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January, 2013

  1. VideoPlay Assignment

    January 25, 2013 by arichard@uoregon.edu

    AAD 585 Multimedia In Arts Administration

    January 24th, 2012

    30-60 second VideoPlay Assignment

     

    Here is the link for my VideoPlay assignment. I’ve made the video private because it contains music from a video recording I took of a live performance by musician Reggie Watts. I didn’t get permission from Reggie, and I don’t know if he would want the audio available to anyone on the internet (actually, I don’t think he would mind, but just to be safe…). The password is NYC.

    VideoPlay

    The performance session from which I took the music was during a conference I recently attended: the Association of Performing Arts Presenters in New York City. Reggie (whom I have seen before in Portland) is an excellent performer, and he excels at improvisation and freestyling. The song I chose to excerpt featured a large chunk of improvising about New York. I thought it was fitting, so I used it to accompany images of some of my best moments on the trip. Separating the audio from the video was the most time-consuming and difficult part of the process of making this video. For some reason, iMovie (the program I used to make the video) wouldn’t let me detach the audio from the video. I eventually figured out that I could import the video into GarageBand and separate the audio in that program. I’m familiar with GarageBand already, so manipulating the audio after it was detached was a cinch. I used the image processor function in Photoshop to make all my images uniform in size and resolution, and it was there that I added the wood frame look. Finally, I spent a decent amount of the time adding different headings to each photo. It’s not necessarily a “clean” look, because I used four different heading styles, but I just couldn’t help myself! Next time I use iMovie, I would like to experiment with the voiceover function, and try different kinds of transitions. For this assignment, I kept it pretty basic. I had a lot of fun making this video.

     

     

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  2. Showcase ePortfolio Webmap and Narrative

    January 22, 2013 by arichard@uoregon.edu

    AAD 585 Multimedia Design and Presentation, Winter 2013

    Assignments #1a and 1b: Showcase ePortfolio Project Narrative and Webmap

    Alexandra Richardson

     

    For my Showcase ePortfolio, I plan on including these headings and subheadings: 1) About; 2) Resume; 2a) Performance Resume; 3) Internship; 4) Work Samples; 4a) Writing; 4b) Design; 5) Research; 6) Professional; and 7) Contact. Thus, I will have seven main headings/pages and a total of three sub-pages. I personally do not like navigating many subheadings, so I wanted to include as much information as possible on the front end of the site. The main headings will be laid out vertically on the left side of the page. Vertical heading layouts are less common, but I think easier to use. I want my site to be bold and warm at the same time. I want it to convey strength and style, and communicate my achievements clearly to a casual reader.

    1) The About page will be a basic bio with some info about my outside-of-school interests, plus an explanation of the site and a “thank you for visiting.”

    2) The Resume section will have all the resume text on the parent page, as well as including a link to a PDF version. There will be one sub-page- a separate page for a performance resume. This page will be laid out the same as the main resume page (all info there with a PDF link). I may also include photos or videos to creative work I have done.

    3) The Internship section will have all info on the one page, describing what I did Summer 2013. Additionally, I will house information about my current (and future, if applicable) practicum.

    4) Work Samples- This basic explanatory page will contain two sub-pages: Writing and Design. Under Writing, I will include PDFs to papers, as well as a link to my Transmedia Field Guide. Design will contain samples from Advanced Info Design class, and possibly this class.

    5) Research will contain a brief explanation of my terminal research and maybe a paragraph discussing future areas of inquiry.

    6) The Professional page will have a list of the organizations to which I belong, a list of professional conferences I have attended, and any other applicable info not elsewhere on the site.

    7) Contact: straightforward. Will have my contact info, as well as links to my coursework ePortfolio, LinkedIn profile, and Tumblr blog (which I am in the process of developing).

    Showcase ePortfolio Webmap PDF

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  3. Values Prioritization

    January 21, 2013 by arichard@uoregon.edu

    Values Prioritization Assignment

    AAD 604 Internship 1, Winter 2013

    Alexandra Richardson

     

    I really enjoyed the Values Prioritization assignment. My top six values and some reflection on each, including their possible correlate qualities within an internship, are below.

     

    • Personal development/growth orientation: Preferring activities and environments that contribute to personal growth, needs, sense of purpose, and/or spirituality.

    At this point in my life, the most important thing to me is pushing myself and learning and growing intellectually/spiritually. In an internship, I expect to have a large degree of trust put in me by my superiors, and being given autonomy to make the organization (and myself) proud with the work I do. I want to be somewhere where we all take our work seriously.

    • Altruism/social service/helping society and others: Wanting to contribute to improving the human condition, society, and/or individuals’ quality of life.

    I would like to intern amongst people that value taking care of others (or simply enriching the lives of others through the arts), and see their job as an extension of that value.

    • Social relations/affiliation/community/cultural identity/family orientation: Needing to have a supportive circle of friends inside or outside the workplace. Belonging to a cultural, religious, or civil group. Strong emphasis on relationships, family, and friendships.

    I appreciate working in an organization where staff collaborate with and support one another—both in work projects through good communication and respect for one another’s ideas, and informally, acting as extended family when possible/appropriate.

    • Competence/ability utilization/intellectual status: making full use of skills and knowledge in a job. Having a mastery orientation. Liking to express expertise.

    In past work experiences and in school, I like to have the time, space, and tools to do high-quality work and I aim to never cut corners. It’s important to me to do a good job and feel like I am utilizing my skills to the fullest extent possible (as well as having the opportunity to learn new skills).

    • Lifestyle/location: Preferring to live according to own choices, wishes, and desires and/or finding a place to live that facilitates living own lifestyle.

