Terrible Timing

So last week I video taped my final so I would have enough time to edit, revise, and post the damn thing. Little did I know that wouldn't be so easy. I learned that in order to edit/delete a segment from my video clip that I would need to use the Video Tech room's computers because they have the only computers with the necessary video editing software. So I had planned to meet with a friend and the video tech teacher who would help me with my video editting. Well, Monday night before school I came down with a horrible stomach virus and fever. That put a huge dent in my plans. I'm very frustrated. This was all terrible timing. Of course, I couldn't control when I got sick. I have met all the requirements for this project and I have everything I need to complete it. I just need to put all of it together. Thankfully, Mr. Miller and I talked and he will give me the time I need to complete the project without deducting points or credit. yay!

Photo credit-throw-away-the-wrapper.blogspot.com/

Lights, Camera, Healthy Food!

Last night I fully recorded the video I plan to post on the newspaper's blog site. It took me about forty minutes to record the video and I prepared for about three hours to memorize my speech. My boyfriend came over to help me with the camera technicalities. Without him, it probably would have taken me twice as long to record myself. I only screwed up my lines a few times, but that was because I practiced so many times. My only concern is that I can't delete a scene that I fumbled on. The deletion setting on the camera only allows the person recording to delete the last scene and by accident, my boyfriend pressed the record button twice, which started another scene. I couldn't access the deletion application to the initial scene, which has me a little worried. Also, Mr. Miller told me to bring in the hard drive today so we could put the video on the newspaper blog site. Well, Mr. Miller isn't here, so I hope I'm not screwed completely. I guess I'll find out tomorrow what my O

Picture Credit: www.dcs.qmul.ac.uk/~phao/CIP/Images/

Health Food Nation

Yesterday I gathered all the food and nutritional information I'm going to include in my video. Most people under-estimate the access they have to making a healthy, yet delicious food. Many of these meals can be made from food sitting in the back of your kitchen pantry or cuppord. And if you don't have them, they are easily accessable and are usually affordable at a local grocery store. A lot of my friends purchase lunch after school or during their opens from local delis and luncheons. Most of them work and have visable spending money, but I think they could use their spending money on other things if they take some time to explore the options in their kitchen at home. If their family orients most of their meals around eating out, they could consider many of the healthy options now offered by our school.

I'm very excited to film my project. Not only am I learning about something new, but I'm enjoying it, too. I feel like I can really help a lot of people and educate them about their nutritional health. In a way, I feel like this was the aim of our project and that I am fufilling the requirements.

Switch-a-roo

As we know, I was going to write a feature article in the school newspaper about our school's carbon footprint and how it compares with schools across the country. Well, that wasn't working out. My sources were not answering my questions but, instead, were referring me to other people, who referred me to other people as well. There was too much data and information I need by the due date of this project. I was very frustrated because none of this was my fault; my only contacts and sources turned out to be unreliable ones. I did everything I could to get the information and I ended up getting nothing in return.



I changed gears. Something I research for my previous idea influenced my new project idea. Diet and food trends are everywhere. They're advertised on TV, the internet, in store windows, and even at work. They appear to have magical affects, and try to convince their audience that all you have to do is take this pill and watch the weight disappear. Obviously, in the real world, this is not true. The most practical, realistic, and healthiest way to lose weight is a healthy diet and exercise. I'm going to film a quick five minute video showing the healthy food trends of 2009 and post it on the school newspaper's website, following it with a brief summary. This can be easily accessed by not only Branford students, but to any student who has internet access. I'm excited to begin.

Carbon Footprint Confusion

One aim of my journalism's final project is to calculate our high school's carbon footprint. I've calculated my own carbon footprint before, which didn't require much information. I assumed that I didn't need much information for the school's, but I was very wrong. I contacted the man in charge of Branford's Board of Education Facilities to see if I could get some electricity and gas consumption amounts. I forgot about all the energy measurements and units for electricity and gas, not to mention the amount of gas used to transport children to school, amount of kids who drive to school, and the amount of garbage generated in a given time.

I am beginning to get nervous about my topic. It seems like I'm going to need to contact a lot of outside sources, mainly people in charge of Facilities and Transportation in the Branford Public School District. However, I think that there are many people who are willing to help me and that the end product will be very informative. Knowing what eco-friendly actions our school's taking is very important to a large percentage of students who attend the high school. Yes, every class has a recycling bin. But we don't know if the material in the recycling bin is actually making it to the recycling stations. I must remember to be patient and kind with the people I'm in contact with. This is going to be a long, tedious process, but I think it will be worth it.

Final...y

Our final projectfor journalism is very simple. We are required to choose a topic that interests us. Then we must utitlize the internet to research it and present the information using some sort of internet or publically aplicable software to present our final product. It sounds really easy. A bit too easy for me. Without academic structure I am clueless. In classes that are mostly self-taught research classes there is no way I can fend for myself. I am very much lost. I had very little idea of what I would do for my final because the topic was so broad and a bit vague. So the first thing I did was analyze some interests of mine. The only one I feel strongly enough to pursue was environmental issues. I consulted with Mr. Miller and asked him to give me an assignment so I could focus more time on my final assignment than thinking about what my final assignment should be.

We decided that I would write a feature article for the school newspaper. The article would discuss our school's environmental do's and don't's, and the role it plays in the environmental world. It would also compare schools across the countrys' carbon footprint with our own school. This assignment would be very informative and would be accessible to many students since all students receive a copy of the school newspaper in advisory. Yay

This I Can't Believe

After writing my This I Believe essay, I recorded it using a headset and the Audacity recording program. Initially I thought if I recorded myself speaking that my message and moral would have a stronger effect on the reader. When I read a book, I am narrating the story in my head. If I'm in a bad mood, I add a negative tone to the story. This may not be the tone or attitude the author wishes the reader to have. Since I recorded the story that I wrote, the reader will have a better understanding of how I want them to interpret it. For example, when I was recording the part of my story when I had a revelation, I spoke a bit louder with a brighter, more optimistic tone. I wanted the reader to hear how delighted I was to finally get past my obsticle of selfishness and how accomplished I felt. Also, I was happy that I read my essay for grammar purposes. I didn't realize how awkwardly I had described what I saw in Venezuela until I read it outloud. Hearing myself say some of the poorly written sentences outloud helped me to edit and revise them accordingly.

Although I did enjoy recording my story, I can't believe how rediculous I sound! I sound much different when I speak than I do in a recording. After I came to the realization that I sound like that to other people, I decided that I did not like this assignment very much after all. I think that when my voice is recorded that I end up sounding unintelligent and fake, although I'm neither. That's all I have to say about that