Commentary – Elya Khaimchayeva

The five projects I thought were very interesting and well-developed…

1. A Pizza Adventure with Macaulay

I thought that the edited version of this video enhanced the quality of the project because it created an exciting experience for the audience. The use of music in this video was a key component because it made the video feel more authentic and real. Also, interviewing the people at the pizzeria brought truth to the story because real customers were involved in the process. Asking the employees for their descriptions of the food was an added bonus as well, mainly because it illustrates the respect the group had for the establishment and the people that run it. I would love to use similar tactics in my own adventure around the Macaulay neighborhood.

2. Tasty Cafe

This video was entertaining because it not only featured a great mix of songs that enhanced the audio, but also because it incorporated many other tools. The group used subtitles to create a plot that the audience can easily follow, it used Google maps to pinpoint the exact location of the cafe in the context of its immediate surroundings, and it also used an innovative feature that sped up the video during the parts at which the students were eating. Not only was it an impressive technological trick, it also functioned to eliminate any dull and unnecessary moments. I would definitely use a similar technique in my own video to make it more aesthetically interesting, and as a tool to set it apart from other videos.

3. The Empire Hotel

This video was particularly sophisticated in both its use of iconic imagery and informational subtitles at intervals. The images the group chose to use were very crisp and clean, distinguishing from other videos in that it set to portray its subject as a parallel to the format of the video. The subtitles were also useful in that they provided information the audience would otherwise not be made aware of, and provided historical facts about the hotel that highlighted its influence on the neighborhood and its unwavering elegance. The use of Hotels.com as a reference also enhanced the information because it provided an accountable source of information, which is vital to any project.

4. Starbucks v. the Sensuous Bean

I liked this video because it was shot almost like an adventure in the jungle, in which the group members commented on the observations they made as they traveled from one location to the other. Rather than focusing on the actual locations, the group chose to focus on the people who make those locations so special, adding a dimensional of realism to the video. I also think its important that this specific group chose not to incorporate music into their video as a way of emphasizing the priority of the people’s opinions over music that would not have been able to  convey the same points. The audio was a little rough at some points due to the background noise, but it is only another example of how city life stops for no one.

5. Julliard

This video was definitely interesting because it showed the “behind the scenes” look at the creative process the group had to endure in order to plan and complete their project. The use of the cork board was also visually stimulating and helped make the entire video seem more professional. This technique helped the group organize the different components of their video, and showcased it using a method that, to the audience, seems very advanced. I appreciated the time and effort this group took to make sure that their video was presented in an exciting way.

Commentary

I chose “Indian Burial Grounds under the Lincoln Center?”, “Macaulay Rascals in Central Park”, “Security Guards”, “The Young Elder”, and “Lincoln Center Gone Wild”.   The first video is interesting because two very different scenes were edited together to create a very strange effect. In the intro, there is a brief almost subliminal clip of a student eating a cupcake. In the next scene, the group is inside Lincoln Center, interviewing an employee and eventually bringing up the “Indian Burial Grounds”. The camera zooms in on the employee’s face in dramatic slow motion, and there is complete silence. Then, the camera cuts to a student’s face eating a cupcake, with melancholy violin music playing in the background, replaced moments later by fast electric Japanese pop music?

“Macaulay Rascals in Central Park” opens up with some 3d title graphics sliding across the screen. In their description, the group makes the case that Macaulay students do not exercise enough, and that Central Park is the perfect place to do so. The video is a series of clips illustrating various activities one can take part in at the park, such as: making snow angels, skipping down trails, and criticizing the “armies” of poorly crafted snowmen scattered throughout the fields.

“The Young Elder” was one of the more interesting videos. The group visited a Mormon church and interviewed a younger member. The question and answers in this video were genuinely interesting, and instead of filming the interview, the group put the audio of the interview over footage of the paintings that decorate the inside of the church.

“Security Guards” was about crime and punishment in the area around the Macaulay building, the final conclusion being that there wasn’t much. The group interviewed a CUNY security guard who some stories to share. They use title cards.

“Lincoln Center Gone Wild” extensively used many of the  features of the movie program. It had animated titles, fancy transitions, maps, historical photos, music etc.  It used these features of the program to provide historical perspective and convey relevant information  about the subject. It is a good example of how to efficiently communicate through the “iMovie format”.

