Typography in Web Design

Last winter session I took an Interactive Multimedia Design course here at school with a focus on website designing. We learned to write code for our own websites from scratch, but the main thing we worked on and were graded on was typography. Typography always seemed to me like one of those fancy words that people use without really knowing what it means. However, I quickly learned how important things like readability and legibility actually are in the design of a website. We don't always think about aspects like letter spacing and contrast, but we notice, whether we realize it or not. There's a reason why companies are willing to pay good money for a website designer who knows what they're doing.

More on what exactly typography is...

Some examples of exceptional typography in website design:

http://www.awwwards.com/websites/typography/

http://ilovetypography.com/

The Way Video Editing Programs Read Files

Downstairs here at the SMDC, there's been a recent influx of editors let loose on the suite of video editing programs we have.  Not all of them have experience with the programs and we've been having a few incidents.  I'll cover a big one, and potentially the most damaging.

Yes, exactly like this.

Importing a video from a camera doesn't automatically make a copies of the source video on a more permanent space.  Which is the second use for camera archives are important, the first I've covered before.  If the users themselves don't make the copy, the software, regardless of what kind, Premiere (my favorite), Final Cut 7, iMovie (either version), will keep looking at the camera for the video.  There are rumors that Final Cut X makes copies of the video on different discs, but those are unconfirmed.  Mostly by me, because I don't feel like Googling it.

Yeah, I know it wouldn't take that long to Google.  Just stop looking at me like that.

Having the software look directly at the camera is all well and good, provided it's a project where you won't ever need to access the footage again and won't be working on it after this one time you edited.  But that's not usually the case, and even if it were, we still recommend a hard drive and an archive.  One shot video projects are extremely rare.  Like unicorns or blue Skittles.

The rarest sight in the known universe.

All this means that when the user takes the project file with them back to whatever place they take it to, dorm, apartment, hovel, what have you, they might only be taking the project files.  Taking only project file is like inviting your friends out to the bar, but only bringing the clothes they would have worn.  All the dressings are there, but the content's nowhere to be found.

The time that all my project files tried to learn to surf.

We'll look to one of my famous hypotheticals, except that this one isn't a hypothetical because it's what really happened.  A patron was trying to put the finishing touches on her project.  She and her group had done almost the right thing, which was to do the project on a portable hard drive.  I say almost the right thing, because they hadn't consolidated any of the actual clips on the hard drive.  All the previews in iMovie were still referencing different locations on her group mates assorted computers.

Every file that heard iMovie's call is contained in this room.

Her project ended up corrupted from all the switching and the bad preview file references.  I'll sum it all up with an analog.  Someone's trying to draw your attention to a fine mahogany cabinet.  They've even been kind enough to put a label on where the cabinet should be.  But they left the cabinet at home.

Your iMovie analogies will never get to see the fine craftsmanship of this video file stand-in.

You'd have no idea what they were talking about.  You could try and guess, but you'll probably strain yourself and end up seeing color bars.

What happens when you try too hard to please your friends.

Digital Media for Sale

Hi Everyone,

Just a reminder for some of the newbies like me, don't forget that the  center does have some digital media for sale. The other day someone asked if they were able to purchase a flash drive and I almost said no, but then remembered that we do have them available (even though they didn't purchase it after all lol). So don't forget, these are the items that are available for purchase along with the prices:

1.  16GB USB Flash drive $15.00
2. Generic Mini DisplayPort to VGA adapter $10.00
3. CD-R $1.00
4. DVD-R $2.00
5. DVD-R (Dual Layer) $5.00
6. Blu-Ray R Disc $5.00
7. Sony MiniDV tape $5.00 
8. Sony HD MiniDV tape $10.00

Students can pay for these items with cash, credit card, check or flex. You can always refer to the center homepage if you forget what items we have. (I did for this list :))

Happy Halloween Everyone!!

Printing services we provide!!!

