Capstone Reflection

I have taken a few useful ideas from my experience at capstones this year. I should challenge myself, but I should not try to produce something completely outside my skill set.  I should get help from friends and staff on campus when I need it, I don't have to do it completely alone.  I should be prepared for things to evolve and change throughout the process, this should be expected.  Timelines aren't set in stone.  I also learned most people's projects had to be reduced in scope.  I'm glad I went to see a lot of great work at capstones and overall the experience was very inspirational.

My Capstone Questions

I asked three different capstone presenters about their projects.

Student A - Nathan Moody (digital comic)
Student B - Santiago Ceasar ( video demo reel)
Student C - Samantha Tarkington ( digital comic)

1.     Why did you choose this for your capstone project?

Person A – He wanted to improve his storytelling abilities, and drawling comes naturally to him (digital comic)

Person B – He thought a demo reel is the next step in his career, a lot of employers wanted to see a demo reel (demo reel video)

Person C – She wants to be an animator, but thought that there where no mentors available that could facilitate that so she did a comic instead. (digital comic)

2.     What are some of the changes that you had to make between your original idea and what you are presenting today?

Person A- He said he changed nothing

Person B – He had to shrink the size, he thought he was too ambitious at first

Person C – Her story had to be shortened, it went from a full story to an attention grabbing teaser piece.  She told me don’t get to ambitious because your mentor will push you harder than your stated intent.

3.     What is your opinion of the timeline for your capstone? Was it helpful or a waste of time? Why?

Person A – He thought it was not very useful, but served as a guide

Person B – Didn’t think the timeline was very useful

Person C – She broke her timeline completely and did not follow it

4.     If you could change anything about your capstone, what would that be?

Person A – He would included more physical material in the finished presentation.

Person B – He wanted more help from faculty.

Person C – She suggests to stop sweating the details

5.     What advice would you give me in planning for my capstone?

Person A – He suggests, do something familiar

Person B – He suggests, challenge yourself in your skills

Person C – She suggests, look for help and support from classmates and staff

Timelines

I discussed my timeline with Thomas and some of my contacts at WFYI.  I discovered that I should "chunk" the work into three major edits on the back half of the semester. for example rough cut, draft cut, then final cut.  I also know that I can never get enough b-roll of my subject throughout the semester.  I think the shoots and the people I meet at each event will guide my story's development, so the first half of the semester is dedicated to rough shooting, attending events, and gathering statistics.  The second half is developing my kinetic text styling and the story's development as a finish documentary.

discussion groups

I paired with scott W.  We talked about his idea to edulcate people about
web development
he works online advertising section, print, broadcast
he also wants to develop a web based platform that incorporates the ideas of 
play learn work

Peer support group

I want to be in the video audio group but I am strongly leaning toward creating a midi interface for a DAW control.  The second idea would require some engineering, programing, and HCI

I will use

adobe production suite

final cut

av equip

mac book pro

Capstone ideas

My first idea for capstone was to create a documentary styled film about an important social issue.  I feel this is kind of a weak way to complete a capstone if I was to just make a film alone.  I would enjoy working with others to give each participant more focus in a certain skill set.  After completing advanced video where I worked on a documentary about animal care and control.  I have decide to try a different approach to my capstone because the resulting film was a major let down to my aspirations.

I have always been inspired by independent films like the cove to encourage social change

My second idea for capstone would to somehow incorporate my education with digital media and my experience with electrical theory and devices.  This idea is vague as of now.  I have always been interested in creating a midi controller that emits different spectrums of light where the user can break each light paired with a motion sensor to trigger different digitally controlled events.  This device could be used with pro tools, ableton, or another as of yet unknown software interface.  I feel like this idea involves to much engineering for my major in media arts.

I like this product called audio cubes but honestly this idea i thought of while djing at the melody inn, several years ago.

I would also enjoy working on studio engineering for another capstone.  I’m interested in mixing, Foley work, and studio recording.

I gained interest in Foley work after learning from Mark Pfaff, Ph.D. in advanced audio

What I think about my capstone

I view creating a capstone as the culmination of my academic experience at I.U.P.U.I  I think of the capstone projects as a hoop we a forced to jump through.  That said, I don’t believe rights of passage aren’t useful for personal growth.

            I believe its comparable to writing a final term paper or developing a scientific thesis.  The purpose is to show as a student, that I have developed to a point where useful coherent work can be created. 

            I hope to gain experience with developing my own ideas from conception to completion.  The capstone experience will, I hope, provide me with a stronger confidence in my future career.   The reasoning behind using two semesters for developing a capstone is so one can plan and develop a thoughtful project.

            It is important for each student’s capstone to be significant to the creator.  I think a good portfolio piece is useful but the most important reason to plan for two semesters is the experience in going through the developmental motions.