Author Archives: Liz Murphy Thomas

About Liz Murphy Thomas

Liz Murphy Thomas is a Professor of Digital Media at FSCJ. She holds a BFA in Photography from the University of Florida and was awarded an MFA in Photography and Digital Imaging from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland. Her photographic and video artwork examines issues of identity, memories and the associations we give to places and possessions.

Featured student: Stephen Hybarger

Posted on by
Reply

Stephen HybargerWhat is your name:

Stephen Hybarger

Where are you from originally?:

I’m born and raised in Jacksonville. I spent a lot of my life thinking I wanted to be a pro Baseball player and as a pitcher with 11 different pitches. I believed I could do it until I found photography through a friend in California who taught me the basics over Facebook.

A few years later I was tasked with making a video in Professor Boese’s class. I ended up making a dance documentary and after I posted it online I had people from all over come to me telling me I inspired them, since then I’ve continued shooting with the desire to inspire everyone around me as much as I can and that is how I came up with InspiredCinematics.

Why are you pursuing a degree in Digital Media:

I already do work in the Digital media field through photography and videography, I feel like getting a degree in Digital Media will allow me to further my skills in these fields as well as graphic design.

Who inspires you the most and why?

I’m most Inspired by John Morley who taught me photography when I started, Eric Thomas who is a motivational speaker and I’ve learned a lot about motivation through his words, and lastly Eric Main. He is an actor I know personally that pushes me to improve myself and reminds me just about everyday that no matter how rough things get to never give up.

What do you do off campus?

I do a lot of photography and videography of campus, I have had the opportunity to travel and do gymnastic photography with a company as well as shoot music videos for a company in downtown along with my own personal works.

What work are you most proud of?

The work I’m most proud of is a dance video I did for a friend who created an amazing choreographed dance to pay tribute to his mother that passed away.

What are some interesting facts about you:

I’m a hip-hop dancer, I drive a motorcycle, and I can sing R&B.

What is your favorite Book / Movie / Series / Video Game / Comic?

My favorite book is Angels and Demons by Dan Brown, movie is Inception, series is The Walking Dead, video game is a toss up between Call of Duty and the Need for Speed series, and comic is Superman.

What are your future goals and aspirations?

I would like to inspire and positively impact as many people through my work as I can. I would also like to own and run my own production studio shooting films and doing photography.

One thing you wish you could share with others…

No matter what your dream may be follow it and take every opportunity that comes your way because life is too short not to enjoy every second of it. I know when I look back over my life I don’t want any regrets and I hope you won’t have any either!

You can find samples of Stephen’s work on his portfolio:

InspiredCinematics

 

Our featured students are nominated by their classmates. Have someone you’d like to nominate? Please contact Professor Liz Murphy Thomas at Liz.Thomas@fscj.edu

 

It’s the summer, but don’t lose your skills

Posted on by
Reply

laptop_safe_hotThe days are warm and long, the beach and pool beckons you regularly, and friends and family are scheduling road trips – in other words, it’s the summer! Whether you are taking just a class or two or are lucky enough to have the whole summer free, summer brain drain can apply just as much in college as it did when you were in high school.

So instead of finding out that your mad Photoshop skills have degraded and that After Effects has once again become an enigma, try to keep your skills up during this time off!

Here are just a few ideas of ways you can practice (while still enjoying your time off):

Design (or update) your portfolio

You’re going to need a portfolio for the program and to get your work out to potential employers so why not get a jump-start figuring out what it’s going to look like and what kind of content you want to eventually include? If you’ve already made a portfolio, have you created any new work in the past school year that you’d like to include or swap out?

Watch some tutorial videos

This is pretty well known among the FSCJ digital media students but there are a ton of great (and free!) tutorials online that cover pretty much every piece of software we have in the labs. Was there a point your professor didn’t get to cover in as much detail or something that was especially tricky for you? There are probably some great tutorials out there for you to refresh and expand your understanding of that technique.

Give yourself an assignment

What?! This one sounds suspiciously like work, huh? But unlike assignments that you get in a class, you can design this assignment yourself!
Have you ever heard of Project 365? Well who says they have to start on January 1st? (You could start on July 1st and create your own “project 184”!) Or maybe there’s a video or animation idea you’ve had but haven’t have the time to work on it? Have you wanted to learn more about Cinemagraphs? WordPress? Pinterest? Behance? Give yourself an assignment to learn or do any of these things and you’ll find that the practice will give you a huge head start in the fall.

Whatever you choose to do, remember the important thing is to just not stagnate. Keep up with your skills, review and discover new techniques, or finally take a step towards creating that cool project that you envisioned during the school year but you knew you were just too busy at the time to attempt. August is just around the corner – be prepared!

Featured student: Justin Ache

Posted on by
Reply

Justin_AcheWhat is your name:

Justin Ache

Where are you from originally?:

I’m from all over. Born in Wisconsin, grew up in South Florida, and I have been in Jacksonville since 1997.

Why are you pursuing a degree in Digital Media:

I’ve been doing graphic design in one shape or form for the past 10 years, either contracted with companies or in jobs. I figured if I wanted to further my career (or mentor others) and manage creative progress on a larger scale, I needed to get a degree. Took me long enough to decide that, but better late than never.