Hello Everyone,


   Lately, we have been getting a lot of people requesting to print transparencies. Why are we still using overhead projectors??? Anyways, these are all the printing services we provide here at the Student Multimedia Design Center.


B&W Transparency---- $.50
Color Transparency-----$1.50
B&W Photocopy--------$.20
Color Photocopy--------$1.20
Specialty Paper---------$.50
Lamination---------------$1.00

If you ever need to know the prices, just tap on the register and it pops up!

Alternative Ways to Code Without Dreamweaver

Here at the SMDC, all the computers have Adobe's Dreamweaver installed. This is one of the most popular applications for creating HTML and CSS files since Dreamweaver offers features such as auto completion and allowing the user the view the website as it's coded, but many users may find these features unnecessary.

For a lightweight coding application, I prefer Notepad++. Notepad++ offers a simple interface similar to the Notepad application installed with Windows, but offers more features and the possibility to install plugins. I also like Notepad++ because it's both free and portable, meaning I can download Notepad++ as a .zip file, extract it to my flash drive, and take it with me anywhere I go. This is especially useful when I'm not able to use a PC with Dreamweaver. Notepad++ is constantly improving and comes packaged with instructions on how to make coding faster and easier through Notepad++.

Sublime Text is a similar application that is available to Windows, OS X, and Linux users. For useful shortcuts and ways to configure Sublime Text, you can take a look at the documentation available here. Happy coding!

Spooky Scary Horror Movie Poster Evolutions

  Vhy hello zere everyone, and velcome to my perfectly horrible post!

  As zis is zee month of terror, I thought it only fitting to post about zis interesting blog entry I found entailing how horror movie posters have changed over zee years. It is a couple of years old mind you (five to be exact), but vat is age other zan a mechanism for beauty? You can still see zee vay zee introduction of new technology and vat really made something scary (not zee sparkles, never zee sparkles) changed zee format of zese posters. I did a little more digging trying to find one zat had a couple more recent posters, just to see if anyzing else significantly changed and came up with zis vebsite zat vent all zee vay up to 2011. Since a lot of us vere/are vorking frantically on our own posters I thought zese might help spark some creative juices as vell as get us all in zee mood for one of zee best holidays of zee year.

  Anyvays, I hope you guys have a perfectly terrible month and a happy early Halloveen to all of you as vell~
  (Please excuse the horrible accent, I never was good at them...)

New Dell Laptop Images!

Be aware that the Dell Latitude Laptops are getting re-imaged! What this means is that the laptops will now have Microsoft Office 2013 on them, including Publisher. Not all laptops have been re-imaged yet so please just check the paper that is located on the laptop rack to see which ones are available for check out.

So if patrons come in asking about our laptops, just remember that they now have Office 2013 on them!

Converting MP4 to MP3

Hi everyone!

Last week a student had an English project where she had to remix a song, and she had the song on YouTube and wanted to convert it to MP3 so she could import it into GarageBand. I now know that there are many ways to do this, but at the time I suggested that she go on www.youtube-mp3.org/ This website is very easy to use, basically you just copy and paste the URL and click convert. I wasn't sure how legal this was (seeing as you're ripping music off of YouTube for free), but I learned of an easy, more legal way!  If you have any MP4, you can import it into Audacity and it will automatically rip the MP3 from it, so then you would be able to use the sound in GarageBand. Also, on the Macs there's a way to change the form of the file simply by renaming it. For example, you might have ____.mp4, when you rename the file you can also highlight over .mp4 and change it to .mp3 and save it like that!

Adobe Brush

Hey everyone,

So Adobe recently came out with a new free app called Adobe Brush. The app allows you to use your smart phone to create new brushes for Illustrator and Photoshop from hand done drawings or patterns. So for example, you could take a picture of a painted brush stroke and then size it to work as a new brush in Adobe programs. This allows you see the shadows and fine details of the stroke and recreate it digitally. This feature can be really helpful if you want to do a digital painting but with a more 3-D or physical feel. It's also useful if you need a specific pattern that the program doesn't have, because it allows you to create your own patterns.

