Post for Pre-Defense

Friday, August 21, I will turn in my third and final draft of my paper and film before my defense. I have been working with Dr. Holmevik this week to get everything together. Tomorrow, August 20, I will take my paper to the copy shop and have it printed professionally to turn in. I have addressed the concerns of my committee and look forward to defending. I know that they may still have requests and have let them all know that I will continue to address any concerns they may have before my defense. On Saturday, August 22, I will travel to Pomaria for the grand re-opening of The Hope School and will screen my film there. My boyfriend and I are going to tape the event so that I can make a presentation for my defense from that footage. Although this will be the last post before my defense, I will post after my defense to let everyone know how it went.

Post for 7/27

Although I have not posted in quite a while I have been working on my project.
After Summer Session I ended I took a little break and then began meeting with Mrs. Ramirez on a pretty frequent basis and also met with Dr. Fishman about changes she would like me to make to my paper. I am keeping a list of revisions requested by my committee so I know what each member has asked me to fix.
I have not received any new comments about my film, but am hoping to receive comments by the end of this week so I can make changes over the weekend and get my third draft out early next week.

Post for 6/25

Since my last post I have been able to meet with both Dr. Skrodzka-Bates and Barbara Ramirez. I met with Dr. Skrodzka-Bates on Tuesday and we discussed how to incorporate race into my film, but she did say that I do not need to change it that much. I am going to incorporate more of the alumnus interviews that I have. She did say that she would rather see me address race in my paper, so I have specific instructions to follow when it comes to that and will work on that this weekend.
I have met with Mrs. Ramirez twice now and we have worked through the Theoretical Context section of my paper. She is helping me to make sure that everything flows the way it should. I have implemented her suggestions and will continue to meet with her until my paper is as perfect as possible.
My plan is to get a second cut of my film and another draft of my paper to my committee by July 1 so that they will have until August 1 to look over it.

Post for 6/17

I have not posted in a while because have gotten a little hectic. The following has happened since my last post:
I will not be able to graduate in August because of my committee’s availability, so I have decided to take research hours in the fall and graduate in December. I have to defend by September 17 and Dr. Holmevik says that it will not be a problem.
I have turned in a first cut to everyone on my committee, Jay Hope, Ron Knorr.
I have received comments from Dr. Skrodzka-Bates and have set up a meeting with her to discuss her comments. I have also received comments from Ron Knorr who suggested I find some different music for one section of my film. Jay Hope also commented and said that the film looks great.
I also turned in another draft of my paper and Dr. Holmevik has given me some feedback and I revised my draft. Dr. Holmevik also suggested I set up an appointment with Mrs. Barbara Ramirez in the 1941. Mrs. Ramirez helps masters and doctoral students with their theses and project papers, so I have set up a meeting with her and will incorporate her comments once I receive them.
I will make a post once I have received more comments and have implemented them.

Problem and Solution

Before leaving for Maryland I turned in a copy of my first cut to Dr. Holmevik. We watched it together in his office and he gave me some pointers on things I could improve on. While I was away, he watched it a few more times and thought that the narration had a metallic sound to it and would like me to have Jay Hope do it again with a voice recorder instead of video recording it.
I was able to set up a meeting with Jay Hope for May 21 and went to Greenville to do so.
Drr. Holmevik also thought that some of the pictures I had were grainy and I tried to find some better quality photos, but a lot of the pictures are from the 1920s and later, so the original quality of them is not the best. Having a good quality photo will make my project look better, but for some of the photos, a better quality is just not available.
Before going to Greenville, my computer died again, so I spoke with Apple and they completely replaced my computer, so hopefully those kinds of problems are behind me. Since my computer did not arrive before I met with Jay Hope, I went to the MATRF and borrowed an Olympus digital voice recorder and a microphone.
Now that I have my new computer, I will again work on a new first cut to get out to my committee and client by Monday, June 1. I will be meeting with Dr. Holmevik this Thursday and will have a cut to show him.

