COMM 303 Blog #4

NOTE: Before you read the whole blog, you should know that it is a video as well. I provided the script for class, but you don't have to read it, just watch it!

 

Scripted

     Hi everybody! I decided to do this blog a little bit different in the spirit of the theme, home video recording. I wrote it down for class purposes, but I created this spoken video as well to prove the importance of home video productions.

     It is safe to say that anyone with access to a camcorder or webcam can make a video and post it on the internet. Many of the videos that I have watched on this matter are mostly upcoming artists who record covers or their own songs to promote their talent, creativity and uniqueness. This mode of self-promoting can be successful for a privileged few who actually make it big. The power of the YouTube world, as I call it, can be very important to some song writers and singer. Popularity is measured on the amount of views one gets. In some cases it can bring fame. Artists such as Karmin and Christina Perri, who were two of my favorite YouTube sensations have gained national fame now, and although you might not necessarily know them, for the fans that do, it doesn’t only make us happy for them, but also it can give hope to some that posting videos online will bring fame and success for us.

     Ellen DeGeneres is a good example of a famous celebrity who actually pays attention to videos posted on line of singers, dancers and sometimes just random talents or life stories. She provides time on her daytime TV show for some of the most viewed YouTube artist. Sophia Grace and Rosie were YouTube sensations, and these little girls now appear on the show every week making audiences laugh with their innocence and quite surprising vocals and rapping skills. Now, some people do not like them and it might be because they are jealous of these little girls gaining fame. I think they are adorable and really funny, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion. So, make your form your own opinion about Sophia Grace and Rosie, or skip it if you want, it’s wonderful that you have the power of fast forward. Here is the video that took them to L.A. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7hTAp6KrGY&list=UUBbl9TWafqQcPfsdG32t--A&index=8&feature=plcp.

     Besides the corky and talented hits on the internet, other people who make home videos might become more prevalent in our daily lives. It can be defined as alternative media when people create their own video blogs and post them so people can follow them and the “news” they provide. Personally I do not watch video blogs posted, but I know some people that do. What these video blogs provide is a different point of view on news and sometimes they are not dedicated to mainstream arguments but on issues that have a more activist purpose behind them.

     As far as the knowledge one needs to make videos and use it to their advantage, I think it is pretty easy to push record on whatever camera you have. The creativity on how videos are produced I think come second to content. I do feel like content is more important because people will watch what they want, they are not necessarily looking at critiquing the way home videos are produced. However there are a lot of people who think of themselves as experts and want and expect the best from average people. I do think however, that it is important for communication majors to learn how to use this medium because they will use it in some point of their lives. Think how important it is to be the guy or gal in charge of putting together the advertisements for the Super Bowl or just the teasers that you see for the local news in a smaller scale. You have to start somewhere, and now with the internet taking a more important role, editing home videos is the first step to producing impressive works either for TV or the websites.

     I mean how easy was it for me to make this video? I just used my laptop camera, which is not the best, and the Windows Live Movie Maker that was already installed in my computer, to get my message out there in the world of the internet. I mean really, you don’t need to be a scientist to know how to work it and make it connect with an audience. I do not consider myself a video professional, but I can make it work.

   What do you think about the role of home videos? Leave a comment! Thanks for watching or reading. Have a wonderful day or night.

 

COMM 303 Blog #3

A Lonely Winter Medium 

All I wanted to do last winter was cuddle up in bed with a hot drink and watch some of my favorite movies. Every night for the winter break of 2011, before going to bed I chose a movie I had not seen for a really long time and watched it. Even though I had my family and friends around, in the evenings my best companion became the TV in my bedroom.

       Television has been around for nearly 90 years in the commercial world. Its very beginnings were in the late 19^th Century. More surprisingly is how long it’s been present in most American households, “Since the 1970s, 97% to 98% of U.S. households have owned a television,” (Grant and Meadows 2010, p. 214). In my house alone, there are four television sets, one for every person in the house, and only two have satellite connection.

       One of my favorite theories in communication technology is the media dependency theory, which states that it is, “An ecological theory that attempts to explore and explain the role of media in society by examining dependency relations within and across levels of analysis,” (Grant and Meadows 2010, p. 53).

My television. No satellite connection
 or cable. Favorite DVDs next to the TV.

       This past winter I entered a solitary play dependency with my TV. I entertained myself alone, in my bedroom, every night by watching a passionate unrealistic love story play out or the believable blood sucking vampires of the Anne Rice series. Spending time alone like that, in front a bright screen producing moving and speaking figurines gave me some sort of peace and comfort every lonely and icy winter nights.

       Most people I am sure are not as dependent on TV for self-entertainment. As a matter of fact people have been brought together by television since the 1950s. The social play perspective is evident in the evening gatherings of families who watched the news together as a family or a particular show. In most recent years television at the bars and other gathering places use it to share some common interest, that being mostly of sports. If you cannot get a Super Bowl ticket, well you go to the bar or a friend’s house to witness the most important event of the year.

