VJ3: Crosswalks at Purdue

Study Abroad Photos

Nature Montage

Creating my Nature Montage

When I created my nature montage there are some things that I kept in mind when deciding where I wanted to begin shooting my film. I thought about fall and what reminds me of fall. Fall reminds me of crystal blue sky, colorful leaves, shadows and bare trees. With this in mind I decided to film at Horticulture park. I picked mid afternoon because I thought this would give me great angls to incorporate the sun. I picked the location of Horticulture park, located off of 25 because I figured this location would give me a great amount of trees and leaves. The biggest issue I had was dealing with the passing cars with the audio. Overall I found the day was a great day to shoot, little wind, sunny day and a few clouds in the sky. I picked my shots based on the most unique ones I took and placed them together based on similarities. Overall I think I got some beautiful shots of what fall means to me.

Creating Online Revenue

In class our speakers discussed the recent drop in online advertising revenue. Therefor there is the issue of how will online newspapers and magazines create revenue if it is not coming from advertisers? He suggested perhaps going back to paying to access sites might be the answer.
I am not sure how I feel as a consumer if sites start going to being a prepaid site. As a "journalist" it makes sense to become a prepaid site, but do we really believe consumers are going to pay for a site? Think about it, whenever there is a shift in technology there is someone that is lacking behind. For example the shift to Smart Phones. Even though Smart Phones are all the rage now, there are still people using regular cell phones. You may wonder how this compares to the topic of advertising revenue. If there is a shift from free websites to needing to pay for websites I can pretty much gaurentee there will be someone who slacks behind and remains a free site. So if a consumer has the decision between a free site and prepaid site you can bet your life they will pick the free site.
However maybe we shouldn't write off online advertising yet.

“With the strongest first half on record, 2010 has so far indicated that Internet advertising is back,
and better than ever. While the recession clearly affected short term growth in 2009, with double
digit growth in both search and display during the first six month of 2010 the long term prospects digit growth in both search and display during the first six month of 2010, the long term prospects
continue to be strong.”
-David Silverman, Partner, PwC

According to the IAB Internet Advertising Revenue online advertising has increased 11.9% since 2009. The second quarter revenue of 2010 has increased 4.1% since the beginning first quarter. Perhaps we are all just getting the hang of online advertising.

Fall at Purdue

Visible from all angles of West Lafayette Purdue's Bell Tower dominates the skyline just as the University itself does.
Students gather around what is known as "The Diversity Tree" in between classes or while waiting for others to meet up with.
Outside of CL50 it is not unusual to find students trying to raise money for various causes.
Getting involved is made easy, postings about different jobs, clubs and internships are often posted on these bulletin trees.
When the weather is great students relax, study and enjoy Purude University's beauty around the fountain.
It is not unusual to find students gathering outside around this beautiful fountain while they unwind their stress and relax on fall sunny days.
Sculptures are placed around Purdue's campus to remind students, faculty and bystanders of the University's academic excellence.
Common traditions such as "The Hello Walk" enforce the mindset and morals of Purdue University, kind friendly and intelligent people.
Purdue University demonstrates it's pride by placing advertisements around campus, we are innovative people, MAKERS ALL.
On fall afternoons students gather in the grass to study and cram for exams and prepare for class while enjoying the fall weather.
The University has "Clapping Circles" that demonstrate that engineering can in fact bring fun to a University's campus.
Inside the University's Union there are an assortment of restaurants, tables and services that allow students to gather, study and prepare.

Election Essay

Election campaigns are always striving to get more people to vote and the media is always searching for new ways to inform citizens. This year it is obvious they are taking full advantage of online media sites to get people involved, informed and actively voting.
The first example I saw of the election campaign taking an advantage of social media sites is on Facebook. The home-page of Facebook has a counter that allows you to hit a button that states "I voted". The counter then shows you the amount of friends (along with some of the names) that have voted and the total number of people on Facebook that voted. As of this minute 7,365,553 people on Facebook have voted. While writing that sentence the number has continued to jump by thousands. Using this popular site to demonstrate the number of people who have voted is a great idea. Most people have the tendency to want to fit in and be like others. By demonstrating the number of people who have voted we feel obligated to do so as well.

Another interactive means to follow the election is through CNN's website. CNN has an interesting tab located in the bottom corner of their home-page, it is called "My Race". This tab allows you to pick your location and the races that you wish to follow. From there you can follow the races you choose and see the race as the polls close.

I better prefer the New York Times website for following the election. Their home-page is completely dedicated to the election. Not only is it entirely dedicated to the race but it also offers more of an interactive page. The main part of the site has a map that shows the political party that is in the lead, the party that has won and lastly the gain. Their site has more than just a map, it has an easy to follow timeline, graphs, videos and many articles. The New York Times allows viewing the election simple and easy, it gives a variety of different views of the election therefor giving them a leg up on the competition.

Many websites are not as effective at following the election like the New York Times. One example of a website that i found is not effective is the Chicago Tribune. This website may have articles that link to pages about the election, but it is not very clear on their home-page. One aspect of their site is the photo gallery they have featuring political leaders entering voting booths. It is an interesting measure to show the election instead of telling us. I thought this fit in fairly well with our still photo gallery assignment.

In conclusion it is obvious the media has turned to online multi media sites to inform citizens about the race and to get them in a voting booth. The best website I encountered was the New York Times, this is because of all the interactive, simplistic means to follow the race. The Chicago Tribune is not as effective as The New York Times, but their still photo gallery was definitely informative and interesting.