The Benefits of Better Software

Camera and film making techniques are becoming a huge part of the modern classroom. For certain projects, students have to film different scenes, or interviews. There are a lot of scenarios  that involve using a camera, or a certain computer program.  But do students really know how to use a camera to film something that crosses the line from mediocre to professional, or edit something into a quality piece of media? For the past decade, film and video arts have been gaining popularity in schools and colleges around the world. For example, in many middle schools and high schools there are annual news reports of the weeks events. The segment is filmed, and often edited by students. The work that goes into this can sometimes be complicated for newcomers, so how exactly do they manage this? Well the answer is simple: learning. The students creating these short films have learned how to properly use a camera, alongside a computer program, allowing them to create well made, fun to watch videos to show to classmates and teachers.

But although there is often a class that teaches this skill, it is not often well communicated, or sometimes not taught entirely correctly. A common mistake when schools teach kids how to make a film is the software that is used. Many times, free software like Windows Movie Maker, or WeVideo is used, which does not very well implicate the techniques of working with a camera and software. Programs like Sony Vegas, or Final Cut are much better for teaching students, and offer many more learning opportunities. The reason this has such a massive impact on students future, is that many careers include this kind of work. Some of these careers include business, medical sciences, accounting, and many more. If students are educated on how to make professional videos with certain programs as early as high school, then they will have a big advantage later on in life.

    So as you can see, all sorts of camerawork and filming are essential parts of students futures, especially in certain fields. There are many ways that knowing how to properly use computer software and cameras can improve the way you understand other computer-related issues, and solve problems that pertain to your specific career. This is why I think that students should be taught to use cameras properly, and edit videos with ease.

~Dan

 

Black Ops 2: Going Overboard?

http://www.blackops2.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/black-ops-2-official-logo-595x364.jpg

Black Ops, a video game that is part of the Call of Duty franchise, was a huge success. It took place in the cold war and was very realistic, only with a few slight exceptions. It stuck to mainly using your gun to get through the levels, yet occasionally it allowed you to operate various vehicles, like helicopters and a rocket on the back of a car. Much of the Call of Duty franchise has a campaign that is based on you progressing through levels with mainly your gun. Coming out this November 13 is their latest addition, Black Ops 2. Although, it appears as though in this game you will be relying on more robots and machines than your actual gun to advance throughout the campaign. Being displayed in the release trailer for the game that came out on May 1, 2012, were multiple, small, robotic helicopters, giant robotic tanks, x-ray scopes that see through walls, and a plethora of futuristic helicopters and planes. Although all of this makes sense, as the game is supposed to take place in 2025, will it be a little over the top? Even the narrator Sgt. Frank Woods, a fictional video game character, said during the Black Ops 2 official trailer, “Technology got stronger, but we got weaker. We built computers, robots, whole unmanned armies.” With a giant new step being taken to bring Call of Duty to the next level, how will the fans react? Will they admire the drastic leap Black Ops 2 took from the traditional style of play or will they long for it back? There has been much controversy over this topic, as Black Ops 2 is going to change not only the campaign style of play, with it more based on robots, but also a traditional and beloved zombies mode. As for now, we’ll have to wait until the game is released to see if these drastic steps paid off, or sunk the game.

I consider myself to be a strong fan of the Call of Duty franchise, and with this news of the new immense changes Treyarch plans to make on its game, I am disappointed. After watching the trailer for the game, it appears as though the majority of the story mode will be robots fighting against one another. I would rather stick to the exhilarating gun no gun battles. Also, I find the machines they are going to be implementing will be ruining the game. They are taking it in an entirely different direction and I am hesitant to approve of this. Although drastic changes in the game paid off before, this one seems too much for me. Also, where does horse riding fit into all of this? I find it appalling, even insulting, how they are making it futuristic warfare with detailed new robots, and yet in one scene you are riding a horse! In all their games you ride stupendous cars, tanks, helicopters, and underwater vehicles, and now you ride a horse? As much as I fear they butchered the campaign of Call of Duty games, I am now terrified of what they have done to the treasured zombies mode. They already double the amount of players who can play in one game by taking it from a balanced four to a claustrophobic eight. I cherish the zombies mode and enjoy it for what it is, and they’re changing it without a need to. Overall, I am reluctant to see what other drastic determinants, or as unlikely as it is, improvements, have been implemented in this new game, as I’m sure many others are as well.

~Dan Fisher