Documentary Final: Connecting to Cloud Nine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySaPrZUpE-0

The Documentary was a real challenge to complete from the beginning. Since the choice in topic was limited to Facebook, it was difficult considering i barely use the site. My topic was facebook as a distraction. I interviewed a limited amount of people and asked them a total of six questions each. i used music primarily from apple Inc. on the macbook's iMovie as a background music theme. And to take viewers eye away from just people talking, i added some of my own pics along with one pic from the internet and recorded my voice explaining a little more of what i was going for. I also repeated pics by introducing them in one section and using them back at the end to add a little effect. 

        The hardest thing about the project was filming. i encountered many questions during my filming. One of which was how to get someone to talk on camera long enough for me to gather enough footage. Another problem was arranging the videos in a way in which my topic made sense. What really ended up working in the video is the transitions from clip to clip. it wasn't as choppy as i thought it would be a came out making sense in the end because the transitions i added made sense as well. What didnt quite work as well as i had hoped was the audio. Some of the audio in the clips i tried to fix by messing with the equalizer and sound reduction. however, some of the footage just came up short for me in terms of sound quality because of the camera and background noise. In the end, i made it work by reducing some sound although some footage is a little fuzzy. 

       I myself and not good at composing things of this nature because i have never done anything like this before. i barely even take photos of anything much less videos. My ability to just learn and adapt definitely got me through this project successfully. Even though the video hadn't come out to the best quality that i wanted it in, i still was able to put together a video which made sense and was fluent. I achieved most of my goals by sitting down and reviewing writing down ideas. i wrote down my voiceovers, numbered the questions i asked in the order i wanted to place them, and trimmed all the clips to the desired length to make them run together. I spent most of my time figuring out some timing issues with voiceovers and things. in the end, i ran the video several times to make sure it was in a good enough quality to understand and no video was too much or lacking. 

      Getting all the video was the hard part. putting it together was simple for me since i separated each question into one shot each. Overall, i didn't run into any major issues and i was able to do the film without having to redo a section. All the pieces sort of just came together. 

shoot sched

I will start all of my shooting and interviewing around wednesday because i have exams to study for. So starting on wednesday i will start interviewing people around my dorm. i plan to capture as much footage as possible within three days of starting and composing the video later.

 i plan on interviewing several people. Some that i know and some that i don't. i plan on finding people who are addicted to Facebook or maybe just certain aspects to it. So here is my schedule.

Sunday-Tuesday: Nothing or work on a little story mapping.
Wednesday-Friday: filming
Saturday: construct filmed footage with music and effects. also figuring out a little layout.

proposal

   My documentary is going to focus on how facebook keeps us connected to the world. We all know facebook as this socializing medium to talk to friends, share things to stay in touch, and it also keeps track of events and your organizations. Facebook actually does a lot of things and i believe that it has so much to offer that it is often overused. Facebook in this sense becomes addicting because it offers too much capability. I know every time i walk through the library, i find more than one person on the site checking statuses rather than doing work. And i catch myself doing the same thing sometimes. This can become a problem to full time college students or working people because it becomes a distraction rather than a helper. It could contribute to things like messaging while driving or keep you from doing what needs to be done because of its entertainment value.
  For this documentary, i would like to focus on the student body, more specifically, freshman. This is because it gives me a chance to not only see the effects of Facebook on people, but of my peers. i plan to investigate how invested people are to the site and what they use it for.
  Most of my video clips are probably going to be primarily interviews of Freshman. i plan to capture what people say about it on impulse rather then sit down and interview them. The documentary will probably not have much musical elements to it because i feel like the it doesn't need the sound to enhance the meaning through out. The color will probably remain normal most of the time. this is because i feel no real need to have color altercation because it wouldn't really effect my piece significantly. Of course, i might change up these effects as needed to obtain my final product.
   i plan to interview people around my dorm and a few other freshmen. i plan to ask some of the following questions
  - what do you use facebook for?
- Do you keep track of things through Facebook?
- how often do you use Facebook for these purposes?
- Is Facebook Beneficial?
- Do you think Facebook is harmful in any way? why?
-do you enjoy all that Facebook has to offer?
    And ill etcetera. i will probably come up with different questions along the way but for now i feel this is all i need.
    What i want to point out is that Facebook can become a problem if used too frequently. It connects us to the world by keeping us in touch, but we tend to use these features too much and it does tend to distract us. Id like to uncover what Facebook means to other people and what it can be and how it should be used in moderation. The question i would like to resolve in other words is how can we use Facebook correctly without it becoming an addicting problem.
 

