ATE Week 1 Exploration

In the Week 1 Exploration, I had to examine the three levels of design within real-world media (Visceral Design, Behavioral Design, and Reflective Design). Here is my focus on these examples of print advertising.

Visceral Design:  http://www.welovead.com/en/works/details/4ddEilqA

You see a dog. When you think of driving in the car with your dog, you think safety. When you look deep into the picture, you see a Mercedes-Benz driving a safe distance behind a semi-truck on a bridge over beautiful blue water. Distronic Plus Technology is a driving system that helps drivers automatically drive safe distance from other cars and will even help avoid accidents. This campaign is drawing potential buyers with this image that is saying, “Do you love safe luxury? Buy me!”

Behavioral Design: http://www.welovead.com/en/works/details/b13Ejsxv

I love this image of the horses running down the highway during a cold, snowy, icey, winter day. Yet, through the dark clouds, you see sunlight guiding the horses to safety. This image is showing off an innovative feature that Mercedes-Benz provide to the customers.  It is horsepower with a 4Matic, four-wheel drive with ETS. Imagine driving 50 miles per hour down a icy slop and your traction is perfection. Any consumer of any type of vehicle would want this special feature on their car.

Reflective Design: http://www.welovead.com/en/works/details/75ewnurzf

I wanted to use this image because when you think of semi trucks, you think of pollution. When I look at this picture, I think off the smell of fresh air pure serenity.  The ad company wanted you to feel that Mercedes-Benz trucks are environmental friendly. This will be appealing to some people that dislike semi-trucks.  

November 2013 Course Director Award- New Media Tools

I am very proud to say that I have been rewarded the "November 2013 Course Director Award" for the New Media Tools course. This is actually the 2nd course award I have received this semester. I would love to thank my instructor Emily Wray for this award. One thing I try to do is make sure that my passion is expressed through my work and I deeply appreciate the fact that she believes in me and my work.  

WK4: RISE Self Evaluation

We are now at the end of our New Media Tools course. Here is my WK4 RISE Self Evaluation. I am sad because I really enjoyed this class. Good luck to all my fellow classmates and thank you to our instructor Emily for making this a great month!

Best, 

Lauren Benzo 

WK4: Peer Review

I am providing my RISE Peer Review on Mr. Kinser Brown’s WK3 Project: Storyboard. I would like to start off by saying that I really enjoyed the presentation that you provided. When it begun, I love the cover art to your “comic book” and the 1^st image of a man that was in a tug of war with his mind and heart. That is an image I can definitely relate to, because before I started attending Full Sail for Media Communications, I was in a tug of war with my mind and heart.

I also love how you described the reason why you wanted to go from sports training to working with Christian Hip Hop and why sports was no longer your main focus. I want to give a big shout out to your wife for recommending Full Sail as the school that you should attend. I remember in May of this year, I was thinking of where I should go and my sister spoke highly of this school, and I am very grateful that she told me to come here.

Another thing that stood out to me is that you spoke of your passion for media communications. That is a great plus, because it shows that your passion will be presented through your work. From DJ’ing and even starting your own online podcast is big! It shows that you took something that you felt great about and made your own brand with it.

A couple things that I would consider is have a little more enthusiasm in your voice over. Don’t get me wrong. I did enjoy it, but if you had a little more feeling in your speech, it would have sound more inviting. Another thing I would say is that you could have extended your story by going a little more in detail on certain situations. Other than that, I really enjoyed your project. Not to mention, Drake’s “Pound Cake” as your background music was a plus to me.  All in all, this was a great work of art and I enjoyed watching and giving a little input on your work. Good luck with everything you will achieve in life. You deserve it.

Blessings,

Benzo 

60 Min Challenge

Thank you to my excellent instructor Emily for making my day! During our session she told me I had to create a commercial and tell a story about a brand. I am a hip hop purest and I made a commercial about saving 5 Pointz in New York City. I took everything I knew from this class and I can't believe I made a this in 60 mins! I want to thank Emily for all the help this month and good luck to all my fellow classmates!!!   

