Reflection: Rise Self Evaluation

Week 4 Reflection: Project Revision

As we come to the close of this wonderful class it is time to submit my Project Revision. I was very pleased with my original storyboard video. I decided the only thing I would be changing was the background music. My Peer review suggested I go in depth on my family and my walk with Christ, but I felt that would distract from my original goal of documenting the steps to my Full Sail Journey. Ms. Faria suggested I change the background music as she felt it was too upbeat and distracted the viewer. So I went with a more subtle beat that still remains Hip Hop but not so much in your face. I very much enjoyed this project as it has sparked the video creator inside me!

Week 4 Reflection: RISE Peer Feedback

Reflect: I related to your story for the simple fact it seemed like you felt restrained creatively at your previous college. This was also my case when I initially began college out of high school. It ultimately led me to take a "break" from school. I like how your work speaks volumes for your passion into photography. 

Inquire: When did you begin taking photos? What were the challenges you faced as you began your photo journey? Do you ever see your photography evolving into a bigger platform of video?

Suggest: I would suggest that you try to incorporate background music to your video. You could hear dead air between your words and pauses mid sentence. I would also suggest trying to use transition effects between your photos to make the video easier to watch.

Elevate: Perhaps you could expand your story by elaborating on what your previous college could not offer or do for you career wise. Expand on how Full Sail is helping you achieve these new creative goals. All in all I thought your video was great!

Week 3 Project: Digital Storytelling with Mobile Devices Challenge

Week 3 Project: Digital Storytelling with Mobile Devices Challenge

We used a number of different apps to create this video. We utilized the built in cameras on our different devices,  HCT Smartphone, Samsung Galaxy III Smartphone, iPhone, and iPad, to record all of the video clips. This was also how we gathered the images used in our Shot List. We used Voice Memo apps on both the iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy III for  audio clips. To aid in communication we also used the Google Hangout app to keep in touch when everyone was out and about. We were also able to keep the lines of communication open by using the email apps on our phones. All of the video editing was done through the VivaVideo app.

What was your role in the team?
My role on the team was actually two roles. I was responsible for the audio editing, as well as the video editing. This is what I consider my strengths to be so I was willing to take on these two roles. I will say the video editing process was a bit more difficult due to only using mobile devices. In the end it came out great.

What did you contribute?
I contributed to the the story idea, story plot and suggested different shots we should try to create. As mentioned in the above post I also contributed to the overall look of the video.

What surprised you about the challenge?
What surprised me the most was how easy it came together. My team did a fantastic job of working together and being patient with each other. It was a blessing to have the teammates I did. 

What are you most proud of?
Using only the mobile app Viva Video was very difficult . I am so proud of how fantastic it came out looking. This was one of my biggest accomplishments to date. 

Was it indeed a challenge? Why or why not?
It was indeed a challenge. As I mentioned above I was confident in my editing skills but the wrench in the plan came when I had to find a editing app on my cell phone. It was out of my comfort zone but I knew I could not let my teammates down!

Week 3 Practice: Shot List

Practice: Team Orgnization

For my team I am responsible for the Video Editing as well as the Audio Editing. I am essentially putting the video together, which I am really excited for. I have already started to storyboard the video so when I start receiving the videos it should be a smooth transition into creating a really cool video. I have got a good feel for Final Cut Pro so I am confident our video is going to come out wonderful.

SCRIPT

Video	Audio
*Insert Shot Suggestions here* Examples: Glass of water Running facet Pitcher of water	Latroya: We all know the benefits of drinking more water, but how do you get your honey pie to get more of the H2O? Introducing…
GFX: “Easy Ways to Get Your Man to Drink More Water”	All: Easy ways to get your man to drink more water!
Water bucket to Daryl’s face Smiles at camera and gives thumbs up	SFX: *splash* *ding*
Matt lying on the couch	Matt: Gee wiz, Honey, I sure am parched from all this hard work.  Can you grab me a beer?
Matt is handed a beer. Drinks, looks puzzled. Smiles at camera and gives thumbs up	Matt: Hey what’s the big idea this is water not beer? SFX *ding*
Karrie rolls out long strip of paper in one hand and pair of scissors in the other. Cuts paper in half. Smiles at camera and gives thumbs up	Karrie: Ok fella’s so here’s the deal, if you drink the extra water I will cut your honey do list in half. SFX *ding*
Daryl drinking a huge glass of water takes the last drink. Points to cheek and gets a kiss on the cheek. *repeat with kids* Smiles at camera and gives thumbs up	Daryl: Plant me one right here! SFX *ding*
Walks on camera holding 2 dishes, one with oatmeal one with pork chop’s, looks at dishes Sets the oatmeal down Smiles at camera and gives thumbs up and walks off camera.	Karrie:                                                      Ohhhh darling,  did you drink all your water today??? SFX *Yes* SFX *ding*
Holding a plate of cookies Sets down plate of cookies and removes glass of milk, replaced it with glass of water next to plate. Smiles at camera and gives thumbs up	Latroya: I know you have working hard at the office so I made you a special treat, but with a teeny tiny twist a roo. SFX *ding*
*Insert Shot Suggestions here* Examples: Glass of water Running facet Pitcher of water	Latroya: So to keep your fella happy and healthy, these are...
GFX: “Easy Ways to Get Your Man to Drink More Water”	All: Easy ways to get your man to drink more water!
Water bucket to Daryl’s face Smiles at camera and gives thumbs up	SFX: *splash* *ding*