Dark Days

Dark Days was shot well as it portrayed the lives of the people in the tunnel. The first thing that stood out to me was the black and white coloring through out the video. The black and white sort of made the story seem more sad. i believe the absence of color just makes it seem like there was little or no hope. it just didn't seem bright and warm. There was little sound as well. the only things you could really hear was the sound of the tunnel, the people talking, and the occasional train. i noticed as well that they used transitions just like the ones we watched but in this one it was a train.
     The shots were good too. the story seemed more natural then the other videos we watched. like to me, it just seemed like they were just tagging along for the ride it was almost like the documentary we watched over the basketball player.  At on point of the film, one of the homeless people asked surprisingly "you're still here" which made me believe they didn't even know when they were going to be filmed or for how long. And it appeared more natural because they would take shots of the people talking about random things, but i fill like that was kind of framed mostly cause they talked about the problems of the tunnel. It also didn't focus on just one persons perception of the tunnels, but it focused on the whole group.
    all these elements mixed into video made the life of being homeless seem more real. There was hardly any interaction between the crew and the homeless which made it seem more natural. the way the documentary was framed actually made it look worse and worse from scene to scene. like in the beginning they were just chilling out, then it showed them recycling, but then it showed them dumpster diving. and after all that a guy came on and talked about the dangers of tunnels which really added to the situation of tunnels from what was seen. overall, it showed that organizing shots really play a role in effectiveness.
  What really made Dark Days more interesting then the other two documentaries is that it could relate to anyone. the story can actually link to people in that we could end up like that. I mean the first one we watched was about a guy who was having trouble selling his old records which people barely have nowadays and the second one was about a basketball player who had to fly a lot and was scared of it. the thing is anyone can be homeless. It was a more deeper issue and thats another reason i think it was in black and white as well. When we see colors, it can sometimes take away from the meaning of the message. So when we see black and white, we have no choice but to focus on whats being said rather than whats in the shot.
 

documentary stuff

1. Facebook more than a social site. (organizer)
2. Facebook connecting people to the world.
3. Facebook keeping track of your life. (timeline)

final draft: Light

video games

My interpretation of art is that it depends solely on the person observing. Art is what we as an audience choose to get out of something. So to me, anything could be art especially video game.
    What art really does for the mind is open it up to interpretation. For example, i could look at a light post outside my dorm and find some natural beauty in it. Video games tell a story through a series of elements. It sets a story and incorporates elements such as sound, dialogue, and video representation.
   The "rock" concept to me sort of hit me more as foundation. The story set by the creators of a game is that foundation, but its elements that bring a game to life and make it art. For example, video games tend to use songs to add the intended emotional response. I think of final fantasy games from nowadays which have actual composers incorporating this sort of passionate music which in my mind the sound makes me think of troubles i experience and hope that I've acquired. Again, this is off my interpretation of the sound though. An artist doesn't necessarily intend to make their art effect everybody. To me this element is art, to others it could just be some noise in the background.
  The main goal of artist of all calibers try to achieve is to connect to an audience. Video games do a great job of this. I totally disagree that dialogue takes away from a video games art. In some cases, the dialogue could actually reach an audience. Some games carry some inspirational messages through the dialogue. Although it isn't the first thing that comes to mind when we think of art, words can be art in themselves. As Santiago said, art is an arranging of elements in a way to appeal to emotions. So why cant words be art? It doesn't take away from the meaning of a story or the art. The words actually might add clarity to the art. I cant really think of a specific example of a game, but the music in coherence with a character talking could actually enhance a deeper meaning in what the game is trying to convey.
 And again, these meanings from the game are all perception from the audience.
  the main thing that i think qualifies games as art are the visual representation. When i play futuristic games i tend to think of what my future will be like. When i play a game that displays beautiful scenery in high def, the art pops out at me and makes me think of places I've been to. The visual aspects are what make the game art. Even though the gaming art isn't as visually striking as genuine art done by hand, it still finds a way to connect with the audience in ways nothing else can.
   All of these elements together combine to form what i believe is art. However, it is truly up to an audience to decide what they want to take from any art piece. The problem with most games nowadays is that they are in some ways just mindless fun instead of providing some sort of emotional attachment. And isn't that the point of a game? It is important to realize though that not all games are the same. As one of the articles said some art is good and some are bad. Video games do a great job at combining multiple elements to grasp an audience and tell a story. i believe anything can be made into art. Art is purely perception.

