Week 15: Course & Project  Takeaways

Over the course of the past 15 weeks I have learned a lot on how to strategically present information to audiences. 

In terms of building a website, this course has taught me about the importance of user-friendly characteristics. A foundation, a front porch, and a garage are essential in a website so that audiences have easy access to all the information the website has to offer. A site's foundation refers to its setup and design that is often used to convey a specific aesthetic or brand. Its font porch refers to offering other ways to connect to other platforms that are associated with the website. Lastly, a garage refers to having a way for users to easily switch from one page to another so that the website is overall easy to navigate. These are aspects I have implemented into my website and hope to include in future websites. Another key takeaway from this course was video production. I have learned that the main goal of video production is to enhance the user experience. It is meant for audiences to interact with to ensure that they are engaged and retain the key details provided by the creator of the video. Additionally, through video production audiences can get a glimpse of the personality of the creators which allows for an interpersonal relationship to grow with viewers. Lastly, from the Strategic Presentations class, I have about the technical and storytelling skills that go into creating a podcast. On a technical side, a podcast requires the use of audio fading at the beginning and end of an episode for an intro and outro for listeners. This allows for audiences to have both a warm welcome and goodbye in every episode which allows for there to be a personal element. It also requires the editing of putting pieces of audio together to build the entirety of the podcast. For me, I had to edit both my intro to the rest of the podcast and had to ensure the transition was seamless for the enjoyment of listeners. On a storytelling level, I had to make sure that I was able to convey my message to audiences in a way that was interesting and engaging. I had to create a format for my episode in the planning stages. This ended up being an introduction to my topic, a story from Friends of Nature, followed by an interview with a podcast guest, and lastly a conclusion of everything discussed. Structuring a podcast allows me to dictate how I want my audience to receive the overall message I am trying to convey. 

Week 14 : Memes

1. How does each meme relate to your topic and target audience?

Each meme relates to my topic of sports as each are from either Soccer, Football, and Formula One. My target audience are new individuals looking to get into these targeted sports so the chosen memes relate to big sporting events in the respective sports. The first one is related to the FIFA 2022 World Cup final in which France who had won the tournament in 2018 made it to the final again but had to go up against Argentina, the powerhouse of a team who ended up victorious. The Second refers to a moment that ocurred in the 2024 Superbowl where Travis Kelce yelled into his coach Andy Reid's face in the heat of the moment. Travis Kelce and the Chiefs ended up winning the championship game, but this moment went viral on all social media platforms with users comparing it to Obi Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalkers scene in the Star Wars Movie's. Lastly we have a meme from Formula One that showcases Lando Norris's reaction after his Mclaren malfunctioned during a race he needed to win in order to close the gap to the championship leader Max Verstappen. The image was used by many to depict memes of their unhappy reaction to the Mclaren's performance. 

2. In Davison's framework, what are the 'ideals' of your chosen memes? (Cite Davison)

As stated by Davison an ideal of a meme is "the concept or idea conveyed". For the soccer meme the idea being conveyed is that Argentina in the 2022 World Cup was a supreme team that even the defending champions France could not beat. As for the Football meme the idea conveyed is that the intense moment between Travis Kelce and Andy Reid was so intense that it can be compared to a dramatic scenes that occur in movies such as Star Wars. Lastly the Formula One meme is used to depict that in Formula One no matter how good a driver is without good machinery in a car they will not get good results. Overall as explained by Davidson the ideal is the overall idea that individuals take away from a work. 

3. What are the "behaviors" of your identified memes? Where do they originate, and how do they spread? 

Davison makes it known in his work that the behavior is the act of constructing an emotion within the meme. As for the memes I have selected the first has a positive behavior for Argentina fans and a negative behavior for France fans. The second meme's behavior is dependent on the audience's reaction to Kelce's heated moment with Reid. Some would consider negative out of lack of respect while others would just see it as a normal reaction in an intense moment. The last F1 meme would evoke a negative emotion from Mclaren fans but a positive one for those who do not root for the team. The behavior for my selected memes originates from their pre-existing sentiments on the teams depicted below. They are spread typically through social media and sports news which may cause audiences' reactions to the memes to change thus affecting the behavior of the meme. 

4. What are the "manifestations" of your chosen memes, and how are they different from other possible manifestations?

The manifestations of my chosen memes reflect the state of the sports teams they showcase. The soccer meme sets the manifestation that in the 2022 World Cup Argentina was a supreme team. For the football theme, the manifestation is Travis Kelce is a fierce competitor. Lastly, for the F1 meme, the manifestation is that the Mclaren car is not up to par. 

5. Conclude by considering how the specific manifestations you have chosen can appeal to your target audience. 

The manifestations of the memes appeal to my target audience as it is an indicator of how a specific team in my three focus sports are preforming. Through the soccer and F1 meme one can conclude that the Argentina national soccer team is performing well while the Mclaren team are unforuntatley not at their best. As for the second Football meme audiences can take away that players on the Chiefs are hardcore players commited and hungry to win. 

