#master journal

This month has been an interesting start to my new experience perusing my Masters Degree at Full Sail University. I have some rare insight into the school since my husband has worked there for the last 14 years. Even though I have lots of television, media, design, PR, and promotion experience in the past - I didn't attend FS for my Bachelors degree. Way, way back in 2000 I graduated from a small university in South Dakota with a Mass Communications BS and an interest in all things media related.

I have had a lot of previous experience as a promotional video editor for both an NBC station and for Fox Sports, but I've also enjoyed several other positions in the public relations/event planning/volunteer management world.

I discovered while working at the Girl Scouts, I could use my previous experience to enrich the trainings and recruitment events that I was hosting. Promoting the Magic or the Heat can be surprisingly similar to promoting Girl Scout events or membership pushes.

After COVID hit this last year, I found myself not working (you can't go classroom to classroom to present about Girl Scouts when all the schools are shut down) and helping my two kids acclimate themselves to online classes. I saw the videos and lessons presented to them and was amazed to see how interactive and productive they were. My mind ran through a 100 different ways I could have used programs like these to teach parents about the benefits of becoming active in the Girl Scouts. Our biggest hurdle has always been finding adult leadership and volunteers to keep the programs going.

As the year progressed, and everyone had to deal with their "new normal", I began to notice that things weren't going to go back 100% to the way things were. So many people and companies saw huge success with remote working and it's obvious that it isn't going to completely go away once the masks come off. And while the 500% growth of Florida Virtual School attendance will probably drop off significantly in the fall - I strongly believe that they will still maintain a much higher level of registration then they had before this crazy year.

So this spring, while contemplating where I go from here - I realized that all my particular skills combined were a fantastic mix to start looking into this rapidly growing field of Instructional Design.

My originals objectives in this course were to learn more about crowdfunding, increase contact with film festival producers and learn how to sell a film. I believe that I achieved my objectives and I really enjoyed this class and learned with professor Peter Gordon.

Crowdfunding is a very valued tool to raise money to make independent films. In this course, we learn how to sell a film, how to create a press release, bio, and all stuff that is important to sell your idea in a crowdfunding.

We learn so much about film festivals and how to participate. I have participated in a lot of festivals in the whole world as on Greece, Norway, Mozambique, Brazil, USA, and etc. And I will apply everything I learned in this class in my next application. We also created a Film Festival Strategy where I learned more about some festivals and schedule myself to submit my film in the next months. To my next short Fragile I’m making a press release, website and everything I will need to submit to festivals.

An important part of this class was about how to get a job. I increased my resume, my LinkedIn, my website and in addition, a made a brand video. I also got a help from professor Peter in my Cover Letter. We discuss in class about the job interview, how to negotiate salary, how to wear and behave. It is very important for us, in this moment of our life.

Lately I’ve been digging on Chance the Rapper. 

Specifically his song Same Drugs. The video is freaking wild, but this performance sends goosebumps up my spine.

 Research and Investigative Skills Development course brought HORodz into a completely different level of Journalism. By creating a pattern of seeking the truth in the subject that the buzz of the website focuses on. In result, the webpage has grown to a 452-fan base on WordPress alone. This course thought the ability to connect to other social media sites. This as helped with the growth of the site into a full fan site that reaches individuals from Mexico, London, and even Alaska in part to the rest of the United States. The belief of this is the case of two factors that the course has gifted, sharpened, and allowed acknowledgement of by the creator of the site.

 The first is the importance to adding information through Hyperlinks to assist the reader with addition information to strengthen the points of what the article, interview, or post is based on. Furthermore, the course assisted with alternative forms of explaining you subject. The course explained the importance of such visual media assistance like Infographics, and time lines to better catalog events of importance in the subject the piece focuses on. In addition, the course allowed the student to create visual media add-on to place in the sites of the students to sharpen other modern technology programs that the students as New Media Journalist students should become accustom to working with.

 Second, important tool thought to the students is the importance to add multiple forms of media on your articles. Wither it be photos, which need be taken by the individual who is covering the article. In addition, all multi-media must have captions, explaining photo and description of the photo attached to every multi-media used on site, The importance in this is based in factors from copyright issues to simple verification of event and what the media is describing.

 In conclusion, the tools mentioned are but a few learned during this course. As a student expectations where to learn how to use the Internet and government sites to gain information on the subjects covered on the site. After taking the course, it was quickly learned that the course showed more then the ideas and assumptions kindled by one self of the course.

 On the other hand, the instructor and the course expected the student to have an open mind and the freedom to follow the buzz of the site created by the students. At the same time, the course pushed the student to go beyond the students’ comfort zone and reach for a higher plain of journalistic integrity and style of writing. In a personal note what I found to be most helpful was the one on ones that the Professor took to help me reach where I am today in my journalistic skills. I will never forget what I learned and I will continue to practice trademark, copyright and hyperlink uses in all the post placed on H.O.Rodz just click the hyperlink and see for your selves.

 Sincerely,

Hi, there. This is Deron Butler. I am a student at Full Sail University, pursuing a Master’s Degree in Creative Writing. Here are my goals for each course that I will take, which will bring me one step closer to my ultimate goal. 

