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Creative works at the student symposium

06/08/2018 by afuller

The EWU student symposium is an annual event where students gather to present the research they have worked on through the past year. This year I went to one TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) presentation and a few journalism presentations.

TESL—traditional vs contemporary learning

Renee talked about the benefits and challenges of learning a new language through traditional and contemporary (new) learning styles.

Traditional learning involves collaboration. Students get together and learn a language in groups during class or after school.

This is what you may have experienced in language classes in school, where you learn in a physical environment with other students and study in your free time.

Contemporary learning involves learning online by speaking with native speakers. This type of learning can add onto classroom learning, or help non-students learn.

ESL students will usually feel more comfortable speaking to English students who want to help them learn than talking with classmates or teachers. Online learning is considered a safe ground where students can be more confident in their abilities.

Journalism—social media use in journalism

Grace talked about enhancing reader engagement through social media. She interviewed two people and researched Facebook and Google analytics to find well-received posts.

Grace found that good social media use involves being conversational, knowing the audience, and giving a reason to engage others.

Professional journalists encourage users to visit their website and use word filters on Facebook or other social media sites.

Did you know that Twitter changed journalism techniques? Journalists use Twitter to get news from across the globe minutes after something happens!

Finally, younger journalists can use Twitter to create their own brands. Twitter can be great for a new journalist’s portfolio.

Photo manipulation in journalism

Erica talked about photo manipulation and journalism. Photo manipulation should never be used to change the story of the photo. She said that modern journalism uses only photos with minimal editing.

Erica said that people send doctored images to journalists! These photos are edited to look real, but a few tips can help tell the difference between real and fake images.

Erica also discussed how to identify doctored images. First check the shadows and lighting. If shadows don’t match the light source, the image is probably fake. She says that it’s important to be skeptical of images online and to use common sense. If something looks too good to be true, it probably is.

Erica also talked about reverse google searching an image. If you drag an image onto google, you can find if that image has been used in other places. Don’t use an image that can get you sued!

You can also verify photos by checking the metadata, information on the photo’s location, camera, and date. Unlike photos, metadata is fairly difficult to alter.

Finally, Erica said that photo manipulation should be used as a tool, not a weapon.

Verifying videos online

Dayana had a similar project: verifying videos. Dayana said that with the rise of citizen powered news, doctored photos are more common.

Verify videos by contacting the video author, using geolocation, and checking temporary details (including shadows).

Dayana then talked about geolocation. She showed us a video with a man stuck in his car during a flood in 2007. When she reverse image searched him, she found he was from a different flood. That doesn’t sound too bad, but journalists can get in a lot of trouble for using the wrong image!

Sports podcasts

Michael talked about how to create an interesting sports podcast.

Michael says that there are a few factors including: Fan engagement, forward thinking, strong advertising interest, and serious talks about culture.

One thing that Michael mentioned was that advertising was on the rise and podcast creators are making more money. Podcast creators also can use Patreon, a website that allows people to donate money to support podcasts, art, or music.

Apple podcast analytics can help podcast creators see which episodes are watched and where they are most popular.

More about podcasts

My presentation was up last. I worked with Sam to develop a rubric for successful podcasts. Presenting was a little intimidating at first but we got through it!

Good podcasts need interest, journalism in the field, schedules, and music transitions. We reviewed a few podcasts including Serial.

Wrapping up

The student creative works symposium happens every year in May. All EWU students are invited to participate, and the events are open to the public. This is a great opportunity for future Eagles to present and put in their resume.

Killer Crime: Get Lit! hosts crime writing panel

05/23/2018 by afuller Leave a Comment

I’ve always enjoyed crime novels and I love to read stories that allow me to piece things together from a set of clues. When I heard that there was a Killer Crime panel at Get Lit!, I had to check it out. Here’s a little I learned about crime writing.

The suspects

Okay there weren’t actually any suspects, but we did get to meet four different crime writers: Mathew Sullivan, Devin Devine, Tony Russell, and TJ Tranchell. They answered a few questions relating to crime writing and their personal experience with the genre.

What drew them to crime?

Matthew was drawn to crime writing from a literary influence and a life influence. He loved the idea of the natural progression of crime (from crime to case to solved), and the clear scaffolding that crime novels fit in. Matthew said he enjoys getting into the book and solving the crime from a writer’s perspective.

Devin said that crime novels have gray areas and even the worst characters can be likeable. She talked about being a nine-year-old watching The Ring as her first motivation to write. She thinks crime writing is realistic and a good sense of the state of things today.

Tony said that crime is universal.

Finally, TJ said that crime is about plot and planning. He said that crime novels are a search to find out if you as the reader are right in your assumptions.

What is suspense beyond “the next thing”?

TJ talked a bit about how Hitchcock used suspense. In one of the old Hitchcock movies, the villain planted a bomb under a table. The viewers knew about the bomb and that it would go off, but the characters had no idea. TJ talked about how suspense is showing readers details about a crime that the main characters don’t know about. Suspense comes from knowing what will happen and having to read to find out if the detectives will solve the crime in time.