Here's a video of how the program works.

http://helpx.adobe.com/mobile-apps/how-to/adobe-brush-create-brushes.html

Red Emergency Button

Be careful not to accidentally hit the red emergency button, I forgot it was there until just now when two police officers showed up at the desk asking if we had hit the panic button! They are located to the right of all the desk computer keyboards.

New Scan Gun at the Mac Station and our New Web Browser

Hey everybody, as you may, or may not, have noticed, there is a new scan gun at the Mac computer on the desk (yayyyy *the crowd goes wild*). This means that now all 4 computers can be used to check items in (NOTE: The mac does not have a card reader yet so it can not scan items out through WMS). However, it can:

• Check items out through the checklist
• Check items in through the checklist
• Check items in through WMS

 This will hopefully speed up the time in which we will be able to help the users that come in to use our services (*The crowd grows even wilder*).

As an added bonus, the rightmost PC and the Mac now have the amazing, spectacular, stupendous....... Google Chrome!!! (*The entire crowd faints at this point*) I know right? Just like firefox, all of the bookmarks you found in there can still be found at the top of the google chrome browser. (*The crowd wakes back up and quietly goes home because they are civilized people. What were they even watching. Were they listening to me talk to you? That's weird.*)

When Picking a Font for Your Poster...

Hey y'all!

Have you ever been scrolling through fonts on a program, squinting your eyes, trying to pick one, but you just don’t seem to like any? Most fonts that come with computers are ones that everyone’s seen before and aren’t eye-catching and unique. There are websites you can go to where you can preview your fonts nice and big and then download them onto your computer for free.

MyFontbook has over 500 fonts to choose from and Dafont has over 25,000 fonts to preview and download onto Mac and Windows computers. They are simple to install and will make your posters and projects look that much better.

Have fun wasting hours scrolling through and downloading cool fonts…not that I’ve ever done that before.

Microfilm & Microfiche

Hey everyone!

This is just a reminder for everyone for putting back microfilm and microfiche. Remember to count each piece of microfilm and microfiche as you put them away and also make sure to record them on the clipboard at the desk. I put away a bunch of microfilm today and Rich reminded me of this, so I just wanted to make sure everyone else didn’t forget like I did!

Have a great day everyone!

Shannon 

Fire Alarm Procedure

Hey everyone! Today the library's fire alarm went off, so I thought it would be a good time to remind everybody of the procedure we have for staff members when the alarm sounds:

Fire alarms must be taken seriously at all times. If the alarm sounds:

1.     Evacuate the building using the nearest exit. 

2.     Move at least 200 feet away from the building.

3.     Meet at the center of the walkway crossing The Green to “check in” with department staff.

4.     Re-enter the building when Public Safety indicates that it is safe to do so.

New Part with Mac Power Adapters

Have you noticed that the Mac Power Adapters now have a little black pouch attached to them? This is an additional part of each Mac Power Adapter kit.  Inside the pouch, there is a small adapter that converts between MagSafe and MagSafe2.  This allows the chargers to be used with new Macbook models. The MagSafe2 is compatible with the smaller power adapter ports on the newer Macbooks shown below.

If a user asks for a charger for a newer Macbook, they are now available on each of the power adapter kits.  Be sure to scan the additional part when going through the checklist!

New Three Day Loan Headphones

Hey everyone,

The three day loan headphones that used to be stored in those hard, black plastic boxes on top of a cabinet in the back have been replaced and are no longer available for checkout!

To replace them, we have four new Sennheiser HD 380 Pro headphone kits. These new kits have two parts, the actual headphones and a coiled cable that can be used with any 3.5mm headphone jack. The headphones are stored in black, hard-shell containers with the Sennheiser logo on the top. These new kits are currently located in the same desk drawer that the four hour loan headphones are stored.

If anyone wants to check out a pair of headphones for use outside of the library, then these new headphones are their only option!

Printing Brochures

Hello everyone,

Many users have been printing brochures this semester so I just wanted to give a simple method to do so that I picked up from John and Nico.

