Top 10 Revelations from Spring 2010 Electronic Media & Writing Course

Hello! For our final exam we were asked to blog 10 revelations from my Electronic Media & Writing class for the Spring 2010 semester. I learned a lot this semester, here are just a few main points I learned from reading the text and our in class conversations. Enjoy!

1. Format is everything.

In Writing for Television, Rado, New Media. Hilliard discusses the importance of format and capturing the attention of the audience. On page two Hilliard stresses the importance of capturing the attention of the audience asap! Unless the audience is familiar with a popular sitcom, reality show, movie trilogy then you must capture the audiences attention from the start. An example of a popular show who started off with a fun and entertaining trailer/previews and now is a successful T.V. series is Glee. Take a look...



The writers of Glee successfully grabbed the attention from millions and now has to do little to nothing to promote their show to get more viewers.

2. The Power to Persuade



The persuasive techniques we learned about during our media class was fresh and new material to me. This is something I have thought about lightly, but not to this extent. Now when I look at an advertisement on television or my magazines I analyze how it's reaching me. Maybe it's targeting me with beautiful people or maybe it's a big lie. Either way the company has come up with some way to reach me. This makes me think to the movie we watched in class, The Persuaders. In that movie we got the opportunity to analyze the movie on our Twitter accounts and see what persuasive techniques the film uses itself.

3. Facebook vs. Twitter

Where should I start on this very powerful topic. My classmates bickered about Facebook and Twitter for almost and entire class. "I hate Twitter more than anything," said a fellow classmate. If you like it or not social networking is rising and professionals are using Twitter, Facebook, etc to their advantage. On page 459 Hilliard discusses the fast paced media environment and the structure of writing on the Internet. It's very different, and there is less room for "meandering." This can be beneficial because you are forced to be short and clear which is important for the audience. Personally, I feel social networking is a great way to communicate in college classrooms, socially, and for work. I can see this popularity only rising in the future.



4. Reality vs. "Reality."



The Hills is a popular MTV reality show for six consecutive seasons. The drama of hooking up, gossiping, "cat-fights," and glamorous careers is to blame for this popular t.v. show. On page 254 you get a glimpse into writing for MTV reality shows. The book discusses the obstacle of capturing a great scene but not having a strong momentum to build up to it. So in editing the writers need to "piece together different shots" and cheat the scene to make it look like it was spontaneous. This is called "frankenbiting." It is a term used when the director suggests things to the stars of the show. When I read this I instantly thought to The Hills and wondered how much is real and how much "frankenbiting" is used on the show. The stars aren't trained actors so sometimes it seems obvious that they were told to do something, or told to re-act out the moment.



5. Advertisements Attack!


Just flip through your favorite magazine, turn on your t.v., open your homepage, or take a walk down Sunset Boulevard or Times Square. What do you see? Oh... Right... Advertisements, go figure. This class didn't introduce the bombarding issue of advertisements, but it opened my eyes in a new way by watching The Persuaders. Relating the way we see advertisements to our power tools and persuasion techniques. Advertisements influence people every day and even though it's disturbing and inflicts bad behavior we must come to accept it and push it to background noise.

6. Narrowcasting Programming.


It's not news to see that television and movies are targeted towards different groups of people. Popular television shows such as Gossip Girl and The Hills are controversial hits that are targeted towards women ages 17-25. Gossip Girl and The Hills feature: sex, drugs and partying, violence, and other subjects parents wouldn't approve of their "little prince or princesses" tuning in to. The problem is, Gossip Girl started out as a popular book series targeted towards high school girls and the show seems to be even more raunchier than the book. The characters get caught up in drugs, random hook ups, and the latest buzzed about controversy, threesomes. A show that has been called "every parents worst nightmare." On page 3 Hilliard discusses narrowcasting programming, a program designed toward specialized audiences. With narrowcasting programming parents can see who the show is aimed towards and decide if they want their child to watch it or not.

7. Relationships and Connections.


Making relationships and making great impressions is another important factor I learned about this semester. It's crucial to be kind to anyone and everyone because you never know when you may cross paths with them in future as a business women/man. On page 451 Hilliard discusses a way to get further in your career - by making connections and by the people you know. It may be frustrating to know that someone who may not be as qualified as you could get the job over you because he/she has connections, but it is a very true aspect in the business world. Making connections is something I think about everyday and I feel this is a very important aspect if you want to be successful.

