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One Week To Go!!!

Dear Media Artists:

Firstly, we have Eddy Scanlan to thank for this embedded video below. Check it out. It's a good one, Eddy! Could you please comment on why you called this video up at the end of the class on Friday? (I have a feeling why you did so, but I want you to tell us what relevance it has with what we were doing in class.)


From questioncopyright.org "All Creative Work Is Derivative"


Secondly, please post your continuing thoughts on what your final week's project will be. I will now list what was agreed upon during Friday's class. Remember: YOU MUST BRING ALL MATERIALS (SUPPLIES/TOOLS/ETC.) THAT YOU WILL NEED TO COMPLETE THIS IN CLASS ASSIGNMENT--ON YOUR OWN!!!

Cadet--straw art
Campbell--records on ceiling tile
Champion--??
Guns--Boston Logo
Kotler--mixed media ceiling tile
Ross--song
Scanlan--name with videotape
Shay--ceiling tile on ceiling tile
Washington--flipbook (and 3 page paper entitled "Mr. Hoban: You're A Fool")
Vukasin--??
West--blog
Whelan--stop motion animation

I would like to see each of you post multiple comments over the course of the three day weekend. Comment on other people's posts. Add new ideas to your own. Remember: comment writing is 30% of your marking period grade!!


And thirdly, a link to the movie review of "Picasso and Braque Go To The Movies", (a copy of which was handed out in today's class but some of you conveniently left the article behind) and the supporting video we screened in class:


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Have a safe weekend!!

-Mr. Hoban

Keep on [Searchin'] in the Free World!!

Media Artists:

Reminder, here, to find the BEST Google Earth videos of this great nation of ours and to post the links on this blog. Harrison got lucky today when he stumbled upon some very nice examples of Google Earth 3D. After watching his "technique" you should know where/how to begin your search. And if you want to learn something about U.S. geography, now you have an opportunity to search for some places that you've always wanted to visit...or you can check out the state or city of a distant family member...think up a location and see if something 'pops' up.

The videos in the links you provide will be elements that will be edited into a 'closing video' at the end of the Video Festival on Wednesday. In keeping with one of the themes of the evening (the music of Neil Young), we will end the festival with Young's song: "Keep On Rockin' In the Free World" playing over sweeping images of the USA (thanks to you media artists).

If anyone is interested in helping out with the editing of the piece, let me know. Also...read your classmates' blogs if you haven't already and be sure to leave your comments.

Have a good weekend!


-Mr. Hoban


Oh. Listen up, if you'd like.

Technology Innovation (Guest Blogger: Alex Shay)

The innovation of technology spans from the beginning of time to an undefined end. Technology started in its simplest such as the wheel, the wheel, has given us so much innovation through products such as the car, train, plane and bicycle. An electrical invention such as the radio was very complex for it’s time. The radio can be compared to the Apple iPhone. Obviously there is a profound difference between the radio and the iphone. But innovation of technology has allowed us to grab technology from the early 19th century and late 20th century to unite as one in the early 21century. By this I mean, the radio, television/film, telephone and record player have all been placed into an advanced system that can now fit in your pocket. The iPhone can play your favorite music while you are talking to you friend and looking up dinner reservations and buying movie tickets all at the same time all in the palm of your hand. This was considered completely impossible until the idea was sparked by interest and collaborative ideas. Sometimes we are limited to innovate by the technology of our time. The iPhone could not have been made in the 19th century because there was not enough technology to make it at the time. For example, teleportation seams impossible now but can be possible in the future. This is the same view point that people in the 19th and 20th century had at their time.