So its not exactly in the order i want it yet but...

1. this is a pic of me being lazy at a tennis match cause i didn't get good sleep. (ball was in play)

 2. this is a pic of how i felt my life was.

 3. represents being engulfed in darkness

 4. shows the light through being lost phase.

 5. pic of my facebook page

 6. how i felt after i got one. relaxed

 7. the puzzle pieces were put together

 8. represets staying connected.

9. represents me falling asleep on a competition day

10. my life felt scrambled due to time management

im not sure where i want the songs to play, but for now i want to play a slow song first so probably gravity by john mayer. and then a song to represent how i felt when i found Facebook so feeling good by micheal buble next. Its not my for sure selection, but for now i feel it'll work.

For my essay i am choosing "Gravity" by John Meyer because the words kind of talk about being brought down which is a little relevant to my speech. And "Feeling Good" by Michael Buble because it says what my topic made me feel at the time.

10 pics

                                                          Beginning of the song

                                                       more random messages

                                                     everybody having a good time

                                            band playing in the middle of a vast number of no-lifes

                                               reverts back to the party scene

                                                 things start flashing and party becomes hepatic

                                      no-lifes seize control by showing things on their faces

                                              girl trying to look away, but is forced to look

                                              bright commercial. color is appealing to eye.

                                              band themselves have converted to these beings

BYOB

Bring your own Beer. you would think this song is all about partying and a good time right? well it isn't at all. when i first saw the video for this song, i thought it was odd but i picked up on the point really quick. i feel System of a Down was talking about the government through out the video and how it is controlling us. the music video is really fast pace and repetitive which made the understanding part a little easier.
        The video starts off with the band jamming out in the middle of these walking no-life beings that show messages on their heads such as "die" and "buy." during this section, the lead singer is talking about how they control us with "hypnotic computers" and "feed us lies from the tablecloth." and the video did a good job of showing how the people were controlled.
        The video takes a sharp twist for the mid section and goes to a party where everyones going wild. the sharp change sort of just showed how people are having a good time. but the sharp change kind of leads me to believe that people arent thinking about the problems and how they just want to let loose instead. during this section, the singer is just repeating over and over everybody's going to the party have a real good time.
      The video changes back to a rapid pace giving us this sense of being controlled again. the singer says that they are breaking into fort knox stealing our intentions while this is going on. this is talking about how they take our thoughts away from us. And the video just seems hepatic while he is screaming the words.
      the next part goes back into the party but this time the walking no-life beings show up to the party and the video gets crazier. the singer starts yelling "why dont presidents fight the war" and "why do they always send the poor" which he repeats later in the video. The party dies down a little and the no-life beings start projecting television advertisements and shows and the party people are frozen watching the screens. this scene shows a little of how they think we are controlled as the people are helpless to the screens. and the singer keeps saying everyone is here just to have a good time while this is going on.
      Overall, the video gives the idea that life in society is controlled but we see life as a party. The band does a good job in the words they choose for the song because it sort of explains the video and whats happening. for me, the words that got me to understand were "you depend on our protection yet you feed us lies from the tablecloth" it got me thinking who are they referring to in the situation. and the lifeless beings walking around with the words "buy" on their face gave it away. the repetition of the song is helpful as well. it interchanges between the party scene and the lifeless being scene while repeating the same words. the repetition made their meaning clearer.

