WK4 MDC Jump Start

For the majority of customers trying out a new product the companies web site is the first impression. When creating a new web site for a company researching the competition is a good place to start. In the Designing Web Sites tutorial by Sue Jenkins she talks about key points you should look at when checking out the competitors web sites. I will be looking at how it could negatively affect the potential customers opinion of the company.

The first topic is doing a web search for keywords of the competitors. If you skip this step you may leave out words that will lead a customer to your new site. Knowing how a customer will search for you can help you with content descriptions and keywords. Next is narrowing the search to your local area. If you only do national or regional searches you may miss what the company down the street is doing and end up looking to much like theirs or having too similar of a product/service.

Sue Jenkins goes on to talk about setting site goals on having a plan for how the site will look and what it will contain. If you don’t stop to think about who your target audience is and what they will be looking for on your website you may choose the wrong color scheme or offensive wording. Next is content, if you skip the data checklist and just jump in to building the site you may forget some information you wanted to include. Taking the time before to hit all these steps before you post your site could save you from some professional embarrassment and time on rework.

Goal Setting

The skill I would like to would on the most is project management. I think although the film fest project is the most ambitious, it is also the one that will give me the most hands on experience. It will compel me to create and keep to a time line and require me to work with others to complete the project. It also gives me the broadest range of software to work with and explore.

I plan to use many different resources to bring this project together. I have most of the equipment I need and can acquire any additional support as needed. Between the classes with MCBS, Lynda.com, and the internet I should be able to fill in any technical knowledge that will help complete the film. My first big hurtle will be writing the screen play, I have a couple books on the subject and plan to do a little more research online. I have a story idea, its just a matter of getting it into a script.

The time goal will be dependent on what Film Festivals are available early next year. Once I find what festival will suit this project I can get a better idea of a time line and set milestones. The screenplay writing can be started now because it is the first step and needs to be done no matter what the submission date is.

Portfolio Project Brainstorming

PopCorny Podcast

My first Project is one that I have wanted to get started for a while now. I have a podcast I would like to get started call PopCorny. The Project would be a media campaign for the podcast. Starting a social media backing for the podcast on Facebook, twitter, and a few others would be a good start. I think the campaign would fall into the Media Execution category but the podcast production would fall into Media Creation.

The outcome of the project would be to raise awareness of the new podcast and possibly have a small audience at the beginning. Then to create an ongoing monthly show that has a few listeners. The project mostly would just require time to create the profiles for the social media sites and making posts to generate awareness of the show and what it is about. These are all things I could do on my own with very little cost. The show itself will be me and one or two co-hosts depending on the availability of my friends. I have the equipment to get started and I will do most all the editing and production. 

At the end I will have at least three social media tie in’s, a web site for the podcast with a comments page and a first episode.

CACO Awareness

The military’s Casualty Assistance Calls Program is used to give families of a deceased military member a liaison to help get a proper military funeral. The program is in need of military members to volunteer their time to the program. I would like to create an awareness campaign for this program to get the support it needs. This would fall mostly into the Media Execution category.

The goal of this project would be to get the attention of military members with a drive to help in their community. Because it is an underfunded program it doesn’t always get the volunteers it needs. Getting a website, social media profiles and more information about the program out there could raise awareness of the need for more volunteers.

The project would need time to create the social media profiles and a social media manager to maintain the profiles, a web designer and a web hosting site, and someone with the training to upkeep the website. The Profiles and web site I could create, but the web hosting site and the social media manager would need to be provided by CACO.

The deliverables for this project would be a writer proposal for the web presence, social media profiles, and a time line for launch.

Film Fest Movie Entry

This would be the most ambitious of my project ideas. I would like to find a local Film Fest, research the entry requirements then create and enter a short film. I will write a script, direct and edit the film. This project sits firmly in the Media Creation category.

The goal of this project will be to have a finish film by the deadline of a local film festival. I’m not too worried about the outcome of the film in the festival it is more about the process of creating the film within the parameters of the festival and getting it submitted within the timeline.

This project will require a lot of research to find the right film festival and learn all the requirements for entries. The time to write the script and the time to film and edit the movie would have to be managed in order to submit on time. The main purpose of this project for me is to learn to manage my time and work within a timeline. 

The deliverables for this project would be a finished movie entered into a local film festival. I would submit the script, the finished movie for review by Full Sail Faculty, and the entry form for the given Festival.

Professional Development Inventory

After last weeks assignment I feel a little more confident about getting a job after achieving my Media Communications degree. With the work I am currently doing in the navy and the training I am receiving with Full Sail University I will have a lot of the professional and technical skills desired by the employers I will be looking at.

I currently do some video editing and processing in my Navy job. I have produced videos for service members to send home to their families. I have documented major events such as Change of Commands, Retirements, and re-enlistments. I have worked mostly on Apple products and software including: Final Cut, Photoshop, Director, Garageband and a few others. The military has also prepared me for working in small groups or on my own with precise instructions and little oversight.

So far at Full Sail I have gotten a lot of reinforcement training on the programs I know and have learned some of the finer in depth tools. I have gotten to know more of the Google suite and how powerful of a tool that can be for collaborating long distance on group projects.

In the job postings I looked at there were minimum experience requirements from 2-5 years. I think between my media heavy position in the Navy and the experiences I’m gaining here at Full Sail I will be able to meet that. I could absolutely use more experience with the finer details of all of the applications of the trade, but I feel the further we get into the Media Communications program the more we will get hands on experience. I would like to work more on developing and pitching an idea. We got to work on this a bit in Technical Writing but I could be it being a big part of any job process.