SPRING 2019 - PROJECTS FROM COMA 429
This spring, I've continued to participate in COMA 429 (Advanced Student Media) at PLU. Below, you can see some of the projects I've created for COMA 429 for my radio show. I've included both deliverbles (projects I've created) and self-guided courses (learning experiences). It's been a magical learning adventure!
Deliverable & Self-Guided Course:
I wanted to create a final graphic for my radio show using Canva, which I used for all my other show graphics. I wanted this final post to be inspirational. The graphic includes a photo I captured of the Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland. I experimented with some filters and elements to add onto the picture. I knew I wanted to include the words "A Dose of Disney" but didn't want it to overtly refer to my show, so I focused on the idea that a "dose of Disney" refers to the many ways to celebrate Disney - whether it's movies, music, theme parks, merchandise, or a number of other ways. I posted this graphic onto the Facebook page for A Dose of Disney on May 24 (the day after my final live online broadcast).
Self-guided course: While creating my graphic, I took some recommendations from the website canva.com/learn/graphic-design-tips-non-designers/. For example, one of the tips is to "keep it simple" which serves as a helpful reminder. Originally, I added multiple star designs all over my graphic. Yet, I recognized there was too much activity (as in, too many stars). I limited the number of stars in the current graphic; I recognized also that I wanted the magical star wand to be a focal point. Additionally, I considered one of the suggestions, which is to "use hierarchy." I centered the top line of font to the left, and the bottom row of font to the right. Also, the top row font is smaller than the bottom. I decided to rearrange my font for a different look from my other posts, as a suggestion from this resource.
DELIVERABLE - FINAL SHOW:
The final live online broadcast of A Dose of Disney was on Thursday, May 23. The first part of this extended show (10:30 a.m. - noon) will highlight some of the previous show topics and music on A Dose of Disney. The second portion of the show will focus on the experience of creating this show on the Lute Air Student Radio.
Link to show recording:
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DELIVERABLE - HINDERLIE CREATIVITY EXHIBITION:
This year, I decided to once again participate in the Hinderlie Hall Creativity Exhibition for Spring 2019. Last spring, I also participated. As this event is an opportunity for PLU students to showcase their creative work, I decided to showcase a bit of my work with A Dose of Disney. The gallery is open from May 3 - 10, and is located in the Hinderlie Main Lounge. Here is a link to the posting on the Hinderlie Hall Instagram account instagram.com/p/BwKqmctgsGj/. Prior to submitting my materials for the Exhibition, I filled out a submission form, in which I provided an overview about my show, the materials I planned on bringing for the Exhibition, and submitted a few samples of my work (including the link to my Facebook page, Mixcloud account, and website).
Last year, I created a scrapbook style collage page, as well as pens and small sheets of papers to allow students to submit Disney song requests. There was even a tablet available for students to listen to my podcast. This year, I provided a decorative logo for my show which sits atop a stand (I have used this display at my tabling events in the Anderson University Center), a few LASR stickers and pins, and a copy of the 6-page newsletter I created.
DELIVERABLE - NEWSLETTER:
To reflect on the creation of my show, and experience at the Lute Air Student Radio, I created a newsletter. Created the actual design on Canva. Originally, I had planned for the newsletter to be about two pages, but it quickly turned into 6 pages. I wanted to present my information in a meaningful way, and Canva served as a convenient tool to bring the information to life. On the Facebook page for A Dose of Disney, I created a social media post on May 7 and uploaded each photo of the newsletter (https://bit.ly/2DQuq2j). As of May 13, the post has reached 87 people, with 21 engagements.
DELIVERABLE - SHOW RECORDING:
On May 2, my show theme focused on Disney nostalgia. I created a collection of sweet nostalgic Disney memories. I arranged and organized my show content into different categories, including throwback Playhouse Disney shows, Disney virtual online games, Disney Channel theme songs, and Disney Channel movie songs.
Specifically, some songs included:
Rolie Polie Olie theme song
Bear in the Big Blue House theme song
Disney Sing Along - Walking Right Down the Middle of Main Street USA
Club Penguin music
That's So Raven theme song
Additionally, I had planned for this show to be extended, starting at 10:30 a.m. instead of 11 a.m. The extended timing worked wonderfully. With all the content I planned, it was necessary to expand the length of my show beyond an hour. With all the numerous music pieces I presented, I found that I was constantly busy with typing the song information into the streaming service. Many of my songs were short, some even under 1 minute (especially for the Disney Channel theme songs). I don't believe I've ever played this much music on one of my shows before.
