Independent Project - CyberARTS Promo Video

 For HD version: HERE

The title for this project is “CyberARTS Promotional Video”. I thought of the idea of working on a CyberARTS promotional because I believe that there should be a new promotional video every year to keep the artworks and tech projects updated. I watched the previous year’s promotional video and although I thought that the videos had good concepts and visuals, the artworks and the video in general could not be really appreciated because the videos were very low quality. As of 2015 the CyberARTS program has much newer hardware and software, newer cameras, computers and software programs, because of all of these advantages over previous years, I could take the general idea for the layout of that video and use it as a reference when making the new CyberARTS promotional video.

Creating a short video that promotes CyberARTS by showing artwork created by students is important to do through a video because it is easier for a prospective Cyber ARTS student to see for themselves the special and creative environment of the program instead of just hearing about it and thinking that they wouldn’t get in because they are not “good enough”.

Problems Nicky and I experienced while working on this project were generally small and we were able to solve these problems relatively fast. One of the small problems was trying to schedule interviews on specific dates so that worked best for me and Nicky. Since most of the filming was taking place around the holyday break, before and after, Nicky and I both had other school activities we had to dedicate time to. We eventually solved the issue by communicating and filming during lunch time on most days when we were both available.

Me and Nicky began the creative process by watching previous promotional CyberARTS videos as well as watching promotional videos for other art programs for other schools. Once we finished watching the videos we picked out what we liked in each video and built a structure off of the old videos. I then thought of idea of how I should display the artwork and in what order the people interviewed should be. Me and Nicky built off of that storyboard, adding and removing things that weren’t initially planned. Something that was initially planned but we later decided to remove was the idea of having the interviews taking place in different sections around the classroom. We later realized it would be a better idea to go for a more modernized look with a simple white background.

Our influences for the CyberARTS video include several art programs’ promotional videos Nicky and I found on the internet. Before thinking of an outline for the video, Nicky and I would watch other schools promotional videos and take ideas from those videos. We were also influenced by the Apple commercials where the spokesperson is talking about a product while taklking in front of a white background.

I am satisfied with the end result of the promotional video. I believe with my editing skills and Nicky’s directing skills we created a video that truly represents what the CyberARTS program is about.

Black & White + One Photo

This is the completed photography assignment, I titled it "Spectrum Blur". The theme that I wanted to express though these photos is to show that gender identity is more complex than just black & white. It is a series of three images that represent how gender identity is not as clear as just two colours. I decided to separate the image into three because I feel that it represents better feeling of separation. While working on this project I did not experience any problems that I felt that I could not solve, because the three images were originally one picture, the entire frame was in focus, so because I wanted to have the two sides appear to blur out and be desaturated I had to split the image in three to be able to edit each side independently. Once I was happy with the blur and the colour, I started working on the center; I increased the saturation to make the colours pop-out and I also added a "gender neutral" sign to make the door seem like a third neutral washroom.
I like the way the finished product turned out, although I do believe that I could improve the blurring effect as well as the colours and the blending on the sign.

Personal Identity Assignment

The purpose of this assignment was to create a visual identity for myself in my chosen creative career area.
My company, AM Animations, creates mainly kinetic typography animations as well other types of music videos for music creators/music bands. My colour scheme and design helps identify the clean and sharp personality of my business. I also made my logo design sharp by having clean and straight lines. The animated logo was made the way it is because I wanted to keep the style straight and to the point. I chose the phone case and the hat as marketing merchandise because they are simple and common things someone would buy, I decided to have only the logo on the items because it is more likely that someone will buy those things because of the design without knowing what it actually is. 

Banner

Black and white logo

Coloured logo

Business card back

Business card front

Flyer

Phone case merchandise

Poster

Envelope

Letter head

Hat merchandise

Website Portfolio

I am Alfonso Mejia, artist, animator and video editor from Toronto, Ontario. I enjoy making minimalistic paintings as well as pencil drawings, and also I enjoy the challenge of making animations and editing videos.  My artwork is influenced by minimal style for when I make paintings, as for videos, I am influenced by independent animations and videos whose creators make the videos for fun primarily, not for profit.

One of projects in CyberARTS (Tech) that I found most enjoyable were the video creations (Kinetic typography, Demo reel, and CyberARTS promo video), I feel that these video projects were the most enjoyable because they were the most challenging to make, and seeing them as a final completed video it felt extremely satisfying. I am very proud of the way the CyberARTS promotional video came out because it captured the atmosphere of the program as well as it showed everything that was planned. One of the projects in CyberARTS (Art) that I found the most enjoyable was the independent project from this year. I believe that both of my independent project pieces this year were possibly the best artwork in my opinion that I have ever made. I put lots of thought and effort into my theme and ideas as well as putting an extensive amount of time into planning the whole project.

I believe that CyberARTS taught me year after year to become a much better artist. Before joining CyberARTS I always felt that doing art was boring and a chore, and also I was not good at doing art because I never really tried. Now that I’ve been in the program and have been properly taught by the teachers and also having been influenced by my peers throughout each year, I find myself to be more creative and being able to create more “fun” and enjoyable projects.

I would like to further improve on becoming a digital artist as well as becoming a better painter. Although I have a basic understanding in the technical aspect of both art styles, I would like to further improve my technique to get better. I would also like to work on more videos in the future to become a better editor.

I believe CyberARTS has not so much impacted my career choice, but it has helped me be more creative on multiple aspects. This program has also helped learn things that I could do for fun at any point of my life, things such as painting, drawing or creating videos.

On my portfolio you’ll find artwork I have done on the computer (video, animations, graphic design, etc.) and also works that I have done by hand. Many of my works range from digital, mixed media, pencil, marker, paint and water colour. I always try to create artwork that will allow me to learn something new about art, whether it’s a different medium, style or subject. For most of my artwork I am always trying to create stunning and/or interesting pieces.

Here is the link to my website portfolio, AM Animations (disregard the site address).

Living Still Assignment

"Nothing To See"

For this cinemagraph I wanted to express how an increasing number of people in society are living their lives only on computers and the internet without socializing with anyone in the outside world.

"Black & White + ONE" Assignment Written Proposal

1. How can I express the theme Black and White + One through photo-based artwork?

For this assignment I plan to make a series of photographs consisting of three pictures with altered colours, one in black and white, one in black and white with inverted colours and lastly one in full colour.

• 3 separate pictures or 3 pictures combined into one (3 sections).
• section 1: black & white, section 2: black and white with inverted colours, section 3: normal colours
• 3 washroom doors "Male, Female, Other". 
• use photoshop to alter the colours and the overall composition of the pictures.

The finalized picture(s) will have a similarity to the bottom picture bellow.

2. How can I explore using the medium of photography in a way that stretches my current knowledge and understanding and suits my interpretation of the theme?

The theme that I want to express though these photographs is going to be shown by emphasizing that gender identity is more complex than just black & white (male & female).

Living Movie Sill Assignment

My God! It's full of stars!

For my .gif assignment I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I picked this clip from the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey". I chose this clip because it is from the last ten minutes of the movie, possibly the most important, complicated and complex in any movie since.

This scene takes place when David Bowman appears in a type of hotel room after Bowman enters/falls into the Monolith (an alien artifact), and a whole series of things happen as he is falling through the Monolith. Bowman sees planets, stars and galaxies inside the Monolith, and although the quote "My God! It's full of stars!" is not actually said in this movie, however in the sequel "2010" it is said that those were the last words ever transmitted by Bowman before he disappeared into the Monolith.