The People’s Popper Movie Blog – I throw myself into the popcorn so you don’t have to!

I Goals & Objective: The overall, general goal that I would like to reach through my blog and its usage is providing readers (and simply supplying, in general) with thorough, detailed, but easy-to-understand movie reviews of all of the latest movies, both popular and obscure, that explore a variety of different perspectives and look at the same film in several different ways. In order to achieve this goal, I hope to review at least one film a week, exploring aspects of the film including the plot, soundtrack, cinematography, acting, and general writing. However, in order to provide differing perspectives, I also hope to include the reviews of people I have met that have seen the film as well, whether I have met them outside or even through my blog via the comments section. The format of this review will also depend on how the interviewee feels comfortable; I may include video interviews with them, audio only interviews, or even written reviews that they have sent in. Because my family and I go to the movies at least once a week, reviewing at least one film a week (one of my objectives) and providing these interviews should not be difficult. As a matter of fact, I am truly interested in viewing these films and getting the perspectives of other people, as I often find that my own personal feelings towards a movie differ drastically from others, especially those of the established movie critics. This passion for film will translate into very detailed yet fun reviews.

Purpose: The purpose of my blog will be to provide the average citizen (both regular moviegoers and non-moviegoers) with detailed but easy-to-comprehend reviews on the latest films, as well as reviews from the perspectives of many different people. The providing of different reviews from different types of people will ensure that viewers or readers will have all of the information necessary to determine if a movie is “right for them” or something that they will spend their money on; they can tell if they are the “type of person” that will enjoy the reviewed film. Thus, the main purpose of this blog is to save people money and ensure that they make the most out of their movie-going experience. However, I may also include reviews or analyses of upcoming new movie trailers, my opinions on whether or not an upcoming movie looks good, or my predictions of who will win the awards during awards season. I may also let readers tell me what they wish me to add or discuss next, based upon leaving comments or answering polls.

I This presentation will use interactive media intended for the following audiences:
a People who are regular movie-goers
b People who are not regular movie-goers, only going occasionally when they really like a movie
c People who are on a budget and cannot afford to go to every new movie that comes out
d Regular adults and college students, who typically have the most freedom to travel and spend
e People who love the art of film (although may not always go to the movies)
II Resources:
a My first hand experiences with and review of a particular movie
b Photographs of a movie (screenshots) and short clips of a movie (video) that are posted online
c Video, audio, or textual interviews with moviegoers, providing their opinion or review of the film
III Walkthrough
a I will review one film a week via text-based writing, specifically focusing on analyzing such areas as plot, acting, cinematography, and music.
b I will post short clips, trailers, or screenshots of the movie I am reviewing in order to support the points in my review, acquaint my audience with the film, and provide my blog with more color.
c I will then also collect interviews from others about their opinions towards the movie I am reviewing, via my iPod or cell phone for video or audio interviews or via email for text provided interviews, and post those alongside my review.
IV Look & Feel
a I will use vibrant, bright colors to represent the excitement associated with going to the movies (and also to attract attention). I will, however, place a specific emphasis on red, white, yellow, dark blue, and black as they all recall certain aspects of a typical, classic theater (the chairs, the popcorn, the butter or lights, and the dimming of the lights and darkness, respectively).
b I will be using the Twenty Fourteen theme, located under the Themes section of WordPress, in order to truly make my reviews visually appealing while remaining organized. Twenty Fourteen features a giant header at the top of the page with accompanying text that can change into another photograph with text when pressed, and I believe this would be perfect for showcasing my newest reviews; whenever I have a new review, I would make a screenshot from the film the top picture at the page, along with text briefly describing and advertising my review. This ensures that my reviews will attract attention, and that my blog is full of color and attention-grabbing visuals. Because this header is always changing, I cannot say exactly what the header will look like. However, I can say that the header will be of a beautifully shown screenshot from a film, along with some text. This can not only grab attention, but immediately tell any visitor, upon first glance, what my site is about. Other posts are displayed slightly above the header, with a smaller picture and snippet of text for each, again adding to the visual nature of the site but doing so in a clean and professional manner. Below the main featured pictures, my full texts posts and accompanying photos are shown, making my reviews easily accessible. Further supporting this theme being clean cut and easy to organize, both the videos and audio are listed to the right of the blog, ensuring that my interviews with individuals will be heard. Therefore, this theme is perfect for making my blog look professional, visually appealing, and clean-cut. As a background, I may just put a color, as there are so many pictures on the page already that it would appear to be cluttered otherwise.
c I will have five tabs, with the first tab being a “Home” tab that takes one back to the front page. The second tab will be a “Movie List” tab, in which I include all of the movies that I have reviewed, even broken down into genre, to provide easy links to reviews people wish to see. The third tab will be a “Pure Audience Opinion” tab, in which I only keep interviews with and opinions by the audience; these will be included with my reviews on the regular posts, however, but in case some people want only to see the diversity of opinions or listen to a specific person, I will keep all of those organized. The fourth tab will be an “About Me” tab in which I explain a bit about myself and the site. Lastly, the fifth tab will be a “Contact Me” tab, in which viewers who would like to message me directly to provide comments, suggestions, or concerns can do so (outside of the comments section). In regards to the number of columns I will have, I believe I will have 3 columns. Finally, in regards to the Widgets I will include, I will, at the very least, include a search bar, an archive, and a section showing audio, video, and the most recent posts.

