Car Raid

Investigating the car of a college student isn't an easy job, nor is it a safe one. I chose to raid the car of Jonathan Hinds, who drives a 2003 Toyota Camry, which ended up to be quite an interesting decision. As I entered the car, the first thing I noticed was the music, 94.7 came on just as we turned on the car. Meaning it was playing during his previous ride in the vehicle. The fact that he chose the "Today's Best Music" Channel, leads me to believe he likes to listen to the music that everyone else is listening to as well, maybe he is somebody who wants to fit in. After collecting my thoughts about the music, I asked him a series of questions. The first of which was whether or not he was enjoyed and satisfied with his car. His response was

"I feel like I got a really good deal on my used car, and it has performed very well. There haven't been any problems so far, so yeah I would say I am definitely satisfied with my car, especially since I had to pay for half of it."

Then I asked Hinds what about his car he could relate to and that he felt applied to himself as an individual. With a quick response to the question Hinds said

"The steering wheel in my car is super squeaky and needs to be fixed. Every time I drive someone around, they yell at me to get it fixed, but personally I like it. I find the brokenness to be calming since its a representation to me how nothing is perfect, and that if its not truly broken, why would you fix it?"

His response was a bit inspiring to say the least, and it showed me that even though he hasn't had his car for very long, these thoughts had already been going through his mind. Hinds seems to be a philosophical person that tries to find inspirational themes in every part of his life. My third question for hinds was asking what his most prized possession in the car is. He then quietly opened up his glove box, pulled out his cds of the narrated version of J.K Rowling's Harry Potter. Hinds then inserted the deathly hollows into his cd player and sat back in confidence. His quiet response served to show how he is a man that prefers knowledge, and spending his time furthering his literary skills, and finding more philosophical questions to ask himself, even from listening to harry potter. I then asked him if I was allowed to search around his car for anything in particular that stood out to me. Reaching under my seat, I found a long crowbar like device, called "the club". Hinds explained to me that the device locks his steering wheel in place, so that if someone tries to break in and steal his car, they can't drive away.

"I have the club because I have to park my car in downtown Austin for weeks while I am in school. The reason I use it is not from a lack of trust in other people, but rather its from a confidence that I know there are people out there that will steal cars," Hinds lectured.

All in all, the interview with Jonathan in his car, ended up being quite interesting, and I learned some new things about him and his vehicle. I just wonder if everyone has this deep of a connection with their car, or if Jonathan is just a crazy college student.

Car Raid Preview

1. Who will your do your car raid with (who is your subject)?
I think it would be funny to do a car raid in one of my brothers friends cars, because they all are college students and have really messy cars.
2. When will you do this car raid?
My plan is to complete the assignment this weekend, probably on saturday.
3. Write 4-5 questions you can use to start this interview?
Do you enjoy your car?
What are some of its qualities that you relate with?
Do you believe there are forgotten items in this car?
What does your cars cleanliness/lack of say about you?
4. What kind of details should your expect to write down to help advance the story line?
I am going to definitely try to pay explicit attention to what the person says personally, about how the characteristics of their car relate to them. I am also going to observe and analyze anything I can find in their car.

Merger Photo

HDR PHOTOS

Merger photo

In a blog called Merger Photo, please answer the following questions.

1. Is there something you see in the photo above that you think could be a problem when you take your photos? Look carefully.
Well if there was wind then the tree in the background could be blurry and create weird shadows, or if clouds cover the sun for part of the photo then the exposure for the entire picture could be different.

2. Where do you think would be a great place to take this type of picture here on the Bowie campus?
I would like taking a picture on the track field or in that area, or somewhere with a nice background and no moving subjects besides the actual subject of the photo.
3. Can you think of something creative to actually DO in the photo when you take yours?
Im thinking along the lines of taking multiple pictures of me going from running to then jumping, doing a front flip, spinning in the air, and then landing, and running away, or a photo where I am. Possibly even a backflip, depending on how soar I feel. Im also thinking along the lines of making a interesting a dynamic self portrait using myself as the background, you will see what I mean.
4. Is there something you could wear that would help you when you do this photo?
I could maybe wear, clothing that won't change to much and that is easily seen depending on the background at which the photo is being taken

Final Exam Film Plan

1. When will you shoot this assignment?

Most of the film is already shot, but the part of me talking to the camera will be filmed this weekend.

