About the Artist
How did you hear about Citizens for Global Solutions Flash Contest?
I heard about the Flash Contest through Fastweb, an online information
source that provides news and updates regarding available scholarships.
Was this your first Flash piece? How did you first learn Flash?
Fortunately, I've had the benefit of prior Flash experience. I was
first introduced to Flash when I took a multimedia class at Texas
A&M that focused on using computers to create artistic works that
contain visual, audio, and interactive elements. I really enjoyed the
class so I continued to poke around with it even after the semester had
ended. It's an incredibly complex multi-media tool with seemingly
limitless possibilities. I'm still trying to learn more about it!
How did you choose your topic –OR- Why is your topic important to you?
The topic of energy conservation is important to me because it is
becoming clearer all the time that it is a growing issue that needs to
be addressed. I try to be as efficient as possible with my studies and
work, and I suppose that characteristic has transcended into my
everyday life as well. If I can buy one fluorescent light bulb that
lasts three times as long as an incandescent AND uses less energy, then
I don't have to keep changing it all the time and pay too much for the
same amount of light. What's not to like? What's more is that if
everybody were aware of the immediate benefits, there would be a
significant impact on the amount of energy consumed, which has awesome
environmental benefits. It's a win-win situation, we just need to get
the word out.
Before the contest, did you consider yourself fairly knowledgeable
about global issues? Has this contest opened your eyes in any way?
I considered myself to be fairly knowledgeable, but after delving into
the key issues I was most interested in, I was really blown away by how
much of what I thought I knew wasn't accurate! Since I had
misconceptions about energy issues I'm sure others do as well, which is
why I chose the topic of energy conservation.
Did you have any weird, funny, horrible, or in some other way memorable
moments during the making of your Flash piece for this contest?
Yes:
I had just finished the main animation parts and I was working on
getting the sound effects I needed. Most of the sounds I found easily
(thank you, creative commons!) but others were eluding me, so I decided
to try my luck at recording my own sounds. I had good results making
the "unscrewing light bulb" sound by simply saying "shook, shook" into
the microphone, but the gibberish sound was... interesting.
I had just started recording the "gibberish" that the main character
speaks into the telephone, when my wife walked past the bedroom. She
leaned back into the doorway with such an inquisitive expression on her
face as she witnessed me with my hands cupped around a cheap
microphone, leaning over and making "Charlie Brown's Teacher" sounds
into my fist! I'm sure she thought that I had finally cracked from my
2-week long Flash-binge.
Any last words/Anything else you’d like for us and the flash viewers to know?
Not much else to say except for a resounding Thank-you to all of you at
CGS for making this educational contest opportunity available. I had a
lot of fun working on it and I learned a great deal in the process.
(Ding!) It feels great to have made it this far! Thanks again for your
consideration!
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