The Chic Beat: Blog
 
I Goals & Objectives: “The Chic Beat” implies two things: (1) there is some facet that will be regularly covered like a newspaper beat and (2) it’s chic, we’re talking fashion. My blog will ultimately cover news and events of the fashion industry regularly, using multimedia elements to deliver the news to my viewers. Using these events as a springboard, I will dive into the latest trends of the industry and the A-list scene and style them to create #ootd posts, the season’s must haves posts, and more. The ultimate goal is to connect to my viewers using the language of fashion, providing them with styling tips and hopefully inspiration.
 
Purpose: The purpose of “The Chic Beat” is to provide viewers with a simplified look into the fashion industry. I will discover the top trends and themes that are to dominate in the coming months and show my viewers what pieces they are definitely going to want and how they are going to want to wear them. The best part is I am not selling them anything like typical fashion sites. “The Chic Beat” will provide viewers with an unbiased perspective of the industry and how they can find their place in it by emanating their own style, rather than fitting in.
 
I This presentation will use interactive multimedia intended for the following audiences:
a Females in their twenties
b Fashion lovers
c College students
d College journalists
e Young professionals seeking to break into the industry
f People who love fashion, but can’t afford the most prestigious labels
 
I Resources:
a Photos and videos of major fashion events posted on public domains not subject to copyright
b Styling videos I will create
c Photos I will take of outfits and different outfit elements
 
I Walkthrough:
a I will pull outfits from my own wardrobe and shopping trips that reflect the hottest trends, photograph them and even take video of the process of how the outfit is pieced together from the inspiration to the final look. Every post will include the labels of the garments pictured.
b I will primarily be using my iPhone camera to capture these elements and applications like Photoshop to piece the look together whether creating a collage of separate elements or having the outfit pictured in one image.
c I will use the camera on my laptop and the recording application on my phone to create video elements and voice-overs.
 
I Look & Feel
a “The Chic Beat” will feature several different tabs including a home page, an about me page, the trend story, chic feet, and the chic beat. Rather than having them listed at the top I would like them to be clickable, circular photos on the homepage that redirect viewers to those individual pages, organized neatly in a large border with the header above and the most recent post below. This theme on Wordpress is called Spun. The header will be simple with “The Chic Beat” written in a very swirly and girly font in black letters on the white page.
b The color scheme throughout will be black and white with light pink accents and the pages are going to have little design and be really simple, allowing the content of the posts to stand out.
c The style will be consistent on all pages with standardized text font and title fonts and a signature sign-off on each post. The pages will not feature columns, but the three content pages (excluding the home and about me page) will feature a simple widget sidebar that will direct viewers to recent and popular posts.

Simple Foods Simple Life

I. Goals and Objective: I want my blog to encompass the ever-intriguing world of food. From texture to flavor to presentation, there are so many details that go into one savory recipe. This blog will feature three sections: “Recipes,” the “Weekly Swap,” and “What’s the Deal?” The “Recipes” section will simply be my own take on various dishes from breakfasts to desserts and every meal in between. For the “Weekly Swap” section, I will take an unhealthy dish that the majority of people enjoy (for example, chocolate chip cookies) and swap out ingredients for a cleaner version of the product that even the biggest health nut can enjoy guilt-free. Finally, the “What’s the Deal” section will address one particular fad or diet trend and whether or not it actually has the benefits (or risks) the general public associates with it – for example, “What’s the deal with gluten free?” I will post a recipe once per week, a swap bi-weekly, and a “What’s the Deal?” bi-weekly. Recipes will be on Sundays, and swaps/what’s the deal will be on Mondays.

Purpose: The main purpose of my blog is to create recipes people can savor with ingredients people can easily pronounce and easily prepare. I often read recipes in magazines that involve foods that I have never heard of and cannot find at my local Stop and Shop. I want people to enjoy preparing and cooking meals as much as they enjoy eating them. I want them to spend less time searching for ingredients and more time in the kitchen.
I. This presentation will use interactive media intended for the following audiences:
a. Young adults
b. Adults
c. Those looking to learn basic recipes
d. Those learning to live on their own (i.e. just moved out of their parents’ house)
e. Those looking to gain a broader knowledge of health and nutrition
II. Resources:
a. Personal knowledge of health and nutrition
b. Knowledge obtained through researching different areas of nutrition (research such as The Food Network and various health/nutrition magazines)
c. Videos and interviews with professionals
III. Walkthrough:
a. I will post various recipes that the average American can easily follow
b. I will research different health and nutrition fads to inform the public
c. I will research healthy alternatives to common recipes to inform the public
IV. Look and Feel:
a. I will use classic colors to create a crisp and clean presentation for the blog. Some blogs use a lot of cursive to look more professional, but I will limit cursive font so the reader can better read the material
b. I will place large photos at the head of every blog piece as a “feature photo”
c. I will have multiple tabs at the top of the blog for people to easily click on different areas of the blog – I want the presentation of the blow to be very easy to follow.

