Well Hello Everyone!!!

Hope is well for you guys reading this. This week has been tricky, there were multiple things that were getting me excited but I decided to talk about my favorite video game, Destiny 2.

I have been playing this whole franchise since 2014,  if you guys don’t know what Destiny 2 is, don’t worry I will give a brief explanation. Destiny 2 is a free first-person shooter MMORPG and it is about you being a super-powered soldier called a guardian you can channel the three main light elements of the universe; arc, void, and solar. You have the option to be one of  three classes;

Hunter

Titan

and warlock (best class)

The reason why I’m excited is that the company created the game, Bungie announced a new expansion to the game called  LIGHTFALL. The storyline for what they revealed sounds awesome we’re going to Neptune to find a  lost city that was hidden from us and it has a cyberpunk, retro wave style to it. 

Here is the trailer if you guys want to look into it.

Hello everyone, the thing making me happy on the internet this week is the videogame called Nba2k23.

(This isn’t my character but it is a real-life player who has been in the game for a while named Giannis Antetokounmpo)

It’s essentially a game about simulated basketball where you are able to make your own character and become a basketball superstar. There are multiple modes that you can play from Rec to Park, The Theatre, My Team, and My Career.

Although this iteration just came out Friday, I have been playing 2k since 2014 and it is one of my favorite games. I have been playing MyCareer mostly because I enjoy making different builds and taking them online to play against other people with my friends. I normally make about 3 or 4 builds ranging from point guards to small forwards to centers but I only recently started making bigger players last year.

So far I have been watching YouTubers such as Chris Smoove, 2klab, and Joe Knows. Joe Knows and 2klab are especially known for analyzing the game and showing people the best builds to make for their playstyles.

Although I already have my first build, I am planning on altering a build  from the video above for my second. Some other good videos for beginners to watch would be videos by Joe Knows such as the Kevin Durant build and the Giannis Antetokounmpo builds.

Overall it is a very fun game and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys basketball games. And if you don’t like 2k (which is understandable it is a grind-heavy game) then try NBALive19, its unfortunately the last in the series but it is the only other Triple A basketball game. But, that’s all I have for ya’ll today. Try the game out, you might like it :).

 

What makes me happy on the internet are Hardstyle, B-front, The Mandalorian and D23

Hardstyle? What is Hardstyle you say? Well….. it’s the most energetic and pumping music ever and that is why this music makes me so happy.

Here is a gif of a famous Hardstyle DJ named Rejecta dancing to it, which is how most people of the Hardstyle community dances to it:

I have been listening to Hardstyle since 2013 and there is not a day that goes by without me listening to at least one Hardstyle song. Even though people now a days will like this specific genre of music and some probably make fun of how it sounds, which I don’t blame them because in a way it does sound like what they saying which are bird sounds and someone knocking/banging on the wall or door really hard.

Another thing that makes me happy from the internet is recently one of my favorite DJs named B-Front released a music video for his new song called “We Will Never Break” for the WiSH Outdoor festival anthem and I really love how both the music video and song are well-produced. The way that the music video is filmed from different perspectives/angles is very creative. Also I like that the beat drop syncs with the switching of the camera angles, it even makes me want to dance like nobody’s watching.

His Instagram page is filled with recaps and highlights of his accomplishments over the years as well as amazing music releases. Every time I get a notification from B-Front’s Instagram, I get excited and anxious to see what’s next for his career or what crazy news/surprise he has to show/tell us.

Also, It’s really nice to always be updated from him with upcoming releases and collaborations with other DJs. This music video shown below will make you get up from your seat and start dancing away, so GO and Click that YouTube video and I promise you won’t regret watching and listening to a masterpiece from the melodic master himself, B-Front, as I like to call him.

