Last Day!

Well this was our last day of class and we learn the final touches of business creating, and it was a good way to set off from a good class. Some of the said topics that were brought up were diversify, stick to your guns, and copyrights. I think the most important lesson however was to enjoy yourself and give to others, which I already follow now, but is a good lesson none the less. I want to say to you Dr. Jenkins, you have been a great professor and have given me knowledge that I did not have before. I think this class was a good choice on my part, and hope to use the knowledge in my future. So again, thank you.

Jake H.

4-28-12

So how much does it cost for you to wake up?

In class we discussed on how much it cost you to wake up when one owns a business, and let me tell you it is not cheap. First you take how salary you were making at the said establishment you were working at and add all the benefits that were attached to you. Next you add 20 % business expenses and taxes associated with it. Once you have all that, add profit that you know for sure will be made by your business and divide it by the amount of hours you plan to work and there you will have how much it cost to make you wake up. I never thought of a career in this way because its not as stressful as owning a business, so when planning a business, this is important to put in your plan because you want to make sure your up for the job. 

4-23-12

Owning a Business!

We discussed business and what you need to do create and sustain one. First thing you need to is plan for 1 year and decide what you are going to do. Next have a savings because if the business does not do well or fail, you will need that to support yourself. Also when you get a business, obtain a LLC from a lawyer and make sure to do it, because it makes you not liable for your company, so if someone sues you for something you did at work, then it would stay at work, and they can not take your personal things you worked hard for. Lastly get cards, because in order to promote your business, you need cards for networking, possible business, and overall contact between clients.

4-20-12

Sales Letter

I came in a little late, but todays class was kind of just describing what our next assignment is and how we need to do it. It follows the A.I.D.A system, and we are trying to sell ourself to a employer. It is sort of like a cover letter, but we are selling our attributes to a prospective business that suits our needs and theirs.

4-18-12

Different Perspectives

It was kind of cool to hear about things such as wide shot, medium shot, and close up, because this class overlaps with lessons that I previously had earlier in the semester. Being a film student, I knew about what he was talking about and how each shot has its own effectiveness. Like for example, if your going to have the actor talking, you probably wan to go with a medium shot, so its not so up close and personal. But with a close up, you might want to show something that can not be seen so far away. It is important how each shot is effect and needs to be plan when shooting.

4-9-12

Buy a Corvette, why not?

I never knew how far a car commercial can go until I watched some in writing for the media. These car comercial were crazy, but creative and I payed close attention to what they were trying to convey in there ads. The corvette had to be my favorite because for the time period, I think it had a cool effect with the singing and new qualities it had to it. The commercial with the kids playing in cars would have been better if I was child, because driving in a car was my dream. But now being a adult, I understand that is not the best commercial to show kids, because kids love to try what they see on t.v. Overall I think the comercial were somewhat ridiculous but did a effective job in sellin. 

4-6-12

 

McDonalds

If I already knew enough about McDonalds, my professor decides to tell me more about how they sucked people into buying there food and becoming such a force to be messed with. We watched a bunch of ads for McDonalds that change over time. The first ones were very modest and wanted to show family values because of the time period it was in. I think my favorite one was the Mc DLT, which I had never heard of in my life, but thought it was hilarious and kind of catchy. I also really like the other country ones which depicted different cultures aspects on the commercial end. Overall McDonalds is good at what they do, attracting people to buy there horrible but tasteful food.

4-12-12

Over time...

Over time our habits on buying products have changed drastically. The reason being from the start of the 20th century, there were no televisions and ads were not that prominent. However, over the span of the 50 years from the start, the invention of radios and televisions able to broadcast these brands and ads allowed to span over viewers worldwide. Another interesting thing that I found out was that parents and children are always destined to disagree with everything because of there wavelengths and this also deal with buying patterns. We go through these wavelengths of conservative and openness throughout our life.

4-2-12

Hey, you!

Today in class we discuss another system for selling. It follows as..

"Hey, you!"
"You want"?
"I've got"!
"Buy now!"

Which makes sense if you think about it. First you get the buyers attention by telling them what they are looking at, next usually they want it and you have to work this angle to make it work, next you tell them you have them in stock and can sell them right now, but if you buy now you will get better benefits. So it is a good system for selling and usually use in most places that people are earning commission because it is there job to implement this in order to sell.

3-24-12

Different Groups

Today in class we discuss how to sell to different groups and why it is important to pay to the details when you separate these demographics. The three groups that we discussed were college kids, families, and retired folks. Our objective was to sell them corn and we discussed adjectives that applied to each group. For example college kids had lazy, poor, and young. Families had central purchase authority, budget dependent, and more people. Last retired folks had less money, small houses, and health concerns.

3-19-12

Day Off!

Today our wonderful teacher let us have a break off, which was really needed for me, I had to do a make up exam, finish a film project, and just get ready for a logic test on Wednesday. So I one thing to say for this...