Overall, this was one of my favorite shows on A Dose of Disney. I wanted to create this particular theme because of all my special Disney memories I had when I was younger. I believe that I offered a unique playlist of music, as someone probably wouldn't expect to hear some of these pieces on the radio.
Prior to my show, as always, I promote my upcoming show with a social media post on my Facebook page for A Dose of Disney, with an added poster created on Canva. As of May 2, the post has reached 81 people and had 26 engagements.
Link to show recording: mixcloud.com/ADoseOfDisney/disney-nostalgia-may-2-2019/
SELF-GUIDED COURSE - NARRATIVE STORYTELLING:
On April 23, I attended the Narrative Storytelling Workshop hosted by Noreen Hobson. Overall, the information from this session is important for any communication field. Hobson addressed several topics related to storytelling - and what it takes to tell an engaging story. Here are some highlights I learned from the workshop:
Active viewing and passive viewing: In today’s age, it can be rare for someone to become so engaged in watching media content. Active viewing occurs when someone watches and engages in the content, (free from multitasking with technology, or tuning it out). Active viewing is more likely to occur in a movie theater. Passive viewing occurs when the viewer watches content but doesn’t fully pay attention; the viewer might also keep track of how much time remains for the content. Clearly, active viewing is the goal for someone who has created a story and wants the audience to watch.
Curiosity and empathy are two aspects tied to creating an engaging narrative. According to Hobson, “Curiosity is the thread that pulls.” Considering the likelihood for passive viewing, Hobson says it’s important for viewers to be hooked into the story, and keep watching to learn more. Sometimes, the viewers already know the outcome of the story, but are curious as for what happens (for example, the Titanic movie).
Empathy is when a viewer cares about the character in a story; it refers to having“a change in how you see the world” according to Hobson. She also says that a great narrative story ends with the experience of empathy.
Endless options: Today, audiences have a wide range of choices for what media to consume. According to Hobson, there is an “endless supply of choices” available, with content targeted toward niche markets. Because of all these choices, Hobson said that each person can view different content - while in the past, people generally watched the same content.
Toward the end of the workshop, we watched an advertisement created for Extra Gum, called “The Story of Sarah & Juan.” This ad is an example of “engaging” storytelling. It captures the story of a boyfriend and girlfriend who meets at school and share gum. The boyfriend eventually proposes by leaving behind a trail of gum wrappers, in which he drew pictures hinting at a proposal. Overall, this ad is not directly about the gum, but a story to evoke a feeling.
DELIVERABLE & SELF-GUIDED COURSE: VIDEO
On April 1, I created a video on Adobe Premiere Pro. Before creating the video, I planned out the organization through the storyboard layout on Canva. I also utilized a self-guided course for the video, focused on adding text into my video. With limited experience with Adobe Premiere Pro, I needed assistance with adding text, specifically for the 2018 version of Adobe. I assumed I could simply find a text box to add for my video. Here is how to add text:
- For the timeline in Adobe, which outlines the organization of the video, select the part of your video in which you wish to add text.
-Located at the top of the screen, select "new"
-Scroll and select "add legacy title."
-A box will pop up. Add a name for this title, if necessary.
- A new box will pop up, showing the current section of your video (which you selected with the cursor in the video timeline).
- Click the "T" button at the left hand panel, which means add text
- Click on the screen, which will show your current frame in the video, the piece you selected from the timeline. Once you've selected "T", a box will pop up so you can start typing text.
- To create the text in bold, simply click on the bold "T" located at the panel at the top of the screen. To change the size of the text, it is located next to the bold tool.
- To change the font style, it is located to the right of the screen, to the right of the video frame in the box. It is listed as "font family." For my video, I used the font "Microsoft YaHei" at 80 pt, in bold, although the font size changes in certain areas depending on the amount of words needed.
- After creating the text, it will appear in the project content (located in the pool of content, where other media has been imported). The text appears as a box - look for the title of the text. It can be dragged directly into the timeline.
-After adding the text box into the timeline, you can decide on the length for which it will appear in the video, by dragging the box to extend the length of time.
- It is helpful to analyze how the text appears in the video. The font style, color and location in the frame might need to be changed. To make edits to the text, simply click on the text box in the imported media pool.
