One More Thing On My Plate...

Am I a multimedia teacher? Yes. Am I a freelance multimedia designer? Yes. Guess what, I am also a basketball coach. "Basketball coach!" you say... I know, what does basketball have to do with multimedia? Well not much, but there is one strong correlation. It is something I am passionate about, sense the 3rd grade, which was quite some time ago. Growing up, technology was a part of my life, but it wasn't nearly as accessible as it is now. My passion for being creative with computers developed much later in life. My first real passion was basketball. So why am I telling you all of this... Well, there are a few reasons. The first one is it is something that I have been focused on lately because at the middle school that I teach at I have taken on both the girls and boys basketball teams. Secondly, I'd like to make the argument that coaching any sport can be quite the art form. Like taking colors from a pallet and working them onto the canvas, a coach has to work with the players he or she has to find the best combination to win. So, on that note, I would say that I have spent a ton of my creative energy on coaching not only the girls and boys middle school teams, but my son's team as well. Part of me feels as though I have put the multimedia thing on the back burner, which I may have, but a bigger part of me appreciates the opportunity I have had to do something I enjoy and ultimately, that is what is important. Our season is coming to an end soon, so I am sure I will have the energy and focus to regain my drive to not only teach the multimedia thing, but to do the multimedia thing as well. Maybe this blog is evolving... Maybe it's not just about multimedia anymore...

Keeping it all together!!!

As you can see, it's been a bit sense my last posting. My goal has always been to write a bunch more. I'd also like to focus on sharing what I've learned in regards to multimedia or being creative with computers. Maybe, I'll be able to get back to that soon. The only problem is having the mental space and motivation to sit down and do it. In regards to mental space, like most artists/creative people, I often have a hard time staying focused on projects that I have started. For some reason, I am the type of person that has a million things going on at once and when I have a moment to relax, I don't, because I can't... Sitting around just makes me think about all of the things I want to do. So how do I keep it all together???

What a good question. One might say that I don't. How many unfinished projects do I have? Just take one walk around my fixer upper house and you'll get a quick glimpse into my world. On the bright side, I can say that I have accomplished a lot with my time. I am not going to bore you with a list of all the projects I have been a part of, but I am proud to say I have done a lot...

So, the main question is how does one keep it all together? Well, when it gets really hectic, I try to write out lists of things I need to do. Another good idea is to allow yourself to "let things go", which doesn't mean you have to totally throw them out the window, just allow yourself give it a rest. When the time is right to continue with a project you will know it. Often times taking a step back improves the quality anyway. Don't be afraid to ask for help! Oh, I am so bad at this... But, it is important to know when you just can't do it all on your own. Think of the little things that the people around you can do to help you out. I am sure you'll be there for them when they need it, so realize that you are not an island and that we are all connected on many different levels. Again, the quality of your work will improve in ways you may never have known were possible. Priorities, priorities, priorities!

OK, that feels good. I finally wrote another post. Hopefully this will motivate me to keep it up!

Staying Productive During Difficult Times

For anybody that has read any of my previous posts, it is pretty obvious that this blog is focused on my professional experiences with multimedia. Along with teaching computers at the middle school level, I have started my own freelance business focused on graphic design, video editing, music and training, the subjects I teach. The goal over the summer was to really establish my business, working to get my name out and acquire clients. I was going to be free from my commitments as a teacher for a few months so I figured I'd have a ton of time to focus on the business. Well, that's the dangerous thing about assumptions. Often in life "things" come up that take you off the course you set for yourself. The question is, how are you going to handle it? In my case, about a month before the end of the school year my wife, who was pregnant with our fourth child, was told that she was going to have to stay on bed rest at the hospital for the remainder of the pregnancy... What? Yeah, my amazingly strong and courageous wife ended up spending 3 months in the hospital with the end result being our beautiful baby girl Samantha being born healthy and ready to step into the world. So in the end, it all worked out and we, as a family, are moving forward with your typical newborn trials, tribulations, and of course pure joy. But what did all of that mean for my professional goals, the time I was supposed to have for the business? Instead of having my partner with me to help with our three other children, it was me that was on child duty, which is more than OK because I thoroughly love and enjoy my children, but the bread winner side of me was forced to put things on hold and truly prioritize what I had to get done for the business to move forward vs. what could wait. I had to make choices and do what I could. So to make a long story short... or shorter, I was able to get my business name officially established at the county government center, start meeting with a local business group (Contacts-n-Coffee) to make some connections and I recently got my official business bank account set up. To be honest, with all that my family has gone through recently it is amazing to think that I was able to make any progress at all. Make no mistake about it, there were times when I felt discouraged and I questioned why I was even trying, but throughout it all, the drive to support my family doing something that interests me and I enjoy has kept me on track. My pace may not always be so fast, but like that good old tortoise, if you just stay the course you may not only finish the race, you might just end up winning.

We have been going at it here at school for about a month now. Things are starting to settle down a bit, so there will be a new surge of energy put into this blog and my efforts to bridge both sides of my multimedia world, both as an educator and producer of...