Coffee In the City: Commentary

The five posts I looked at:

Charismatic Coffee,

Wet Your Whistles,

CHAIN VS. PLAIN,

America May Run on Dunkin but NY Runs on Coffee,

and

Starbucks v. The Sensuous Bean

all used video to give viewers a taste (no pun intended!) of the coffee scene in New York City, specifically that around the Macaulay building. Each video had their pros and cons, things they did well and things that could have been improved, that inform how I would create and present a video on any topic.

Charismatic Coffee

This video had a lot of good footage of the interior of a few different coffee shops in the area, and it was a great length. While there were a few captions, and some speaking throughout the footage, the video could have used some more narration/voice over information or captioning so the viewer really understood how they came to the conclusion mentioned in the summary of their video.

Wet Your Whistles

This was one of my favorite projects on the whole site. The video was short and entertaining, there was a lot of great Q&A, and the viewer gets a great insight into Starbucks. The one thing this video could’ve used was a more engaging topic – everyone knows about Starbucks, so if they had examined some change or conflict revolving around this store or chain, there would’ve been more incentive for someone to view the video in the first place.

CHAIN VS. PLAIN

Like the first project i mentioned, this video had a lot of great footage, and not enough commentary. The video was however, much longer. On the one hand, this is great because it gives the viewer a more comprehensive look at the subject matter. On the other hand, the length could be a deterrent in terms of viewership – there isn’t really enough to keep the viewer interested for 8 minutes. To improve this, more engaging commentary could be added or the video could be further edited.

America May Run on Dunkin but NY Runs on Coffee

This, like Wet your Whistles, had a lot of great Q&A, was short and sweet and to the point, and unlike Wet your Whistles, examined the differences between coffee shops in the area. The best video of the bunch!

Starbucks v. The Sensuous Bean

Like some of the previously mentioned videos, this had a lot of interesting Q&A. It examined the difference between Starbucks and a mom-and-pop coffee shop, though it seemed to being with a clear bias toward the latter. Since the video was not presented as unbiased, this was fine (though perhaps a more impartial examination of this conflict would have been more informative). The people-watching section at the beginning of the video really pulled me in, though I believe the interview with Joe could’ve been edited further to keep the viewer more engaged. Overall, a great video.

-Kaitlyn O’Hagan, Hunter College

Commentary

Eric Lam    Hunter College

There were many projects that were very entertaining. My favorites were “The Battle of the Brews,” “CUNY Timeline,” “Transportation Around Macaulay,” “Julliard,” and “Fresh Experience.”

“The Battle of the Brews” did a good job of exploring the connotations associated with coffee in New York City. It made good use of several interviews with people across New York City. The editing was excellent and I learned a couple of new things from the project’s use of iMovie.

The use of Dipity in “CUNY Timeline” was very refreshing. The interface was simple, easy to explore, and entertaining. I was able to get a very good sense of the history of the different colleges associated with CUNY, and I enjoyed looking through all the maps and pictures in this project.

I also enjoyed “Transportation Around Macaulay” because it was extremely relevant to all of our peers. Even as a native New Yorker, I learned some new things about how to get around in Manhattan. The video really captured the essence of what it was like to travel around on the subway in the city.

I have heard about Julliard numerous times, but the video about it really gave me a sense of what it’s all about. The video was well made and it transitioned easily from one section to the next. It was fitting that a video about an excellent music school did a wonderful job in sound editing.

“Fresh Experience” did a wonderful job with editing. The products were presented effectively and in an interesting manner. I especially liked the music that went along with the video.

Commentary

My five favorite posts from The 67th Street Project were “CUNY Timeline,” “A Walk Along Broadway,” “Juilliard,” “The Battle of the Brews,” and Lunch and Desert on the West Side of the Town.”

“CUNY Timeline” was a very interesting project, which heavily used many interesting web tools. The use of Dipity was great, with the group being able to show different events using the timeline. The timeline and map views were amazing, and they overall gave a very interesting background about the subject matter using these web tools.

“A Walk Along Broadway” was also a great film that employed use of Google Maps, one of my favorite web tools. I also loved the editing job for the video-aspect of their project. Its amazing how they designed their project so that you can click a specific location and view a video that was specific for that location.

“Julliard” was an interesting video that showed aspects of the Julliard School. The strong use of iMovie was great, with many of the preset themes and sounds being used, and helped smooth the transitions between various shots. The editing job was fantastic. The song in the background kept the viewer interested throughout the video.

“The Battle of the Brews” was amazing because it really explored the topic of coffee in New York. The use of iMovie was once again great, with the editing and transitions all being superb. The video ran smoothly and kept the viewer engaged throughout the presentation. The interviews with New Yorkers were all edited beautifully. Overall this was a great video.

