Methodology Reflection
Figure 1. The Convergence Movie Image Visualization.
IMJ Visual Analysis of “The Convergence”
Teaching Material on Image Visualization
Throughout my time as a tutor I have encountered various tools. I have worked with everything and anything from ARCGIS to Logic Pro X. However, one tool that has always intimidated me is ImageMagick. As a tutor, I have attempted to help people with this tool, but I have never fully succeeded. So when this methodology module came around, I looked at the choices and saw image visualization and ImageMagick. Even though I have tried to help students work with ImageMagick, I did not have a clear idea of all the uses for this tool. Consequently, I researched ImageMagick and its uses in relation to this assignment. According to ImageMagick’s website, the tool uses command line code to read and process mega-, giga-, or tera-pixel image sizes.
Now, with a better grasp of what ImageMagick is used for, I began to brainstorm about what I wanted to visualize using the tool. While I was trying to decide what movie or video to visualize, I was at work when our boss tasked us with writing the sequel to The Convergence. The Convergence was a short film that the Division of Teaching and Learning Technologies and the Digital Knowledge Center created. In this short film, a tutor, Kutoof, meets with Martha Burtis, the head of the DKC, for her exit interview before graduation. A series of weird events forces Kutoof to run away from a malevolent force. In order to write the sequel, I was analyzing with analyzing and evaluating the original Convergence movie. Thus, I decided to use this assignment as an opportunity to investigate the color patterns The Convergence had.
To begin, I downloaded the movie from YouTube using 4K Video Downloader. I then used VLC to extract frames from The Convergence movie. This step took me awhile as the directions I was using were unclear and required me to find supplemental instructions on where to find certain options. After getting the frames of the video, I started to download ImageMagick. As it turns out, ImageMagick lacks a lot of documentation on how to use it. I grew very frustrated because I have not really worked with command line code and could not visually see what I was doing. I was able to extract all of the ImageMagick code, but it still did not work. Once again, my frustration grew and I decided to change my plans. That is when I discovered that Zachary Whalen had made a tool that does not require ImageMagick at all. Even though I initially set out to master ImageMagick, I decided to use Zach’s tool instead because I did not have all the resources to grapple with ImageMagick. Using Zach’s IMJ tool I was able to compile all the frames, the average color, the dominant color, and the color palettes of The Convergence movie.
This project helped me actually learn image visualization first hand. For so long, image visualization has been a nebule topic for me. I think that this module gave me a good first taste of what ImageMagick can do. In the future, I will definitely use ImageMagick to do more visual analysis and possibly even to make art. In terms of my digital identity, I will be posting this visualization on my website. Furthermore, since I will be creating the second Convergence movie my name will be associated with that. In essence, this movie will become a large part of my digital identity as a content creator. I think that image visualizations and movies are strange outlets for my digital identity, but I think that since they are off the wall they will be meaningful ways for me to express who I am. Additionally, The Convergence sequel will relate back to my digital identity project of conscious digital minimalism as I will selectively post things about the movie on my website. For example, I will post the trailer, the full movie, and any advertisements on my website. However, I will not put any behind the scenes work of my editing process as I want people to hire me based off my final product and not on the unfinished, editing process. Lastly, learning how to look at a movie and its use of color is a great skill for me to have that I can apply to movie creation or analysis.
I think that image visualization is an important topic in today’s day and age. With smart phones being able to record in 4K and at 60 frames per second, each person becomes a creator. This relates back to our readings of “Video Composition Rules: Establishing, Medium and Close-up Shots” as anyone can learn video skills to become a better content creator. Because everyone is a creator, everyone also is an audience for each other. Thus, image visualizations like mine are valuable because they can help us understand the content we view. Image visualizations also raise the stakes because they allow us to interact and break apart the videos we watch to understand their color schemes or ideas they are trying to convey. All in all, I think that image visualization is becoming an important topic in our lives as everyone is both a creator and a receiver of visuals that need to be analyzed in order to fully understand them.
References
Stommel, Jesse, director. The Convergence. YouTube, 5 Oct. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1leBpE5mOg&feature=youtu.be.
LLC, ImageMagick. “Convert, Edit, Or Compose Bitmap Images @ Imagemagick”. Imagemagick.Org, 2018, https://www.imagemagick.org/script/index.php. Accessed 25 Oct 2018.
“Video Composition Rules: Establishing, Medium and Close-up Shots.” Video Composition Rules: Establishing, Medium & Close-up Shots from Nikon, Nikon USA, www.nikonusa.com/en/learn-and-explore/a/tips-and-techniques/video-composition-rules-establishing-medium-and-close-up-shots.html.
