Somewhat Random

Ok I'm trying to get in 30 blog posts by the end of the semester, just because it's a nice even number. Soooooo this is a fairly pointless entry, since I'm only going to say that I've had a long day and I am now quite tired. It doesn't help that I had too much caffeine yesterday and couldn't go to sleep last night. So I'm extra tired.

Inspite of that, I have gotten alot of work done today. My portfolio is almost done - the Reflection Essay is actually coming along quite nicely! The only other thing I have to do is touch up my slideshow and write my Concluding essay. I'm planning on doing that tomorrow. I also knocked out two of seven ARIS assignments due the 14th and completed two Calculus practice quizzes in preparation for my final. So yeah. It's early, but I think I'm calling it a night with homework.

Time for a nice, hot shower and a good book. Night ya'll! :)

Progress

Well, I'm making progress on my portfolio! The changes to my research proposal and essay are finally finished. I thought I'd never get that essay straightened out! I think I've also gotten a handle on what to write for my Reflection essay. I am beginning to understand how I "see" my pieces of writing. For instance, my research proposal is like an argument. My essay is like a discussion, and my IA slideshow is like a commercial of sorts. I just woke up this morning and realized it was as simple as that. And then I can write about how each of those genres are used, why I chose them, and explain anything about them that might not be evident in the portfolio.

So yeah, I'm pretty excited that I have a direction for that Reflection! I really want to do a good job on it and not just have it thrown together. I've also chosen two blog entries to add to the portfolio, and I am debating on any outside work I should add. Yay for progress!

See you guys Monday!!

The Finish Line...

...Is quickly approaching! I can hardly believe how this semester has flown by. And the deadline for my portfolio is also sneaking up on me. I worked alot on it over Thanksgiving break (which was great by the way, hope you all enjoyed yours!), and got most of my major changes done. The thing I'm struggling most with is how to write my Reflective Essay. I know I'm supposed to go through and specifically point out all the changes I've made and cite myself, but it seems like there should be more to it than that. I don't really know how to explain my writing or how it should be interpreted. I mean, a research proposal is a research proposal, right?

Well, in class Mrs. Scott said we should define our genres and give some information on who uses them and for what purpose, etc. So that would definately help to give depth to my essay. And hopefully I'll get some more ideas in class tomorrow. If anyone has any suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment. Thanks!

Friday

Hmmm...what to write? I'm excited to give my presentation on Friday. It's the last thing I have to do before I get to go home on break! I'm happy with how the slideshow turned out, even though I couldn't overlay any extra audio like I oringinally wanted. (Thanks to Windows Movie Maker, which doesn't support multiple audio tracks.) So I used a bunch of colorful captions instead to provide the "raw information," and hopefully they did their job well.

I have it posted to YouTube now, but I'm not giving the link yet because it'll spoil the surprise. =p You have to wait till Friday...hope you enjoy it! Or if you don't like horses and you think it's cheezy, just pretend you are a wide-eyed horse-lover who wants more info in the Club. K? K. Haha, see ya'll Friday! :)

Slideshow Research

I have found that the typical conventions of slideshows (non-powerpoint) include setting a series of pictures to music, usually incorporating some text on the slides, and sometimes overlaying audio clips. It's hard to say who exactly creates slideshows, but I assume that a range of people do. From the descriptions of the ones I watched on YouTube, it sounds like it's mostly teenagers/young adults who are putting these things together. Their purposes seem to be mostly just for fun, or to promote a show or an actor that they like. One girl said she just liked making slideshows, so she put together a 9 min slideshow of random love quotes and hearts, set to Moulin Rouge music. Another person was trying to promote the new season of CSI: Miami and put a bunch of screen shots and posters in hers.

I think a person pretty much has every freedom when creating a slideshow. They can make one based on anything they like. The only restriction I can think of is that, usually, slideshows stick to a theme. So if I'm making slideshow about the VT Equestrian Club, putting random pics of Michael Phelps in there probably wouldn't be appropriate.

Here are the ones I watched on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIsWbw6IIZc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaWE4C9wxK8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyMaUuEm3jk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Jo29zxDaQ4&feature=related

Enjoy!

Bummer

Well I just checked my laptop, and my firewire cable definately doesn't fit anywhere. So I can't make a video. :( But I think I will make a slideshow instead, with music and a conglomeration of photos. If I get permission from the club president, is it ok if I use pics from the website, as well as ones I have taken? That would be great. And then some slides would have text on them, giving information about the club, and maybe some quotes from members. I mean, I could make a brochure or pamphlet, but I'd prefer to make something that moves. It's more interesting, more fun to make, anyway.

My Plan of Action

Ok, so it's back to the Equestrian Club. I would really love to make a video of some sort, likely a promo-type thing to get people involved, or maybe something to make people aware of a problem in the club. I will have to talk to the club president and few other people to get permission, and to see if they can point out any substantial problems. So if that happens (and if my laptop does, in fact, have a video capture-card), I will proceed to construct a 3-5min video. Fun stuff - I love video editing. :)

I would like to get some clips of people in the club being interviewed (either talking about the problem or encouraging people to join) and some random footage at a club meeting or possibly event. Hopefully I can get a few of my friends in the club to get in front of the camera and give some good, exciting reasons to join. Maybe I can even get my hands on some photographs of the recent horseshow, which the club was involved in. Mrs. Scott, how do you feel about me using a song or two from a CD for background music? If I give credit at the end, would that still be considered using the music unlawfully?

And if this falls through, because I am a perfectionist and I have limited time to make this video, I will create a brochure instead. Don't worry, I know you all want to see a video but I promise the brochure would be ineteresting, too. ;) I also love graphic design. Anyway, I'd better start planning this thing!