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!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
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!
Final Exam Part Two- My Growing Relationship With Media Day To Day
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Media Meditation #4- Lets Gossip About The New Gossip Girl....
APPARENTLY IM NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO PICKED UP ON HOW RIDICULOUS THE SHOW IS....GOSSIP GIRL SPOOF- WATCH THE FIRST MINUTE
The entire idea behind the whole series plays on a very interesting aspect of media in our society. The name gossip girl comes from a unknown character that sends anonymous text messages to each of the characters when some juicy gossip is revealed. This plays on the personal to participatory aspect of technology. None of these characters lives are personal because of gossip girl and her ability to spread information about the characters so rapidly. Shows the scary downside of how new media platforms are making it easier than ever before to share information so quickly. ( Not to mention no single character seems creeped out by the fact that some unknown person watches everything they do??) This just adds to the ridiculousness that is "GOSSIP GIRL." Exploiting the materialistic side of our society in a VERY scary and depressing way. Gossip Girl needs to step up their act if they want people to keep watching!
Monday, October 25, 2010
GETTIN' AT THE KINDLE- Media Meditation #3
The picture shown displays Jeff Bezos advertising Amazon's new Kindle on the cover of Newsweek Magazine. The Kindle is a fairly new device that allows people to download and read books on a small, thin, and light device. It also has the ability to download documents as well as connect to the internet. The Kindle combines many media platforms into one small device, and is a clear aesthetic shift from discrete to convergence.There's a definite convenience aspect of the Kindle that makes it appealing. But I think the Kindle has taken the world of media convergence too far.
THIS KINDLE VS. BOOKS VIDEO FURTHER PROVES THE KINDLE CANNOT REPLACE BOOKS- AND DOES SO THROUGH THE USE OF COMEDY- CHECK IT OUT!
Sunday, October 24, 2010
FIVE MINUTE ORAL PRESENTATION- The Week Magazine- " All you need to know about everything that's important."
Imagine from Foodmuseum.com
THESIS: The Week Magazine assembles and delivers the important weekly issues. These incisive viewpoints will fascinate and entertain you, while helping you develop a sophisticated perspective that your peers will seek out and respect.
FIVE FACTS: The Week backs up their thesis of delivering the most important weekly issues and tells their readers how they accomplish this on their website:
1)World- at- a-Glace- report summarizes the most important events, opinions, and ideas from around the globe.
2)The controversy of the week and the different perspectives and opinions of those who covered it.
3)A look at what's happened this week to important people, plus summaries of the significant events in Health, Science, Leisure and Business.
4)Full access to convenient daily news and information on their website
5)The best of the U.S. and International media distilled into 44 easy-to-read pages
TRIUNE BRAIN: Like all magazines, The Week is very wordy, which engages the NEOCORTEX by reading the words and processing them. The cover of the magazine always contains a large, color, IMAGE that draws the LIMBIC brain right to the beginning of the magazine because our limbic brain likes photos and is drawn to them. The cover usually contains RACY or thought PROVOKING images in the form of a cartoon on the cover to drawn the audience’s attention in.
EIGHT TRENDS: The Week works to move its magazine from the discrete media world to the world of CONVERGENCE by allowing people to view the magazine on the web, subscribe online, and follow them on Facebook. The Week is both a personal and participatory magazine. PERSONAL, in the sense that the articles published are versatile and relatable to readers throughout the globe. PARTICAPATORY, because they welcome feedback from readers, and readers can post questions and comments on their Facebook page.
SEVEN PRINCIPLES: The Week uses strong value messages to engage readers. They come right out and state that their magazine is created through value message with their slogan “ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT MATTERS” – which is stated on the cover of each magazine. Thought provoking slogans are often used in the magazine to create an EMOTIONAL transfer from the audience. Slogans like” Do too many Americans take antidepressants?” are used to make the audience feel nervous, intrigued, or angered. The PACE of the magazine is defined well by the clear separation of each article and column with boxes and different colors. Makes the heavy volume of words on each page seem less over-whelming to the reader.
29 PERSUASIVE TEQUNIQUES: Many persuasive techniques are shown throughout The Week. TESTIMONIAL is presented often in The Week. The caption at the top of the website where you can subscribe to The Week says “THE WEEK is the MUST READ for politicians, world leaders, celebrities, CEO’s… and now YOU.” DIVERSION is also used throughout articles found in The Week because a controversial article will be written about a topic in terms of the opinions and ethics of the magazine, and will not show the opposite point of view on that article topic.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
MIDTERM REFLECTION-FACING MIDTERM MADNESS
photo from http://www.coroflot.com/lbremer
1) I think the most important thing I have learned this year thus far is that media is constantly moving and transforming into new mediums. Watching TV transform into new mediums like Hulu for example shows how the media world is going to continue to change and it's important to understand where it's going because it will be important and necesarry skills for future jobs, and knowledge is power! Where media is moving in the future is un-predictable, but it's very important to keep up.
2) As a critical reader, I've learned that it's really important to read the entire chapter even though they can be quite lengthy. You can miss a lot of important information by just scanning the pages, and it sort of defeats the purpose because all the information is connected and cannot stand alone. As a writer I've learned that writing on a blog requires a different style of writing in order to keep people interested in what your talking about. As a critical thinker, I've learned to think outside the box when viewing forms of media like television, advertisements, music videos, and concerts. I'm more aware of the strategies being used to engage the audience, and less of a passive viewer.