    Geographical location is a big factor in where I will intern and later, work. I prefer to live in a large, culturally-rich metropolis. I also would like to work in a fun environment that celebrates diversity, creativity and the uniqueness of the employees.

    • Task specificity/structure/precision work: Having clear guidelines, procedures, and/or specifications to follow in completing work; attention to detail and accuracy in accomplishing tasks.

    Work environments that are established, have clear ethical standards, and consistent operational methods are most comfortable for me. I like when my job duties to match my job description and feeling that I know exactly what is expected of me. I enjoy taking on new projects and can adapt to changes, but I still like to have my basic responsibilities outlined clearly.

     

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  4. Second-Year Interview and Learning Objectives

    January 21, 2013 by arichard@uoregon.edu

    Interview with Second-Year AAD Student Jamie Walsh/

    Learning Objectives

    AAD 630 Research Methods, Winter 2013

    Alexandra Richardson

     

    Jamie’s Research

     

    I interviewed Jamie Walsh about her research topic and methods. Her research is entitled “Access and Inclusion: Artwork by Artists With Developmental Disabilities and Mental Illnesses.” At this time last year, Jamie was researching funding issues in several art centers in the Bay-area. While she is still focusing on the same art centers for her terminal research, she has shifted her focus away from funding to an area about which she is more passionate: how art centers can be more inclusive of artists with developmental disabilities and mental illnesses. She initially picked funding as a research topic because she thought it was practical, but ultimately decided that it would not sustain her interest for the duration of her research project.

    Jamie’s terminal research will take the form of a project (as opposed to a thesis or capstone). Her research methods include: literature review (specifically, reviewing literature concerning the historical segregation of individuals with developmental disabilities and mental illnesses, and the topic of “outsider art”); case studies of three art centers; interviews; and documentation and analysis. Jamie expects to end her paper with recommendations for other art centers that would like to be more inclusive of individuals with developmental disabilities and mental illnesses.

    Jamie’s research is positioned from social constructivist and subjectivist perspectives, as she is situating her inquiry in a historical and sociological framework. Since much of her topic involves the perceptions people have of developmentally disabled and mentally ill individuals, her research necessarily acknowledges multiple viewpoints and subjective truths. For this reason, I would say that Jamie’s epistemological approach is undoubtedly post-positivist.

     

    Learning Objectives

     

    As I undertake my own research this term in Research Methods, I hope to better define both where I fall on the positivist/post-positivist spectrum (is it a spectrum?), and what epistemology is appropriate for my research area. As I believe my terminal research will ultimately be based on case studies, I think my findings will be subjective by nature. As I explained in my Initial Research Idea post for this class, I expect that my research will also be explorative and descriptive, rather than geared towards testing a defined hypothesis. I think the results of my research will be, for example, transferable versus generalizable, and auditable versus reproducible. However, through this term in Research Methods, I also hope to discover a way to include surveying and experimental methods into my inquiry. I don’t know if it is possible to combine a more “hard science” approach with a softer social science approach, but both approaches to research interest me. My overall goal in my terminal research is to produce usable tools for venues or community music centers to enrich their offerings with more interactive, healing- or transformation-centered programming. Through this class, I want to learn the best way to design my research in order to meet that practical end, while working with concepts as subjective and slippery as “transformation” and “healing.”

     

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  5. Initial Research Idea

    January 21, 2013 by arichard@uoregon.edu

    Initial Research Brainstorm

    AAD 630 Research Methods

    Alexandra Richardson

     

    After reading the first few chapters of the text The Essential Guide to Doing Your Research Project by Zina O’Leary (2010), I think I have narrowed down a good preliminary research topic. I have not yet satisfactorily articulated the perfect research question, but I have discovered that I likely will not require or have need for a hypothesis, as I believe my research will be more descriptive or explorative. After reading the text, I have also discovered that I am naturally leaning towards a postmodern or post-positivist epistemological approach to research. Here are a few ways I phrased my research question as I brainstormed:

    How can arts administrators (venue managers, specifically) use their musical programming to intentionally combat isolation and alienation often experienced by individuals in large urban settings?

    I realized that it would be very difficult to measure “isolation” and “alienation!” Further refined questions included:

    What are the quantifiable ways that music improves lives? What are the specific benefits (for the concert attendant) of participatory and/or interdisciplinary music concerts? How do traditional rock venues encourage participation from audience members? Are concert attendants more likely to have a transformative or “peak” experience at a venue that is especially “customer-oriented” or a venue that in some way prioritizes customer participation?

    This led to a basic, succinct question, one which I actually attempted to answer with this project from last term’s Art in Society class.

    How can a musical venue increase the power of the live music experience for the attendants?

    The research aim for this question would be to identify factors or variables involved in a transformative or healing live music experience. Identifying what makes a live music experience transformative or healing would certainly require me to be comfortable with a subjective approach to my research. My research would likely involve human subjects. Because of my background in psychology, this appeals to me. I would look at what venues currently do to engage their audiences. These methods could include, but are certainly not limited to:  encouraging social media usage before, during, and after concerts; running a volunteer and/or apprenticeship program for interested customers; programming interdisciplinary, innovative, or experimental performing acts; soliciting customer feedback via surveys or other means; the effect the aesthetic setting of the venue has; and nonprofit vs. for-profit venue issues.  I would like to also investigate new ways venues can engage audiences. Why don’t traditional rock venues offer masterclasses, or for that matter, season ticket subscriptions?

    There are many different directions I could take this research area, and of course I must narrow it down. I am excited, though, to see where reviewing current literature in some of the above arenas leads me. I suspect seeing what scholarship is out there will help me to clarify what I would like to contribute to the arts administration body of research.

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