So my question is... What is your favorite apple product and when did you get it?
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Jack Kelly--World Class Rower (Guest Blogger: Julia Vari)

John (Jack) B. Kelly Sr. is one of the most influential oarsmen. He’s the “Babe Ruth” of rowing. After his family moved to Philadelphia from Ireland, he’d watch professional single scullers(one rower in a boat using two oars) racing on the Schuylkill River dreaming to one day be them. He started rowing with local clubs, the most notable being Vesper Boat Club. Vesper is still around today and is one of the boathouses making up Boathouse Row. He later learned to scull and after overcoming flipping his boat in early races, Jack won numerous events. With a 126 race winning streak and 6 National Championships Kelly applied to race at the Henley Royal Regatta, one of the most prestigious rowing events taking place in England. Kelly, being a bricklayer, was not accepted because at the time all rowers had to have professions that were not laborious since it was seen as an unfair advantage for someone to work with their hands all day. He got his redemption by competing in the 1920 Summer Olympics where he won the single a second faster than Jack Beresford and he won the double scull with his cousin Paul Costello.


I got into rowing last year as a freshman. Basically every weekend this year my team has traveled down to the Schuylkill River. It's really inspirational rowing on a river where such a great oarsman got his start. Above is the statue of Jack Kelly at the finish line on the Schuylkill.

Below is a rowing race. The first is a single sculler (which Kelly was). The second is the more popluar eights.





Now, my question for you is who is your favorite athlete or what is your favorite sport? Why?

Taylor Swift (guest blogger--Lauren Kotler)

Taylor Alison Swift was born as a star,she was born on December 13, 1989 in a small town in Wymossing, PA. Taylor has been singing all of her life and her inspiration is her grandmother who was a professional opera singer. She started her career by locally performing starting at the age of 8 and everyone enjoyed her music. At age 11 she sang the national anthem at a 76s game and preformed at restaurants until the age of seventeen until her fame sparked while she preformed at a showcase at Nashville's Bluebird Cafe in 2006, Scott Borchetta who was creating a new record label and wanted Taylor to be the first one he signs to his new label called Big Machine Records.Later that year of 2006 Swift had her first single called Tim McGraw which was a hit and went to number one on the charts. In 2008 she released two studio albums, Fearless, and Taylor Swift. Fearless was the best selling album from 2008 through 2009. Later in 2009 she kicked off her Fearless tour in all 50 states and more. Her tickets sold out in less than two minutes and became the most awarded country artist in the music history. Swift has been nominated 86 times and had won 62 awards from 2008-2010. Taylor is my favorite singer and role model who is yours?

How To Make A Hit Video (Guest Blogger: Harrison Whelan)

Here is how to come up with good video ideas and how to create good videos.
Usually you will start off brainstorming for new ideas, and this usually happens when you are in a quiet place. My favorite places consist of a park, an empty bedroom, or a in a classroom.





If you are with a friend then the brainstorming will be much easier, since you both can come up with thoughts at the same time and piece them together. Make sure you are with a creative partner though; you don’t want your ideas being bland and boring. Another tip is to write down every possible idea so then in the future; it can be expanded and hopefully written into a script. When coming up with video ideas think realistically. If you have an idea that seems out of budget for your own situation then don’t do it. There’s nothing worse than being stuck with all this filmed material and have it being trashed because you cant finish it because of your budget.
Another tip when you’re finished shooting is to have a good editing software and good knowledge of said editing software. The pros use a program called Final Cut Pro. If you cant afford this (it is pricy) then you should get Final Cut Express. It is less expensive but has less effects and options than FCP.
Here is a video tutorial about the basics of FCE.



Here is a link to the Apple website.

Another situation one has to deal with is writers block. Which is basically when you can’t come up with any good ideas. A quick solution to this (I have found to be very successful) is to just have something to eat, watch some TV, and talk to yourself a lot. I know talking to yourself may sound weird but it really helps keep the mind going and sometimes helps good ideas flow.

I hope these tips have been helpful and good luck on creating a great video!

