Week Six

On Monday I spent two hours working with Photoshop again, watching some more tutorials to refresh my memory as to what the wee buttons on the side are as I'm still really rusty and keep forgetting. I've attached two of the pictures I was working on. I don't think these look as snazzy as the last four, but I'm not sure as I feel like I don't have a good eye as to what to look for. I can tell when something's too blurry or off colour-wise usually, but (according to Tony) some of the lads look a bit too purple. I'm working on it though!

I'm also a little rough on the sharpen tool-- I fancy that it would be easier to naturally sharpen images if I get the knack of using the camera better as sooooo many of the pictures are super blurry. I know it was my first time using anything other than a point-and-shoot camera, so fair enough, but I'd like to get better at taking pictures so I have more to work with in the future as opposed to trying to fix more major mistakes. Still, it's actually fun getting to play around with Photoshop.

On Wednesday, (including web communication from the week) I spent about an hour talking to Bill throughout; we met and reviewed my expectations for the mid-semester check-in. I also spent another hour and a half reviewing photoshop, and then a half hour playing around with the FlipCam to figure out which lighting works best and how adventurous I can get in terms of locations that will not be so rowdy as to interfere with sound.

On Thursday I spent an hour between uploading the Centre for Ethics video onto Europa and then failing to upload it to this blog. I will meet with Bill later to discuss how to convert either the file type or size so that it may upload properly.

On Friday, I spent three hours developing my idea for the website, and an other half hour trying to upload the video again but again, I can't figure it out! I also spent an hour between meeting with Bill and updating the blog.

Here is my proposal for my independent project:

Necessary Components: Project title, project synopsis, list of departments/individuals involved, scope of project (size, length, time limit, etc.), estimated timeline, publish location (describe how/where you’ll show the content)

Behind Closed Doors/The Many Faces of Muhlenberg College

The project would be an extension or an elaboration of the currently existing “Virtual Tour” feature on the Muhlenberg website. [WK1] The layout of the web-page would consist of a detailed and up-to-date map of the campus including dormitories, facilities and academic buildings. When a prospective student moves their mouse cursor over each building and clicks on it, a small pop-up window would appear with a collage of between 5 and 15 images of peoples faces. Upon clicking any of these images, another small window would appear and a short video of no more than 15-20 seconds would play. These “talking heads” would briefly introduce an aspect of the building they reside/work/teach in and/or an opinion or some insight as to how the building and their specific role impacts the larger Muhlenberg community. After the video, the window would close, giving the student the opportunity to continue perusing different videos to any and all aspects of the college.

The project aims to add more depth to the website’s current explanations of the different facets of life and work on campus. It would be an alternative to the written blogs on the website [WK2] in that it would share the same level individuality and personal flair, but would be short and to the point. It would be fast and easy and take less time than following a blog. This is especially true for students who are just looking at Muhlenberg College for the first time and are not sure if it is even a consideration. In as little as 5 minutes of using this resource, a prospective student could get a varied and intimate impression of a breadth of what the college has to offer.

This interactive video-blog map would be updated regularly, perhaps bi-monthly to ensure that it provides prospectives with up-to-date opnions and efforts on campus. The video map would include but not be limited to brief interviews on the following locations:

Seegers Union

-All the dining options as well as the offices and student clubs

Every academic building and each department

Every dormitory

-Prosser, Brown, Walz, Taylor, Martin Luther, East, South, Robertson, Benfer, Hillcrest, Kek House, The Village, the 2201 Apartments, etc,.

Greek housing

-Phi Mu, Delta Zeta, Phi Sigma Sigma, Alpha Chi Omega, Theta Nu Xi, Alpha Pi Omega, Phi Kappa Tau, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Delta Tau Delta, Alpha Tau Omega

Plant Ops

The Mailroom

The Print Shop

Haas College Centre

-Admissions, President’s Office, the Controller’s Office, Human Resources, etc,.

The Chapel

The Wescoe School

The Life Sports Centre

-Gym, Freshens and sports on campus (including intra-mural and Frisbee)

The Newman Centre

The Hoffman House

Hillel

Multicultural Centre

-on campus and study abroad office

Baker Centre for the Arts

-Academics and the MTA/MDA

Trexler Pavillion

-Academics and the shows

Trexler Library

And others I may have neglected to include in this list.

The “talking heads” would consist of, but not be limited to, the following:

President Helm

Trustee members[WK3]

Deans

Admissions staff members at all levels

Professors in every department[WK4]

Staff members and secretaries of these departments

Students of all class years, majors and backgrounds

Plant Ops and housekeeping staff

Sodexo employees

Other college staff; eg. Christine Lake, Glenn Gerchmann, Robin Riley-Casey, Mike Bruckner, etc,.

The videos would be “quick-and-dirty” in the manner in which they would be filmed. Individuals will be shot in their “natural habitats” on campus but would be given forewarning [WK5] via prior internet communication to give them a chance to reflect upon their opinion on of whichever facet of the college about which they are speaking. The videos would be more personal and less professionally-worded and “salesman-y” than the current descriptions on the website. The aim of this project is to promote a positive image of Muhlenberg College whilst staying true to the variety of individuals and opinions on its campus.

Timeline:

I am unsure as to how much time I will need to fully understand the web-component of the project as I have never made a website before[WK6] . I will need to discuss this with Bill Keller and OIT.

Regardless, I will aim to do all of the interviews for two to three buildings a week and to edit and upload the footage of each.

Total this week: 11

Total thus far: 46