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9/8/16
Fraser’s key arguments regarding politics, culture in the public sphere:
The public sphere is the place where the social meanings are created. In this space ideas are expressed and also tested as they pertain to both social problems and identities. She argues that the public sphere is a space where people can discuss these issues as if they were equals.
The modern liberal concept of the public sphere concludes that open access is finally a reality. She explains this because there have been major changes throughout political history, which include women, minorities, and lower status citizens being able to participate in these politics.
The problem with this modern liberal conception is that in real life not everyone is actually viewed as being equal to one another, so this can have a type of strain on the public sphere and its discussion.
9/12/16
1. When conducting an interview, it is important to make sure you obtain good and true facts, so asking questions on the spot is a good way to do this.
2. When editing a radio show/podcast you shouldn’t take out and add pieces that are from another conversation. By this I mean not taking words out of context to give the illusion that the interviewee said something that they did not.
3. When coming up with a show idea, you should make sure that it is both something interesting and also something that you will be able to actually turn into a full show with plenty of information. It is important to keep the audience interested and communicate effectively.
4. The title of the show is an important asset to give the audience an idea of what the show/podcast will be about.
9/15/16
When I first began writing the "I Am From" poem I wasn't sure what to say because I wanted the words to be meaningful and accurate. I actually asked my mom to he,lp me, but once I got going it was easier than I thought and I was able to easily think of the significant things. When writing, I had to think about certain things in my life that were memorable to me that had an impact on who I am today. I was pretty comfortable over all with the details that we would be sharing because the list that the class had to go off of wasn't too persoanl, but we did have the opportunity to make it that way if we chose to do so. Listening to other people's poems I see where I could have gone into greater detail in certain areas, but overall I was pleased with how I was able to describe myself through the list that we were given.
9/19/16
Questions for Sana:
1. Through sharing your story and advocating, what do you hope to ultimately get out of doing this?
2. What do you think is the most common misconception that people have about refugees and how would you correct those people?
3. If you had to choose one thing to tell people about refugees or even just about people specifically from Syria, what would it be? ​
9/26/16
From the classes discussion with Chanda and Sana I would most like to remember the takeaway from this project and also certain points that they shared about the interview process. As we are doing more research I have learned how much of a crisis this issue really is and that we do need to help make a difference. Some things that they said we could do would be to volunteer our time to maybe help refugee children learn English or even just offer support to help a refugee feel more comfortable and like they have a friend to talk to and ask questions. I also think it is important to properly do our research, as Chanda and Sana had pointed out. For example, we should try to get as much background information on the refugee that we will be interviewing so that we can go into it with at least basic information. Another thing would be to educate ourselves about that persons culture to know both their ways of living and also some appropriate ways to act towards them as it may differ from American culture....
The main feedback that I got on my audio biography draft is that I need to work out the music levels compared to my voice. Also, that I can slow down the pace of my voice and maybe create a couple of spaces or breaths in between. My main focus going forward will be to add in more detial to lengthen my audio and to correct the sound levels so that it does not sound like my voice is being drowned out by the background music.
10/13/16
Chapter 3, Keep or Kill: Story Structure
This chapter discusses how to structure your "story" and make sure that the audience remains both interested and on topic. It is important to remember not to add in too much detail that could take away from the main point of the story being told. Of course it is okay to use other sources and facts, they just need to be relevant. Organization of your story is another essential point. Organization goes hand-in-hand with the idea of not confusing the audience. Making sure that your sotry is in the order that you want it to be told and in a away that the audience can easily understand is crucial.
Interview
When creating our final interview piece it is important to be thoughtful about what this chapter discussed. Since there was a lot of information that Ma Esther gave to us, it will be very important to pay attention to the structure of our video. We want to keep in mind that we should set this up as if the audeince has no previous information about the topic, so they should be able to easily comprehend the point that we are trying to get across. When we edit out certain points and put other scences together, it is important to make sure that they flow with one another. I feel that it is also important, especially for this type of project, to set up our interview in a way that gets the emotional point across and that things are set up in a meaningful way.
10/24/16
In Chapter 4 of "Out on the Wire", sound is metaphorized as the "deep sea." I interpreted relating the deep sea to the use of sound as a way to connect everything that it going on in the story being told, whether it is just audio or is visual. This chapter explains the importance of audio and how it can be used for envolking emotions and for use of transitioning. It was also expressed that music should not be used to tell the listener/viewer how to feel. I never really thought that the use of sound could be used almost negatively if the audeince assumes that they are being forced to feel a certain way. I am definitely taking this into account for our community storytelling project. There is a lot going on in the "deep sea", just as there is probably a lot going on in a piece when telling a story or talking about something. Sound, like music, can be a way to pull everything together rather than just having different things linger around on their own. Sound must be used carefully to get across a point, but also to not force something. I think it can definitely be make or break, as we have been seeing in class. I will be sure to think more carefully about the sounds that I choose to use.