8. RSS is a Powerful Tool.


RSS is a powerful and useful tool for anyone who has limited time and wants the important information to come to them. Sounds like anyone and everyone right? That's why RSS is so useful, once you subscribe to a website you start getting the big and most useful news directly in our inbox. The RSS tool is a popular tool used for a variety of different professionals. As a public relations student and aspiring professional I can see myself using a tool like RSS in my future career. Professionals, especially those in PR need tools like this because they need to get the most important information to the public and the media mainstream which is why RSS is so useful because all of the important information is highlighted and given to you.

9. Children and T.V.



As a child I watched cartoons like it was my job, hey... didn't we all? I loved shows on Nickelodeon, Disney, and so on. On page 381 Hilliard discusses different approaches, formats and writing techniques when considering writing for children. When reading this I couldn't help but think of how much violence, sex, and disturbing messages are streamed through children's movies and t.v. shows. As a kid it seemed to go right over my head, but as I watch these movies and t.v. shows as an adult I can see the twisted messages children are receiving. Honestly, if I have a child it makes me want to ban these t.v. shows and movies from their lives. I can now see why my mom didn't always approve of the kid shows I watched. Since they are "kid" shows they seem innocent to us, but now as I grow up I can see her point of view.

10. Our Brain



Our limbic, neocortex, and reptilian make up the three parts of our brain. To be completely honest, this was something I never thought much about before. I couldn't even name all three parts before! In this class we explored how he media enters and stimulates different parts of our brain. This is something I find extremely interesting and allows me to analyze new material in a new and different way.

Thank you! Have a great summer! :-)

Mid-Term Edits

A little late....

For our mid-term we were asked to watch a video on YouTube and examine it using our tool sets, etc that we learned about in class. Here it goes...



Thesis in your own words (IYOW) : A YouTube video summarizing students reality of today, their future plans and goals shown through their eyes and statistics from a survey.

3 Observations (Brain):

1. Neocortex - Thinking about the video, thinking about the exam and the information we learned. Also, processing the words/images on the video.

2. Limbic - The music playing throughout the video, the door opening at the beginning of the video and the different images on the scree.

3. Reptilian - Survival, the time the students in the video spend eating and sleeping (shown on the sheets of paper they hold up.)

8 Trends (3 Observations):

1. Technological Shift - The video can be found on YouTube.

2. Personal Shift - The video can be found on YouTube, the students Facebook themselves through class.

3. Economic Shift - Debt after school/college. Hundreds of dollars spent on unopened text books.

5 Facts:

1. "200 students made 367 edits to this document, and surveyed themselves, to bring you the following message."

2. "I will write 42 pages for class this semester and over 500 pages of e-mails."

3. Students work two hours a day and study 3 hours a day.

4. "18% of teachers know my name."

5. Students Facebook themselves through class.

extra facts...

6. "Over 1 billion people make less than $1 a day."

7. "This laptop cost more than some people in the world make in a year."

3 Observations (7 Principles):

1. Production Techniques - close ups of different people, laptop screens, sheets of paper with statistics, and different angles.

2. Pacing: The facts appear slower at the beginning of the video and then get faster. Also, the frames per second. The conscious mind can process about 8 frames per second.

3. "Reality" construction Students and their statistics. "I bring my laptop to class, but I'm not working on class stuff. " etc.

extra...

4. Value Message - We need a change, these statistics should be different, perhaps that will get through to professors.

6 Persuasive Techniques -

1. Plain Folks - Average students.

2. Symbols - Shown on the web (close up)

3. Group Dynamics - Words that say "join us" and "save us."

4. Rhetorical Question - "If these walls could talk, what would they say?"

5. Maybe - "Some have suggested that technology can save us...."

6. Repetition - "Some have suggested that technology can save us...." Repeated x2.

Sorry for the delay, I hope you can still accept this :-)

RSS What? Media Mediation # 6

It's the end of the semester already, and for this final media meditation we were asked to blog on our experience with RSS and Google Alerts. Honestly, call me sheltered but I had never heard of RSS and Google Alerts before this media class. But hey, I am always open to new technology tools.

In our media class were were introduced with a YouTube video to better educate us on RSS in "plain english."



