Capstone exploration reflection

I personally got allot out of the approach of this class it got accomplished what I took the class for which was to figure out what I was going to do for capstone

I think that the break down of the project development was a huge advantage when you are just told to go and do every thing it can get overwhelming but the way we broke things down helped allot in keeping my sanity when developing my project.

I though what they had to say however all of the speakers where students that had spend many semesters and money on their capstones so they didn’t really apply to what I am doing so in that since they were not much help to me.

The assignments that I though at first was just dumb busy work but later realized was a great assignment was writing 3 potential capstone ideas and having classmates comment on them. This was the assignment that lead me to the idea I’m perusing now.

I thought that all of the assignments were helpful in some way I cant really say any of them were useless.

Capstone Progress Report

So far the concrete progress I have made is that I have narrowed a list of restaurants down to 8 that I would like to use for the documentary which include Bub’s Burgers and Bub’s Café in Carmel, Zest Exciting Food Creations in Indy, Taste in Indy, Yat’z in Fishers, R Bistro in Indy, Judges BBQ in Indy, and Bazbaux Pizza in Indy, this list could be made longer or shortened as well as restaurants substituted for others. I also have a script written for the voice over part of the documentary (More may be added after interviews are done) So far I have met with my Mentor once to discuss what I should have done before the start of N499 next semester which includes the script and Interview Questions (still in Progress) I will be meeting with my mentor again at the end of this semester to discuss my script and interview questions and the plan for next semester. As of right now my time line has not changed due to some unforeseen events I have fallen a little behind on the script and interview questions but I am still confident I will have them finished in accordance to my timeline. As stated above I still have to write my interview Questions before the start of N499. As of right now there have not been any significant changes to my project other than the restaurants I am doing for the documentary.

Midterm Capstone Timeline

The first benchmark in my time line is the end of the fall semester of having the voiceover script and interview questions finished because with a documentary if you don’t know what is going to be said you cant shoot the video for it. So the most important thing that needs to get done first is the script so starting next semester I can hit the ground running. My next bench mark will be at the end of the 2^nd week of the semester where I want to have made all of the phone calls and have all of the locations scouted to have the interviews scheduled and times when I can come in to video, also during these 2 weeks since I will be traveling to the places I will shoot some of the B-roll I will need for the documentary.

Starting the 3^rd week of the semester its full steam ahead from week 3 to midterm I will be going to locations and shooting the interviews as well as b-roll also so I don’t get overwhelmed at midterm I will also be cutting and separating usable footage from the interviews as well as transcribing the interviews as I go. My goal is to complete 2 locations per week. Then the week of midterms or week 8 I have left opened incase there are conflicts with locations I can use this week do those interviews that where not able to be done due to conflicts So by the end of week 8 I want to have all of the video shot (Interviews & B-Roll) that I will need for the documentary as well as have all of the usable footage from the interviews cut and the interviews transcribed.

Starting in week 9 I will begin to edit my first cut of the documentary as well as record the voiceover for the documentary. The first edit will continue into week 10 when I will also be creating the music for the sound bed. Then in week 11 I want to be finishing up the rough cut with voice over, transcript, and sound bed included. And then begin to edit the final cut. In Week 12 I will continue editing the final cut as well as add the lower 3rds in the edit and use week 13 to continue editing.

In week 14 I would like to be finishing up the Final Edit of the documentary and be ready to burn the documentary to a DVD by the end of week 14. So I will have week 15 to prepare for the capstone presentations and use it to fix any last minute issues.

So basically my time line is broken into 3 Parts. The first part is to complete the script and complete the interview questions before the spring semester begins, the when the spring semester begins the first half of the semester will be dedicated to Production and getting all of the video I need and getting that video ready to edit. And the final half of the semester will be dedicated to editing the documentary and putting all the pieces together.

Project Development Issues

Time Management Issues

I think that the biggest time management issue I foresee with my capstone would be that getting the interviews I need will not just depend on my time but the time of the individuals being interviewed so first things first and most important I need to get in contact with the restaurants to set up times to do the interviews so I can manage my other time to getting other aspects of the documentary done.

Skills needed to complete the Project

the skills needed to complete the project consist of writing a script for the voice over setting up lighting for the interviews as well as running sound and the camera to get the video, shooting B-roll, editing the video composing music to play underneath the video.

Resources

Camera, microphones, lighting, video editing software, and most important individuals to interview at the restaurants

Budget

Seeing that the camera will be used for other things I wont count that in the budget so my main budget will go toward travel expenses to and from the locations I’m shooting there will also be expenses for food at the restaurants I am shooting at because of course you cant go to theses restaurants and not try their food.