2. Where will you shoot?

The narration will be filmed in my guest room studio, while the rest of the shots that tell the story will be pretty much around the world.

3. What will you be documenting or telling your "story" about?

Im telling my story of cinematography, how i have come to this career and obsession, what I am doing with films, my goals of my films, and the future of my cinematography.

4. What equipment needs will you have to get this finished?

I will be using my Nikon D7200, My brothers Mic, My Tripod, The churches Lights, Adobe Premiere, Adobe After Affects, And probably more stuff, But Ive got it covered.

5. Make sure to describe the process, by this I mean, where will you use the video portion, where will you use still images, where will your narration be, etc?

The film will start off with narration, then cut to film of my past and of footage of past films and learning how to use a camera, then to present day films, then to narration of my future plans in my film. Still images will be used all throughout, especially when talking about how I have come to be associated and involved in film. Ive been planning on making this film for a while, but haven't had the initiative and time to make it. But now that we have this assignment, I was like why not take down to assignments in one, and make the product overall as good as I can make it. I am very excited to start working on this film and to show it to the world so they can have a understanding on why I do what I do.

HDR Photography Intro

1. What manipulations to the camera will you need to make to create an HDR image?

Its very helpful to use a Auto Exposure Bracketing feature to make the photos go faster, making the time between each shot much less. So that the subject doesn't move while your manually changing the exposure of each shot.

2. What equipment will we use to take this type of image?

You will definitely need a tripod, photo editing software, and well.. a camera obviously.
3. What is the reason someone might take an HDR image?

Say your taking a picture of the mountains, and the sky is really bright, making the mountains only a sillougheted outline that you cant see in the photo, with HDR it shoots multiple photos of different exposures and combines them together so you can see everything in full, correct exposure.
4. What can we expect to happen with the images once we merge them together, what will we see that we might not have seen with just one photo?

HDR makes the photo seem very pretty and attractive, since you can see everything in the shot at the right amount of exposure. It makes you feel like you are there since in real life your eyes automatically pretty much do HDR, but with a regular photo it throws your eyes off a little due to the lack of everything being equally exposed.

CE #6.2

1. What was the percentage of voters who rejected Proposition 1 regarding ride sharing in Austin? Page A1 "Prop 1 defeat sparks..."
56% Of the voters chose against, proposition one and ride sharing in austin.
2. What provision of the campus carry gun laws is UT-Austin planning to implement that other 
schools do not plan to do? Page A1 "UT gun rules likely...." HINT: the answer is on this page, not on the jump
The proposed rule is to say that people carrying concealed hand guns are not allowed to have it loaded, meaning no bullets can be in the chamber, to make sure there are no accidental discharges.
3. Why do experts say "El Chapo's" new prison a bad place to hold him? Page A8 "El Chapo's new prison..."
The experts say his new prison is a bad choice since he practically has control of that area, meaning it will be easier for him to pull some strings and find some way or another to escape.
4. What is Petcube? page B5 "It's like Skype for Fido"
Petcube is a new pet savy device that allows pet owners to talk to their pets while they are away from home, play with their pets using a laser pointer, and see what their pets are doing with a camera.
5. Who won the Kentucky Derby yesterday? Page C1 "Nyquist could face...."
Nyquist the horse and his trainer won the Kentucky derby and are preparing to heading to baltimore for preparation  of the next race.

Short Answer:

Have you ever used Lyft or Uber to get a ride somewhere?
If you have, what was your experience like?
If you have not, do you think that ride sharing is something you might use in the future?

Do you think ride sharing is a good thing for a community like Austin?
What do you think the differences between ride sharing companies and a taxi cab company?
Should they be held to the same standards regarding safety issues?

Personally I don't really like the idea of a stranger driving me around, and in that principle I have never used Lyft or Uber and don't plan on doing so soon. Its from a lack of trust, thats where my worry is rooted, because I have never met the people that would be driving me around, and if I needed to get picked up from my house, it would mean they know where I live from that point on. But for adults, I think it can actually work, and when I am an adult, it might be something I consider. Austin does need more transportation and car pooling so I would absolutely say we need more ride sharing, it doesn't matter if its lyft, uber, or just taxis, if there are less cars on the road its better for everyone and for the city. The difference between the two is that taxi drivers are hired by companies based in austin, and are background checked much more carefully than online uber drivers. Also taxi cab companies are more involved in the government than uber and lyft are, which is another reason it was harder for them to stay here in austin since they were taking business away from the taxi companies. Either way though its a stranger driving you around, and they should all be held to the same safety standards and rules.

