Social Media Debate

Overall, I think that our debate went very well. My group's topic was Social Merits Affirmative. There were many pros and cons of our topic. Some cons were that from T.V. and advertisements through Facebook, Youtube and other sites can make violence almost seem acceptable. People see videos or pictures of riots or actions being committed that can make people think that these actions are okay to commit. An example that they used was the G20 and the riots downtown. There were Facebook pages, videos on the news and on Youtube that displayed people lighting cars on fire, smashing windows and more. Many people saw these sites and thought that because it was chaos and not disciplined, it wouldn't make a big deal if they contributed. I found that there were many benefits to our topic including technology, charities and campaigns and revolution. Our group believed that a main aspect of our topic was technology, constantly improving, allowing more and more ways to get a message across to a big group of people. Through social networks like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and more, we are able to form groups and opinions. Charities such as Movember have been advertised through social networking sites or even your own television, getting people involved while informing people. A campaign called "It Gets Better", encouraging people to feel comfortable with their sexuality, has been advertised and promoted by their own website, television shows, and more. Without the media, it would be harder to get messages out to many people. An example of this is global change. We create awareness with so many people, becoming more powerful than the actual government. To be honest, I don't think of these issues when I am using these social media outlets. I see them often, and I definitely look into them when I do see them, but they don't seem to be my main priority when using social media outlets. There are certain pages on Facebook that have to do with charities, campaigns, or even just a company that I will like on Facebook to show my support or interest in. I think that all of my peers will always have an issue with privacy but some more than others. I see some of my friends updating their status about themselves everyday, even talking about personal matters. I also have friends who are very private but upload a few pictures once in a while. What I don't agree with are the people who allow everyone to see their profile, even if you are not friends with them on Facebook. There are certain security options that can allow people to search your name but not see your profile until you accept them and some people unable that so that anyone can see everything they have on their profile. 

Another group's debate I was really interested in was the Facebook debate. I think that their debate went very well and both the negative and positive side had good points. I think that some of the advantages of Facebook include keeping in touch with friends and family, finding old friends, sharing our interests with others, creating discussions with others and you can promote business. Though these are only a few benefits, they really contribute to the many users of Facebook. You can upload photos, videos, notes, and update people of your choice on your life no matter where they live. Though this seems worth it, there are a few disadvantages to Facebook. When I think about the cons of Facebook, I think of two main things; security and cyber bullying. If you don't set up your security settings carefully and properly, anyone can see every picture, video or piece of information you upload about yourself. This can be very dangerous and people must be aware of their settings as well as who they accept as a friend. Cyber bullying has played a huge aspect in Facebook as well. Kids being made fun of, through pictures, statuses, videos and more. For example, when I was in grade eight, there was an application on Facebook called "Bathroom Wall". This was probably the most ridiculous application that put up a discussion topic where anyone could comment. The most viewed discussions were things like "Ugliest Girls at Windfields" or "Sluttiest Girls at Windfields" and obviously every girl, being so obsessed with drama at that age, visited each discussion and gave in their opinion, knowing it was anonymous. Many girls from my school were hurt by what others said about them and created more tension at school. This is only one example of cyber bullying as these types of situations happen daily and cannot be erased by the person being bullied. People believe they have more power while on their computer, posting things they wouldn't always say in person and having more courage to say it to a computer screen. Unfortunately, there are both positive and negative influences from this site but I believe that if you use it properly, it can be a great site. 

Viral Video Evaluation

Name: Emily Sherman
Name of Production Team: ELIS Inc.

Role in Production Team: Editor

Roles of the other production team members:

Shelbi Hauer- Production Manager

Lindsay Silverberg- Director

Irina Ene- Storyboard Artist and Administrator

1. How do you feel about the title you were given and how well you did your job in this project? Give specific examples of your experience.

I was very happy to be the editor of our viral video project as I enjoy using the program iMovie on my computer. I found my job to be very straight-forward as I've edited videos before. I think that I completed my job very well as I had plenty of time to edit our video clips into creating a great video. My group was very helpful as Irina created the storyboards that made filming much easier for Lindsay, Shelbi and I. We stayed on the time plan that Lindsay had created during our first brainstorming class. This kept us on task and gave us plenty of extra time to edit any imperfections, not leaving it until the last minute. 