Post Production Begins

When beginning post production, I realized I did not have enough content for the narration, so I went online to find more photos. I also needed to find photos for other parts of the documentary. I found the following photos: the first Rosenwald schools; the blue prints for different sized schools; Rosenwald and Washington, together and separate; children playing outside of a Rosenwald school; students in the Tuskegee library; a teacher with a student in a Rosenwald school; a child studying; a bible; and a vacant Hope School. These photos will be included to help me tell my story.
When I began putting things together I had to refer to my script and the story I wanted to tell. I knew the kinds of photos I wanted to place in the beginning of the documentary and how I wanted to display them. The photos I chose are serious and reflect the seriousness of the documentary.
Before I could import any of the video files into iMovie, I had to convert them from .mpeg to .mov because iMovie does not import movies in .mpeg. I downloaded a free program called ‘Prism’ in order to do this. As of right now I have not been able to convert all of the files because it freezes a lot, so I may need to use a different program or try it on a different computer.
After converting the files, I needed to figure out how to get the audio from the narration to go along with the photos. I went online and found help through a blog “Unlocking iMovie ‘08” that was written by someone named Aaron. The most difficult part of this process was making sure I only had the audio I needed for that section.
The decisions I made during post production were intended to reflect what I set out to do. I was thinking about what my client wanted and how they would be reflected in the film. I also wanted to be sure that the importance of this time in history was stressed.
The font I chose for the opening of the movie and subtitles was Papyrus. This font looks serious, but also soft at the same time, reflecting the seriousness of the documentary, but also showing a more emotional side of the film.

Production Day

Because of all of the planning I did during pre-production, my production day went smoothly. My day began in Pomaria where I met Jay Hope and Ron Hope. Ron Knorr and I drove from Greenville. Once I arrived, I had to figure out where I wanted to shoot. I had to make sure the location I chose had enough light and there was not too much extraneous noise. Ron Knorr showed me the spot where he conducted his interviews when he was there previously, so I thought that it would be a good idea to shoot my footage in the same spot. The lighting was good because the room had multiple windows and some lights. I began to set everything up and my tripod broke, but Jay Hope had one that he let me use.
Since I had given everyone a packet that said what I needed to accomplish that day, we were all on the same page. First we decided to shoot the narration. I shot the narration because Dr. Holmevik thought that I might want to include some of it in the documentary, but I am just going to use the audio because the script is lengthy and would have taken a long time to memorize. I was very flexible while shooting the narration. Jay Hope had some recommendations for some parts of the script, which I agreed with, so he said a few things differently than what I had written. I made sure to shoot each section a couple of times so that I could get the best audio possible. I also did some tests and the Bluetooth microphone worked very well. Before Jay Hope left I asked him if he knew of any music that I could include because I have had trouble finding some. I told him what kind of music I was looking for and he said that he could find some.
After I shot the narration we took a break for a minute because the room was pretty hot. Next I decided to shoot Ron Hope’s interview. I had already prepared the questions I wanted to ask, so I proceeded to ask him the questions and got a lot of information from of him. After I was finished with this interview I had to charge the camera. Even though I charged it the night before so that it would be fully charged, but the narration and the interview with Ron Hope used a lot of the battery and I did not want to have it die during my interview with Ron Knorr.
While the camera was charging I decided to take the stills I needed to get. I walked around the grounds and took exterior pictures of the school and also of the church. When I first arrived I had taken some interior pictures to show the restoration that Ron has been doing.
After I took the stills I needed to take, I interviewed Ron Knorr. He also had a lot of valuable information to tell me. Lastly, I took a picture of all three men separately and together, along with one of the two Hopes together.
After Ron Knorr and I left Pomaria, we traveled to Newberry College, where James Haskell Hope received a Master’s. I took some pictures of a dorm that was the only building left on the campus when he was there. I also took some stills of the signs around the campus that talked about its historical significance.
When I got back to Clemson, I went to the MATRF and imported all of the footage from the camcorder because I had to return it. When I got home I looked at the footage in order to figure out what I needed to do to start laying out the film.