Week 12 :

1. Post your final podcast project by embedding your SoundCloud file in a new WordPress assignment post.

Final Podcast Link: https://soundcloud.com/ariana-carhuaz-447399683/final-podcast?si=e1986485aecd4ed6881b64d8b890e99a&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing 

2. Tell the reader what to expect from your final podcast, including the format, content to be addressed, and any expected guests/interviews.: 

My final podcast will follow the format of an informative episode in the beginning and end with an interview. First listeners should expect to hear my public service announcement followed by an introduction to what they should expect in the episode. This episode will spotlight a specific article from Friends of Nature’s Women’s Voices series. This initiative of Friends of Nature is a series of articles that highlight stories of women to be shared across their platforms. The one focused on in the podcast episode is Overcoming Adversity: The Inspiring Story of Liao Jinshui which tells audiences about the adversity she has faced throughout her life as a female. There will be a brief discussion of the article following its explanation. Next, there will be the interview conducted at the end will feature Rutgers Newark soccer player Valerie (she wished for her last name not to be included) who speaks of her time as a female athlete. Lastly, I will conduct an outro for listeners giving them some reminders of what I mentioned during the intro of the podcast. My final words will be a call for action that I hope my listeners are ready to help in with what was discussed in the episode. 

3. Provide links all relevant individuals, organizations, and information sources. 

• Friends of Nature: https://chinadevelopmentbrief.org/ngos/friends-of-nature-2/ 

For anyone wanting to find ways to learn more of Friends of Nature to possibly get involved! 

• Women's Voices Series: https://chinadevelopmentbrief.org/resources/reports/womens-voices/ 

For anyone wishing to read more of the Women's Voices articles that Friends of Nature have to provide. 

• Overcoming Adversity: The Inspiring Story of Liao Jinshui: https://chinadevelopmentbrief.org/reports/overcoming-adversity-the-inspiring-story-of-liao-jinshui/ 

For anyone wanting to read about Liao's experience for themselves and learn about the struggles she endured and preserved within her life as a poor girl in China. 

• Valerie: Newark New Brunswick female soccer player in her junior year of college. 

If anyone would like to learn more or connect with Valerie contact me directly and I will let her know. 

• Music: https://audio.com/wongyl/audio/wii-sports-main-theme

For anyone who deeply enjoyed the intro and outro music and would like to listen to it some more. 

4.  List all of the collaborators in your group who have produced podcasts promoting the same non-profit organization, providing their names, site titles, and links to their sites. 

• Elyse Von Der Lieth's Cactus and Succulent Sanctuary: https://ekv955.wixsite.com/cssanctuary  

• Shuoran Wang's Portfolio: https://z57716197.wixsite.com/wangs-web 

• Aliza Hadzovic's Social Spending: https://alizahadzovic.wixsite.com/mjdk 

• Ashley Pierre's Premed Journal 101: https://premedsblog.wordpress.com 

• Andrew Zborovsky's Portfolio: https://andrewethanzborovsky.wordpress.com 

• Perptwa Khalil's New College Students: https://pwk304.wixsite.com/my-site-2  

Week 10 Website Blog Post: Audacity, SoundCloud, and PSA

1. Post a link to your new blog post (containing embedded SoundCloud file). Briefly describe the content and purpose of your audio file.

•  Link: https://soundcloud.com/ariana-carhuaz-447399683/podcast-intro?si=4b588ac29d114d5e8a096fdf81968734&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing 

• AC.Blog's Podcast introduction which introduces listeners to the non-profit organization Friends of Nature's purpose, audience, and mission.

2. How would you describe the fidelity of your recording? How does the fidelity of your voice-over compare with the fidelity of your background music, and how do these levels relate with concepts of loudness as described in Kyle Devine’s article?

I would describe my recording to having a good fidelity quality which I attempted to accomplish by using airpods while recording to better capture my voice. My voice over fidelity can be heard as the music fades out all the way to when I end and the music increases once again. As for the fidelity of the background music it has the most fidelity in the beginning and end of the podcast as it is the only thing being heard but does not have high fidelity when I begin to speak and the music fades. I tried to focus on the fidelity and overall quality of my audio due to Devine's article. As stated by Devine "We all do tend to listen to music in much noisier environments’...Music today is louder than ever before...". Due to the fact that as a society we listen to music and media in louder environments it is vital that the sound quality including its fidelity is a a high to meet the changing world of audio consumption. 

3. How did you control the fidelity and loudness of various components in your file using techniques we have learned in class, and how were your decisions related to your audience’s needs as listeners?

One thing I did to control the fidelity of my audio was use airpods while recording. The airpods have microphones that enhance the sound quality and overall allows my voice to be heard clearly. This helps in the replication of my voice through fidelity. As stated in the Devine article "Microphones and amplifiers have an effect on sound reproduction...". I controlled the loudness of my file using the fade out effects on the background music. This allowed me to control how loud the music was at the beginning on the intro to how low the music faded while I was speaking. 

