Almost There

It's almost Christmas!!!!
Wooooooooooooooooooooo!

This week I cleared one of my memory cards and downloaded all the files to my desktop. I forgot how much stuff I've filmed, including See You at the Pole, Senior Retreat, and the Talent Show.

We finally sent the next issue of The Silver Scroll to press .... yay!

Life

Another week has flown by. Where does the time go? I suppose no where because it's a creation of man... but my musings are better left over cups of coffee.  I had a great break last week, despite the fact I had a cold. I finally finished my CofC Honors app, and set up a photo shoot with Dillard's for the Silver Scroll. We won the Golden Turkey! (Yay!)

Between app essays and reading Heart of Darkness, I haven't really squeezed in Senior Project lately. I think it's coming to a standstill for the most part, at most until January. I do have lots of footage (retreats, games, lots of good stuff),and I plan to use the upcoming break to edit some of it. 

Still refining my research paper.... fun stuff. Glad tomorrow's Friday :-)

Rebecca

Snape, Sanpe, Severus Snape

    Good news, I saw Harry Potter and it was awesome! It was great to watch with everyone! 
Later today, I will film one act plays and the seniors vs staff male football face-off. I have a tentative filming schedule, and I will also be filming powder puff during the month of November. Tuesday the Academic Team is traveling to Orangeburg for the State Championship (which, may I add, St Joes somehow got invited to....). I will be very busy this weekend with the last of my college essays and preparing for the matches Tuesday.

Shout out to any Varsity Girls Basketball players, great game last night :)

Nada

So.... haven't really worked at all on Senior Project this week. I've been busy with essays and applications. I have big time procrastinated on getting together an advisory board meeting.
In other news, I am almost done with my College of Charleston Honors application.

Stuff

So, this week was good.
I met with Mr Bradley, my mentor. We discussed the work he has done for Wofford and the effectiveness of viral videos. Mr Bradley was very helpful and gave me some good ideas which I will discuss with my advisory board.
I have begun to set up an Oakbrook Youtube channel, but this also needs to be approved by my advisory board.
I am still working on my research paper which is very, very rough.

Rebecca

Revamp

    Wow, lots of news. So first thing, in my meeting with my Advisory Board, my project evolved. Instead of producing three high quality videos about Oakbrook, I am going to start a YouTube Oakbrook channel and post short clips of Oakbrook Life. These videos will be linked back to a facebook page. I am very excited about these changes, as it will allow me more freedom and save me lots of stress.
    Secondly, our research papers are due next week (rough drafts). As of today, I have 50 note cards and a rough outline. By Monday I will have 100 note cards and a sentence outline. I am still addressing censorship.
    I'm glad today is a half day, and tomorrow I'm going to play paintball.

What Should I Title This?

    Good News. Today is my first meeting with my advisory board! I am very excited to discuss my project, and first video with them- Mr Hinds, Mrs Nail, and Mrs Berube. While I already have some footage, I am excited to film more, after I know which direction my video will be going.
 
    One of the requests I have had for this blog is to discuss my research paper. My thesis is: Telecommunication, or television broadcast, censorship of explicit language and subject matter should be banned, as it interferes with the communication of ideas, art, and emotion. People should be personally responsible for choosing what they and their young children watch on television, and utilize the broadcast rating tools to help them discern if a show or broadcast is appropriate for their lifestyle.
While I am sure this thesis will change slightly over time, this is my basic idea.

Stagnant

    This post is, I feel, a companion to my previous entry, "Progress".
    The mood in the Senior Crib has gradually changed from exuberance to a more blase attitude. Why? First, we have all realized that we are actually leaving in a few months, and second, we always have another paper, another blog post, another hour at work, another event we are supposed to attend. In short, we are very busy people. While some claim that this is how college will be, I would like to point out that while in college, we wont have seven classes a day. No one will be attempting to apply to college. The extra activities we take on out of a sense of duty to Oakbrook or hope of pillowing our resumes will be passed down to the new generation of seniors. The now unattainable ideal of spending two to three hours for every hour we spend in college level (or AP) courses won't be so darn idealistic. This is not to say we wont be busy in college, but our activities will be fewer and, hopefully, things we engage in for fun.
    I have not made any progress on my project this week, other than rewriting my proposal. I am still excited about the future, including my plans for Videre Oakbrook (or as I will now refer to it, VOPS), but I look forward to the day when I don't become dizzy at youth group, thinking of the things I need to do for school.

Retreat

    This week was very interesting. First, the OPS Senior went on our retreat to Windy Gap. It was lots of fun and a good opportunity to do something difference. I filmed the seniors discussing their senior projects. The footage turned out really well and everyone's personality showed through.
    Unfortunately, the stress piled on as soon as we got back to school. Wednesday night I skipped youth group to have some down time, and this turned out to be a wise decision because I was physically ill due to my underlying conditions and the immense stress I was under.
    On a brighter note, I began to test out my video editing software with the footage from Windy gap. It's a great program with awesome features, even if it runs a little slower than expected.