Post for April 28

I met with Dr. Holmevik on Friday, April 24 and we discussed my paper and the shooting I am going to do on Monday. He had made some comments on my paper that I needed to address. His comments were that I should add a title page, table of contents, and photos with a photo list. I had added appendices and I also needed to move them from before the works cited page to after it. Since I am still looking for some of the photos, so far I added a picture of Julius Rosenwald and a photo of The Hope School. He suggested that I add the blue prints of the school when I talk about it. Dr. Holmevik said that I should take pictures of Ron Hope, Jay Hope, and Ron Knorr while I am in Pomaria so I can add them to my paper. My appendices included my agreement letter and my project schedule. I added my script to the appendices as well. He also suggested that I change the purpose section to the executive summary and also change the problem statement section to the introduction.
After discussing my paper we talked about shooting on Monday. I went to the MATRF and got a microphone and a Sony Handycam with a blue tooth microphone. I was just going to get a microphone, but then I realized that I had no way of recording the sound and I could not hook the microphone to the camera. One of the MATRF staff helped me with the Sony Handycam and told me that it would be better sound quality and would not require trying to sync the sound with the footage. Dr. Holmevik reminded me that I should be prepared for anything to happen and have a plan B and maybe even C. I am also going to be taking my digital camera with me so that I can take some stills of the exterior of The Hope School and any other things I might want to get. Dr. Holmevik suggested that I take a lot of pictures so that I can choose the best ones from them in post production.
We also talked about the presentation that I will give when I defend. Dr. Holmevik said that he would like the presentation to be a “The Making of” film. Because of this suggestion he said that I should have someone take pictures of me while I am in Pomaria so that I can include them in the presentation. I am also going to have someone take pictures of me while I am working on the documentary. I can also add some of these pictures to my paper.

Post for April 24

This week I worked on my paper and prepared for my production day on Monday, 4/27. I thought of some questions to ask and talking points for the people I am going to interview. I have gathered all of my equipment and will pick up some sound equipment from the MATRF today.
I was not able to meet with Dr. Holmevik on our normal day, so I am meeting with him today. We will discuss my project paper and the final script. I am going to send the script to Jay Hope so that he can familiarize himself with it before I actually record him.
Last week Dr. Holmevik and I came up with a new schedule for the next couple of weeks. I am going to turn in a rough draft of my film and my paper by May 6 and I will turn in a final cut of my film by June 1, which leaves me three weeks to defend.

Post for April 16

Last week I revised my script and sent it back to Ron Knorr to see if he had anymore suggestions. I received my script back from him on Tuesday and began to make the final revisions he suggested. I sent a copy to Dr. Holmevik once I was finished and we will meet on Tuesday, April 21 to discuss it. Once I have completed my script I will send the final version to Jay Hope so that he can familiarize himself with it for when I do narration.
I am planning to do most of my production on Monday, April 27. I contacted Jay Hope to see what works best for him, and also Ron Knorr. I believe that Ron Knorr will accompany me to Pomaria that day. Jay Hope also gave me the phone numbers for Ron Hope and Tenetha Hall, who I will contact and see if they are available that day as well. I am hoping to be able to complete production by Wednesday, April 29 so that I can begin to make my first cut.
Dr. Holmevik said it would be okay for me to make the first cut in iMovie, which means that I can work on it at home. Since I will be going out of town in the beginning of May, he would like me to have my first cut finished and to my committee, Jay Hope, and Ron Knorr so that they can review it while I am away and when I return I can make any revisions necessary and put it into Final Cut Pro.
Since I am waiting on approval of my script, I will continue to work on my paper because Dr. Holmevik would also like me to have a draft to my committee before I go out of town. In the next week I will prepare for production by thinking of questions that I will ask those I will be interviewing and I will also continue my search for appropriate background music.

Post for April 9

At the beginning of this week Jay Hope let me know that he had received my script and requested that I let Ron Knorr look at it to make sure my facts are historically correct. Ron sent me some comments on the script, so I also worked on those changes. Ron suggested that I revise part of my introduction, which after reading his comments, I agree with. He suggested that I reference the paper he wrote as well in the section “Where the Idea Came From.” Ron said that Ron Hope may not be familiar with the details of the land, so I may want to ask Jay Hope, but since he is going to be doing some narration, I still want to talk to Ron Hope about who James Haskell Hope was. He suggested that I refer to the number of Rosenwald schools built and in what time frame in the section of my script entitled “The Hope Rosenwald School.” Lastly, Ron suggested that I also reference Tenetha Flemon Hall as well as the pastor of the church when I discuss the rebuilding. He also agreed to be interviewed and possibly read some of his paper and travel with me to Pomaria during my production week.
In the coming week I will continue to contact those who I would like to interview during my production week. I have sent a revised copy of my script to Ron Knorr and Dr. Holmevik. I will make revisions as needed and then send a final copy of my script to Jay Hope so he can look it over and read it before my production week when I will be shooting his narration. Jay Hope also offered to get in touch with someone who I may want to have narrate some parts of the documentary since he has a “James Earl Jones-esque” voice, which is what I wanted in the beginning.

