CASE: Spring 2020

Juntos by Johnny Barrera

Has someone in your family ever told you a story that made you ask, “Who are you”?  This is the case for many immigrant families. In a time of ICE raids and deportation, Latinx youth should ask the older generations about their stories. This is a piece based on the need for exchange within Latinx immigrant family circles. This is the beginning of a process of healing and reconciliation for the parties involved. After the interviews were conducted for this project, one could see there are reasons older Latinx immigrants live in fear and heartache. They only want what is best for their families, and their stories reflect that. This piece is meant to inspire conversation between generations and hopefully foster a space for understanding one another.

Zoom Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2S9tF8k8MU

Final Project (PDF)

Gordon in Orvieto Marketing Campaign by Alana Brubaker

During our time abroad, we learned that enrollment numbers in the Gordon in Orvieto study abroad program are dwindling. Because this program is marketed towards students that are a part of the art department, few students outside of the major are interested in being a participant. We believe that the program holds important things for all students, and our Gordon in Orvieto Marketing Campaign aims to inform current and prospective Gordon students of the multifaceted and well-rounded nature of the program. By creating different profiles on various social media platforms and planning events specific to the three values we see as central to the program, we hope to engage the community in a new way, showing them that Gordon in Orvieto offers not only learning experiences in creativity, but also in community and spirituality.

Project Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ns80yRegr0E

JUD Jr. by Aidan Conant

JUD Jr. is an after-school workshop that is intended to help kids understand how public speaking is not something to be feared, but rather enjoyed! The goal is that though multiple sessions, students of a local elementary school will gain the skills needed to present their own speech at the JUD talk event at Gordon College. Through the help of the JUD talk finalists, who would act as mentors, the sessions would follow a “curriculum” that would help teach the basics of public speaking while having fun! The sessions were aimed to take place at North Shore Christian school and would incorporate the school’s older students.

Project Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfQoHSQlIvc&feature=youtu.be

Old and New Buildings by Raegan Davenport 

For my final project, I am making a website where I can show different styles of architecture around Massachusetts, whether it be old or new buildings. I am going to different areas in Massachusetts and taking pictures of either abandoned buildings or buildings where they are fairly new and talk about them. I am going to put a small caption underneath each picture summarizing what the building used to be or what it is now and where the location is, so people can decide if they want to go visit the sites. Each page on the website is going to be the different locations that I travel to.

Zoom Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2S9tF8k8MU

Project Link: https://cotinuum.wixsite.com/oldvsnew

A Cropped Reality by Lane Ditore

This project is an exploration of the realness, perceived or otherwise, of the lives we portray on Instagram. In this day and age we can edit, crop, and adjust photos in any which way we want to maximize the attractiveness, adventurousness, or moodiness of our lifestyle. A well-lived life should be seeking out authenticity, rather than promoting a cropped reality. My project showcases just how easy it is to ignore your life outside the frame of a 1x1 square on social media and is designed to make people think about what they are posting before they post it. Am I posting to make my life seem perfect and put together or to let people see who I truly am?

Project Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0SMlzvyL8o&feature=youtu.be

Presentation (PDF)

Open Source in the Workplace by Matthew Fong

Targeting educational institutions, this project will be geared towards presenting a full-fledged computer workstation system, complete with productivity tools that feature compatibility and feature parity with proprietary software. This will include replacing traditional products, such as the Adobe and Microsoft product suites. Communicating something like this might seem technical, but spare organizations from purchasing products they don’t need. All presented software is free of charge and attendees are invited to participate where possible.

Zoom Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2S9tF8k8MU

Finding Community during the Coronavirus by Susannah Henry

Staying at home during COVID-19 can easily make us all feel very isolated. There is encouragement, however, in knowing that everyone else around the world is dealing with the same restlessness and anxiety as yourself. Our sense of identity and community has been removed, and self-isolation can bring about loneliness in all of us. I was inspired by these circumstances and have been reaching out to hear about how they are doing. Then an idea hit me.

I wanted to interview people that I know around the world and let them share their stories and experiences of how the virus has changed their part of the world. Government laws and day to day life look very different for each community. By interviewing someone from each region of North America, Europe, and Asia, I wanted to show how each of our communities is reacting to this virus. I wanted to learn about how each person is fulfilling their need for human connection, as well as the role that technology is playing in this. As humans, we all have a common need for friendship, even if we cannot meet with people face to face. How can we fulfill this desire, while being isolated in our homes?

Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRVD91vzxT0

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfzJijXFe1g

Constant Presence by Jacob Hryzan

We go to the doctor once a year, the dentist twice a year. But we never go in for check-ins for our mental health. Why is that? With my creative project I aimed to reduce the stigma behind mental health and build it into the norm at Gordon. Through my attendance of counseling sessions I was encouraged to live a life more presently and to enjoy the smile glimpses of beauty within my everyday life.

Zoom Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDxz_BzyYGE&feature=youtu.be

Final Project Link: https://jhryzan.myportfolio.com/ 

My Log of Quarantine by Mei-Shan (Mary) Jin

The problem that I want to address is how people today are lacking empathy for others. I want to use how my life is during the quarantine as an example to get others that are also going through the quarantine to feel related. And by addressing how I didn’t really care about what is going on around the world but only myself being bored, I hope I can make the audience put more effort into learning about what is going on outside the world. At first, I was thinking of making a video about the “human race” and the world, but I felt like doing that will be a too broad topic. Also, because social media trends are very important in communication, so I decide to narrow down my topic to the quarantine and making it into an animated video log, which is a very popular way to address life recently on social media.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EIJ373YMCQ

Presentation: https://youtu.be/263S9a9LzBE

Quantic Sphere by Rods Kanecadan 

A mass communication medium that is still seldomly brought up as a vehicle for change is video games. My project aims at pushing this medium forward by presenting the issue of corporate corruption through the eyes of an insider, and it takes the shape of a video game design document. The game’s design aims to tell a story of corporate espionage through the player’s actions and choices. How they respond to different characters and situations will dictate how matters will progress. While espionage games are usually military based, this would be espionage that focuses on its civilian aspects which relies more on conversation, positioning and appearance.

Video Presentation: Click Here to Watch

Final Portfolio (PDF)

The coVIDEO Project by DJ McCarthy

My many film and communications projects during my time here at Gordon has led me to learn one simple lesson, things can and will go wrong. Whether it’s “Sorry, I can’t be at the shoot today”, to “Oh shoot, I forgot to charge the batteries”, very few problems have been as detrimental as “Sorry, you can’t go outside and talk to people to film because there’s a global pandemic”. At the last minute, I had to scrap all of the ideas I had for a senior project and start from scratch, but it’s become very clear that I am far from the only one on this planet that has needed to completely restructure everything. All over the world, jobs are being lost, schools are being moved online, and newly licensed health workers are being called to step up to the plate. All these stories about how this drastic change to the world is affecting people globally has proven to be one of the most monumental events in social media history, and something I thought could be fun to document. The idea for “The coVIDEO Project” was a way to get people’s stories heard from around the country, showing both the bda, but also the good and exciting, that has come from such a huge crisis.

Zoom Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDxz_BzyYGE&feature=youtu.be

Project Link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSWNuWUBjCiAC6M7WeSUMoekKuZEGqwvz

Sexuality and The Closet at Gordon by Ty Michonski

“Is talking about LGBTQ+ related issues at Gordon College taboo? In my senior project, “Sexuality and The Closet”, I gather anonymous stories from Gordon College students about LGBTQ+ related issues and the closet. At Gordon, many people don’t feel comfortable sharing their perspective, for many different reasons, and I wanted to give the space for students to share their stories and beliefs. I received responses from 70 students, LGBTQ+ and non-LGBTQ+, with many different perspectives and beliefs. These stories in this project were gathered and the data was organized and studied. In the future, this will be turned into a facilitatory conversation for the Gordon College community.”

Zoom Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2S9tF8k8MU

Final Paper: Sexuality and The Closet (PDF)

Gordon in Orvieto Marketing Campaign by Olivia Neal 

Upon our return to the United States from Italy, Alana Brubaker and I have had a heart to share our experience of studying abroad in Orvieto with others. Through this, we have learned that many college students have worries of being away from home or concerns of how study abroad might fit into their schedule that inhibit them from considering such experiences. This has caused studying abroad programs to dwindle in size. We believe this must change. Our goal has been to create a social media platform for Orvieto and three party events on campus that reflect and immerse students in the community, spiritual, and creative life of the Gordon in Orvieto program specifically. Through this process, we have created a fun and engaging way to potentially increase enrollment by promoting and marketing the extraordinary every-day life of Gordon in Orvieto.