More to come!!!

The School Year is Ending

With less than a week left of school, I thought it would be a good time to talk about wrapping up the year and what is in store for summer. In regards to the rest of the school year, I must admit that there is a lot of "energy" going around. For some that energy is helpful, allowing them to push through to the end getting all of their work and obligations taken care of. For others, this energy creates a problems... probably due to being distracted by all of the end of year activities and social excitement. Anyway, who wants to talk about problems. For me, this energy is creating an excitement for ending the year on a good, productive note and I am excited for summer. I have a lot of multimedia plans... More to come on that!

I think it is a good idea to reflect on this past year, both personally and professionally. So, here's what's been accomplished over this last school year (in no particular order);

1. Re-invigorated this blog!
2. Another great Yearbook, DVD Yearbook, Spring and Fall Newspapers, Weekly Newscast, and soon to be released Online Magazine. Great job Yearbook staff!
3. The Get Inspired project has been started... Click on this link for more info.
4. I got my personal freelance website up and running. http://www.multimediapandd.com/
5. Over 500 students have spent a significant amount of time working on projects in their computer and yearbook electives class. Hopefully I have made a positive impact during our time together!
6. I have begun the process of having an online presence.
a. This blog
b. My websites
1. Mr. Anter's Homepage
2. http://www.multimediapandd.com/
c. Facebook (search the following to "Like")
1. Multimedia Projects and Design
2. Balboa Yearbook
d. Twitter (@multimediapandd)
e. LinkedIn (Search for Larry Anter)
7. Created a new Balboa Logo. Go to the Balboa home page to view.
8. Had a great time coaching the Balboa Basketball team. We are still selling banner adds on the tennis court fence. E-mail me for details!
9. Registered my freelance business, Multimedia Projects and Design, with the county.
10. Developed, maintained, and established a ton of great connections and relationships...

Thanks y'all

I am sure I missed a few accomplishments and there is a ton of good stuff going on the home front, so by no means is this a complete list, but for a school year, I'd say we've done some good!

Like always, more to come!

To Be Done, Perfect, or a Bit of Both

As mentioned in my previous post, I did my first conference presentation last weekend. I must say it went well and the group at the Ventura County Office of Education did a great job setting up this tech conference.

So, looking forward, my brain seems to keep bringing me back to the fact that we have less then four weeks left in the school year. This means we need to start wrapping things up and cramming as much in at the same time. As usually, I am dealing with two conflicting ideas...

How does this relate to multimedia? With any creative project, you have to balance the ideas of being finished and making it the best it can be. On one hand, you want to be done with it. Maybe you've been spending a lot of time on the project or maybe it just isn't interesting. That's all well and good, however, you can't just say I'm done becuase you want to be done. On the other side of the coin, you may be obsessing over every little detail, taking for ever to get anywhere. Ask any artist and they will be able to tell you where all of the imperfections are, but to the common observer, there are no imperfections. How do you strike the balance? Like most things, with practice and focus, you will find what works for you... I hope!

My First Technology Conference Presentation!

This Saturday, May 21st, I will be presenting at a technology conference at the Ventura County Office of Education. The topic of my presentation is Moodle, which is an online content management system, which basically means a website that allows it's users to interact with the site. Moodle is an education focused, open source software, that came out in the early 2000's. The beauty of Moodle is that is allows a teacher to have a robust online experience for his or her students and it is all secured or password protected. Each student has an account and the data base that is associated with the program keeps track of that users experience with the program.

So... there's a basic description of what Moodle is. I am sure I could write a novel trying to explain the program and all of it's great uses. For more info on Moodle, the best place to go is the Moodle website (http://www.moodle.org).

Now, back to this conference I'll be speaking at! I am pretty excited because this is the first time that I will have ever presented at a conference. Of course there is a bit of nervousness that goes along with it, but that kind of energy is good energy, because it will motivate me to make sure I have a great presentation set up. So, enough of this blog post, I need to get to my presentation...

I'll let you know how it went next week!

What Makes a Good Video

So as I said in the last blog, I am going to expand on the list of 5 things you need to have to make a good video... and by video I mean a presentation including pictures, video, and music edited with the intent to share. Some examples would be a school project, activities (sports, dance, etc.), or a special occasion video (birthdays, anniversaries, graduation, etc.). The DVD yearbook my students create 2-3 minutes clips for is a perfect example. We are not talking about documentaries or movies... That's for the more advanced video editor.

Anyway, here we go...

1. Good pictures and video - A good picture is well cropped, clear (not fuzzy), and not washed out because of bad lighting. Never take a picture looking into the sun or lights. The subject will come out dark and it just makes for a bad picture. Sometimes you can make some adjustments using Photoshop, but bad pictures aren't always fixable! In regards to video, you really need to keep the camera steady. Nobody, likes feeling sick because they feel like they are on a boat, watching the clips. If you are panning across your view, do it slowly! When you go too fast, it is worthless footage. For the most part, you want your clips to be between 3-7 seconds. You don't want it to drag on and on. Be sure to get in tight on your subject, but don't zoom in too much, because it is nearly impossible to keep the camera steady when zoomed in a lot.