3-16-12

F.A.B

Today in class we went over our assignment of what kind of brands we used through out the day and what kind brands we are loyal too. My list was pretty normal, I used my phone a lot, also I was at work, so I had to use there brands as well. We also went over F.A.B, which stands for Features, Attributes, and Benefits. What the individual wants the most is the benefits because the features and attributes are not as important. I mean when someone buys a car, they do not do it because of the color, they do because of the transportation or the other benefits it includes. I mean I have always thought like that, but never realized when I make my buying choices.

3-14-12

Sell... SEll... SELL

Today in class we learn about the importance of selling and what is needed to be as effective in it. Some do's are translating for the audience, create emotion, and make it simple. Some Don'ts are cliche's, soft language, and double speaking. Selling also is part of the story and language process because it requires both at times.

3-12-12

Soft Words

In our time and place currently, the media has overpopulated the mass with soft words that are not always necessary but effective at hitting at home with individuals because of the what the soft words can do. We watched George Carlin, because he had segments describing theses soft words. One example that he used was Shell Shocked beginning in World War 1, then transitioning to post-traumatic stress disorder. Which in this case PTSD only charades the mass with this soft word to not scare individuals from not joining the military. Everybody wants happiness and bending the truth to do that will happen. Another thing we discuseed was adding soft words to advertise. Such as homestyle meats, which just adds homestyle to make one nostalgic of there home cooked meals. In my opinion if the world did not have these overused cliches soft words, there would be no need for brands and everybody could just buy the same thing and get on with there life. It does not only apply to foods also, it applies to brands, and anything else that describes them.

 3-9-12

S.A.F.E.S.T

Again in class we discussed concrete vs abstract, but we used real life examples to better explain the message. Such as the system with finances, like having a assest which is broad or having a common stock which is really specific. Or for example, one can say cards, but there are credit cards, Pokemon cards, and playing cards and it necessary to have the specific example you want to express in your story. Also we discussed S.A.F.E.S.T.

Statistics

Analogies

Facts

Examples

Stories

Testimonials

Which is also another method that is needed in stories, that better can explain situations based of which one is needed in in they acronym.

3-6-12

Words

Words can determine how well stories are powerful or whether or not ones message is to effective or not. In class we learned that words have to be concise, focused, need language, and one usually needs to make the sentences 7-8 to words long. I think the 7-8 words long can depend on the situation, however it is a good standard to go by. We also learned about abstract vs concrete meanings of words, and which ones to use.

Abstract

• Tell
• Concepts
• Broad
• Values
• Vague

Concrete

• Show
• Illustrates
• Specific

3-3-12

You have a Radio, well I have the internet..

We listen to Orson Wells "War of the Worlds" and I was shocked to believe anything that was being said by him in this broadcast. However that is in today times, back then not having internet and not being able to rely on T.V as well, I would have been scared out of my freaking mind listening to this broadcast actually believing some monsters were attacking us. However I think this how well stories can be told and feel so real, that it can even upset so many people as it did. Now a days, that is a lot harder with the internet around because it allows people to check the facts and make sure what they are listening to is actually true.

2-29-12

Why is Dialogue effective?

Today in class we went over why dialogue is effective and is needed in stories to describe situations that would take two sentences to one sentence with dialogue. I always use dialogue in my stories because I think, whats a story without dialogue? Reading books only about actions or what is going to happen next gets pretty boring right off to a start. I always like the use of dialogue in stories because I think it is better at conveying a message or hidden meaning that would be accomplish solely on actions or text. It also can shorten those pesky sentences of action by a lot if one is effective at writing stories.

2-27-12

Improving your Dialogue

There are rules or specifications that need to be followed when you write a story. Instead of discussing all of them I will list a couple.

Improving your Dialogue 

1. Read it Aloud.
2. Long Passages
3. Distinctive Dialogue
4. Each character has a voice
5. Get into the character.
6. exc..

Why are these important, one might ask, well I tell you why. Read anything out aloud will always increase your chances of getting the story right and to gain others perspective on your storytelling. Long passages are not always good, but necessary, sometimes the story needs them to explain what is going on in the story. Imagine the matrix without them... Distinctive dialogue also distinguishes characters from each other, no one wants the same protagonist in every story and antagonist, it just is boring. Also try to imagine the character as oneself, doing this will make you think more creatively and also limit the craziness of how much a character can contain. 

Jake H.

2-24-12

Starting Dialogue

Today in class we discussed why dialogue is important to be included in a story. We went over basics on how dialogue can explain what the character might be or what kind of character it can be. I think this true because I have seen many movies or commercials or even radio ads that just based on dialogue I can understand what the person who is speaking might be trying to convey and what kind of personality they are trying to portray as well. To test this in class we watch clips of movies such as full metal jacket to understand how dialogue so crude that was shown can even have messages as well.

