Final Project

 

Comm 220 has helped me in many ways throughout the semester. It has helped me develop new skills. Learn how to pitch ideas. And the class has taught me to be more confident in my creative work.

Through Comm 220 I have learned to be more proficient in Photoshop, which will be beneficial for my future. And learning Photoshop also gave me more confidence to try out Indesign, which is the program I really need for the future. Next we learned how to use more technology like cameras and microphones, this is a great resume skill. The next set of skills we tried was website programming software. And last we touched upon Avid, which again is another great resume building skill.

This class taught us how to pitch ideas, as well as have confidence in them. The first final pitch was for our final, but we did mini ones throughout the semester. And while we were presenting our work a vital skill that was improved on is how to take criticism. Overall, this class was extremely beneficial for my future.

Cultural Event Post: Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero

Today at Elon University there was a film event hosted. This event was entitled Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero (2002). The film screening occurred at the Koury Business Center in the LaRose Digital Theatre. The Elon Global Neighborhood, The International Studies Department, The Peace and Conflict Studies Department, and the Religious Studies Department sponsored the event itself.

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The film screening had an attendance of about fifty to sixty people in a venue that houses about 75 people. This being said the event was relatively full. When I asked Senior Emily Prawde why she was attending the event she replied, “I have to admit that I am attending this event due to professor persuasion, but once I arrived I was very impressed by the attendance and interest in this film screening.”

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Religious Studies professor LD Russell hosted this film screening. He initially introduced the film with a series of questions about the presence of religion during a tragic situation. He wanted to know if religion was mostly strengthened or weakened? He wanted to know how people of different faith responded, as well as how they saw God before, during, and after the American Tragedy of 9/11. And lastly he questioned. “Does having faith cause someone to be stronger in a time of tragedy or does it cause them to question their devotion entirely?”

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After Russell asked this question the crowd of students and a few Elon officials stirred a bit with some whispers. Of what I overheard, people did not seem to have a definitive answer to these questions, especially the last one.

As the film started the crown went silent as images of the World Trade Center during 9/11 flashed across the screen. Feelings of sadness, discomfort, and wonder filled the room as many students were forced to relive a tragedy that most had left behind many years ago. A few people throughout the crowd started to tear up, others reseeded into their chairs and starred at their computers trying to avoid what was being shown in front of them.

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During the film itself there was large display of people who had faced the tragedy from different angles and religious perspective. The film featured people who had lost loved ones who worked at the World Trade Center, people who tried to save people, as well as the loved ones of people who tried to save people, the film even featured people who actually survived the attack. These people were part of many different types of religious backgrounds including, Christianity, Catholicism, Judaism, Muslim, Atheists, as well as people who were more spiritual then religious.

In response to Russell’s original question there was many different answers provided throughout the film. A few people said they begged God to let their loved ones make it, but ended up losing faith when they realized death was imminent. Some people were able to take comfort through their faith when the realized they would still be attached to there loved ones through it. And a man who survived even mentioned that God had a plan for him and that is the whole reason he was able to make it through.

Overall, this event was very informative for Elon Students and did cause a lot of people to question their faiths and the strengths of their beliefs.

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International Student Documentary- Nada Azem

After working on my International Student Documentary I have learned a lot. Nada taught me many things about her background, her country, and her transition as an international student to Elon. Also through working with her I was able to learn a lot about working with different video related technologies including, video cameras, hard drives, memory cards, and how to do basic work with Avid Media Composer.

When talking to Nada we learned a lot about her background. First she told us that she did not actually finish school in Syria, but due to punishments from the war she had to finish high school in a neighboring country. She also talked a lot about the resources that she was cut off from while living in Syria. Nada when at home does not have strong Internet access, or access to any form of social media, even for communication purposes. This means she really cannot communicate with her family at home. She also told us a lot about how she cannot go home very often because the war often causes the borders in Syria to be closed. This would mean that Nada would not be able to come back to Elon. In fact during these time periods when the borders are closed, the people of Syria are essentially trapped.