If any of you guys are Disney, Marvel and Star Wars fanatics, then you know that D23 was this weekend. The reason why I love D23 is because of the trailers that they announce and show at the panels for any upcoming series streaming to Disney+. Who wouldn’t like the shows related to Star Wars, especially if it has lightsaber battles between Sith and Jedi and the dark side of the force which I love so much. I even went to D23 one time with my dad and sister and it was (extremely hot) for three days, but it was a very nice experience, overall. So, my all-time favorite show is “The Mandalorian” and the season 3 teaser trailer had came out yesterday and it looks FANTASTIC!!!

Not to spoil you on anything, but the teaser trailer includes two people reuniting, Bo-Katan and the planet Mandalore. I’m not saying anything more and leaving it up to you to interpret and guess what else is to come from this before you watch the teaser trailer.

But, Here I will leave you the YouTube link to watch the season 3 teaser trailer for The Mandalorian or you could click the video (below):

Let me know what you think of this after you have watched it. Thank you for letting me give you an insight of what makes me happy on the internet.

What Makes Me Happy On The Internet???

All week I’ve been focused on one thing and one thing alone. It felt like this day would never come!!!! The release of Cobra Kai Season 5 was a long time coming. If you don’t know what The Karate kid is or Cobra Kai is and you’re leaving under a rock then here is some background for you. 

My obsession with Cobra Kai started way back when I was younger. My mom’s side of the family has always had their own relationship with karate because they grew up watching the movies and learning karate simultaneously. My uncle is a huge Karate Kid fan, we have a running joke in my family that my uncle is the real-life Daniel LaRusso. He firmly believes that karate is used for defense not to be used to start a fight, it also doesn’t help that his name is also Daniel. My uncle became a karate sensei and taught everyone in the family karate. It will forever be a part of our lives. 

This is just the beginning. A new era of no mercy begins Sept. 9. pic.twitter.com/3LIOGzo7Sb

— Cobra Kai (@CobraKaiSeries) August 23, 2022

But there is something different about Cobra Kai now that we didn’t have with the original Karate Kid movies. We set up a countdown for the entire family so that when the day comes we are all together to watch the new season. Everyone turns their phones off for the day to make sure we don’t get a spoiler out of the blue. We all like to be on the same page when we first watch it. We even take the week prior to rewatch all the sessions that came before the new one to make sure we haven’t missed anything.

In Cobra Kai, Daniel La Russo and Johnny Lawrence continue their inevitable conflict more than 30 years after the events of the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament.

The previous season leaves off exactly where this new one begins. In prison is John Kreese. Cobra Kai is being expanded by Terry Silver. Mexico is where Miguel is. Daniel is attempting to make things right with assistance from Okinawa. I won’t give anything away. Simply smile and take in the karate.

Cobra Kai’s greatest strength is that it’s entertaining to watch. The plot centers on a lost fish who, with the help of a clever bonsai tree craftsman, finds his way to triumph in his new hometown’s All Valley Karate Tournament. Cobra Kai skillfully incorporates that spirit into this remake while maintaining its sense of humor.

Ralph Macchio and William Zabka carry the play admirably, even if I adore the entire group. The distinction between the good guy and the bad guy from the first movie is blurred as Johnny works to better his life while Daniel takes everything for granted. Both require many wake-up calls and eventually come to blows before cooperating for one reason or another.

Here’s the tip of the iceberg of what Cobra Kai is about. Click Here To Watch!!!!! But without further a due I’ll leave you with this. Cobra Kai Season 5 is official on Netflix go and watch all seasons if you haven’t already!!!!!!!

My current aim in life is to be a full-time artist and I think a key to achieving my goal is social media.

I primarily use Instagram and if you are an active user on the platform you may have noticed a severe dissatisfaction with Instagram’s current user interface. 

When two members of Kardashians share a post about bringing back the old Instagram then you know things have gotten serious.

 For me and I think for many visual creatives on the platform, I have had difficulty gathering a following. 

In an effort to compete with TikTok, Instagram is now prioritizing their TikTok equivalent, Reels over images at the expense of their non-video-making creatives like photographers, digital artists, traditional artists, long-form video makers, etc.