3) I would memorize the power tools the first week. I assumed that being in class using them they would eventually just sink in, and although using them in class helps, I really had to take time to memorize them one by one. I wish I had done it earlier because it would have benefited me a lot. I was in the library one day with the power tools work sheet out on my desk and the student next to me asked if I was taking your class. I said yes and asked if she had any helpful advice. She told me to memorize the power tools and go to class, so after that I made it my goal to really study them, but I still wish I had earlier in the year.
4) I only thing I felt un-easy about was blogging and using twitter. I wish that we had spent more time understanding the websites so we could feel more comfortable using them to our benefit in class. I understand that playing around and discovering the website ourselves is important, but it was pretty over-whelming for me at first.
5a) I like the power tools. They're very easy to use once we started playing around with them in class. They make critiquing a medium much easier.
5b) I love the course blog. I think it's fun and really easy to use, really nice change of pace from traditional ways of handing in work. It also makes me feel more connected to the class which is cool. I also like seeing what other people wrote about something. When you have to re-read people's posts so you don't repeat info for the chapter blogs, it's like a mini-chapter review which is helpful.
5c) I love my personal blog. It;s awesome being able to write about what I like and have interest in, makes it feel a lot less like busy work. I have a friend that's spending the year in Kenya, Africa and she blogs everyday about her experiences, and I use my personal blog to follow her and keep in touch which is a really nice benefit.
5d) Quizzes are fine. They keep me on my toes each week.
5e) The way that the book is set up isn't boring or difficult to read, I just think the chapters are very long. I highly doubt many people actually read the entire chapter which is a bummer because it's valuable information, it's just painfully long.
Overall- class is going really well for me, I am enjoying myself
p.s- LOVE the cider, keep it comin'
Monday, October 4, 2010
Camp Champ Radio Spot: CHAMPLAIN RAMRODS ON THE RADIO- SPREADING BEAVER FEAVER!
Once upon a time, there was a lonely naive college freshman in search of love, acceptance, a great education, and fascinating people. One day, as she was coming back from downtown Burlington, she came across a catamount, a baron, and a beaver named Chauncey.
First, they all offered her a place to stay with love and acceptance. The catamount’s school had people that were far too cold while the baron’s school had people that were far too mundane, but she found that Chauncey’s place was just right.
Second, they all offered her a great education. The freshman found the catamount’s classes to be cluttered with far too many students and found the baron’s classes to be far too boring, but Chauncey’s classes were just right. Third, they offered her fascinating people. The catamount’s people were far too numerous while the baron’s people were far too small in number, but Chauncey’s people were just right.
As a matter of fact, all of Chauncey’s school was just right. It was Champlain College, of course, where the teachers always there to help and the students refuse to be just a number. It’s where the characters come to play. Go now!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
ENTOURAGE FINALE- Hollywood size load of garbage: Media Meditation #2
There was always something different about Entourage. There’s a unique dynamic between the characters, each playing off each other’s roll so well. The producers/writers for the show created four characters that were living the glamorous life, but staying true to their rougher upbringings. Plain folks was a prominent tool used to make the audience relate to the characters on a personal level. While mixing in the perfect amount of glamour and extravagance we viewers thrive on. A balance rarely found in television today. For the first 6 seasons, the show was written to make everyone love Vince. He was the good looking, down to earth, movie star. The show was based around him being an unbelievably cool guy. However, in season seven, Vince took a turn for the worst.
After seven seasons of building Vince up, they ruined him as a character in the finale. He turned into a drug addict, started dating a porn star, and turned his back on his friends and family. I understand the show needing a place to create drama and thrill, but I thought the way it was done very poorly. There were not enough sub-plots surrounding Vince’s issues to hold the show in place. So the viewers were left in the end with nothing but a show revolving around a character they hate. Media and Culture states that”serial programs are open-ended episodic shows; that is, most story lines continue from episode to episode." And this is a great tactic to keep viewers watching week to week. But at the end of the season, we need some type of "answer". The Entourage finale left me with no resolution. No problem was solved- it left me with a bitter taste in my mouth about the show, and no desire to watch next season.
There is a balance that needs to be found between keeping viewers intrigued, and giving them what they want to see also. Entourage lost the balance in an effort to keep viewers watching. I think it's safe to say there's a large group of Entourage fans that won't be tuning in next season.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
PHISHIN' in Saratoga- Media Meditation #1
GET PHISHY PEOPLE
Aside from the physical show, there is so much that happens after the show in terms of social media and networking. Minutes after the show, it will be on YouTube/blogs/Twitters and Facebook accounts. You can go online after a show and find that people were updating blogs and streaming videos during the show! This is changing the entire concert experience, because bands are not just playing for the crowd anymore, they're playing for everyone on the web as well. Bands are going to be pressured into enhancing the show to make it appeal to the entire web. I think there is a change in the way shows are produced and performed- so it can appeal to multiple media forms vs. the band to audience experience from the past. Light shows and special effects are being used more and more to enhance the show. As the web continues to grow, we'll be seeing huge changes in the way concerts and performed. Phish even pulled out the trampolines and showed us some REAL skill!!