The Project

•What was your biggest struggle during this project?

My biggest struggle was the editing. I did not have any previous background with documentaries. Our group had to ask the helpful people at the media depot a lot.

•What aspect of the documentary makes you most proud?

I am most proud of the focus. I feel like it finally came together as what goes into the park.

•What aspect of the documentary would you have changed?

The sound quality is something I would change. With more time we might have been able to get more interviews with better sound quality.

•What aspects of the project were you personally responsible for? Please be specific as possible.

In the beginning I was documented as being in charge of the sound. I feel like that changed throughout the processes. Everyone helped out with everything.

•We can all agree that group is frustrating. What did you do to try to promote a healthy group atmosphere? What more do you wish you had done to help the group?  Do you feel like you contributed a fair amount to the overall project?

I just tried to be at all of the group meetings and help with anything I could. I feel like I did not bring that much to the table in the group but I was always there to help anyone who needed it which I feel was appreciated. I wish I had documentary expertise.

The Class

 

•This course is designed to help you hone your critical thinking skills. Was it successful?

Yes. The discussions were helpful in making me think. I liked the way that they were set up.

•Another goal of this course is to challenge you with new technologies and communication techniques. Did you enjoy learning about how different styles of communication function, or would you have preferred writing 4 essays?

I did enjoy learning to work the different types of technology but I don’t think my writing skills improved that much in this course because I did not really get any feedback on my writing. I did like the discussions in the class.

•My goal as an instructor is to help draw out the abilities you already possess, and focus them into new applications. Was my style helpful? Would you have preferred more lectures? More discussion? More homework?

I feel like it was helpful. I started thinking differently with the discussions. I feel like there could have been less of the documentary discussions even though they were fun. I feel like they did not really draw out my abilities.

•What can I do in the future to make this class better?

I really enjoyed the class.

•If you could change one thing about this course, what would it be?

Maybe more direction with the shark tank speech. I feel like it was very open ended.

Born into Coal

Born into Coal

I enjoyed watching this documentary. Coal mining is something that I do not think about a lot on a daily basis. This documentary put light on the coal miners in a unique way through the daughters of the miners’ pageants. They used the daughters and the wives of the miners to give insight into their family. There was b-roll footage of the family members doing their normal daily activities to accent the lives they live. There was footage of their homes as well as cooking and them preparing for their days. This footage was used to make transitions between the scenes and ideas of the documentary. I feel like that brought around the idea of family and their lives and what all of the family members have to deal with on a daily basis which is what I concluded about the focus of the documentary. The documentary started with scenes of the pageant and then transitioned into the families’ lives and then their thoughts about the coal industry and then went back to the pageant. There was no narration in the documentary, just the interviews. I thought that this worked out well in this case. They had a shot with words that explained the tragedy of the coal explosion and that worked because it was just enough to move into the families’ thoughts on the event. This documentary flowed through the different ideas and augments well.

Websites

Two websites that I frequent are the websites of Kroger and Publix. These stores do not exist in the same areas for the most part but they do mostly sell the same products. When you first open both of the websites they open to a picture of an already prepared meal. I find this kind of ironic because neither places sell the fully prepared meals. Just the ingredients for the meals. Both have slide shows following the opening picture of the meal. Kroger has the meal, an ad for ordering a party pan online, and a slide showing someone shopping with their smart phone asking if you have their app. The Publix page has a similar slideshow. They have the meal, a digital coupon ad, a picture showcasing their delightful workers, and then another ad for coupons. Both have a little pop up telling you to find your nearest location. This is important to the stores because you cannot really buy groceries online through these stores.  They both have a horizontal menu at the top with various options to go to what you are looking for. The websites are more set up to answer questions than to shop. They also have their digital coupons easily accessible and they have the menus to the bakery and deli easily accessible if the visitor wants to order anything special. The audience is the same for both sites.  They want to be able to go to a store to meet all of their quality grocery needs with keeping their budget and having friendly service. Publix focuses more on the friendly service and Kroger focuses more on the non- stop shopping. They show the ethos with their pictures of food. Publix also has a “What People are saying about us” section where there is a quote from a costumer. Both of the websites make good choices in regards to what they are trying to accomplish. They are simple but still have a feeling of the excellent food choices you will have once you chose to shop there.  These stores do not have many competitors but they want to make sure you know that they are still a good choice.

