Refelection- Looking back on the Ramrod's Champlain College Video!

A. The planning of the video, the ideas and the script were all discussed as a group effort. My personal job in the group was to bring the props for the video ( Champlain College seal, pictures of the Catamount, Baron, and Beaver) and act in the video as the naive college freshman in need of Champlain!

B. Somewhere between at B+ and A-. I felt I contributed well to the group and always shared my opinions and ideas with them during group meetings. I came prepared to the meetings with my assigned materials so we could productive as a team. I also actively participated in the shooting of the video and got to have my first acting debut.

C. I found the hardest aspect of the video to be finding a time when all four of us could meet for a long enough period to get done what we needed to. We made it work, but it took a lot of communication. We also had some difficulty starting the filming of the video. We all knew what we wanted it to be like in our heads, but it was difficult at first to find the right way to start going about it. But once we got started, it flowed well and we all just had fun playing around with different scenes.

D. Other than finishing, the most rewarding part of the video for me was watching some of the editing. I'm not savvy in anyway with video cameras or editing on the computer. So when we all met in the Mac lab and Dylan worked with the editing software, it was very cool to see what he was capable of doing with the footage. I have a greater appreciation for the creative process that is used to edit videos.

Final Exam Part Two- My Growing Relationship With Media Day To Day

Cosmopolitan February 1965( Photo from collectorsquest.com)

SUNDAY: I am a creature of habit. I have a very strict Sunday routine that I rarely ever stray from . Every Sunday around five, I go to the pharmacy and buy three or four magazines (either tabloid trash or fashion) and a new nail polish. I spend majority of Sunday night giving myself a mani/pedi and reading all the magazines back to back. I use this time as a starting point of my week. I find myself both relaxed and excited at the same time when I read magazines on Sunday. Cosmopolitan is one of my favorite magazines and definitely the one I purchase most regularly. After a rough beginning, Cosmo received a makeover in 1965 from Helen Gurley Brown, a top advertising copywriter. She "molded the magazine around strong, sexually liberated women" ( Culture and Media, 283). This continues to be the strong basis of the magazine. I honestly think Cosmo gets an unfair reputation and is harshly judge by non-readers because of the "sexy" titles printed on the cover. As a result, people tend to shun away from it and even view it as slightly pornographic. But there is something much bigger behind Cosmo that many people don't see. Cosmo simply covers all topics other magazines are too afraid to talk about. Besides being limbically stimulating with pictures and color, Cosmo is extremely relatable, and plays strongly on the persuasive tool of strength. Cosmo has become a part of my Sunday routine because I love how it promotes female empowerment and encourages women to embrace their sexuality. I use the wise words of Cosmo on Sunday to start my week feeling empowered and free to be whatever kind of women I want to be. My relationship with Cosmo is important to me and influential, I trust Cosmo, and look to it for advice and information.

" I get by with a little help from my friend Cosmo."

Photo By Sarah Pedersen

Photo From annasheffield.com

Growing up in the age of technology has had a great effect on the way I interact with different media sources. As a result of this, one media source I don't spend a lot of time with is newspapers. My dad worked for The New York Times for years, and always stressed the importance of reading it- but I never had an interest. However, on Sundays my dad will leave me the style section of the paper, and I'll browse through it. I'll read one or two articles, look at the pictures, and my dad will feel better about himself ( everybody wins). The content is interesting, and I do enjoy it, but I still

feel like there are better, more convenient ways to get the same information. " The United States continues to experience declines in newspaper readership and advertising dollars- while other nations where Internet news is still emerging are experiencing increases" (Media and Culture, 270). This represents the age of the Internet, and I'm an example of that. I would rather use the Internet for news information I'm interested in than read through a huge, messy newspaper to find what I'm looking for.

MONDAY: As Monday morning comes and the real world kicks in again, I begin the routine of carrying my laptop with me basically where ever I go- AKA- constant access to the Internet. Having this has changed my relationship with the Internet greatly. In the past I used the Internet for simple research and social connections such as Facebook. But as I began to use it more often I found multiple Internet sources that I use now everyday. One Internet sight I use daily is Hulu. Hulu is a multi-media platform that combines television and the Internet. " The hallmark of Web 2.0 is media convergence the technological merging of content in different mass media (Media and Culture,51). Hulu is a prime example of Web 2.0's convergence. My favorite things about Hulu is that it allows you to watch full episodes and clips of your favorite shows. Hulu often condenses TV episodes into clips, allowing me to keep up with shows when I don't have time to watch the entire thing. This site both enhanced my relationship with the Internet and changed the way I watch TV.

Alec Baldwin speaks on Hulu's convergence of Internet and TV ( comically of coarse) in a Hulu commercial:

I never knew about this site before coming to school, and it has made me more connected and knowledgeable about the many things the Internet has to offer as it continues to become a larger multi-media platform.

Every Monday night, I turn on CW11 and watch Gossip Girl. Gossip Girl is the only show on TV that I watch religiously. The funny thing about my relationship with Gossip Girl is that I watch it every week, but wouldn't say I love the show. Gossip Girl is basically about rich kids from New York and all the drama in their lives. The shows plays strongly on beautiful people and makes viewers wish they could live like the characters. I have a lot of problems with the show, but still watch it because it's something my mom and I have always done together. Since season one, we've watched the show each week together. When I'm at school, she calls me after each new episode and we talk about it. Television is "one mass medium that delivers content millions share simultaneously"(Media and Culture,145). The key word there is share. Television has a role in my life as something my mom and I can share at the same time despite being miles away. Although it's only one show we watch, it's our show. Since it's move into homes across America, TV has been known for being a media source that connects people when they sit down and watch it together. This is something other media sources cannot do. I value TV for this reason and watch Gossip Girl every Sunday because of it.

