Marisol's Thoughts

New Media Lab

Marisol — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 01:57:13 +0000

I possibly have THE coolest job on campus. Where else can you use Final Cut Pro, work on Adobe Photoshop and… oh yeah, play video games? At the New Media lab located on the fourth floor of Stag Hall on the Oregon State University campus. (CHECK US OUT!!)

I started working here back in January of this year and have learned a LOT about video games. I grew up with three older brothers and always figured I had a good sense of how to play video games or how to analyze them, let me tell you, I have learned a lot. So far I have only done one review but I have learned how to categorize certain aesthetics of games. That is what we do at the New Media lab, we are a lab for research exploring the aesthetic effect that different video games have on our moods and why we choose to play certain games. When testing aesthetics we look for things such as color, lighting, graphics. We also analyze other portions like sound fx or music. EXAMPLE. I have also done other work such as recording video game play and editing it for examples of aesthetics and I have created several posters also highlighting specific games and pointing out some of their more outstanding features.

Working at this lab has been a great experience and I will be sad to leave upon my graduation in June. Although it will be sad to move on, I feel that I have learned what I need to in order to successfully carry on a conversation with someone about how the certain aesthetics of a video game can alter a persons mood and trigger a certain effect.

National Association of Broadcasters Internship

Marisol — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 01:27:27 +0000

I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to travel to Las Vegas this last April for an internship to work within the convention for the National Association of Broadcasters or NAB. I first attended this conference a year ago in April of 2009 and really had no idea of what to expect. The experience that I left Vegas with was one of immeasurable quantities. Never had I known how to talk to someone with a professional standing, nor was I ever expected to wear business attire and never had I been put in a situation that dealt with handling celebrities and leading them around. The NAB convention in 2009 allowed me to learn all of this and much more. This opportunity thrust me into a position where you either succeeded or went home. I managed to do alright with the encouragement of several individuals (Jeff Hale and Louie Bottaro) and the willingness of the NAB staff to answer questions and be available as much as possible. (As well as a few scars on my feet due to walking miles and miles a day)

NAB 2010 was very different.

This year I was a veteran, I knew the ropes and other students looked to me for help and answers. We arrived in Las Vegas on April 9th ready for no sleep and lot’s of walking. Our main duties this year was, unfortunately, no VIP pickups at the airport but rather other assistance throughout the convention center. I helped out by doing many things such as: scanning badges, escorting people and answering questions, setting up name cards at luncheon tables for VIP members such as Senator Gordon Smith and Jim Parsons, I also assisted with handing out pamphlets and helping out any department that asked for assistance.

It was unfortunate to not have any celebrity pickups but that was due in part to a down economy and few celebrities were attending the conference in the first place. We were however all invited to a dinner after the convention had wrapped up and met many contacts who had great advice and few even had job offers for some students.

This opportunity would never have been possible had it not been for the New Media program at Oregon State University. They along with the help of the persistent staff at NAB allow for this opportunity to happen every year for the lucky students that are fortunate enough to get the chance to go.

Thank you NMC for some of the most unforgettable and priceless experiences and memories that have arisen due to these opportunities.

Final Project Process Memo

Marisol — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 02:07:54 +0000

Jacob and I really did split this project 50/50. The tasks that I contributed include: filming interviews, filming B-roll footage, faxing the camera and equipment, striking the camera and equipment, uploading footage, editing footage, providing voice over, editing photos in Adobe Photoshop, and a wee little bit of playing shuffle board. I feel that I contributed a lot of work and I am very happy with the results. We did argue at times but I feel that it only helped us more because we had to be constantly communicating. I learned how to do more things in Final Cut Pro from Jacob, learned how to use Keynote by trial and error, and I had a good refresher with Photoshop. I am most happy about learning Keynote. It is similar to the program Motion but SO much simpler. Something that I would have changed is filming earlier in the term. We didn’t film too late or anything, but being done sooner is always a bonus (Especially when Dead Week rolls around).

This was a great experience because I have NEVER tried to film a documentary kind of film. I learned a lot of new things. You edit the film differently than if you were doing a short drama, you need to find out a lot of information about your topic. Jacob and I both felt like investigative reporters at times because we were diving into the history and facts of the MU basement.