Next time, I would continue to stay on the time plan and film based on the storyboards as these things allowed us to take our time in creating this project, and getting it done well. 

Next time, I would not film at such a late hour. Our group purposely wanted to film when it was darker out, as our video was supposed to take place outside at nighttime. Unfortunately, we came to the problem that it was a little too dark out to see everything clearly when filming. 

2. How did you contribute to this project? Give at least 2 specific examples.

As the editor, I put all of our filmed clips together to create our video. I had to lengthen and shorten certain clips to fit in with the music which took up a lot of time, especially by adding a reversal into the end of the video. When I first started editing, I began by shortening the karaoke version of "Almost Lover" to fit our clips according to the music. This impacted each clip being placed into the right time frame in the song as more fast, stronger parts of the song were heard over the more serious clips we filmed. After shortening the clips, making them look smooth, I edited the effects of certain clips to make them look cooler. A few examples of this was adding a darkened version of the all the alcohol in our video, as the clip was really bright but the inside of a party would usually be darker. Another example is adding transitions during our video, representing Lindsay blinking while seeing Shelbi over her body. Lastly, at the end of the video, I took many of the clips from the beginning of the video leading up to the crash and reversed them as well as slowing them down to show the true impact of drinking and driving and how it can easily be preventable. 

Next time, I would stick to our time plan as this allowed me a lot of time to get all of this editing done, which was a huge advantage, not rushing. 

Next time, I would not change the song idea so late into the project as this added a little confusion to the clips. Thankfully, all clips went well to the song and the situation really worked out. 

3. How do you feel about the contributions from other members of your group and the division of labour (work) for the project? Be specific to each team member.

I think our group worked really well together. At the beginning of our project, we instantly created a plan of our idea, props needed, possible songs, a time plan and possible actions for each scene. This really gave us a head start as we stuck with our original plan and worked everything out smoothly with not many problems. Lindsay created the time plan that kept us on task while Irina drew our storyboards. Shelbi filmed herself, Lindsay and I performing each scene that I would end up editing. Overall, I had no real problems with my group and was happy with the division of work per group member. 

4. When it comes to dealing with differences of opinion within your group:

I don't believe our group had any real problems having to do with differences in opinion. We all had different ideas at the beginning of the project but we basically fed off of each others suggestions and created a main video idea together. We had a few difference in opinions over when we should film but it was nothing serious as we got filming out of the way early, leaving everyone in the group happy with plenty of time left before the project was due. 

Next time, I would organize our night to film at a time to everyone's convenience. Unfortunately, Irina could not come to film the one night we all could. Everyone had things to be doing each night of the week so it was hard to find a night that was convenient for all of us. 

5. In dealing with group members who were not fulfilling their responsibilities:

We did not have this problem in my group. Our group was very easy-going and had no problem finishing each part of the project well and on time.

Next time, I would choose a trusting group and make sure everyone is aware of their responsibilities and deadlines for work. 

Next time, I would not let things slide and accept doing someone else's part of the project, rather than allow them get marked on what they have completed in the end. 

Ratings:

Overall, I would rate our group's ability to remain on task as:

EXCELLENT

Overall, I would rate our group's ability to be open, respectful, and communicative as:

EXCELLENT

Overall, I would rate our group's ability to use the strengths of all of our members as:  

EXCELLENT

How successful is your project? Give specific examples for your reasons.

EXCELLENT

I think our project ended up being extremely successful. We had plenty of time to finish things and we stayed very organized which is how all projects should work. Everyone was satisfied with their jobs and our video in the end. I was really happy with my group as they all contributed to make this video, supporting everyone else's ideas as well as sharing some of their own ideas too. We worked very cooperatively and stayed on task at all times, leaving us with a successful video.

Next time, I would be sure to stay focussed within the group, getting things done faster and not leaving you stressed at the last minute. This project showed the true effect of getting a project done with full potential, staying on task.

Next time, I would not settle for waiting to do certain things when they can be done straight away to get them out of the way, in order to move on. I feel like for many projects people want to wait until certain days to do things that can be done instantly or that day. I prefer getting things done right away so I will introduce that idea to my future groups.