Harvest Sun by Igor Danilov - https://flickr/photos/123653963@N02/27204978589/

1. Harvest Sun by Igor Danilov - https://www.flickr.com/photos/123653963@N02/27204978589/ “…we often use immense resources… to achieve certain goals.” - Johnny Lee

2. “You get about 80% there for about 1% of the price.” It starts with the minds of the world connecting to one common idea or understanding. With this, you can start a revolution. - Johnny Lee To start a revolution, you need those who can form ideas, think creatively and logically, and help lead people to their ultimate goal. Johnny Lee begins by establishing his reputation as a researcher and scientist, and tells some brief information about himself and his colleagues and what they do. Along with this, he displays one of his creations while telling the difference something like his $50 digital dry erase board could make on the economy, people of the world, and the world. His remarks of managing to get it, “…downloaded over 500,000 times within three months.” throw the audience into a frenzy, confirming that they get his point. Lee is very to the point, and he gets there fairly quickly. This prevents the loss of audience members to boredom, and he does a fantastic job pacing his speech; aside from, of course, speaking a bit to quickly. The quick speech is not a massive deterrent, though, as it shows his excitement and enthusiasm. He [Lee] is very sure of what he is saying and doing, but he still mumbles, “Uhm” quite a bit. This can disconnect an audience from what they are watching and even break their thought process. It is as if the main character in a movie is running, then they sneeze and trip over the curb. Albeit you can tell that he is a very knowledgeable person on this topic, it does take away some of his trust and credibility. During the beginning of the show, he has made sure that one of the people who is also very respected as an engineer was sitting in the audience. He pointed at him and introduced him. This was more than just for introduction, it humanizes the audience because there is another big wig like Johnny Lee sitting with them, and it makes Lee acknowledge the audience. Throughout the presentation, he should have used a bit more humor to lighten his very serious tone. The serious tone got quite serious at some points because he used the shock and awe method to intrigue, but did not bring very much humor to make you smile afterword. Johnny Lee uses real world examples that make sense with modern technology, then gives slight nods as to how it might change the future. For example, he spoke briefly about how he is working with Sony to bring this tech into the video game industry again, then says “So, this has actually been a little bit startling to the gaming community.” (Lee, 4:05, Free or Cheap Wii Remote Hacks)

3. “SeekNovelty ChallengeYourself ThinkCreatively Do Things the Hard Way andNetwork.” - Gabe Zichermann La belle vie by Dante Elo - https://www.flickr.com/photos/141716711@N04/32813630332/

4. “Learning is fun, and learning is multi-player.” Sparking a revolution is not easy, and it takes the might of many before it can move from an idea to an uprising. - Gabe Zichermann Rallying the crowds to ideas that might oppose those of their own is a daunting task whether you are a professional speaker or a middle school presenter; they [the crowd] will believe what they want to. Gabe Zichermann used his skills with research to pre-emptively strike the opposing questions down. About nine minutes and 13 seconds into the video, he [Gabe] points out that with violence in video games, “…we also must acknowledge… if a kid is predisposed to violence, violent games may help make them a better violent child.” (Zichermann, 9:13, How Video Games Make Kids Smarter) After discussing the possibility of a future with games involved heavily in the schools, he mentions, “Mr. Pies class went from below [a] third grade level in reading and math, to a mid fourth grade level… in 18 weeks of a game based curriculum.” (Zichermann, 8:39, How Video Games Make Kids Smarter) Throughout his speech, and other speeches of his, he gains much traction when he backs his revelation inducing statements with evidence to challenge others prospectives. Not only does this force you to think about what he wants you to, it also makes you wonder about other topics that are similar; in this way, he conforms the audience to be more accepting and open to his ideas, and to also apply that thought process to other subconscious decisions in the future. Zichermann also has a strong ability to connect with the audience. In the beginning of this particular TED Talk, he opened by connecting to the audience on a personal and financial level, which makes people relate to his money struggles and show emotion to him because of that; similar to why songs give you butterflies at certain parts. Similarly, he invokes emotion from his audience by showing very powerful graphics that link to not only the text and the presentation, but also the moral and the purpose for his ideas. He reinforces his meaningful and impactful statements in a way that lets the audience, and reporters, know that it [the statement] is the big idea in a statement. For example, he is talking to the audience about how learning is swiftly transitioning into a world of connecting with others, he elaborates, “Learning is fun, and learning is multiplayer.” and repeats it over and over until finally saying, “Learning, multiplayer, got it?” (Zichermann, 9:04, How Video Games Make Kids Smarter) The most standout and emotional portion of his [Zichermann’s] talk was the closing when he asks the audience to leave their comfort zones to understand their kids and play with them. Leaving the audience on this note leaves a sweet taste in the parents of the audience’s mouths and leaves a calm taste on everyone else’s.

