Reflective Essay

Reflection Essay The WRD 110 has been the most interesting and enjoyable 100 level courses that I have taken so far in my college career. The films and the readings provided in this course allowed me to apply what we learned on rhetoric to view the stories differently. The assignment on visual rhetoric is the one that stands out most in my memory, because before the moment I never thought about visual rhetoric or applied it to a visual project like the Last Meal Project. I will say that it didn’t lead me to view the campus community differently, because I had already been undergoing a change in my views do to other experience that occurred before this course. I did enjoy learning the different styles of communication, though I wish we had more time for our group speech. Learning about these styles, and putting them into practice, has improved my public speaking ability, especially my control of body language. The hands on style of Owen’s style pushed me out of my comfort zone and put me in a position to actually apply what I was learning. I would suggest that in future courses maybe have more discussions, but maybe highlight appropriate discussion techniques for the students. Now about the project…my biggest struggle was getting individuals from 4 Paws to respond to our group. Not much we could have changed about that. I have so proud of out documentary though, especially the editing and the quality of the interviews. I wish we could have filmed the families ourselves so we could have added more footage of them to the film. I was reasonable for the logistics such as scheduling interviews and filming times, citing our information, typing up and turning in our group assignments, compiling interview questions, and communicating with 4 Paws. I would say this is the best group I ever worked with! We were all very flexible and eager to help one another during the making of the film. I wish I could have been more involved with the editing and scheduled more interviews. However, I do feel I contributed a fair amount to the overall project, and I feel everyone else did as well. I wish they could be in all my groups!

Donated Videos(From 4 Paws in Ohio)

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/efY99zGKjag" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Music Video

The longest shot is about 30 seconds long...maybe just 24.

Cites

References

·         Woodrum, Brittany. Personal interview. 01 November 2014.

Brittany is one of 4 Paws current fosters. She provides insight on how to train the dogs for their future duties. She also shares her own experience as a foster.

·         4 Paws for Ability at the University of Kentucky. 4 Paws for Ability. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.

The 4 Paws chapter at UK’s website is where most of the basic information is gathered for the documentary. It has the names of all the dogs currently on campus, tells the history of the group itself, and speaks on the group’s mission. All this information will be briefly used in the documentary.  

·         Bright, Logan. Personal interview. 01 November 2014.

Logan is the founder of 4 Paws at UK. She knows what the dogs of this chapter will be used for after they graduate. Has some insight on what some of the graduated dogs are doing now.

·         Shirk, Karen. Personal interview. 01 November 2014.

Karen Shirk is the founder of 4 Paws. She is also the owner of a service dog for her own disabilities and the disabilities of her children. She has insight into training the dogs and being the owner of one. 

4Paws Group Contract

Group Contract

            This contract outlines the areas of development that the 4Paws group members are responsible for managing. This does not mean that the other members will not perform tasks in each area, but the managing member will ensure that the tasks are being completed correctly and in a reasonable time frame.

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Filming/Editing Coordinator: Betsy Evans will oversee the selection of areas and times for filming and editing. She will make sure that the equipment/shot coordinator has been contacted so that the filming members know what they need for each filming session and know what angles to use. She will check the progress of film editing and ensure the edits are sent to the members who need them.

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Shot/Equipment Coordinator: Alyssa Hiser will monitor the usage of equipment and ensure that any rented items are returned before deadlines. She will consult with group members on techniques to get the shots that are planned ahead of time. She will also make sure that the appropriate equipment is given to members for their specific task.

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Interview Coordinator: Reacheal Dawnson will oversee the development of the questions to be used for the documentary’s interviews. She will book the audio recording rooms at Young Library when needed for the group. She will work with the logistic coordinator to contact the persons to be interviewed and the members that will be performing the interview.

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  Storage/Storyboarding Coordinator: Gabriella Passidomo will oversee the development of the storyboard. She will ensure that the storyline is followed during editing and that all members have contributed to the creation of the storyboard. She will check with members to see if they have backed up information on to the pre-selected storage systems.

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Logistic Coordinator: Lynsey Bates will oversee communication between group members and the individuals who are willing to be in the group’s documentary. She will set up a cloud storage space, email, and google calendar for the group’s use and will ensure that all information is correct. She will summit all information that is due for the group’s project. She will type/send/review all information that is worked on by the group such as the project’s citations. 

My Last Meal

I found the second project, The Last Meal Project, because it not only showed you the last meals but the photos of the individuals. The first one, No Seconds, is photographed so it looks like you are sitting and having the meal itself. While No Seconds gave you the feeling of having the last meal yourself, The Last Meal Project showed the humanity of the people receiving these meals. The placement of the foods on the bottom half of the photos insures that your eyes will be draw to their faces first. The red color and large font draw your eyes to it second, leaving the meal itself last. This set up clearly shows the author’s view of the death penalty. The random facts they add throughout the project also explains their view and the font color and size keeps you interested so you just don’t skip over it.
The first project appears to focus more on the meals themselves, and the author seems to have a more neutral stance, compared to The Last Meal Project.  The font and small and black, the food is the only item in the pictures. The photos of the meals are also larger than the words making it the focus.  As I said before it is shot at an angle that creates the illusion you are eating the meal yourself. The décor in the photo also add to the realistic feeling that you are having your last meal.  While you are having this feeling that you are about to have your last meal your eyes are causally drawn to the words on the right hand side of the photo. It is draw because it is an unusual photo that you associate with old newspapers so it works as a novel stimulus to draw your eyes over.
Unlike the second project, the text isn’t as important in the author’s mind. I say this because the font is a simple black color and very small. It takes several seconds before it catches your eye. I believe this author may have a similar stance on the death penalty as the Last Meal Project’s author…but this one appears to be asking you to reflect, or put yourself in the place of this people who are enjoying their last earthly pleasure.

Reflection

My video ended up being corrupted so I will do my best to assess my speech from memory and the comments you gave me. First off I felt my speech wasn’t as coherent as I would have liked it to be. I had practiced with my roommates, but when I got in front in the class I just blanked. This is the first time since my own freshman year that this had happened. I am use to giving informative speeches on research information so I think I was just out of my comfort zone, which is a good thing. I now know that I am going to have to practice even more when I ever have to give a similar type of speech again. Second, I understand that I didn’t move around as much as I should have. I have a habit of pacing so I was trying to avoid doing that and ended up doing it too well.
Third, I can’t completely remember, but I think I may have used filler words a few times as I was trying to recall my points…after I had blanked earlier. I also, as mentioned in your comments, wasn’t very persuasive in my speech. I spoke about my own excitement and feelings about my topic, but didn’t really ‘tell’ the class why they should have been. I think I was focused more on just getting the speech done and practicing projection/body placement that it honestly just slipped my mind. To better my speech I would have to have analyzed my speech more and worked on making it less informative and more persuasive. I also should have simply practiced it more to find a happy medium between pacing and standing still.