WK4 Jump Start

After hours of watching the "Up and Running With Photoshop 6" videos, I would say that all the techniques are very useful. I am fairly new to this program, but I am excited to see what all I can do in the future with all the things I have learned.

WK3 Project: Digital Story

*While producing this video for my "Digital Story", the program I used to create the video was IMovie. All Pictures: provided Flickr and personal property. I provided the voice over audio. I used "Moving Talent ALT Mix" as background music, provided by Westar Music. Video editing and direction was also done by myself.*

WK3 Exploration: Voice Over

WK2: Storyboard

Wk2: Storyboard from laurenbenzo

For this presentation, I used images I found on Flickr and also from my personal property. When utilizing the presentation, I used powerpoint. Then I uploaded my presentation to Slideshare. I hope everyone enjoys my presentation.  

WK2 Exploration: Visual Communication

For this week in New Media Tools, we have began exploring where to find and share images needed for visual content development. During this particular activity, I had to locate four different images representing three abstract concepts (Media, Social, and Strategy). After I organized these 12 images, I used an app called "popplet" to create image clusters surrounding the concept they represent. I then posted the 3 clusters to my photobucket account. One screenshot I choose to speak about in my blog this week would be the media cluster. Media is the main means of mass communication. The world would be lost if there wasn't any type of media. From television, to newspapers, even music. We always have to remember, there are messages in certain songs. I also chose to use a picture of the ABC Studios in Times Square. You may be shopping on 43rd and 7th, wondering what is going on in the news. Just look up in the sky and you will know. Media is all around us, it is just up to you as a person to notice and reflect on it. 

Industry Blogs That Keep the Life and Times of L. Benzo Informed

I wanted to give everyone an in depth look at blogs that I follow on a daily basis. I am a big "hip hop head", so I follow Allhiphop.com and Complex.com because I want to stay in tuned with all the new music, news, and trends that involve the culture of hip hop. I also follow blogs such as ABCNews.com, CNN.com, The Los Angeles Time, The New York Times, and BBC.com. I follow these blogs because with me being a journalist, I have to make sure that I am up to date with everything that is going on in the world today. Last but not least, I follow TED's youtube channel. I do this because I love the informative presentations that are provided. I know these will be very helpful during my time here at Full Sail University and all in the work force after I graduate.

My MCBS Story

Before I started the MCBS Program, I was a little indecisive on returning back to school. With over 10 years from working in the industry, I have learned and grew from my personal life experiences. My dreams of working in the industry started with me wanting to be a rapper. I became an assistant to a group named The LOX in 2002. After I learned how much money you actually make as artists and at times being taken advantaged by a major label, I chose to take a different route. I took the name of the rap group that my sister and myself created and made it a promotional company named D.Y.M.E.ndz Inc, which stands for Driven Young Motivated Entrepreneurs. From promotions, to landing some PR jobs, then I started doing radio. I have always thought I wanted to make sure I could leave my mark in the industry as a radio personality/DJ, but then I started doing interviews for websites and publications around the country.

Never in a million years would I have thought being a writer would be so exciting. Just knowing how I can actually put certain situations in my own words, and others can relate to my articles is so amazing! Because of that, my eyes were beginning to open up to the world of journalism. I would say after the 5th article that I posted for a website called ThatsHipHop.com, I began to receive emails from various websites to cover events and give my input on hip hop projects that were being released from major music labels. Because of that, I started traveling the country, attending events, shaking hands with my peers, and meeting very important people in the industry.


I am going places I never thought I would be able to see, even getting the chance to meet and interview people that I respect and love. Because of that, I knew I wanted to pursue my career professionally as a journalist. I was just a little hesitant to really go for it, until finally my hard work paid off. I was offered a job at Complex Magazine and ever since I decided to pursue my passion for media. It was just one more thing I felt I had to accomplish. This gave me the ambition to attend Full Sail for the MCBS Program.



*For my personal video, the program I used to create the video was IMovie. All Pictures: provided by and sole property of me. I provided the voice over audio. I used "Hip Hop INC Alternative Mix" as background music, provided by Westar Music. Video editing and direction was also done by myself.*