portfolio
hilights.org/student/brock
COVER 2010
Caley Brock 1711 S. Summerlin Ave. Orlando, FL 32806 caleybrock7@gmail.com hilights.org/student/brock Home: (407) 481-9952 Cell: (407) 403-2234 May 28, 2010 Renee Burke Journalism Advisor William R. Boone High School 2000 S. Mills Ave. Orlando FL, 32806 Dear Mrs. Burke, The Legend Yearbook needs a leader who can be committed to excellence in her own work and that of others in order to continue to improve the quality of the year and the publication. Because of this, please accept the accompanying resume to review for the position of Editor-in-Chief of the Legend Yearbook where I will continue to contribute to the success of the book. As the current Editor-in-Chief of this publication, I have the experience needed for another successful year. I wrote, designed and photographed for my theme pages as well as edited and assisted my fellow staffers. With experience in design, I was able to work to make a visually cohesive and appealing publication for the student body to enjoy. As a writer, I have the experience needed to write and teach theme copy and theme development to a fellow editor. Through my experience as editor, I learned and improved my communication by working with a partner. I enjoy the creativity that goes into creating an appealing publication with the largest possible readership. While I have learned an immense amount this year, I can still learn more and am willing to accept any criticism and suggestions. Being the Editor-in-Chief would allow me to continue to develop my skills as a leader, journalist and photographer to purse my goal of attending college for graphic design and business. While the accompanying resume portrays my skills and experience accurately, I feel a personal interview would better demonstrate my knowledge and abilities to be Editor-in-Chief. I would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you and the other editor, Emily Butterfield, at a convenient time. More examples of my work can be found at my online portfolio at hilights.org/student/brock. Thank you for considering me. I look forward to talking to you soon. Respectfully yours,
Caley Brock Enclosed: resume
RESUME 2010
Caley Brock 1711 S. Summerlin Ave. Orlando, FL 32806 caleybrock7@gmail.com hilights.org/student/brock Home: (407) 481-9952 Cell: (407) 403-2234
Objective To continue to become a better journalist, photographer and graphic designer as Editor-in-Chief of the 2011 Legend Yearbook.
Education Completed three years at William R. Boone High School Graduation date: June 2011 Unweighted GPA: 4.0; Top 1% of class Relevant high school courses: French I, II, III; Writing I; English Honors Gifted I, II; AP Language and Composition; AP Calculus AB; AP Physics B; AP Statistics; Photo I; Multimedia Technologies; Yearbook Experience/Skills Legend Yearbook, William R. Boone High School: experience writing and editing captions and body copy, taking pictures, designing, using Adobe programs, meeting deadlines and being a leader • 07-08 Staffer • 08-09 People Section Editor • 09-10 Editor-in-Chief Internship in marketing department at Realty Capital Babysitting: children ages: 2-12 Tutoring middle school students in Algebra 1 Volunteer work: Green-up Boone (08, 09, 10), Project Xmas (08, 09), Discovery Camp Work Crew (07), Summer Science Camp (08), assist Blankner School teachers (08), American Cancer Society Relay for Life (team member 09, team captain 10, committee online chair 10) Activities/Awards 07-08 Junior Varsity Soccer 08-09 French Honor Society 09-10 Journalism Honor Roll 09-10 Quill and Scroll, Journalism Honor Society 08-10 Math Club 10 Mu Alpha Theta, Math Honor Society 10 National Honor Society Legend Yearbook Awards: National Scholastic Press Association All American 5 Marks of Distinction (08), Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Medalist (08), Pacemaker Finalist (08), Silver Crown (08, 09), Camp Orlando Winner (09) References Victoria Nicoll: AP Language and Composition teacher; vnicoll@cfl.rr.com Lisa Sconyers: babysitting parent; lsconyers@cfr.rr.com
ESSAYS nine essays
PERSONAL what I have learned
The more time I spent in the yearbook room, the more I learned. As Editor-in-Chief, I have spent more
time than ever before in Room 224, learning more than ever before.