Jake H.

2-22-12

Your kind of boring in real life...

In class we further discussed on what characters need to be believable and to produce a good story. First thing is to make sure your character is not a characterization because then it will end up producing a cliche person. Next to make them real and believable and if it basing of a actual kind of job like for example being a cop, make sure to get your lingo right. However I think real life is boring at most times, so it okay to add things that might not happen in real life to entertain the viewers.  If you have cop giving nobody tickets because  he wants to be that one guy who is nice, nobody will believe that crap. However if a cop never tries to save anyone or shoot his gun, the viewer is most likely give up on they are watching. So as my professor said, get your facts check. We also discussed Joe Campbell- Hero's Journey.

1. Call to adventure
1. Accept or Decline
2. Road of trials
1. Successes or Failures
3. Achieve goals
1. Self Knowledge
4. Return to the real world
5. Application

This is kind a guide for a hero and usually followed in most stories because it sets up a good structure. 

Another thing is to also make your Antagonist worthy, if not the story will end making the viewers disappointed. For example if you let your character endure this whole journey to get to the Antagonist and he is easily overcome, who wants to see that. 

Interior vs Exterior

When you think of characters who have played in movies, are they actually characters or just characterizations? For example take a character like Jet Li, in most of his movies, I think hes playing a characterization of you to survive knowing martial arts such as other cliches in martial arts movies. In class we discussed that characters will express if they are active or passive, antagonist vs protagonist, the interior. Characterization are just cliches of what characters truly are. So the next time you go to watch a movie, see if you can tell the difference between characters and characterizations.

Passively Active!

I have never thought if I was a active or passive person. At times I just wanted everybody to leave me alone and I just want to do my own thing, or at other moments I want to be included in everything and just to make my contribution noticeable. In class we discussed Maslow pyramid which made a lot of sense. Sometimes I feel like I am stuck at safety and never want to go beyond, I don't know if I never can not to get to that next level or if I just don't have the motivation to do so. However not at all times do I feel like that, I think I am more worried about others than I am myself which makes me feel like my Maslow pyramid is upside down at times. I want to help others rather than myself which has led to many complications in my life and consequently had me lose some of my time and own body needs. However there is nothing better than the satisfaction of helping others or just even encouraging.

Going outside the Box!

Today in class we discussed about how characters that just came natural to us, are usually cliches of other characters we have already seen. The challenge however was to watch or discover characters we might not ever though of. For example, the guy who jackhammers pavement, what kind character would that be? Or the woman who takes care of her kids in the daytime, but possibly monitor a base in some odd place in the night time. Challenging oneself can make you find characters you might never have thought of and make you more aware of there existence and story. Point of the story, don't be so narrow minded, explore things and try to find out as much as you can.

Lets Meet!--Character Sketches

Eric and Fred: Two twins who know how to get work done at a easy pace. If one is tired and needs rest, the other helps towards that goal and does the work needed to accomplish it. Both smart, so excelling through school made it even easier. When work is all done, the two play games to compete at which is better.

Pacheco: Guy who never wanted to trust anybody but badly wanted friends. Always had a cheerful mindset but believed that everybody was out to get him. Pacheco loves going to the library to find new mangas and books that interested him. Part of the anime club and likes discussing the shows with others.

Ya Ya: Very intelligent student who knew how to get things done. If she wanted things to go her way, they were going to go that way. Never wanted help from others, just acceptance. Very beautiful and had a fit body. Never wanted a boyfriend, because school was always more important and nothing came in between.

That one story that never goes away!

In class today, our assignment was to bring to class a story that never leaves you, that probably has been told to others such as family, friends, or just anybody who remembers the story. Everybody has one of these stories, if not one, many. It was great to hear the others talk about stories that occurred in there life, it gave me a sense of nostalgia of remembering the stories that I had in my past. The stories that I could of brought were the time I broke my leg when I was three, however I was to young and do not remember it, or the time I was chasing my sister and I ran my toes between her heels and broke my toes, but I did not think that was a story of much fame. The story I brought is famous in my moms side of the family, because everybody has heard this story told by my aunt. It was the time when I was a child and I decided not to go the bathroom in my diaper, but decided the floor would be better. I get told every year about how I crapped on their floor and just sat there like nothing happen. I believe this story will stay with me until the day I die. However it is a great story to tell, because every year its gets funnier.

Learning about story

In class we did a review on story and how it has to break wifm barriers to even be taken in by the receiver. I find this to be true, because whenever  me and my friends are telling each other stories, we always come up with creative ways to make it interesting, whether is be by making the receiver laugh or make the person feel some emotion towards the story. I never thought about having a wifm barrier but it makes sense. I do sometimes have this what in it for me attitude, because some stories do not interest me or I regret even hearing them in the first place. I think the wifm barrier is good to know about when your analyzing stories, it can sometimes make you think more critically about them.