MEDIA MEDITATION#3 on Tweet-A-Thon

Today I'll be writing about a different type of media. Not a news paper, or a book, or a movie, and not even really T.V. but a form of online media that is becoming a popular trend- Twitter. I have been involved in twitter for over a year now and LOVE IT! I try to update my followers with my tweets daily and talk about a lot of different things so I have a wide range of followers.

I'm also an active member of a mentoring program called DREAM and follow themon twitter. We decided to try to get our group of kids and mentors who work very hard on to The Ellen Degeneres Show (who also has a twitter). And since the day she found out about it shes been hooked on it...

We started to plot how we should go about doing this. Ellen got on the cover of O-magazine by hounding Oprah with tweets and talking about it constantly on her show. She also holds tweet contests and her show even created a hash tag #getonellen so they could find some people they want to bring onto the show.

Me and my friend decided this is how we would get on her show. We taught everyone in DREAM how to use twitter and had two weeks of constantly tweeting to Ellen! By the end of it she was following us! But it was more than just that, we used a lot of different techniques to make it work.

One of the first persuasive techniques we used was flattery. We sent Ellen tweets such as, "@TheEllenShow The DREAMkids could learn so much from a role-model like yourself. @DREAMprogram should #getonellen to change their lives"

Then we used so many other things such as rhetorical questions, nostalgia, and bandwagoning saying if George Bush can support DREAM we know Ellen can.

Those were just a few things used every now and then. A lot of the stuff we used was humor (2, 4, 6, 8 Who's the show thats making us wait...@TheEllenShow! DREAM loves you...can we #getonellen to inspire our mentees to DREAMbig), scientific evidence (@TheEllenShowDREAM is the only youth organization in VT that specializes in serving this rural lowincome family housing pop. #getonellen!!!), and plain folks by having over 20 mentors from Champlain College, and then office staff and friends/families tweet to Ellen! Of course I think the most important persuasive technique we used wasrepetition. One of the best things about twitter is you can "re-tweet" what other people are saying so the same message can be said many many times! We had everyone come up with their own and then re-tweet what other people were saying! There are some of my tweets that got re-tweeted over 20times!

One of our major strengths I believe was production techniques. First we created a site on tumblr- dreamonellen.tumblr.com so we could link tweets to that incase the DREAM website crashed. Also on here we had a lot of information on our specific point of tweeting. We also used a lot of pictures, videos from youtube, and statistics to draw her in even more. Before our first tweet-a-thon, we sent Ellen's show a box filled with DREAM stuff such as a t-shirt, letters and pictures from kids, flyers, a stick from DREAM's summer camp, stickers, and much more. We made sure not to only show Ellen our individual meaning though personal tweets and pictures, but also DREAM'svalue message and why DREAM as a mentoring program is so important and strong. Combining all these things made for a very easy and big emotional transfer. I loved really getting personal with who I hoped to be tweeting to, Ellen, and we really spent a lot of time asking her to let us tell our story on her show.

We never would have been able to do this with out technological shift! Between youtube, twitter, uploading pictures and videos, and so much more stuff, we were able to pull off a good event (even if Ellen hasnt gotten back to us yet). The ability for college student to be able to reach out to a celebrity and hope she receives our message is quickly becoming easier and easier.

We just started doing this but clearly got her attention because she is now following us. I'll keep my blog followers updated if she ever contacts us and brings us on her show! That will really be a great media experience then!

Mash Method- Teachers Fired!

Today in Rob Williams Class we worked on news reports. Here is one that I found interesting on cnn.com and chose to script-

HLN OPENING LOGO
Important news sounds

OPENING LOGO W/ FLYING WORDS
Jumbled voices collage

YOUR VIEWS' OPENING LOGO
Rock guitar riff

FADE MEDIUM SHOT: REPORTER-CHUCK ROBERTS
Guitar fades to silent
Roberts: Every teacher at ONE impoverished Rhode Island high school is fired. Gone. School board...