11/3/16
1. After reading Chapter 5, I found that the primary purpose of an edit is to ultimately cut out confusion and make the story more appealing. A big part of this process is group meetings, where each member works on a piece of the story, and then as a whole, it is later brought together. Another part of an edit is reading the piece out loud, in the beginning stages, to begin the process of framing the story and see what areas need improving.
2. Storytelling framing is an important function of making a story more compelling because this is what cuts out the confusion and gives the piece structure. Framing is what ultimately gives the story a nice flow that is easily comprehended by the audience. This is also a way to setup the story so that they audience can make connections. Signposting helps to give the audience insight as to what direction you are going with the story and to tell what pieces are most important. This is important because it is intended to help keep the attention of the audience throughout.
11/10/16
1. The feedback that Will and I received from the class was overall the same from each person. Everyone said that they were able to clearly understand that the main focus Ma Esther was trying to get across is that war is bad and something that we should not wish for and also the consequence of hunger that comes from it. People said that the pacing was nice and timely, so we won't have to worry about editing that. One of the main suggestions was finishing the subtitles (we only had them about half way through). Another that we received from about three people was taking out the part where she is speaking about how the soldiers treated the Liberian people. This is the part where Ma Esther is talking about what the soldiers would do to married couples. Some of the feedback said that it didn't fit in with the subject of hunger. I agree with that and see why some would say to take it out, but I'm not sure how our group feels about actually taking that piece out. I understand where they are coming from, but I never thought that it was too out of place and that it's an emotional part of the video. Other comments were just small editing things like lowering the music and changing the ending. Overall, I think the biggest decision Will and I will have to make is about taking pieces otut. The feedback was very helpful and we will definitely be using it during our editing!
I showed our video to my boyfriend. He said that he liked it and the feedback from him was similar to the feedback from the class. The same main point of war and hunger was easily understood. He said that the most compelling part was when she was talking in the end about war and how to never pray for war (I agree!). Also when she was talking about marriage and what soldiers did to the people, but this was slightly confusing as well because it didn’t have to do with hunger and what not, but that it’s still an interesting piece. Lastly, what we can fix is finishing the subtitles and thinking about switching the last two scenes to change the ending a little bit.
11/14/16
Part l: When I think of oral history I usually expect some sort of background being presented to me that explains why I am hearing or seeing a specific piece. With the Olive Project, the oral background did give insight as to what encouraged the making of this project, but a lot of the audio was the telling of the narrators journey with the project. I don’t think that this is a bad thing - the oral history was given in an interesting way and I liked the ending of it. The video itself was slightly confusing, but certain aspects, such as “78 years into three hours flat”, stuck out. This isn’t a traditional project, but I like it for that reason. I can also relate to the narrators story, so that gives me an extra understanding and connection to it. I think as far as oral history being a co-consturcted process of narrative composition it usually means that the two are almost one is the same, in the sense that they explain one another. To map coherence onto the disorder of lived experience means to me that it is important to get across the main point of the story that you are telling, especially when you are telling a persons life journey. Mapping coherence stands out most to me when referring to the Quest for Refugee project. I think that it is most important for the audience of our videos to understand the point that we are trying to get across about our community member. The significance of the story is important to b understood.
Part ll: The Olive Project helped me to think about multimodal composition in way that I wouldn’t have before. The setup of not only the video, but the website was like nothing I have seen. The website and the way that the story is being expressed is very unique and I enjoyed that it was different than other projects. This helps me to think about writing for public audiences in different ways that I normally would. Things don’t necessarily have to be as straight forward as you may assume because the point can still be evident. Being non-traditional can be just as, if not more, effective than a usual way of setting up an audio or visuals. Everyone has a different life journey and experiences different events throughout their lives, so there are also many ways that life can be shown. When you as an author, narrator, creator, etc. are creating a project that is about another persons life, it is important to understand that they and their journey are unique. It is also very important, probably the most important aspect, to not misrepresent someone and (even if accidental) to not edit their words in a way that could express a different point of view than they intended. Making sure that the authentic voice is perceived in number one, in my opinion. Someone is willing to share their life with you, so it is the responsibility of the creator to do them justice.
