Poster design work has always been one of the more frequent requests during my time as a designer in *you-know-where*, and i know the drill by heart: conceive an idea, collect my resources, materialize my design. Step 1 has always been the most difficult; really a pain in the neck when inspiration eludes. Step 2 is more tedious than it is easy, and step 3 relies solely on my photoshop techniques.

I was tasked to complete a poster for my sociology module. It seemed all fine and dandy... until the lecturer stated her clause: Everything had to be original. That included both the idea AND resources. Which meant (at least in my context) NO downloaded stuff from google images. Moreover this has been the first time i had to scour for resources without the aid of the Internet, which made the challenge all the more difficult.

Without downloaded image resources, i only had two options left: illustration or photography. I chose the latter; because i suck at drawing (really!). Then came the biggest challenge: how do i find the perfect snapshot that would signify the epitome of achievement? In simpler terms, how the heck can I take a photograph that would make everyone shout "encore!"?

Conceiving the idea was the hardest. I had mental block for a whole week; inspiration hit me barely 24 hours before my proposal re-submission (yes, i had an idea rejected by the lecturer after one week). I came up with the new proposal in less than an hour, and the lecturer approved it on the spot (-.-!).

Anyway as soon as I got my proposal approved, i went about gathering my resources. They really add up to quite a significant amount! i mean it in monetary terms, of course >"< But I was sure relieved that I could get all my "props" for the photo shoot. My family volunteered to help be the photographer whilst i was the photography subject =X

After quite some time fiddling with the camera all of us became a tad frustrated, so i had to give up my plan of getting the perfect photograph taken, while i thought of an alternative. Then i resorted to what i did best: digital imaging.

I took individual photos of my "set"; my mum and brother helped me take photos of me (with the relevant poses). Then I gleaned everything together and put them into photoshop. And the rest is history =D

The final product looks authentic. I finally got to try out the channel selection techniques for the first time--the final step for me to master all forms of selection tools in photoshop. And I feel a great sense of achievement when i saw my final product.

Throughout this process I've begun to see photographers in a new light (pun unintended). It is really not easy getting the set ready for a photo shoot. Plus the patience one needs to get the perfect snapshot. With minimal touch-ups needed in photoshop, i can say that the photos they take are the truly authentic ones.

After all that's been said and done, now i have another moral dilemma to contend with: should I give my "props" to someone, or should I destroy my "props" entirely?

Labels: adobe, me, school

can we remain together forever?

I hate it when inspiration eludes me when i have a deadline. I got a poster to be done in a couple of weeks (the concept plan must be submitted next week -.-!) and i have absolutely no idea how to go about doing it. help!

i'm quite fussy. that poster has to be about "Me", and the symbolic interaction theory does not help. mainly because my poster's topic is on sociology. zzz

perhaps i can start out by looking for someone hospitability enough to strut down Orchard Road in a bigini and jeens... something rad and loud? that'll be a good start i think!

or perhaps i can go to the (night?) safari and look for leopard (foot)preents and zeebra (foot)preents? oh, not to forgetting to wear khaki green for the occasion too.

the concept is crucial y'know? i don't want my poster to go... BOOMZ. to my grade that is -.-"

Labels: me, school

can we remain together forever?

i chanced upon this while surfing around facebook.

8000 calorie burger! that's an instant 1kg weight increase. plus heartburn.

This really make the other burger joints seem so puny (though they're still calorie laden too, just not that extreme)

i guess some people just can afford the calories, or they just live for the day.

i know for sure i can't. in fact i've cut eggs and dairy products from my diet now. my only (occasional) indulgence is chocolate.

this is the consequence of being health conscious.

Labels: me

can we remain together forever?

about 1/3 of fall'09 has passed and i've been floored by the *less-than-satisfactory* results that have come up from my earlier exams. (read: exams that carry weigh, not puny quizzes). Though they aren't disastrous (as of yet) i figured that i'll need to raise alarm bells before it blows out of proportion.

For privacy reasons I'll be using football analogy to describe my progress. And leave the rest to your imagination.

Communication Theory
how'd i describe this? the most optimistic analogy would be a one (away) goal deficit. pessimistic? just use your imagination =X but in all seriousness, the bar for this module has been raised A LOT. coupled with an unpredictable lecturer who goes off the tangent more often than not and exam questions that are based on his "useful digressions", hence the unsatisfactory results. This feels ominously like my mass communication module last semester...

Principles of Persuasion
the paper was tough and i actually felt relieved that i didn't do worse. In fact the whole class didn't do fantastic either (no As). It was a *little* lower than my initial expectation but i guess i'd live with it. (after all what more can i do?) I'd describe this as a one-all draw, (with away goal disadvantage). I'm confident that there is enough buffer for me to pull off my desired grade.