Unless you can adapt image content into TikTok-like short-form videos, I think that now more than ever it’s harder for me and many others to grow on Instagram.

The all-mighty algorithm favors trendy short-form videos, which is great for maximizing user experience but detrimental to creatives and their creative process.

And even if you made algorithm-friendly content you’re just one account in a highly competitive, over-saturated space with people with the same objective as you.

And this can drive people to take risks, to try something so outlandish for the sake of increasing the amount of engagement on your post even if those people do it at the expense of others and themselves. 

So why am I babbling on about all of this stuff? Well, I need to set the stage for the most joyous pastime on Instagram and all these other platforms. I need you to understand how euphoric it is to see a number that is three digits under your reels and stories.

In an environment where engagement and follower growth is everything, every little increase in any sort of engagement is the greatest thing in the world.  The thing on the internet that makes me happiest this week and almost every week is numbers.

I am addicted to numbers. 

And while you may think this is hyperbolic and dismissive, artists and content creators on these platforms depend on these numbers to make a living or even increase the chance that they can make a stable living.

Likes, comments, views, follows, and numbers have dictated my mood. And while it’s superficial and a subject of concern, it is also just a part of the job. 

Success can be measured by numbers; the number of views, likes, dislikes, comments, follows, and subscribers, all of these are considered essential to dictate our success in the real world and especially on the internet. 

Seeing the number rise is a rush, seeing the traction, looking at the analytics, and seeing results from your work gives you the impression of progress even if in the grand scheme of things you haven’t budged an inch. 

It’s a validating experience because in an environment where I have little social interaction with others this engagement acknowledges my work’s existence in a digital space, and it gets me closer to my primary objective.

This week on Instagram, the most likes I’ve gotten on a post with 16 likes while my reel with the most views of this week has 413 views, which is a reel, ironically, taking a jab at reels. 

The best part is engaging with commenters. I have received so many bot comments, so when the human commenter pops in, it feels ten times more rewarding and fulfilling than it needs to be. 

Shifting over to Tiktok is an interesting contrast. I started using the app more recently, I think almost a year ago and one of the few reasons I can use it is because TikToks are easy to convert onto other platforms. 

Since Instagram and many other platforms decided to emulate TikTok I decided to record my digital painting process before condensing it into a speed painting and posting it on TikTok.

Once I posted it on TikTok, I repost it as a reel or on rare occasions a YouTube Short.

Another reason why I use TikTok is that I heard it was easier to grow on TikTok and I personally find that to be debatable. 

I found that I got more views on Instagram than on TikTok but now it started to fluctuate, some of my Tik Toks are getting more views than my reels.

I think maybe it’s because I came in too late but like all of my issues on social media, I also shifted to the idea that my art isn’t that good.

I could wait for it to get better but that could take years and if I wanted to grow an audience, I feel like it’s better to grow an audience alongside my skills. 

The TikTok video with the most views had 186 views. 

On my YouTube, and while I don’t post on their daily I recently posted a video that has garnered 653 views making it my most viewed video on that channel. It almost felt unearned because I felt like I put little to no effort into that video.

But my main bread and butter are webcomics. I am to be a webcomic with a possible plan to print comics further down the line if my career as a film editor works out. My current series, “Infinite Circles of Purgatory” has recently garnered 47 views this week with the latest installment gathering a good 39 views. This was actually my favorite one so far. 

 

This fixation on numbers, while it can be rewarding, can also be a detriment to a person’s mental health. I’ve heard stories of many creators across many platforms conflating their self-worth and their skills to the statistics they see on their analytics. And while sometimes that can be an indicator of things to improve on or change sometimes these numbers aren’t fully in our control and that scares me.

While looking at the statistics and the growth of my platforms can make me happy and feel like I’m going somewhere I have to consider the possibility that I could stagnate again and prepare for that.

I think a way to make this process even better is by not fully investing in social media or even highlighting other creators that need the support. I’ve seen so many amazing artists that I feel are personally underrated so sometimes I shout them out even though my platform is pretty small. 