2. A good song - OK, this is important! What you are hearing when you watch a video can make or break the presentation. I can't express enough how a good song can create the emotion in your audience that you want. Pick wisely...


Now, on the subject of music. I should be clear that it is not legal to use someones song in your project without permission... but it happens all the time. Does that make it right? Probably not. These are the moral dilemmas, that have to be dealt with when it comes to content that is not yours. There is certainly nothing wrong with using music you have created or copyright free music, which there is a lot of. Anyway, good luck figuring it out, but you have to have something good to set the mood.
3. Well timed transitions - A transition, in this sense is when a picture or video cuts to a new picture or video, either with a fancy transition that comes with the video editing software or with a simple cut from one picture to the next. The timing aspect is important, because it adds to the drama of the video. When clips and pictures are moving with the beat of the song, it has a cool effect on the viewer. It just gives the video more life.

4. Readable title and credits - This is straight forward. Don't make the words too small or too big. Don't have them scroll off of the page too fast or too slow. Make the correct adjustments. Attention to detail is very important! This is where the good become the great!

5. Not too long and not too short - Again, very straight forward. If it is too long, it gets boring. If it is too short, you are left wanting more.


I am sure there are a ton more tips and tricks to think about, so if you have any, post them! If I think of anything else, I'll let you know...

Monday Morning...

Most Monday mornings, I have to take a second to figure what the priorities are, well not this Monday. My yearbook class has been under the gun, trying to finish our DVD yearbook, which consists of 11 2-3 min. videos on various subjects, like academics, sports, clubs, etc. The end of the year is coming fast and to get the final DVD ready and sent out for mass duplication, we need to get these videos done. Needless to say, some students have needed more help then others. For the last few weeks, we have been pushing hard to get it done. Well, last Friday, I spent most of the day wrapping up about half of the videos. If nothing else, I am sure my video students have learned that it is not easy to put out a well edited video.

So here is the educator in me...

A well edited video needs;

1. Good pictures and video
2. A good song
3. Well timed transitions
4. Readable title and credits
5. Not too long and not too short

So those are the basics for a simple video that incorporates pictures and video to document an aspect of a school year. In the next blog, I will expand on those 5 elements, giving more detail!

See ya!

Getting It All Set Up

So here I am, using my sister-in-laws iPad, trying to figure out how
to post to my blog, which I still need to figure out how to get people
to find and read it. Of course the free blog website that I am using,
Blogger, doesn't like the iPad, but the good news is, I have now
learned how to blog to my Blogger account through email. Bottom line,
"getting connected" is all trial and error, like most things... I feel
like I still have quite a ways to go to get my head wrapped around all
of the technological possibilities, but at the same time I am
excited.I am really beginning to integrate the various technologies,
like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, this blog and my two websites
(www.multimediapandd.com
http://www.venturausd.org/balboa/Anter/mranter.html).

I am glad that I am tackling this all now. In May I will be presenting
at my first conference and to be as professional as possible, I need
to be set up and connected. The big question is, can I keep it up??? I
do have a whole lot going on, not only with work, but with family as
well...

So a big part of this blog will be to describe the continual process
of learning and growing. In that regard, more to come!

What I've been up to and where I am headed...

OK, like I said in the previous post, it's been a while. Let me fill you in. Since the summer of 2009 I have continued to teach the computer electives and yearbook class at Balboa Middle School, in Ventura, Ca. Along with teaching, I have been working on my own freelance multimedia design and editing business. Being a family man and having a full time job, you could say that the freelance thing has been a bit slow in getting off the ground. That being said, I am happy to say that this past winter I was able to launch my own portfolio website (www.multimediapandd.com). Of course, like most things in my life, it is a work in progress!

As I continue to juggle, I am currently working on integrating the social networking sites and this blog into my work as an educator and freelancer. Both aspects of my professional life really go hand in hand. As I stay current with the technology I teach, I improve my skills and knowledge in the work I do as a freelancer and as I create and design, I gain skills and knowledge that I can spread to my students.

In regards to where I am headed, well, I don't really know. I would imagine that my future will continue to include both technology and teaching and the "from here to there" will hopefully be documented in this blog!

Anybody else out there juggling?

As I continue to integrate, I encourage anybody reading this to come along for the ride. With Twitter, I can be followed at multimediapandd. You can "like" my freelance Facebook page by searching for multimedia projects and design. For Linked In, I can be found by searching for "Larry Anter".

Wow, there is so much to manage... Keeping me on my toes!

It's been a long time...

So I started this blog back in 2009 and haven't touched it since... More on that in a bit. The main thing is, I am back and have a lot going on, so I should have a lot to say. But of course, being super busy makes writing a blog a bit of a challenge in regards to keeping it current. I will do my best! Anyway, more to come soon. Like I said, I have a lot to talk about...