Looking Back

As a person who is not very tech-savvy, I have found that this class has paved a very useful foundation for my knowledge of different types of media. I have learned basics about film, photography and web design that will be useful in my education as a film major. Since I am a film major, I found that I favored some lectures more than others at first (i.e. those that dealt exclusively with film related topics) like learning about cameras and the ways in which they function. I really enjoyed the labs where we got to use the cameras to record. But as the semester progressed, my biases wore off because I realized that everything we learned applied to me as a filmmaker. Though at first I was turned off a bit by the computer related lectures, I soon came to realize that as a filmmaker in today's world, knowing all these things will be very useful if not necessary.
I really understand the concept of media convergence now. Knowing how to effectively use computers and the web is not only essential to web designers or people who work in computer related fields, but also to filmmakers now because of the roles that things like the Internet have taken on in different mediums. Today, computers are essential for filmmakers in areas like editing and even exhibition, since today movies can be seen over the web. Even things like designing dvd covers and posters to advertise one's film requires knowledge on how to effectively use computers. In addition to all this, I learned that some things can cross medium boundaries. For example, things like knowing design principles is not only useful to a web designer, but also to filmmakers who have to soundly compose their shots. I've learned a lot about how different mediums are coming closer together with the technology available to us today.
The lecture/lab split worked really well for this class. Learning about things in a strictly theoretical manner can get very boring. The lab section of the class, however, reinforced what we learned in the lectures in a more practical, hands-on experience. This type of reinforcement is not only more enjoyable than strictly learning material without actually practicing it, but it makes it easier to remember what we learn since we are actually engaging in it. Overall, I found the class to be very useful to me as a media maker and I am looking forward to taking the second half of the class next semester.