If you wish to print a color brochure so that both sides of the landscape brochure are upright in the same direction rather than reversed...

On Macs:

• In your Word document, go to File, Print
• Select Color, Double Sided
• In the drop-down menu directly below,  select Paper Feed to select which tray you wish to print from (2,3 for glossy paper and 4 for plain paper)
• In the same drop-down menu, select Layout
• Make sure Short-edge binding is selected in the Two-Sided drop-down box
• Select Print

On PCs:

• In your Word document, go to File, Print
• Select Color
• Under Settings, select Print on Both Sides Flip Pages on Short Edge
• Under Printer Properties, select the paper source tray corresponding with the paper type you wish (2,3 for glossy and 4 for plain paper)
• Select Print

What are 8mm, Hi8 and Digital 8 tapes and why a transfer kit?

We have a 8mm/Hi8/Digital 8 transfer kit that can be checked out for three days. What tapes does it take you may wonder? Answer: it's for Video8, Hi8 and Digital8 videotapes. The 8mm video format was developed in the 1980s to make home video cameras smaller. Before this, "camcorders" recorded to either VHS or Betamax tape, requiring a larger camera. The development of 8mm videocassettes allowed for smaller cameras. The original Video8 was entirely analog. Hi8 allowed for a special digital audio track. Digital 8 was a cassette the same size but with all digital signal, similar to a Mini DV tape. Most people who borrow the transfer kit have home video tapes. Here's an example:

The deck allows them to import these tapes into a video editing program via firewire. For more info. see the Wikipedia article on 8mm video format. Please note this kit does not transfer any audio only tape such as audio cassettes, 8-track, or reel to reel tape. Also it does not transfer 8mm or Super 8 movie film which was popular for home movies in the 1960s and 1970s.

iMovie: Green Screen

This morning I was helping a student with adding an image to the background of the green screen video clip he had already prepared. Luckily this student had already put his video together and had it ready to go for putting in the final touch... adding an image to the background of his clip. We found a high resolution image of space and I showed him how to take the video clip and drag it over top of the image and wait for the green (+) to appear. After multiple attempts this still didn't work. It turns out this was because we were using a clip that was already in the Project Library (as opposed to a clip from the (Event Library), for some reason this will not allow you to place the clip over the image.

So remember, the clip must be taken from the Event Library and then dragged and dropped into the project for it to give you the "Green Screen" option.

Uploading to Youtube

A few days ago, someone asked for assistance with uploading a class video project to YouTube. To start off, we tried uploading the video using the student's school email account. To upload to YouTube you need to have a Google account and at the time we assumed that since UD uses Google Apps for our e-mail, that you could upload a video to YouTube using your UD Google apps account.

So this would be a pretty boring blog post if this video project was actually uploaded like expected. You guessed it, you can't upload a video to YouTube using your Google Apps account! The solution to this is quite simple, if a student wants to upload a video to YouTube then they either need to use an existing Google account or they need to make an account on YouTube when they go to upload the video.

The Magic of Studio 5

    Here in the Multimedia Design Center, we are lucky enough to have a Centiq Studio (Studio 5) which houses one of the coolest inventions for anyone who is interested in art in any way-  the Wacom Cintiq 24HD Graphics Tablet.
    As a Fine Art Major, I was initially very skeptical about the idea of painting on a computer. How would you be able to get the texture of layered paint? Could the layering of "paint" on Photoshop really mimic the complex layering of color with acrylic, oils or pastels that deceives the eye in real life? How can you control the amount of paint, the brush techniques, or the sense of movement that one is able to get when painting by hand?
    I am not going to lie- I was DEFINITELY impressed after using the Wacom Tablet. This huge drawing tablet comes with a pen that one can check out at the main desk. This pen is one smart piece of technology when paired with the tablet. It is able to identify just how much pressure your hand is putting on the tablet, and releases the "paint" accordingly. You have the ability to change your brush in Photoshop- anything from feathered, round, point, flat, or bright- the list goes on! When combining the pressure-sensitive feature on the pen with the ability to change the brush, realistic and textured painting results.

