Adobe Media Endcoder

Converting Files in Adobe Media Encoder
(turning .mod into .mov)

1) Insert SD card into computer.

2) Organize your folders on your drive!
- Project 1 folder/raw files (from camera)  encoded files (from media encoder)

2) Open Media Encoder.

3) Uncheck the little box that says “Auto encode watch folders” at the top.

4) Select output destination - Adobe Media Encoder>preferences>check the empty box for destination folder and select browse and choose the destination folder.

3) Drag the raw MOD files into the Queue in Adobe Media
Encoder which is the large window on the left.

*you can click on “arrange to view”  by “kind” and then all the MOD files will appear
together so that you can shift select all and drag all of them into the Queue at the same
time.

5) Under Format choose Quicktime from the drop down menu.

7) Press the green play button to begin converting.

Welcome to Club Wala

I'm at a stage in my life when people are always asking me, "So what do you want to do?". The reply    I give is usually a polite, "I'm not quite sure yet" but the real answer is "SO much". I'm about to graduate college with a media studies degree, but in my  heart and soul I consider myself to be an artist.

My earliest memories are of myself as a toddler scribbling on my parents' apartment walls with Crayola crayons. After that incident they made sure there was always extra paper lying around for me to draw on. Scribbles became doodles, and doodles evolved to real artwork. I would make little story books by writing on each illustrated page and them stapling them all together at the side so I (and all the people who I imagined would be reading them) could flip through them like real books. 

Then I started designing. I became fascinated with fashion and would draw all kinds of outfits all day long.

When I was just four years old, my parents enrolled me in private piano lessons and that only made me even more intrigued with the world of creativity and artistry. Soon after I asked to also take private voice lessons and again, I fell in love with this new way of expressing myself and my creativity through this art form. Singing and piano lessons naturally transitioned into song writing -- my poetry, my inner most thoughts, my therapy.

I'm inspired every day, by all sorts of different things, people, places, foods, life circumstances. I'm fueled by the pure desire to express myself, my imagination and my  desires. 

Some may say that being an artist is a very risky chance to take, but for me it's the only thing I have confidence in. It's the only thing that brings me such pure joy and fulfillment. Music is my boyfriend. Art is my lover. This life is my experience. The work I produce is a way of communicating my ideas and experiences  to others. 

Joshua Makower-Brown's Artist Statement

When I take photographs, I like to imagine the world from a different prospective. Mainly, I enjoy focusing on how the object or scenery would look to an insect or otherwise non-human object. To accomplish this, my photographs often display different angles, foci, colors, filters, etc. This allows the viewer to continuously question the idea of subjectivity, enforcing the fact that every living creature sees every situation from a different point of view.

After being inspired by my grandfather's work, I decided to take on the challenge of photography for myself. While he took photographs of large-scale objects, I decided to narrow my focus on the little pieces that make up a whole.

My focus of looking at things from different perspectives is ever growing. I have grown to enjoy thinking of inanimate objects of having both memories and voices to tell them. For example, I like to imagine what types of stories a tree would tell based on what it has seen throughout its lifetime.

My interest in subjectivity and little pieces coming together has made me decide to try to make a documentary about my life as a summer camp counselor in the upcoming summer. In it, I plan to feature interviews of other staff members and how they answer the same questions. The variety in answers as well as possible multiple-camera shooting will hopefully help me capture the differences in everyone’s experiences, and how all of the experiences came together to make a summer’s worth of memories.

Deleta Smith Artist Statement

I am an accidental artist. 

I have always considered myself a creative but never an artist until I was introduced to Photoshop and Illustrator. The following quote by E.B. White would make the perfect accompanying placard to my work, 

“If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy. If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem. But I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.” 

What I create illuminates the tension expressed within this idea: enjoying the world and fixing it. I find a subject and focus on what makes it both sublime and uncanny. My work has shown an appreciation of fashion while simultaneously shining a light on the industries unrealistic expectations of women’s bodies. I have explored the beauties of my home country Belize as well as  the ugliness of sex tourism there. 