After this video was shown we were asked set up a Google Account / Google Reader. Then we were asked to surf the web and find the RSS icon on our favorite websites. Once we clicked on the icon we would get asked if we wanted to subscribe to the website. Then we would begin receiving e-mail updates known as Goggle Alerts. RSS is a limitless tool that allows you to stay up to date with my favorite websites.


Days later I began receiving Google Alerts from Champlain College, Elle Magazine, etc. It was filled with news, entertainment, tips and more. This type of technology is a great learning tool for our media class because it keeps us up to date and relates to the packet we received on our first day of Electronic Media & Writing class. For example, Technological Shift: "what are the trade-offs of living in a 21st century?" The ability to get updated from our favorite websites to our e-mail accounts. You can also access your Google Alerts from your SmartPhone which relates to Aesthetic Shift.

RSS readers use a number of persuasive techniques to grab the attention from a variety of different demographics. Symbols is the first persuasive technique used. The RSS icon is a small memorable icon that is seen on millions of different websites. Another persuasive technique used is Timing. When I subscribed to Elle Magazine I started to receive information directly instead of having to search for the information. I often started receiving information that I wouldn't have normally searched for, but was happy to see it in my inbox. For example tips and upcoming events.

RSS and Google Alerts is a fascinating tool and also reminds me of Twitter, we can directly receive news and updates from our favorite magazines, celebrities, and more. Twitter is a bit limited with information with only 140 characters. With Google Alerts and RSS you can receive pages of information and a variety of different links. Receiving Tweets from my favorite celebrities and companies can be useful for people on the go, who may not have as much time to sit down and look through an alert. That's one reason why I love Twitter so much, they update you with the most important information.

Tools such as RSS, Google Alerts, and Twitter are changing the way we receive and send information, it's a great tool that I see myself using in my career in PR.

I enjoyed learning about the media in this media course and I look forward to what the future of technology will bring us.

Are you a "Gleek" too? Media Meditation # 5

I first heard about Glee through my mom, she was constantly saying "have you watched Glee yet?" "Sierra, you would LOVE Glee!" And so on... So on a rainy day with nothing to do I flipped open my laptop and search Glee on Hulu Take a look at the trailer... you may be interested too. & trust me, it's not as corny as the preview makes it out to be. You may even become a "Gleek" (a name made-up for Glee fans) too.



Season 1:




Season 2:



My mom was right, I really enjoyed Glee, and now I tune in weekly. The songs they sing every Tuesday are catchy and I couldn't help but have a feel-good attitude every time I watched it. I am not alone either, Glee won a number of awards this year, including Peoples Choice Awards and Golden Globes.

Glee isn't just a fun show on t.v. but it's also educational when related to what we have learned in our media class.

Let's begin with our Eight Shifts. Glee fits into Epistemological Shift - Glee on our television screens. Also, Technological Shift - the ability to watch Glee on our T.V. screens, but also watch it on a variety of different websites on our computers. Glee also is part of the Personal Shift - I can post the Glee trailer on my Facebook, also Glee is now holding auditions on Myspace for season 2. All you have to do is upload your video introduction and song and you are entered! Glee also is part of the Aesthetic shift - We can watch Glee episodes and promos/trailers on our iTouch and SmartPhones. And lastly, Glee also fits into the Cultural Shift- As I said before we can watch promos and trailers on Myspace.

Now, let's move onto our Seven Principles....

Production techniques - The different camera angles, lighting: dark to bright it sets a tone to the scene, editing, sound effects, colors, font styles: credits, symbols - used in the promo/trailer and on the show.

Value Message - This sends a message to kids that they can fit in. I think it's a great show for anyone at any age but especially for kids in high school who may not fit in. Glee makes you feel like you do fit in somewhere. I think this show is very inspiring.

Ownership - These promos that are found online are paid for and owned by FOX, who broadcasts these videos.

Pacing - TV runs at 30 frames per second, and GLEE is a t.v. show. Our conscious mind can process approximately 8 frames per second.

Now let's move on to the persuasive techniques, my favorite part!

A persuasion technique used in Glee (promo's and the show) is Symbols - "Gleek" is a new term formed by the show. When people here it they associate it with the show.

Another persuasion technique used is Humor - The "war" between Will (Matthew Morrison) vs. Sue (Jane Lynch) is hilarious and sarcastic. Sue's attitude in general is hilarious.