Week 3 Exploration: Mobile App Review

Analysis: Businesses and Audiovisual Media

Full Sail did an excellent job of weaving what appears to be a sleek informercial into a nice short story about the growth and development of its potential student. The story in its essence is a classic build up infomercial. It starts by showing images of the campus, students interacting with each other and explaining a very brief statement on what Full Sail offers. It then proceeds to show potential students the "Project Launchbox" campaign. This campaign was established to provide students with a MacBook Pro laptop. This ables the student to create media anytime and anywhere. This part of the video is effective for enticing students to come to Full Sail. Potential students have already made up there minds about attending college, Project Launchbox is the icing on the cake for them establishing where to go.

The Dollar Shave Club ad isn't necessarily a story at a first glance. I found myself watching this video ad multiple times due to how funny it is. Dollar Shave Club did a very good job announcing a new product. The video as crude as it is, seems to spin a males's view on using a moist toilette to wipe during a bathroom visit. The comedy it rely's on is essentially the selling point for its new product "One Wipe Charlie". Dollar Shave Club seems to really understand how to engage the male customer. From my research this demographic seems to be pretty difficult due to the lack of men who are actually enthusiastic about shopping.

Science World created a musical lip singing video to promote its museum. After viewing it a few times I came to the conclusion this video was the least effective of the three. The theory behind the creation of the video is providing an upbeat visual with two very well known songs. It is apparent they are trying to convey how fun it is to be at the Science World museum but in my opinion the atmosphere comes off a bit awkward. If I was in charge of creating this video campaign I would have focus more of the content inside the museum as well as the workers themselves. This would have offered potential tourist a real insight ahead of time into the building. Instead this video makes the museum seem very big and make turn away potential tourist who don't feel like they have a large amount of time to walk around and view everything.

Week 2 Project: My Digital Story

Practice Voice Over

Practice Voice Over

Analysis: Businesses & The Visual Web

The visual content shared on Full Sails Pinterest account is basically a big advertising platform trying to appeal to the young student. On this site they visuals of housing available to students. They also show near by eateries as well as pictures of students pursuing certain degrees. They also have a section that shows how to decorate your macbook pro with decal stickers. This was a very appealing section that I could see getting students excited to become a student.

The content supports the Full Sail brand as it shows how exciting it can be as a student on campus or online. The pictures are modern and very direct as to how enjoyable it is to be at Full Sail. Each picture published seems calculated with the goal being to promote how potential students go to Full Sail to pursue an education that is "Exciting, Hip, and Modern".

Full Sail engages with its audience by allowing actual students to contribute pictures within the respected sections. This is a win-win for the brand because it allows potential students to connect with actual students essentially receiving free promotion from within.

The visual content shared on Dollar Shave Clubs Instagram account is a sleek in your face mixture of pictures specifically tailored to the American Male. With pictures of quirky sayings on their products such as "Shaving shouldn't be a bloodsport" the simple but effective approach to their pictures are apparent. There is also pictures randomly posted of big sandwiches that would be consumed by the man of the house. While the inclusion of these pictures seems a bit random, in the grand scheme of it all it makes perfect sense!

The content supports the Dollar Shave brand by showing the boxes in which the razors actually come in. As I stated in the above paragraph they show sayings such as " Close only counts in horseshoes and silky shaves" and "Carve the turkey not your face". These comical but true sayings directly connect with the grown man that is the core of their respected clientele.