Tony talked about the five-part novel he and Devin were working on. For him, the suspense is more about wanting to tell everyone who the murderer is before the series is completed.

Devin said that the series she is working on with Tony changes characters between each chapter. Everyone lies and that for crime novels it’s up to the reader to decide who they think is telling the truth.

Matthew says that suspense as a writer is much like being a therapist. Instead of handing out answers, the job of a crime writer is to let readers get to the conclusion on their own through clues.

What about the Denouement (end)?

Matthew said that he once wrote a story with a 150 page denouement that his editor had him cut to 20 pages.

Devin said that the denouement is about waiting and waiting until the end. She said that like with the Harry Potter series, a denouement does not always give all the answers.

Tony talked a little more about Noir and said that the style of Noir was exaggerated and uses misadventures to further the story.

TJ talked about novels and how he was a bigger fan of questions than he was with answers. A denouement might give some answers, but oftentimes it leads the reader to a few more questions.

A bit about Get Lit!

While this year’s Get Lit! festival has ended, you can check out the website in spring of next year and check out the schedule for 2019.

Comic Creations: comic artists talk at Get Lit!

05/17/2018 by afuller Leave a Comment

Get Lit! is an annual festival in Spokane where local writers talk about their experience or run workshops to help with writing skills. Each year is a little different, with topics this year ranging from poetry slams to writing workshops and panels.

One of the events I went to was called Comic Creations. A five-dollar purchase got me a four pack of posters made by the panelists. As far as events go, this one was decently sized with about twenty people attending.

Before I went to the event, I didn’t think comics aren’t just about superheroes or political cartoons. Many of these comic artists drew scenes from their own life or created a story that borrowed from literary themes such as character or setting (I suppose that’s why they were at Get Lit!).

Derrick Freeland

Derrick is the leader of Spokane Sequential, a group of comic artists who design a monthly magazine. Derrick talked about his upcoming graphic novel and how the novel reflected his own life. He brought in examples of characters and how they were symbols of his parents, himself, and the parents he always wanted.

Derrick’s art style was the most realistic of the four styles I saw that day. His work was shaded and even his fantastical elements seemed as though they would fit in the world he created.

Tiffany Patterson

Tiffany talked about how she started out as a painter and moved into creating comics. She talked about her paintings and talked about how she started to move away from her perfectionist style by drawing messy lines in the background of her works.

Tiffany’s work had a surreal aspect to it. The main comic she discussed had a Where the Wild Things Are feel to it, with monsters and a child who travels to a magical forest. Her other artwork had fantastical elements with a few femurs and plenty of bright colors.

Chelsea Martin

Chelsea started out as an artist and began to create long descriptions for her works. She then moved into writing and finally became a comic writer. She worked with human interaction and awkwardness.

Many of Chelsea’s comics featured people looking at the floor, awkward silences, and vague relationships. Some of the awkward pauses were uncomfortable in a way that felt realistic and interesting. Her art style was very realistic and had few if any instances of fantastical elements.

Simeon Mills

Simeon talked about how he created his comics. Simeon took photographs of himself acting character expressions and then drew the character in sharpie on the reverse side of the photograph. He redrew each face to make each panel of his comic.

Simeon’s work was completely two dimensional with no shading. His drawings were very detailed with mustaches made from individual lines and highly expressive characters.

A bit about Get Lit!

While this year’s Get Lit! festival has ended, you can check out the website in spring of next year and view the schedule for 2019.

Four Yurt tapestries you'll want to see

05/01/2018 by afuller Leave a Comment

Have you ever wanted to curate your own art gallery or exhibit? Anthropology student and artist Angeline Nesbit has by curating the “Song of Silence” gallery in the EWU Downtown Student Gallery, displaying tapestries that once hung in yurts across Kyrgyzstan.

What are yurts?

Yurts are large hide buildings held up by wooden poles. They aren’t as pack able as tents, but are sturdier. Basically, a yurt is a house that can be torn down and put up somewhere else. Central Asia has extreme weather, so nomads keep moving with their flock.

Why these tapestries?

I was able to talk with Angeline about the tapestries and I learned a lot about tapestry creation and designs. She said that “I also have a background in weaving and more traditional craft like quilting, knitting, all that kind of stuff, so I have an interest in textiles.”

Angeline picked eleven tapestries from over a hundred to display, and her choices show that she carefully studied the tapestries to find variety in technique and color use.

The tapestries themselves range from 19^th century (really old for a fabric) pieces to more recent works that give insight into the Soviet control of Kyrgyzstan in the 1950s. Designs range from simple mandalas (circular flower shapes) to the large Soviet star and symbols.

Let’s take a look!

This tapestry is a great example of a finished tapestry. It’s about five to six feet tall and ten feet wide and has all three sides and two triangular pieces attached. Most of the tapestries depicted in the gallery were incomplete, missing either the middle piece, or one or more of the sides. They took up to ten years to make so it’s not surprising to find incomplete ones!

This piece was made in the late 1800s and shows off the different fabric used at the time. Red was one of the rarest and most valued colors, but as time went on, red dye became more available.

