Original video URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuLKvcn-c7A

This is the video I changed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0T2Lo_m_fKo&feature=youtu.be

The media I changed is a video. The original video is a scene of flowers, and warm sunshine, with relaxed and cheerful music, brings a feeling of relaxation and pleasure. I try to change the feeling that this video brings to the audience to an exactly opposite feeling, from optimism to sadness.

• The first thing I did was I changed the color of the video. The original color is mainly yellow, giving people a warm and happy feeling. I lowered the saturation of the color, and the hue is more cold.Because different colors can bring different psychological effects. Color can be divided into two main categories: warm and cool. Warm colors – such as red, orange and yellow – ‘can spark a variety of emotions ranging from comfort and warmth to hostility and agmainger(Color Psychology: The Emotional Effects of Colors, n.d.)’. Cool colors – such as green, purple and blue – ‘often spark feelings of calmness as well as sadness(ibid)’.
• In order to create a sad emotion, I added a raindrop effect to make the weather look bad, Because rain gives people a sense of powerlessness and coldness. ‘The weather supplies many metaphors for our changeable minds. Moods can brighten and darken, Weather provides a vivid language for describing our emotional atmosphere.(Here comes the sun: how the weather affects our mood, 2013)’
• Then I thought of a theme for this video: Parting. So I added a trembling and window shadow effect. The video appears to be taken in a driving train, a feeling of leaving.
• Then, I added a quote from Andy Bernard : “I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them.” The text help video expresses the theme more clearly , so audience can really empathize with the video.
• Finally, and most importantly, music. I removed the original music. The background music of the original video includes the sound of nature (bird calls), giving people a feeling of full of vitality and yearning for life. I switched the music to a slower rhythm violin solo music, which brought a sense of loneliness and sadness. ‘Music and mood are closely interrelated — listening to a sad or happy song on the radio can make you feel more sad or happy. However, such mood changes not only affect how you feel, they also change your perception.(Music changes perception,2011).’
• The above is all the changes, through a variety of methods, such as sound, color, weather, and other factors.

Reference:

• Art Therapy, n.d., Color Psychology: The Emotional Effects of Colors, viewed 30 August 2019, <http://www.arttherapyblog.com/online/color-psychology-psychologica-effects-of-colors/#.XWj755Mzanc>.
• The Conversation, 2013, Here comes the sun: how the weather affects our mood, viewed 30 August 2019, <http://theconversation.com/here-comes-the-sun-how-the-weather-affects-our-mood-19183>.
• Science Daily, 2011, Music changes perception, viewed 30 August 2019, <https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110427101606.htm>.

I turned a cat picture into a thank you sticker. I found a lot of cat pictures on the Internet. I chose this picture in the end because the eyes of the cat are fascinating, reminiscent of the eyes when humans are touched. Then I used software to add blush to the cat to make it look more cute. Then I added the dialog box and the text ‘Thank you.’ This combination of text and images is more expressive than plain text. For example, when you chatting with your classmate, you want to say thank you, just saying “thank you” sounds very dull. However, the combination of pictures and text can vividly express your gratitude. When humans first come into contact with the network, they are limited by technology and hardware. When people communicate on the network, they can only send text because the text is the easiest form to spread and the most resource-saving. In recent years, technology becomes mature, the Internet has become more developed, and pictures & sticker & even videos have become an important form of communication. Although the text is brief, the words are not abundant enough when describing things (emotions, feelings) or expressing feelings. Pictures & sticker can include a larger amount of information, more intuitive, more impactful, and more attractive. So when expressing simple everyday language, such as goodbye, hello, thank you, good, no problem, and so on, the combination of text and images are the best choice.

First, I found a picture of a cupcake with a pink background from the Internet. My goal is to turn this picture into a video birthday card with sound. I chose this photo because of its color, ‘The color pink is thought to be a calming color associated with love, kindness, and femininity. Some shades of pink are described as relaxing, while very bright, vibrant Shades can be stimulating or even aggravating.(Cherry 2019) ‘So I think pink is perfect for birthday cards. Then I added some text to the picture ‘Happy Birthday’. The text can express the content and intent of the card very directly. Then I added some greetings below. I also added some colored dot patterns. Because the dense colored dots are reminiscent of the atmosphere of the festival. . At the same time, the color makes people feel excited and happy. Finally, I turned it into a short a few seconds video with cheerful music. ‘Music has been reported to evoke the full range of human emotion : from sad, nostalgic, and tense, to happy, relaxed, calm, and joyous.(Ahtisaari 2015)’ Music can drive emotions. This small video can be sent via email or in chat software. It is a very useful greeting card. Compared to traditional paper greeting cards, electronic forms of greeting cards are more environmentally friendly and can be saved and sent to other friends in the future. Traditional paper greeting cards can only be used once. This is the benefit of e-cards.

Reference:

• Cherry, K. 2019,  The Color Psychology of Pink – How Does Pink Make You Feel?, verywellmind, viewed 13 September 2019, <https://www.verywellmind.com/the-color-psychology-of-pink-2795819>.

• Ahtisaari, M. 2015, Music and Emotion, Sync Project, viewed 13 September 2019, <http://syncproject.co/blog/2015/7/21/music-and-emotion>.

Digital literacy is the skill of knowing how to use technology and ability to effectively find out information, navigation, evaluate, communicate, create information and sharing it socially using a variety of tools in digital environments. We need digital literacy everywhere all the time nowadays, for work, social, education and so many more. Information can be many different forms, it could be a text message, a video, audio, and images(Digital literacy and why it matters 2014).

For me, I love baking and editing videos so I record the process of baking, e.g. making donuts, after shooting and editing, I post them on different social media such as youtube and Bilibili, and then I will post an image of finished baking goods with video links to other photo platforms such as Instagram. Those who like my video can like, comment and forward the video or if they have a friend who likes baking, they can @ them to let them see this video. Through digital literacy, I met many people with similar hobbies, we discuss and make progress together, and we became a small community. So, based on my experiences and understandings, I think digital literacy is a ‘tool’ to search, navigate, communicate and share information, and people can form communities with people who share their ideas and beliefs.

Reference:Digital literacy and why it matters 2014, Video, University of Derby, Derby, England.