There’s a lot more to my career than just social media and if I keep fixating on social media engagement then my work and even my career will never improve.

But saying it aloud and internalizing it are two different things… 

 

 

Week #2 – A Recap & Forward Motion!

The Course Schedule page is here (this is our most important page as it hosts all of our weekly assignments and their specifications – please check this page each week at the beginning of class.)

1. Did you Read the welcome blog post here <–it has an assignment that prepares us for this week – the assignment details are located at the bottom of the post, it asks you to leave a comment, and to respond to one of your classmate’s comments, did you? 

2. Let’s get signed up! Did you sign up for the CUNY commons and the CT101 website? If not, please review the process for access to the CUNY commons and the CT101 website here  Read this blog post for details < —

And now… this week, its time to get blogging!

**Here is the class tutorial about assignment #1 from class on 9/6 – https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/0Tk-aLFLX2Ousa5Fr5Sk3tbEgJrLzaYkbYE3BpGwJvxLvVIM6TMEt7QvCmX36M53.fh33RUN8vLmO7_XF
Passcode: 0cTQWah$

Let’s learn about and tour our WordPress blogging interface. We will discuss and learn how to sign in, add text, verbiage, images, GIFs, videos, hyperlinks and contextual content into the blogging interface! We will begin by sharing some sentiments accompanied by visual media to help tell our stories.

***Each week I will screen record a video tutorial that demonstrates techniques and tips for each assignment – The tutorials will always be posted shortly after class directly into the blog post with the assignment details.

This Week’s Assignment…

Assignment #1 – What Makes You Happy on the Internet?

Your goal for this week will be to read and follow the info / links listed in this week’s blog post. Absorb the information and then begin to prepare and gather all of needed media, images, links and content that you need to create and publish your first blog post here on our class website!

(This assignment was originally created by Professor Michael B. Smith a few years ago, it still holds true as a great example and ice-breaker for our first blogging assignment.)

In a new blog post, take the time to introduce anything you want about yourself and describe a piece, or multiple pieces of the internet that is “making you happy” this week. Share what the content is about, the media format, and the online space in which it was discovered. Let us know why this (or these things) make you happy! Make sure it’s something you can ’embed’ into your post and be sure to link back to the original source of the the item (hyperlink).

(I shared my example, its at the bottom of this post in the form of a hyperlink)

Below is also an example:

“I discovered recently a writer who made side-by-side comparisons of frames from the Simpsons with frames from the original movies that inspired the cartoon. I love this kind work because it shows how culture is seemingly endlessly recycled and remixed.”

Also, here’s a video short (below) from the original, famous “shower scene” from the 1960 film Psycho that the inspiration is drawn from.

For another example of “how” your assignment #1 post can potentially look, check out professor Seslow’s example:

Assignment #1 Example Fun with Ryan

PS – THIS whole blog post is an example of a good quality post! Notice the length, the amount of embedded media added, hyperlinks, content and context to help support the verbiage.

It all just takes a little bit of regular practice.

Let’s do it!

 

 

Getting Signed Up and Signed in to the CT101 Website & the CUNY Academic Commons.

Welcome Digital Storytellers!

Please follow along with me during our class session to get signed up for both the CUNY Academic Commons and for this website, follow me and scroll down..

As we know, a big part of CT101 is the class the website. It is where you will begin your active role as an “Author” of our CT101 community and where you will be publishing all of your class work and assignments. You will also become a part of the CUNY Academic Commons Community (Im a big fan!)

**First things first,

It is super important for you to have access to your York College E-mail Address, and to make sure it works!  You will need to have access to it in order to sign up for our CT101 web site and the CUNY academic commons.

***If you need assistance with setting this up do not hesitate to contact the York College help desk at 718-262-5300 as needed or at [email protected]

Lets Get Started!

We must follow the sign up steps in the order below (I will demonstrate the process in our Zoom class on 8/30)

*Remember, you must use your CUNY e-mail address for this only!