 

    This was the result of my experience with the Wacom Tablet. I strongly recommend anyone who has an interest in art to come and try out Studio 5. I travel a lot, and while I would love to sometimes just sit and paint my surroundings, carrying around 20 lbs of oil paints and brushes is not always an option, particularly on trips that require flights. However, if I bring my computer equipped with Photoshop and a Wacom Bamboo Fun tablet (also available in the Multimedia Design Center), then I can paint anywhere. Digital painting is a very different experience than painting by hand, but both have their merits and produce amazing results!

Free Speech in the Workplace

I'd like to talk about a little thing I like to call the constitution. Are you too busy to give freedom a moment of your time?

            “Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” –The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

 

 Some would argue that free speech is the bedrock of a free society.I would argue that it is more accurate to say that bed rock is the bed rock of a free society, and freedom of speech is most certainly not the rocky sedimentary layer right below our feet. Be that as it may, freedom of speech is perhaps one of our most cherished rights.

 In a society such as ours where freedom of speech is taken for granted, however, our perception of our first constitutional right has degraded somewhat, and it is beacuse I believe there is a misconception about freedom of speech in the work place, that I write to you today.

You may have, in your long and checkered careers as American youth,  heard the common argument that "it's"free country man!", and you are right, countercultural hippy man. But the relationship between freedom of speech and your employers is a subtle one. Regardless of your opinion of corporate person hood, corporations and organizations, such as the UD, enter into voluntary contracts with you as legal entities. You have a right to free speech, but you do not have a right to a job.

 Getting a job (and keeping it!) is up to you and your employers. Aside from the mundane needs of your common lives, nothing forces you to get a job. Just so, there is no law stating that employers have to keep you employed. While employers certainly have responsibilities to their employees when they are considering terminating the relationship, and they cannot fire you willy nilly or for unjust cause, the bottom line is that if you do give good cause to the organization with which you work, they are free to terminate your working relationship.

 It might be free speech, but that doesn't exclude it from being idiotic.

One of the reasons they may do this is because your speech in the workplace oversteps acceptable boundaries and becomes disruptive to the overall work environment. Lest you think that this language is too cold, remember that what is disruptive to your organization is disruptive to your fellow employees, and destructive to the very fabric of space and time. *cough* excuse me.

To continue, organizations are not covered by the first amendment because the first amendment very specifically says that no laws will be made to abridge the right to free speech. Being fired from your job because you came into work spouting obscenities and insisted that it was your constitutional right to make derogatory comments about other people's favorite music is not illegal; the relationship between you and your employer is purely voluntary from a legal standpoint, hence the company is free to terminate it and is not employing any government law to do so.

Tommy Lee is not amused by your antics.

And just think how terrible it would be if people in your work could say anything they want and simply appeal to the law every time someone tried to make them stop. Be happy that you can pass on those comments to your friendly (or not so friendly) supervisor. They can put a stop to it. So next time Dillon tells you Ebola is a government plot, tell Diana. She'll put a stop to that nonsense.

That said, there's another side to every coin. The plot thickens.

Libraries, such as our own, have a special role in society as they disseminate information. Free speech, and free access to information are two sides of the same coin. Without either, the fruits of liberty would wither on the vine, or something metaphorical like that.

 Some would argue that tanks are not constructive to promoting free speech.

As such, libraries are more relaxed when it comes to free speech issues. And this is not just for library users, its for employees as well. The American Library Association supports great freedom of speech beacuse Librarians are responsible for giving out information that all those wanna be tyrants just hate. But if the Libraries were just as critical of free speech when it came to their employees as most corporations wouldn't that be a tad hypocritical?

This is exactly the reason why if you feel your free speech rights are ever trampled upon, you can appeal to higher authorities on campus. Ask any supervisor for help in that if you feel that anyone  goes too far in restricting your speech.

