Final Project

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwA911e_Kf8PM0hJcHBucnhJTW8/view?usp=sharing​

Final Project Proposal

For our final project we plan on interviewing students about one specific teacher at Lyndon State. We are going to get their opinion on the teacher and than have them write down one word that they would use to describe them. With that one word we are going to make a word cloud. With the interviews we are planning on doing a video project. Depending on the responses of the interviews will determine if we also use a podcast. We also plan on having a writing component to it as well. We have not decided what each team member will be doing for the project. We know that we will conduct the interviews together. When we figure out how the interviews go we will figure out who will complete each step of the project.

Outline

Kendra and I are doing Black Friday shopping and she's going to take the video. And then I will write the story and we will both edit

Dorian's Story, slideshow project

iReport

I liked the colors because they really caught my eye and made me more interested in the site. I didn't like how there were so many advertisements, it took away from the stories.

Slide Show Project

We plan on interviewing Dorian for our sound-slide-project. Dorian is a professor who draws student’s portraits and displays them in the theater lobby. He and his sketches are a well-known fixture at Lyndon State. Many students and have been the subject of his art. It is our understanding is that he has been at the college for many years and therefor would have plenty to say. For images we would photograph the portraits, parts of his process (easels, pencils, clipboards etc.) and if possible, Dorian sketching. We would like to record some nat sound of shuffling papers, pencil on paper, and other art preparations. Of course our main sound will be the interview. We our most interested in his process. How does he choose his subjects? What his favorite part of sketching? What about his other work? Does he work with other mediums? How did he begin sketching portraits and why does he continue? We also hope to get sounds bytes about interesting stories over the years. Who are some of his favorite subjects? The most rewarding experiences he has had with his art? Of course for all this to happen we first need to find him but once we do it should be all down hill from there.

Random Fish Project

Slideshow Gallery Critique

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/audioslideshow/2014/may/03/heroin-addiction-graham-macindoe-photography
-This link goes to the slideshow with audio. The slideshow was mostly just the pictures he took with his camera that he was describing in the beginning of the video. The audio was him saying how he got all of the pictures and which camera he used for each one, the lighting, and the methods he used for each and every picture. It wasn't really storytelling it was more of just background on the process instead of describing the background of the picture and the story behind it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpSzJjoOAMQ
-This link is the no audio slideshow and it was filled with fine art screen-savers. I found it very boring and there was no real story to it, seeing as how it was just a bunch of pictures

 http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/photos/gallery/collection/1#/carousel

-This link is the photo gallery one, it is just pictures like the no audio slideshow, and it was just as boring with no story.

All these are good but I found that the one with audio was more entertaining and kept me more focused on it. The ones with no audio are boring and don't tell a story so people would more than likely just get bored within the first few minutes and leave the video. Having things with audio is definitely the better route to take when making a slideshow or doing anything people would watch.  

http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/8229250/Press_Releases_

Data Vitalization: Word Cloud

This data visualization is a world cloud. To create it we used press releases that were sent to news seven from various towns across the state, and then put them into wordle. The most frequently used words are the largest and the smallest ones are the least used words.
As you can see DUI is a very frequently used word. The majority of press releases the station receives are about DUIs. One can also assume that theft is a common crime considering it's fairly large size.  Twenty three and twenty two are also pretty prevalent words, though I am am not sure what context they were used in. It could be that people between the ages of 22-23 commit the most crimes in this area. St. Johnsbury, Bristol, Brattleborro and Lyndonville are all towns with large representation in the word cloud. This could mean that the towns report a lot of crimes, that they just send out more press releases, or that people often are brought their after the crime. For example St. Johnsbury and Brattleborro both have barracks that are often used to hold drunk drivers until they sober up. The last large word is unknown. Unknown is a very common word in press release. A motive can be unknown, a person can be unknown, and a million other little details can be unknown.
   The word cloud is a actually a fairly useful data visualization tool. You can gain a lot of understanding from them. What you can't get from them is facts. There are statistics, so it wouldn't be useful if you were trying to determine exactly how many crimes happen in Brattleboro or how many people between the ages of 20 and 24 receive DUIs. It is very aesthetically pleasing though, which is an added bonus if your are using it on a blog or in a story, it catches the readers eye and therefor draws interest to what you are saying.

Data Critique

http://chartball.tumblr.com/

I picked this data visualization because I enjoy sports and I like to know all the in and outs with all of the professional level sports. I liked that this website had multiple different sports to look at, and all of the different ways they used data visualization. I didn't like how some of the charts were difficult to use.

Podcast Project

Would you rather, Lyndon State; Kaitlyn and Kendra Style.

 The reasoning behind deciding to do our podcast would you rather style, was because we thought it would be a lot of fun to ask ourselves random questions and then go out and ask others.

