2015 PUB— LISHED WORKS
09.23 — 04.24
M AT T CA— SLER
T: ( 4 0 7 ) 3 1 8 - 4 3 6 0 — E : M C A S L E R 1 @ I C L O U D . C O M — W : M AT T C A S L E R . C O M TO: Renée Burke Journalism Advisor William R. Boone High School 1000 E. Kaley St. Orlando, FL 32806 D AT E : May 15, 2015
Dear Ms. Renée Burke, The 2015-2016 Legend Yearbook staff is in search of a leader to assume the position of senior Editor-in-Chief. The position of senior Editor-in-Chief, the position for which I am applying, demands strong leadership skills and diligence to the continued merit and quality of the book. Attached is a copy of my resume for your review for the prestigious role of Editor-in-Chief. I have had a passion for photography and digital design as early as the age of seven, when I was first introduced to digital and print publication development. I led the yearbook of my middle school as editor-in-chief, and I have known since that age that I wanted to advance in journalism in my future. The journalism department at Boone High School, specifically the Legend Yearbook, has offered me such an opportunity, and my first two years on staff has only further nurtured my passion. I have a strong history in leadership, as well as extensive prior experience in the design of print and digital media. The position of Editor-in-Chief demands extensive knowledge and skill in the use of digital design products, such as Adobe Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator. As I learned to use these programs at the age of nine, I have approximately eight years of experience. Through the additional instruction in Journalism 1 and two years on Legend, as a staffer and the junior editor-in-chief, I gained extensive knowledge regarding the layout and design of yearbook spreads in InDesign as well. I can intuitively develop designs and integrate them with a digital component. I can effectively cooperate with other staffers and editors, and I work to maintain the ethical value and quality of the yearbook. I believe that these skills and values are necessary to lead the Legend staff. Regardless of the merits contained within my resume, I believe that an interview could better allow me to portray my passion for the position and to exhibit my expertise in design and leadership. I would be grateful to have the chance to meet you at your earliest convenience. Thank you for reviewing my enclosed resume. I look forward to meeting with you soon to discuss my interest in this position. Best regards,
Matthew Casler Enclosed: resume 2
T: ( 4 0 7 ) 3 1 8 - 4 3 6 0 — E : M C A S L E R 1 @ I C L O U D . C O M — W : M AT T C A S L E R . C O M MY OBJECTIVE: To develop my skills in writing and design as the senior Editorin-Chief of the 2016 Legend Yearbook `PROFESSIONAL C E R T I F I C AT I O N S : Photoshop CS6 Photoshop CC InDesign CC Dreamweaver CS6 HTML5 (W3C) CSS3 (W3C) JavaScript (W3C)
SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE —— Legend Yearbook Staffer and Junior Editor-in-Chief (2013-present): performing interviews; writing and editing copy; photography; experience in Adobe Creative Suite; creating and publishing web stories; collaborating with others to develop a quality publication; business interactions to sell advertisements —— Mathnasium Mathematics Instructor (2014-present): taught students grade 2-12 in topics from basic mathematics concepts through AP Calculus —— Physician Associates IT Intern (summer 2013): worked with a team to develop server systems, collaborated with government agencies to process patient records, developed internal company webpages R E L E VA N T E D U C AT I O N —— Completed three years at Boone High School, graduation in May 2016 —— Unweighted GPA: 4.0, Weighted GPA: 5.14 —— Relevant studies: Journalism 1 and 6-8 Honors, English Honors 1 and 2, AP English Language and Composition, Spanish 1-3 Honors, AP Spanish Language and Culture, AP Computer Science A H O N O R S , AWA R D S A N D L E A D E R S H I P P O S I T I O N S —— Model United Nations President, 2014-present —— National Honor Society President, 2015-present —— Mock Trial Team Captain, 2014-present —— Editor-in-Chief of the Legend Yearbook, 2014-present —— Mu Alpha Theta Parliamentarian, 2015-present —— Nation Scholastic Press Honor Roll, 2015-present —— Second Place Digital Media Photography, Columbia Scholastic Press, 2015 —— AP Chemistry Student of the Year, 2014-2015 —— First Place Advanced Photoshop and Illustrator, Camp Orlando, 2013 ACTIVITIES —— Model United Nations, 2012-present —— National Honor Society, 2014-present —— Mock Trial, 2012-present —— Legend Yearbook, 2013-present —— Math Club, 2012-present —— Mu Alpha Theta, 2015-present —— Spanish Honor Society, 2014-present REFERENCES —— Renée Burke, yearbook advisor — (407) 893-7200 x6014614, renee.burke@ocps.net —— Edna Irizarry, Model UN sponsor — (407) 893-7200 x6014636, edna.irizarry@ocps.net —— John Dempsey, Mock Trial coach — (407) 893-7200 x6012638, john.dempsey@ocps.net —— Fernanda Melo, present employer — (407) 970-4100, belleisle@mathnasium.com
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“My dedication to the Legend yearbook has made me an integral cog in the staff machine...”