Week 7 Website Blog Post: Screencast Tutorial Video

1. Embed your new YouTube screencast in a new blog post on your website. Write a text assignment post to accompany your video, describing its purpose and intended audience.

• YouTube link: https://youtu.be/mQWRBSURXQs 

The purpose of my video is to showcase an easy tutorial on Fantasy Football for beginners and audiences considering getting involved with it. 

2. Use in-text links to cite any websites, images, videos, or audio that were used in the production of your screen-cast.

• Presentation

• Yahoo Fantasy Football

• ESPN Fantasy Football

• ESPN Analyst

• Fantasy Pros

3. How do you expect users to find your video, and why do you think they will find it worth watching? Use examples from the Wolf article to explain the ways that users find and evaluate videos.

I expect users to find my video as a tool to get their journey in fantasy football started. I expect them to follow the steps I have provided them as well as use the tips included in order to help them draft the best team possible. I believe they will find it useful as I have provided them with a quick overview of what fantasy football is as well as the first to-do's that need to be achieved in order to start managing a team. Additionally, in my own tutorial, I show viewers in real-time me updating my team for the upcoming week of football games. This can be connected to Wolf's article when a participant stated "Sometimes I just watch the YouTube video of someone doing something and I can tell if they’re doing a good job or not,". Another user mentioned that when watching videos "I thought that them giving their personal experience of what they did in their own home is very valuable to me. And that always helped me out a lot, without question." With this, I wanted to add my personal experience with fantasy football so I mentioned comments about my own experience being a team manager and included a mini segment on me updating my own team in order to give viewers insights on my own involvement into fantasy football. I also hope that as a result, it helps them as they have a visual example of how to change the lineup with their teams when and if a player is injured or on a bye week. It also allowed them to see the projected points of each player and to see if their team was projected to win for the week against their opponent. As a visual learner myself, I understand that for some people seeing how something is done makes it easier to follow and comprehend. 

Week 5 Website Blog Post: Header & Image Editing

1. What does the header image convey about your website, and how does this relate to meeting the information needs of your target audience? 

The header image conveys a vision board for the life I intend to build for myself and one that I would be inspired by.  I intend to reach this goal by graduating from Rutgers New Brunswick with my Marketing degree so that I can succeed in the future. My main focus is to enter the business field and be able to work in sports industry marketing which is why I included images that reflect Formula One, NFL, and professional soccer events. I wish to work behind the scenes or in a public relations and Marketing department in these fields so that I can work in industries that I have come to love. I have included a few open computer images to showcase  to reflect the hard work and dedication I intend to pour into my career. This provides audiences with a direct visual representation of what they can expect of me as a future professional and showcases my current ambitions. It also fits the key summary I have included on the home page. That blurb located on the home page was the inspiration of the collage so that audiences can visualize what they will be getting in my services and what they can expect in this website.  

2. Where did you find your source images? How do you know that you are allowed to reuse them? 

My sources were pulled directly from Pinterest. I know I am allowed to use them as all images included #ShareMyPinterest. As stated on the Pinterest help center "When you respond with #ShareMyPinterest, you’re giving us a license to reproduce, display and distribute your content on our channels (including Instagram, Facebook and Twitter ), and to use it for other Pinterest marketing purposes" (Pinterest 2024). This indicates that the creators of the images above permitted their creations on Pinterest for whatever purposes they liked. A main Pinterest use for many individuals is to use these images created by others for their inspiration or as images to include in vision boards as I did in my header which is known by the creators that give  Pinterest the rights to their work. 

3. Briefly address the production process. How did you use the image editing techniques described in Manovich's article to create a multi-layer image? 

For the multilayer image in my header, I utilized Manovich's filter technique. As stated by Manovich "Similarly, the settings of photographic camera controls affected the sharpness and contrast of captured photos,". This was my main reason for including a filter in my images. All included different lighting and color contrast from one another as all pictures were taken at different settings. However, with the black-and-white filter, the images can be together in a collage that is not clashing but aesthetically pleasing.  

4. Compare your production process to a single-layer bitmap image of the sort Davison describes. How is it similar or different?

The difference between Davison MS Paint and my software device Canva is that Canva is fairly easy to use for someone not as technologically savvy or someone who lacks drawing abilities. According to Davidson, "As anyone who has used the program can attest, it takes a great deal of craft and skill to produce images with MS Paint that ‘look good’ ". I can attest that with my little experience in digital editing, Canva made it easy to transform the images the way I wanted them to and made them look appealing. Davison also mentions "That the combination of bitmap and mouse have had such visible effects on the visual character of images produced with MS Paint ". This is similar to Canvas as all edits that can be made are dependent on the use of a mouse, in which is the central tool for creating in these digital software.