This appears to be a side piece and a top piece. Nothing new to add, I just think they look cool!

This is one of the triangle pieces that either detached from the main tapestry or was never attached to a completed piece. The birds and the intricate flowers here look really complex. Whoever made this tapestry went through the trouble of stitching the bird wings in a shape that separate them from the body of the bird. Although the fabric is faded, you can kind of see the different colors used in this tapestry.

I did say four images but I really like this one too. I’m not sure where this panel fits in a tapestry, it may be part of a side piece or it might be a complete piece.

A little from the cast of Heathers

04/17/2018 by afuller Leave a Comment

Woman falling over, Holly and Scott in back

I loved Heathers so much that I decided to sit down and chat with the cast and crew to see what it was all about. I spoke with the director Jeff Sanders, the male and female leads Scott Worley and Holly Kirkman, and the stage manager Sierra Peck.

So why Heathers and not another musical? There are two followings of Heathers out there: the people who saw the movie when it came out, and a generation of younger people who know about the play. Jeff picked this play out because of the musical numbers from an off-Broadway production.

Most of the actors were theatre students, but some weren’t. Eastern students will definitely get a little priority when selecting cast members, but cast and crew can be picked out from anyone. In fact, a non-theatre student had a major role in Heathers. One great thing about EWU is that the theatre program is a little smaller than the largest universities; anyone can get the opportunity to play a lead role!

Heathers was incredibly well-received. It outsold Avenue Q by 200 tickets and may have even outsold Romeo and Juliet which had 97% capacity. That’s a lot of people!

A little about the actors

Holly and Scott ended up learning a lot about acting.

Playing as Veronica gave Holly a much better understanding on where her limits were, and what limits she thought she had that she was able to surpass. Scott wasn’t able to connect with the troubled JD on an emotional level, so he mastered a technique from Theatre 1 called the Chekhov technique.

Most everyone in the play knew each other beforehand but there were definitely some new people. Scott said “with every new actor, you learn something from. I want to work with as many new actors as I can.”

Holly added that “we really are a family. In theatre we grow really close. We do these kickbacks where we run scenes, run monologues, and give critiques and feedback.”

What if I don’t want to be on stage?

Sierra was the stage manager, which means she helped manage the crew who helped put on the production. These are people who move the sets, put on costumes, and make sure the lighting and sound work properly.

A good crew is vital to getting a play to work. According to Sierra: “a good run crew and good crew overall is integral to having a good show. So many working, moving parts happen backstage that are super important to making the show good.”

Stage crew really is important. After a few weeks to get the lines down, the crew showed up and started putting up and taking down the set an hour before and after the cast. That shows a lot of dedication.

How can you join the crew? There are addition sheets during auditions for students who audition for cast parts. You can also get in touch with the theatre department and email them. Sierra says that she picks out people based on interest, so if you really want to get in, make sure to send out emails.

How do I get started?

If you want to get into the plays, start off by going to the plays. The Fall play typically has a call for auditions and you’ll be able to learn how to apply.

I went to a musical: a little about Heathers

04/13/2018 by afuller Leave a Comment

One of the coolest things about writing a blog is that I’m able to do things that I normally wouldn’t do and call it work. I’m actually pretty sure that I have the best job on campus (don’t tell anyone). One of the cool events I went to that I normally wouldn’t have seen was the musical Heathers, put on by the Theatre Department.

Speaking of parents and kids, I noticed a lot of students brought in their family and friends. I should have done the same! I sat next to people I didn’t know, which was fine, but I’ll definitely invite friends next time.

One thing I learned: reservations are extremely important for EWU plays. I showed up an hour and a half early to the play and there was already a line waiting. Next time I’ll be sure to reserve a few days beforehand.

Jeff Sanders, one of EWU’s theatre teachers, directed the play. I took a Theatre in the Humanities course that he taught ages ago so I was happy to see that he still taught at EWU. Before the play began, he talked a little bit about auditions for the plays this year (The Tempest and Clybourne Park) and who can apply. Any student can apply as part of cast or crew, not just Theatre students.

I haven’t been to a musical in years and I really wasn’t expecting what would happen. For those of you who don’t know, Heathers is a dark comedy and I walked into the musical thinking it would be disgusting. And ya know what? I was glad to know it wasn’t. If I were a parent I might even bring in a high school aged kid to see it.

A little about Heathers

The acting and singing was fantastic.

I could tell that the actors were putting a lot of effort into their characters and singing. I’m surprised at how well the acting and singing turned out and I’m actually a little jealous at how talented the actors were.

One of my favorite moments of the play was when the characters were all having a confession song. Everyone pointed flashlights at the guy just to my right and one of the characters screamed at him. I may have broken down laughing at this point, especially since the guy next to me was so genuinely confused about what was happening to him.

I was astounded at the speed of the transitions and the work that the crew put into the piece. Setup between each scene was faster than any play I’d ever seen. Lighting and sound effects were on point throughout.

Overall I’m very glad I got to see the play, though a little sad that I didn’t bring along friends. Next time around I’ll put some effort into getting friends to come to the play with me.