Jacob works at the bowling alley so he really knew so much more than I did when it came to researching the near closure of the bowling alley. I learned so much about the history, I met a lot of employees there, and I really feel like I grew a connection with the MU basement. I really didn’t care at first about the topic, I just figured cool I have something to do for Pam’s class. But I learned that the MU basement really is a remarkable piece of history for Oregon State University and a lot of people really care about it, including me.

Our sources were so well-informed that when I filmed the interviews, I was learning SO much. We filmed Michael Henthorne who knows so much and was actually a part of the committee that was going to decide whether or not to close down the bowling alley. Hearing him talk about it as if it were yesterday really was remarkable.

Another interviewee that had a great story was the bowling PAC instructor Michael Gorman. He talked about how he used to come and bowl when he was attending Oregon State University as an undergrad. The fact that he used to come play and now teaches here is phenomenal and such a great thing for him to be able to enjoy. We are trying to create this video so that people may have the chance to really enjoy and experience the MU basement as so many others have.

Final Project Update

Marisol — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 23:44:40 +0000

Work, work, work. For the past week or so, Jacob and I have been working on the script of the show and really trying to finalize how we want the rundown to go and how we want our documentary to start and end.

We were thinking of starting and ending with someone (Jacob) opening and closing the bowling alley to really emphasize the fact that the bowling alley still opens and closes and was so close to being shut down.

We are currently editing like mad men (women) trying to make a great project that will really emphasize what we are trying to show. We also hope that our project gets people a little bit more involved with the history of the MU bowling alley so that if the problem ever arises of being closed again people will care and try to do anything in their power to help keep it open.

Random Thoughts

Marisol — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 23:27:44 +0000

I attended class today (unbelievable right?) and found that we were skyping with a public health representative from Brazil. It was soooo cool to be a part of the conversation and listen to things she had to say. We learned a little bit about her personal life because she had been tested positive for HIV fifteen years ago and she also discussed how well Brazil was doing in dealing with the HIV/AIDS pandemic. They have free testing AND free treatment which is phenomenal.

Another random thing that happened to me today: I logged onto my twitter account and it said that there was an over capacity of twitters. It wouldn’t let me login or update my twitter status. WHAT?! How can there be an over capacity of twitters? I thought it was kinda funny and I would never expect that from twitter. It is one of the newest modes of communication out there and to be unavailable is kind of unacceptable. Hopefully it doesn’t happen again.

Rough Drafts DUE!

Marisol — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:24:17 +0000

Oh the pressure! In the past week and a half Jacob and I have been uploading footage and shooting more b-roll for our final project. We also scanned articles from The Daily Barometer that show important occurrences that happened in the past concerning the bowling alley. Jacob has been looking for music on omnimusic.com and I listen to them so that we can agree on what sound we want for our project. Other than that we have just been editing, editing, oh, and editing.

Here are two examples of what our interviews will look like:

NPR Brings Back Childhood Memories

Marisol — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:49:47 +0000

Listening to talk radio rather than music with annoying ads between them is phenomenally different. It’s not just talk radio either, it’s a story unraveling that you can partake in. I listened to The Ghost of Bobby Dunbar which originally aired on 03-14-2008. What an amazing story, I only listened to half of it, but I absolutely plan on listening to the rest of it as soon as I have the chance. This story is about a child that was kidnapped in 1912 and if you want to know more, click HERE to listen to it.

I forgot how much I loved listening to stories being told on the radio. When I was around 10 or 11, my sister and I used to listen to an AM station that would run a murder mystery every Sunday night. The station would continue the show every week so that when 10 o’clock rolled around on Sundays we looked like kids about to open gifts on Christmas morning. That’s no exaggeration either, whenever there was a commercial break we would literally SPRINT to the bathroom so that we didn’t miss anything that was said.

