Collage Assignments

The collage assignments were my favorite project of those incorporated in the portfolio. At first I had difficulty working with the image editing program and getting comfortable. In my struggles I created an image of a bright red and pink floating image of a pig/devil head in the character collage for Lord of the Flies. I played with this image a lot and really wanted to keep it because of its relevance in the novel. I was able to make it look a lot better than it had looked by changing the brightness and intensity of the image. I believe that the image is a result of this being my first time familiarizing myself with a new program but with various changes I was able to revise the overall collage into a success. As I became more familiar with the tools that can be used to create certain effects, this project became almost addicting.
In taking pictures from the internet and putting them together in a different light, we were able to create works of our own from pictures that individually are created by others. These image collages represent my interpretation of the boys in The Lord of the Flies and To Be of Use.

Poem Collage Assignment
I made a few revisions to my original poem collage to improve upon the cohesiveness of the overall image while maintaining the same general idea. I didn't like the way the layers of mud blended together in the first collage so I found a few other images of mud to see which fit together the best. I finally found two mud images that when put together could make a more realistic change from the brown soil to the blue water of the swimmer. All of the objects in the collage have in common the ability to do work. As described in the poem, the human hand is doing work by pouring the pitcher of water. Also the pitcher is doing work by holding the water, the water is adding to the pool and the swimmer works to move forward as he swims. The water also does work on the dirt as it changes it from dirt to mud and the tractor does work cultivating the farm land.
In the second revision of this project I took the image to a different level to give it more meaning to me personally. While the image is rather simple, it holds a lot of meaning. I tried to apply the theme of the poem to my own life and immediately related it to softball. Softball is a huge part of my life that takes up many of my waking hours, has helped me get my mind off hard times, and meet and develop friendships with amazing people. My glove is a symbol of this aspect of my life because without my first glove I would never have been able to experience these great attributes of the game. In my collage I tried to get this across through the use of the glove. The glove that isn't being used is in a darker part of the collage and looks awkward and completely out of place symbolizing the ridiculousness of not using a glove. For the glove to "be of use" one must use it as Derek Jeter is in the larger picture of the collage. I also made the glove being used to its fullest by Jeter brighter to magnify the importance of its use. Jeter uses his glove as his career as well as to inspire young athletes just by the way that he plays the game.

Character Collage Assignment
I made several revisions in this collage as well. The most important change that I made was that I eliminated the pig and devil because they did not belong in this scene. While the symbol fits in with the conch and signal fire, the colors and ability to add to the overall statement of the collage was simply not there. The collage is of a torn photograph of the boys which represents their inability to remain united on the island. They all have different ideas of how to survive and can't seem to maintain the idea that to work together would be best for the group. Their signal fire, which is their only hope at being found and rescued, is on the shore between the two halves of the picture along with the conch. The conch represents the democracy between the boys as it is used to call them into meetings. Both the fire and the conch are symbols of the boys as an entire united group and are placed on the shoreline to show how easily they were destroyed in the novel. Their destruction in the novel is related to the ability for the ocean to wash out the fire or drag the shell away with a single wave. In making this collage I learned that although I wanted to fit the pig/devil image into this collage as it was, it wasn't going to work. I tried multiple techniques to force it to fit but eventually realized that the final image was stronger without it. I put a lot of time and revision into this collage and if I were to do it again, would make a completely different scene with a similar meaning. The focus would be more on Ralph and his unsuccessful attempt at creating a democratic society. I would find an image of a boy like Ralph standing on the island alone with the sun setting in the background to represent the failing democracy. The conch and signal fire on the beach as representations of democracy could remain as well as a segment of a flying, partly translucent American flag as the background in the sky above the island. I am satisfied with the final collage that I produced, but would try to make this idea work as well if I were to make another to be able to compare the two different approaches.

Emily Dickinson Annotation Assignment

This assignment was one of the more challenging projects in terms of analyzing the literature. This may be due to the idea that all ten poems are already selected for you to analyze while in other projects we selected out own works to discuss. The option was given to add poems by Dickinson that we would like to analyze to the assignment; however I chose to embrace the challenge of the ten previously selected poems. Some poems were easier to grasp than others. After reading through a few of them several times, I resorted to gaining a little insight from other analytical websites. From the information of others in these few cases, I was able to gain a better concept of an overall theme, and develop my interpretation from there. For other poems, I was able to look at them myself first as a whole and then line by line in order to break down their true meaning.
In writing the annotations found below, I feel as though I have contributed to the analytical literary information available on the internet. These annotations could be helpful to others in the way that other analytical sites helped me get started on a few of the poems. Their own imaginations may be inspired by our work and encourage them to interpret the poem further or from a different point of view.
From this project I learned that there are many different interpretations that can be acceptable for the same work of literature as long as the interpreter can back it up with examples. Also, in creating revisions or adding to the interpretations of others makes you understand another interpretation from a different point of view and compare it to your own. On the reverse side, others are adding to my interpretations as well which gives me the opportunity to discover something that I could have missed originally.