CLOSE UP: PROTESTS' SIGNS ZOOM OUT: CROWD
... voted this last night. The superintendent said something had to be done...

WALKING: PROTESTERS (CENTRAL FALLS, RHODE ISLAND FEBRUARY 23)
... because test scores and graduation rates are so pathetic.

ESTABLISHING: HIGH SCHOOL'S SIGN
The superintendent offered another option for teachers to provide extra tutoring.

WIDE: SCHOOL BUS
But they refused because it didn't come with extra pay.

CLOSE UP: TOP OF SCHOOL BUILDING (CENTRAL FALLS, RHODE ISLAND FEBRUARY 23)
The turn...

WIDE: PROTESTERS
...around plan...

CLOSE UP: PROTEST SIGN
...includes finding a new principal. Some teachers...

PAN RIGHT: CROWD
could be hired back. But is firing all of them, all mass, too drastic? Or a pretty good...
CLOSE UP: PROTESTS' SIGNS ZOOM OUT: CROWD
...resolution? We'd love to know what you think. And Michell Carey is...

SPLIT SCREEN: LEFT- ROBERTS RIGHT- MICHELLE CAREY
...providing comments. Manny of them arrived moments after we posted this on our facebook page.
Carey: Because it is that drastic of a move, Chuck. I mean we thought we had one topic picked in the morning meeting, we sortof talked about this and we switched gears right away...

FULL SCREEN WIDE: CAREY

Carey: ...because it grabs your attention. You're like "they did WHAT?" Ya, they fired every teacher.

For this practice assignment we only had to script the first minute of the news report and that is where it cuts off.

Observation on news story

My first observation is choosing what to say. The story could have been long and detailed with a lot of accounts of what happened from teachers, parents, and the school board. I would have liked to hear some of what people thought who got fired but it was such a short story they couldn't. I feel that they covered both sides of the story and other details well for such a short amount of time.

My second observation is how this was a fairly objective story. Most stories dealing with an issue like this might have opinions and be one sided. The report its self was not bias and showed points from both views meaning that its true news. However, after the one minute mark after I was done scripting they opened it up to opinions. This part of the report made it a lot less news worthy and was disappointing, I just want the facts!

My last observation is about the media its presented in. Having the visuals of the school building and teachers protesting and people watching the protesters brings a lot more emotion than just reading a story. But then again, once I've typed out all of his script its a few short sentences put together. Reading this script has a lot less power than hearing it spoken. If they wanted to post a written report of what happened they wouldnt be able to use this script, they would have to write an entire new story. I find it really interesting that not only is writing for the news different than TV, but depending on how the news is presented it has to be written differently.

MASH METHOD on the Snuggie!

In class today we got the opportunity to practice the Mash Method script writing on a thirty second commercial. I chose a Weezer Snuggie commercial here it is--


Here is the script for this commercial-

MEDIUM SHOT: WOMAN ON THE COUCH, COLOR TINT BLUE.
Voice over: You wanna keep warm when your feeling chilled.

JUMP TO WIDE SHOT: WOMAN ON TOUCH STRUGGLING TO COVER UP AND ANSWER THE PHONE, COLOR TINT BLUE.
Voice over: Blankets are okay but they can slip and slide. And when you need to reach for something your hands are trapped inside. Now there's the...