       Among other dimensions within this particular theory, media dependency, there are also social understanding and self-understanding dependencies formed with the medium of television

       The History Channel with its various shows, help you travel through time to learn about the ancient majestic kingdoms of Egypt, as well as the potential disastrous future. What do you take away from shows as “educational” as those shown in the History Channel? Possibly, you see the world with different eyes, and learning about the past as well as the future help you understand more of the world around you. Then if that realization is possible you come to a social understanding

       When you want to learn about yourself then you probably watch “reality” TV shows. It is easier to relate to some types of people who appear to have the same life as yours. Now, the big critique on reality TV shows is that who can actually relate to the “Real Housewives” of whatever? Or the over exposed and tanned to crispy brown color of the “Jersey Shore” cast? Well, you can probably learn about yourself that you actually have a better life than those wealthy empty souls or that you are actually one of the smartest Americans compared to those thirty year old hollow heads. Maybe if you find a show that really relates to you, you will learn something about yourself that you didn’t know. Go on and watch Dr. Phil, see if he won’t put you in place.

       I enjoy television, as much as I do not like to admit it. Today there is so much garbage on TV, that it’s channel surfing for me every time I turn it on and I know I am not scheduled to watch my telenovela (Mexican soap operas) or news. I do not watch that much anyways because I have too much studying to do or I just rather not be a couch potato.

       Television is not disappearing any time soon, even if the internet gives you more flexibility to watch your shows. DVRs and other play system devices that allow you to record or watch whatever you want whenever you want still requires that 56 inch flat screen. Other functions of television like cable and satellite TV are not leaving any time soon either, too many people depend on the medium to project the learning or entertainment they thirst for.

       Me in particular, even though I do not have cable or satellite in my room, I do have my screen and DVD player. I’d like it to be there for every breakup or lonely nights to keep me company when no one else can.

What do some of my friends/followers think about television?

Hugo Valle, 15 years old, cousin from El Salvador: Said that he finds TV entertaining but prefers the internet.

Andrew Hornback, junior at IUS: “Don't watch TV because I'd rather study.”

Dario Darji, student at UofL: “An archaic, outmoded medium of receiving information/entertainment from the 20th century. Still in use by people who have not progressed to the 21st century.”

Christina Corder, Alpha Phi Omega—Delta Theta Historian: “I like to watch something that will leave me craving more like the books I read do. Now I know that TV shall not consume my life, but when I do get time to watch I take it as a chance to take a break from homework/studying or to do that while during commercials.”

COMM 303 Blog #2

Taking Turns For My Ears

YouTube, Pandora, iTunes, 93.1 FM, 91.9 FM, 99.7 FM. Cellphone, iPod, computer, radio, CDs. The first list is a gathering of “places”where I listen to music. The second list has the different hardware I use to get my music from. My most prominent source is probably my laptop. All of the variant places where I listen to music can be played through the wonders of the internet, even the radio stations.

My laptop with the iTunes and Pandora
browser open. Some CD cases, my
phone and iPod.

I love music for so many reasons; one of the main reasons is that music can help me get through anything in life. The music I listen to usually interprets the emotions that are running through me at a specific time and place. I think music for me is an escape to a world of bliss and tranquility. It is that use and gratification I get from listening to music being streamed through the various devices, which provide escapism from the palpable everyday world, to my own private secured world.

The voices singing through the speakers of my iPod help me concentrate hard on my weekly workouts. I love to run, and it is very difficult for me to get to the finish line without blaring music coming out of my headphones. When I am in my car, I usually listen to CDs my brother has created for me, my phone which I plug in the car or sometimes I just listen to the local radio stations. When I am at home, cleaning or doing my homework, I use my computer to play the notes once written by Debussy or Tchaikovsky.

I am not a one digital audio technology at a time kind of gal; I like a wide selection of options. One thing is for sure, the media dependency on this particular technology is high above many of the other communication technologies I am sure to be discussing very soon. Music is the delightful, entertaining sounds of my deepest thoughts and desires. The haunting voices of some artists or just the poignant sounds of notes written long before I was born, make me want this medium so much more.

**The following are some of the playlists with artists and/or composers who I listen to. Click on the artists On Repeat or ¿Qué es esto? to listen to a song by the artist.**

On Repeat:                               Guilty Pleasures:         No Words Please:

Young the Giant                      Katy Perry                    Claude Debussy

Mumford & Sons                    Taylor Swift                  Bedřich Smetana

Imagine Dragons                     Kid Cudi                        Franz Schubert

Of Monsters and Men                                                  Pyotr I. Tchaicovsky

Alex Clare                                 Even Mother Listens To:           

Black Keys                                The Beatles                  ¿Qué es esto?

Christina Perri                         Rolling Stones              Reik

Fun                                           Rod Stewart                  Julieta Venegas 

Coldplay                                   Queen                           La Oreja de Van Gogh