Music Mentality and Motion (Guest Blogger: Nick Guns)

Nicholas Guns

Enjoying music is a part of people’s lives all around the world. It has been vital to culture since the beginning of human settlement as ingenious people constructed the first bone flutes, animal hide drums, and primitive maracas. Music’s development over thousands of years as produced great artists as well as great instruments, and styles. Such creation is a new kind of invention; not for work, but for expression. As people look back on the greatest musical artists in history they envision people like Ludwig Van Beethoven, George Harrison, and Tupac. However, could they ever imagine creating art themselves? Learning how to play an instrument and musical abilities could make anyone the next star, but do they have the guts to try it?


Music is defined as sound organized over time. Simple, it seems but is there more? This is a great question many have asked themselves but only few answer. People need to explore the vast realm of which could be their song and if they play it on a guitar, on the court, on their desk, or in their head during algebra class. To really answer these great questions and to truly feel self expressed, music is the only way to go. Just think, how you could change and opinion, or even the world with a single note, rhyme, or line. So yell the song of you, and feel how it feels. Express yourself in music, so you can pass the time. Music is a form of expression, and it is up to you to make an impression.



Small Assignment: 1) Think of the music that inspires you the most. Describe this music and tell why it interests you. Is it the lyrics? Instruments? Beats? etc. 2) Do you agree with my definition of music or is there "more" to it? Make an arguement and explain why you believe so.

NJ All Day (Guest Blogger: Ryan Ross)

If you're looking for good basketball, and I'm talking really good basketball, you don't have to look very far. Right here in our backyard, the state of New Jersey, there is some of the best high school basketball in the country. In total, their have been over 30 McDonald's High School All Americans from the Garden State. NJ has three teams that are regularly in the country's tom 25 teams: St. Patrick's of Elizabeth, St. Benedict's of Newark, and St. Anthony's of Jersey City. This year, the state was shaken up when the state championship did not include any of these three giants. Instead, the state championship came back close to home for me, going to the Trenton Catholic Academy team of Hamilton, NJ. Because my friend plays on the Trenton Catholic team, I attended nearly every game in the tournament. Even though the tournament was missing St. Patrick's because of an illegal practicing scandal, the tournament still displayed top talent across the board. Some famous alumni from the state are Charlie Villanueva and Luol Deng who both played for Blair and now are in the NBA. Others are Joakim Noah, J.R. Smith, Al Harrington, Andrew Bynum, Tim Thomas, and Jay Williams, all of whom are or were recently in the NBA.

Speaking NJ high school basketball, our school is one of the many competitive teams in the state.

One of the NBA's all time greats, Willis Reed is played basketball in NJ. He was raised in Cedar Grove, NJ. If you don't know who he is, here is a video

This video shows Willis Reed's heroic return from an injury in Game 7 of an intense playoff series. His Knicks would go on to win the series thanks to his stellar play. Willis Reed's heart and skill epitomizes the New Jersey Basketball Player.

What's your favorite sport to play or watch? Is the sport popular in your state? What professional athletes are from your area?

Caroline's Glee Blog (Guest Blogger--Caroline Campbell)

I love watching TV, and my favorite TV show is Glee. Glee is about a group of teenagers in high school. Most of them are not very popular, but they all have one thing in common: they can sing. So one of the Spanish teachers at the school in Lima, Ohio, Mr. Schuester, takes over the glee club at the school, where the students can come and sing together. Glee club used to be popular at the school, but after time it became known as something only the outcasts and losers do. So when Will Schuester takes it over he tries to change it back into the popular club it was before.

The show is a good mixture of drama, comedy, and singing. All of the characters have specific personalities. Rachel is the lead girl singer, and Finn is the lead male singer. The other people in the glee club are Puck, Kurt, Quinn, Mercedes, Santana, Brittany, Artie, Tina, and Mike. The students in glee club are typical high school students, so there is a lot of drama going on. There are many relationships between the people in the glee club, and there are also a lot of problems with the cheerleading coach at the school, Sue Sylvester. She tries to do whatever she can to ruin the glee club forever. The show has been a big hit, with millions of viewers each week.