An amazing thing that I noticed about listening to the radio is that you can complete mindless tasks because you don’t need to be watching anything, you just need to be listening. As I was listening to The Ghost of Bobby Dunbar, I realized that I could put my clothes away, I could apply makeup, and I could organize my room. WOW! It’s so different than sitting down to watch television because with TV you don’t have to think or do anything for that matter. You literally just zone out and be lazy.

Listening to stories makes you become involved and you have to picture it in your head otherwise you get lost and can’t get into the story. As Pam was saying in class, an element of the writing disappears when you start using visuals. The writing is not as good and doesn’t have to capture your audience. You have to be descriptive when not using visuals so that your audience can use their imagination and dive into the story.

It made me so nostalgic listening to a story on the radio that I want to continue this habit and show my kids (which will be ten years from now). TV is great and all but when you lose your imagination, I feel that you lose a lot of who you are and lose more and more of the joys of your childhood. I want to keep my mind fresh and lively. NPR here I come.

Interviews A.S.A.P

Marisol — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:45:54 +0000

I am watching Oprah and she is interviewing the two civilian police officers that took down the shooter at Fort Hood. This is the first time that they are being interviewed since the event and it is via satellite. I just think that it is so intriguing that SHE got the first interview and that she decided not to wait until they could physically come into the studio and do a show.

One of the officers, Sergeant Kimberly Munley, is in a wheelchair because she was shot three times by the assailant. Getting her to Chicago for an interview would be such a hassle for her. Usually you would have to wait until she was fully healed to be able to be more mobile.

This is news today, this is how you are going to get intimate interviews that occur right after major events. The shooting at Fort Hood occurred just Last Thursday and someone who was shot THREE times is already being interviewed. That is less than a week ago! I feel that this is an example of new media and is going to happen more and more so that interviews can be conducted faster and so that the public can be more informed right after tragic happenings occur.

R.I.P. victims of the Ft. Hood shooting

PeaceJam: My First Promotional Video

Marisol — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:28:20 +0000

Taking peace to next level

This year’s PeaceJam weekend will feature 2003 Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Shirin Ebadi

Issue date: 4/24/09 Section: News

In its fifth year at Oregon State, PeaceJam Northwest will be bringing Dr. Shirin Ebadi, the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize winner, to its campus to participate in workshops and service projects, and to promote ideas of peace and service to a younger generation of leaders.

Ebadi, the first Iranian and first Muslim woman to receive the award, is a human rights activist, lawyer and founder of Children’s Right Support Association in Iran.

Now a lecturer of law at the University of Tehran, Ebadi won the Nobel Peace Prize for her human rights activism and her fight for the rights of women and children. The selection committee praised her as a courageous woman, unafraid to stand up for what she believes in, even if it meant certain danger.

According to Alan Calvert, an AmeriCorps Vista volunteer, PeaceJam is an “international campaign for education to develop peace prize winners as inspiration to become leaders and peacemakers in their communities.”

This weekend is essentially a chance for high school students involved with PeaceJam to meet and work with a Nobel Peace Prize winner…..

TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE

No one really ever hears about this annual event that occurs on our university’s campus. I had the privilege of filming a short promo video for the event. I had never heard of PeaceJam before I filmed it. It is a great way for students in High school to really get together and make a difference and talk about change. It’s a great opportunity and I hope that the teenagers that attend this event will take the experience with them as they grow and make changes not only within themselves but to the environment and people around them. To learn more about what it is check out my video!

PeaceJam Northwest 2009

Final Project Update Numero Uno

Marisol — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:10:04 +0000

For our project I looked up background information for our project on the MU Basement. Jacob told me a little bit about the history but it wasn’t until I looked up the articles that I could comprehend how important our project is and the story to be told. Here are some of the articles that I found detailing the recent history of the MU Basement:

Mu bowling lanes could close 5/24/06

MU bowling lanes go on trial 6/07/06

Once near the end, ‘Basement’ has a rebirth 3/07/07

Basement bowlers flying high 04/02/08

MU Basement upgrades hope to draw more students on campus 9/24/08

From the headlines alone you can see the changes that the MU Basement has gone through. Personally I am excited to tell its story through a documentary so that others can have the chance to see the accomplishments it had to experience to be here today at OSU.