Lost in the dark

            I have always been kind of a messy guy since as long as I can remember. I wasn’t really organized and I consistently lost track of my priorities. I felt like my life was just scrambled around like a puzzle and I had nothing to keep me in the loop about things or get me organized. 

            Back in North Hardin High school, I was apart of the varsity tennis team, Marching Band and National honors society. I was really bad about showing up all the time. I showed up to my national honors society meetings late or completely just forgot and left school even when there was an announcement at the end of the day to remind us. For marching band practice, my band director never wasn’t mad at me on the field. The nights before practice, I wouldn’t get any sleep because I didn’t know there was practice. I got angry calls from my director and sister who helps out and the end result would be me an hour late and falling asleep while standing still with shades on. And the same thing applied for tennis. I would go to practice and be too tired to run or sling my racquet across the court. One time i pegged my partner five times in a row on my serves cause my form was bad and he just walked off the court to cool off. In each organization, I missed out on things that we were doing and had to play catch up all the time. It was a bit stressful.

 Being unorganized would set me back and I never would feel like I was doing my part. I use to try really hard to remember things or write stuff down, but it never helped. There was actually a time that I became complacent with not knowing and just constantly having to react instead of just being prepared. And it drove me crazy. I wanted to change, but I just kept settling on being lazy. There were times I would just shut down and skip even knowing what time to go because I didn’t want to react. It was like playing hide and seek with friends at night. You can't see anyone in the pitch black cause you don't know how to go about finding them or have a plan and by the time they run out it's too late to catch them and do anything. One thing that would have helped you see out of the dark situation and made you effective is a flashlight. 

The darkness of the game represents how lost i felt when i wasn't organized. The flashlight represents something i had access to that helped me out of the situation.  The "flashlight" that helped me come out of the "darkness" was Facebook. Facebook connected me to what was going on and was the light I was looking for to keep me out of the dark. With my Facebook account, I was able to stop reacting and know what was coming because my friends would post helpful reminders right before an event. And since it gets beamed to my phone, I knew immediately what was going on and could check fast if I needed to. My account has given me the comfort and ease I searched for. It was the answer to my ongoing question of “what’s going to happen next.” Facebook is my organizer. 

dislikes for tib

Asking the right  questions is about a chemist that lost his two year old son and asked the question whether what he was doing was effecting that. I didn't really enjoy the speech too much mostly because his point was a little buried and not clear. i still don't even know what it's truly about.
 his story with his sons death was emotional, but i didn't think it connected with his point about asking questions about chemists job. this is mostly because there is no definite correlation between his sons death and the chemicals as i read it. i kind of get that he's questioning the work field because of his son's death, but it didn't really make the connection. now i believe if there was a direct connection between the chemicals and his loss i would understand a little better.
Another reason i thought this didn't click with me is because i have no clue what that man has been through nor do i know the effect of chemicals or job field he worked in. since i couldnt relate, i couldnt get into it. And i was a little skeptical of his reasoning because the man had lost his son. his question on whether the chemicals are the cause are understandable and it kind of seemed like he was just looking for something to blame.
his question of "why" didn't really strike me or leave an impression on me either. like why do they make chemicals and stuff. i just think its because again, i don't understand the nature of his job field and i don't know the harmful effects he goes through. if he elaborated more about his job, i think the speech would have been a little more effective. Overall, i couldn't connect to his speech or understand it well so i didn't enjoy it.

this i believe

“To be the best humans we can be” is the I believe speech I’ve chosen.  It is written by Tim Wilson a police officer and although most of it doesn’t relate to me, the ending really stuck. It kind of made me think of myself and things I try to do to be a good person. For example, I’m very aware of the people around me and I try to treat every person fairly. If there is someone on the street who asks for spare change, I lend a dollar. I open doors for people all the time and try to lend helping hands to people even when they don’t ask. It doesn’t matter if its small or big, I try to be a good guy.

