News Casting class

After my recorded news casting experience, i found that being a newscaster is never a piece of cake.

By being a news caster, you have to gain a FULL CONTROL over yourself. Whether if it's your body language, your pronunciation, your expression, your speed, everything must be done in a pinhole accuracy.

I would say it is a job with a high pressure. Since you'll always be live on TV, a word misspelled will be a flaw in your credibility. Being a spontaneous person that improvise in almost everything i do, i found news casting is binding and too limited for my prefernce.

Even though, i admire the profession of a newscaster since it requires a high standard of requirements to fulfill the purpose of being a newscaster. There are no rooms even for a simple error.

I think being a talk show host will be more suitable for me :p

ICRT Recording

1st Script: Taiwan news... The island's top cross strait negotiator says China understands the concern it's new passports have generated in Taiwan. The decision by China to include depictions of scenic spots in Taiwan on its latest passports has created a furor here at home ... and led the Ma administration to call on China not to hurt hard-earned stability across the strait. Straits Exchange Foundation chairman Lin Zhong-sen ... just back from a trip to China ... said he conveyed Taiwan's solemn position on the matter when he met with his Beijing counterpart. Lin's protest follows a similar one last week by Taiwan's top agency for China policy. Lin said he was told Beijing understood and would seriously deal with it ... although he didn't elaborate what steps might be taken. He added Chinese officials explained to him that there was no intention to make any kind of a statement ... calling the inclusion of the scenic spots "fashionable."

2nd Script:

Transportation Subsidies

Hualian's tourism industry is up in arms over the closure of the Su-hua highway ... and is calling on the government to subsidize alternative transportation. The closure of the road due to a 45 meter section being washed away after recent heavy rains comes just ahead of the peak Christmas and New Year holiday. A partial re-opening of the road isn't expected until the end of the month. Hotel operators in Hualian say they are looking at massive cancellations ... and estimate losses upwards of a hundred million NT. Industry representatives held a meeting today ... saying the government should subsidize alternate forms of transportation to keep Hualian open to the outside. They said this is not just for tourists ... but also local residents who need to travel to and from other parts of the island. The representatives added the transportation options in Western Taiwan are numerous ... but this is not the case for Hualian. 3rd Script: North Korea in regional news... North Koreans stopped in their tracks at midday to silently honor former ruler Kim Jong Il, whose death one year ago today swept his 20-something son to power. The son, Kim Jong Un, led top military and government officials in reopening the sprawling mausoleum where his father's body now lies in state near that of his grandfather, the nation's founder Kim Il Sung. The hall bearing Kim Jong Il's body was expected to open to guests this afternoon. Kim Jong Il's death from a heart attack was famously followed by scenes of North Koreans dramatically wailing in the streets of Pyongyang. The mood in the capital was decidedly more upbeat today, less than a week after North Korea successfully launched a satellite named for Kim Jong Il. Vocabularies: Sprawling :  to spread out, extend, or be distributed in a straggling orirregular manner, as vines, buildings, handwriting, etc. Wailing : To make mournful sounds. Upbeat : Cheerful. Depictions: Representation of images. Solemn : Serious.

Media bias: an analysis

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/12/09/andi-holds-key-hambalang.html

The attached news is a reportage of a corruption case scandal involving Indonesia's former sport and youth Minister Andi Mallarangeng, who is going to cooperate with the law and give in some key names of people involved on the scandal. The media played the watchdog role here, and it keeps the public informed about the progress.

I believe the piece of news is an example of an Investigative Reporting bias . Just like The Watergate or recent news about a corrupt Taiwanese politician Lin Yi-Shih, Indonesian media zealously exposed and highlight the scandal which involved high-ranking officials, telling the people "Hello, there's a mole in our government! something is wrong here!"

Other than fulfilling their role as a public watchdog, these kind of stories also sells. So it's basically a constructive bias.

Poem Project - INVICTUS

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul. 

William Ernest Henley

MP3: 

animated version: http://zenpencils.com/comic/william-ernest-henley-invictus/

PSA Study (Texting while driving)

These are our group's PSA video and print ads

In this project, my part was working on the raw ideas, video making, and print ads design.

For my personal contribution, i do believe that i had done my part quite well, if i have to give a score, it'll be 85/100. I spent a lot of extra times to collect, arrange, and improve the raw materials such as photos, music,slides and sound effect produced or found by the other team members. I also tried almost every way possible to cap this project with the best icing for the cake. A perfect finishing touch.

However, i did miss out the small details in some parts, such as the lack of Asian people's image in the ads, which would make Taiwanese audience find it harder to relate with the ad. 

My teammates had done a great job in collecting and bringing our brainstorming ideas to a real tangible substance, such as in the "social network logos" and "daddy, whre are you?" PPT effects. Nevertheless, due to lack of discussion time, we sometimes found it hard to resolve problem that appears in the middle of the project.