Project Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ns80yRegr0E

Take Back What's Mine by Sarah Petrillo

In the EP Take Back What's Mine, I address the limiting beliefs that all too often come with religion. We are told to die to the flesh, and while this message is, at its core, good, it is repeatedly taken too far. The result of this is lives where dreams are abandoned and unfulfilled. In order to achieve your dreams, you have to define them, make plans to achieve them, and ferociously go after them. While some may feel empowered by their Christian religion to do just this, I am not alone in feeling pulled tight and crushed by that same religion's strictures. This musical journey has taught me not only the process of writing and recording an album but has freed me to admit and go after my dream of becoming not just a professional musician, but a pop star.

Final Project Report (PDF)

The Girls: A TV Adaptation by Cameron Stanley

Human nature’s desire and need for companionship and love is something we all have experienced in our lives. In our young adult lives, these desires can be overwhelming and extremely impactful to our growth into adulthood and the development of our identity. This project focuses on these ideas communicated through the novel The Girls by Emma Cline, which shows that it is a part of human nature, no matter what age, to want connections and love from the people around you, and how the search for these things at a young age can go disastrously wrong. Through scripts and visual designs for a potential TV show adaptation of the novel, this capstone gives the story, and the significant messages within it, new life.

Video Presentation: Click Here ➔

Script (PDF)

The DNC, GOP, and SNL by Arwen Struthers

As the 2020 election draws nearer, political tensions are rising and political polarization is at an all-time high in the United States. Throughout my research on the causes of increased political polarization, I focused on the influence of late-night shows. I believe humor is a powerful tool of communication that unite, divide, and motivate communities. In addition to a research paper on political polarization, humor, and late-night shows, I used my findings to create several pieces of political humor, modeled after the most frequently used formats while also remaining true to the purpose of political comedy and late-night shows.

Zoom Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDxz_BzyYGE&feature=youtu.be

Final Project: The GOP, DNC, and SNL (PDF)

1917 By Tori Thompson

For my Senior Seminar project I researched and analyzed the film “1917” (2019), directed by Sam Mendes. As a Communication Arts and History major, my goal was to view a historic film and analyze what is effectively (or not effectively) being communicated about the historic time period or event. My film analysis compares 1917 to a few other 21st century war films as well, such as Dunkirk and Midway. I started by watching the film 1917. I realized that this film is not your average war film. This film tires you out. Sam Mendes created a film that made you feel like you were there in the action because of its smooth transitions between scenes. I learned that this film deserved every award that it received. The film 1917 is not enjoyed by everyone but Mendes accomplished his goal. He effectively created a new way of communicating history through film.

Project Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbfn_6pgl3U

1917 Film Analysis (PDF)

Project Distance by Aaron Van Cleef

The most important thing I’ve learned through my communication expertise is the ability to adapt to changing circumstances. Whether that change is using a friend as a human camera tripod when equipment fails or managing the logistics of changing a river kayaking trip to an indoor rock-climbing trip to due unexpected inclement weather. Like many of us, COVID-19 has posed a huge challenge to adapt to. Originally, I had hoped to make a short film and Instagram page to provide ideas for people to have short social outdoor adventures with others and enjoy the benefits of the outdoors in the Boston Northshore area. Now due to the new circumstances we find ourselves unable to spend time outside as we used to. Through the use of social media and a blog I aim to provide people with ways of battling cabin fever and scratching the outdoors itch while still remaining socially responsible.  

Zoom Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDxz_BzyYGE&feature=youtu.be

Anti-Branding: Post Modern Art Meets Dark Consumerism Truths by Rachel Wang 

The surmountable power of advertising is strongest when it’s widely accepted and unquestioned in society. This status protects companies and brands from letting their dark secrets come into the light. Anti-branding has opened society’s eyes to these injustices in a symbolic way of protesting. My designs will be inspired by my research on anti-branding and corporations the movement addresses. I hope to use this opportunity to develop my skills as a designer and expand other’s knowledge on what goes on behind their favorite brands. 

Project Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAs56mFxHJA

Living Undocumented by Suzy Williams

Within the United States there are about 11.3 million immigrants living undocumented. That’s equivalent to about 3.4% of the population. Many Americans are unaware of these individuals and the constant hardships they face every day. America is supposed to be a country for new opportunities and a chance to create a better life. Yet why is it that when I hear the stories of immigrants, the opportunities they face in America are so limited? With my project, I hope to spread awareness of the issues regarding immigrants and documentation. I hope by raising awareness, we can create better lives for undocumented citizens in seek of a new beginning.

Video link to presentation: https://youtu.be/2ZnWrb1K-PA

Project link: https://xd.adobe.com/view/818c3d85-aebd-450e-60f3-7c581d7034aa-f7bd/?fullscreen