I am strongly influenced by everyday heroes and heroines: military members, student activists, immigrant families, the struggling designer, the urban farmer, my mother who raised 7 children on her own.

My work is both personal and communal. It almost always addresses my Blackness, my femaleness, my Belizean heritage and my New York City home. I am positively and negatively trapped by these categories and my work can not exist without them. 

I have created and consumed digital media since my adolescence.  It is strangely organic that my work tends to take this form. It is the way that I see, explore and express my changing world.

Deanita Redwood's Artist Statement

As an artist, I've often seen myself as one of many mediums or any I can get

my hands on and learn how to use. I love all senses of art from graphic design

to graffiti from animation to fine art. Personally, I haven't dabbled in all the art

that I have come to appreciate. I have worked on my graphic design skills for

about two years in high school as a major. I’ve been mentored in the graphic

design industry by a now creative director of a design company, The O Group.

I majored in illustration for a year in my technical art high school as well. I can

be found doodling on the side of my notes and writing down ideas for projects

almost daily. I love using color in my works. In the past I never thought there

was enough color in a piece. Now that I have matured more, I tend to balance

my pop of colors rather than overwhelm without being a minimalist. Animation

is probably my favorite type of art because I feel it is limitless in what it can

be used for and what audiences it can reach. I would love to work more on

advertising/graphic design as well as cartoons and animation. I hope to one

day incorporate these skills into a career for television and for writing graphic

novels. I have many aspirations for the future and I'm still unsure of where I

will end up but I know that art will be apart of it, as it is a part of me.

Sea the Unseen (Marwa AL OMAMI)

There are 7.046 billion people in this world, each possessing a pair of eyes. A pair of eyes that perceive art in their own, unique way from their own, unique perspectives.

One could glance at a photograph of a set of trashcans on a street corner and fail to see a story, but even rubbish has a past, a present and a future and it is up to the eye to open itself up to creativity.

My work with photography is concerned with seeing the unseen and revealing its countless hidden stories. The title of this statement is a pun concerning itself with the urging of people to see the unseen as the number of ideas that could be found in a single image can outgrow any sea.

There are certain objects and ‘kinds’ of people that we irrevocably place into categories, assuming that they are ordinary; yet we fail to realize that each of them has its respective set of qualities. All we have to do is view things from a different perspective.

New York City is one of the world’s most diverse cities with a profuse amount of compelling images, which I will capture and reinvent. This will encourage the appreciation of simple objects initially deemed artless. A trashcan’s beauty, for example, is almost always disregarded, as we tend to associate it with filth. I will, thus, bring it to life with photography.

Fernando Botero is one figurative artist that comes to mind when I think of the reinvention of an image, or idea. The perfect shape and ‘look’ of a western woman in the 21^st century doesn’t correlate with being big and overweight. Botero’s art, however, disregards this misconception by depicting women with curves and blemishes, and introducing us to the possibility that beauty and curves are the picture-perfect combination, pun intended. By doing so, he rids us of the preconceived notion that the ideal woman should be thin and flawless, ultimately leading us to view his artwork and the idea at large, from a different angle.

Rebecca Wang Artist Statement

Compare to wordy blogging, I would rather have couple short sentences to back up my visual image. I took photography and graphic design classes the year before, and I really like it. Even though I am not professional in both photography and graphic design areas, I have passion to learn more in order to tell my story better through visual images. 
Humans of New York is the blog I really love and go on everyday. Brandon, the blogger of Humans of New York, inspires me a lot. By seeing his biography and artist statement, I realized how simple pictures can brings, but really he is just a photographer who is passion about peoples' lives. The way he records the moment may means a lot to large group of people, this is how amazing that a simple visual image can effects. 
Instead of recording others' lives to touched people, I choose to make my work more interactive and beneficial to my viewers. I hope the viewers find my blog useful and interesting in the same time. How am I going to do that? I want to share my personal interests on my blog it will be the restaurants I discover, the fun places I go, and the reviews of them. With few words and couples pictures, that's all. The special part of this blog is that not only targeting the people who speak English but also Asian people who know Chinese, who lives here or travels here. I would like to write a paragraph in Chinese in the end just to help the visitors or people who is not good at English. I want to provide least in formations to them, since I have been living here for almost 3 years. Just like every other people, I sometimes don't know where to go, and where to eat. Rather than using yelp, which full of fake reviews, I prefer to read a non-profit blog with true thoughts. I want to provide that on my blog, sharing my life to people and hope they find it beneficial and interesting.