Dollar Shave tends to engage with their audience by using a informative advertising approach. The only interaction I see within the platform from the audience is the "Likes". I'm sure there are other ways Dollar Shave interacts with its customers but on this Instagram page it seems to be a glorified billboard.

The visual content Science World provides on their Facebook page include informative videos as well as crisp and professional photos. There seems to be content provided by Science World as well as included submissions of photos and videos by its audience as well.

The content supports Science Worlds mission of promoting interesting facts about science. The photo themselves are what attracts the casual and hard core fan alike. Interesting news articles are included to strengthen the backbone of the message.

Science World probably does the best out of the three companies when it comes to interaction. The use of Facebook is essential in the fact that it is the most interactive with the audience. The platform allows for back and forth discussion as well as support from peers alike.

Week 2 Storyboard

My Week 2 Storyboard

I tried for 4 hours tonight to get my storyboard to embed properly. I was not successful. Some of the simple things we are asked to do for this class seem to be utterly difficult. Above is a link to the storyboard.

Week 2 Visual Communication Practice

This practice assignment was honestly pretty frustrating and time consuming. It took me over an hour to find a host site that allowed me to use images inside my mind cluster for free. I could not find rationalization in paying for apps to use on an assignment that was not worth any points other than what goes towards my professionalism grade. With that being said below is a cluster of "Strategy". All four images are of different board games. The top picture is of a board game called "Cash Flow" this is a game designed to teach and develop the brain to understand the risk and rewards of investments. The left picture is of the greatest strategy game ever invented. "Chess" is a two player strategy game that forces you to not only think about your move in front of you but the anticipation of your next moves as well as your opponents. The bottom picture is of troops playing the board game "Risk". This game involves deciding where to place your army and anticipate being invaded for you land as well as decided where to expand. The picture to the right is of "Settlers Of Catan". This board games helps you understand how to barter with fellow opponents as well as expand your reach to new resources. The strategy behind this game is extensive and really makes you exercise your thinking power. I believe board games are the most simplest but effective way to help build your thought process when it comes to strategy.

Week 1 Project: My MCBS Story

Before I started the MCBS program at Full Sail university I was a married, father of three who happened to be perfectly okay with everyday life. This was not fulfilling in the least bit and found myself wondering what life was going to show me. I worked full time and pursued a local Hip Hop career in my city. This came with a little bit of success but nothing that would ever amount to more than a second job income. In January of 2012 I dedicated my life to my savior Jesus Christ. It was at that moment a lot of things changed and transformed me into what I am proud to be today. The importance on my walk with Christ made me realize I needed to achieve an college degree. I knew in my heart I could not look at my children and tell them how important college was if I myself hadn't completed college as well. So with the support of my wife Ashlee, I took the next step and enrolled through Full Sail. This was by far one of the best decisions I have ever made. I have found a new purpose and a new sense of pride being a full time student. It is so much easier getting through my eight hours of work each day knowing I am destined for something greater in life. My passion for advertising and marketing some days seem uncontrollable. I know I have what it takes to help a company realize what its customers want and I am positive I can come up with new innovative ways to achieve that. These classes each month are literally my escape path from the mundane life I live right now. I know with God by my side guiding me, I can achieve what was once thought to be unachievable in years past. This is my MCBS story and its just getting started.

I read the practice story of Darrell Moffit and Karrie Pittman. I really related to Karrie and how her employment with a company who did not care about its employees. This is exactly my situation as I type this. The job I have now pays very well, yet every day I envision the time when I graduate and pursue a different career. It is people like Darrell and Karrie who motivate me to push myself for excellence with every assignment. I see them and how well they perform in their pursuit of this degree and I hope that I am walking right along side them.

Week 1 Analysis: Business & Blogs

Upon review of these 3 fantastic blogs, the things I noticed that made them alike were the huge eye popping graphics. They all seem to fit the same standard format as far as scrolling the page goes. I noticed every blog has an attached image or video. This is something I need to get better at with my own blogs. All three seem to have a standard font used as well. I've noticed the better graphic designers don't rely on crazy hard to find fonts. The more clean and professional the blog looks is usually due to clean fonts and font sizes.

Dollar Shave and Science World seem to differ from the Full Sail blog due to how commercial the approach is. The Full Sail blog seems to have a very infomercial like approach. The other two seem to be more narrow in there reach. It is as if Dollar Shave and Science World have a very specific approach and Full Sail is going for a broad horizon with its blog.

