Final Exam Preview Assignment

The two websites I used were MindBites and MediaCommons. On MindBites, I watched an 8-minute video explaining the basics of iMovie. The video explained to me how to get started, import video from a video camera, add effects, and many more tricks essential to making a good video. Before watching the video, I didn't even know the layout of iMovie, but now I know where many things are and what I need to be able to do to make a basic video.

              By reading through the article on MediaCommons, I learned how to do a lot of the same things as in the video, but on a different version of iMovie. There are many differences between the two versions, including the layout. I learned that in MediaCommon's version of iMovie, the viewing screen is in the upper-right corner, and many of the buttons needed to complete a movie are in different places.

                  In conclusion, watching MindBites' movie and reading MediaCommons' article helped give me a better understanding of iMovie.

I did not know anything about iMovie prior to looking at the websites.

One new thing about iMovie that I learned today is how to split a video clip.

The only thing I am concerned about for my final project is making it so that my photos tell an understandable story for the viewers.

I am confident that I can have my photographs ready early so that I can get started on the composition of my slideshow.

 

For my final project, I am planning on following my friend throughout the day as she wakes up, makes breakfast, and starts on a hiking trip down to a secluded part of Barton Creek.

Baltimore Riots

If I were a photojournalist in Baltimore right now, I think I would find a lot of photo opportunities, whether they are happy ones or not. There is so much emotion involved in the death of a friend, and even more when riots break out over it. The photos I saw online were so powerful because I think that all of the rioters felt as though Freddy could have been their son, father, or brother. Being a photojournalist at a time like this can be very dangerous and emotional because you are in the middle of all of the action and the photographs you take may not completely capture that. I feel that this photo captures what is going on in Baltimore right now as well as one could. The look on the boy's face gives the viewer a feeling of innocence, but also of wisdom. It seems that this boy has seen a lot the past few days. The police officers in the background make the boy seem alone.

Portfolio Analysis

Alyssa Schukar
The general focus of these photographs is a woman's struggle with an eating disorder.
3 things the judges disliked:
- The 3rd photo was unoriginal, has been done better by other photographers.
- The photos are distanced, no emotions are immediately felt when looking at them.
- Each picture is very similar.
2 things the judges like:
- The photo of the Haitian man sweeping.
- The photo of the girl on the ground after falling over a hurdle.

I did not particularly like these photographs. To me, they felt very staged and unnatural.


Sam Adams
The general focus of these photographs is BMX biking.
3 things the judges disliked:
- The position of the helicopter in the silhouette photograph.
- Several photos did nothing artistically for the judges.
- The tilt of the photo of the far-away biker hanging in the air.
2 things the judges like:
- The B&W photograph of the boy on the bike coming down a tunnel.
- The photo of the priest hurrying through a hall.

I didn't like these photos much either. Many of them were the same, just bikers standing in an empty pool or something. Also, a lot of them were just random photos that did not follow any rules of photography.


Justin Mott
The general focus of these photos is a few different groups of people and their lives.
3 things the judges disliked:
- On the photograph looking down a line of soldiers towards another one, their eyes were led to nothing interesting.
- There was a major lack of focus in many photos.
- There were unsuccessful tries at graphics.
2 things the judges like:
- The photograph of the starving boy in the beginning.
- The photograph of the dead pig.

I really liked these photographs. On some of the photos, the unfocused-ness was very beautiful. The photos told stories and I love that they were in B&W.



Dustin Snipes
 The judges noted that he was good at capturing movement, getting in with the action, and finding/photographing emotion.
Some of his strengths that I see are the interesting angles and colors he had in his photographs. A weakness I saw was that sometimes there were little things that could have been changed in the position of the photo that would have made it better.

In deciding the winner, the judges:

- Noted what they did and did not like
- Found strengths and weaknesses in each photographer
- Came to a general agreement on who the winner should be

PART 2

One photo I agree with the judges on is the photo of boxing. I agree with them on the topic of distraction, the light on the man's shoulder threw me off a bit.