Post for April 2

I found out last Thursday that I passed my Oral exam!!! Now I will be able to concentrate strictly on my project.
Dr. Holmevik’s class that I attended last week was an overview of iMovie, but was very helpful in seeing how various aspects of the software work. I feel confident about using Final Cut Pro.
This week I sent my script to Jay Hope for review. I sent it on Tuesday, March 31, so he should get it in a day or two. After he looks it over, I will make any revisions he requests and get it approved by Jay Hope and Dr. Holmevik. After these changes I will finish my script and begin getting ready for my production week, which is April 27. In order to get ready I will get in touch with everyone who I want to interview to set up a time and a place to meet for the interviews. Once I know what my schedule will be during production week, I will post it to my blog.
Also this week, Dr. Holmevik got the students who he is chairing together to give us some tips on how to prepare for our defense. He would like for me to provide each member of my committee with my project paper bound. He would also like for the bound paper to include a sleeve for my film, this way they can each have a nice copy of what I have been working on for all of these months. He told me that I should prepare a five minute presentation to present at the beginning of my defense and then I should discuss what I have done to address the concerns presented to me by my committee. He also told me to be confident and not to be defensive, but positive instead. These tips were very helpful and will prepare me for my defense in June.
Since I did not really have much of my script to work on this week, I decided to begin working on my project paper. I began with the theoretical context section of my paper. In this section I talked the different styles of documentary there are as defined by Bill Nichols in his article “The Voice of Documentary”. I also discussed the rhetorical situation as defined by Charles Kostelnick and David Roberts in their book Designing Visual Language: Strategies for Professional Communicators.
Next I worked on the Method section of my paper. In the method section, I have a subsection entitled research. In this section I discussed the different kinds of research I had to do before I even began making the documentary.
The next subsection of the method section is the process section. In the process section I discussed downloading ‘Celtx’ and using it to write my script. I also discussed the different sections of the script and what is included in each section. I also talked about how I used Kostelnick and Roberts’ rhetorical situation to decide what I needed to do in pre-production and put into my script. I also discussed the style of documentary I would use in creating my film that I learned about from reading Bill Nichols’ article.
The other sections of my paper that I have not done much work on yet include: Purpose, My Client, Problem Statement, and Historical Context. The Historical Context section in my paper will be very similar to the Historical Context section in my proposal. I will speak with Dr. Holmevik about other sections I should include.

Post for March 26

This week I really focused on writing my script. My script began as a word document where I just put down what I wanted to have narrated and the different sections I wanted to have. After attending Dr. Holmevik’s Visual Communication class before Spring Break, I downloaded a program called Celtx, which is a script writing program. This program enables you to have scene headings, write down the action you want in each scene and the dialog for each scene. Celtx also formats the pages so it is clear what each section is. This was very helpful in getting my ideas out of my head and on paper.
For the first draft of my script I copy and pasted what I had in the word document, but I also began thinking about what I wanted each scene to look like, which is what goes into the action part of the script. My first draft did not have a lot of information in the action part, so on my first revision, I had to go back and put more information into it. The RCID student who spoke during Dr. Holmevik’s class told us that pre-production is very important and writing the script is included in pre-production. The more detailed your action is in the script, the easier it will be during production and post-production.
I met with Dr. Holmevik this past Tuesday and he told me to trim some of the dialog in various parts of my script and transcribe the interviews I will include and put the transcriptions into the dialog sections of my script. Having these transcriptions is helpful for me when I am timing my script. As it stands right now I have nine and a half minutes of script, but I am still missing two to three interviews. As my schedule states, I am planning to get those interviews the week of April 27.
I also met with Dr. Holmevik earlier today and he said a scene in my script was very lengthy, so he asked me to break it up into different scenes, which I have done and will take to his Visual Communication class I am attending tonight. The class tonight is on post-production, so I am hoping to learn some tips that will help me when my post-production time comes in the next couple of months.
My next task is to find music for the documentary. I have been looking on iTunes and the internet for music, but have been having trouble finding the right sound. I am looking for old country (not like Alan Jackson country, but like deep south country from the early 1920s), spiritual, jazz/blues type music. I will continue to search for the right sound. I have also been looking for pictures and have been given the use of a picture of Rosenwald I found on Sears’ website. I am still searching for pictures of Booker T. Washington, Rosenwald, and Hope.
Once this draft of my script is approved by Dr. Holmevik I will send it to Jay Hope to approve and will move on from there. I am hoping to get my script to Jay Hope this weekend or early next week. I am planning on mailing it to him, which was suggested by Dr. Holmevik.
I am looking forward to having a completed script and getting going with Final Cut Pro. I am going to go to the MATRF tomorrow to work with Final Cut Pro and am hoping to place some of the stills I have and possibly start storyboarding. I realize that I may have to move some things around, but I think getting something down will help.