Artist statement

New York is a melting pot of cultures and ideas. For this reason, my hometown, NY, inspires me everyday and provides a great platform to get a start in an industry like media. I have always preferred visuals, art, and subjects that hone the right side of the brain over dissecting animals and physics. My love for creativity and fashion sparked at an early age, which led me to attend the fashion institute of technology for my first year of college. I was influenced and inspired by my aunt who was Joan's personal assistant/shoe designer for the company Joan and David. I watched her sketch designs and handle textures. Through out my college career and since then, I began to become more interested in communication and the connection that the media and social media has with it's audience. The internet allows people of all beliefs, nationalities, who are in different time zones to merge and become intertwined in a big web of social media. I'm interested in marketing/social media as well as PR, but I also love learning the technical aspects of editing and cinematography. Memoirs of a geisha was a very visually pleasing movie for me to watch and I was inspired by it. Her, which is a more recent film also caught my attention. I think it is a beautiful thing to see everything come together from just ideas and paper to a visual experience.

Leticia Infante - Artist Statement

I am restless, for I overcompensate and over-analyze all that there is. Perhaps it is a curse, perhaps not. Doubt is unsettling; however, it is a necessary tool and guides me closer to the truth. With that said, I crave the truth and sincerity, and I hope to visualize and depict such uncertainty and vulnerability in my work. This eagerness for honesty derives from my love of philosophy and the “self.” In New York City, I have had many spontaneous encounters with strangers; I’ve listened to their secrets, vices, and dreams. I met a physics professor on the train, once, and he revealed his ultimate frustration, “there are so many people who wander the world obliviously and uninterested in why things are the way they are, the laws of nature, and the basics; I want to remove the blindfold.” I, too, want to remove the blindfold, including my own. Honesty maneuvered the conversation into such depths that the conversation became completely abstract. I focus on a character’s psychological growth and journey, and his or her state of being; often, dialogue is unnecessary, in order to reveal certain truths about an individual… truths that words cannot express. Many philosophers such as Nietzsche and Albert Camus have also inspired me to challenge the conformities of life. What is normal? We have been conditioned to believe certain beliefs and are encouraged to be ethical, but what happens when a man’s actions contradict his ethics? Is there any such thing as objective morality, or is that just an oxymoron? I want to provoke question and thought with my work and say as much as I can with imagery, just as many paintings do.

Leticia Infante

Artist Statement

I want to take and edit photos, which are thought provoking. For me, a photo has the potential to make people view the world in a different light. I plan to use images to move people. I admire photos that are taken in challenging locations. Many of the greatest photos result in the photographer going to great lengths and risks in order to obtain such photos. I know of a man who traveled to the very top of a mountain in Montenegro in order to take a photo. He traveled to the tallest mountain in the area and sat off the ledge in order to get a photo of the entire valley from above.
Nothing is perfect in reality. I believe that through the manipulation of digital photos it is possible to create a image of a perfect landscape. The majority of my photos will be in a urban setting. My work will display scenarios, which are rarely seen through the eyes of the average person. Timing is a key aspect in photos taken in public. The best photos are of people who are unaware the photo is being taken. It is difficult to position many moving objects in a specific manner to express a natural looking image. I plan to capture images which contain many moving parts in the moment.

