Toys for Tots PSA-Final

Toys For Tots PSA-Rough Cut

Fair Use Remix

This video follows fair use principle six. Principle six states, Fair use is allowed for quoting in order to recombine elements to make a new work that depends for its meaning on (often unlikely) relationships between the elements. I did this by combing clips from the movie trailers of three films starring Denzel Washington, Unstoppable, Flight, and The Book of Eli, to create a new storyline for Unstoppable.

Smooth Criminal

Scene Analysis

Shots in the first 20 seconds:
MS, 3/4 front, 6 seconds, Cliff coming through the door
MCU, frontal, 1 second, Denise talks to Cliff
MS, frontal, 2 seconds, Cliff talking
MCU, 3/4 front, 2 seconds, Denise talking

Photo Story Slideshow

Humpty Dumpty

Check out my version of the classic story Humpty Dumpy! Now complete with sound effects!

Humpty Dumpty

Audio Story Proposal

October 28, 2012

Mayeesa Mitchell

Mediated Communications 1111-06

Professor Bradley Lambert

Audio Story Proposal

            For this project, I will be working with Sierra Middlebrooks. Together, we have decided to center our audio story around the naratives of children who grew up with divorced parents. We have confirmed an interview with Sierra, Brittany Muldoon and Lily Chalfant. We intended to ask them about the experiences they had, whether good or bad, as a result of their parents' divorce while growing up. Depending on the interviewees personal experiences, the conflict could be person vs. society, person vs. another person, or person vs. him/herself. We plan to collect any sounds needed for this story from royalty free music websites or create them by recording around campus.

Vox Pop

This is a pretty simple vox pop asking my classmates what is music.

What is music

"As if High School isn't hard enough"

I listened to a Storycorps Podcast in which Tierra Jackson talks to her High School principal about the struggles she was going through when she first started at the school.

When Tierra Jackson's mother was incarcerated, she found herself homeless at the age of 14 and left to care for her brother. A gracious aunt too them in but times were still rough as the 7 cousins shared one bedroom and Jackson traveled by bus for an hour and a half to get to school. She reflects on the time  when she was too embarrassed to tell anyone that she could not afford the necessary school suppliers or that she was constantly late to school because of the long bus ride. Eventually, her aunt sent her to school with a note explaining the situation that she was in. Jackson remembers how one teacher brought in a bag of supplies for her but never treated her differently after that. Now, at the age of 23, she's in college, working part-time, and caring for her mother and brother.

Conflict: Person vs. scociety

Vox Pox Proposal

Question: What is music?

I chose this question because it requires more than a yes or no answer. The answer to this question could also lead to some interesting stories as to why a person defines music a certain way. I also believe that it gives you some insight to the person that you are interviewing.

This American Life....

October 22, 2012

Mayeesa

Mediated Communications 1111-06

Professor Bradley Lambert

Podcast Analysis

Podcast Name: This American Life, Episode 475- Send A Message- 06.28.12

            In this episode, Ira Glass uncovers how communication can be skewed; intentionally and unintentionally. Through the light-hearted conversational style that is trademark to "This American Life", Glass tells the stories of messages relayed through various mediums who's recipients try their best to decipher their meanings.

            The prologue introduces the theme of the episode through an interview with reporter Josh Bearman. He tells about the misguided decoding of scrambled messages sent from Galileo to Johannes Kepler in the 17th century. In the first act, the story of a traveling pair of pants and pink dress is uncovered as Producer Brian Reid reports. Reid tells of a family whose tradition is to send the message of an unborn child's gender through these garments to a pregnant woman in the family originated 35 years ago and has been right (almost) every time.  Act 2, features the audio of comedian Dave Hill during a live show at the Cameo Gallery in Brooklyn where he tells the story of his adventure in a New York subway station.  A homeless man threatens Hill and he learns that messages can still come in bottles.

            In the 3rd act, Sonari Glinton, a reporter for NPR news tells about his childhood in Chicago's South Side and how a messenger is sometimes more important than the message. The White principle of Glinton's grade school changed his ideas of Jesus' image by simply changing the crucifix that adorned the front of the classroom. Nancy Updike brings the final act, telling the story of how one father recorded conversations with his family at home and in his car in which he tried to get them on his side after his wife left him. 12 years after his father's death, Bill finally decided to listen to the tapes and discovered that he wasn't as heroic as he believed he was.

            I found the most compelling portion of this podcast to be act 3 in which Sonari Glinton talks about his grade school principle, Sister Rosemary Brennan. Glinton does very well in setting the scene of the time period; explaining how important Jesse Jackson's run for presidency was to his community and telling how the South Side of Chicago, his childhood neighborhood, became increasingly black during his grade school years. At first , these facts seem unimportant but  the relevance becomes apparent as Glinton goes into the story of how Sister Brennan changed the crucifix in each of the classrooms in his Catholic grade school. Glinton uses great imagery describing his principal as a short Irish woman who stood on her tiptoes onto of a chair to reach the crucifix in his classroom. Through Glinton's description of Sister Brennan we as listeners gain an instant respect for her knowing that she quietly demanded it. The conflict of the story was Sister Brennan replacing the White Jesus crucifix, that had been a main fixture in each classroom, with a Black Jesus crucifix. She allowed Glinton and the other students in the class to believe that the only sinless man to walk this Earth looked like them. I believe the final aspect of the segment, a song by Nina Hagen entitled "Personal Jesus" brought it all together helping the listener to understand the moral of the story.

