Tag Archives: Instagram

Features

What’s new with St. Joe’s student media?

InstaGaelNews, IGN Sports, Tik Tok, Instagram, and more. How has MSJ Student Media evolved over the years?

Currently standing at just over 5,000 followers, MSJ’s Gaels official Instagram flies high with a strong admissions team behind it. But what about the student-operated social media accounts? Last year, the MSJ community was presented with a brand new Instagram account, @instagaelnews. But what exactly is the point of this new social media account?

Students from the Multimedia Journalism class broadcasting a Varsity Basketball game

Whether we like it or not, social media is a new way to receive news, photos, videos, and other content. This social media page gives students a way to receive information from around campus, including events, game themes, exclusive interviews, and other amazing content; for students, run by students. This opportunity also allows students to show off their editing and creative skills to present to the Mount community.

@instagaelnews is the official Instagram of MSJ’s Multimedia Journalism class and student newspaper. Created last year by graduate Ethan Webber, IGN started as a small Instagram page posting interviews with students, coaches, teachers, and players about events on campus, post-game interviews, and other content. IGN has evolved to something way bigger. This social media page is home to player interviews, game recaps, live streams, Quill articles, and other student-produced content.

Something brand new to Instagaelnews is IGN Sports, a student-produced live stream and sports content for the MSJ community. This new IGN brand will bring you the 2022-2023 MSJ Gaels Varsity basketball season, exclusive interviews, behind-the-scenes content, and much more.

The Multimedia Journalism class bought new cameras and live streaming equipment to give viewers the most professional stream possible. This will produce live stats, scores, and commentary. Unlike the NFHS stream, the new live stream will be free and available to anybody around the world. Instagaelnews is constantly pumping out fresh content for viewers who currently attend or work at MSJ and graduates worldwide.

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The evolution across MSJ’s social media game has been remarkable. There are countless ways for students to keep up with events happening at their school and a method for graduates and other outside personnel to get a peek at what is happening inside and outside of MSJ. 

Quinn Wells is a junior member of the Multimedia Journalism class

Nick Paxton is a senior member of the Multimedia Journalism class

Art & Music, Features

The importance of animation

The like button has many different variations even though it means the same action. Whether you’re scrolling through Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, TikTok, or any other social media site, there will most likely be some sort of button to show your appreciation for a post. However, what’s that one thing separating the like button across all platforms and their version of the like button? The animation. It’s one small detail that is hard to notice at first, but it’s there to give that app a sense of identity. If it were to disappear suddenly, it would lose that sense of identity and would feel bland. 

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Animation is seen daily, but people might not know where to look or what it would look like. So what is animation? In simple terms, animation is a type of illusion to trick your brain into seeing movement from drawings, pictures, and CG models. What are some examples that use those types of animations? Shows on Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon use frame-by-frame animation to make 2d drawings of characters move. Movies from Disney, Pixar, and Marvel. Avengers Endgame where they had to animate the movement of Thanos or even in video games where almost everything is animated to tell the story. 

Now that we have a good reference as to what animations can be let’s talk about another place where you can find animations, Snapchat filters. Everyone who has used or knows of Snapchat has probably heard of filters. The primary term for filters is to add or remove images and backgrounds to a video or picture. Take for example, the dog filter where it adds big, floppy dog ears and a tongue. The filter’s code tracks the person’s face so the ears and tongue move along with the head, which actually follows one of the 12 principles of animation. Follow through or overlapping action. Follow-through is a crucial part of the animation process where the secondary features of the character or object, like the dog ears and tongue, follow through with the motion. An example of follow-through is a superhero flying with a cape super fast, and then stops suddenly. The superhero stops in the sky but the cape caves in around the body because of its forward motion. When you go on Snapchat, take a look at that dog filter and move your head to get a good idea of how the follow-through works.

There have been a lot of examples of animation in social media, but where else could you find it that most people would never think about? How about sports? Next time you’re watching a Football game, try and spot how many overlays there are on the screen, the transitions that cut to another camera position, and then compare them to other teams. Most teams will have their own branded transition or overlay for TV to make it more unique and personalized. It’s one detail that you might have never noticed but can make a massive impact on the game’s feeling. 

Animation is seen by everyone in today’s society even if you don’t look for it. It can be in many different forms like huge CG or 2d characters in movies and shows, overlays on sports stations, filters on Snapchat or Instagram, and the small things just like a like button.

Cooper Funk is a junior member of the Multimedia Journalism class.

Opinions

Understanding the negative effects of social media

How much time do you spend on social media?

Social media has changed the way that we interact with one another, and while it has had its positive impacts on the world, it also has adverse effects on our well-being.

Although it is okay to use and post on the various social media platforms, such as Instagram and Snapchat, it is important to take note that there are many ways that social media can be detrimental to both our mental and physical health.

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First, it can serve as a huge distraction. Everyone already knows this, and almost everyone has fallen victim at least once to the time sink of mindlessly scrolling through Instagram or TikTok, gaining little to no substance in the end. The key is moderation. This is something everyone has experienced doing, but it is important to actually put it into practice. It is way too easy to fall into the rhythm of scrolling for 20 minutes.

You may know this implicitly, but might not completely recognize right away, is that people commonly use social media to seek validation. They may post things as a way to express themselves, but ultimately, the goal of an Instagram post is to get a high number of likes and comments.

Something I noticed a while back is that often when someone posts something on Instagram, they will explicitly tell people to like and comment on that post. They shout themselves out on their Snapchat stories, and sometimes even ask other people to do the same. The phrase “like my recent” has become a common sight on Snapchat and Instagram stories. This is a testament to their need to receive likes, and positive reinforcement, on their posts.

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Seeing the number of likes go up is satisfying, and it can also be addictive. The need for validation becomes persistent and leads to comparing yourself to other people and their posts. You see that they have more followers than you do, and their posts get more likes and comments, and from there, the comparisons get worse and more frequent.

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Realize that what you see on social media is fake. No one’s life is as exciting as they are portrayed to be. People can easily doctor a photo to enhance their appearance. Knowing this is extremely important, because people can develop insecurities from comparing themselves to others on social media, and envying qualities that are seen as conventionally attractive, but are unattainable. This can lead to being self-conscious about your “faults” and even feeling depressed.

It is perfectly fine to be active on social media, because it is a fun way to stay connected with people and explore new ideas. However, if you notice that you are spending too much time scrolling through Instagram, or if you find yourself feeling insecure after seeing other people’s posts, then it is time for a break.

Gabe Henstrand is a senior member of the Multimedia Journalism class.