Well, it's senior project time, and I've been waiting for 3 1/2 years to get started on this. I've made may way to over 30 documented ideas since freshman year, and I'm really excited to have settled on one. I spent a long time yesterday drafting a proposal and time line that our class will review tomorrow, and I hope that it ends up satisfactory because I've already slightly set my heart on doing it, well, exactly my way!
Bill Hinkle, the man to whom I owe my job at Channel 8, agreed to be my project adviser. We'll be getting together Wednesday to talk about directions my project could go.
I've made this blog so that people who are invested in this project or are included in pictures or stories I have collected can see how the work progresses as my graduation approaches. I've included my project proposal so everyone can see what I'll be working toward this semester, and my tentative time line. Follow along as I document the place I love most, and I hope you enjoy!
A Snapshot In History
My goal is to document the physical characteristics, the people, and the mood of my hometown, Muldrow, Oklahoma. This will be a resource both to promote my town presently and to create a legacy for those living in the town in the future. I will do this through photography, anecdotes, interviews, and profiles of current townspeople. The resulting information will be compiled in a photo essay book and released at an event at the public library in Muldrow. Select contents will be uploaded to a website where users can submit their own photography and anecdotes of the town.
The photography of the project will be compiled over at least three weekend trips to Muldrow. It will focus on the main streets, popular buildings as well as historical ones, hangouts for different demographics, the schools, farms, and the rural surrounding areas of the town. I will especially capture scenes that I predict will be threatened by progress within the next 50 years.
Profiles of prominent townspeople may include the most recent school valedictorian, church pastors, the mayor, teachers, gas station owners, etc. I will take environmental portraits of them and casually interview them for stories and how they feel about living in the town. I will ask each of them what progress they predict will come to the town in the next 50 years.
The website will be in a simple portfolio and blog format. Each week I will not only blog on WebCT for class but post the entries to my website’s blog as well. My completed work will be displayed, there will be an option to buy my book, and users can post their own pictures and stories. User-submitted contact must be approved by me before it is displayed on the website.
The book release will be held in the Muldrow Public Library. There will be light snacks and drinks, and the event will be publicized by a press release within the community targeted at newspaper and television. A copy of my book will be presented to the library and to Muldrow High School.
Timeline
Week of:
1/31 Finalize adviser; draft a list of businesses, people, and locations to highlight; visit Muldrow to take initial photography and interview 3 people
2/7 Show work to adviser to confirm the direction of the project; write out at least 1 anecdote that defines the writing tone; begin organizing photography into sections for the book
2/14 Contact library to reserve release date for the weekend of April 16th; purchase website domain name and server space, build website template; continue writing
2/28 Project presentation week: second trip to Muldrow for photography and interviews
3/7 Begin loading pictures onto website; assemble all pictures and copy so far and determine what is still needed
3/14 SPRING BREAK: Gather any remaining pictures or interviews needed while in Muldrow; finish book copy
3/21 Edit and assemble book; final revisions; all content uploaded to website; confirm library date
3/28 Submit book to printer
4/4 Distribute press release; create and distribute flyers around Muldrow; Facebook event; update website to contain book purchasing information
4/11 BOOK RELEASE: purchase snacks and decorations for release, hold release party the 16th (tentative)
4/18 Hand in final projects
4/27 SENIOR PROJECT FAIR