Other persuasion techniques used in Glee include, Nostalgia - I don't know about you but every time I watch Glee I think back to the voice lessons I took years ago and the plays I was in when I was younger. Warm Fuzzies - There is just something about people running, jumping, "frolicking" - if you will and singing just brings me a warm feeling (ha ha really! not joking) Beautiful people is also a technique used. The actors and actresses are beautiful and glamorous. Group Dynamics in another technique that is used in the promo - "for everyone," "come on girls," "everyone wants to be somebody," and so on... Name calling is also a technique used, Sue is constantly calling the Glee club kids and Will names and breaking them down at every moment. & finally, Timing is used - the Glee club tends to break out into song during any emotional scene, whether it is sad, happy, or angry.

All that singing and dancing gets my Limbic Brain awake and working. We also watch a lot of "sex" - PG of course and fighting scenes that get my Reptilian working. Also the 30 frames per second that we process and thinking about what is happening on the show and what the next episode will bring gets my Neocortex working. Glee is fun and educational! Who knew?

You can check Glee out on the FOX and Myspace website. Know anyone interested in auditioning for Glee? Then click here!

I hope you enjoyed my blog post just as much as I enjoy Glee. & check the show out!

Not your average "Date Night" Media Meditation # 4

On Friday April 9 I was very eager to see the new movie "Date Night," starring the very comical Tina Fey and Steve Carell. My boyfriend and I saw the movie trailer a couple of times earlier that week so we made our way to the theatre for the early showing. To my surprise the first showing was already sold out. We were too excited to see "Date Night" to go and see a different film so we waited for the late showing and we were glad that we did. It was hilarious!

When I think of a "media experience" I immediately think to movies. When watching "Date Night" I thought to the persuasive techniques we learned about in our media class.



First, HUMOR: As you can see in the movie trailer this movie has the ability to capture laughs from the audience. For example: Phil Foster (Steve Carell) mimicking the guys who are telling them to "get up." Another persuasive technique used is PLAIN FOLKS. Steve Carell and Tina Fey play a normal couple who go out on a date in NYC. That date turns out to be a night they would never expect and always remember. It's comical to think about this next persuasive technique but NOSTALGIA is another persuasive technique that I noticed. I couldn't help but think about my past bad dates and how they could never live up to this date.

Another persuasive technique used in "Date Night" is WARM FUZZIES. Claire (Tina Fey) and Phil (Steve Carell) have cute young children in the movie.

BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE are in this film, those actors include: Leighton Meester, James Franco, Tina Fey, Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis and Steve Carell are all attractive well known celebrities.

Other persuasive techniques used in this film include, STRENGTH - The movie is a comedy but it's also packed with action. NAME CALLING - The movie is filled with crude and humorous language throughout the film. Also, TIMING. - Just when you think the action has stopped, it gives you a minute for some comedy and then jumps right back into the action to keep the BRAIN interested.

Speaking of the brain, the movie reaches out to all three parts during the film. The REPTILIAN - We laugh and laugh during the film, also when we are at the movie theatre our brain associates a film with popcorn and candy. We also see a lot of action packed scenes which has to do with the "fighting" part of our REPTILIAN. The movie features lots of music, including "Heartbreak Warfare" - by John Mayer and of course images (scenes). The music and scenes reach our LIMBIC brain. Finally the movie reaches out to our NEOCORTEX - thinking about the movie, the plot, predicting or thinking about what will happen next and how the movie will end. Also our brain processes 24 movie frames per second.

This hilarious film also relates to our eight shifts that we learned about in our media class. Those include, PERSONAL SHIFT - the ability to watch the trailer and post comments about the film. Also the ability to post the movie trailer on my Blogger account. AESTHETIC SHIFT - We have the ability to watch the trailer on our iPhones and text our own movie reviews to websites and our friends.

"Date Night" also relates to our seven basic principles. Those include, PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES - the camera angles, the lighting during the film, editing, sound effects (gun shots, screeching from cars, etc.), colors and font styles of the movie title and actors at the beginning and the end of the movie trailer and the credits at the end of the film. And VALUE MESSAGE - this movie doesn't have a specific message but perhaps I will interpret a comical message (just like the movie) beware of stealing other peoples reservations. Ha Ha!

