For this latest assignment we were introduced to a new multimedia platform: Wakelet
Utilizing this, we were given our first rather broad task: Create something using this platform based around the election season. For this, I decided to create a wakelet on voter suppression, using memes, photos and videos. My main focus was to talk about America’s long history of voter suppression, as well as how it is still evident now, and what can be done to combat it. My wakelet can be found here:
For our final assignment, we were given the following: creating a timeline
For this, we used the website knight lab, where we could easily upload all data into a google sheet, which would then be converted into a timeline. For this particular one, I chose to create a timeline on my journey through Howard thus far, implementing some of my most notable moments/achievements from my two years. This includes organizations I’ve joined (allowing for me to continue to spread my brand) and a few more lighthearted things such as meeting friends, pep rallies, and some memorable assignments from the year.
In creating this timeline, I was given the opportunity to sit back and reflect upon my freshman and sophomore year. Although I was still focused on getting my name out and joining organizations to add to my resume (and increase my portfolio), I was mainly fixated on creating and building upon my relationship with my friends, and getting used to college life. Thankfully, none of my classes at the time were difficult, which allowed for the opportunity for me to really just focus on my transition into a new world. Although this wasn’t the first time I had gone to a predominantly black institution, I had spent the last three years of high school at a PWI, and being at an HBCU was really a liberating time.
Sophomore year, things changed drastically. Friendships fell apart and classes definitely got harder, but what I noticed is that I was had shifted my focus from friends to classes and establishing a better portfolio. This was the year I became editor of an organization I’d previously been a part of, joined The Hilltop, and got my first ever internship. This was also the time that my classes got significantly harder, and for the first time since arriving upon Howard I truly felt myself being challenged as journalist (and not just in this class). Admittedly, at the time I didn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, and a lot of assignments came across as just overbearing and difficult. However, looking back I’ve realized that everything I’ve been taught is only meant to prepare me for the industry I’m about to enter.
The only disappointing part of this entire ordeal is that I could not give the timeline a proper ending. The appearance of COVID-19 cut everything short, including my sophomore year. However, I’m hopeful for the future and know that after this passes, I’ll be able to continue to succeed and work hard at my goals in the future!
As we reach our final days in this course, I’ve found there’s quite a bit to be reflective about—Visual Communications has definitely had its ups and downs, but looking back, I don’t think I’d trade my experience for anything.
From the beginning I found the class highly intimidating, as did everyone else. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had plenty of hands on work in the past due to my time in journalism related organizations (interviews, taking photos, writing up stories on deadline, etc.) but for some reason this class came across as especially intimidating. Though I couldn’t completely comprehend why this was the case initially, I think a large part was due to the fact that this class definitely removed me from my comfort zone. Unlike previous organizations where I’d write about and shoot things that I had intentionally signed up for (knowing I’d be comfortable doing it), this class took me out my comfort zone from day one. One of the most memorable assignments for me was our 5 emotions project, our first major assignment—and one that most of the class loathed.
Taking pictures of strangers is easy when they’re in a crowd, or particularly when it’s during an event where it’s expected that pictures will be taken. However, this assignment wasn’t as simple as going out to an event and snapping photos of 5 different people with your 5 assigned emotions. For one, it wasn’t likely you’d find every emotion you need in a single day/event. This assignment was uncomfortable because it forced us to go out of our way to search for strangers, or always be on the lookout for someone making a certain face—which is pretty difficult when you’re just trying to go about your own day as well.
Nevertheless, it taught us all the harsh reality of journalism—which is that you won’t always be comfortable doing certain things. Sometimes you’ll get an assignment you can’t brush off, and you’ll have to go out and get the photo or the interview. The best thing you can do to prepare yourself for the inevitable, is to familiarize yourself with it for as long as you can.
Another memorable moment was the infamous midterm—the stress, anxiety, and fear we all had was awful in the moment, but it made us stronger in the end, and brought us closer.