Human Nutrition
An irony. I studied the least (compared to the rest of my modules) and came out with the best result of the lot. Though it barely scraped my expectation. taking into consideration that the buffer is very limited i'd say this is a zero-zero draw on home ground. Which means i need to go out with all guns blazing on the away leg.

Introduction to Sociology
the battle has yet to start (the exam is scheduled this coming week). And i have the feeling that it will be a tough paper. But as of now it's all level.

As the saying goes: it ain't over till the fat lady sings. The ball is round; anything can happen. Yet Murphy's law conflicts this: whatever that can go wrong, will go wrong. i can only hope for the best but expect the worst. Rather than crying over spilt milk or praying for divine intervention (a.k.a. moderation) i figure that i should start changing my study methods. These methods which helped me to secure my grades in Summer II will need to be modified. Starting next week, i'll do my studying at my sanctuary.

The following weeks of Fall'09 will be tough.

Labels: school

can we remain together forever?

The same excuses reasons are the cause of my lack of updates: busyness and laziness.

Fall'09 has been more stressful than i'd initially anticipated, but it's not as bad as Summer'09. I think. It's just that family commitments take precedence over my school stuff so i'm pretty stretched

mental note for L(Mus)TCL: chamber music history, general music history events finalized; now i need to absorb them. HELP!

i stayed up the whole night trolling the forums, doing my "research". All for peace of mind. In the end the leap of faith couldn't be avoided: the d-day phone call in the morning.

As for things now... let's just say that i'm paralyzed until further notice (a.k.a KIV until the necessary black-and-white becomes concrete). And when it's finalized i *should be* able to get the green light. Otherwise... i'll explore my other options.

ambiguous? it's meant to be. =)

Labels: L(Mus)TCL, me, school

can we remain together forever?

It's been a week since the new semester started. So far it hasn't been as stressful as Summer (the second half was a killer -.-"), but who knows what the (near) future holds? another 15 weeks before the holidays come again.

These are the modules that i'm currently taking for Fall'09:

Introduction to Sociology
A required foundation module for my course that allows me to take more future courses (should i intend to) in sociology later on. I have to say that this course is quite heavy; assignments/exams/quizzes galore. But since my circle of friends are in the same class too; so we'll help each other out if need be. (touch wood for problems!)

Communication Theory
what can i say? According to the grapevine information i've read, my lecturer is... let's just say that he didn't get rave reviews from past students. Personally i feel that it's still early to give an evaluation, but already the lecturer is showing signs pertaining to the *not-so-good reviews*... oh well this is a required course; if i drop this module i'll still have to take it up next year...

Principles of Persuasion
I chose this class despite of its bad timing because i wanted to avoid the *same lecturer as above*. And my current lecturer is one whom i'd taken classes before too, so i'm familiar with her teaching style. The class is small; feels cozy-like. Almost like my intercultural communication class...

Human Nutrition
a general education requirement. makes me wonder why i need to take this module at times too, but surprisingly i found the contents very interesting.. (at least for the first lecture) maybe because i've been counting calories since the start of the year.

I don't think i'll be dropping any of the modules unless an emergency crops up. I have a one-module buffer--kudos to continuing Interpersonal Communication last semester (yay! -.-") but if everything goes well i should be able to graduate in time with my peers... in April 2011

Labels: school

can we remain together forever?

Today was my review for past few subjects i'd undergone not too long ago. This translates to about two-thirds of the whole practical course that i'm enrolled in.

I had the nerve to go for a 3km run less than an hour before my lesson commenced earlier today as i ate a couple of *evil* egg-and-onion pratas for lunch. 30 minutes purging out the calories made me feel better, then i took a quick shower before heading to the driving centre... (in a cab of course -.-")

I managed to reach on the dot. I spent a couple of minutes locating my training vehicle before proceeding. Then my lesson commenced and i made every mistake possible for the review. (-.-") a week off the wheel and these blatant errors start appearing?!

At least my instructor was kind enough to go through every mistake i'd made clearly and thoroughly. By the end of the lesson i managed to improve by leaps and bounds. Though it still wasn't perfect, he cleared me for the session. I think the non immediate-failure mistakes were his criterum for allowing me to progress to the next subject. phew!

Tomorrow i start on Stage 3... a whole new kettle of fish altogether. Then i go on a hiatus again (because of school and the overbooked driving sessions at the centre). If all goes well i'd be able to take my traffic police test at the end of the year.

But before that, I need to book my remaining lessons for the month of December. THREE MONTHS ahead of schedule.
-.-"

Labels: driving

can we remain together forever?

i've finally parted ways with my Navigator 6110. Goodbye (and probably good riddance) to it.

i just witnessed a farce of a football match. what can i say: some teams just have all the luck.

I can only believe that karma exists. Sooner or later everything will come full circle.

Labels: me

can we remain together forever?