On the technological side, I also learned a lot from this project. First of all I learned the importance of formatting your memory card when using a camera. I learned this because we had to get the initial footage off the actual camera because we forgot to format it. The next thing I learned was how to the basics with Avid. I now know how to cut video clips, add titles, organize video on my timeline, and publish a video to QuickTime.

Overall this project was a wonderful learning experience.

“Reckless” is a female singer with attitude. She is the commanding voice of an angst filled female teenage generation. Reckless has a flare very similar to the likes of a combination of Miley Cyrus and Madonna combined. She is always looking to make a splash and I believe her website exemplifies this greatly.

 

Upon entering the homepage of Reckless’s website you are immediately attacked by a picture that seems to jump off the page at you. The website it covered in a paint splashed/ almost burned looking background, showing you how over the top this young rock star truly is. The website is extremely organized and allows you to visit pages like her bio, events, media, and news.

 

Reckless made sure that a major part of her website was her charity page. Since she is a role model to teenage girls, she makes a huge stand about the importance of confidence. If you visit this page you can few not only her mission statement, but also watch videos about what she has done to promote the “Reckless Movement.”

 

In Reckless’s bio you can see her backstory and what drew her to a life of hard rock. It is no wonder Reckless loves everything about rock, how could you not when you grow up with a godfather like Mick Jagger?  Reckless also makes sure to show off some of her amazing album covers to show her intense personality.

 

Last, but certainly not least Reckless has chosen to advertise her upcoming tour known as the “Reckless Unity Tour.” This tour was designed to unify all of her little Reckless Souls (her followers). She advertises in multiple places on her website that the tour will be taking place March 11 to June 21^st. She also mentions that the tour will be taken place all over America, as well as parts of Asia.

 

 

Magazine Cover Attempt

The New Grounds of the Alamance-Caswell Hospice Home

 

Upon arrival at the Alamance-Caswell Hospice Home I was not expecting the beauty that was displayed in front of me. When you hear the word “Hospice” a couple of words commonly come to mind, these usually include sad and dreary, but this was not what I found when I was walking around the newly redone grounds of the property. I got the opportunity to speak with one of the employees of the Hospice Home, Mitch Lawson, and she could not have been more excited to talk about how the beauty of the grounds would enhance the client experience.

“When I first started working at Hospice it was a pretty modesty facility, it was very pleasant looking, but nothing to brag about. When our general manager came to discuss the possibility of enhancing the grounds, I just about jumped for joy. A lot of the clients at the Hospice Home have the ability to walk around outside, so the new scenic views would really boost their spirits.” –Mitch Lawson, Volunteer Coordinator

According to one of the grounds keepers the property was always beautiful, but needed to be spruced up. “Originally the property was very wooded and a little untamed. But now the area is great place for our wonderful clients to come reflect upon their lives.” –Janitor Jim, Maintenance

The staff here at Hospice went into great detail when describing the changes that were made to their facility. They shared that the clients often spoke of how there was this beautiful pond at the end of the property, but no way to view it without fear of falling. So, the people of Hospice fixed this problem by clearing out some of the wooded area and adding a pathway. They also added benches and chairs at different points along the path so clients of all capabilities would have the opportunity to view the pond.

Another change that was made was the enhancement of some of the natural beauty that was already present on the grounds of the Hospice Home. These changes included fencing in the pond at the bottom of the property so the clients could view the birds and other wildlife that are often present. Another improvement done was adding fixtures that, in warmer weather, would encourage the presence of more wildlife. This included many new bird feeders, birdhouses, and bird perches. According to one of the volunteers there is nothing the clients of hospice love more in the spring than seeing the arrival of new wildlife.

Other changes that were made to the property included a brand new gazebo and the planting of a few new trees. Also, when the weather improves the employees plan on installing a garden on the grounds.