The idea of more input time leading to more output learning also applies to computers. By doing and
watching others, Emily and I were able to create unique spreads. I learned how to create detailed images that can be filled with solid colors or paint brushes, as we did with the campus graphics. I have finally grasped the concept of layers in Photoshop. This year was also my first experience with Dreamweaver. I really enjoy learning new applications or techniques on the computer so I was motivated to create a useful Web site. I was very proud when I discovered by myself how to change my web site color to purple. Another production skill new to me was theme development and theme copy. Because of my experience, next year theme pages will be much easier for me.
Deadlines have always been a top priority to me. This year however, I learned they had more meaning
because I had to worry about my own pages and the staffers’. I learned we could not afford to produce a quality book without making every deadline, and that is what we did.
Good teamwork means good communication. I cannot stress this enough. I thought I knew this
and I was told this but now I really get it. Towards the beginning of the year Emily and I struggled with good communication. I was more vocal than she was and many times this caused problems. I made a conscious effort to watch what I said and how I said it, and because of this both of us have gotten much better at communicating. Advertising sales have always been a struggle for me because I am not comfortable asking people for money. I get very tense. This was the first year that I had to go into business and ask them to buy an ad in the book. (Previously, my dad bought and ad and I was assigned a restaurant which buys and ad every year.) I learned that most of the time they say no. The best way to get a yes is to follow up and try to not to show nerves. The worst they can do is say no and that happened so many times this year that I am not scared of it anymore.
Journalism ethics are the backbone to a yearbook. It is a history piece and it is our responsibility to
accurately reflect the year. I learned that even the little things make a difference. My top pet peeves when it comes to journalism ethics are misquotes and stretching pictures. We must accurately reflect events in our copy and photography.
I really do not think I could be more dedicated to this publication. I love the staff and what we do and am
willing to do anything for it. I learned that not everyone feels this way and as much as I want them to, I cannot force everyone to love yearbook as much as I do. Yearbook teaches me more lessons that I will use in the future than any other class. Whether or not I actually go into graphic design, in the future I will have to be able to meet deadlines, have commitment, work with others and sell a product. I look forward to applying these skills to further my career when I am older.
REFLECTION signif icant piece
As Editor-in-Chief, my most significant piece of work is definitely the cover. It is the first thing people see and it sets the tone for the rest of the book. People do judge a book by its cover so there is an enormous amount of pressure to make it impressive.
While the cover was a joint effort with Emily, it is still my best and most significant work. The graphic is
the most detailed out of all of the theme pages. The design, color and photography are all visual support for the theme ‘vibrant’. The purpose was to reflect the look and quality of the book and to visually portray how Boone was vibrant this year. After we did the redesign and knew what we were doing, the cover were very simple to make. We already had all the cobs from the dividers. Although it takes several hours, the background is not hard to make. Everything just fell into place. We made the cover during class the day we submitted it and even when we got proofs there was not much left to complete.
Our first cover ideas were a lack of creativity. We incorporated elements from the book but nothing
new or exciting. Emily brought in this magazine that we bought at the beginning of the year and it had a Nike ad that we really liked. It had a city skyline with cobs of athletes over it. It took a while to create but once we figured out how to make it and adopt it to out style, it looked amazing.
From this I learned that design takes inspiration and a kick butt idea. Until you have those, design is
painful. But after inspiration is acquired, the creation of the design is fast. It just took us half the year to find that inspiration.
I love the cover. I could not be more proud that I helped create it. The use of color is ‘vibrant’ and the
embossed paper stands out. I love that it has divider pictures and ties together all of the sections. The nylon cobs and the highlights are also very trendy. It is also so Boone. Our campus is the background and while we did not make an orange book, we still used school colors. I could not be more happy with it.
REFLECTION f irst drafts
REFLECTION published work
REFLECTION needs improvement
Because it was a page from my first theme deadline, the clubs divider could still use some improvement.
This was my first experience with a theme page so I struggled and learned to incorporate ‘vibrant’ and ‘noble’ into the graphics and copy.
Compared with my first draft, this page is a vast improvement. The design is more interesting, the
pictures are incorporated better, and the copy is more specific. This improvement happened quickly when we did the redesign of the theme pages. I went from cropping a picture to spending hours on Photoshop creating this graphic. I also did interviews and made the copy more personal.