Sea You Later Pirates!

Paul Greengrasses "Captain Philips" tells the dramatic story of Richard Phillip and his crews conflict with some pirates at sea. The film itself is a powerful journey of the Maersk Alabama being Hijacked by Somalian pirates. The ship was originally on a cargo delivery path to Mombasa from the United States. The captain chose to take the fastest and most efficient way to Mombassa, but it meant they would be awfully close to the somali coast. Which ended up making it very easy for the pirates to take over their ship. During the hijacking Captain Phillips is taken hostage by the pirates to search for the rest of the crew, who are wisely hiding in the engine room of the ship. Muse, captain of the pirate crew, ends up being taken hostage by the crew, so the pirates and the crew make an exchange, captain for captain. But the pirates don't uphold their side of the deal and leave the ship on a life boat with captain phillips, heading for the somali coast. Only to then have to deal with the SEALS, and all of america making sure this man comes home alive, no matter the cost. Captain Phillips is played by Tom Hanks, who does a fantastic job acting in this movie, there was never a point that the audience doesn't believe he is the real captain phillips. On the other hand the main pirate, Abduwali Muse is played by Barkhad Abdi. Barkhad does very well as muse and actually won many awards for his performance in the film. Those are the two characters who are focused on the most, but there are still a lot of people you could consider "Important Characters". Like Shane Murphy who is played by Michael Chemus, he is the side captain of the ship who follows Philip around during the first half of the movie. As well as the other 3 pirates, Najee, Elmi and Bilal. Who are played by Faysal Ahmed, Mahat M. Ali, and Barkhad Abdirahman. In which all do a great job playing as Somalian pirates who have to make hard decision in order to achieve their goal and to prevent their own demise. The last character worth mentioning is the SEAL Commander, acted by Max Martini. He is mainly a side character since he shows up so late in the film, but he does have a lot of roles during his screen time and is the one making some of the bigger decisions near the end of the movie. The movie covers many themes and sends out quite a few messages, and one of the most prominent ones, was a theme of co-operation through conflict. This really plays into the film in many different aspects like the relationships between the pirates, between the crew, the crew and the pirates, and all of them in relation to the SEALS. The pirates not choosing to cooperate ends up putting them in a worse situation than they started in, and if they would have just followed directions, their piracy would have been beneficial to them, and nobody would have gotten hurt. Another theme was one of mercy, all throughout the film, the captain is trying to keep his crew safe no matter the cost, but yet is not willing to murder in cold blood any of the pirates if its needed. He even finds some good in the pirates and is able to put himself in their shoes, to see how hard their life is, and how they don't really have a choice in what they are doing either. Its a interesting contrast, when a film makes the bad guys seem not so bad, and this film definitely does this very well in my opinion. The movie is directed to a young adult and on audience, there is some foul language, and some very stressful scenes. Its rated pg-13 for a reason, so no 10 year olds should be seeing a movie like this, but they probably will anyways. Either way really only teenagers and above can understand and fully engage the movie. When it comes to cinematography, this film is spot on, and has its own style and rules it sticks to throughout the whole story. There are lots of helicopter shots, depth of field shots, and slightly shaky through hallway action sequences. As a cinematographer myself, I especially payed attention where the camera was, and the reason for what the camera was doing. For story telling, many critics say that the film makes captain phillips seem to much like a hero, when in real life he didn't do that much, he was just caught in the middle of all the conflict. They also say that they didn't focus enough on the fact that it was captain phillips fault they were boarded because they were boating to close to the coast, and that he knew the danger of doing so the whole time. The story thats told through the film, whether it be fully accurate or not, still is very powerful and inspiring. It subsequently makes you ask many moral questions of yourself, and makes the entire audience really think about the decisions of the characters, and the reasons behind their choices. Overall the film does a fantastic job at keeping the audience interested, telling a good story, and driving some moral themes home. So on a scale of one to ten buckets of jelly beans, its a 8 and a half buckets of jelly beans. I highly encourage everyone who is of a appropriate age, to go and see this film, you will not regret doing so.