DKC Training Site

Author: feli

  • making a name tag (am i official yet?)

    I made my own name tag!!! My first and only idea for what I wanted it to look like was an amp because I play bass guitar and amps look cool. I was going to try to add a little bass on it but I thought it looked a little better without it. With my vision in mind, I just had to make it. While I wasn’t unfamiliar with Tinkercad it had been a while since I used it so I reacquainted myself with its weird interface by speedrunning through their tutorials. Once I did that I was able to create the design below.

    The hardest part of this whole process was definitely finding a time when the 3D printer was free for my training and actual printing, and I ended up having to come in for both on Sundays. While it was printing I sadly realized too late the name tag was thicker than I thought it would be. So while this is what my actual name tag will look like the official version won’t be ready until the 30th.

  • workshop success!

    I did a mini-workshop! I almost didn’t make a post about it until I saw Angela and Katy’s but here it is now. Last Friday I taught the basics of using CSS in WordPress and gave people some code they can use to edit text and images on their site. I made a website so that people could follow along during my presentation and use it later if they wanted to. I also made a poster which I may have spent a little more time on than I needed to but it looks great and that’s all that matters! I would say it was a successful workshop except for Safari’s weird inspection tool.

  • disinformation of the information center

    My final video cut is ready!!!!!

    I had so much fun making this video even though there were a lot of technical difficulties. I learned a new video editing software, and I know it was very unnecessary but I loved learning how to use the scary beast that is DaVinci Resolve. I also got to

    After my rough-cut viewing party, I went to work adding all the feedback I received. I changed the fonts to make them more legible because, even though they looked cool, no one knew what was happening. I shortened the intro text on the screen and added narration so that anyone who hasn’t been staring at it for hours and memorized it (just me) can also know what’s happening. I also made some general changes so that the theme of the video was more obvious. I moved the interviewee’s name under the actual person being interviewed and fixed the timing of the font changes so that it’s clear that Oli’s part was an “accident.”

    A major obstacle I had to tackle (among the many others) was the weird audio. We had originally recorded it with an audio kit. But my quick check failed to notice the loud buzzing noise that somehow materialized in the quiet podcast studio that we couldn’t hear recorded anywhere else. Luckily I was already using the most overly complex editing software already! While I hadn’t managed to fix it before the rough cut was watched, the audio is now (hopefully) fixed and very easy to listen to.

    I also feel the need to say that I did not script the interview responses. They are just truly talented actors, give them their Oscars.

  • the very rough cut

    Here’s a very rough cut of my ADC video. I know it’s a little longer than it should be but that’s what final cuts are for right?

  • sites@umw: an uncool DoOO

    Here’s the Sites@UMW page I made. I would describe the difference between the two like this. DoOO is basically whatever you want it to be. You can customize your URL completely, choose from thousands of plugins to add various effects to your website, and even more customizable themes to create a unique website. You can even download or create your own themes and plugins if you’d like. There are a lot of different applications you can use to build it but most people choose WordPress, the golden child of website creation. Everyone can make one domain but as many subdomains as you want, that can link back to each other if you want. You can also take the website with you when you graduate. Sites@UMW is the same idea but you get to do a lot less. The URL has to have .umwsites.net at the end, and the themes and plugins available are 41 in total. WordPress comes installed automatically but you can’t use any of the other applications though you can make as many subsites as you want. The sacrifice in customization is that is very low-maintenance since admins manage updates of themes/plugins so you don’t have to worry about outdated code messing up your website. You can take the content with you when you graduate but not the URL. If you want to create a simple website for a club or project Sites@UMW is likely the easier option but if you want full control over something that is your own DoOO is the superior choice.

  • top secret video project: the scramble to record

    This week was very hectic as I had to rush to get ready to record so that the other consultants were still available when I needed them to be.

    I’ve learned a lot of things this week but especially more about using recording equipment than the basic understanding I had before I started this. Learning how to use the OSMO gimbal and figuring out some new settings on the DSLR was a bit of a struggle but I think most of my shots came out well.