I found the following YouTube video, which instructed viewers how to add text throughout the video.
Link to self-guided course: youtube.com/watch?v=9z3E-JiPDqk
DELIVERABLE: EXTENDED SOCIAL MEDIA POST, MYVMK
For this deliverable, I decided to create a post of at least 500 words, focused on a specific Disney topic. I decided to write about a recent in-game event in MYVMK, the fan recreation of Disney's Virtual Magic Kingdom online game which closed in 2008. I've always been passionate about virtual online worlds, and especially VMK.
In this post, I provide a brief context about Disney's VMK, as well as MYVMK, and highlight the in-game event. This event was called the "Disneyland Ride-A-Thon" in which each user's virtual character could ride through a series of virtual rooms, designed to look like various Disney Parks attractions, such as Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion, Expedition Everest and Space Mountain. These rooms were created by the MYVMK HOSTS (staff members). I was impressed to see the amount of detail and resemblance of these virtual rooms, to the actual Disney Parks attractions. I appreciate the opportunity to experience the magic of Disney within the click of a button, and wanted to share it with others onto the Facebook account for A Dose of Disney.
Here's a link to the Facebook post for A Dose of Disney (posted March 25): https://bit.ly/2YoLV2z
DELIVERABLE & SELF-GUIDED COURSE: ADVERTISEMENT POSTER
On March 17, I created an updated promotional advertisement for A Dose of Disney in semester. I used Canva to bring my ideas to life. I recognized the need to create a tagline, and then provide more information in smaller print. I decided to use the radio microphone with Mickey ears, a design I originally created for my show logo.
Link to Facebook poster post for A Dose of Disney: https://bit.ly/2CBGW5m
Self-guided course: I used the source, which provided helpful tips about creating an advertisement. For example, one tip is to "use a powerful headline." While brainstorming, I created a headline, which incorporated Disney with a wordplay on the word "air" in "Lute AIR Student Radio." I believe that adding this headline is more attractive than simply creating an ad containing simply the date and showtime. A headline is a way to establish creativity. Another tip is to talk about a product's benefits in an ad. In my case, the benefit is that my show offers both Disney music and information in the form of a weekly topic. Another benefit is that LASR can be conveniently accessed online (evident through the link I provided on the poster).
Additionally, another tip is to use "exciting graphics" on the ad. I decided to create a poster designed to look like a magical scene set in the sky in the clouds, glistening with pixie dust (which I designed with the colors of the LASR logo). I used the graphic in the logo for A Dose of Disney, the microphone with the mouse ears, which I created once I first started my show. I wanted to give the impression that the microphone is floating in the clouds. While it's no surprise that ads should offer "exciting graphics", this served to remind me that I should try something new and create a poster designed with more than my show logo, and essential information (date, time, link to LASR, etc.).
Link to self-guided course: targetpublic.com/11-simple-tips-creating-effective-ad/
DELIVERABLE - SHOW RECORDING, DISNEYLAND PARIS:
For my March 14th radio show, I focused on six attractions at the Disneyland Paris resort (from the two parks: Disneyland Paris, and Walt Disney Studios Park. After providing a brief overview of each park, I introduced the six attractions. These included Crush's Coaster, Alice's Curious Labyrinth, The Enchanted Passage of Aladdin, Ratatouille: The Adventure, The Land of Fairytales, and the Studio Tram Tour. I selected music to accompany each attraction.
The show recording link is provided below. Sample of recording: 11:10 - 16:50. Another sample: 20:52 - 23:16 (focuses on Alice's Curious Labyrinth maze outdoor attraction at DLP).
To listen, visit mixcloud.com/ADoseOfDisney/disneyland-paris-attractions-march-14-2019/
Deliverable - Feb. 28 show:
On Feb. 28, my show topic focused on a few Dineyland attractions, which have altered over the years, whether it's the entirety of the attraction itself or the theming. For example, consider the current building in Tomorrowland for the Star Wars Launch Bay at Disneyland. In the past, the Carousel of Progress was first featured inside this building.
My show recording is available on Mixcloud.com. Specifically, the link is: mixcloud.com/ADoseOfDisney/original-disneyland-attraction-theming-feb-28-2019/
Here's a clip offering a sample of my show, in which I discuss the history of Disney's Carousel of Progress as well as the America Sings show, which was housed inside the Carousel Theater (this building is currently used for the Star Wars Launch Bay): 15:40 - 19:07.