Overall, my experience at Hospice was not like anything I expected. The people at this facility are extremely warm and welcoming. They encouraged all of the people who came to explore the new scenery as much as possible. When talking to Mitch, the Volunteer Coordinator, at the end of my visit she encouraged me to come back anytime because they love having people around.

“Hospice has this negative stereotype of being difficult due to the heavy subject matter we deal with. We really hope that the new enhancement of our grounds will help show people the beauty in our work.”- Mitch Lawson, Volunteer Coordinator

http://hospiceac.org

Mitch Lawson- mitchelenelawson@gmail.com

Exercise Number 1

During this exercise I faced a few challenges. The challenges were based around skill, timing and breaking out of my comfort zone.

One major thing I learned from this exercise is that working with these cameras can actually be pretty challenging, and takes a lot of skill and patience. I definitely want to spend some more time with this camera because I have a lot more to learn. For instance, it took me about twenty minutes to white balance the camera the first time. Also, my pictures were consistently coming out blurry. This led to me playing with the shutter speed to try and eliminate this issue. But this only led to a new problem of trying to let the right amount of light in.

My next set of challenges revolved around timing issues. My first realization of this struggle came when I was trying to photograph the people walking around Moseley. It turns out that photographing moving people is extremely challenging because at least one part of their body will be blurry or out of focus. So after this I tried photographing people who were stationary. But these people were causing the same issue because even when you are sitting down you are still in motion. This led to a whole new battle with the shutter speed.

My last problem came from the idea of doing this project in general. It took awhile for me to get started because of how uncomfortable I felt photographing complete strangers. After a while this got easier because I stopped caring about the emotions behind it, and more about just getting a good picture. Also, one thing that made this a lot easier was going to take pictures at the basketball game. What I realized is that when people are really into watching sports they hardly notice some girl trying to take their picture.

Close-Up (F/stop-3.5) (shutter speed 1/50) (ISO 800)

Head to Toe (f/stop-3.5) (shutter speed 1/80) (ISO 640)

Person in Environment (f/stop-2.8) (shutter speed 1/20) (ISO 1600)

Person in Environment (f/stop-3.5) (shutter speed 1/80) (ISO 640)

Kalle Gustafsson Photography

Kalle Gustafsson is a Swedish photographer and director. He is often credited with being a Mad Men style photographer before the show even hit the small screen. Gustafsson’s photos are famous for their cinematic effect, which contributes greatly to their visual intensity.

Most of Gustafsson’s work attempts to achieve a retro effect. He often finds inspiration from 60’s Italian cinema, as well as American drama from the 50’s. Gustafsson is also able to achieve the same intensity in his more modern work that features contemporary fashion.

Speakeasy

 

The reason I was so drawn to Gustafsson’s photos was because of his mastery of color. His work ranges from black and whites, to partial, as well as full-blown color. His photos also include a luminosity that makes them pop off the page. Gustafsson’s inspiration comes from a range of places, but he credits a large portion of it to Italian art. Gustafsson is quoted on Popfoto.net saying that,

“I got to see Caravaggio and da Vinci in Florence which my family visited several times a year and painting became something very dear to me. Florence also opened up a new window towards the magic of light for me.”

In the series of photos entitled “Alex,” his mastery of light is greatly displayed. A young woman is placed against a lush field in retro style clothing, with a singular focus on what looks to be a white rose. This series is entirely in black and white, which gives the model an extremely angelic effect. The stark white of her flowing white dress against the vast wilderness behind her draws the eye directly to the models gaze, which varies from intense to light-hearted, on the white rose in front of her.

Alex

Gustafsson has managed to take his style of photography and use it in many ways. His photos include editorials, beauty, personal, motion, advertising, as well as a recent jump into social media with his Instagram account. Gustafsson’s elegant style has allowed him to be featured in many internationally acclaimed high-fashion publications. His work has been featured in GQ, Marie Claire, Mr. Porter, Billboard, Monocle, as well as many other world renowned publications.

Uniforms for the Dedicated

Please take the time to go to his personal site and view his full portfolio. http://kallegustafsson.com