    My storyboard has a bit of a creepy vibe to it which is sort of what I’m going for just with a bit of silliness added to it in the actual video. Looking at what I have so far for this project I’ve once again recorded too much time but this time I’m prepared to do a lot of cutting to really get the scenes to be concise.

  • accessibility web building

    Recently we learned about why is accessibility important and how to incorporate it into websites to create access for all. I learned a lot from the reading and videos but the one that really stood out to me was the curb-cut effect which makes sense because the point of it is that it becomes a common part of society. It surprised me that things that are common today like curb ramps were hard to get placed but now are such an expected part of the world.

    I would like to learn more about the way other countries handle accessibility since one of the videos mentioned that in Norway it’s illegal to have inaccessible websites. It would be cool to see what led up to that law since disability legislature isn’t usually that prevelant outside of local laws.

    One thing I couldn’t fix was my recent blog posts since I wanted to change them to a bulleted list but I couldn’t since the block is automated by WordPress. There are also a few things I didn’t get done like making a transcript for the Brooklyn Nine-Nine video but I definitely want to continue to adjust these issues to make my site more accessible.

  • human test video: canva does videos now?

    Here’s my video submission for the DKC human test! In the video, all photos are mine, and the music was found on Freesound and has no copyright. I also cited my sources in the video on the last slide.

    Using Canva to make videos was something I never even knew was an option. Overall the experience was very smooth though a bit frustrating. Though I’m pretty sure I only think that because I’ve used other more advanced editing software in the past. Compared to those, Canva was a little limiting in what tools were available and it wasn’t as easy to get the precise results I wanted. Though for beginners or a quick video project, I definitely see the use. Since it’s easy to share, edit, and create with the mountain of templates they have there is little room for failure. I likely won’t use it again unless the project requires it, since to the detriment of my free time I overedit every little thing. Though it’s nice knowing that Canva has so much more to offer than graphic design tools.

    My process for making the video was pretty linear except for one thing. Two seconds into making the script for the video I forgot the time requirement was 30 seconds. So I ended up making a full minute-long video talking a bit more about each fun fact and a brief mention of my roommate’s cat, Moby. Sadly, before I could post it Shannon very quickly cut down my dreams of greatness. I rushed to cut and edit the audio in Audacity but sadly I couldn’t keep it all in the final video. And then I forgot to save the original video so no one will ever see the full amazingness of Feli. To make up for it, here’s a photo of Moby to make up for this great loss to the world.

  • my excessive website editing continues

    I think in the last week I’ve changed almost everything on my website in such small ways that it’s barely noticeable but adds to a better overall look. I definitely spent too much time on little things that did not need them (my home page) but I’ve learned a lot more about WordPress so a win is still a win.

    I decided to make things harder for myself so I placed my sidebar in the middle which my theme did not enjoy. I didn’t have too much to add to it just yet since the website was just made but I hope to populate it a bit more. For now, it just has the premade blocks to display your categories and recent posts. Then because I spent too much time looking at it I wanted to add some flare I learnt how to do some small HTML coding and added some border and background effects to the text.

    For the plugins task, I chose to add the Accessibility Checker. I remember that we briefly mentioned it during one of our cohort meetings and thought it would be a good one to try out. I’m still working on fixing the entire website because there are a lot of small things that are easy to assume would be easily accessible and are very much not.

    I think I’m most excited to learn more about graphic design because I enjoy creating. I already know how to use a few applications but I’ve always wanted to spend more time really learning about it so this would be fun for me.

  • building my website struggles

    I did so much this week for my website! I customized my home page and added some fun gifs that summarize my process while working pretty well. I started building this website with a new theme that I hadn’t used before as well so that was a bit of a learning curve.

    I also learned a lot more about how to use widgets. I avoided them before because they looked intimidating, but I wanted to include some elements on my home page that needed widgets, so I played around with them a lot.

    I added a video compilation of Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s cold opens because whenever I need a laugh I usually put on one of these so enjoy!