Other Issues

Another issue I am having is figuring out the issue of having individuals signing wavers at the locations I’m wondering if I need wavers for everyone that happens to be in a piece of B-roll or just the main individuals that have substantial face time from the interviews.

Primary Capstone Mentors

My capstone will be a documentary where I will go to non-franchise restaurants in and around Indianapolis and find out what makes these restaurants special. This documentary will be made in an interactive way and not so formal. The main purpose of this documentary is to inform people of all the great places to eat around Indianapolis they otherwise may not have known about.

Components I’m searching for in a mentor:

· Someone that I will get along with

· Someone that will be critical of my work so that I can produce the best product I can

· Someone that has experience working in the area of my capstone so they will be able to answer questions I may have or help me with problems I may run into during the process of making my project.

· Someone who will have the time to work with me when and will be available to help me when I have problems or questions about my project

Susan Tennant

Susan could bring here expertise in documentaries to my capstone being that it is a documentary I have also taken a class with Susan where as a class we made a documentary so I feel that she would be the best fit instructor to be my primary Mentor for the capstone

· Areas of expertise are documentation of cultural heritage, documentary video production, sculpture and physical object assemblage

· Expectations of a capstone student are to finish the project as professionally as possible, Meet all deadlines and be committed to their capstone.

· Would be available to mentor next semester

· Projects I prefer are documentary over features. I can’t program but I can work on the front end of interaction design projects. I also don’t consider trailers as a capstone merited project

· Recommendation for a secondary mentor would be someone who is not in the direct media but knowledgeable about the way the media is used.

· Other Comments: its good that you are working through these logistics prior to your capstone semester. Good luck

Jon Defazio

From what I have been told about Joe I can see him being a good mentor for getting ideas and working through problems I run into. And coming up with new ways of looking at things. As I was told by others Joe is and Ideas guy.

· From information I have gathered from individuals who know Joe he is an ideas guy and would be great to work with when trying to come up with ideas and new ways of looking at things.

· Expectations of a capstone student are Dedication, hard work, timeliness, attention to detail, creating a stellar project

· Availability for mentoring next semester is unknown (maybe)

· Projects not interested in working with are video or 3D style project

· Thoughts on secondary mentor is that they should be another individual that has the same knowledge as the primary mentor and both are there to help the capstone student

Thomas Lewis

Thomas would bring a lot to my capstone in the are of the video aspect and the use of the interviews and B-roll to tell as story and get a point across I have worked with Thomas in the past on special features for a movie made in one of his classes these special features were formatted just like a documentary with interviews and B-roll

· My expectations are that students choose a project that is both technically and conceptually challenging. The capstone is a project that embodies the culmination of the learning experience and must demonstrate, not only a thorough technical knowledge, but also a creative and original application of skills as exhibited in a sophisticated and conceptually solid approach to the subject.

In the process of working on the Capstone, students should be prepared to delve deeply into the subject of their project with an attitude that will open them to various technical and conceptual possibilities with regard to how a subject is represented and/or information conveyed. After the groundwork of subject and approach is established, capstone students should be prepared to dedicate countless hours of hard work. Ideally this dedication will result in a project that surpasses the initial expectations of both student and mentor.

· Availability next semester I teach a four course load and typically have several capstone/independent study students. This leaves me with somewhat limited availability.

· I am interested in working with most types of video production: Documentary, Narrative, Installation, and Animation. I will not accept certain genres of narrative such as horror or zombie movies. And l do not consider a music video to be a sufficient capstone project.

· Thoughts on secondary mentors Both Susan Tenant and Edgar Huang teach video production.

Secondary Mentor

I think the secondary mentor’s role should be a second set of eyes and ears for your capstone its someone else to get feedback from on your project so you can gather more opinions toward the project and use those opinions to improve the final product. A secondary mentor can be found basically anywhere that is somewhat involved with what it is you are creating for your capstone. Of course candidates that would not be a good choice for a secondary mentor or individuals that would bring nothing to the table and that would not give constructive criticism and tell you that everything is perfect which would be no help in the process of improving the project.

Mark Phaff

· Area of expertise is sound production

· Would be available and happy to help with sound elements of capstone.

· Projects interested in working on are primarily sound based projects and if the project involves video he would prefer to be the secondary mentor.

Jon Defazio

· From information I have gathered from individuals who know Joe he is an ideas guy and would be great to work with when trying to come up with ideas and new ways of looking at things.

· Expectations of a capstone student are Dedication, hard work, timeliness, attention to detail, creating a stellar project

· Availability for mentoring next semester is unknown (maybe)

· Projects not interested in working with are video or 3D style project

Peer Capstone Support Group

Capstone Category: Audio/Video

People in my group:
Jody Brown
Mike Lalgjar
Zachary Dudka
Thomas Fraley