1. We will Sign Up for the CUNY Academic Commons Here – simply click the  “Register” button and fill in the form and complete the sign up! You will receive an e-mail that verifies your account. 

2. After you sign up for the CUNY Academic Commons, please Sign-Up for the CT101 website and use the SAME Username and e-mail address that used to sign up for the CUNY Academic Commons – this info will allow for me to send you a direct invite request from our class website to become an Author of the website. Please “accept” the invite when it arrives via e-mail. You can also accept the invite under your commons profile under “my invites” (I’ll share an example)

.. And then…. You will have access to “log in” and start blogging as a CT101 author. We wont start that part until next week though.. The log-in prompt is always located in the main navigation menu area of the website – depending on the device that you are viewing the site in, you will see it in upper right hand corner of the page via desktop or laptops, but mobile devices may see the log in prompt on the left side of the page, either way, click “Log In” and enter your Log In credentials. 

**You cant start publishing content as an author of the website on CT101 until you have completed the sign up process steps above. Please let me know if you have any issues.

More to come!

Welcome Everyone!

Here we are: CT101 – Digital Storytelling!

The Fall Semester of 2022!

Ok, this blog post is a lot things, but first and foremost it’s a welcoming! Im excited to meet everyone and share our 1st class session to connect and learn about each other. Below, that’s Nyle DiMarco, he’s a Deaf Actor and Artist, he is showing us how to say: “Nice to Meet You” in American Sign Language. I’m also Deaf and Hard of Hearing, so you can expect to learn some ASL and see more ASL GIFs this semester! I hope that you like animated GIFS, we are going use a lot of them here, and make them too!

We are going to spend a lot of time discussing ways that we communicate.

There is a lot of compelling content to cover this semester in CT101, which will happen in many fun ways!

**This is the direct URL / Link to our class Website – https://ct101.commons.gc.cuny.edu/ <—that link is where EVERYTHING is happening for CT101.

I’m not a fan of blackboard (who is?? Its outdated and clunky..) and I will only use it to remind the class about password sensitive things or send a class e-mail.

Please make sure you are familiar with the CUNY academic calendar for the semester as we will follow that..

The CT101 Class Modality / Structure – CT101 will be taught synchronously in person this semester on campus here in the lab on the 4th floor in room 4m03 (academic core building) – we will also have course work that will be assigned and completed outside of class.

Please know, I am always here to help you be the best that you can be in our course. And we are all here to do the same for each other. Our class is a community! A big part of our class is exploring your creativity and being experimental with the Internet! Plus, we will learn about the evolving array of digital tools that are available to us. We do quite a bit of the creative work from our own personal work spaces as we integrate the class work into our lives.

Please know, I will always screen-record each and every assignment’s description, how-to’s and tutorials and share those videos here on our website. Please think of this website as a repository of information, energy and inspiration for the course (and beyond!)

*The Class Website – Our class website takes place on the CUNY Academic Commons! You will soon discover that the Commons is a huge resource and regular source of inspiration and community! Im excited to share this with you all.

**This Week’s Assignment is Below**

Lets leave our first Comment!

In the comments section below (if you scroll down to the bottom of this page) Add a comment, Your comment will serve as your attendance today, but please introduce yourself! Tell us a bit about yourself, What is your name? What you are studying here at York College?  What is your favorite movie, activities, ice cream flavor? Favorite place or apps to visit on the web? What are you most interested in at this moment? Etc..) Feel free to add some links! Lets get to know each other. Also – Reply to someone’s comment, say hello and share some interests. Commenting and activity on the website is big part of our class!

**PS -I moderate all the comments to make sure that spam bots don’t spam us into oblivion! If may take a few minutes before your comment shows up, no need to submit it twice if you don’t see it appear right away ** Also, please explore this website, read through the syllabus and some of the course resources, it will be super helpful in the next coming weeks.

 

 

“Digital Storytelling” aka – CT-101 is Only One Day Away!