For a little taste of Gossip Girl.....

One aspect of TV that has always scared me is the news. I try to avoid watching TV at night for this reason. There is nothing worse to me than being home alone enjoying your favorite show when the 11 o'clock news comes on about the " killer in your area on the loose." News channels will flash a scary title like that then say "stay tuned for all the details." This not only scares me, but makes me feel like news channels today will exaggerate stories to make people watch their channel. " Since the 1960's, broadcast journalism has consistently topped print news in national research polls that ask which news medium is most trustworthy"(Media and Culture, 154). I do not feel like the news is a trustworthy source of media because they are more focused on gaining viewers today the simply giving the facts. They find a way to twist the stories to make it more appealing to us. I however am not appealed by the way the news uses fear to gain viewers. I don't watch the news for this reason, and there are so many other sources available to get the same information and I would rather just use them.

This video spoof plays on the large amount of violence in the news today

Part of the Internet that plays a large roll in my life daily is called.........

photo from blog.turnthescrew.com

I use "Crackbook" instead of Facebook because it better describes my love/ hate relationship with the social network. The amount of time I spend on Crackbook daily is mind-blowing. As I stated earlier, during the week I have my laptop with me constantly. Know matter what I'm working on, I will always have Crackbook minimized below it. Every couple of minutes I'll open it up and see what's new in the social network world. The love aspect of my relationship with Crackbook is that I find it comfortable. Looking through pictures of friends my limbic brain takes over and I drift away. It's so effortless. Although the effortlessness is nice, it tends to create many problems. When I "drift away" into Crackbook land, time seems to move rapidly. I'll suddenly realize it's midnight and I haven't started my homework. A very scary aspect of Facebook is also who can view your page. As a Facebook addict, my page is very representative of me. My personal info, status updates, pictures and messages give out immense amounts of information about me- and my Facebook friends are not the only people viewing this. " The US Patriot Act was re-newed in 2006, and grants sweeping powers to law-enforcement agencies to intercept individuals' online communications, including e-mail messages and browsing records ( Media and Culture, 60). Clearly Facebook is never really private, and that's frightening to people like me who use it so often- makes me wonder if were beginning to share too much of our lives through Crackbook.

RADIO....WHAT'S THAT??

Photo from Makemediamatter.com

The Internet has also changed the way I listen to music daily in a large way. Walking from class to class, and always having my ipod and laptop with me allows me to constantly be connected to music. My ipod is the first thing I turn on in the morning when I wake up, and the last thing I listen to as I fall asleep. Pandora is a site I use daily to listen to music. It's an online radio site that tailors the music played to your own style. It gives me a list of songs I would like based on ones I've listened too. It has opened up a new world of music I would have never known about. Pandora is the future of radio, and it has converged radio with the Internet really well. " As the first national mass medium, radio's influence in the formation of American culture cannot be overestimated"(Media and Culture, 139). Radio did have a large impact and was very important during its time period and it's important to acknowledge that. However, today it has no strong relationship with me or many people my age. No one I know owns or uses a radio regularly because it is no longer the most convenient way to listen to music. And in the the age of technology, I find we have the strongest relationships with the media sources that are most convenient for us.

Photo By Sarah Pedersen

As I move through a typical day at school, naturally books are involved in some way. I use books to find answers to questions, definitions, and complete assigned readings for classes. I find books to be one of the few exceptions to the " convenient" media sources we rely on today. Even though browsing through my textbook is slightly harder than using Google to find the answer to a question, there is something wholesome and comforting about using books to find an answer. Because the Internet is so easily manipulated, books serve as a reliable source of information. " The Chinese began making book-like objects from strips of wood and bamboo around 1000 B.C.E"( Media and Culture, 316). The history of books makes me view them as the "wise old grandmother" of media platforms. Although it's not the easiest way, I trust the information of books much more than the Internet, which is why I take the time each day to find what I need from them instead of using the Internet for everything.

After all my classes are done each day I like to go for a run. This is the time I use to unwind and let my mind not think about school for 30 minutes. But even during this time I'm still connected to media sources. I run with my ipod, and inside the school gym I'm connected to the Internet. My ipod is a great example of media convergence. While working out, I can check my email, Facebook, YouTube, and the weather. Digital communication is to thank for this and is responsible for" making media convergence possible by enabling all media content to be created in the same basic way"( Media and Culture, 51). Convergence has allowed me to do so many different things at one time with one device. This also plays a large roll in my life. Multitasking is a necessity in my life, and I do all day long with the help of these devices. Even though working out is my time to relax, I still feel the need to be connected to media and technology. photo from obessable.com

photo by Sarah Pedersen

I realize how surrounded I am by media each night as I fall asleep. My television on mute serves as a night light for our room. I fall asleep each night listening to my ipod, my laptop charging on my bed, and my phone in arms reach. My media sources shape my world day to day. The personal shift in our media culture today has caused me to feel a need to participate with media sources constantly. Between Facebook, texting, blogging, and Internet, so much of my day is based on constant connection. " Culture links individuals to their society, providing both shared and contested values, and the mass media help circulate those values"(Media and Culture,6). The media we surround ourselves with each day speaks a lot about who we are as a person. My experiences with media sources daily shape the way I live my life in a large way.