Crafting With Intention- Natasha Pearson Artist Statement

Journeying across the sea, never looking behind me

In a chaotic world the mind is constantly pulsing with the concerns and emotions of ordinary human life. The uncomplicated, minimalist, clean and orderly nature of my art encourages a sense of calm in the mind where all people can interpret the depictions they are observing. My work challenges the desire to clutter a frame with unnecessary distraction; a place where white space is welcome. Through my use of lines and color I hope to draw the minds eye in, to focus on the present and drown out the rest. Lines help to draw attention toward something and color acts as the sort of "x" for the place which the viewer is being lead. Placement is also critical for conveying the meaning of my art. These critical elements are things which will easily allow observers to identify and appreciate my work.
Much of my art is the rejection of the elements I feel distract from the meaning and purpose of a work; a concept presented to me under the Guidance of Mark Mullin, Lead Designer at Cleary Gottlieb Steen and Hamilton and Associate Professor at Parsons School of Design. This approach enables the story and ideas to shine as much as the design elements because the art enhances the purpose and does not consume it. Most importantly my art is accessible; subject to interpretation but easily interpreted. Welcome artists and non-artists alike.

Carolina Londono: Artist Statement

I live for sublime, evanescent moments and feelings... Those that are naturally occurring, like the seconds while a wave is in peak and held in suspension right before its ripples begin to slowly unfold, then violently crash down... The seconds when your gut tells you a storm is approaching,  gray clouds begin to form in the sky and a scent of humidity fills the air right before the droplets hit your face... As well as those that are deeply felt with the heart, mind, and soul that aren't quite tangible... like knowing that laugh or silent, deep gaze you are sharing with Mr/Mrs."Right Now", couldn't ever get any sweeter than that because deep down, your intuition tells you you two won't ever be as connected or in synch with one another ever again... Moments and feelings that are dream-like, make you feel like time is temporarily held still, that invoke a sense of yearning, melancholy, happiness,  but simultaneously make your heart and belly feel like they're sinking... These are the moments and experiences that inspire me most. Although I don't have a particular vehicle of choice to deliver my message, I love being able to have so many options that those energetically and emotionally pulled into my artwork can relate to. I am fortunate enough to have felt like I've never "fit in", my dream states have always been vivid, and I have always felt extremely empathetic toward most just by looking through their eyes. I've experience a great deal of pain , an abundance of highs and lows, have encountered people in high places, and learned from those I should've stayed away from the most. Now I understand it's because my life mission is to help others and the world in every way I can. Having the opportunity to volunteer and spend time with elderly and children, I've gained a unique perspective on life and how the Universe works around us, through us, and the divine connection we have with one another and all we are surrounded by. I love exploring and holding on to moments and experiences that most take for granted, or avoid because it causes a sort of uncomfortable happiness and sadness all at once. I absolutely love films and art that nearly take your breathe away, confuse you, make you think outside the box... I love everything and anything by David Lynch ("Mulholland Drive", "Blue Velvet"), Christopher Nolan's films such as "Memento", "Inception", Quentin Tarantino's classic "Pulp Fiction", Baz Luhrmann's sense of aesthetic... their style is unique and incredibly appealing to me, and the art they have blessed us with materializes many of the thoughts, feelings, and notions that are often difficult to put into words. Wherever my art takes me, I hope it inspires people to view life through a different, sublime, magical, dreamlike lens.

Diaka Kaba- Artist Statement

I was born in Bamako, Mali and immigrated to Williamsburg, Brooklyn when I was eight. Growing up as one of the few Africans in my community, I always felt I had to somehow cover up being West African. Hide my culture: the sounds, smells, and customs. As an adult, my art searches to reclaim these buried parts of my identity, both as an African and as an immigrant American. The medium I choose to express myself is theater and occasionally film. 

As an artist working in theater, my primary focus is to show that theater is a catalyst for change. My ultimate desire is to move and intrigue an audience. I am interested in performing work that inspires people in a positive way. Specifically, work that will stimulate social awareness and activism through theater. Currently, I am a New York City based actor, and educator. As an artist I draw inspiration from my experience as a Creative Arts Team Youth Theater(CAT YT) member. During high school and a member of CAT YT, I created work that allowed me to be seen and heard through the method of improvisation. I performed monologues and scenes about identity and self-esteem. This helped me deal with my own identity issues and made me want to do the same for others. 