5. “Video games are not the cause, Video games are a symptom.” - Ali Carr-Chellman Duality by Víctor Manuel Fernández López - https://www.flickr.com/photos/121322236@N06/14766420636/

6. “They were turned off a long time before they got here..” Once an uprising has begun, there is no stopping those with the most to fight for,except those with the least to lose. - Ali Carr-Chellman Ali Carr-Chellman is very good at putting the audience in her mindset and convincing them to follow her lead. She used absolutely jaw dropping statistics that had her audience feeling slightly uncomfortable, and continued throughout the presentation as if it were gunfire. The machine gun stats mixed very well with the intricate amount of humor she decided to use, and it softened up the show enough that it wasn’t “murder” serious, but it was serious enough that the audience believed her and understood where she was coming from. Her [Carr-Chellman] opening begins with a question that begs the viewers mind: Why? “I’m here to tell you we have a problem with boys, and it’s a serious problem. Their culture isn’t working in schools.” gets the audience’s mind bubbling with thought, then she says, “And I am going to share with you ways that I think we can solve that problem.” This causes the audience to ponder her question, then trust her enough to follow her through the journey of why. Besides the imagery used in her statistics, she uses specific and hard-hitting imagery to back her statements as well. This allows the viewer to connect to the events or instances on a very personal level, and potentially even work out some empathy from them to soften the last blow. A presentation should be fun, and hers was, but it also proved to be very monotone. This can yank the audience out of the presenters mindset very briefly over and over to question why she doesn’t alter tone and sound. Even with her monotone setting, she manages to keep the people engaged with dazzling statistics, great choice in imagery, and a great path for the audience to walk down to understand her thinking and ideas. It is not always easy to get an audience to see your side clearly when it differs greatly from the mass opinion, but Carr-Chellman did just this when she said, “Video games are not the cause, video games are a symptom.” then continues, “…they [boys] were turned off long before they got here [school].” (Carr-Chellman, 3:44, Gaming to Re-Engage Boys in Learning) This elicits a very firm flow of thoughts to engage the audience and make them see that she may be right. She then elaborates that one reason boys are leaving school in droves is the zero tolerance policy. Her example is the suspension of an Eagle Scout for having his pen knife locked inside of his car at school, and she believes that this is going to far. This is when you see the audience fully grasp the concept of what she is trying to portray. She opens her closing by offering a very viable and doable solution, multiple in fact, to the problem. She then continues on to the potential threats to that solution, ways to fix those threats, and other issues we may face if we think like she is. Finally, she closes her talk with what the future could be if we accept her ideas.

7. ” “ A revolution is a struggle to the death between the future and the past. - Fidel Castro

8. Giving a presentation is no easy task, and they have to be planned down to the finest detail if you want to leave an impact. If a presentation doesn’t leave an impact, then you might have well stayed home. Statistical Imagery: Being able to use meaningful imagery to support statistics is a great skill to have. This enables connections that weren’t present before between a presenter and his audience. When you can connect on that level with them, it becomes easier to explain your point. Strategical Eye Contact: Making eye contact with each individual person at some point can make them feel motivated and as if you are singling them out at that moment. Eye contact can be one of the most important parts to convincing an audience of your views. Immediate Proof: Having props of the things you are talking about to present in more than just a visible way can add a sense of realism and sincerity to your work. Just as Lee used the Wii remotes to make incredible things, each presentation should have a prop that makes the audiences’ jaws drop. Hand Gestures: Hand gestures, when thought of ahead of time, can do more than just emphasize a point. I noticed that each presenter used their hands and arms in a meaningful way that further elaborates what their voices were saying. This kept the audience involved and kept the speaker excitable. Know the Material: Knowing the material before hand and being able to practice is critical to how the audience will see you. Stuttering and fallacies in grammar do not go over well when attempting to gain trust. Preemptive Strike: Preemptively answering any questions you can think the audience may have will fluidly transition more people to your views. Practice the Material: Practicing the material will give the presenter a strong confidence that cannot be taken away. This involves the audience, as they can tell when you have practiced. Continuously Connect: Connecting with the audience, not only in the beginning, but in the end as well is important. If you do not connect on an emotional level, none of the emotional material will sink in the way you intend it to, it might even go right over the audiences’ heads. Research the Audience: Finding out who you are talking to before writing your material can give you better jokes and better ways to explain things than before. Localized humor, facts, and knowledge goes a long way when connecting with an audience. Start with a Question, Answer in the End: Starting with a mind boggling or moral-bending question to the viewers can get their minds churning for the rest of the show, and lay the groundwork for what is to come. Ending by answering that question and providing possibilities for the future leaves audiences with a good taste on their tongue for you, so they will more likely think about your questions when they leave the show. Statistics, Statistics, Statistics: I found myself much more engrossed when I was being hit with statistics in lieu of bullets, it got me very interested in the material and made me want to learn as much as I could about the topic, then spread it to everyone I know. Information is key, and it is a very powerful weapon.

9. My Reasoning Behind the Images • Harvest Sun by Igor Danilov was used because farming is one of America’s oldest jobs where we must use immense tools in order to obtain the goal of food for survival. The image had the perfect sense of stillness, calmness, and large scale. The yellow stands out as if being lit by the sun with cowboy font. • La belle vie by Dante Elo was used because the man fishing for birds is doing all of the things that the picture says and it gives a feeling of hope and happiness like anything is possible, with stern but thin text to give a soft edge to the image. The yellow quotes are to be seen as reflecting from the sunset, with the white to stand out against the black silhouette and dark background. Also, the text starts dark and gets lighter as it goes into the sunset. • Duality by Víctor Manuel Fernández López was selected because of its specific meaning of Duality. This relates to the TED Talk because it was about the opposing belief from everyone else, the speaker believes that video games do not lead to violence, but to genius. The black and white background and foreground gives the exact message I intent with the black and white statement. The statment is highlighted in points to highlight the emotion I am trying to extract. • Finally the black background with white quote is to show the very nature of war, black an white with very little to show for it, unless the war is sparked by an uprising or revolution. The quote is to be thought about and have an individual emotion put to it that is different for each person. Putting an image may make the theme of the quote too specific. This is meant as a, “What do you take away from this presentation?” quote.