Mastery: Personal Development and Leadership

Goal: Become a better person and be an influential individual

*Become a better leader

*Strive for self-improvement

*Becoming a master of my craft https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjfF6RkPX2c

The Art of Visual Storytelling

Goal: Tell a story through images

*Being able to describe a scene in full detail

*Visualize what is happening as the action unfolds

*Get a better glimpse of the story from the character’s point of view https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ikx_m_w34go

Script Analysis and Criticism

Goal: Analyzing and critiquing scripts while being able to accept criticism

*Critiquing the works of fellow screenwriters and giving them some insight

*Learning how to deal with criticism for my script

*Improving my script and taking suggestions from critics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsXj1RQQ3D4

Character Creation and Development

Goal: Having the ability to create multidimensional characters

*Make characters that are relatable and likable to the audience

*Make a character that would resonate with you

*Develop the character’s personality and characteristics http://www.lynda.com/Design-Color-tutorials/James-Whites-Character-Illustrations-Start-Finish/153984-2.html?autocompleteMovieId=157441

Episodic and Serial Writing

Goal: Create a fun and entertaining TV or web series

*Write my first episode for a sitcom or web series

*Learn from other screenwriters about writing episodes

*Start a web series  http://www.lynda.com/Video-Video-Editing-tutorials/Television-episodic/120261/147201-4.html

Film Screenwriting

Goal: Become a master screenwriter

*Become an influence in my field.

*Use my creative ability to write unique scripts

*Work as a screenwriter in the industry https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAWVRqASoYY

Writing For Games

Goal: Work as a freelance writer for game developers in need of a story

*Write a script for gaming developers 

*Write characters to have depth and personality

*Write a meaningful and memorable story in which gamers can enjoy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94WHc1n4DPg

Storytelling and Storyboarding for Animation

Goal: Working with storyboard animators to get a feel for the characters

*Create storyboards for animators

*Tell a story through images

*Plan out each scene before drawing it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm91RYa1i-Y

Advanced Script Editing

Goal: Being able to process and correct errors in scripts

*Being able to find grammatical and punctuational errors and correct them

*Having an eye for detail in screenwriting

*Making sure the script has a beat breakdown https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-wShOv8c1E

Creative Writing Portfolio I

Goal: Create a successful portfolio

*Establishing my portfolio

*Placing my works in portfolio

*Make sure my portfolio stands out http://www.lynda.com/WordPress-tutorials/Start-Theme-Creative-Portfolios-WordPress/108127-2.html

Creative Writing Portfolio II

Goal: Have a portfolio that will amaze potential clients and people that will hire me.

*Fully enhance my portfolio

*Make it presentable to those who are in need of a writer

*Extend portfolio’s resume https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjB1tTGH5pc

The Business of Creative Writing

Goal: Become the greatest writer in fiction and screenwriting

*Finally becoming a creative writer

*Becoming a unique innovator and hard worker in my industry

Hello everyone,

This week for my final I was given the assignment to answer a few questions about this month’s course at Full Sail University the course I am currently taken is the Legal Aspects of Media- online with Ms. Tami Maras for my Masters in New Media Journalism. The questions go as such:

What     was your favorite assignment in this course? To be honest anything dealing     with Lynda.com is my favorite. I can drown myself for hours in any subject     in the videos of Lynda.com for this class it was Software Tutorials https://orgsync.com/57354/chapter.     However, I do not believe that Ms. Maras had assignment in mind when she     came out with this question. Therefore, I must go with my second favorite     assignment. Please explain. The assignment that I enjoyed the most     was Week Three Assignment: Copyright Registration and Search. My reasons     were because when I took my Bachelors in Music Business I was able to     touch in Copyright Laws and this allowed me to go beyond that and learn     how to register for Copyrights.  

  Of     the course topics covered this month, which one(s) do you think will be     most helpful to you as a communications professional? Personally I have used everything     I have learned this month you see I run a ska/punk label and have learned     how to correctly write letters for things I would like to sample such as video     or music or photos and I learned how to also write a letter to the     Copyright Office for things I want to copyright such as songs, films,     photos, poems and more. Finally, I learned of what can happen if I do not     follow the rules and regulations placed by FTC and the Copyright Office as     I mentioned before.

  How     will the knowledge you acquired this month prepare you to handle potential     legal issues in the communications industry? As I mentioned by allowing me to     look into what has happened to others who have broken the law by Deceiving     ads or by not writing the truth of someone with cases of character     deformation. I have learned what becomes of these companies, firms and independent     individuals who happen to get punished for their actions by the law. Most     important I have learned how to prevent such actions by simply following     the law and doing what is right. One assignment that comes to mind is one     where a woman was used for news broadcast about information she knew but     did not want to disclose. At first I thought the journalist was wrong for     what he did however the more I learned about the law and the facts I     learned that he was in the right he had not done anything wrong. Since he     followed the law he won the lawsuit and the airing of the piece was not     stopped. Things such as that I will take into my future and present     careers because I know that as long as I follow the rules I have nothing     to worry about.

  Did     this course meet your expectations? This     course went beyond expectations. Please explain. To begin with     Ms. Maras went over every assignment and discussion of every week with her     Week Virtual Session Archive videos.     Theses videos went step-by-step on everything needed to pass the     class. The assignments them selves required research and time to create.     Which by the end of the week one or as for personally, I felt well rounded     in knowledge to the subject that I had finished. This is something that in     the past has had an absence in some of my past courses because of my     issues with dyslexia. Thus the reasons why my experiences with this course     where so great. Ms. Maras helped me tons thank Ms. Maras for all your     help.  

 In closing, I hope I answered everything correctly and that everyone gets a good idea of what this course as help me accomplish and how I believe it will help me in the future to come.

Sincerely,