 The Morris Library: Bastion of Free Speech.

But remember, even in a library, certain standards must be maintained and there is a boundary point, even if its a little farther than at other places. As a member of the organization that is the Morris library, we need to make sure that what we publish on this blog and in our projects does not undermine the library as a whole. No one knows better than I do how stupid *cough* I mean creative you can be with your blog posts, but try to show a little respect.

All that said, remember your rights. God bless you, and god bless the united states of America. Long live the republic!

 

Freedom. Since 1776.

Be On the Look Out (New Equipment!)

Hey guys!

A new zoom lens kit has just been added to the SMDC repertoire!

Some of you may or may not know that SMDC offers two optional 300 mm zoom lenses that can be attached to the Canon T2i and the Canon T4i (or the DLSR's on shelf).

The "Zoom Lens Kit Canon EF 75-300 mm" will look and function exactly the same as the optional lenses, but will NOT be checked out with the T2i and T4i. It will be it's own kit available for someone looking to attach a zoom lens to their personal camera. 

As it is a kit, the outside bag will feature a tag and "STAND ALONE" will be written on the back. Known that these two characteristics distinguish it from the others.

Student workers should scan all barcoded parts (there will be multiple barcodes provided) into the checklist and of course scan it into WMS using a student ID. 

Please be aware that this kit WILL NOT be located in the optional parts drawer, but will be featured in the cables, mics, and adapters drawer. 

According to Diana, this kit has already been a hot commodity - so be prepared for interested patrons!


 

This is a generic brand video

Advertisers use a variety of sophisticated video and audio techniques to make a product or company look appealing.  Marketplace, a radio show about business and economics, recently played the soundtrack from This is a generic brand video (a lovely piece of satire) and posted the video on its website.  

Anyone who enjoys satire should check out this video.  The video has good production values and is comprised of stock footage clips layered with music and spoken narration.  The Center's VideoTraxx footage could be put to equally good use by creative people... who will dare to be first?

Clicking Hyper-Links in Powerpoint on the Smar-boards

Studios 1-4 all are equipped with dual monitor display as well as the smart-board. The left most monitor is the primary monitor with the secondary monitor next to it being extended from the first and duplicated on to the smart board.

A lot of users go into the studios to practice powerpoint presentations, as was the case today. When she tried opening up a link in her presentation while practicing, it did not show up on the smart-board. The problem is that since firefox had not already been opened it opened up on the primary monitor.

To solve this issue, simply open up Firefox before you start your powerpoint and drag it over to the secondary monitor. Now, when you go through your presentation, when you click on the link, firefox will open up onto the secondary monitor and smart-board.

Online Faxing

Recently I had a student who needed to send a fax, and although I wasn't sure how to help her at first, I learned that faxing is actually rather simple. I thought I would pass along the steps for any other new (or experienced) student assistant who is also unaware of the procedure.

While the SMDC does not have an actual fax machine, you can scan in a document to either the flat bed EPSON scanners, or copy scanner #7. (The new scanner stations won't work for this because they are not directly connected to the internet.) Once your file is scanned in and saved onto a computer (PDFs are easiest), you will be able to send it through an online faxing service. Starting at the SMDC's public website, you must click "Print, Copy, Scan." Once on the Print, Copy, Scan page, select the "Scanning" tab. Here, you can find links to two different online faxing services, FaxZero, and MyFax.

I would HIGHLY suggest using MyFax instead of FaxZero. As the student I was helping and I discovered quickly, FaxZero is a cluttered webpage full of advertisements. The immediate feature of the page is an article explaining how to use the page. A well designed user interface should not have to include an article explaining how to use it! On the other end of the spectrum, when you enter the MyFax website, you are greeted with clear entry areas labeled TO, FROM, and UPLOAD. Very simple! Everything you need is easy to use, and not cluttered by ads.

I hope this helps anyone who may come across the need for a fax machine in the future. You can access MyFax from any computer, so not only are you able to fax from the SMDC, you can fax from anywhere your heart desires.