“Lunch and Desert on the West Side of Town” was also an interesting video that made me hungry. It showed a group of students getting cupcakes. The use of iMovie is also evident here, with video editing, songs in the background, and smooth transitions. The sound effects embedded in the video were all used perfectly and helped enhance the video. The introduction to the video was also engaging and pleasurable to watch.

Commentary

For my commentary, I chose Adventures at Barnes & Noble, Magnolia’s Bakery, Julliard, Grays Papaya, and The Younger Elder. All the videos were creative and used several different methods and techniques to convey information to the audience. The videos had many common attributes, such as music, titles, and voice overs; however, they employed these techniques in very different ways.

Adventures at Barnes and Noble used an element of comedy and first person camera. They way the members of the group filmed Barnes and Noble makes it feel as if the viewer is actually touring the bookstore. In addition, all the audience members discussed their favorite aspects of Barnes and Noble, thus making me even more persuaded to go there.

Magnolia’s Bakery used a similar technique, but added different methods to it. Magnolia’s group filmed all the various points-of-view of the bakery. They focused on the creation as well as the display of the cupcakes and other desserts. Finally, I really enjoyed the end of the video where the group members discussed their favorite parts and interviewed other customers. It shed light on the reasoning behind buying and going to Magnolia’s Bakery.

The Julliard was an interesting video because it did not use voice-overs or record the group members speaking. The Julliard group recorded various clips of the school and then used to subtitles to explain every part of the school. I enjoyed listening to the music and watching the many clips.

The Gray’s Papaya group did a great job in illustrating the wonders of the wiener. The group used clips to create a movie-like effect. Particularly the beginning of the video made the video seem suspenseful and interesting. I also liked the comedy they used to promote their video and break the suspense.

Finally, The Younger Elder was an interesting video because it focused primarily on video snapshots and voice-overs. The group members interviewed church workers while simultaneously showing the audience various historical paintings and pictures. Finally they explained the reasoning behind the pictures and gave insight into the lives of church workers.

Commentary

Five of my favorite posts from The 67th Street Project were “Juliard”,”Can I Get A Bite of…Apple?”, “Lunch and Desert on the West Side of Town”, “The Empire Hotel”, and “A Walk Along Broadway”.

“Juilliard” is a video, made on March 3rd, shows the group’s journey to The Juilliard School. Not only do I like the school shown in the project, but I thought the video was edited very skillfully. The group used one of the pre-set iMovie themes, which gave them an easy and unified way to transition between different scenes and shots. The group also made use of the subtitles feature, which helped to clarify what was going on in the video. Finally, they superimposed one song throughout the whole video, which gave it a finished and professional feel.

In “Can I Get A Bite of…Apple?” , the group went to the Lincoln Center Apple Store. I liked that the video made effective use of the iMovie transitions, and also used a variety of different songs. Since the subject of the movie was a brand that is known for innovative technology, I thought it was appropriate that they used so many songs, and also that they shot from an array of different angles.  The effect was that the video, especially the beginning few minutes, looked almost like an iPod commercial.

“Lunch and Desert on the West Side of Town” shows the group going get pizza and then Magnolia cupcakes. I really liked the beginning of the video, because they sped up the initial shots to go along well with the pace of the song used. The result was a really fun and exciting intro. The team also used sound effects really well in the video, and introduced a variety of different shots. The closeups of the different foods and names of the stores were also very well done.

In “The Empire Hotel”, created on February 28th, the group explored the Empire Hotel on West 63rd Street. I really liked how the video showcased very short shots, instead of just constantly walking with the camera. This gave the film a slightly more controlled effect. I also liked how the song they chose seemed to match the swanky atmosphere of the hotel, and their use of the text function in iMovie to showcase interesting facts about the hotel.

“A Walk Along Broadway” is compelling because it combines Google Maps and video editing. I really enjoyed how the group used a Google Map to show an overview of the area, and then allowed you to click on each landmark to see a short video of the place. The fact that you can choose to view videos for specific locations makes you feel more interested with the group’s topic.  The result was a virtual experience that really felt like an actual walking tour of the street the group chose to highlight.