Podcast

This assignment was the only true group project that we were able to work on together. We were able to help one another in our other projects, asking neighbors for opinions or help with certain technical aspects but had not created an entire project together before. As my group began to brainstorm ideas I knew immediately that the project was going to be a success. Everyone was excited to work together and our ideas meshed as our podcast began to take form. We chose family as our topic in thinking that it was something that everyone could contribute to and incorporate their own opinions formed from individual experiences. After doing some research, we ran a trial run that went rather smoothly. The trial run was the most important part of this process because we were able to see where we needed to improve and how and when we could react to one another's comments.
I was inspired and motivated by my group members in this project. In many settings I do not speak up and end up wishing that I had including projects such as this one where you must get into character and think quickly. Ranelle, Stephanie and Lynette were able to get right into character without hesitation and created an environment where anyone would feel comfortable speaking up. In a sense they taught me how to be confident in such situations by their example of confidence and spontaneity. The group chemistry that we developed helped our project greatly and we even added jokes within our characters names. Our ability to work together, to enjoy the opportunity given to us, and our agreement on interpretations made our project excellent.
There wasn't too much room for revision in this project although we talked about what we would do differently after the trial run. I developed my arguments further after the first trial. I also tried to speak with more confidence and made a conscious effort to say "umm" less.

Video

The video that I created was one in remembrance of those who have died in tragedies. My particular focus was on those lost loved ones and their families from the Virginia Tech Massacre and the 9/11 terrorist attacks. These two tragedies are of particular importance to me. The Virginia Tech massacre occurred only last year and threatens the safety of academic institutions everywhere. Immediately after this tragedy I began to think of what would happen if this took place here at UNC because in reality, this type of happening could take place anywhere. The 9/11 attacks also had a significant impact on my life as my community was greatly effected. Numerous individuals from my area worked in the twin towers or were called into the city to help other firefighters and emergency staff. Some of my close friends lost relatives that day whose names are included in the movie I made. I was lucky that nobody in my family was there that day, but many others around me were not as lucky.
In this work I tried to match the pictures to the audio by feeling and meaning. The obvious examples are the children dying of AIDS in Africa or the baby elephant whose community is being devastated by the ivory trade in the Virginia Tech segment. Also, the field of flowers, the woods, and other images from the 9/11 segment have direct references to the text of the poem "The Names." The different images provoke various feelings in the viewer so I took this into consideration and tried to provide the viewer with matching photo impact and audio mood. For example in the 9/11 section, one of the most powerful images is the towers in flames after the crash. Originally, I had this image towards the beginning but took the suggestion that the mood of the poem in that spot was rather mellow. I then matched this powerful image with a more intense segment of the poem and realized the impact it had on the piece as a whole. The only revisions that I would like to make now upon looking back would be to make it more personal. If I could show images of those who died in their lives before the attacks and the impact it had on their families afterward, I think the viewer would be able to relate more on a personal level.
I believe that these tragedies that occur can be life altering for the survivors in a positive way. Many people realize how great it is simply to be alive after a terrible occurence such as these and become thankful for what they have. Unfortunately, after coming to this realization, many people quickly revert back to their everyday lives, forgetting the values that they recently uncovered. In making this video, I hope I can remind myself if not others of the values that I would like to live my life by. With this video, I don't have to wait for the next tragedy to occur to put my own life in perspective. I can now watch the video and remember the unfortunate tragedies of the past. If everyone began to live by their own discovered values, perhaps the amounts of tragedies that do occur could be reduced. Of course this is wishful thinking but for me personally, this video reminds me that tragedies happen to everyone undeservingly and that I should be both appreciative for what I have and supportive to those in need.

Overall this class has been a phenomenal experience. I feel as though I have broadened my horizons, grown as a person, learned that there is always room for revision, and discovered new outlets of expression. This class is the class that I most appreciate of all those that I have taken at Carolina. I don't expect to have another experience like this but if I do I will be sure to embrace it. Thanks for taking an interest in my project. I hope you were inspired!