When we first walked into the room, things started promptly. There was no morning meditation, no breakfast, no small talk to start the day…we were thrown into the water so quickly, we could barely blink. Already, our game was off, and we had no choice but to learn to swim, and fast.
Given just a little over an hour, it was truly a sink or swim moment.
But the most comforting part of it all was the fact that we had each other. When Professor Patton walked through that door and closed it behind her, we were silent at first…and when the first person shared their worry, there was a sort of group relief. Almost like “yeah it’s bad, but at least we’re in it together.”
Some were able to finish quicker than others, and some didn’t even make it halfway through the list. I felt lucky enough to have been able to finish at least 90% of the list before being forced to turn it in, and when I left class I left knowing that I had did the best I could under immense pressure, and that alone made me feel better about the situation.
Coming in the next class, it became apparent that although we all had shared the initial same frustration, the message had been clear: again this is real life. Being thrown into assignments under a time crunch is something you’ll have to be able to do as a journalist. You won’t always get days or even hours for an assignment, and you have to be willing to work with that.
What makes these two projects stand out from the rest is that they truly opened my eyes to the fact that I was about to enter a fast paced industry. I’ve never been a person who liked to step out their bubble—I take stories I’m comfortable with and know I’ll do well in for a reason. However, one of the key takeaways I’ve had from this class is that you won’t always get what you want—you’re given an assignment on deadline, and you do it because it’s what your editor needs, not because you like it.
The moment you’ve stepped outside your comfort zone is the moment you’ve really become a journalist.
For this assignment we were given a new task: Making infographics
Though I didn’t realize it at the time, I’ve actually had experience in making an infographic in the past, so thankfully the creation process wasn’t too difficult for me. In fact, putting the infographic together ended up being the least of my worries surprisingly enough. I decided to make mine one that could be educational to the general audience, and utilized what’s been currently going on in the world—which is this pandemic. The coronavirus is one that hit all of the world very suddenly, and it seems like most of us didn’t take it seriously when we first heard about it back in January. I think this was mostly due to the fact that there just seemed to be a general lack of communication as to how dangerous the coronavirus is. Many people (including myself) have compared it to the flu in order to undermine the problem, though this new virus is actually very different from the common seasonal flu we’ve dealt with for years. As a result, I decided to piece together this infographic that would compare and contrast the two in order to prevent further miscommunication. In my infographic, I place the two against each other and provide facts obtained by a variety of news sources (including WHO and the CDC) so that my audience can get a general view as to why the coronavirus should be taken more seriously.
What made this project a bit difficult was the gathering of information. When I first began this, I didn’t think this would be a problem at all due to the fact that right now there’s a plethora of information regarding the coronavirus.
Or so I thought.
The reality of the situation is, while there is a lot of information concerning the virus, the numbers are changing each day, and much is still unknown about the virus. When looking at a source from just four days ago compared to an article published yesterday, whatever percentage you may have seen then could have changed. Also, due to the fact that everyone is still trying to learn more about the virus, information is often “estimated” and many news sources seem to have differing estimates of mortality rates, deaths, etc. It isn’t that the information itself is wrong altogether, but more so just that even if it’s been two day it’s just no longer timely.
Regardless, I believe I was able to provide as much accurate information as possible in my infographic. I wanted it to be known that although the flu and coronavirus are similar in the sense that they have the same symptoms, the way they impact people is very different. The coronavirus is something that shouldn’t be taken lightly, no matter how healthy you may think you are. It strikes fast and it strikes hard, and unlike the flu?
There’s no vaccine.
This fact alone makes it all the more dangerous. As the number of cases rise each day with no way to treat them, hospitals will continue to be overwhelmed and people will continue to fall victim to this unknown disease.
https://my.visme.co/view/1jrqdo38-corona-vs-flu
For this assignment, we were given the task to film a day in our lives…utilizing only still shots, voice over, and music. As a result, I decided to utilize a day in which I had a lot of things planned for my assignment, to make it interesting! I took photos of a day in my life on a Saturday, where I visited a bakery, restaurant, and went to an arcade with my friends one night.
