https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XleOkGsYgO8
"Move Along" by the All American Rejects
Longest shot- at the very end when Tyson leaves the scene at a medium shot. 10 seconds, from 3:51 to 4:01. Other long shots were 5 or 6 seconds.

Born into Coal Homework

I really found this documentary interesting, coming from Kentucky and knowing how much coal plays in the lives of those in the eastern and some western parts of the state.

For the narrative style, I felt that it was almost a mix of both human interest and standard. Some of the documentary seemed to focus on Arianna while other parts seemed to focus more on the general community feeling and culture of the area.

The first shot I found interesting was towards the beginning of the documentary. We had just gotten done watching this cute pageant and everything looks like a normal American scene. Then we see Arianna close up in a pool, she's living the life of a queen. The shot then comes out and we see it's an above ground pool at some little house with a motor bike in the yard and an old, beat up deck with some beat up outdoor furniture. It really wasn't the scene I was expecting to see at all after the pageant and pool. It really got me focused on the documentary. Right before this point, you'd probably be assuming this girl is well off and has a nice house. But no sir!

I think the shot that probably connected to me the most and to the rest of the audience (assuming they aren't as familiar with this culture) was the close up shot on Arianna's dad fresh out of the coal mine, although they might've touched up on him a bit, I'm not really sure. But either way, he looks rough and real. His expression shows the hard-working nature and determined outlook to take care of his family. You get dirty with coal. It's not just some simple stroll underground picking up little rocks and putting them in a bag like its Halloween night.

I don't feel like the shots themselves would be much trouble to re-create. It's just the idea and creative thinking put behind it that really makes them so great. Throughout the documentary there were plenty of close ups of faces and reactions to get some emotions in you. I think it was made well and was effective in conveying the concern of the coal business and the issues surrounding it.

Homework for October 14th

Visual Rhetoric is "reading with pictures" or using pictures to communicate a message. I myself am a visual person/learner, so I found very quickly that I can benefit from it. 

In Henry Hargreaves photo gallery, he simply took an overhead picture of the meal each person wanted for their last meal. Simply seeing the meal made me think to myself what I would ask for if it was myself, and made myself think more about each person individually. Why they chose what they chose. What captions were on the side that gave some insight as to why. This made it very interesting for myself as I looked at each picture and saw what choices people had, making me hungry as well. Henry made sure the meal was well-lit, showcased in full detail so it was as real as it would be in person to get you thinking about how real the situation is when it's the last meal of someone's life, which is a very effective way to get people's attention. By also giving the basics as to why the person was having a last meal and a little information on each person, it really fulfilled feeling a connection to each convicted.

With the last meals project, they decided to also use a mug shot of each convict's face, another way of getting a personal feeling for each convict. around the same amount of text and description as Hargreaves' visual rhetoric had. I found Hargreaves' presentation more appealing because seeing the food so clearly and detailed made it feel more real and sensitive to me. To make it even more effective I thought they could've put more on each convict's thoughts about the food or reasoning behind the food they chose. Both presentations wanted to get you feeling about what you personally would want and make you think that these "villains" are people who like the same foods as many of us and have a connection or tie to us. 

Speech Reflection

In assessing my speech, I was glad to be able to see what I looked like up there. I was able to get out all the information and points out that I needed to give, but as Mr. Horton mentioned, it felt unorganized and not structured; random. My voice was at a good level for most of the speech, though I thought that I needed to take more breaths and use shorter sentences. I would end a sentence mumbling because I would be running out of breath. I had practiced giving the speech nine or ten times by time to present, but I agreed with Mr. Horton again in the fact that it needed to be rehearsed far more. I knew what I needed to say, but not exactly with the presentable look and organization that it needed. My movements were few, a step here and there and little hand movement. I am not one to usually talk with my hands, but I have certainly learned that it makes a person much more appealing and easier to listen to if they are, as well with a little pacing. Lastly, I agreed once again with Mr. Horton that my eye contact seemed fine, I saw that my eyes would drift from person to person at a reasonable and comfortable rate, which helped keep the audience's attention. All in all, I felt like a C was a reasonable grade for the speech I gave. I would have given the same to myself if I were the one to grade it.