19th Annual Undergraduate Scholars in Action Days

Class of '23: A Journey Through Extraordinary Times

Multimedia Presentation
Presenters: Jamarius Russell, Garrett Cote, Alberto Martinez-Gonzalez, Braeden Shea, Carley Crain
Faculty Sponsor:  Marty Dobrow

"The Class of ’23: A Journey Through Extraordinary Times” is a documentary in progress on the remarkable experiences of the class that is about to graduate. They were the last class to come in before the Covid pandemic. Their college years have played out against a backdrop of incredible tumultuousness: not just about Covid, but all of the anguish around racial and political turmoil. We have seen the murder of George Floyd and national protests connected with the Black Lives Matter movement. We have witnessed the chaos of January 6, the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and the first-ever indictment of a President of the United States. On campus, students have had to grapple with all kinds of isolation: masking, social distancing, and the checkerboard challenge of Zoom classes. They have battled mental health struggles that have afflicted students across the country. But they have also found joy and success in little moments. They have forged the bond of a shared journey unlike any that college students have ever experienced before. This is their story as commencement—with its iconic ending and beginning—approaches.

Virtual Reality Immersive Experience

Multimedia Presentation
Presenters: Rachel Justice, Dante, Andreas, Haley, Fitzroy, Matthew, Keira
Faculty Sponsor:  Harold Indelicato

Collective Virtual Reality Immersive Environment Walkthrough.

Video link: Collective Virtual Reality Immersive Environment Walkthrough

Kinetic Type Animation

Multimedia Presentation
Presenters: Haley Livesay
Faculty Sponsor:   Meghan Gaul

What is Kinetic Type? This method of graphics in motion refers to a type of animation that combines moving text with audio to create a visually dynamic and engaging video. As a project in my motion graphics class, here at Springfield College, I chose to create a kinetic type animation from a scene of a popular animated TV series, Bob’s Burgers. This motion graphic utilizes typography to set the tone of the animation, without the use of images. To begin, I chose an audio clip and cued every word to its exact timing in Adobe After Effects, after formatting the project to its correct specifications (1920x1080 pixels, 29.97 fps). In the audio clip that I chose to use, there are multiple characters being represented, therefore, I used colors to differentiate between the characters. I also chose to set the text to Comic Sans to represent the comedic animation reality of the original video. Starting in Adobe Illustrator, I created still image scenes and then moved into Adobe After Effects to animate the scenes in accordance with the appropriate tone. After repeating this process and experimenting with several ways of manual animation, the animation was complete. From there, I used Adobe Media Encoder to export the project to a .mp4 file, or a video.

Labyrinth Title Sequence Reimagined

Multimedia Presentation
Presenters: Noel Bollenbach
Faculty Sponsor:   Meghan Gaul

This piece is an updated and reimagined opening title sequence to the movie Labyrinth. 

The Labyrinth was produced in 1986 and made with incredible practical effects and detailed puppetry work. However, digital effects and editing were not as advanced as they are today, and effects used in the opening title sequence have fallen victim to time. Last semester I worked to help bring this title sequence into the 21st century adding digital effects while working to still keep the same mystical and magical aesthetic of the film. I accomplished this by incorporating many of the practical effects as new digital renditions and matching the movie’s color scheme and magical nature. I kept a mainly dark background to illustrate the uncertainty of which path is best and whats to come next in the Labyrinth. While working to make a visually pleasing and intriguing piece, I made sure to keep the names of those who helped to create this film at the center of focus and appreciation. Each name included in the opening title sequence has worked hard and contributed significantly to the production and creation of this movie, so it is vitally important to ensure that the piece doesn’t distract from but works to celebrate their name and accomplishments. 

Geometric Sound

Multimedia Presentation
Presenters: Prashant Timalsina
Faculty Sponsor: Meghan Gaul

According to the renowned Abstract Expressionist painter Wassily Kandinsky in his book "Concerning The Spiritual in Art," "Color is the keyboard, the eyes are the hammers, the soul is the piano with many strings. The artist is the hand which plays, touching one key or another, to cause vibrations in the soul." Kandinsky believed that music could be conveyed visually, and his works were a testament to this belief. Taking inspiration from his ideas, I created a geometric/abstract sound animation for my third major assignment on Motion Graphics in the fall of 2022.

The animation effectively expresses the movement, rhythm, and pace of the chosen royalty-free audio track by utilizing geometric forms, thereby producing a captivating visual representation of the music. The use of abstract forms and colors enables the viewer to experience the emotions and energy of the music without being hindered by the presence of lyrics. The animation is composed of different scenes and forms, which provide variety and maintain the viewer's engagement, culminating in a satisfactory and comprehensive ending. It is an exemplar of the visualization of music.

The Reeling Animation

Multimedia Presentation
Presenters: Noel Bollenbach
Faculty Sponsor: Meghan Gaul

This Piece is a project created in the hopes of expressing sound using geometric forms. The song I chose in the background is The Reeling by Passion Pit. This album is one that I’ve loved for as long as I can remember. I chose this song specifically because of the number of layers to the piece. The dynamic tempo allowed for many different animations for each layer of the song. I chose mainly warm yellows, pinks, and oranges with a contrasting deep blue to pay tribute to the Manners album art. The album art is alive, and movement is very visible, even in a still image. The vines in the image appear to be moving and coming right at you. It was a large goal of mine to reflect this in my piece by adding many dynamic moving animations to keep their viewers’ eyes entertained and always on the move without overwhelming them. This was my second project using Adobe After Effects. It was a bit difficult to try to bring many of my original thumbnail sketch ideas into the final product. However, this opened up a door for creative exploration, and I was able to really dive in and get to know the software and find creative solutions to create a piece I felt visually represented the way The Reeling made me feel.

Multimedia Zine: The Guide to a Healthy Lifestyle

Multimedia Presentation
Presenters: Tatiana De Oliveira, Alberto Martinez, Jamarius Russell, Liam Reilly,  Kael Donley, Tucker Paquette
Faculty Sponsor:   Dr. Fadia Nordtveit

Our zine is about how to maintain physical and mental health with resources for our reader to look at. Some of our resources include diets, mental health resources, and what kind of nutrition one should have to lead a healthy life. We chose this topic because we are all very passionate about living a healthy lifestyle and see how it’s not spoken enough about. 

The Pressures of Being a College Student

Multimedia Presentation
Presenters: Kaitlyn Kupiec, Corey Raftery, Maksym Kalinin,  Jaelen Daubon, Justin Manning, Ty Farren, Chris Walkey
Faculty Sponsor:   Dr. Fadia Nordtveit

This zine is about the pressures of being a college student and how to manage those pressures in a college environment. Included in this multimedia zine, we have sections dedicated to time management, social life, outside activities/work, diversity,financial, stress, and self-care/mental health. We, being college students, wanted to work on this topic because we can easily give advice and help others who are struggling.This zine is about the pressures of being a college student and how to manage them. Included in this presentation we have time management, social life, outside activities/work, diversity, financial, stress, and self-care/mental health. We, being college students, wanted to work on this topic because we can easily give advice and help others who are struggling.

AI Art

Multimedia Presentation
Presenters: Fitzroy Mayhew II, Matt Winter, Keira Droney, Haley Livesay, Dante DiGiovanni, Andreas Varnauskas
Faculty Sponsor: Harold InDelicato

Our class tested out the A.I. art generator and here is some of the art work