Project Schedule

Pre-Production
Week of March 16-Work on script
Week of March 23-Work on and edit script; Contact Ron Knorr about interview for film
March 24-Meet with Dr. Holmevik and discuss script
March 26-Meet with Dr. Holmevik about changes made to script; Post to blog about script writing; Send copy of script to Jay Hope for approval and ask about recording narration the week of April 27; Attend Dr. Holmevik’s class about post-production
March 27-Go to MATRF and work with Final Cut Pro
Week of March 30-Make revisions to script that Dr. Holmevik and Jay Hope suggest
March 31-Meet with Dr. Holmevik and other students about what a defense entails/Discuss revisions of script afterwards
April 2-Post to blog about revisions and script writing
April 3-Go to MATRF and work with Final Cut Pro
Week of April 6-Make any final revisions and complete script
April 7-Meet with Dr. Holmevik about final script
April 9-Post to blog about completing script
April 10-Go to MATRF and work with Final Cut Pro
Week of April 13-Organize footage and stills I already have to determine what I will need when I go to Pomaria; Contact Ron Hope and pastor of the church about interviews the week of April 27
April 14-Meet with Dr. Holmevik about interviews
April 16-Post to blog about interviews
April 17-Go to MATRF and work with Final Cut Pro
Week of April 20-Work on project paper (this week the college that I have my assistantship in holds a faculty forum and I will be assisting them with set up, the forum itself, and take down)
April 21-Meet with Dr. Holmevik to discuss project paper
April 23-Post to blog about project paper

Production
Week of April 27-Record narration with Jay Hope; Interview Ron Knorr; Interview Ron Hope; Interview pastor of church; Get any extra footage and stills that I will need; Meet with Dr. Holmevik to discuss production; Post to blog about production

Post-Production
Week of May 4-Continue work with Final Cut Pro and building the film; Complete a draft
May 5-Meet with Dr. Holmevik about building film
May 7-Post to blog about building film
Week of May 11-I will be in Maryland for the first part of the week, but will work on my project paper
May 15-Draft of project to Jay Hope
Week of May 18-Implement revisions from Jay Hope
May 21-Post to blog about revisions
Week of May 25-Finalize all revisions
May 28-Post to blog about revisions
Week of June 1-Final cut of project to Jay Hope and my Committee
June 4-Post to blog about final cut
Week of June 8-Work on final project paper and any revisions that have been recommended
Week of June 15-Finalize all aspects of project
Week of June 22-Defend project

Update

I have decided to graduate in August and attend the first summer session in order to finish my project. This means that I will have more time to complete my project and it will be of better quality. The schedule I have posted reflects this.
This past week was Spring Break and I began work on my script and have five pages at this point. I will be meeting with Dr. Holmevik today and continue revising my script throughout this week and next. During Spring Break I hit a few walls with writing, so I actually began some work on my project paper. Also, I will begin to actually post every Thursday. I apologize for not having consistent updates, but this will change beginning this week.

Update on my computer and a few plans for moving forward

I was able to get my computer back yesterday, so I began reconstructing my storyboard last night. I was able to look at all of the stills and video I had gotten from Ron Knorr. I made a list of the possible pieces of interviews I could include in the documentary and pulled aside the stills I think I can use.
Tonight I will be attending Dr. Holmevik's Visual Communication class because he has a speaker coming who will talk about speech writing for film. I am hoping to get some helpful tips on writing the narrator/voice over parts of the speech.
Jay Hope has offered to help me with narration, which I think will help create ethos since he is a member of the committee who is rebuilding The Hope School and a relative of the family who deeded the land where The Hope School now stands. I had originally wanted a James Earl Jones-esque voice, but I think that a member of the Hope family will have a bigger impact on the audience.
Beginning next week I will spend at least 7-10 hours a week in the MATRF working with Final Cut Pro and putting together my project.
I also have plans to go to Pomaria over my Spring Break. I am hoping to get my own stills and meet Ron Hope. It is possible that I can get an interview out of him to put into the documentary as well.
After I attend Dr. Holmevik's class this evening I am hoping to come up with a project timeline, which I will post as soon as it is complete.