SELF ANA– LY S I S
AN INTROSPECTIVE LOOK INTO MY CAREER IN JOURNALISM
08.18 — 05.08 PHOTOGRAPHY AND GRAPHIC DESIGN WERE INTEGRAL PARTS OF MY UPBRINGING, THANKS TO MY FATHER. From as early as 7 years old, I had a Canon 5D in my hands, shooting whatever found itself on the other side of the lens. From there, I found myself pursuing journalism on my middle school’s yearbook staff, and later as a Legend yearbook staffer, as it was the perfect outlet for me to express my creativity, both photographically and graphically through design. As a sophomore staffer, I was the proverbial “wise fool;” overconfident, yet lacking any reason to be so arrogant. The stress of my second deadline, however, humbled me rather quickly, and I have since learned more from my own experience. At the beginning of the year as junior editorin-chief, I wanted to show my advisor, Mrs. Renée Burke, that I was top-notch editor material, and that I was ready to go the distance or do whatever she needed of me to benefit the staff and the book. I was quick to volunteer to shoot at the season’s first football game, which ended up being a day game due to rain. I shot some of my best photos at that game in particular, and was then driven to improve my photography. I have since shot numerous events just for the fun of it, and have seen my photo skills improve rapidly and seen many of my photos in print. My passion to benefit my publication was also evident in my dedication to the publication, as my fellow editors, my advisor and I spent countless hours during and after deadlines preparing to ship pages. I clearly remember walking out to my car in the dark of night after spending so much time editing spreads to go to press. While it was a hefty amount of work, I was so passionate about it that to dedicate that sort of time to something I loved was more pleasing than anything. As the junior EIC, collaboration was key to my personal success and the success of the staff. As a staffer in the previous year, I kept myself isolated and preferred independent work. Working collaboratively was an essential
requirement of my job as editor, but it brought me to love bouncing ideas off of other people to produce a truly spectacular product. I look back to Elite Weekend, when the editors and I threw out our old theme in favor of a new one and revamped our book, with fondness, as it was the first instance in which I found myself loving group work. I bonded with my editors on a whole new level, and became ecstatic to create the book. If I had to select one lesson to take away from my time on publications, it’s that goal setting is the key to success in any endeavor. As a young, inexperienced staffer, I didn’t understand the true gravity of this lesson. I went through my deadlines with an almost lackadaisical attitude. But as the junior EIC, I defined goals to find direction and purpose in my work, and in my life. In the planing stages of the year, my co-EIC and I didn’t have a great sense of direction, and went about designing the book without purpose. Once we reconvened with our staff in the fall however, we found ourselves with an urgent need to complete our designs and theme concept. We defined for ourselves a clear timeline of goals to complete, and were able to put together the first working designs and layouts in less than two weeks’ time. In all, my dedication to the Legend yearbook made me an integral cog in the staff machine, as I poured countless hours into correcting and perfecting every spread in the book, as well as developing the theme concept and designs with my co-EIC.
“The final piece screams excitement, which makes it my favorite in the whole book.”
11.12 — 01.21
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AUGUST’S DIVIDER SPREAD REPRESENTS MY FIRST SIGNIFICANT PIECE OF WORK AS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF. I decided to photograph the West Orange football game, the focus of the divider, to step up and volunteer to shoot as the new editor-in-chief. My senior editor Morgan Rowland and I were still trying to nail down design when this deadline began in September, so we not only lacked a design, but we lacked direction at that point. I had shot the dominant photo at that game, and the near-win against a state champion tied to our theme, as we focused on specific moments. To say the deadline was difficult would be an understatement. I was responsible for three spreads at once, which made it tricky to stay on top of them all. August’s fell behind as I focused more on the others, since I had to dig around to find excellent photos, or take them. What were most critical for these spreads were the interviews with the subjects in the photos. The theme copy was built upon an interview with the subject alone, so, as I learned as a I went along, a poor interview meant poor theme copy. Of the three interviews I had to perform in this deadline, the one with Matthew Butler proved to be the biggest challenge, as I interviewed him over a month after I took the photo, and had to reinterview him. But, with some digging and in-depth questioning, I got one of my best interviews in my experience on yearbook. While the spread itself didn’t evolve too much throughout the deadline, getting all the materials together was a difficult process, especially with regards to the interview. The final piece screams excitement, which makes it my favorite in the whole book. It draws you in as the first month divider, and truly embodies the theme of the book, That One Moment, as it digs deep into Butler’s story and his perspective of the game. The excellent photo and interview only sweetened the triumph I felt in my completing my first deadline as junior EIC.