To conclude I would say this movie is a great date movie or just a movie to go see with your friends and family. It's filled with action and lots and lots of laughs. I very much enjoyed this film and recommend it to everyone!

If you want to see more "Date Night" then click here. You can also watch exclusive clips on this YouTube page.

Thanks for reading!

Let's See What I'm Learning... Spring 2010 MidTerm Exam

Hey! So let's see what I have learned so far in my Electronic Media & Writing course.

1. After studying media for eight weeks in this class, what have you learned? Be specific: Media surrounds us everyday all day. In class we really view that under a microscope. I also realized I probably spend too much time using media, and thanks to this class I now have to constantly update Twitter and this Blog, jeez... Thanks (Kidding!) I also got to see what media really is about behind the scenes by scripting commercials and news stories, which was a lot of fun. I find myself counting scenes when watching ads on T.V. now!

2. What is the most important thing you have learned about yourself as a 1. a critical reader, 2. A writer, and 3. A critical thinker in this class so far: Well as a critical reader I found myself reading a lot of the information but none of it was sticking, so I decided to take notes. I found that writing in my notebook allowed the information to stick, and then I have the important information from the text to review at anytime. As for a writer, I have always loved writing. But, when I am in school a lot of the time I get topics that I really dislike and it makes the writing difficult. So, I decided to find one thing or maybe two things that I like about the topic and then the words just flow. I find if I am happy about the topic then I have more fun writing. As a critical thinker I realized I need to do what I do as a critical reader. It's very important for me to take notes because then I am actively listening and jotting down the important information to review later that day. It makes class a lot more fun, and I end up learning a lot more.

3. What's on thing YOU would do differently this first half of the semester if you were to take this class again?: I would study the four sets of tools on a regular basis. I am horrible at studying and remembering the information. So I think next time instead of studying the night before I will read them at least twice a week so the information stays in my brain.

4. What's one thing you would like ME to do differently this first half of the semester if you were to take this class again?: Well, I would definitely take a class with you again because I think you are a great professor who incorporates fun with learning, which I think is very important. This has been one of my favorite classes as well so I wouldn't really change anything. If I had to name one thing I would say maybe we could do a review for an exam or midterm for a couple minutes at the end of the class before the exam. If we have time of course.

5. Please comment on the usefulness of the course blog, your personal blog, our films, and our book(s) as learning tools: Seeing how this is a class all about media, what better way to learn about Media then using a blog, Twitter, Facebook, and media books in and our of class! Since our generation is the generation of technology and social networking I think it's a great fun way for us to learn! I wouldn't change a thing about our learning tools!

Thanks for a great first eight weeks! I can't wait to see what's next for the rest of the semester!

~ Sierra.

21st Century Wonderland. Media Meditation #3

Hello! I thought it would be a good idea to post something that coordinated with my blog name: "Sierra In Wonderland." You may, or may not have caught on to why I selected that name. For those of you who are wondering, I chose it because I am huge fan of the Alice in Wonderland story. When I heard about a new Alice and Wonderland movie coming out, with Johnny Depp as the mad-hatter I was ecstatic. Here is a preview of the film that will come to a theatre near you on March 5th 2010.



Like all movie trailers, this one fits into my Electronic Media & Writing Class. The trailer relates to the Eight Shifts, Technological, Personal and Aesthetic Shift. - We can watch the trailer on our Smartphones, Laptops and we can post the video on Youtube, Facebook, Twitter and our personal blogs. The trailer also relates to the Seven Principles. Production: camera angles, lighting, editing, sound effects, colors, font styles and symbols all make this movie trailer unique to it's creepy, entertaining world that is Wonderland. In addition to the Eight Shifts and Seven Principles the movie trailer also relates to the Persuasive Techniques we learned about in class. Humor: The jokes we remember from the first film and the new jokes in the trailer. Nostalgia: brings back memories from my childhood of watching the original Alice. Beautiful People: Well, Johnny Depp and Anne Hathaway may not look there normal selves in this movie (they get into character beautifully) they still are known as gorgeous celebrities. Timing: The story builds up from beginning to end (only a preview) in the trailer.

I honestly can't watch a movie, preview, commercial or news story the same again. I am always looking for how many scenes are in each commercial or thinking about relating it to the persuasive techniques, etc. I will never look at media the same way again!!!

Thanks for reading,
S.