nov. 9, 2016
tribal entertainment
New techniques, new knowledge The growing popularity of Snapchat has made its way into teacher Ellen Villard’s classroom. As a way to spark student interest in a competitive nature, Villard assigned a project in her in Digital Multimedia classes to create a Snapchat geofilter for Wando. The ultimate goal was to have a filter accepted. The classes used Adobe Illustrator to design the geofilters. This is a vector-based program that the allows users to control the size and shape of their drawings with ease. The geofilter project became a way for students to become more involved in the technology that is constantly growing and improving. “It brought some real-world application into the classroom, which I thought was kind of neat,” Villard said. Sophomore Jonah Arnold was in Villard’s Digital Multimedia class in the first semester of last year. As current president of the film club, Arnold uses the techniques he learned for Adobe Illustrator in both his hobbies and future career. “Working with Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator is hugely beneficial if you’re getting into computer and graphics design,” Arnold said. Creating geofilters also became a way for Villard’s students to grow and expand their knowledge. “It teaches them a lot about themselves and that they can do stuff,” Villard said, “even though it seems hard at first.” --Chloe McMaster
Public display of
expression
Luciana Scholtens // photo
(Top) Junior Lydia Gardner focuses on creating a new Snapchat filter using Adobe Illustrator on her computer. Gardner first learned how to use Illustrator in digital multimedia. (Bottom left) Gardner designed a geofilter that is featured in downtown Charleston, and is her second filter to be accepted.
Gardner finds new hobby through Snapchat filters
I
Chloe McMaster
staff writer
Initially, junior Lydia Gardner brushed off the email notification. It could be anything. But the subject caught her eye. It read “Congratulations.” Gardner was in the process of writing a paper, but the email from Snapchat was too distracting. She opened the email to reveal that her Charleston geofilter creation had been accepted and added to Snapchat’s collection. Gardner had already created a Wando filter that was added, but the Charleston geofilter reflected her ability more. “I started crying,” Gardner said. “I just looked at my dad and my sister, and [said], ‘it got accepted.’” That night, the Gardner family went downtown to celebrate the filter’s acceptance. They had dinner at Gardner’s grandparents’ house and was able to access the filter from there. “It was probably one of the best moments of my life,” Gardner said. The geofilter is accessible downtown and features the pineapple fountain at Waterfront Park. The idea to use the pineapple fountain came from Gardner’s sister, Sophie, a senior.
“We were actually on a plane to go on a trip,” Gardner said, “and I was sitting there just tracing this picture and… [Sophie] inspired me to do the pineapple fountain and gave me her feedback.” After the Charleston geofilter was accepted, Gardner received a lot of positivity and compliments along with plenty of pictures of friends using her creation. She then went to Emily McNeeley, her current Digital Multimedia teacher. Gardner learned how to create the geofilters during a unit that focuses on Adobe Illustrator, and she wanted to share her good news with McNeeley. “She’s a student that you can show her something and then she just goes with it,” McNeeley said. “she doesn’t just stop with what I teach her.” “I think that was a cool experience for her and me both, [to] be able to apply things that you learn in a 90-minute class period,” Gardner said. Gardner has found a new hobby in creating these geofilters, but some of her favorites have
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been denied. She started creating another geofilter for Wando because the first one, which was accepted, wasn’t her best work. “It had a lot of sentimental detail in it. I added a quote from somebody who really inspires me, and I thought it tied really well into our school,” Gardner said. The quote was “find your tribe, love them hard,” which is the motto that Kara Slick lives by. Slick is a close family friend to Gardner who recently went through a life-altering event that affected Gardner’s life as well. Slick and the motto she lives by inspired Gardner to create a geofilter that was much more detailed and personal. “There’s times where I will just fall in love with a geofilter,” Gardner said, “then send it and it’ll get rejected.” However, Gardner continues to create geofilters in her free time as her friends and family continue to motivate her. “It’s honestly probably the biggest confidence-booster just because Snapchat is such a big corporation,” Gardner said, “and seeing people use it was just another thing that like… ‘I made that, I put my everything into that and they’re using it and they love it.’”
“She’s a student that you can show her something and then she just goes with it.” Emily McNeely, digital multimedia teacher
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