Lisa Galvin

My partner and I have been meeting with people to set up appointments and have been going over the things that need doing the most (making a priority list). We had a couple of meetings with each other, and each of us is working on our particular tasks. It has been a bit difficult since I wasn't aware of how behind she truly was, so it was hard to try and find a balance of a workload in which she could possibly catch up. I've been doing more research about persuasive speaking as well as talked to some of my classmates about going with them and video taping their projects. I have an idea of how to go about this, particularly since I know about the resources from Zach.

I still can't honestly answer much about what I have been learning about the project or issue. The issue remains the same and it doesn't really have an end in sight. I have figured out that any negative attitude really affects my work out-put so I have to find some way to think more positive. I know that the issue is important and that the world would be better if more people volunteered even an hour a month in the service of the poor and marginalized because every little bit counts. This project is getting harder because I am very self-critical.

My work ethic has improved a bit. I am starting to pick up the slack, though I can't help but wonder if it's too little, too late. I would give myself a C- for the effort because I am improving, just not enough. I know that I will get something done, and it will meet the most basic of the project objectives, though I fear that it won't meet my self-critiquing standards (I really think too much for this project). It might actually help if I wrote down personal objectives. I guess I'll try to do that and see if it helps any.

I've really begun to get organized and oriented. I've been having trouble focusing on the project, the fact that I forgot a posting for the weeks of break. I'm sorry to anyone who is actually following this blog who has an interest in my project. I have been allowing other things to distract me so I'm not as far as I should be with the project. We have to rebuild connection with our coordinators so I have begun reconnecting. I've been gathering in more sources about video production from the library to help with the video process. I have also begun to read about persuasive speaking in order to keep the right tone for the video. I want to be able to speak persuasively for the best possible impact. My partner and I have also met more regularly and are trying out a different system of doing things to increase our effectiveness.

Still not really learning much from the project because we haven't got all the primary data yet. The project just keeps getting more and more complicated, so I have to keep adjusting, it's not an easy process. I haven't learned much more about the issues because the data collection is still ongoing. I am learning that this process would be a whole lot easier if I had other people reminding me about the project and helping to hold me accountable.

My effort has been pretty poor of late. I just haven't been making as much time for this project as I should. Currently I haven't accomplished much in the way of objectives. I'm doing a pretty poor job at not setting my own objectives. I can't seem to find real motivation right now.

I did a lot of planning and setting up of a calendar of events (so to speak) so that I could possibly manage my time better. I'm working on setting up more meetings between my partner and I; as well as our on-site project coordinators. There is much to consider so I have been mulling the ideas over and am trying to set up a meeting time. Since the others are so busy, I figured that e-mailing would have to do for the time being. I am working on a list of the potential people to interview, continuing to develop questions and trying to figure out how to best utilize the resources that are available.
Over the break I did practice more with the camera and actions such as zooming and videotaping from different angles and speeds. I didn't get in as much as I wanted because opportunities for filming were limited. I also planned out more research involving persuasive speaking to better the message of the video.

I didn't learn much from the project as I was mainly planning what to do for and with the project. I did notice that most of the modern media has advertisements focused on buy products or paying for a service and that there weren't many public service announcements that were trying to help the poor or the marginalized in some way. I learned that I need to consistently devote time to the project whether I still have enthusiasm or not because it needs to be done regardless of feelings. Such feelings (generally of apathy) are distractions and if needed I should get a friend to help hold me accountable for the project so that it is given a chance to reach its fullest potential and not written off as some classroom project finished only because of grades.

Currently, my personal objectives are to do the best job that I can and to produce the best video that I can (which could develop future problems of its own if I follow perfectionist tendencies). I am working toward the objectives, or at least constantly moving. I think that I will have to take a step back and really go over everything when I am not in a rushed or apathetic mindset.

I haven't done much for the project this week, mainly just planning and organizing. I finished chapter 2 and created a to do list, which I'm hoping gets me through Christmas break. I plan to go over contacts and find suitable people to interview. I haven't been in contact with them because it is finals week and so all of my fellow students would be very busy and I didn't want to add stress to them or myself.I do know that I will have to pace myself better in order to finish the project well and on time. The to-do list is meant to help me keep on track. After break, things should run more smoothly as my partner and I get things done. I have learned not to underestimate the project and that it could be more important than I originally thought it would be.

I mainly researched and practiced with the camera for the last two weeks. The practicing with the camera was going well and I was able to observe and practice with lighting techniques and sound. I did find out that in order to insure the best quality video, the interviews (at the least) should be done with microphones, and the interviewees should be prepared in advanced.The main thing that I am struggling with currently is the awkwardness of editing video with my computer. For one, I cannot directly download video from the camera and so I must first load it on to a different computer, save it and then download on to mine. Secondly, there is a slight annoyance with using the editing program on my computer in that there is the message remaining constantly on-screen advertising the software. Obviously, this would not be usable for the project, so I must find away around it, or work predominantly with different editing tools. I have been learning more about producing a video in general as well as different aspects of volunteering both from the volunteers' viewpoint as well as the recruiters'.

