Monthly Archives: November 2015

Jessica Smith Capstone

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For my capstone project I will take a popular subject and use it to elaborate on a serious issue, in this case the comparison of the state of peoples’ well-being under consumer culture and the portrayal of zombies in media.

While the U.S. expresses concern and care for individuals’ well-being, its strong focus on consumer culture tends to disregard this, especially regarding the balance of work and personal life, livable wages, and other factors. Such a culture supports the creation of mindless consumers and generally inflicts harm on mental health. A popular aid for understanding such issues appears in films and movies featuring a popular fascination, zombies: mindless, instinct-driven, slow husks of what used to be a lively individuals. Media, such as the TV series The Walking Dead which averages roughly ten million viewers every episode, provide a comparison to how people sometimes feel and appear in our consumer culture. While bringing up the entertaining topic of TV and zombies can come across as fun, the subject matter we delve into reveals serious issues. The way we see zombies act resembles the mindless consumer culture that we live in today. Taking that into thought, we can see how the mental well-being of individuals is harmed.

For this project I will create an infographic poster and remixed video. The infographic will provide convey the occurrence of anxiety and depression disorders using visuals. Meanwhile, the video will focus on revealing similarities between people under the influence of consumer culture to that of zombies through clips from media.

Capstone Project Plan

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For my Capstone Project, I want to focus on the issue of concussions and brain trauma to NFL players, and how cases of such trauma have proven to lead to degenerative brain diseases such as CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy).  This problem is much more common than one would imagine, with roughly one-in-three NFL players affected by concussions or brain trauma.  For my forms of media, I would like to make an infographic poster, with various facts and statistics that show how big of a problem brain trauma is in the NFL and amongst football players as a whole.  I will make this in Adobe Illustrator, and I’d like to include a decent amount of data to emphasize some of the interesting facts about the subject.  I think I’ll also make an audio/video mashup (depending on what content is available, and what will work to create a satisfactory product) of interviews, videos (and/or audio clips) of football players getting hit, and possibly a voice-over created by myself to explain/voice facts about the subject.  These two forms of media will likely both incorporate some of the same information, while being presented differently.  I want to incorporate a call to action in my website, perhaps on its own page of the site.  This will hopefully inspire people to educate themselves on how football should/should not be played, and maybe even contact information for the NFL, in order to urge the NFL to implement measures to keep their players safe.

Sue Park- Capstone

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Is Raw Till Four Healthy?

Raw Till Four (RT4) is a vegan program created by a popular Youtuber and blogger, Freelee the Banana Girl. The diet circulated on Youtube and Instagram and amassed thousands of followers. The question is however: Is it really healthy? The diet differs from typical veganism in a way that it focuses on eating solely raw fruits and vegetables, and little to no fats or oils. So people basically eat unlimited raw, unprocessed foods until 4 pm, which is when you can consume a high-carb vegan dinner of 500+ calories. The diet also emphasizes the goal of abundance and eating “unlimited” calories, meaning that there is no calorie restriction. Although many claimed that the diet helped increase energy levels and improve their overall health, there is also controversy regarding possible health hazards. For example, cruciferous vegetables (kale, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower) can worsen impaired thyroid function and cooking these vegetables neutralizes the risk. In some cases, cooking can even magnify the nutritional value of the food, such as tomatoes.

For this project, I’ll be researching statistical evidence to see if a person can sustain from such a diet. I’ll present my findings as both a static and animated infographic that informs viewers on what the diet is and the pros and cons that come with it, and whether if it’s beneficial, or just a fad to avoid. In regards to the creative process, I’ll be creating the graphics and imagery with Illustrator, writing the script and recording the voiceover, and using After Effects for the animation.

