful colors in it. Then in the core of the flower is the MTV logo. From the MTV logo a butterfly will pop up and start flying. It will be at a decent length, with shapes alternating, alternating colors, colors will work relatively to each other. The flower will be the main core of my focus and as the logo shows up, the logo becomes the focus. Then the butterfly as an outro.

 I want to convey a warm, relaxing, renewing feeling.

How long will my MID be? Perhaps 10 or 30 seconds. It would depend on the video, if I start realizing, ‘oh, I think I can work with this idea!’ then I will most likely keep it at 30. But if I become unmotivated because the program was hard to use/I start having other ideas, most likely a 10. If I stick through with it.

What music? I think I would use a sort of electro/trance music to make it seem energized because the bud was growing. Then, at the end, I want the music to alternate because of the MTV logo, and the same music all the way through the whole video wouldn’t fit either. By the end I want to have a sort of nature-like music, perhaps birds chipping. All of this either has to be an MTV template or something I would create myself.

Technical Specifications: I will most likely use Macromedia flash for this project.

Copied right from MTV + ME:

MTV logo: I will most likely use the white logo because then I could edit colors to it easier as opposed to the black one. The white one gives you more options to decorate also.

Actors, drawings, photos? Well, my MID would most likely be an animated clip. I will be using mostly Macromedia flash. I will be using many slides to make the video process more understandable.

Justifying against my own design specifications; well, there isn’t much else I could say other than I’ve been having them in my head while I was doing this, and I try to achieve as much out of my time as possible too. When I made my plan, I had inspiration and ideas in mind. When I did the storyboard drawings, I followed the plan.

I guess I’m pretty much done with the plan except for actually deciding the music I want to include. And, of course - I haven’t learnt much about Macromedia Flash so I would have to visit atomiclearning.com fairly often.

A few things I took note on:

Reverse motion: first you have the forward motion, then you copy the frames that make the forward motion, paste it somewhere else on the timeline, right click on the duplicate, scroll down and click ‘reverse frames’.

 Changing colors and alpha effects for a motion tween:  motion tweens are not for motions alone. You can alpha  and  fade pictures, you can change their sizes, make your images grow or shrink, etc.

Shape tween: it’s there to turn one shape into another. “The shape tween will only work with the basic primitive shape, you won’t be able to use symbols, or groups, in a shape tween.”

Shape hint: have two shapes, put them in shape tween motion. Go back to the first frame, go to ‘modify’, ’shapes’, and then ‘add shape hint’. A small red circle with an A will show up. The animation would look different, and it would look more like one form rather than a recreation.

Using a motion guide to create a motion tween: (wouldn’t work. I would need this though. Could always try experimenting around and try to get there anyhow.)

Importing sound(or pretty much any other files): file > import > import to stage/library > (navigate to file).

Although I am quite sure that there is much more for me to learn, I think these will be good enough as simple, basic, yet strong guides for starting.  

My first idea of an MTV logo: from a screen of blurry, dreamy colors to a bud to a flower, at the core opening of the flower, the MTV logo sits. ^^ I got this help when listening to the electro dream track template.

Second idea: Kid opening presents, keeps opening with an indifferent face until he finds an MTV logo in a present box. Kid goes berserk.

 What is MTV + ME?It’s about you and what you can do. MTV + ME is a campaign that allows you to present your MTV MIDs on-air, on MTV.
What is an MID?

An MID is the MTV channel ident that allows you to create the MTV logo. It lets you be creative with the MTV logo. An MID is an MTV ID.
What is the brief or theme?

There is no brief or theme, so you can be creative in your own way with the MTV logo – you can do it in 2D, 3D, animation, photography, video clip, etc. However, you have to follow the duration of MTV and it’s technological specifications (answered below) and create a piece that would not interfere with MTV’s broadcasting regulations.
How does the campaign work?

You create, upload, and MTV staff assess. Each week the best works are selected out by random and are helped by the MTV staff to make their broadcasting quality from good to even better.
Duration (how long should your MID be?)

MTV requests your MID to be either 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 30 seconds, or 60 seconds long.
Music (what’s important to know from this page?)

You either have to create your own music piece to include with the MID or select original music pieces from MTV’s audio templates/ music beds.

MTV will not accept music pieces that were not originally created by you or any pieces that do not exist in its database specifically made to volunteer you on your MID. Yes, despite the fact that your non-audio is original.
Where do I get the MTV logo?