QUICK FADE: MAN ON COUCH, COVERED IN SNUGGIE, PUTTING IT ON, SHOW NAME "WEEZER" NORMAL COLOR.
Cheesy happy music.
Voice over: Weezer Snuggie! The blanket that has sleeves.
Captions with VO: "The blanket with sleeves!" with logo
Voice over: The Weezer Snuggie keeps you totally warm...
Captions with VO: "Keeps you warm..." with logo

JUMP CUT: MAN2 AND WOMAN2 IN KITCHEN HOLDING CUPS WHILE WEARING SNUGGIE. NORMAL COLOR.
Cheesy happy music cont.
Voice over: And gives you freedom to use your hands
Captions with VO: "Use your hands!" with logo

JUMP MEDIUM SHOT: TWO WEEZER MEN ON COUCH, PAN RIGHT TWO OTHER WEEZER MEN ON COUCH ALL USING CELL PHONES WHILE WEARING SNUGGIE- POPUP OF PRICE. PHONE NUMBER/LOGO ON BOTTOM. NORMAL COLOR.
Cheesy happy music cont. short fan fair with popup price.
Voice over: Call now and you'll get the ultra soft Weezer Snuggie for only 29.99.

CUT CLOSE UP: ON WEEZER CD. PHONE NUMBER/LOGO ON BOTTOM. NORMAL COLOR.
Cheesy happy music cont.
Voice over: And an added bonus, you'll also receive Raditude the brand new CD from Weezer...

CUT TO: WEEZER SNUGGIE PRICE/CONTACT INFORMATION, WEEZER SMILING IN CORNER. NORMAL COLOR.
Cheesy happy music cont.
Voice over: Both for only 29.99. Call now!

MEDIA MEDITATION#2 on Olympics 2010

First and foremost I would like to send my condolences to Nodar Kumaritashvili's family nd friends. The morning of the opening ceremony this 21 year old luger was taking a practice run nearing the end of the course when crashed and was thrown off the track. If you wish to read an article from CNN and view the video of this young man's crash feel free to click here. May Nodar Kumaritashvili rest in peace, he may not have competed in the Olympics but he still is a true Olympian in my eyes

WINTER OLYMPICS 2010

Every time I see these colors lined up next to each other I get chills. These are the colors and order of the rings in the Olympic flag. To me this flag is even more of a symbol of the world than the United Nations flag. Athletes from eve

ry country have a chance to represent their own country and compete in many many sports.

Tonight marks the night of the start of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics!!! (of course a few events have had their first rounds of competition)

I could easily blog every day about each event of the Olympics however, I would look at the opening ceremony and over all Olympics. The 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in China blew so many people away and still to this day captivates my attention when I watch it on DVD. This year wasn't as amazing, mostly because Winter Olympics is a lot smaller, but it was very incredible.

(the mascots of the 2010 Olympics)

I'll be blogging as the ceremony takes place describing the 7 basic principles, what my brain is reacting to, persuading techniques, and the eight shifts.

It all started with a video of a snowboarder is riding down a mountain counting all the years and locations of past winter Olympics using the persuasive technique of nostalgia. This is a big technological shift. In some recent years they've used video but to have this video and then have that snowboarder come down a ramp as if he just came of the mountain is very cool, great timing, and something I'm sure we'll see a lot more at Olympics to come. The visual image of beautiful Canadian mountains made my lymbic brain go crazy. I felt a rush of emotions and wishes to be able to ski down that mountain and the music behind it was so motivating and held my attention. The boarder once in the arena jumped in the air and did a flip making my reptilian brain freak out hoping he doesn't fall and make me hold my breath!

Of course with all the new technology shifts there will be new amazing and ways to celebrate the opening of the Olympics and this year, technology failure was something that will always be remembered. Here is a video of the mess up for this year's Olympics--

One thing that I really like about the Olympics is there is little ownership. I've noticed a lot water bottles and other things that would have names on them covered up. Of course its impossible not to look up at the TV and notice the ownership that NBC has over the Olympics in the US. It makes me wonder what stations its on in other countries... Any answers for me? And of course every year the US Olympic team is sponsored. This year we're owned by polo.

The great thing about the Olympics is they announce everything in the host country's native language in English. This year it is in French and English. Making my Lymbic brain react to a language I use to know and making my neocortex work.

As technology keeps advancing we'll so a lot more technological shifts and new was to view the Olympics so even if your not there, it will feel like you are.

