Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Congratulations on completing your schedule of classes for the Fall
2006 semester! Good luck in all your courses as you work your way through this Finals Week!
Somewhat fittingly, in addition to this being Frank Sinatra's birthday
(he was born in 1915), today is one of radio's "birthdays." On December 12, 1901, Gugliemo Marconi transmitted the morse code's
three-click "s" from Cornwall, Great Britain, to Newfoundland, Canada. It was the first radio signal to cross the Atlantic
Ocean, and the event marked the fifth anniversary of Marconi's first public demonstration of radio at Toynbee Hall in London
(in 1896).
Marconi was the answer to a "Question of the Week" in September, and
this update gives you a final opportunity this semester to answer questions (correctly) to add points to your "Homework"
grade sheet.
But first, let's review some points regarding your FINAL PROJECT.
FINAL
PROJECT
I will be at La Salle this Friday (December 15), arriving
around noon time, and I will be in the Com Center until at least 3:00 p.m., maybe even until 4:00 or 5:00. I have signed out
both audio rooms (103 and 105) for all of Friday afternoon. If you need to use any of this time to complete your final audio
story/production, you must contact me before Friday to let me know that. Since I'll be in the audio rooms, I may be able to
help you fix or finish anything you need to fix or finish.
If you're in the area Friday, feel free to stop by to see me, possibly
to turn in your script for the final project. You also can take your script to the Communication Department Office (room 219)
before noon on Friday and someone there will make sure it gets into my mailbox in room 229. Or, you can e-mail me your script.
Be sure to "spot your script," indicating the places where you inserted sound effects and music, and crediting the source
CDs (e.g., "Track Title"/Fresh Music CD #10, Track #3) or whether you recorded the sound(s) "live."
I have more specifics to discuss, but here are a couple of
questions first.
QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK (PART ONE of Two)
In the November 29 update I asked a question about the 1934
Thanksgiving Day football game between the Detroit Lions and the Chicago Bears. Earlier in the month (November 6), I talked
about the Ford C. Frick Award, which annually honors a broadcaster who has made a "major contribution to baseball." A recent
event highlighted for me a connection between these two topics. What (who?!) is the connection? (Correct answer is worth three points.)
On Thursday, December 7, the National Academy of Recording Arts &
Sciences announced the nominations for the 49th Annual GRAMMY® Awards, which will be held/telecast on
Sunday, February 11, 2007. Mary J. Blige tops the nominations with eight, while the Red Hot Chili Peppers are in contention
for six awards, including Album of the Year (covering the eligibility period of October 1, 2005, through September 30, 2006).
In the Best Spoken Word Album category – which includes
poetry, audio books and story telling – three comedians and an ex-president are on the ballots for the final round of
voting which will be mailed tomorrow (December 13) to the voting members of The Recording Academy. One of the comedians nominated
this year won the award for this category in 2003 (the 46th Annual Awards). Who is he? (Correct answer is worth one point.) For
an additional three points, name the former president who is nominated this year and the two politicians who won
the Best Spoken Word Album GRAMMY® in the previous two years (2005/48th awards and 2004/47th awards).
There is one last set of questions further down.
In the meantime ...
FINAL
PROJECT PARTICULARS CONTINUED
Remember that you do not need to turn in to me an audio
CD of your final project; the blank CD-R I gave you is for you to make a personal copy and to keep. On your script, though,
you need to tell me the name of your final mix (.wav file), the name of your final mix session (.edl file), and where these
files are recorded/saved (room 103 or room 105; I will assume they are in your Final Project folder).
Also let me know (on your script or on a separate page or in an e-mail)
where you "found" your "story" (i.e., it's a poem by so-and-so; it's a scene from the play or book "Title"; it's an original
story, etc.). You may want to give me a copy of your "original" source material as well so I can compare it to your final
script and give credit for any work you did appropriately adapting/writing/editing the story for the audio medium (and time
limit).
Also, I am not requiring a reaction paper
to your final project, but if you want (and chances are it will only help – not hurt – your grade), feel free
to send me one in an e-mail by Monday, December 18. One example of why you would want to write a reaction is if your final
project doesn't turn out exactly the way you hoped or wanted. You might want to explain why something sounds "bad," if it
does. Or you could explain (in explicit detail) what you would do – if you had more time and/or practice and/or experience
– to "perfect" your project. It's an opportunity for you to further demonstrate to me how much you learned working on
the final project if you don't feel the audio itself adequately displays that.
QUESTIONS
OF THE WEEK (PART TWO of Two)
Some students started thinking about (and gave preliminary answers to) the following two "questions" when they prepared and wrote their final weekly essay/journal entry.
Name one (or two, or three, or ...) or more things you didn't know before
August 29 that you now know as a result of this semester's Audio Production class. I'm leaving this "question" fairly open-ended,
but be sure to answer as completely as possible. [You could earn anywhere from one to nine points here, depending
on your response(s).]
Name one (or two, or three, or ...) or more useful
skills, techniques, concepts, etc., you learned/acquired in COM 304-21 this semester that you think you will be able
to use in your personal/professional life in the years ahead. You must be specific! [Again,
you could earn anywhere from one to nine points here, depending on your response(s).]
E-mail me (Jim) the correct answer(s) to any or ALL of the above questions by 12:00 noon on Friday,
December 15, to earn up to twenty-five (25) points on your "Homework" grade sheet. Note
that with the potential of 25 points this week, the total number of "Homework" points offered this semester for "Questions
of the Week" is 150.
Remember ...
... that there are lots of details about this semester's projects and assignments – in particular,
the Final Project – in previous editions of "Latest News," which you can read by clicking on the listed dates at the
end of this column. Please look back and look up any information you may need to help you successfully complete the requirements
for Audio Production (COM 304-21).
... that you can return any/all Listening Assignment CDs you have to me so I can recycle and possibly re-use
them in upcoming semesters.
... that if you have any questions or concerns regarding your audio production work in the next week, please
call and/or e-mail me. I'm waiting to hear from you to help you; otherwise, I'm expecting that you're completing your work
efficiently, "productively," appropriately and effectively.
... that your Final Project/Audio Story is due on or before Friday, December 15, at
1:00 p.m.
Good luck with everything you're working on to close out the semester so you can begin your Winter Break!
Jim Templeton
P.S. You can access earlier "editions" of this
semester's "Latest News" by clicking on the appropriate date/link:
