"A Million Ways" to do a Film Project

For the film project, Erin and I got brainstorming on creating a music video. When deciding on what song to use, I thought we should try for a song by an independent band and avoid mainstream music (and copyright issues). Erin found a French song “Étienne d'Août” by Malajube, and it seemed to fit our idea perfectly. We had a few ideas about how to film and the kind of shots we wanted to take. Our ideas required more people, so we decided to invite Josie, Katrina and Laura into our group.

We decided to begin the video, we should do something all out fun with parts of dancing. I told my group we should do something neat, like the backyard video the OK Go did for their song “A Million Ways”. I have known the dance for over a year now, so I took it upon myself to teach small bits of it to the rest of the group. Whoever said media students were great dancers? It was a lot of fun doing small parts of the dance, and we were able to do the whole dance with cutting inbetween. After that, we proceeded with some more choreography done on the spot at different angles. We also rotated each other around to take turns to film so everyone else could be in it (we didn’t exactly want to trust anyone else with the camera we rented from Humber).

We thought the footage we filmed was great, but after a while we decided to have fun. I played around with the different special effects features while filming students walking up and down the Guelph Humber spiral staircase. Imust say, the angle shot I took was pretty neat, and none of the students noticed me filming their feet for a good 2 minutes.

When we were done filming, we decided to upload the footage to Erin’s laptop using firewire. We tried to fiddle around with special effects and neat film designs, but when it came to saving the video, the file wouldn’t save at all. We tried to change it into pieces, but that didn’t work either. We concluded it was probably the size of the file that would not allow us to save with the amount of memory on Erin’s laptop, so we have no final product to show =(. I must say we did have a great time though filming, it’s just a shame we didn’t get to save it.

"Sex and the City"; Guelph Humber Version

I am sitting in the middle of Guelph Humber on the second floor outside of William’s Coffee Pub with a few of the most amazing women. I have had the pleasure to make friends with these three women throughout the duration of this course, and we have become close thanks to our activist project, Project Burma. Erin, Katrina and Laura are my new “Sex and the City” soul mates.

We just attended Mark Lipton’s lecture, where we discussed different technologies invented and even watched the first few minutes of the Zeitgeist movie. I watched it this past summer when my friend linked me to it, so it wasn’t as if it was something unfamiliar to me. I’m surprised that a lot of the people I sat with, including the ladies I am sitting with now have never heard of it.

I see Erin as the one with the thickest skin out of all of us, as she hasn’t seen the Zeitgeist movie before. Erin has a very open mind and is always willing to hear other people’s idea, which is what I like the most about her. One day, I was trying to find a seat in Mass Communications when she and I were only acquainted with each other. I didn’t want to look like an idiot and sit all by myself for 20 minutes before class, so I tried to find a spot where I could throw my backpack on the side to make it look like I was with somebody. She looked up and saw me wandering around the rows like the fat kid who doesn’t get picked for dodge ball. She was kind enough to push her jacket off to the side and welcome me to the seat beside her.

Katrina is a very gentle person, but when she saw the Zeitgeist movie, she decided to view some of it on her laptop afterwards. I must say, she was offended because she is Catholic and did not like some of the ideas portrayed in the movie. I told her it was just a movie, and she tried to put it at the back of her mind. I told her that if she was going into public relations like me, she shouldn’t be bothered and accept that there will be ideas she will not like but have to face, it is all part of the industry. She told me that I’m the ‘advice girl’ and felt better within seconds.

Laura has got to be the one I consider to be the one I bonded with the most at Guelph Humber. She and I coincidentally live in Mississauga, so we now go home together and talk about almost everything. When the Zeitgeist movie was up on the projection screen, her mood did not change at all. That’s funniest thing about Laura, she keeps the same face and until you actually talk to her, you know what kind of mood she is in. She’s not shy; she is just quiet and knows the right time to speak. To me, she is my ‘advice girl’ where I can always go to if I need her.

What have I learned from these three girls? I learned that we all agree we work the hardest in our Mass Communications class. I learned that we probably put the most effort into the same things. I learned we all have seen every episode of “Sex and the City” (except for Laura). I also learned I made new friends I can rely on. I always thought that university would be about studying and being a social hermit, but now I know I can relate to people experiencing the same situations as me; I am grateful =)

"Wouldn't you be upset if it were Bingus?" "..."

Circus animals? Seriously?! I feel like a jerk as I am typing this but I did not understand that group’s presentation. Bingus, formerly known as Bingo Falafel, even got a mention in their presentation. Mistreatment of animals in general could have been a broader topic for them, in my opinion. It was an alright pitch for the spokesperson that did all the talking, but I have no place to judge. I don’t even live on res so I won’t even see these posters put up.