If I got the chance, this is what I would change about the page:
• Make the word ‘noble’ relate to all the clubs. Not all clubs are community service clubs, but they can still be ‘noble’ and there are no examples of this in the copy. • Delete the name out of the pulled quote. It is not supposed to be there. • The pink graphic should bleed on both sides of the page. • While the dominant picture relates to ‘noble’, the other pictures could have related better, or at least been explained how they relate in the captions. • Fix the cob on the head of the girl counting money. • The white screen behind the text should go slightly beyond where the text ends. • Rachel Motta’s head is too close to the gutter and the smaller pictures are a little to small compared with the dominant.
This makes it seem like the page has huge problems, but I am just being picky. This was one of my first
theme pages and I am very proud of it. It is ‘vibrant’ and ‘noble’ and specific to our school. This page could be found in no other book. It is uniquely Boone, and that I am proud of.
REFLECTION f irst draft
REFLECTION published piece
REFLECTION part a
I fell in love with this picture the
moment I took it. There was a professional photographer working for the Magic who came with some former players and Stuff to encourage healthy eating. I was shocked and kind of annoyed that every picture this photographer took was staged. I got bored with this and took my own pictures. Stuff was standing behind this girl and put his shirt over her face. I love this picture because I captured the girl’s expression as she pulled the jersey off her face. The lighting is only on the subject, which illuminates her face and the frame is filled. I am proud that I took this picture because it captured a real moment that the professional photographer missed. Student Life, magic lunch 10-22_brock0056.jpg
REFLECTION part b
This is a picture of a performance
from the art festival. It has good depth of field with the speaker, leading lines with the roofing and rule of thirds because the subject is off center. I also like how the light reflects off the guitar, roof and speaker. I like it because it shows what an audience member would have seen, especially because there were so many people standing on the sides and could not always see the girl. I am proud of this picture because it shows the performance from a different angle. Student Life CD#17, art festival 4-09_brock 9606.jpg
REFLECTION part c
While I am not the best sports
photographer, I find things to take pictures of at football games. I am always wondering around the crowd or the band stands. At the moment I took this picture, I happened to be on the sidelines. The lighting on the yard marker is my favorite part about this picture. It follows rule of thirds, uses leading lines, and has good depth of field. I also like that you can make out referees making a call in the background and how the lights far away just show up as dots of light. I am proud I took this picture because it follows good composition and is football without being an action shot. Sports CD #49, football 9-11_brock1290.jpg
REFLECTION asset to the staff
I am an asset to the staff and book because I am the Editor-in-Chief. I spend so much time in the
yearbook room, mostly so that I can be there incase a staffer needs me. One of my favorite parts of my job is being able to help people and this is a major asset to the staff.
I am a solid journalist, designer and photographer. I do a good job on my pages and am also able to help
staffers with their work so that they can become better.
I also have a good attitude that people can look up to and follow. I try to be positive and look at the big
picture. There are mistakes in the book, but overall I think it is the best we have ever done. I also try to add a little fun to our experience like when Vivien and I brought a pinata to the workday. This lightens the mood and relieves stress.
My biggest asset is my commitment. Because I love it so much, yearbook is a top priority. I love the
people; I love the work. I will do anything to better the book or the year. When I make choices, I think about what is best for the staff. I care about the people on staff and the book. I always have the best intentions.
REFLECTION hardships
Hardships are a part of being on staff. They happen every year and the important thing is to try to get
through them. This year, yearbook production was not a problem. I had mastered that, or at least knew how to handle problems with the book. My biggest problems came from communication and relationships. At the time, I was not even aware that my first problem on staff was a problem at all. I was a junior. That was it. I knew Emily Farash and Erin Tachi were disappointed that they did not get Editor-in-Chief but I thought that after a couple of weeks everything was fine. I had no idea and probably still have no idea to what extent me being a junior caused other people to be upset. I wish I knew, or that somebody had told me, because I would have acted differently. I would have been more sensitive to them and played down the fact that I got the position. I learned that I just have to stick with things, even when they get tough. I knew that I deserved this position and I just had to keep working to gain their respect. I think that now the seniors and I have more respect for each other. Another major problem this year was the relationship and communication between Emily Butterfield and I. I always remember being more vocal than her but I never viewed that as a problem, just a personality difference. I little after we had our first meeting with Missy I got an e-mail from Emily that devastated me. She wrote that she felt like I had no respect for her, I talked down to her, and I interrupted her. She said staffers did not like me and were afraid of me. She basically said staff was miserable. I felt awful. I have always had respect for Emily and I hated that she felt like I was treating her this way. I did have a problem of interrupting her, which I took more notice of and worked really hard to stop and show my respect. I did everything I could to make it up to her and consciously watch how I talk to her and others on staff. I believe our communication since then has improved and I am very proud that we got through that to make such an amazing book. I learned that I need to adapt myself to work with others and to always try to talk things out because after that e-mail, things got better. I think I handled the situation the best way I knew how. I apologized and tried to move forward. In the future I will have better communication so that problems do not arise. Although it was difficult, I am glad I had these experiences. They have helped me grow, better my communication and made me stronger.