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Nathaniel’s Capstone Project

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I wanted to focus my capstone project on marketing. I know that marketing is a very broad topic and I was thinking in what way can I narrow this topic. I love how marketing has truly change in the new age of social media. Now marketing a new product is just as easy as posting a tweet saying how the company came up with a new product or posting a picture on Instagram. I wanted to look into how marketing has changed throughout history, and how now it has been revolutionized through this new day and age of social media.
I will be looking into the history of marketing and how has that been perceived by society. I have chosen to use a Remixed video and an Infographic file showing how this topic correlates with one another. One question that I have been having is Should big business stop spending so much money on other marketing strategies and just stick with social media? I would like to explore this more in depth to see how truly close marketing works hand and hand with social media. Would we no longer need big advertisements agencies? All we need is an audience and a clever #hashtag now days.

John_LawrentzHW18

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I am going to do my Capstone Project on hypnosis, the subconscious mind, and the potential we have through ‘this form of media’. I have not decided yet, but may touch on the concept of a collective consciousness. I have done several of my projects, in other DTC classes, on hypnosis and will be able to draw off of some of that material. I am in the DTC program mainly to compliment and market my hypnotherapy practice and it is these final projects and capstone projects that push me to create what will become a big part of my marketing strategy. I am currently operating my business through my website that was created in DTC355, and I also created an E-book in DTC375 that I plan to finish and publish someday.

This project has the potential to be either an addition to my current website or another form of online marketing. I plan to recreate my infographic with not so much ‘creepiness’, and instead push toward the direction of a fun informational marketing cartoon, which is the definition of an Infographic. I have also been experimenting with some remix material created with Premier Pro much like we did with our video remix’s. This will provide the other media object for this project

The infographic will stand alone as the entertaining part of the site, and the video will be featured to compliment parts of the text. It will be some kind of impact on the theme, such as a series of doors as a metaphor for choices in life.

Cole Benak Capstone Project – Support The Craft

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The craft beer industry is one Pacific Northwesterners know extremely well, however it is not contained to just our region.  Craft breweries can be found across the United States, and throughout the world.  Since the 1980’s this distinct and unique industry began with home brewers experimenting on their own, sharing recipes and creating not only a new industry, but a new community.  With grassroots firmly planted, it was time to grow, but not without its own hurdles to overcome.

As in every other industry, in order to grow and develop not only to expand your product but to also make a profit, there needs to be a form of capital and investment.  This is typically done by owner bringing money in, but this can only go so far before you must wait for the slow return of profit.  With outside investors brewers not only lose a portion of ownership, but also some control – this control and oversight of the craft allows errors, mishaps and sometimes a decline in product quality.  Microbreweries are no longer becoming micro – the product is such that in order to continue growing, there must be expansion.

In addition to investment issues, there are also environmental issues.  Although this doesn’t have a direct way to fix it, it is something that typically goes unconsidered by the general public.  A harsh season can leave many breweries that rely on specific crops without important pieces of their recipe.  This then forces them to use alternate products, effecting no only their brew, but ultimately the product they then bring to market.

 

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Nick Fouts’ Capstone Project Intro | Ban the Box

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For many people, filling out a job application can be relatively stress free, and maybe even exciting. However, for people who have been previously arrested or convicted, filling out a job application may not be worth the effort. A movement called the Ban the Box campaign was started in 2004, with goals of changing perceptions of people with histories of convictions or jail time.

The phrase “ban the box” refers to the checkbox on many applications that asks if the applicant has criminal history. Calling on cities and states to remove this checkbox, the movement urges employers to hire based on knowledge, skills, abilities and qualifications, rather than judging based on conviction history. In the case of many companies, applications will not even be considered if that box is checked. For many people who have been convicted of a crime in the past, their crimes were small or so long ago that they are irrelevant and would not impact their ability to do the job, yet employers still chuck the applications. With a significant percentage of adults having a conviction history, this issue can be detrimental to a person’s future after serving jail time.

For this project, I will produce an infographic with statistics about incarceration and employment to illustrate how difficult it is for people with criminal history to find employment. I will also create an animation that explains the issue and provides a solution and alternatives that benefit everyone.

