Mentor Profile Assignment

• State your capstone idea in 100 words or less.

My capstone is a full length documentary video that explores the meaning and world of a community of climbers in Kentucky. Through powerful visual shots I want to share with the world what the community of climbers is about. In particular a community that is very close and dear to me, the climbing community in the Muir Valley. It is going to be by far the most challenging video project that I have taken so far. My major goal with the capstone is to show my growth and progress as a person and as a videographer. I will be doing this project in conjunction with Jacob Hyten. It will be a great chance to work with someone else and develop communication and team skills. I know most people in the video production are constantly working together in teams.

• Identify and discuss 4 key components you are searching for in a mentor.

I have four very clear components that I would like to find in a mentor. Technical knowledge will be obviously     very important from the filmatographic point of view. The “how to’s” about the actual shooting of the film. Another important component that I am searching for is someone with a very powerful ability of critique. I want to hear insights of my project. Thirdly I would definitely seek for someone that believes and is motivated in what I am doing. If he or she is motivated then that will only get me more excited about the whole thing and my project will be better. Lastly and very importantly I would like to find someone that engines my creative powers. Someone that invites me to think out of the box...

• Identify 3 potential mentors from the MAS faculty you would like to approach to discuss your capstone. Make  sure one of them is someone from whom you have never taken a class.

My three potential candidates are Thomas Lewis, Joseph DeFazio and Edgar Huang.

• Explain what these faculty members coud bring to your capstone and why you are interested in working with them.

Very briefly I am very interested in these three particular professors because each one of them has a very specific area of expertise that will be very helpful for my project. Lewis’s input on everything that has to do with the filmatographic qualities of the project will be very helpful. Defazio will be of critical help in terms of dealing with project management and how to best “sell” my project. I have never had a class with professor Huang but I believe he is an extremely well prepared and smart person. His expertise in around video production and web related things will be greatly helpful.

•  Either via web research, email, phone, or in person interview, discuss the following topics about each faculty member you are interested in working with:

Thomas Lewis:

Area of expertise: Photography and cinematography.

Expectations of capstone students: He expects me to go very thoroughly across the process of film making. Stopping along every step in preproduction, production and post-production and gaining expertise on each every one of them. He expects me to be able to create a powerful piece that conveys a strong and clear message. He also expects me to communicate with him all along the process and keep updated to where I am in the project and my thoughts.

His general availability for mentoring next semester: Thomas said he will be having a lot of students and capstones to mentor next semester. Nonetheless he said we can definitely schedule times for us to meet and discuss the project. He is willing to meet outside of school and on his own free time.

Projects that Thomas is not very interested in: Thomas did mention that he prefers not to work with students creating music videos.

His thoughts on a secondary advisor: He approves of a secondary advisor as long as there is a consistency of communication all across the board. It is important for him that the student, the secondary advisor and him are on the same channel.

Joseph Defazio:

 Area of expertise:  New Media project development and management.

 Expectations of capstone students: Defazio excepts capstone students to be very professional and serious about their capstone projects. For him capstone projects are like any other project that can be assigned to a New Media professional that gets paid to do a project. He expects students to track control of their progress and use appropriate management tools. He also expects students to meet with him throughout the development of the capstone and present him with organized summaries and project updates.

 General availability for mentoring next semester: His schedule for the next semester is still pretty up in the air. He did mention he expects to have a lot of other capstone and graduate students as well.  He said that scheduling appointments should not be a problem as long as they are planned ahead of time.

 Defazio is a very multifaceted New Media professional so he is very interested in all sorts of different projects. He did not mention any particular project that he would not be interested at all to work with.

               

Edgar Huang:

Area of expertise: Video Production and Web Site Design.

Expectations of capstone: Professor Huang expects capstone students to excel in whatever project they decide to do. He expects ultimate dedication and hard working skills for completing the project. He also motivates students to investigate and further their technical and academic knowledge of the tools and themes that their projects brush upon. He expects capstone students to meet with him in a regular basis to discuss ideas and progress.

His general availability for mentoring next semester: He mentioned that he is planning to leave several open spots for capstone students. He will make sure to fit capstone students around his other tasks. Scheduling meetings should not be a problem. He also mentions that a lot of the communication can also be through emails and other online forms.

Projects that Huang is not very interested in: Professor Huang did not mention any projects that he will absolutely not work with. He said that his expertise of game creation and 2D graphics might be limited.