Who inspires you the most and why?

The Internet inspires me. The good and the bad. I came from a traditional art background, but without spending my life in galleries, you can never learn enough about the craft. With digital media, styles and techniques change all the time. The ability to find out what is going on in real time trumps any particular individual.

What do you do off campus?

Ride my motorcycle, take photos, cook and bake, or shopping/drinking/eating local.

What work are you most proud of?

My first real client, the (now defunct) Jacksonville Barracudas. They let me design all of their print media for a season. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I tried real hard and lucked out, and I always remember that fondly. I’ve gotten a lot better over the years, so the struggle to be good isn’t as hard anymore; I miss really trying.

What are some interesting facts about you:

I ride a motorcycle. I like to cook and bake. I am one of the laziest people you will meet.

What is your favorite Book / Movie / Series / Video Game / Comic?

Batman. To all of the above.

What are your future goals and aspirations?

To better my career and become a better artist yada yada insert cliché resume goal here. No, I really want to be awesome at what I do, be it art, photography, daydreaming, etc. Ultimately, I would want to be the art director at a small to medium sized non-profit, and maybe teach digital media and graphic design on the side.

One thing you wish you could share with others…

Do what you want. Stay weird. But don’t shut yourself in, go out and meet people and figure out what makes them tick. The only way to objectively look at you is by comparing yourself to others.

You can find samples of Justin’s work on his portfolio:

www.justinache.com

 

Our featured students are nominated by their classmates. Have someone you’d like to nominate? Please contact Professor Liz Murphy Thomas at Liz.Thomas@fscj.edu

 

Featured student: Julie Bradley

Posted on by
Reply

 

julie_bradleyWhat is your name:

Julie Bradley

Where are you from originally?:

I was born in Clearwater Florida, but I was raised in Jacksonville for as long as I can remember. I have had interest in the arts since I was a child and my strongest skill is traditional drawing. I am now pursuing this degree to advance my skills in digital media.

Why are you pursuing a degree in Digital Media:

I was in an art history class here at FSCJ, while pursuing my A.A. I was lost and wasn’t sure where to push myself without feeling unsure. My professor liked my work when she saw me drawing in class, so she brought up the idea of the Digital Media Bachelor’s program since it was new at the time and she gave me more information after sparking my interest.

Who inspires you the most and why?

I can’t put my thoughts into just one person, but the people who inspire me are the ones who put countless hours into their own creations. I find inspiration in the people who can work outside of daily jobs and make projects they love come to life. The drive to develop and create their ideas makes me feel like I can do whatever I really want if I just fuel my drive to do so.

What do you do off campus?

Outside of campus I work part time to pay off bills and I work on drawings in my spare time to develop my portfolio work.

What work are you most proud of?

I don’t want to pick any one piece I’ve made, but I find a lot of pride and happiness in how far my skills have come in such a short time. My favorite works are the ones I’ve made in my 3D Animation class, as I enjoyed getting lost in the virtual world of my imagination.

What are some interesting facts about you:

  • I can spark a conversation with most anybody
  • I have interest in multicultural trends
  • I have a wide range of musical interests

What is your favorite Book / Movie / Series / Video Game / Comic?

  • Book series: “Blue is for Nightmares” by Laurie Stolarz
  • Hiyao Miyazaki films/”chick flicks”
  • Games: Kingdom Hearts series, Tomb Raider, Pokemon, Animal Crossing
  • Online games: Dragon Nest, Trickster Online

What are your future goals and aspirations?

My future goal is to work for a 2D or 3D animation studio so I can work in the animation, character design, story scripting, or environment making departments. I have a strong interest in all of those areas and so far I have not made up my mind. I plan to use that future stability to maintain my family and to support a comfortable and creative way of life.

One thing you wish you could share with others…

I wish I could share my inspiration to make more out of life with the people who want more but can’t find the will to change their status. Some people need a push and I would love to help people obtain an inspiration to get what they want.

You can find samples of Julie’s work on her portfolio:

http://veenaviera.com/portfolio/

 

Thanks for reading this newest addition to our blog! We hope to us this to feature some of the great students our program is fostering. These posts will highlight some of what they are doing and what goals they have. The featured student will be picked by their classmates and one of our talented students is responsible for contacting and collecting these stories.

Have a suggestion for a student you’d like to see featured? Please contact Professor Liz Murphy Thomas at Liz.Thomas@fscj.edu

Student work: cinemagraphs

Posted on by
1

The students in the spring DIG2142 Digital Capturing and Streaming class have just finished creating cinemagraphs.

If you are unfamiliar with the term, a cinemagraph is a digital image designed to look like a still photograph but created with the same process used to develop an animated gif. Using masking, students are able to control what appears to be moving and what remains static. The end result is a photographic-style image but with subtle, looping motion.

Here are just a few examples from the class:

Nikki Czigan

Nikki Czigan

Willie Evans

Niam Jones

Judi Ellis

Judith Ellis

Elliott-Sturges

Elliott Sturges