 

Podcast Analysis

October 10, 2012

Mayeesa 

Mediated Communications 1111-06

Professor Bradley Lambert

Podcast Analysis

Podcast Name: Scandal: Revealed

Episode Title: Season 2 premiere

Host: Betsy Beers, Executive Producer of Scandal

Producer: Disney-ABC Television Group Digital Broadcast Communications and Production

            In this episode, Betsy Beers has a very informal interview with Kerry Washington, lead actress of the television show "Scandal". Together, the two discuss the most recent episode of the hit drama and shed some insight to what happens behind the scenes. Through Beers' gentle conversational prompts, Washington goes on to describe how she hides behind the coach in the Oval Office on set during a "phone call" scene to help her co-star. Beers mentions Washington's love of fresh cut fruit succeeding to paint her as a regular woman rather than the celebrity light that is normally cast upon her. Throughout the podcast it is clear to see that Beers and Washington are very comfortable with each other and the love of their individual jobs is experience by the listeners throughout the interview.

            This podcast is in the TV & Film category because it can be considered a promotional mechanism for the television show. This episode of the podcast seems to fit the typical overall theme of "getting to know the actor/actress" very well. This podcast was very engaging mostly due to the fact that Beers was able to make Washington very relatable to the listener. She also had an incredibly descriptive quality along with a lightheartedness that made you want to keep listening. Overall the podcast had amazing sound quality and absolutely no technical mistakes.  Being that Disney-ABC produced it, I believe it is safe to say that it was made professionally. 

Blending Styles

Layer Styles

Chocoholics Anonymous

Our assignment was to get into groups and pick a fake product our a cause that we would design advertisement for. My group chose to "Chocoholics Anonymous" Our first step was to create a log for our cause. Above is the logo that I created. I believe that this is appropriate because it lets you know immediately that it is about chocolate due to the fusion of the snickers logo. The font I used also helps to make the connection to chocolate. Additionally, the name of the cause is clearly which immediately lets you know what the cause is.

Shape Animal

Our assignment today was to create an animal completely out of shape tools in photoshop. Here's mine:

Can you tell what it is??

It's All In The Font

Our class assignment on Wednesday was to choose six words and find a font that personified the meaning of the word. Here's mine!

I choose Times New Roman for classic because it is very common and is accepted as a "formal font".
I chose that specific font for sad because it reminded me of someone crying with the drip patterns.
I chose that specific font for edgy because the font has many edges in it and it is not typical.
I chose that specific font for soft because the lightness of the strokes and the basic cursive helped it to make minimal impression, therefore making it soft.
I chose that specific font for friendly because the  letters being close together, touching each other, makes it seem like a group of friends and the heart above the eye shows the love.
I chose that specific font for private because the nailed on wood gives the impression of a hand made "keep out" sign.

Adjustment Layers

Crop Project

Our assignment was to crop a picture using the prospective crop tool in Photoshop.

Here's my before of Wilson Hall:

and here's after I used the prospective crop tool:

Can you tell the difference?

Lead Photo

As I develop my photo story idea, I'm starting to think of how I would like my story to be presented. The first step, is to select my lead photo. This photo is going to be the biggest on the page and will be the image that grabs the views attention so that I have the opportunity to convey my story. As I stated in a previous post, my photo story is about the function and symbolism of the water features and fountains around campus. I am using the above photo as my lead story because the viewers eye is drawn into the students. I believe that it makes viewers wonder what the story is about.

Wise Eyes

Today's assignment was to go out on the promenade, select a statue to shoot and take at least 10 photos using the elements of good composition. I chose to photograph Rosa Parks.

Of the ten pictures I took, this one is my favorite:

This photo encompasses the elements of balance and lines. I wanted the viewer to see the sincerity and wisdom that the artist was able to capture when creating this statue. The bridge of Ms. Parks nose and the rim of her glasses help your eye to be drawn to her eyes. The out of focus tree in the background helps to create a sense of balance.

The Photo Story Proposal

"Water is life's mater and matrix, mother and medium. There is no life without water."

-Albert Szent Gyorgyi, Noble Prize Winner

As High Point University went through its revitalization process during the last 5 years it is clear that the importance of water was understood. As stated by Albert Szent Gyorgi, water is the key to life . It can symbolize purity, renewal, transformation and motion. The fountains around campus involve all of this,. As an HPU student, I find these water features relaxing and calming. With this photo story, I intend to show the importance of the fountains around campus and how thy affect us as student.

I plan to shoot over the next week during different times of day and night. The sunrise and sunset reflecting on the water will relay the calming emotions that are experienced in person. I would also like to convey how High Point University uses the symbolism of these water features to inspire their students. One particular photo I intent to shoot will be a few students touching the water fountains behind the amphitheater. During the honor code ceremony, students are instructed to touch these water fountains during their first week of classes as a symbol of good luck. I want to capture the joy that freshmen feel during their first week on campus through my photo. 

My working headline for my photo story is "Featuring Fountains".

First Post!

Hey guys!

My name is May and I'm taking Comm 1111 at HPU!! I'm really looking forward to leaning about all the softwares necessary for use as a Journalist. I'm super excited about entering the "Mac World". I've never really had a lot of experiences with Mac's so this should be interesting.

Until next time,

May