In the last few years, I have turned to the pursuit of creating drama with young people. I participated in playwriting festivals and workshops where I performed 5th, 6th, and 7th grade plays. Through my acting their work was brought to life. Ultimately, performing gives me the opportunity to reach out to strangers through storytelling. So as a performer, and creator that is what I am passionate about. In the future, I hope to get many opportunities to be a storyteller on stage and in film. 

Olivia Coscia - Artist Statement

The medium that I want to work with is film. I prefer film as a mode of expression/creating because it is the most pictorial way of constructing, recording, or presenting the past, present, future, the imaginable, etc. I like that film can speak for itself through cinematic techniques, aesthetics, and such and can come times communicate thoughts and ideas better than words can. I hope to make films that are rebooted in reality. I want to make films that show moving images of every day reality that are played back to the viewer, creating an escapism from their own realities. Some experiences that have affected my life and world view are having moved here to New York and also dealing with loss and death: specifically learning to move on with life in a new place, struggling to establish an identity that was my own after loosing a loved one, and simply having to deal with loss. Within the parameter of film, I hope to make direct connections between image and self, society and the individual, and the culturally and socially constructed idea of "good art" versus "bad art". These topics interest me because I'm compelled by to what extent society affects the individual. French 'New Wave' directors, like Jean-Luc Godard, inspire me, for whose work I admire for endlessly challenging the limits of tradition and Hollywood-ized filmmaking. Other directors that inspire me for their cinematography and artistic expressions are Martin Scorsese, David Lynch, and many more. For my work, I hope to achieve the provocation of thought and potentially confusion; in order to find meaning, the narrative must be sorted out on different levels or meaning can also register that which is incidental. This sense of ambiguity is what I enjoy so much from filmmakers like Godard, Eric Rohmer, etc.

Zehui Liu--Artist Statement

Coming to New York City with a different culture background brought me strong curiosity and also excitement in experiencing this cultural and linguistic diversity. I used to love showing on the stage and presenting myself to other people. Hosting school activity and playing in school drama when I was little till being a singer of the band and performed in the school Christmas party during my first year in high school, these are all the little turning points which are unforgettable to me and somehow influenced my path towards media studies. I’ve always addicted in listening to classical piano music(I know that sounds kind of boring to many people) not because they were written by those talented composers but because to see how they brought influence on the audience and somehow interact with their emotions and thoughts. I feel the connection between media and music is that they both aimed in interacting with people’s thoughts and bring joy to the majority and let the composer or director’s perspective reach to the crowd which is something that people won’t easily forget.

I think once you are interested in something, you can perform the best of it. Once I took the class in high school(which is seems to be the documentary making class)and that changed my point of view a lot. Not because I wanted to further my studies in filmmaking, but because I found myself the motivation in finalizing my thoughts towards media production, I want to produce something which can make people feel joyful and enjoyable, I’m willing to provide something which can last longer in audiences’ minds. Obviously this seems too simple and a little bit silly but that’s what I’m trying for because I think success is to repeatedly done those simple things.

Kristina Garcia - Artist Statement

Composition is a vital tool in framing one's perception of art, and even of the world around them. As a photographer, I am always wondering how to set up a shot within the viewfinder. I wonder about what story I want to tell, or what should be emphasized. I like to focus on photography because I'm enthralled with it's ability to contain so much information within a single image. Without dialogue, movement, or the sort of access a medium such as video can provide, a photo can still tell an entire story within itself.
I'm interested in the music industry, specifically in the behind the scenes of the business side of the industry. I enjoy the idea of being able to help someone with a dream, helping them spread their music around the world. I enjoy watching musicians finally being able to perform in front of a crowd of people after months of promotion, practice, and patience. Music has always been inspiring to me, as it is for many people. I'm specifically inspired by hip-hop music, I believe being a great hip-hop artist involves being a great storyteller. The stories of struggle often found in rap and hip-hop is inspirational, and the actual music found in the genre is so innovative and constantly evolving, just as I hope to as a person and artist.
With my art, I hope to provide people with a perspective they may not have thought about before. I want to challenge the way ordinary, every day scenes or situations are perceived. I want to provide the background for a broken down object. I want to help tell a story for someone who may not know how to.