The MTV logo and logo guideline can be found/downloaded from http://www.mtvasia.com/mtvme/downloads.html.
Technological specifications (copy, paste, and discuss them on your blog)

The guideline sounds quite complicated, especially the online submissions part. All the numbers, formats confuse me. I’m already a confused person! =/ You have to have a format that allows you to upload + submit to MTV, then another format when your work is selected…. That wasn’t very helpful…! Perhaps the only thing I understood was the fact that it had to be at the maximum file size of 10 MB. Otherwise, I did not understand anything else other than the bullet points. Your work must be appropriate for the wide audience, have original content, have a suitable title for submission. The only downside this may be is that submitted material are non-returnable.

You can submit as many as you want.
What do I get at the end of this?

A spotlight on MTV – well, your name on MTV, along with your work shown on it. You can also get into exclusive MTV premiums. In addition, you can be nominated in MTV’s awards that honour the best MIDs produced.

You may also be offered an internship with On-Air Promos department if your work gets featured.

The downloads section:

• Guidelines: Wow! Quite complicated! It has a lot of ‘Do Nots’. I think I would need it beside me or minimized, simply just there in case. The examples helped a lot in helping me understand it though. I’m thinking, showbiz is harder than it seems. A lot of brains I think.
• MTV logo formats: I was only able to view the first and last 2 logos because I don’t have the program for the 2nd. I think the white MTV logo was most appealing because I think that I could work with it more. Make it black when I want, add in all kinds of colors. That’s what I think of it anyways.
• Audio templates: I’m downloading all of them. I’ve listened to all of the fast tracks and I’ve listened to 3 of the medium tracks. So far, electro dream has been appealing to me. However, most of them made me felt an urge to be creative and they were quite different from each other so it’s unclear whether I actually have a favorite. Edit: I’ve listened to all of them and now as I have, I feel like I will be using them to my advantage. Some good tracks to go with different themes! Maybe I would want vocal in it later on, but maybe not. I’m indifferent for now. I like the tracks though! =) ‘The Right Stuff’ sounds appealing. Good beat.

The uploads page: Not too complicated. At least on the surface. A title, the file, a box to tick for the agreements of MTV’s term and conditions, and a submit button. It has the guidelines that you have to follow for an MID to be accepted.

The gallery section:

1. Who made it? Firman Machda from Indonesia. How long is it? I’m not quite sure. Perhaps 10 seconds. Edit: I timed it. More like 30 seconds. What techniques did he/she use? 3D animation. Trance/electro music I think. Do you like it? Not really. All I really understood was a martian… releasing a human being… headphones… stuff coming out of martian… done. No, I didn’t necessarily like it.
2. Who made it? Christina Guerreiro from Portugal. How long is it? 10 seconds. What techniques did he/she use? 2D animation I guess. With electro in the background. Do you like it? Nah not really. I don’t like her style of drawing.
3. Who made it? Caroline Attia from France. How long is it? 10 seconds. What techniques did he/she use? 2D animation too. With electro in the background. Do you like it? This one was more decent from the others. But maybe it’s because of the small video screen, all of them seem so crowded together. This MID was pretty cute. I’ve seen better drawings but I don’t  know if I could do better than her. 
4. Who made it? Aras Parmawam from Netherlands. How long is it? 10 seconds. What techniques did he/she use? Realistic coffee, 3D background, 3D shapeshifting object. With electro in the background. Do you like it? Not quite. I think the coffee and the shapeshifting object didn’t go to well together. Could better.
5. Who made it? Aras Parmawam from Netherlands (again). How long is it? 10 seconds. What techniques did he/she use? 3D, shapeshifting. With electro in the background. Do you like it? This was better than the last. I’m indifferent. 

Source: Viacom International Inc., “MTV + ME: We want your work on MTV.” MTV Asia. 2008. Viacom International Inc.. 14 May 2008 http://www.mtvasia.com/mtvme/.

How to evaluate my finished project: 

Fill out my own survey with total honesty. 

1. Did I record my ideas? Tried my best at demonstrating them during the planning step? 
2. Did I have an overwhelmingly wonderful feel at the end of the show?
3. Was it creative?
4. Was it more appealing than it was creative?
5. Did it make you go, ‘oh!’?
6. Was the sound quality at a high standard?
7. Was the visualization sharp and at the peak of its theme?
8. Was it relative all together?
9. Did the substances in the MID work well to make each other thrive?
10. Last, but not least, was it inspirational and motivating to the audience at the same time?

 /10