For viewers and athletes a like, the Olympics always has individual meaning. I'll never know what it feels like to win a medal, or even compete for one. Yet being able to watch people from all over the world compete is something very rare and I believe it to be a cultural shift because there is no other time the world comes together like this. Every two years at Summer and Winter Olympics is an amazing experience and something I'll always look forward to.

I'm so excited for these Olympics games but summer is the season I really enjoy more sports from. Since a child I have loved the Olympics and I'm sure that I will continue to love them for as long as I live.

Thanks for reading!!!
~Laura





(Myself and best friend Summer Olympics 2000)

MEDIA MEDITATION#1 on The Reality of Survivor!

Its Thirsty Thursday for most college students but for me, I'm thirsty for some blood!

Tonight is the season premier of Survivor's all starts episode- Heros vs Humans. They are bringing back all the best and "worst" tempered of past episodes! I cant help but find myself excited for Russell, Rupert, and Jerri who I'm sure all the drama of the season will be surrounded by. Then I'm really excited for my favorites Coach, Boston Rob and Randy all on the same island! I'm sure that because half of the people on this island are being called

"villains" they will actually live up to their villainous titles! They are basically getting paid and loved just because they have crazy bad attitudes and trick people just to get themselves more air time.

This season I'm cheering for Parvati Shallow!

(mostly because my best friend Becky is betting on her at work) she was on Survivor: Cook Islands that I remember watching in high school with my Sophomore year dorm parents! Then in 2008 she won the $1,000,000 from Survivor Micronesia! Now back in 2010 for this season and she is part of the Villains tribe! I have faith in this 27 year old! She might not win (I hope she does) but I have faith that she will go far.

Incase you don't watch this show or have an understanding of what it is about, check out these videos!

The first one of the trailers for this season for old Survivor fans you might recognize some faces and be forced to turn on your t.v. every Thursday night

The second one is from season one! its the introduction from the first episode that ended up starting an entire new genre of television!

But what is it about not just Survivor but reality shows in general that week by week new show by new show drag so many people all over the world in each night to watch?

How is it that a show that has 20 season STILL wins its Thursday time slot at 8p.m.? This reality show captivates the attention of people from ate 16-49 and has an active fan base.

Survivor basically was the gate way for Hollywood to start creating shows using real people that were just as engaging, cinematic, and dramatic as most scripted TV shows. They have most everything that scripted shows have such as, developed characters, rising action/conflict/climax, heros and villains, establishing shots, and even foreshadow producers/editors throw in.

Not all reality shows have the same design. Some are to find your true love, live in a house with a different group of people, or follow clues all over the world. However they all go under the name of "reality T.V." that constantly draws criticism.

How is it that reality TV captivates so many people attention, and makes them become obsessed with it?

I would say that it all starts in our brain. On Survivor they do their best to make the reptilian brain react. They show people starving, wanting shelter, and getting hurt. If it wasnt for the show forcing you to watch the human body being pushed to extremes and making the viewers at home gasp and hold their breath, the shows wouldn't be nearly as successful. The limbic brain feels emotion, and the fact that this is a "reality show" with "real" people, brings a new level of emotional attachment to what audiences are seeing on TV. Lastly, they appeal to the neocortext. The challenges they have on Survivor make viewers want to get on the show and imagine what they would do for challenges and for surviving on the show.

Heres a clip that really takes advantage of the brain.

The dramatic music played draws the limbic brain and then when they start to make him feel better, its every things okay hospital music. Because you know this is a real human and you see his friends' reactions, your reptilian brain and neocortext react. You want to rush in and help him, or fear he might really be hurt. Once you over come that, you start thinking about what might have happened.

One of the biggest shifts for Survivor over the years is the Technological shift. Now if someone wants to watch an episode but not watch it live when its on T.V, they can watch it online. Also, to keep the audience's attention during the week, they have a technological shift where viewers can watch "secret scenes" online. They are basically just extended interviews they didn't have time for in their weekly show.