Post for February 27

Last week, I took my Oral exam. I also spoke with Dr. Holmevik and we have decided to meet once a week, most likely on Tuesdays. We are going to work to create a more detailed schedule and I will post it here. Now I will begin intensive work on my project and plan to make a trip to Pomaria very soon. Every week I will have some sort of deliverable to show him and my blogs will be much more detailed.
My harddrive failed in my computer, but it is being fixed as we speak. I was able to get a loaner until my computer will be fixed, so I will be able to do some work this week. Also, the storyboard that I created was not saved anywhere besides my harddrive, so I lost that, but I do have my script saved to my flash drive. From now on I will save everything to either my flash drive, external harddrive, or both.

Report for February 13 and February 20

I. In the last two weeks I have honestly not gotten a lot accomplished. My computer stopped working this week and I am taking it to be looked at tomorrow. But I was able to pick up my book on Final Cut Pro. I have also looked at some of the stills. Luckily I have all of the footage and stills on my external hard drive, but I did not get a chance to save my storyboard to it yet. I am hoping that my files will be able to be recovered. I do have some hand written versions of the storyboard though. I also saved the script I was working on to my flash drive, so I still have that to work with. On another note, I have also been studying for my Oral exam these past two weeks since it is February 25.

II. This coming week I will mostly be studying for my Oral exam. I will be getting my computer looked at and hopefully fixed. After my Oral exam I will begin looking at the Final Cut Pro book so I can get a better idea of what I am dealing with. I am pretty comfortable with iMovie, so I am not too worried about using the software.

Report for February 6

I. This week I was able to get the footage and stills from my classmate on Wednesday. I have not had a chance to look at the footage yet. I have also been thinking more about new interviews and the kinds of questions I would like to ask. I have also been studying for my Oral exam.
II. In the next week I will watch the footage and look at the stills to determine where they will fit into the documentary. I will try to make some contacts, especially for a narrator. I will also continue to study for my Oral exam.

Report for January 30

I. This week I created a tentative storyboard in iMovie. Dr. Holmevik suggested in our meeting last week that this might be a good idea, so I gave it a try. I have laid out some of my plans and also created some new ideas from what I thought about previously. While I was working on the storyboard I also began working on the script, which also helped generate some interview ideas. I would like to get Ron Knorr on video because of the paper that he wrote about the school. I would also like to get a Hope family member to talk about Mr. Hope and also I would like to get Ascoli (Rosenwald’s grandson), even if it is just his voice, to talk about Rosenwald. Also this week I was supposed to get some footage from a classmate, but she could not make our meeting, so we rescheduled for Tuesday.
II. In the next week I will work on getting the footage and watching it to determine what I can use. I have scheduled my Oral exam for February 25, so that will take some precedence at this point. I will continue to work on my project though and also work on a timeline. Once my Oral exam is over I will be able to have a much more concrete timeline.

Post for January 23

I. In the last week I have met with Dr Holmevik and we talked about a plan for completing my project. I will begin posting every week on Fridays. I will discuss the work I have done during the week and what I will do in the weeks to come. Part of my plan for this week was to begin learning more about the technology I will use. On Friday, January 23, I purchased a Sony Handy Cam camcorder and played around with its features over the weekend. I will use the camcorder to take my own footage. I also ordered a book on Final Cut Pro, which should be available for pick up by February 6.
II. This week I will work on a storyboard for my project. I will need to meet with a classmate to get the footage that she has and upload it to my external hard drive. Once I get this footage I will be able to formulate a more specific storyboard. I also need to think about the exact story I want to tell and the music that will go along with it. I will contact Ron Knorr to get some of the stills he has and I will also work on planning a trip to Pomaria to get any additional stills and footage I will need. This week I will also need to begin getting in touch with the people Jay Hope gave me contact information for. I am also going to work on a more definitive timetable in order to give myself deadlines and also to keep my committee and Jay Hope informed about my progress and when they can expect to see deliverables.