Even with “offensive people” I try to be nice and don’t let anything effect me. For example, when someone says something rude or uncalled for I ignore or try to diffuse the situation in a nonviolent way. I like how he said perfection is an illusion because honestly that’s so true. Nobody is perfect, I slip up a lot in things that I do and the way I respond to some situations. However, I can try to be a better person. And in relation to my digital life I can say I was very careful not to create misunderstandings in messages I sent people or to come off as rude or uncaring. I made sure to be a person people could talk to about stuff to and a supporter. For example, some of my friends are deploying and in real life I told them to contact me online or phone if they could and wanted to talk about things going on over there. It’s a little act of kindness and I just try to be available.

I didn’t really listen to the audio, but this essay was effective because it really appealed to the ethos part of rhetoric. The story he told with the letter in his locker gave a little warmth to his essay and the conclusion brought me to his main idea. I understood where he was coming from because I too have taken these things into account. Like him, everyday I go on, I think about what I can do in my day small or big to be the best person I can be.  This speech connected pretty well with me. 

my mobile world

Preparation outline

                                                                                     Name: Timmy Ford

                                                                                    Section: 017

Title:

My mobile world

Introduction

I.               Attention Catcher: Linking emotions to music.

It is possible to live in a world of sunshine and peace in one moment and switch to sadness and pain in the next with a simple yet complex device.

   

II.             Listener Relevance link: Listeners all have an understanding of the iPod touch and its features. Widely used apple product

III.             Speaker Credibility: I use my iPod constantly. In the morning, in the day while I’m walking, even to sleep.    

IV.            Thesis Statement: iPod has made things easily mobile, created a whole new way we view a music player, and has made an easier way to get what we want.

V.              Preview:  It’s possible to live in a world of sunshine and peace in one moment. Where nothing matters to you except your thoughts. Where the land is paved to your imagination. Where you are free to feel the way you want and express said feeling. It is also possible to live in a world sadness and pain in the next moment. Where you call for solitude. Where everything is gloomy. Where you want to just escape just for the day. These emotions lie beyond the door to music. The key this door is a simple yet complex device called the iPod touch. The iPod has revolutionized the way we listen to music. It’s completely mobile, offers more than your typical music player, and has made shopping for music easier than ever before. The features on the iPod are virtually limitless!

Transition: (add one later maybe)

Body: First Main Point

Listener Relevance Link: It’s Mobile

A.     It fits in your pocket

1.     Really mobile

2.     Compared to past players

B.     Is compatible

1.     Can hook up to cars

2.     Can hook up to stereo system

Transition: the conveyance of having an iPod doesn’t end in its physical features. The electronic features are what make the iPod essentially the best on the market.

II.         The iPods content

A.     Can download a bunch of material

1.     Holds up 1000+ songs depending on gig purchased.

B.     Safari

1.     Mobile Fast internet connection (varying on connection)

2.     Can establish connection to any connection nearby (if unlocked)

Transition: not only has it revolutionized what we can do on a music player, but it changed the way we buy material too.

           

III.       Itunes

            LRL: makes purchasing easier and offers a lot of content

A.     Online shopping

1.     Have the option to purchase songs directly to your iPod if wanted

2.     Beats traditional style of buying from actual store and ICloud feature makes downloading outstanding (will detail iCloud later)

B.     Podcasts, movies, Apps

1.     You can purchase these things off itunes and retain a lot of memory storage (varying)

2.     Easy to download and easy way of payments.

Transition: all these features on the iPod have shaped the way we view music players today.

Conclusion

I.               The iPod is mobile, offers more content then a typical player, and has made shopping way easier than before.

II.             These factors have revolutionized the music player and have shaped the suture of them as well.

III.           IPods are getting increasingly better. Its a mobile world of possibilities. The future of music players is here.