This is a video showing the commercial for season two of Glee.


Write a comment saying your favorite TV show or who your favorite character on Glee is if you watch it. Thanks for reading my blog
Caroline Campbell

For Tonight:

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Write your first blog passage on your top interest. Please put effort into using proper grammar and correct spelling. Also, make the reader truly learn something about this interest of yours...not just that you really, really, really like it. Email your writing to mhoban@hunschool.org tonight. We'll work on posting it on the blog tomorrow during class.

-Mr. Hoban

Maritza Correia (Guest Blogger - Janine Cadet)

Maritza Correia is the first African-American female swimmer to make it to the Olympics. She was born in 1981 in San Juan, Puerto Rico but her parents moved their from Guyana. At seven years old, she was diagnose with a severe case of scoliosis, therefore to help cure it her parents started her up with swimming. She started to become very good and started to win championship after championship. She attended UGA (University of Georgia) and during her college career she was a 27-All Time American and 11-time NCAA Champion. In 2000, she had high hopes of making it to the Olympics in Sydney, Australia and went to Olympic Trials but missed the cut off and slipped into a depression. With help of friends and family she finally re-emerged to becoming a top swimmer. She then made it to the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece in the 4X400 Freestyle Relay.


Video I Made of Maritza Correia:



Now retired, Martiza Correia is a promoter for USA Swimming and Nike. She also speaks to young inner city kids about her swimming career and encourages them to follow her dream. I've met her even a couple of times and her story ahs inspired me to keep trying harder. Is their anyone who has inspired you to do the same? Thanks for reading!

Sports town P-way (Isaiah West: Guest Blogger)

Piscataway New Jersey is a decent sized town in Central Jersey. Right in the backyard of Rutgers University, it is the home of very competitive football. Over the years It has been claimed Sports Illustrated Sportstown, home to many Pop Warner championships and High School football championships. From 2002 to 2006 Piscataway brought the championship trophy back to Piscataway.

Here is a clip of highlights from P-way high school football



In Piscataway's years of dominance came dominant players including Kyle Wilson, Malcolm Jenkins and Anthony Davis

Kyle Wilson recieved a scholarship to attend Boise State in Idaho for football. At Boise he was a three year starter and achieved success with the team during his career. He was the favored to go the farthest back ever since pop warner football days.
Here is his Boise State foorball clips



Whereas Malcolm Jenkins, who was a 4 year starter at ohio state, did not even get recruited by Ohio State's Jim Tressel He was the overlooked player in high school and worked twice as hard to end up recieving a scholarship from Ohio State.
Here is Malcolm's Ohio State highlights

Lastly Anthony Davis another hometown native, ended up staying in his hometown to enjoy a great 3 year career at Rutgers University under coach Greg Schiano.
Here is a clip of Anthony at Rutgers. He wears number 75


These three guys have been apart of success since high school. now all of them are in the NFL. Kyle Wilson a rookie playing for the New York Jets, Anthony Davis also a rookie for the San Francisco 49ers and Malcolm Jenkins a second year veteran for the New Orleans Saints.
In his first year in the NFL Malcolm became a Super Bowl Champion. Here is his interview after the win.



Do you think that the other two players mentioned in this blog will achieve the same success? Or do you know of any people in a similar situation or sport that is on a road to success from your town?

Three Topics: Technology, Hockey, and Pranks (Guest Blogger Alex Vukasin)

Today, I have written this post to show you 1.how media changes over time, 2.which video is the funniest,and 3.the techniques used to sell magazines. The technology of media is very different from 20 years ago. A GREAT example of this is hockey interviews.

The first video (below) is one of the greats of hockey, a former Red Wing named Brett Hull. The second video is of rising hockey star Sidney Crosby (of the Penguins who just lost to the Canadians... HA!) Your assignment today is to watch both interviews and comment on the key differences in quality between the two media clips. After that, list media technologies that have improved over the course of many years.