We discussed technology today and went up to the white board to write down what our group feels to be technology today. The alphabet and the printing press were a couple of my ideas, and since they were recognized by Mark Lipton, it just gives me a tad bit more confidence in the timeline project I did with my group, WHOO HOO!

So we talked about distractions in our daily lives and how our ideas get interrupted. I get distracted by the slightest things when I am working; food, movies, music, and the Internet. Though like most of my peers, I resist from these distractions and hope to get my work done. This is why my school is priority number one and I am willing to bust my butt for what I want to achieve. Mark told us, “Unless you are going to work for it, you will not get it.” This is why I am attending university...I want a stable job, I want to make something of myself, and I want to finish school so I can have a future.

Media Timeline

My group members and I got thinking of the media timeline, and it didn’t take too long on what we felt to be considered an accomplishment to today’s society. We felt that electricity, the printing press, the Internet, the alphabet, and the telephone to be effective forms of media communication in today’s society.

Our lovely timeline begins with the alphabet.

The alphabet doesn’t just create itself over night, but instead it took a series of steps. It began with the use of symbols as a form of written communication. As far as we’re concerned, the very first use of symbols between each other was through early caveman paintings, where pictures and symbols were drawn out. Progressing after that, the early Egyptians used hieroglyphics to communicate. This was around 3200 BC, and the Ancient Egyptians were able to establish the first pictographic writing.

Next in our media timeline is the printing press. The printing press was invented in 1440 by Johannes Gutenberg. He established to turn our language into a form of communication technology. This gave everyone the new ability to learn how to read rather than resort to verbal communication. This form of communication created the means needed to learn how to visually teach ourselves a different way to learn. The Catholic Church had a bittersweet encounter with the Gutenberg’s invention. The upside to Catholicism at the time was that numerous Holy Bibles were printed, enough for almost every family to have in their home. The downfall was when indulgences were printed and stacked ready to be signed by priests. At the beginning stage of the printing press, there was very limited knowledge they were able to print at the time (only the Holy Bible and indulgences). Today, the printing press has evolved to providing us with newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, and books filled with knowledge. Since the invention of the printing press, we were able to teach ourselves to read and write the alphabet and turn our speech into a visual means of communication

Electricity can be transformed into light and heat, as it is a form of energy. Alessandro Volta is responsible for inventing the battery. The battery was the first source of continuous electric current that was contained within an object. This form of energy source evolved into detachable energy providers to portable devices, such as automobiles, telephones, laptops, and cameras.

Our next remarkable invention is the telegraph. Samuel Morse invented the first telegraph in 1837. He created a way to travel signals through wires to reach a lengthier distance between two people. This form of communication. It was only until the late 1870’s where Alexander Graham Bell found a way to transmit verbal speech through what was called the telephone. Just a year later, Thomas Edison improved the quality of the sound in the telephone and made it popular to have.

The Internet now closes our media timeline. In1969, the Internet was first invented through the use of modems and a phone line. Today it has grown into the popularity where we use it as a source of information, entertainment purposes, email, instant messengers, and even blogs =).

"Electricity." Canada Science and Technology Museum. 10 Nov. 2007 http://www.sciencetech.technomuses.ca/english/schoolzone/Info_Electricity.cfm.

"History of the Printing Press." The Great Idea Finder. 1 May 2007. 10 Nov. 2007 http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/printpress.htm.

"Telephone History." Private Line. 10 Nov. 2007 http://www.privateline.com/mt_telephonehistory/.

"The Birth of the Alphabet." CedarSeed. Joumana Medle. 10 Nov. 2007 http://www.cedarseed.com/water/alphabet.html.

Project Burma; Successful!!

Consider this a night to remember! I just got home now from our event and I can honestly say I don't remember the last time I had this much fun.

All of our hard work, input, and efforts for the past month and a half have finally paid off. Not only did we get the word out about our cause, but we raised a total of $985.82!! I am so proud of myself and the rest of my group members, I could not have asked for a better team to make this event as amazing as it was. I believe that the money we raised says something about how much awareness we caused as well as the people we got involved. Raising almost $1000 is a high accomplishment, but we were also able to get our audience to sign a petition and a banner as well to help Burma. All proceeds and money are going strictly to Burma. We would like to donate our profits to a U.S. campaign and organizations that support Burma, but we will have to discuss it as a group on how we should approach it.

I am also very pleased with the videotaping we got done. We got a filmographer to film the entire show including our in between video presentations and clips about Burma. We will be getting a copy of this tape and sending it to Muchmusic to reach a higher audience to gain awareness about Burma. Hopefully it all works out.