I have been learning that it pays to be very flexible with resources and that one should make sure to have noticed the fine details in an undertaking such as this. There are some important aspects to volunteering that need to be included in the video in order to draw people in and persuade them. I am also stretching out my focus so that I am not paying attention to a single detail, but to many.

My research is varied and it all ties in together and the project is really beginning to develop. Again, my personal objectives have not been well developed, so I really don't think about them too much while I am working on the project.

This week I finished Chapter One and got a partner for my project. Andrea will be joining me in my project so now there will be two people to produce the video. I think that the extra perspective will be good (not to mention someone to help with the interviewing and editing). We had a meeting to get her up to speed with the project and to make her more familiar with it. The target audience for the project has been chosen (after a meeting with Professor Rock), so now we can dive right into the project.

I still haven't learned much about the project per say because it has mostly been in the planning stages. But now I know from what perspective the information needs to be presented and so I am very hopeful about the outcome.

This week I primarily worked on writing up Chapter One and began making my contacts. I also had meetings with both my on-site contacts in which we discussed the importance of a targeted audience and themes. I experienced a "double take" for project in that I have to look over my selected audience and decided what it is that I'm telling them. To make the most impact, I need a broader scope instead of possibly alienating people (which could happen if I use too much Christian language).
I learned that the easiest way is not always the most effective and that this project is going to be harder than what I had anticipated. I also learned that I had more biases about the project than I originally thought (I'm more inclined to Christian beliefs and putting the beliefs into practice while some schools, though Christian in name, have students that wouldn't do something just because Jesus said so).

Currently, my work is still mainly planning out the video and how I am going to be choosing and portraying the information.

My project is to make a promotional video meant to persuade and encourage Christian campuses (initial focus will be on Concordia campuses) to take action and become involved with the poor in their community (which includes supporting clubs and organizations already formed or forming said organizations to become involved with helping the poor). My role would be to direct and produce the video, gather the resources that will be used in the production of the video (footage, interviews, audio clips, and visual images) as well as research what makes these kinds of projects effective and what kind of impact they have on the students. After the information is gathered, I would have to produce the movie and edit all the information in my video in order to make it persuasive to campus. I would also have to do preliminary research to see what kind of projects my targeted schools already have in effect.

When I picked up the book for summer reading, I really had no idea what to expect. “Ordinary radical” is not a common phrase to come across, but it made more sense as Claiborne explained the roots of the words. Funny how it really fits one of the recurring themes of the book: when things diverge from the way they actually started and were originally meant to be). He spent much of the book describing what some of today’s generation of Christians were doing to go back to their roots and following the “Way” (Jesus). He did a lot of explaining the early church (the one that started in Acts) and described how they lived their lives as Jesus lived his (living among and with the poor and the ill, sharing and caring for all, and going against the ways of the world).

Claiborne focused on several things that the early church was known for, which were community and love. Those two go together. Love builds community and community builds and strengthens love. His idea was that when people come together and are able to see themselves in others (human life and value) that they would change and improve the lives of others. Communities shared what they had: needs, gifts, love, problems. In doing so communities are both self-sustaining and sustain selves (individual lives). I really going to leap of subject now and mention the efforts of the Boy Scouts. They actually do tie in to all this just because of their efforts to build bridges between cultures, religions and nowadays, even gender. The idea is to help people find things in common with each other, and if they don’t share much, they create and do things together. I mention this because as I was reading the book my uncle and step-cousin returned from England and shared with the rest of the family their experiences at the 100th anniversary jamboree. They put a lot of emphasis on the what it was like to see so many nations and countries represented and what it was like to see so many people come together with the same purpose and sharing a common bond. It sounded like the scouts were having more success in connecting multitudes of people and coming closer to ending conflict than Christianity was.

Anyway, back to the book. I really enjoyed the fact that Claiborne was consistent in the way he used metaphors and images to get his message across. Fire (in the passionate, spreading sense, not the destructive sense [although the church has done plenty of destructive burning in the past and present]), the mustard seed (again, something that starts small then spreads and is hard to remove), as well as laughter (it was mentioned as contagious, get one person to start and soon the entire room will), these were all things that could start small and unseen but would grow and spread with the potential to become unstoppable. It really helps when there is a consistent message throughout the book, no matter how many different tangents the book seems to take. Although, my impression was that it pretty much boiled down to Jesus. If people would do as Jesus did, saw the world as he saw it, and loved the way he loved then we really wouldn’t have the tortured world we have now. The book tried to describe love in actions (working with the lepers, helping people die with dignity, living with the people in Iraq, sharing house, home (not always the same thing as house) and food…). This was the down and dirty love; it worked and struggled towards its goal. It was sometimes unrequited but it persisted and it had power.

Well anyway, these were some of my impressions of the book.

Hi all.

I'm glad to hear that everyone seems to have had a pleasant and enjoyable (if not busy) summer.  Sounds like a lot of you have been swept up in a whirlwind of activity.  For the most part, I have been stationed at the eye of summer.  The calmest, most unchanging part for pretty much all of summer.  My summer has consisted of work (though not very hectic) and home.  I've been doing a lot of reading for fun, so mostly fiction (I tend to find fiction more interesting that facts).  I've spent much of my time in libraries this summer.  Well, that's it.  Oh, I did start the summer reading, just not finished yet.