Visual rhetoric

Both examples of the visual rhetoric go about the issue in two ways. The first example of “No Seconds” depicts the last supper situation with pictures of only the meals already prepared and a written description with the name of the prisoner, their age, the state, what they were accused of, how they were killed, a list of the food they were severed as their last meal and any other little facts of information. The food is pictured in an almost suburban way and most of the meals are incased in fairly nice silverware. The pictures are taken from over the meal. The pictures have an almost eerie and creepy feel about them even though some of them look like they would not be completely out of place in a home goods magazine because you know that was the last meal that was eaten by someone. The second example of “The Last Meal Project” depicts basically the same subject with some differences. It shows a picture of the prisoner and then the ingredients of the meal. There is a written description with the name, the meal, the sentence, the execution time and the state. There are also various facts about the process of the death sentence shuffled within the pictures of the meals and prisoners.

The second example more examples of choices of meals that were not actually meals. It is hard to tell whether or not that is a more accurate sampling of what the inmates would normally have wanted. Both of the examples use a typewriter font which makes the examples seem more like memos.

I feel like the second example has you see the prisoner and the ingredients as objects. It gives you the facts and then you kind of imagine what that would have been like for them. The first example, on the other hand, gives you the perspective of the inmate as they were about to eat their last meal, even though it is probably depicted a little bit more glamorous than it would have been in actuality. The first example speaks to me more even though it is more visually sugar coated.

Shark Tank

My Shark tank proposal overall went well. There are many things I could improve on but I feel like I hit all the points that I wanted to during the speech. I felt knowledgeable on my topic and I feel like that showed though for the most part. The thing I can work the most on is most definitely being concise with my words. I know I can be very long winded and that showed a lot during the speech. I was nervous so I kept on talking and even sometimes repeating myself. I feel like my body language and projection was alright for the most part. I feel like just practicing the speech more would have helped with making sure that my speech was shorter and clearer. It went mostly as expected. Also maybe recording myself would have helped with making sure that I only said the points that were necessary to the point of the speech. I also focused on selling the group of Blue Note rather than the project and myself. I feel like I answered the questions well because I solely focused on answering the question and then stop talking. I think that verbally practicing the essential points for the speech with cut down on the time.  For my next speech I will work on have my points clear and straightforward and making sure that allow equal time for different segments of the speech.

Questions i hate hearing

I am involved with an activity called Winterguard. It I the sport of indoor colorguard. There is a combination of equipment that is spun along with dance to music in gyms. It is not a well-known activity so there are a lot of questions associated with it. Luckily, I have not gotten too many offensive questions. The activity is very time consuming and there are few jobs associated with the activity that are available and since it is not well known it is not exactly a great resume builder. I get a lot of questions along the lines of, “So it’s just kind of like a hobby where you twirl stuff?” Even though that is exactly what it is, the wording of the questions seem somewhat derogatory. It is a hobby because I choose to do it in my spare time but I would not really put it in the same category as knitting. I do not put it in the same category as sports because it is a sport of the arts. I just do not appreciate it being grouped in with other groups because it is so unique. I also do not like the word “twirls.” It just seems to have a negative connotation in comparison to “spins.” One time after I mentioned that I was part of Winterguard I was asked “What are you guarding?” That was just really far off of point. The activity is derived from military activities but it really is not associated with it at all anymore. I explain that it is like the flags that are in marching band inside by themselves and that always brings up, “So it’s like the movie Drumline?” That movie is a very bad representation of the marching arts and it is unfortunate that it is so culturally known. I also get “Do you get paid for it?” We all pay to do the activity because it is not cheap but people pay for many other experiences without question. Guard is just something I know I hold close to my heart so I am picky with what is said about it.  

Ted Talk

http://www.ted.com/talks/ben_cameron_tedxyyc.html

Ben Cameron starts out his speech with some facts about his own life. He lists various genres of likes he has which makes him seem similar to the listener. He lists enough of his favorite types of music and television shows that most people in the audience will relate to one or more of them and then those audience members will then pay more attention because they have something in common with the speaker. Cameron then goes on to talk about the arts, his subject. He is very confident and projects well. He uses his hands a lot but I feel like they help bring the audience along with what he is saying. Technology is very present in our modern lives and Cameron acknowledges this. The examples and statistics he makes throughout the speech makes it very relatable. His pace is comprehendible but still with a sense of urgency. He makes the subject matter seem as if it is a breaking news story and I feel like that makes it feel more interesting and significant. Cameron does not use any outside visuals through the presentation. There is just a simple curtain behind him He has a water bottle in one of his hands at all times and I think that kind of acts as a backup plan so he does not gesticulate too much.  I really enjoyed Cameron’s delivery of the speech. There was nothing that stuck out to me that made the speech ineffective. He makes the subject seem important and pressing without going over the top.