Shafat Chowdhury-Artist Statement

The work in which I have been involved in is built on the idea of exposing what we don’t know or see. Whether it’s the dissection of a popular advertisement from some cosmetics company with subliminal messaging or a report on the corruption in a European sports federation, I feel as though any work I do should demand me looking into a perspective that diverges from the norm. Some may regard this as being “anti-mainstream” but I believe that every of way of seeing is also a way of not seeing.

For me to be content with my work, I must create something that not only shares an unusual outlook but also something that I’m passionate about. Whenever something that pertains to media is being produced, it must be approached with vigor and ardor in order for a meaning to be found. Otherwise, it is just mindless drone work set out to discover an already familiar approach to matters. This ideology of working passionately on the untold and unknown serves as the backbone for all my work in media. It's the constant search for truth and purity in art that drives my hunger to pursue a career in media, more specifically, in journalism.

Some may ask why it is that I wish to discover the uncharted ideas and angles that others consider to be outlandish. Well, it’s simple; too often, we are content with what is simply presented to us. We do not question it, we do not care about it, and we are just happy to move on. But that’s not the way media is supposed to be. Producing media isn’t just an art-form, it’s a language. It’s a way for people to connect.

Pamela Pasterczyk Artist Statement

At a young age all my friends would tell everyone with confidence what they want to be when they become older. For me, that was an answer that would change from month to month. I was never able to find what I truly connected with until I went to Los Angeles, California. As a birthday present I had received VIP passes to Universal Studios where I was able to experience the world of film and television production. This adventure allowed me to feel as if I was a part of the movie. Especially when we reached Bates Motel…I literally was afraid for my life, but enjoyed the experience because within minutes I was back to my old life, there was not a man with a knife trying to kill me. That’s the beauty with television and film, you can make everything and anything happen but at the end of the day you go back to your regular life. The rush that I got during my tour of Universal made me realize that this is exactly where I belong, this place felt like home.

I quickly realized once I got home that my mind is naturally programmed to analyze what is being shown on television or how movies are edited.  My passion for media does not come from being behind a camera or writing scripts but it comes from seeing what different programs are doing and trying to understand their meaning behind it. I also have a talent and passion for coming up with unique concepts for television shows. A lot of shows have the same formula that they use, but I am able to come up with ideas that go outside of that formula.

Saraa Elkhaloui Artist Statement

               Media is a prominent part of our lives and will continue to be even more important in the future. I think that in everyday life there is a story to be captured and mostly these stories are shared all over the wosrld through the use of media. I hope to find the funny things in life, capture them, and share them with the world. I am mostly inspired by Human's of New York, a Facebook page capturing real people telling their stories to a photographer who has one shot at displaying them to the world. I think that the events we experience shape us as people, and whether we have a good day or a bad day, it's up to us to choice how we face the next one. It's a simple concept, and yet so many people wake up aggravated at the world. I tell these people NO! Look around you and you'll feel better.

That is a picture I took of my sister that ended up in photoshop. 

              People do a variety of stupid things that are hilarious, and I admit I am one of these people (I KNOW at some point EVERYONE has been there). Everyone knows "stuff happen" and either you laugh it off and keep going or your lifespan will decrease dramatically. This website will serve as a realistic entertainment site of things that go bump in New York. I'll share what I can and I hope that it brings a little bit of sunshine to YOU! From crazy people I have the pleasure of meeting on the train, to random stuff that happen, if it's funny... it's here!