Dollar Shave and Full Sail differ from Science World in the aspect of how clean and easy to look at they are. Science World seems to take the classroom approach. This is fine but if they are in the market of attractive new readers, in my opinion the blog itself needs to be updated with a more contemporary look.

Science World and Full Sail differ from Dollar Shave just by a more conservative approach. I quickly noticed viewing the Dollar Shave blog they have some funny but risky graphics to go along with the different blog post. This is a double edged sword in that, this could attract new customers but also quickly turn away potential customers. Science World and Full Sail seem to rely on a more safe approach with graphics and blog topics.

Science World is unique for the simple fact they have mastered a fun learning approach. The blog itself is very simple and doesn't seem to overwhelm at first glance. This is very essential for a couple reasons. First with the simple but effective approach it seems to make viewing the blog easy for the younger readers as well as the elderly readers. Secondly the blog seems to understand how to interest the blog viewer into learning without forcing learning.

The Full Sail blog is very speak and graphic heavy. This is a perfect tool for advertising to potential students. It also seems to stand ahead of the rest by the moving story tiles. This is something I think Science World could do better. The Full Sail blog seems to come alive as soon as your screen comes up. I've noticed blogs like this have more traffic just off the strength of how well it interacts on the screen.

The Dollar Shave Club blog is the most modern of the three. It seems to scream hip and coolness. It is very apparent this is a strictly man blog. The uniqueness of this approach seems to be what has driven this company to success. They could have easily got this blog wrong just by not following its business model but the creator of the blog really hit it on the head with the All Man All Business look.

RSS & Industry Blogs

Being fairly new to writings blogs, this whole week has been a great experience. I knew very little about blogs or what RSS was until this week. I chose to use Feedly as my RSS feed. This became a fun thing for me because I started searching for all kinds of blogs on a variety of topics. Before I did my freelance searching I looked for blogs about the media industry. I chose Empire News, Ads Of The World, Adverblog, and PSFK.

Empire News is a blog about the movie industry. It features movie trailers and reviews. This blog is important to me because of the vital role Movies play in media. Especially for advertising and placement within the movies. The next three blogs mentioned above are all reputable blogs dealing with the marketing industry of today. Ads of the world really peeked my interest due to how it covers advertising globally. I find myself a lot of times only learning how to advertise on a national level, when in reality I need to challenge myself to learn and understand how to advertise on a global level.

I then took a look at my fellow classmates blogs and decided to subscribe to two of them. The first I subscribed too was "The Window Gazer" which is published by Darrell Moffit. Having been in a few classes this year with Darrell and having the pleasure of seeing his work, I knew I had to subscribe to his blog. I am drawn to people to who challenge themselves and have a social understanding of their place in the world. I also subscribed to "KarrieBelle Designs" blog by Karrie Pittman. Karrie seems very educated in the world the rest of us are trying to learn. She is well spoken and seems to be a person who would be fun to engage in conversation on any topic.

To those who subscribe to my blog I thank you and plan to blog about more than just my homework dictates. God bless!

Week 1 Practice: Start A Blog & Tell A Story

Start A Blog & Tell A Story

Before I started the MCBS program I was just your average early thirties male in America. I worked full time, pursued a hip hop career locally and raised 3 kids with the help of my beautiful and fantastic wife. I have a good paying job but the factory life is not for me. I like to create and use my brain to come up with new ideas. Working on an assembly line, doing the same thing all day does not excite me in the least bit. I had always thought I wanted to pursue a music career. I actually did for a bit of time. I became marginally successful locally. I toured the Midwest and opened up for artist such as Too $hort, Trick Daddy, Tech N9ne, 2pac’s Outlawz, Mac Lethal, Young Buck and a few others. I made a few mistakes in the music industry and also turned down a few record deals. When your 21 and you think you know the secret to life you tend to make idiotic choices like I did. But then as time went on I found myself searching for more to life than just material things. I became saved by the lord Jesus Christ in January of 2012. Because of that I started to view things differently. I realized that by raising three children I needed to establish a more secure way of life. I also realized I could not preach to my children how important college was without having a degree myself. Because of that I enrolled at Full Sail University, which was the best decision I have ever made. And ever since I decided to pursue my passion for media my eyes and world have been rocked open to a stimulating and exciting new future. I am so excited for all that my future has to offer and I believe with God by my side and my commitment to hard work I will earn my degree and begin working in the career field of my dreams!