Rebecca

Proposal

    Wow! what a week it's been. I have been very busy not only with senior project but with other classes. This year is flying by.
    The most important thing as far as Videre OPS is concerned, is the completion of my Senior Project Proposal. This morning, I presented in front of an amended Senior Project Board. I was nervous, but I think everything turned out well. I got some excellent suggestions from the advisers.
    I will need to create or find a committee to help advise me during the process of creating my videos and approve my final works. Also, my research paper topic is going to by narrowed somehow. In addition, I will struggle to create a more intricate timeline.
     All in all, I am happy that my proposal is over and that this week is almost over, even though both have been decent experiences.

Deterants

Sadly I cannot say this week has been very productive.

Due to a viral infection and low hemoglobin, I was unable to attend school Tuesday or Wednesday. Unfortunately, my Senior Project Proposal was scheduled for Tuesday morning. Although my mother and I discussed my going to school to present and spending the rest of the day in bed, it was clear that I needed to rest.

Sometimes a small respite renews the spirit, other times it takes away valuable time. While I am defiantly feeling better, I now am behind in my work. I was unable to receive the advice of the Senior Project Board Tuesday, and several important papers are behind schedule. Thankfully, my Proposal has been rescheduled, tentatively for next Wednesday. Honestly, I look forward to dressing up more than anything, but I'm sure I will get some great advice from the knowledgeable Board members.

My first meeting with my mentor had to be rescheduled due to a minor conflict, but otherwise my plans are progressing as much as they can without definitive approval.

Changes

    Without evolution, projects die. Even the Constitution left room for future growth. Sadly, it is sometimes hard to accept these changes.
    Like all other Senior Projects, Videre Oakbrook has undergone some changes in the past week, and after some thought I think they make my project better. Firstly, instead of producing seven videos, it has been advised that I aim for five. With my crazy schedule (especially once Youth Group and Quiz Bowl start!)  I think this is a feasible and reasonable change. Also, the time of my videos has been cut from a target five minutes to a approximately two to three. With the 21st Century attention span, this makes sense.
     Finally, my favorite change, Videre OPS will no longer be edited by Windows Media Player! I bought (well, my dad gave me the money to buy) a real video editing software! It has great features like background noise reduction and color correction!

Hope to hear from all my interweb fans!
Rebecca

Progress

    Havelock Ellis said "What we call 'Progress' is the exchange of one nuisance for another nuisance." I totally agree with this statement- it seems that there is always something else to be done for Senior Project! Still, I am enjoying the process.
    I now have an appointment date with my mentor, Mr. Bradley, and, I have a new camera! Today I will be filming the Illuminate Summer Reading program and the "Teacher Appreciation" Fun Friday. This will be my first time using my new camera!

    We had mock Proposals this week, after we turned in a hard copy of our plans. I was pretty nervous, but I think it went well. I now have several good suggestions to work with to make Videre Oakbrook even better! Instead of five minute videos, I am cutting the time back to about three minutes. I will also revise my timeline and only promise five vignettes instead of seven.

    Sadly, I don't have the entire day to blog, because I need to go work on Senior Project!!!!

Busy

    This week is going to be busy for me. I am researching issues pertaining to censorship for my position paper. Also, I am trying to contact the person I want to be my mentor. I wish I had his cell number. Project Proposals are due Monday, which scares me. I plan to work on the proposal Wednesday and Friday in Senior Project and possibly in free periods the rest of this week. Hopefully, everything will go well on the Senior Project side of this week.

   In the non-Senior Project world I am contacting stores in the downtown area to discuss the possibility of allowing us to borrow clothing for photo shoots for the Silver Scroll. Equally difficult is my task of finding willing student models, though i have two signed on for the first spread so far. I have sent my dual enrollment transcript from SCC to OPS so that my Wofford application will be current in terms of GPA and class rank. My Clemson transcript is a bit more difficult to send to OPS due to the complicated nature of their site and their addition of BlackBoard. i will probably call for a walk through.

    Other Senior Project ideas I've heard are really awesome and I hope everyone does well with their proposals.

    Thanks for stopping by,
Rebecca

In the Beginning....

Welcome to Videre Oakbrook, my Senior Project blog! I am excited about my project and intend to track the endeavor consistantly throughout the expirience.

My idea for Senior Project is to create multiple short videos for the OPS website. Film media is a great way to inform an audience without any prior knowledge of the subject manner. Such an addition to the school website would help engage prospective families while allowing them a glimpse of Oakbrook life.

Videre is a Latin verb meaning to see. I am very excited to help everyone "see" Oakbrook, whether they have attended since K4 or are only starting to investigate Christian schools.

Please follow my journey,
Rebecca