The most obvious of the seven basic principles that relates to Survivor is the reality construction. No one other than the "players" and crew on Survivor know what is reality, what is instigated situations, what is edited to make things appeal a certain way, and what is completely made up. That also leads to production techniques. The way that things are shot make them look so much more dramatic then they may be. Also, the way that this show and other reality shows are edited make things appear very different than they might be when the show is filming. Lastly, the most important principle that producers want is emotional transfer. If they cant get the audience always engaged with some of their emotion whether it is laughing, crying, or being scared then they are not doing their job.

The most obvious persuasive technique used my reality shows is plain folks. They take "average" people and put them in extreme situations. However, most of the time they aren't plain folks.

Most of the people on reality shows are beautiful people.

Survivor doesnt always follow this, but because most of the time the people are in bathing suits, they most defiantly try to have a good handful of beautiful people on their exotic beaches. Two of the girls from one of the season ended up being on the cover of Play Boy when they were done proving that Survivor uses beautiful

people and not so much of plain folks. And of course after the show, several of these "plain folks" who were brought onto the show become famous celebrities. If you know the basic theme and order to Survivor, you can jump into any season and understand the order of things because of repetition. They have certain things in each season such as tribal counsel, immunity challenges that the audiences knows as standard things and its what the shows format is, with out it, everyone watching would be confused.

These are just a few things that show what Survivor and reality shows can do.

Now matter how many people make fun of me for loving the show Survivor or give me grief about it, I'm going to keep watching it. Its a good thing to watch when I want to rest my mind on a Thursday night instead of going out with my friends and drinking on Thirsty Thursday.

Fabulous February

Each month I will be blogging about three media experience that I have during that month... I hope to do one TV event, one new movie, and one other media experience.

This month they all happen to fall on the same weekend!!!

1. TV show of the month: Survivor Heros vs Villains Season 20 Premier- Thursday February 11

2. 2010 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony- Friday February 12

3. Movie of the month: Valentines Day- Viewing it on Sunday February 14

I hope that you enjoy them, it should be good!

Mash Method Scripting

Today in my Electronic Media Writing class with Rob Williams we learned different formats of scripting. We took our two column script and turned it into a mash script using this banned video from this past weekend's Supper Bowl-



Here is what my mash method script looks like-

ESTABLISHING SHOT: LOLA AND DANICA EXTERIOR OF HOUSE WITH CAR
Cheesy piano music through out script
DANICA: Meet Lola

CLOSE UP SHOT: LOLA'S FOOTBALL PORTRAIT
DANICA: The day he retired from football...

MEDIUM SHOT: DANICA WITH PORTRAIT
DANICA: ... Lola started chasing his biggest dream...

WIDE SHOT: FASHION DRESSING ROOM
DANICA: ... a business of his own!

DANICA CROSS LEFT TOWARDS CAMERA
DANICA: Lola's firs step?

CAMERA ZOOM IN
DANICA: We built his website...

CLOSE UP ON LOLA'S FACE
DANICA: ...at GoDaddy.com

MEDIUM SHOT: LOLA SITTING AT DESK, DANICA CROSS TO LOLA'S UPPER SHOULDER
DANICA: And with GoDaddy's easy to use e-commerce tools, Lola...

MEDIUM SHOT: OVER LOLA'S SHOULDER COMPUTER WITH LOLA'S WEBSITE
DANICA: ...was soon selling his own line to the world.

CLOSE UP: PAN LEFT ON LOLA'S FACE- EXCITING SMILING
LOLA: Woo weeee!!

WIDE ESTABLISHING SHOT: POOL AREA WITH GUESTS, LOLA FLOATS RIGHT ON RAFT, DANICA IN FRONT, TURNS TO LOLA

DANICA: Lola dreams big, And who's to argue?

CUT TO: GODADDY.COM LOGO

GoDaddy Music play

DANICA: See more now at GoDaddy.com