Delivery Drivers: Facts vs. Fiction

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eFA-an3TE8&feature=youtu.be

Here is the link to the final version of our documentary.

A Year in Reflection

The biggest struggle while doing this project was getting all of the group members on the same page initially. We had a very rough idea for what we wanted but I knew that many of those ideas would not come across well during the editing stage, since I was in charge of editing. Although it was a struggle, I do think the project as a whole turned out very nicely. The focus was clear and it was well organized and I was proud of my group for doing a good job. My least favorite part about the video was that it was not nearly as interesting as some of the other groups. It was difficult to make it exciting, especially since it was too difficult to get a "ride along" scene with a delivery driver due to their rules. My main role in the group was editor. Because I have done a few videos before, I knew going into it what we needed visually to make the video not look super awkward. Everyone else did a great job doing their part and it worked out fine. I wish I could have spoken up more at the beginning of the project and taken role as leader. I feel like I contributed a fair amount and the documentary as a whole went good.

If I would have seen all of the documentaries at the beginning of the semester, I would not have thought our groups would have been that well. I get distracted by the visual quality of the video and fail to focus on the content a lot of the time. I was able to realize when groups had trouble finding a focus in their documentary, when I wouldn't have been able to do that well at the beginning of the semester. I definitely enjoyed the layout of this class compared to my wrd class last semester. It was interesting and much more enjoyable reading things in different styles and watching videos occasionally. I feel like you did a much better job promoting conversation in class than my last semester teacher did which made the experience as a whole much better. I think the class as a whole was effective and more enjoyable. I definitely prefer this style to writing essays and reading novels. This class can be made better by possibly having one more formal speech to help students be more comfortable speaking in front of the class. I also enjoyed how you used time efficiently every day. When when you didn't have much more to say, you didn't feel the need to keep class going but just ended early. It made class easier to come to and not a drag. I cannot think of anything specific to change to improve this class.

Delivery Drivers: Facts vs. Fiction

Here is the link to get to our documentary:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ma7KDraG96Y

I really enjoyed watching this documentary. My favorite part about it was how clean it all was. The transitions were nice, the actual quality of the picture was fantastic, the sounds all blended well, and all of the shots were aesthetically pleasing. I thought the overall flow was nice and was easy to follow. I feel like there should have been a slightly heavier focus on the girl herself since the whole thing started and ended with her at the beauty pageant. Besides that small detail, I thought it was well organized. Another thing I really enjoyed about this documentary was the text. I loved how crisp it looked and the fact that it was there. I liked how it was sometimes on the slides in front of the shots, but to have emphasis was on a black slide. I think that added variety and impact in general.
If I were making a storyboard for this documentary, I would draw about eight different pictures. The first four I would draw the beauty pageant, a picture of the girl's family together (because of the many random shots taken around the house), and then two pictures with each of the parents because of their interviews. The next two I would draw Goose and Mindi's family because of the interviews they had, and then a picture of the explosion just to represent the change in focus. After that I would include pictures of the doctor's office, a picture of the general home of the girl, and then the final picture would be of the beauty pageant again. Overall, it was an enjoyable documentary.

Musician's Friend vs. Pearl Drums

The websites I visit the most are definitely Pearldrum.com and Musiciansfriend.com. Both of these websites have the purpose of selling products, specifically musical products. The main difference is that Musician's Friend is a general music website while Pearl Drums is specifically dedicated to percussion instruments. I think both websites do a really good job with organization and give the viewer a clear direction in a simplistic fashion. Although both sites have a quite different color scheme, they both are very appealing to the eye and not overwhelming. They both have a few main boxes on the home page to highlight their deals, special products, and important announcements. One thing I really like about this type of layout is that on the home page alone, I can find enough interesting things to look up to waste tons of time. It is impressive that both of these companies were able to lay out their websites in a way that is simplistic and yet packed full of information. Another thing both websites do well is that they present the tools to simplify your search and find the exact thing you are looking for quickly and easily. They both have a system to where you can slowly narrow down what you want in your product by picking options one step at a time.
Now when it comes to differences, I think both websites have advantages. I personally just like the color scheme of PearlDrum better with its mostly darker colors over the brighter colors of musiciansfriend.com. When it comes to Pathos and Ethos, I think Musician's Friend does better, while Pearldrum trumps in the Logos category. Musician's Friend does a great job at providing quality, reliable customer reviews on all their products. It is easy to see credibility of the products before purchasing them as well as possibly be swayed from reviewer's enthusiasm or dislike in the products. Pearldrum does not provide reviews for their products, but does do a great job providing extremely detailed descriptions with pictures. All of these things are very important, but I think Musician's Friend can be more trustworthy because of its personal customer reviews.

Death Penalty and Visual Rhetoric

It was very interesting learning that victims get to choose their last meal before receiving the death penalty. I think both sets of photography did a good job using visual rhetoric to their advantage, but I definitely liked a different aspects about both. I feel like when looking at "The Last Meal Project," it is easier to see right off the bat what the photographer is trying to portray because of his short statement at the beginning. He did a good job at establishing his position and intention of the project. I did not like the layout of the pictures themselves though. I think the photos of the criminals do not do as good of a job showing that these were just normal people. I think the picture used should have been a normal "everyday" picture to better show his point. The pictures make the criminals really seem like criminals and even though they did eat a normal meal before they died, it doesn't matter because they are still criminals. Those are just my thoughts on "The Last Meal Project."
For "No seconds," I feel like the biggest downfall was the introductory statement at the beginning. It was not nearly as descriptive and helpful as the other one, and did not give me a clear idea of what the point of the project was. I did, on the other hand, enjoy the layout of the pictures more. All of the food looked genuine and pleasing, and helped the reader understand the connection we all have to these criminals.

Speech Reflection

I feel like for this project, my main downfall was my preparation. I didn't create an exact script or practice a lot because I wanted to come across as natural as possible. I don't think a script was a necessary, but it would have been better to have practiced a few more times. I think the beginning was a little too choppy, but I smoothed it out as I went on. I also think I should have used a slightly higher pitch when speaking. It seemed slightly as though I was mumbling at some points (which I often do in normal conversation), but I think I could have avoided that with a clearer and higher tone. In regards to movement, I think I did pretty good being natural. I should work on not shifting my weight as much and not "pacing" quite as much. I think what I can do to fix that is to walk longer in a specific direction at a slower pace to avoid quick, repeated pace-like movement.
When it comes to information as a whole, I completely agree with the comment that I did not clarify enough what I wanted to do for the project. I think the main reason for this is I actually didn't think enough about what I specifically wanted the finished project to look like. I only had the general idea and was relying too much on having creative partners to bring ideas to the table. I think having this speech on video for reflection and future reference is a great idea. I will definitely use this tactic to my advantage for future speeches.