REFLECTION improving weaknesses
For the semester exam, I said that my greatest weakness was selling ads. I do not think I have improved
since then (only because we only sell ads before school starts), but I have learned more about selling ads this year. I actually had to go business by business and talk to managers to ask if they would like to buy an ad. Before this year, my dad’s company had bought an ad from me. I was very uncomfortable at first to ask for money, but I got better. I learned you have to know your product and always follow up. This was also the first year that I helped with senior ads. I gained experience talking with parents, many times having to convince them of our abilities and to buy a certain size. Because I am Editor-in-Chief, I saw more of what ads staff does and I believe that next year I will be much better at selling ads.
REFLECTION CSPA entries
Y10 Theme and Concept cover, end page, sport supplement cover, pages 001, 002, 003, 004, 005, 006, 007, 054, 055, 082, 083, 116, 117, 126, 127, 210, 211, 252, 253, 420, 421, 422
I would like to enter our theme and concept because it is well thought out and executed. I like that the
original theme and unique design is mixed with traditional concepts such as using the section names to spell out the theme. The copy is well written and gives specifics from the school year. I am proud of its positive reflection of our school.
Y11 Cover Design cover
I love the cover. It incorporates pictures from each section of the book, the entire color scheme and
Boone’s skyline. The embossing gives more emphasis to the theme. The nylon cobs and highlighting is also trendy. I am so proud of this collaboration of ideas.
Y13 Title Page page 001
The title page is a simple but unique continuation of our theme concept. It accurately gives all the
school information. I like that it is the marquee because it is one of the first things you see when you drive by the school and it is also introducing the yearbook. It is a good representation of my work.
REFLECTION improvement
This year has exposed me to so much of other people’s work and I think that experience gave me more of
an opportunity to grow. It was great to watch Erin design and Emily was a huge help to my writing. The staffers each have strengths which I feed off of with my own work.
More than anything I think I have shown variety in my portfolio this year. With this design, the focus
is on the type, with the leaves accenting the type. Even the cover uses leaves as typography. My last portfolio focused on the photography, but this year I did not use any pictures. This design is more delicate and simple. I know that my greatest jump in design is from my first to second year but I think I am still continuing to improve. Although similar, my writing voice has also improved over time. As far as published work goes, my writing, photography and design have definitely become more advanced; this happens every year I am on staff. Last year I didn’t have any pages assigned to me so I did not do any writing. The more practice I get with writing, the more comfortable I become. This year my stories were not about one subject either. It was more challenging to relate different topics in one theme copy, but I think I did a good job. Because of my position, I photographed more events. I am really proud of my improvements in sports photography. I actually got some decent basketball shots; before this year when I took pictures in the gym it just looked like a big blur. I also am able to do more advanced designs in Photoshop as shown through the theme pages.
I take pride in my assignments so I put a lot of work into everything I turn in. The quality of work I
turn in is always high. As my skills improve so do my portfolios, but the quality has always been there.
YEARBOOK spread one (bravettes)
YEARBOOK spread two (multiple clubs)
CLIPS published work
DEADLINE quote page
DEADLINE title page
DEADLINE student life divider
DEADLINE clubs divider
DEADLINE staff page
DEADLINE community divider
DEADLINE issues divider
DEADLINE people divider
COVER submitted with deadline 4