Vietnam War Interactive Portfolio

Goal & Objectives: The goal of the Vietnam War Interactive Portfolio blog project is to enlighten viewers about war-related issues affecting veterans, their families and refugees of the war. The project is intended to be an interactive and self-guided tour for students, former members of the military, scholars, members of the Vietnamese community, and people intending to visit Vietnam. The content will be compiled from messages left at the Vietnam War Interactive Portfolio Web Site: http://icarus.shu.edu/gallery/V Portfolio, (1996-2005) and from nearly 300 color and black and white photographs taken in Vietnam between 1969 and 1970. The primary objective of this project is to create visual and oral narratives containing personal histories and reminiscences from people who were affected by the Vietnam War. Narratives will take the form of dramatizations containing pictures from the war and dramatic readings of messages left at the site. Subjects will include American and Vietnamese soldiers, street children, Vietnamese civilians, and American protesters. The home page will contain an introduction to the site with thumbnail links embeded in the text linking to photographic portfolios about various aspects of the war. There will be sidebars (widgets) containing information about the author, additional pictures, recent posts and archived material. The header will feature a panarama photograph from the portfolio and there will be several tabs along the bottom of the header directing visitors to specific pages at the site.

The original Web site was established in 1996 to provide a discussion forum for people interested in the Vietnam War. Since its inception approximately two million people have visited this site, representing over 50 foreign countries. Visitors to the site have left over 5000 commentaries, ranging from a few words to several paragraphs. Many have also responded to the comments left by others.

The photographic portfolio portion of the original site acted as a catalyst promoting discussion and providing opportunities for visitors to respond. The site brought together a large community of people interested in the Vietnam War-including veterans, students of the War, Vietnamese (born in this country and in Vietnam), relief workers and Vietnamese scholars.
The cultural significance of this project can be summed up by a Vietnamese scholar interested in preserving this period in Vietnam's cultural history who said, "The atmosphere, the settings, and the life of the time, (we) are losing fast, and we'd like to put them on CD-ROM for preservation purposes. Whatever portrait of humanity we may be able to capture, however incomplete, may be a great education to the children that follow."

The blog presentation will take the form of an interactive multimedia experience intended for the following audiences:
Vietnam War Veterans
People interested in visiting Vietnam
Scholars of Vietnam War
People interested in photojournalism and portrait photography
Resources and technical considerations:
In addition to material from the original Vietnam Interactive Portfolio Web site, the presentation will use news and archival footage taken during the war. Music of the region will be included.
Production requirements will include access to blog authoring software and audio, picture and video editing software.
Walkthrough
The home page will be as described above.
Photo montage video animation of Saigon street children: Viewers will see an image of a street child with lower third caption: All in the eyes...." Voice Over: The eyes of the children tell more than the surroundings they are in. I see eyes that do not understand, eyes filled with terror, and wonder. The eyes are the gateway to the soul.
Screen will then dissolve to a photomontage of many pictures of old and young women and men, in uniform and civilians, with main title keyed over images: "Vietnam War Commentaries". The main title will turn end for end and pop on title "Personal Histories from those who were there." The main title and images fade to black. Or, individual pictures gray, blink or somehow indicate that they can now be selected to further explore.
(Alternately) A series of image frames (probably 3 across and 3 down) will guide the viewer to subsections of presentation. Categories include:
Portrait Sections
Montagnard Tribesman
Vietnamese Civilians
Military
Children
Protest, et cetera
Shrines
Commentary: In Point/Counterpoint style, the selected commentaries left at site, similar to the PDS document in style (continuity supplied by text, use pictures to key into specific text references).
This section will have words hyperlinked to similar threads found elsewhere. Ex., if passage is talking about children it might be linked to a military passage dealing with children.
Possible link topics include children, VC, Saigon, or any single author.
Photomontage with selected commentary (Probably written as lower third supers.) Pictures provide the continuity in this section. Music of the region will be included.
Web Resources for research and further study
Interactive Portfolio Web site (contains the original HyperText messages with original pictures. Might provide a link to the Icarus Web site so that people can leave messages about the CID images and commentary.
Reminiscences-The running personal histories from those who have left messages at the site. Threads may include
Why US lost to North
Culpability-North and South
Glad to be living in America
Praise for US soldiers
Memories of War Vets
Role of protesters in US involvement