One photo I don't agree with the judges on is the photo of the girl jumping in the air. I thought it was a pretty fun looking shot.

Student of the Month Story

Who- Christina Foradory, Student of the Month
What- Student of the Month
When- April of 2015
Where- James Bowie High School
Why- To encourage other students to strive for the title of Student of the Month.
How- By participating in extracurricular activities and getting high grades.

        On April 1, 2015, Christina Foradory was shocked to find that she had won the title of Student of the Month at Bowie High School. Trying hard can get you to great places, just as it did Christina. She encourages other students to achieve what she did; be it by participating in extracurricular activities, charity fundraisers, or plain good grades.

                      Foradory was one student in a pool of 50, all of them wanting the same that she did: to be chosen as Student of the Month by Principal Kane. It took the whole week before April for Principal Kane and the Aps to choose one student; a student who was different from the rest in the best ways. They found this special student by interviewing each of the hopeful candidates and recording their responses. Foradory’s answers were just right.

                          “I am so shocked that I won this title. There were so many other great people there that deserved it just as much as I did." Said Foradory. Many of her friends participated in the running for the same title.

                     "If I had to choose one of my friends to take the title, I would look for someone that tries to excel at everything they do." Foradory said. In order to become Student of the Month, Foradory stayed after school most days for clubs and other extracurricular activities .

                   “I just love participating in clubs and having fun with other students.” Foradory said. Foradory is proud of herself for achieving this title and encourages others to aim for it too.

                   "I feel proud that I achieved everything I did and I'm glad it took me to where I am now. I hope other students try their best and get to great places because it feels pretty good." Said Foradory.                

           
         

My First Interview

Christina Foradory

1. Why do you believe you were chosen as Student of the Month?
     Good grades, lots of activities outside of school  
2. What advice do you have for others who want to be Student of the Month?
      Be really involved in school and and have good grades
3. Who chose you to have this title?
      Principal Kane
4. What did you do to get to this point?
      (Same as first two)
5. How has being chosen as Student of the Month affected you?
      People see me as a better student, it looks good on college applications
6. How might this title affect you in the future?
      Better chance of getting into a great college
7. Do you think you deserve to be Student of the Month? Why/Why not?
       "I think I do because I try my best. I think all my hard work payed off."
8. If you had to choose another student to take your position, what would you look for?
        "I would look for someone that tries to excel at everything they do."
9. What is your GPA?
          4.1
10. What negative feedback, if any, have you received since gaining this title?
         No negative feedback.
11. What extracurricular activities do you participate in?
         FFA, PALS, Key Club, NHS.
12. What other titles/awards do you strive for?
         Student of the year, a medal in NHS.
13. Which class are you the best at?
         English.
14. Which class are you the worst at?
         Science.
15. What do you plan to do in your future?
         "I plan to be an engineer"
16. How do you plan on getting there?
           Lots of engineering electives, working towards an engineering degree.
17. What obstacles stand in the way of you and your goals?
          Moving out of state.
18. How do you plan on overcoming these obstacles?
            N/A
19. Who do you look up to in life?
        "Alexander Graham Bell. He was just a very important figure
          in the history of engineering."
20. How does it feel to be the Student of the Month?
        "I feel proud that I achieved everything I did and I'm glad it took me to where I am now. I hope other students try their best and get to great places because it feels pretty good."
 

Nut Graf

A nut graf is the part of the story that basically tells the reader why they should be reading it. It is what brings the story together and explains the importance of it. The nut graf often contains information important to the story.
                The nut graf does not have to be a specific length. The size of the nut graf can vary from a sentence to a whole paragraph. As for the location of this paragraph/sentence, most of the time it follows the opening 5 W's. Without the nut graf, the point of the story would be pretty unclear.

Inverted Pyramid