For the most part, the bands were amazing and insanely generous with helping us out. Near the end when wrapping up our event and cleaning things up, members from Explosure, the Lunateers, and Mouthful of Strings emptied their pockets and gave us some donations for our cause. I can’t find anything sweeter than talented band members who donate from the heart; we were definitely not expecting them to do so after the great show they put on for us.

It is amazing how I began this project with just Erin and I. Erin was very passionate about this subject, and after doing some research, it looked like an amazing cause for us to pitch. This was definitely too big of a task for us two to handle, so we decided to send out a group e-mail to all the students in our class asking anyone who would like to be interested, in joining the group. After rallying all of the confirmed group members, I decided to take it upon myself to schedule and hold the group meetings so that each one of our members was informed with our updates. I also took part in choosing the musicians with Katrina and narrowed it down to the final six. The band I was responsible to keep in close contact with was "Mouthful of Strings", a Mississauga band I was able to constantly keep tabs on in terms of their song choices they had prepared as well as the technical stage equipment needed. The bands who agreed to play for our concert were very generous and cooperated to play for our non-profit cause.

Katrina, Jeremiah, Josie, Elisha, Robert, Laura and I showed up two hours ahead of schedule to assure all the equipment rented was functioning as well as the sound system and powerpoint. After doing sound checks with a couple of the band members, the rest of us decided to put up our posters of Burma with awareness facts and how we could help. When Erin arrived, we set up a banner and petition for all our audience members to sign to help support our cause throughout the night.

I am still shaking from this evening and I cannot believe the overwhelming sensation I am getting. Maybe this is a rush of achievement. Maybe? I’m not too sure but I can’t stop smiling like a fool =D

A huge thank you to my group members (Erin, Laura, Katrina, Josie, Jeremiah, Robert, Meghan, Mandi, Elisha) because without them, we wouldn’t have made our night as memorable as it was. Not only has this experience bonded us closer together, but I feel as if I belong to something incredible. I never felt that I could be a part of something before, and for once I feel included.

They are all talented individuals and I am so happy I have had the pleasure to work on this special project with them. This project would honestly not have been as successful without you all, so I believe we should all be proud of ourselves for the amazing deed we have done.

Overwhelmed =/

I hope it is natural to feel this way, because I feel that assignments are getting thrown at me left, right, and center. My older sister tells me it is normal and the feeling will eventually pass...once winter break is here *raises eyebrow*.

I just handed in my essay, and I feel proud of myself. Who knew I could write so much on something I actually care about. I think I speak for the 120+ students in this class when I say high school was a joke. I felt like a clone; always told what to do and constantly keeping at a pace where they would poke at random flaws. I felt 'babied' in high school, but as I said earlier this year, I finally feel a sense of independence for once. I was always told what to write about, how I was able to approach it, and then explain. Mark Lipton was right when he said, "You are all so used to being conditioned that the freedom I give you will certainly scare you." Once again, he was right.

I hate that I was ‘sheltered’ in high school. I never had a choice, so when I did this essay it felt amazing. It was as if I broke curfew with my parents for the first time. Sure I chose to write about The Truman Show, but I actually feel I broke down the main pieces of it (and even the little things people don’t catch at first glimpse).

This week is going to fly by, but I want to catch every moment of it. I’m glad my classmates and I got up in front of the class today and presented our activist project on Burma. What makes me even more happy is that we are recognized for reaching a larger audience outside of Guelph Humber. It’s located on Reilly’s on Dundas and Yonge St. The location was important, and as Erin and I were trying to find an available venue, we thought this would be the best choice (who wouldn’t want to come to Toronto for a independent concert?) I hope a lot of people can make it. The current amount of audience members we are expecting so far stands at 74 (hooray for facebook events!)

Earlier this week, I had to reassure my essay was good enough as well as finish the final touches to this Friday’s Activist Project with my group members.

Major essay + Burma Activist Project = one hell of a week; feel the overwhelming atmosphere much? Of course I do.

We the Media

To be honest, I wasn’t too motivated to read this We the Media. I eventually finished it, but it wasn’t too encouraging.

Mainly because all the articles were all over the place and the layout showed several ideas at once on a page. It could also be that it reminded me of a textbook where I thought that I could not concentrate. The readings so far I have enjoyed, but when it came down to We the Media, I did not feel as much of a willingness to learn. It could also be because midterms has just ended and I have also been all over the place with my subjects trying tomake sure every assignment is handed in and every test is completed to the last end.

It wasn’t the context of this book that turned me off, but rather the presentation of the context did not keep me interested. I know I say I am a visual learner, but a layout similar to the one used in We the Media only discouraged me to keep reading. It took me about two weeks to finally finish this book, and by finally finish I sound relieved to have completed this book.

Hazen, Don and Julie Winokur. We the Media. New York: The New P, 1997.