Sammi Bieber – Capstone Blog Post

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Between scientists and various health professionals, vaccines have been deemed safe for children who do not have weakened immune systems or severe allergies to the vaccine. It is imperative that healthy children do receive vaccinations to protect the children who cannot be vaccinated. Throughout time, vaccines have not only protected individuals from getting sick, but they have also eradicated diseases entirely. Because of this, it is worth it to vaccinate, despite the supposed risks.

One of the biggest reasons people choose not to vaccinate their children is because they believe vaccinations to be associated with Autism; however, there is no valid evidence that supports that claim. Instead, children should be vaccinated so that people can be protected. If vaccinations are widely provided, entire communities can build immunities to diseases. Additionally, studies have shown that vaccinations help to build individuals’ immune systems, resulting in overall less illness than their unimmunized counterparts. Overall, the advantages of vaccines overwhelmingly exceed the downfalls, that may not not even exist.

In order to present this information, I want to create an infographic poster that outlines statistical evidence about the safety of vaccines. Additionally, I would like to either produce an animation or a remixed video to visually summarize the safety of vaccines. This will, ideally, be put together on a visually pleasing website under different tabs. I would also like to include links to scholarly websites that outline the safety of vaccines.

Evan Torres | Paper Vs. Web Comics

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My capstone project will have a focus on webcomics, in particular, webcomics versus traditional comics. Potential topics would include some comparing and contrasting of the two, a brief history of both, views and opinions on what the general public thinks of them, and maybe even the different styles of the two.

Web and traditional comics might have totally different mediums, but the styles they have are often quite similar to one another, by which I mean they can be roughly sorted into two categories: Strips and stories. My project would go into detail about what these two coined styles mean, as well as provide external links to various comic publishers’ websites.

Comic strips are what you might expect: A series of three to four panels usually telling a joke. There are more than enough examples of these in traditional format (Peanuts, Garfield), but there are a few examples of this in digital form as well (Penny Arcade, PvP). Likewise, stories are more elaborate and detailed, taking form in traditional mediums as comic books, and in webcomics as whole pages posted over a set time.

Additionally, I could very easily go into detail on whether or not multimedia comics and flash animations count as “webcomics.” Since this is somewhat subjective, I would probably do my comparing and contrasting here using an infographic, displaying the differences between these types of media and standstill images. Of course, I still need to use remixed media, so I could probably use it to help make this point by creating a short video detailing how this type of comic looks and feels.

Mackenzie Koch Capstone Project

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When you try to explain a video game, how would you describe it? A movable art form that guides its players to a certain goal? A way in which people can discover a hidden message behind its virtual walls? Or a distraction for children that takes them away from greater purposes such as schoolwork, joining teams, or becoming part of a club like many parents describe them as? How about describing video games as a way to increase one’s creativity? Think about it! When you are playing a video game, you become complete immersed into the virtual world. You transform into the main protagonist with one main goal that involves overcoming obstacles to achieve what your characters desires. Now, apply that to the real world.

As I was trying to find information based around this topic, I found many websites that provide me with studies that show children who play video games are more creative in their drawings and how that overcome obstacles in their lives. Children learn to plan, search, and tackle challenges in the games that they can apply to modern challenges such as making decisions and facing consequences. With this, I will be focusing my Capstone project around the idea of how video games increase one’s creativity which allows an individual to advance better in life.

For my project, I plan on creating an infographic animation that will provide the ways of how video games increase creativity in its players and how this increase in creativity helps an individual in the real world. This infographic will include statistics along with animations which will be created within Illustrator and Affect Effects. I also plan on creating a mashup to help show the connection between video games, the players, and their evolving creativity. While the infographic animation explains the idea of video games increasing creativity, the mashup will provide more of visual example of what is going on in the player’s head with the virtual and real world. With my website, I plan to have a layout that will introduce the subject and then have two other links that will have infographic animation and mashup (layout will most likely change as development continues).