All hands are on deck in preparation for the kick off tomorrow at 10am!

See you there!

CT101 – Fall Semester 2022 – Coming VERY Soon!

Coming Soon! – CT101 – Fall Semester 2022

Answering this question is a bit tough now. I did not realize that yesterday was the day to submit this post. I accept full responsibility for not double-checking the deadline. I’m hoping to not receive a failing grade. Before this submission, I would say I would’ve been at a solid B. This is because I  missed one blog post. I have completed posts 1 to 11. 

This class was enjoyable for sure. I learned many new things. One of which is panoramas. Taking these photos was trial and error for the most part. Besides making gifs and memes, this class allowed me to become more familiar with Photoshop. I learned to resize photos and make sure they were of still quality. 

Here is a list of my completed assignments.

1. What Made Niko Happy This Week.
2. It’s Gif Not Jif.
3. Memes Forever!
4. Donning My Content Creation Hat
5. Creativity + Immediacy + Intuition = Niko
6. The Mid-Semester Assessment Post
7. Innate Domain
8. Building My Website
9. Customizing My Website
10. Customizing My Website (Blog Posting)
11. Panoramic Storytelling & Multiplicity

I plan on maintaining my website because I would like to use it for professional reasons. This includes adding it to my resume and Linkedin profile.

Let me introduce you to Niko Balkaran – NYC Journalist.

On the landing page, you will find my latest stories. I currently have two of them up. I decided to change this from a static page because it will give the website some variety.

Next is my Bio page. This is one that I would like to work on some more. The reason for this is that I would like to optimize it for mobile as well. I would also like to extend my biography some more.

Now, this is the page that gave me trouble. 

It was a difficult process trying to figure out how to add categorized blog posts to pages. I searched for what felt like hours before finally finding this video.

In it, the person went through how to do so step by step and introduced the grid block. I’m still experimenting with it, but it has been smooth sailing so far. And so, here’s my Broadcast page.

My next page is the Contact and Social Media page. Here you can find my email address and Twitter and Instagram. 

Photography is the next page of our tour. Here, I used a slideshow plugin to organize some photos. I discovered this plugin through a YouTube video from a few years ago. I plan to expand this and have different slideshows on this page. 

On the Radio page of our tour, this is where my future work that has aired on York College Radio will be housed. I’m in the process of reviving a news show so episodes from that will also be on here.

And now we come to the final stop of the tour; Written Pieces. Here, visitors to my site will be able to find my published stories whether it is from Pandora’s Box or some other publication. 

Overall, my website is simple in design. But, I think it is perfect for the content I will be uploading to the website. As mentioned above, the biggest challenge in building my website was figuring out the grid design for categorizing blog posts. While there may be unforeseen hurdles, I think the various skills learned in CT 101 have prepared me to tackle them. 

 

This assignment took a little getting used to. When we learned about this in class, I tried taking some panoramas with my pen. 

So, I continued to experiment.

In this first panorama, I tried to depict the story of an underdog powering up in order to stop an antagonist. The underdog, in this case, is Pikachu and the antagonist, the dragon. Looking back, I think it would’ve been better if the dragon was lying down in the third shot.

It was a challenge keeping the arrow on the line while moving around the figures. The photos before this shot either came out skewed, had my shadow covering the figures, or were cut off entirely.

My next shot at panoramic exploration is one that speaks of commuting. But that concept did not work out for me because, well, vehicles move and the shots were not great. 

This attempt was taken yesterday! It is my attempt to convey the empty halls that remain after everyone takes finals. It was taken outside of Pandora’s Box. The middle shot is meant to emphasize a neverending hallway (like the ones in dreams) to create that liminal space that schools have when there aren’t a lot of students.

This final panorama tells the story of my nephew being excited to play video games. He first comes down the stairs, then runs past the couch and finally gets to the Nintendo Switch.

Overall, this was a fun assignment. It gave me ideas on photos I would like to take in the future and how to capture a wide landscape without zooming out too much.