11/17/16
1. The purpose of this article was to communicate the different arguments of how to define terms such as multimodal and multimedia and that they should be used in the sense of what audience the context it being directed towards. Ultimately, the author states that everyone develops definitions differently based on the use of it in their lives. Specifically, students who used these words more frequently has a different definition of it. The Rose Metaphor was my favorite part and was used saying that a definition is like planting a seed. Anyone can plant the seed aka create/use a definition, but the path of how other people define what it is is what becomes rough and prickly. Interviews were conducted with various people to understand their meaning of these terms and understand their ways of thinking. The author said that a reason she likes interviewing is because the information and perspective “evolve organically” throughout conversation. This was set up in a non-traditional way and I didn't really like it at first, but as I went through the website I became more adjusted. I think that the form was still able to effectively communicate the idea of "multilayered media', which the author spoke about. This article shows the audience that there can be many interchanging views on the same thing, and that’s okay.
2. The three concepts from the second half of “What’s In A Name” that I focused on were, Limited, Multiple, and Precise. After viewing “Limited”, I saw different viewpoints of the use of the word multimodal, which I found interesting. One interviewee explained that he has a student who could not understand how multimodal would help his youtube video to gain an audience and then went into the idea of network media. Another woman explained that to her, multimodal gets you focused on the surface of the text and that if you focus on multimodal too much you won’t realize the other compelling features of a piece. Next, I found “Multiple” to be my favorite section. What I found most intriguing was a young woman saying that if you were to go into a field of arts, humanities, social sciences, business or education colleges, each institution would provide a different definition of media. I find this interesting because I never realized that a word which seems to simple could have so many variations. It makes sense that different fields would have different definitions, as each has different views. Another interview that caught my attention from this section was someone saying that they were looking to define “new media”, but that they couldn’t so from there came an argument for not needing to define the term. Lastly, “Precise”, was the least controversial in defining a definition. The interview that stuck out most to me was someone saying that ‘new media’ and ‘multimodality’ need to be kept separat because they are two terms for two distinct things. These interviews definitely gave me insight as to how much something that one may think is concrete can actually be the complete opposite.
11/21/16
1. I contributed to this video project by first conducting the interview with Ma Esther, by asking her the questions that Will and I had come up with beforehand. During the interview, Will did the filming process. The editing was a little trickier because my MacBook does not have a slot for an ad card, but thankfully Will’s does so we just met up to do the editing rather than doing it individually. I spent a lot of time transcribing and putting in the subtitles. Will and I both agreed on the music that we wished to put in, but he was the one to actually find my favorite music track on the video. Throughout this process, we took into consideration what both you and the class were saying about how we could improve our video and kind of went from there. I am happy with my contributions to this video project and I am also happy that I had Will as a partner. I think that together we made a really nice piece that (hopefully) Ma Esther will enjoy.
2. I really like our video overall. I think that my favorite part in it is towards the end when Ma Esther is speaking about war and the music cuts off as she is talking. This is my favorite because I think that it is one of, if not the most powerful scenes from the video. I also really like how we added in some definitions and pictures to go along. What displeases me most is probably the feedback that we got about the ending of our video. I think that Will and I were both able to agree that we like our ending and how the scenes are chronologically set up. Not to say that there isn’t always room for improvements, but I am pretty happy with our piece.
3. Given what I know now if I had the chance to do this project differently, I don’t think that I would change too much. I feel like this because Ma Esther was a really great community member and did not withhold much. I did ask her some of the interview questions that were originally in place, but right from the get go she began talking about what she wanted to, which I thought was great. I would have definitely liked more time during the actual interview, rather than having to cut off at a certain point. Editing can always be improved as well, so maybe that is something I would do differently since I didn’t go in with much knowledge of it.
12/5/16
1. In the first reflection that I reviewed today there was not actually multimodal elements yet in the piece, there was a layout of where those elements would be included. I liked how after each paragraph she has a plan to included some sort of visual which will explain what she was talking about in the paragraph above. One example is a photo of the interview log afterwards, which I think is a good idea to include. From this reflection I think that it helped me to realized that I can add in various pieces, even if it is something as simple as a picture of interview questions. I will definitely be taking this into consideration for my upcoming edits.
2. Moving forward, I need to add in my final multimodal elements. I have some already, but I need to gather all of the pieces that I wish to use to bring my reflection together. I plan to have pictures, as well as a music clip, a clip from the interview with Ma Esther, and a snippet from my I Am From poem, final audio biography. With most of my text done, including these elements are my main task. I also need to have a definitive way that I want to set up my final piece with all of the elements. From this point on, these two things will be my main focus.