The most difficult part in working on this project is the brainstorming part. it was tiring and quite frustrating. Yet after we agreed on a theme, ideas just flown out and it started to build on each other by itself. For the production part, i wouldn't say it's overly difficult. It just takes time.

In this PSA, i learned new technical skills such as operating Windows Movie Maker and creating the "running text effect" (i believe it will be truly useful on our club's drama performance next year!).

I also learnt one more step on how to touch human's heart through audio and visual media. I have the believe that touching one's heart is the closest way to bridge a relationship between persons. And who knows, probably this new set of skills will take me far in the future :)



Jovian Gautama

Media: The weapon of mass construction/destruction

After reading the article "Taiwanese girls: Stereotypes and reality" in http://mykafkaesquelife.blogspot.tw , i can't help but thinking how most of the stereotypes attributed to Taiwanese women could relate to every other democratic society in the world.

 The image of Taiwanese girl's perfection and beauty promoted by the mass media i believe is an S.O.P that should be run by any mass media organization in order to attract consumers. The appreciation of beauty is universal. Whether if it's in Taiwan or The States, the beauty industry will always full of models with similar traits. (slim body, long legs, big bosom, etc.) . Our beloved Aiden even stated just now that she loves looking at gorgeous women in the media, that's how universal their appeal is.

Kate Upton promoting Skull Candy, an earphone product.

Photo source:  http://www.7msport.com/news/newsdata/20120830/77526.shtml 

Pointing Taiwanese TV shows and commercials for being shallow is also far from objective. In The States, shows such as MTV's Jersey Shore and Keeping Up with The Kardashians (eeww...) also conveys a shallow message, if there is one. The fact that it also happens in other countries proves the point that we can also find similar phenomenons in other countries as well. Why? because it sells.

 Some people would argue and said, "But we don't like Jersey Shore!" . And so do we, not every Taiwanese really watch those shows. The key here is "Diversity". I agree with the writers pointing out that outside the stereotype, there are millions of Taiwanese with different perceptions for what the mass media shown, just like in any other places.

 In the end, the writers listed out a less-media-related stereotypes. I agree with those points, i do believe the cultural influence plays a bigger role here (such as Taiwanese wedding, friendship, maternal bond, etc.)


 The fault of the Taiwanese media is the fact that they often support the existing stereotypes, strengthening the popular mindset to the people instead of proving otherwise. The media emphasized the shallow image of Taiwanese women without exploring more about what's behind it or even ignore the significance of smart and successful women.


 While foreign media had started to exploit more on the dazzling power of inner beauty such as the beautiful voice of Susan Boyle, or a Forbes list dedicated to businesswomen (The World's most Powerful women in Business 2012, http://www.forbes.com/sites/jennagoudreau/2012/08/22/worlds-most-powerful-women-in-business-indra-nooyi-sheryl-sandberg-meg-whitman/) , Taiwanese media still uses the exploitation of sexy good looking superstars as their trump cards. We can't really erase stereotypes, it will always exist. The least that we can do is to balance it and prove it's inaccuracy. And the media plays a big role here.


 On the other hand, media also should straighten up how foreigners are portrayed...

It's barely a secret that one of the phenomenon here in Taiwan is that Taiwanese people tend to treat foreigners, especially Caucasian people, in a much more friendly behavior. I believe it marks the existence of a cultural stereotype, believing that white foreigners is a much more superior, nice, and more polite than the locals or other races, creating an unfair and racist image to foreigners from other races.

As depicted in this article , http://www.chinapost.com.tw/commentary/letters/2012/01/21/329634/Myths-of.htm , Taiwanese should break the rigid stereotypes of international people. Not every white people is a superhero or a saint. When we put it into a bigger scope, this racial issue is just unacceptable in the 21st century. Seeing non-white as an inferior race is simply too narrow minded for a country as developed as the Republic of China.

For Taiwanese youngsters to advance more in today's globalized society, the framework of this "foreigner myths" should also be modified, if not stopped. The idea of horizontal inter-relations between human beings should be emphasized instead of the hierarchical/vertical one, which also lies deep in Chinese culture. Only by seeing ourselves and other international people as equals, we can eliminate the mental block existing in today's inter-cultural relations. Without the mental block resulted from a long rooted stereotypes, there won't be any hesitation or prejudice when one interact in a multi-racial society.

Media can play its role by stopping the idolization of foreigners on TV or other media. The trend of "localizing" western people that can speak Chinese should be reduced. It is irrefutable to say that Taiwan is a homogenic society, yet it should be open to other cultures and perceive them in a correct way. Media holds the wand to start conducting the existing mindset into a better path.

From these two different analysis, one on Taiwanese women, and one on foreigners. We could see how media plays a double-sided coin role in the society.

So, is media  a weapon of mass destruction?Or an equipment for a vigorous construction?


Your choice.

Kimbo & Bruno comic strip

This is my first comic strip, "Kimbo & Bruno"

Enjoyyyy ! :D