For our next assignment, we were given the task of going out and taking six nature photos. Unintentionally, while out roaming the streets of D.C I found myself following a theme when taking my photos, in which I found the beauty of nature in hidden/overlooked areas on the street (hence the title). From little flower pots sitting outside of cafe’s to spots of nature blooming in between and outside houses, though it can be hard to think nature when thinking of the city, it actually exists everywhere. The spots where I found it however, was in a residential neighborhood in D.C known as Dupont Circle.
I actually really enjoyed this assignment, I think especially because of the fact that unlike the emotions project, I didn’t have the pressure and anxiety that accompanied getting random photos of strangers. Although pulling out my phone to snap random photos of plants and leaves was a bit awkward, I got over it pretty easily, since my subjects weren’t awkward or unwilling. Regardless, I also enjoy taking nature photos because there’s just so much beauty to be found in them, even if it’s something as simple as a leaf. The assignment was also just generally very peaceful, especially when I found myself heading down a residential area to take most of my photos. In fact, it was in this residential area with an empty street and nothing but houses where I felt most relaxed taking picture—no one to side eye me or wondering what I was doing, just me and mother nature.
Although I thought finding pieces of nature would be difficult (unless I went out to a park or something) upon first learning about the assignment, as mentioned earlier it was actually very easy to find snippets of nature everywhere, and as a result, didn’t take long. Overall, nice assignment!
Last class we were introduced to our next upcoming assignment: a video project
More specifically, a video project in which we will be expected to utilize still images, a voice over, videos, reporting, captions, audio and music.
Though the project definitely seemed daunting at first glance, after looking at some example videos (professional and from students) I actually found myself pretty inspired for what was to come. However, before I talk about my own ideas, I want to briefly touch upon the videos I found most impactful (and want to use as a guideline for my own).
One of the videos titled “Climate Change in Wisconsin” was one I found myself enjoying a lot. A light, yet soulful instrumental plays behind a powerfully commanding voice presumably reading a script on the effects of this disaster on an unlikely demographic—African Americans. Still images flash by on the screen, aligned with the narration of an extreme heat that has taken over Wisconsin, followed by informative captions occasionally popping up on screen. It grabbed your attention immediately and kept you listening, the shots were beautiful, and the story line was one that was simple enough to follow, but complex enough to make you think…why has no one ever talked about this before?
“A Widower’s Love” was a bit more solemn, but of course, equally impactful in other ways. A black and white film depicts a man’s remembrance of his now deceased wife—their love, their pain, and how he honors her today. The black and white color accompanied by a soft instrumental that gradually increases triggers more of an emotional response. This one also differs from the last, due to the fact that instead of using a scripted voice over, the subject himself narrates the story. You follow his voice and his journey through his words, as images display themselves on the screen of him and his wife, and after a while it almost feels as if you were there with them.
My purpose in bringing up these two videos specifically though, is that they both showed me two imperative elements I would like to utilize in my own video: perspective and emotion. Perspective due to the fact that I would like my video to show the audience a new side of something, or even think/look at an event/person in a new light. Emotion to really captivate people, and leave the video lingering in their minds even after class has ended.
So what will my project be about? One avenue that immediately came to mind was black businesses—though perhaps more specifically, their rise, and their necessity to our community.
The business world is still predominantly white…we buy from and sell to white businesses and people most of the time, especially in major markets (makeup, hair, food, etc). However, whether people realize it or not, this narrative is gradually changing. There’s been a gradual increase in black businesses over time, some I personally have seen (especially here in D.C) and some on a grander scale (Fenty Beauty)! I would like to perhaps interview the owner of a prominent black business, and utilize the moment to their story from start finish…how the thought came to mind, the trials and tribulations, all the way to where they are now.
So all together? Though this will definitely be challenging I’m looking forward to what’s about to come!
For this assignment, we
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