Starr Rochelle - Artist Statement

I'm interested in all forms of art. I've taken animation classes, drawing classes, and mixed media classes. Mixed media is my favorite form of visual art and I draw in my notebooks frequently. But, writing is really what interests me the most. I started getting into film when I had to do summer reading for high school and I hated it, my dad told me to imagine the story like a movie. Ever since then I can't read a book without it playing like a movie in my head. Thus my fascination with writing and film was sparked.
 A lover of all things Quentin Tarantino and J.D. Salinger - character and dialogue are generally what I focus on the most. In my experience people on the whole tend to not think for very long before they speak and they probably should more often than not. Words don't get enough attention. By building a bridge between film and literature certain themes that exist in both become easier to understand. Additionally it makes boring or heavy subjects a lot more entertaining/ relatable. I also recently fulfilled my minor in sociology, so looking at how society is affected by film and vice versa has in many ways become second nature to me. It's amazing how a film or a book can change a persons life. I guess in general art can make a difference in the world and that's kind of a big deal. 
Movies and books certainly have made a difference in my life, in fact I just purchased my 600th feature film on DVD (Dallas Buyers Club) and I'm working on a couple of lit+film research papers. I'm applying to film schools in California in the Fall (UCLA, that's the goal!). I hope to eventually doctor scripts, write screenplays and write for film journals. 

Theadora Hadzi - Artist Statement

When I look at a magazine, the first thing I do is analyze and question. Are those photographs lined up evenly? Did they use the same font for every headline? Is the copy over a size 11? Why would they put that text box there? At this point in my life, these criticisms come naturally and automatically to me. It isn’t a conscious decision, and I can’t help but do it. I think, in a way, my eyes have learned to see.
As a painter, a long time friend and mentor of mine told me that one of the most important things in life that we can learn to do as an artist is see properly. Many others have scoffed at his words, but I know now that he is right, and the same can be said for graphic design. As human beings, we subconsciously notice elements and principles of design, which in turn allows us to find something to be aesthetically pleasing or not. What I’ve learned about design, these rules, in a way, help me to understand why something is good or bad. I no longer have to say “I don’t know, it just feels right.” Now, I can instead explain that the evenly distributed photo package, or the pleasing aesthetics of a sans serif for a headline, are what make a page work.
I’ve learned to be proud of my knowledge as a graphic designer, but I also know that I have a lot more to learn. The passion that I have for copy editing a layout or double checking spacing between photos won’t be what takes me farther in my career, I know that. Instead, I have to pair that passion with a thirst for learning, as well as a humbleness to be taught. I want to design, yes, but I also want to design things the right way. I want to create an exhilaration with my layouts, the same exhilaration that I get when I open the spread to any magazine.




On a side note, I also like photographing events and people. This is one of my favorite shots :)

Jacob Cintron - Artist Statement

My medium of choice is photography. My photography is divided between two main focuses; being able to capture quiet, concise moments in New York City, to stand in contrast with its reputation for being "the city that never sleeps", and to catch quick, humorous moments that differ from the angry and unruly face so many people have put on the city. I believe that unposed portraits, or taking pictures of people without any prior warning, allows one to capture a truer picture of that person's personality.

In the future, I hope to shoot fine art photography as well as photojournalism abroad. Fine art photography draws my interest as to how much one can do to bring a creative vision to life for an image. Photojournalism on the other hand combines my passion to create interesting and compelling photographs with my desire to travel and immerse myself in other cultures.

Though they have very little to do with what I currently shoot, some of my favorite photographers include Philipe Halsman, for his fun, lively "Jump" series, Ray K. Metzker, for his sleek, minimalistic style of photographing his subjects and Elliott Erwitt, for his often comedic and always unique way of viewing the world.

Artist Statement- Keiko Yara

I believe in order to live in a world without war, we have to accept the cultures and beliefs of others. There are many beautiful cultures worth exploring as well as many breath taking views created by nature. Each one of us deserves a chance to explore and gain an understanding of these cultures and wonders of the world, if at least through the point of view of a lens.

My mission is to explore every inch of this planet while documenting my adventures and sharing them with as many people as possible. I like to think that I can share my adventures through a blog containing photographs and video diaries. I am drawn to the beautiful quirks that occur spontaneously. You never know what the universe will throw in your direction and that is why I love to travel to places I have never been before. So far I have been lucky enough to travel to a few countries and I am hoping that I will have the opportunity to travel to a few more countries in the near future. Here I have some pictures from my travels to London and Lima, Peru.  