Commentary

My personal favorite projects were “iPods form generation to generation next”, “Transportation around Macaulay”, “Adventures at Barnes and Noble”, “Fresh Experience”, and “I found God on the corner of 65th and Columbus”. The reason that each one of these appealed to me is because of the big influence that each topic has in many peoples lives. For me, I work at the Apple store on 5th avenue- so it was really interesting to see the new 68th street and how others got influenced by it. On top of that, technology has a huge affect in many of our lives- for instance, the fact that this blog exists and I am using my computer to communicate shows how massive of an impact it has. While they did not film very much in the store (you’re actually not allowed to film in Apple stores =) ), it shows how the tools were used. By either uploading the video to youtube or the blog- tools are being used. I’m not sure if I would have done this particular topic, but I did enjoy it. I also liked Transportation around Macaulay because as a New Yorker, all transportation has a huge affect on us! By capturing how the trains are in NYC, anyone can be able to get an idea of how busy, efficient, and dirty 🙂 they are. I think that the best way to capture how NYC transit is is only through video. After that, I enjoyed adventures at barnes and noble. The filming was a little shaky, but it was cool to see just how big the store is. I get nervous because I am worried that book stores are slowly going out of business, but thankfully barnes and noble is one of the stores that will be around for a while- due to their ever growing book collection, their appeal to everyone (whether it be through caffeine, book readings to children, or simply browsing) will keep them in business for a while. I REALLY liked the fresh experience video. I thought that it was well edited and informative. The group did a good job on showing the products that Fresh had to offer and by the starting music, it gave a feel for the experience that Fresh provides- relaxing, nice, etc. I wouldn’t have thought to have filmed it and edit it like that, but I really liked it. Lastly, I found god on the Corner of 65th and Columbus appealed to me because I would never have thought to film a church. Not religious myself, I am still extremely interested in places of sanctuary. even though the group was not allowed to film past a certain point, they still captures how calm and peaceful the church was. Overall, great job, Macaulay!

Commentary

Andrew Salimian- City College

I like the project, “Indian Burial Grounds Under Lincoln Center?”  Although I was disappointed that they could not find any evidence, I found the topic  very interesting.  Also, since Lincoln Center is so close to the Macaulay building, I found the topic somewhat “close to home.”  What this group did well was post a complete video with a fair deal of editing done.

I also liked the project, “CUNY Timeline,” because it utilized web tools. In this case, the tool that was used was Dipity.  What I found most interesting about Dipity was the different interfaces that can be used to view the events.  I thought the timeline view and the map views were the most important, and I would love to see a timeline with much more data sometime in the future.  What I was mad about was that they listed the creation of City College as 1948, the date of its name change and not the date of its founding.

The post, “The Battle of the Brews” captured what I feel is an cornerstone of New York culture, coffee.  In recent years, the explosion of Starbucks has led to a coffee shop on what seems to be every corner.  If in the movies that take place in New York, there is at least one scene shot of the protagonist in Starbucks or with Starbucks in hand.  The video was uploaded as a QuickTime mp4, which I thought was interesting.  The video also had a expert degree of video editing and the creators interviewed locals, which is important for our final projects.

I liked the project, “The Empire Hotel.”  I felt the group took a very classy approach.  They managed to get inside a large amount of the hotel and provided a large deal of historical and informational research about the hotel.  I noticed that the sound quality is not great on the flip cams, so the group decided to just have captions and display the video set to music.  As an architecture student, I liked the juxtaposition in the hotel of what the group said was a modernistic design motif shared with Lincoln center and what appeared to be the original art deco floors.  The video was also posted with Vimeo, which seems to be a little more user friendly than YouTube.  I will definitely consider using this video format on my website.

The last project that I would like to mention is the project, “A Walk along Broadway.” This project merged videos edited with iMovie that were posted on YouTube with Google Maps.  It was interested to see each video experience in terms of its location.  This just added an extra layer of context.  I wonder if you could merge these videos with a timeline such as the one in “CUNY Timeline.”

Commentary

My five favorite posts were The Indian Burial Grounds Under Lincoln Center, Fresh Experience, Walk Along Broadway, Zara, and Fun at Barnes and Noble.  I enjoyed the one about the Indian burial grounds because it was a satire on movies such as National Treasure, and it was comical. By using the camera to capture interviews, the project was done in the style of a documentary, which made it enjoyable to watch. Similarly, the video on Fresh Experience was documentary like as well. I liked the use of the google map in Walk Along Broadway. This way I could really picture the juxtaposition of places that were visited. If I were to do this project, I would probably use the flip cam to record the adventure so as to give the viewer a visual portrayal of my experience, as well as put in music and affects to make the project more appealing.