We looked up a lot of different questions to ask ourselves and others. We went up to VIC, above the theater to record our answers.

 We had a lot of fun with it and a lot of questions that were pretty difficult to answer. Some of the questions we asked were really difficult to answer not only for us but the others we interviewed. At the same time some of the questions we had were really easy to answer. In the end both the difficult and easy questions were fun to answer. It took us a little bit longer then we thought because of how much we talk.

 Once we finally got all of the questions answered, we walked around the school looking for people. We found a few people just passing through the halls, and then we ventured outside finding someone to ask. Our last two places were the Stevens Dining Hall, and the gymnasium.

 We interviewed about 6 people, and some of them just answered the question, while others explained their reasoning behind their choice.

 Once we got everyone's answers, we started our editing process. Once the editing process was over we listened to the podcast, and we realized how much fun we had.

 We had a really good time recording this, and we both came to the conclusion that we would have a lot of fun doing a podcast more often, or having our own radio show. With both of us being hyper a majority of the time, laughing at almost everything.

The both of us in a weekly podcast or radio show would be very entertaining for other people out there who are similar to us or at least understand us. If there was a podcast every week, we think that there would be a good amount of people who would listen to it. Starting with our family and friends, and eventually adding to the list with the friends of our friends.

Podcast

We decided to play the would you rather game, asking each other. Then we are going to walk around asking other people their answers. We decided to this because we thought it would be funny.

Podcast Critiques

I listened to the podcast Shane and Friends. Shane Dawson is mainly known for his YouTube videos and I follow him on YouTube so why not subscribe to his podcast. He usually has different guest on his shows and he has had other YouTube stars, as well as people from TV shows.

I picked Shane and Friends because he is funny, and I like to laugh. He jumps around a lot which can get confusing, but for me it is fun because that is similar to how I think. He picks really cool topics for his shows too. The podcast I listened to was Farrah Abraham Time. I picked this one because I watched the teen mom season that she was in on MTV and I started to like her as a person and mother for her daughter.

I don't dislike anything because Shane is hilarious. I think that I will continue to listen to his podcast because he is really funny and he does pick cool topics. I did put them on my phone so I can listen more often.

The second podcast I listened to was ESPN-Around The Horn.

I picked this podcast because I am basically obsessed with sports and ESPN is all about sports. I like the two people from Around the Horn because they know what they are talking about unlike some people.

The things that I don't like is that the majority of their podcasts' are about whatever sports are in season. They don't really do much off season talk which bothers me because even though the sport is in the off season there are still trades being made and injuries and what not.

I do think that I will continue to listen to ESPN podcast and I did put this one on my phone also.

Amber Alert Missing 12 year-old

THIS IS A WRITING EXERCISE, AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED FACTUAL.

Zachary Lee, a 12 year-old boy has gone missing in Sunderland VT, leading to the activation of the Amber Alert System.

Zachary had been dropped off at the end of his driveway, but he never stepped inside. The alert was activated at 8:35PM.

Zachary had recently been repatriated from France, and the authorities have been concerned his mother, Patricia Kane, 49, would take off with him.

There is documented history of attempts made while he was in custody of the Republic of France. Patricia has been very unstable since Zachary has arrived in the U.S. Many members of the Vermont Department of Children and Families staff, legal authorities, and school authorities have witnessed such actions.

Zachary has been described as a white male, 12, approximately 5' and weighing 95lbs. He has brown shoulder length hair, brown eyes and speaks with a French accent. He was seen and reported to be wearing a black puffy coat with white stripes, jeans, a light-colored sweater, and blue & black sneakers.

His biological mother, Patricia, 49 is a white female, approximately 6'0” tall, weighs 125lbs, white or blonde hair (possibly dyed); brown eyes and also speaks with a French accent. The direction of travel or mode of travel is unknown at this time.

Vermont State Police are concerned for Zachary's welfare, seeing as he is under 13 years-old and isn't familiar with the area only being here since August 29, 2014.

Law enforcement authorities are taking advantage of all available investigative resources and are working with state, local, county and federal agencies to get Zachary home safely.

Anyone with information regarding the disappearance of Zachary, please call 802-442-5421 or submit an anonymous tip to www.vtips.info or send a text to “CRIMES” (274637) with keyword: VTIPS

Blog Critique- CNN iReport

What I Like:

• How easy it is to use. 
• They really seem to care about what people think or have to say, just by how informational the "Contact Us" is.
• You can post your own stories.
• I like how it shows you in sections what you can do with their page

What I Dislike:

• It is pretty boring on their main page.

How Often Updated:

• A lot, sometimes multiple times a day.

Media Elements:

• They are everywhere
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Tumblr
• Flickr