Secondly, watch the third video and ask yourself which was the funniest-- the class taking the lights out video, or Mr. Hoban's prank video or the one I posted below. Explain why. (there is a reason for this).

My third and final question is about what draws the attention of the average joe (you) to watch a certain news channel or to read a certain newspaper. is it the graphics, setup,or just the info? also take a look at this New York Times newspaper article and this Celebrity magazine cover, which one looks more interessting to you?




Brett Hull Interview ( guy with the mullet):








Sidney Crosby and Marc-Andre Fleury Interview( Marc is the first guy with the funny accent):













Funny prank video:

The Next Blog Assignment for Section 3, Intro to Media Arts

Dear Students:

As part of this week's grade for your Intro to Media Arts course you will create and publish a Media Arts Blog Entry, much like all of the ones I posted this semester. You will pick a topic of choice/interest that is related in some way to the study of media arts.

For instance, Alex Vukasin has an interest (which quite frankly confounds me) in professional hockey. He may choose to research the early days of "The Great One". And if you don't know who "The Great One" is, you should have already clicked on the link above!! (hah.)

Commercial break: this is a video we watched in class:



Anyway, Alex may be searching for images or videos as well as web sites that focus on the high school career of "The Great One". Then he will write up a short blog complete with media elements, including links, pictures and videos.

For more information on this assignment, please ask about it during our next class.

Thank you.

Mr. Hoban
(not "The Great One")

Alex Vukasin: This Post's For You!!

Based on our discussion in class today, work on the homework assignment (newspaper article for the 'closet incident') using this web link as a guide to your writing. Good luck. Email me your work if done by a reasonable hour tonight, or else I'll review it with you tomorrow. Good luck, Alex!

-Mr. Hoban

In The Closet With Hoban

Without writing too much about Friday's 8th period class, I figure it's best to look at a few pics and listen to the time spent in the dark with a group of media arts students!

Closet Case Study from Marty Hoban on Vimeo.

Mr. Hoban 'tazed' with a tesla coil!!

So Tell Me...

...what did you do in class today? Provide many, many details.

-Mr. Hoban

This Post's For You (unfortunately it's after 10 pm...how many of you will be up to read it?)

I've had some fun tonight going through the interactive map of today's Front Pages on the Newseum's website. What a great resource, I can't get over it. Seriously! (Please...stop with the snide remarks you're currently making!)

I was poking around, trying to determine how many newspapers across this great land of ours covered a front page mention of the Kent State Shootings. The answer: not many. Indeed, it was slim pickins as I searched most of the dots on the map. Then I decided to check "the biggies" only: Boston Globe, Miami Herald, L.A. Times, Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post and finally USA Today. Only on this last entry did I find a story on the front page. Check it out here, complete with a video narrated by one of the survivors of that day.

Interestingly though, I found one more front page story from a newspaper published in the vicinity of Washington D.C. It made for an interesting read and I wondered about who the publisher was as I read on. A little lesson in "don't believe everything you read" is evident as you read between the lines of the story (and then by performing a little online investigation on the background of this particular newspaper.) What can you find out about it? Why does it matter? Anyway, here's another picture to build up the visual content on our blog:

Online Research: Akron Beacon Journal May 3, 2010

Study the front page of today's Akron Beacon Journal. (You can click on the image, then hit control + to enlarge the image.) Any mentions of Kent State to be found? Look for the relevant link on this front page and enter it in the web address/url box of your browser. Investigate the Kent State Shooting articles from the past forty years that the Akron Beacon Journal covered. Be prepared for a lively discussion in class.

BONUS REQUEST!!!!

How good are your web surfing skills? Can you locate what the online source is of this front page image of today's Akron Beacon? Where on the web does a database of newspaper front pages exist? Write your findings in the comments section.

Happy Hunting!!

-Mr. Hoban