Artist Statement - Korina Serrano

      When it comes to the creative fields of film, painting, music, etc. the term artist does not describe me.  My lack of expertise in those fields simply means that I tend to prefer the process of analysis than creativity. It is a much easier task for me to write papers as opposed to making art.
      The one thing that is certain is my love for pop culture. As far as I can remember my fascination with all things media began with the television. Everyday I tune in to watch the latest celebrity news publicized by Guiliana Rancic on ENews or observe the drama that unfolds from reality shows. My interest lies in the workings of publicity, specifically in the beauty and fashion industry. For example the Fashion Police, pre-award show red carpets, YouTube beauty videos, and trendy magazines hold my undivided attention. Not only do I constantly glue my eyes to the television screen but I also check my phone for any updates associated with celeb news or the latest clothing trends. There are two films that cemented by interest in the world of trends and they go by "The Devil Wears Prada" and "13 Going on 30." Both films convey the main character working for a woman's magazine while exposing the cutthroat business it can be.
      Although the field of public relations does not entail the traditional concept of art, it does require the new technological skills of today. Furthermore applications like Photoshop, Illustrator, and Final Cut Pro could be considered mediums of art since they enhance and distort images or audio to be distributed to the mass public. Of course I wish to learn them to the best of my ability.

Melissa Romagnuolo - Artist Statement

One day I hope to work in animation making video games, movies, or shows. The whole idea of taking a picture and making it come to life is amazing to me. I have always taken art classes in school and even a sculpting class. With that, my creativity grew. My art teacher in high school would always encourage me to never stop drawing, to never give up, and to do what I love as a career because I will be doing it for a while. As I got older I started to realize what kind of shows, games, or movies I wanted to make. My first interest came from a T.V show from when I was younger. It was a 2D show called Brace Face. It was a clumsy girl who of course had braces. What was different about her was that her braces would get in the way and cause crazy things to happen all the time, but she always overcame the obstacles she was faced with. This whole idea of a cartoon teenager dealing with parents, friends, and boys intrigued me. The show made me feel less alone at that age and I was able to relate to her. Like the things I was enduring in life, she was as well. We don't have many shows like that anymore. I liked the idea of a leading character who is not perfect, just clumsy, and uncertain but still stands out. I want a show of my own to reach out to young girls as Brace Face did to me.

Artist Statement - Eduardo Barrera

My artwork is not just one type of style, it varies from all angles. The context, medium and mood are all different. To me it is important to choose different subjects to express myself in. I’m inspired by everyday life and I believe it’s the best kind of inspiration because you are experiencing the moment firsthand. I’m also inspired by different kinds of artists – and many styles.
I like to work with bright colors but also dark and mysterious subjects depending on the context. The composition and the way a scene is shot is also important to me. I like to try and have control over details that are present in a scene.
Some of my favorite directors are Stanley Kubrick, Jean-Luc Godard, and Wes Anderson. They all have different styles but compose a picture really well and is something that I can learn from.
I enjoy analyzing films as a work of art, where there can be themes, motifs, and or symbolism in the film.
Here are two pictures I took where I tried composing the shot to look as a movie still.

Artist Statement-Stevie Borrello

I believe that the fullest life is one dedicated to creating a better society. All individuals have their own special talents or abilities that they use to impact and benefit humanity. I have found that I create the most influence towards others through the use of media, particularly film.


Our media corporations feed off of what society wants to see in the news and not what they need to know. My work is driven by the need for societal awareness on issues that are unbeknownst to many citizens, especially in the topic of female oppression. Just as I was greatly influenced by a novel, written about the culture in Afghanistan and the poor treatment of women, I want to impact people in the same way so that they might take action to create a better world.


I find my voice and passion through documentaries, which expose the truth in ways that are censored by most newspapers and broadcasting companies. My documentaries look into situations on a personal level, whether that be illustrating how the first amendment affects individuals in completely different ways or by showing how a mythical sport makes someone feel alive. While not every single piece of my work will be a severe or heavy topic, each one has some sort of message influencing viewers to change how they view society and their own lives.

Below is a photo of the novel that inspired me to pursue journalism and sparked my lifelong goal to impact others.