overall, i loved making this presentation! i can’t wait for the final version of my story to be finished.
https://prezi.com/embed/hvflsrcu1ehz/?bgcolor=ffffff&lock_to_path=0&autoplay=0&autohide_ctrls=0#

i filled in more content today, almost finishing the headline story. just need a few more tweaks and i should be finished! i also created a coupon for a local donut shop in the show that a lot of time is spent at. next, i’m going to rearrange the bottom of page two so that the donut add is at the bottom and above it will be the engagement announcement (which is right now at the bottom) i’ll make the engagement announcement a little smaller to fit in the missed connections for Stevonnie i wanted to include!

why i did it

i filled in the content because, well, it’s a newspaper. i’m trying to write with a professional-like tone that can be taken as satire, which is a bit hard for me–i’m not one for fiction writing. i created the donut add because i thought it would be really representative of a large portion of the show.

what i did

switched over officially to publisher, so i would have more options with creating a unique style while following the template i set up on a google doc. i was able to transfer my work but this time setting up pictures became much easier–i’m able to see exactly how big i’m making images and columns, allowing me to create a symmetrical and professional-looking document. i now have all images and columns in place to complete my overall layout, with two sections of text-content completely filled out!

why i did it

i think my “risk” turned from using a new tool to figuring out what tool exactly would be right for this project. this is now the third time switching tools, as i’ve figured out more and more what i want my project to look like.

i really want to keep the content and the overall “story” i’m telling it, but my design choices, while okay, we’re not as good as I wanted them to be. so i -just- switched my original template to one in found in google docs specifically for a mock newspaper. it showed me great fonts to use and how to set up a realistic-looking newspaper–now all i have to do is move a few things around and add a little more content to fill in spaces. to make my project combine even more modes of media, i’ve decided to print it out on top of having it hosted somewhere online. i think it would be a great way to make it involve spatial and gestural modes of communication by letting people have a physical copy to read and flip over. the most important change i need to keep in mind may be proofreading, as I had a lot of typos and need to make sure my final copy is perfect. i think i should be able to revise everything i need to as long as i set aside a few nights dedicated to the project!

since my last post, i have done several things. the most relaxing was to rewatch the episodes of steven universe i’m using as sources to find screen cap that could accurately portray and fit the stories i’m going to write. i’ve also been trying to learn inDesign but it’s much harder to learn that i thought….

-why i did it-

i chose to screen cap my own images so that 1. i wouldn’t be limited and 2. i wouldn’t have to source to the place that i found the image. instead, i can just work freely in terms of artistic choice and without worry of copyright matters. i’m also starting to realize that i either need to find time to go into innovation space (this may be tough…) and have someone teach me how to use ID or switch to a different tool, possible the one i made my mock up with–it had pretty much everything i needed on there.

i tried out a BUNCH of different tools today, but didn’t have much luck with many of them — you either needed to make an account (and in my third year of school i am so, so sick of signing up my email for things) or the tools didn’t have what i needed to make my mock up. i also tried using indesign to make a rough sketch, but i’m still in the process of learning it and haven’t gotten too far.

so instead i used a site called moqups and i was able to do just what i needed! here’s my mock up so far:

the top half is on the left and bottom half is on the right. I’ll need to do a little resizing and obviously fill everything in (the boxes are where pictures will go!)–but this is what i plan on my newspaper looking like so far. i may add another page if i feel like just one isn’t enough, or if i just have free time in general.

why i did it

making a mockup will make it easier for me visualize what i want my final version to look like when i actually start my project!

4/13 download indesign, start thoroughly exploring the tool, watch a couple more tutorials on it to learn basic skills

4/15 have started gathering pictures and information i definitely want to include in my story and starting to twist them around to create my own so that i have a small mock up

4/17 work on story more, start creating a rough physical layout for my story

4/18-19 work on developing story more

4/20 sign up for presentations, work more on the layout and figure out what stories will need more attention than others, more room, etc

4/22 have almost finished rough copy for peer feedback

4/25 review suggestions from peer feedback, work on final project more

4/27 finish up final edits, spell checking, etc

4/29-5/6 in class presentations

5/6 project DUE by 11:55 PM on 5/6

i’ve decided to do a newspaper article using indesign, something i’ve only used once or twice with assistance from a friend. i’d like to challenge myself by learning this software more extensively than before.

i’ve chosen to remix the last few episodes of the show that have aired. the first being “political power,” where the mayor of beach city must lie to everyone about the power going out in the city, which was a fault of the gems trying to protect earth and accidentally cutting off the power grid throughout the city while battling evil gems trying to destroy earth. i can feature stories both about the power outage and the deceitful mayor.

i also want to add a small anniversary announcement for garnet, one of the main characters. garnet is one of the crystal gems who protect earth, helping steven (the main character who is half magic gem, half human) learn his gem powers. throughout the series, you learn that gems can “fuse” with each other – creating a stronger, bigger, more powerful gem called a “fusion.” in one of the most recent episodes, “jail break,” you learn that garnet has been a fusion all along: of two femme-identifying characters so in love that they cannot bare to be apart – literally!

in the episode after jail break, “full disclosure,” the gems must clean up the city, which is covered in pieces from a giant spaceship they destroyed mid air as it plummeted to the ground. i could do a community column on the clean up process.

there’s also a character in the show that runs a blog called “keep beach city weird,” where he documents all the weird things that happen around the city because of the gems – but blames it on a spoof of the illuminati instead. with this, i could have an opinion piece from him about how it’s actually “the man” or “snake people” (as he thinks – what they call the illuminati spoof) who were coming to invade earth.

in one episode, “alone together“, steven fuses with his human friend and crush, Connie, who becomes the combination of both their features and ages (10+10=20 yrs old). she’s a beautiful, tall, brown-skinned, curvy genderless yet femme presenting fussion and everyone in the city in enamored by her. I’d love to do a missed-connections type piece on her!

many of these ideas will only make sense to those who have seen the show. a lot of them will also only be a very short reference – just a headline with no explanation – while others will be longer with entire columns and pictures to explain them.

picture found here!

although i don’t like macklemore (#1 A is for Ally I’m-so-important-to-the-gays-ya’ll-need-me perpetrator), i really liked the “Same Love” remix. i thought it was really well put together – it had strong transitions and made sense. the combination of pictures and video clips really worked well, and flowed nicely with the song put atop it (unlike say, the tea party remix which, although very funny, took a long time between transitions with awkward pauses that made me want to stop watching).

stories i’m considering: STEVEN UNIVERSE! i could make twitter feeds for him and the gems (who are aliens from space with advanced technology and magic, and even though they’ve been protecting earth for 5000 years, they have no idea how to handle human technology and customs). or adventure time: i could create a newspaper layout with articles about some of the crime fighting they do, then add in small sub stories about lemongrab being a weirdo or a love advice column from lumpy space princess and an engagement announcement from marcy and bonnie! i definitely want to do one of these two because they’re honestly my favorite shows – i love children’s cartoons. they are so innocent and good-intentioned yet layered with so much more! these two shows are also have confirmed lgbt characters, making them gay-friendly and a great source of representation for kids, which i see as super important!

picture of one of my favorite shows (adventure time) found here!