REFL EC— TION ONE
A B R I E F A N A LY S I S ON MY MOST SIGNIFICANT WORK
REFL EC— TION ONE
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FIRST DRAFT
Deadline 2 Pages 006-007 Caption: get hyped. On Aug. 30, senior Matthew Butler shouts to excite and rally the crowd in the season’s first game on the Norton Baker field. The team lost 24-27.
FINAL DRAFT
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“His emotion is clear and his face is visible, which makes this image especially compelling both aesthetically and emotionally.”
REFL EC— TION TWO
COMPETITION SUBMISSIONS FOR COLUMBIA SCHOLASTIC PRESS
08.30 — 01.27 Y15. SPORTS ACTION PHOTO
Y 1 6 . S P O R T S F E AT U R E P H O T O
Pages 030-031 This photo from a boy’s cross country meet early in the season is one of my best sports action photos of the year. It was used as the dominant photo on the boys cross country spread due to its quality. The runner is in perfect, sharp focus and the photo shows strong depth-of-field, adding to the overall appeal of the image. The runner also shows strong positive emotion, which I also managed to capture.
Pages 006-007 As the feature image on the August divider, this image shows a new dimension of Boone’s football team beyond just the games. This photo, with strong focus and bright color, captures a different aspect of the game, when a player pumps up the crowd and rallies them behind the team. His emotion is clear and his face is visible, despite the presence of his helmet and face mask, which makes this image especially compelling both aesthetically and emotionally.
Y 2 5 . I N F O R M AT I O N A L G R A P H I C S : P O R T F O L I O
Pages 130-137, 149 These five “Issues“ infographics represent my ability to design complex and all encompassing graphics, despite a lack of formal training in infographic design. They also show my skill in creating cohesive pieces that follow a central design style, specifically that of the 2015 yearbook.
20.14 — 20.15
MY 2015 PORTFOLIO REPRESENTS MY GROWTH AS A DESIGNER MORE THAN ANYTHING. MY PREVIOUS portfolio was effective in its function, to present my work, but it didn’t speak to me; it was boring, frankly. Its look represented my naive concept of design. However, it does serve to remind me of my growth as a journalist and designer over the past year. I still look at the cover and see it as the “bird portfolio,” since the geometric figure that dominates the design looks like a twodimensional bird in my opinion. The constant repetition of the element showed the limitations and inflexibility of the design I had created. As the EIC of Legend, I knew that I had to create a more sophisticated, advanced presentation with this portfolio, and I feel as though I was successful in doing so. The design of this portfolio communicates maturity and growth, both in my ability to design and in my overall quality of work; it shows innovation and originality, and better represents my skills. Another year on publications, coupled with two summers at Camp Orlando and an enlightening experience at Elite Weekend, taught me how to make design work for me, rather than the other way around. The design is not the feature of this portfolio as it was in my previous one. I made an effort to create a brand for myself, specifically utilizing self-portraits and distinct typography to present myself and my published works in a decidedly refined manner. My works dominate each page, and the design lends itself to each story, photo or spread, and does not command attention, as did the bold colors and sharp geometry of my previous portfolio.
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REFL EC— TION THREE
A DISCUSSION OF MY GROWTH AS A JOURNALIST AND DESIGNER
DEADLI INFO
_Theme _Cover
MY WORK 14
_Photos _Design
NE ONE INFO
_Theme _Endsheets
MY WORK
_Photos _Design _Writing
DEADLIN INFO
_Theme _August _006-007
MY WORK 16
_Photos _Design _Writing
NE  TWO INFO
_Theme _September _018-019
MY WORK INFO
_Design _Writing
_Theme _Community _224-225
MY WORK
_Photos _Design _Writing
DEADLIN INFO
_Theme _January _094-095
MY WORK 18
_Photos _Design _Writing
NE FOUR INFO
_Theme _People _140-141
MY WORK
_Design _Writing
PHOTOG INFO
_Student Life _November _066-067
get hyped. On Aug. 30, senior Matthew Butler shouts to excite and rally the crowd in the season’s first game on the Norton Baker Field. The team lost 24-27.
MY WORK _Photos _Design _Writing
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–R A P H Y INFO
_Sports _September _028-029
catch me if you can. Finishing up her first mile at the Metro Conference Championship, senior Mary Burkett rounds the corner to start the next. “Even though the meets are hard, I love how our team encouraged each other. We always had a lot of fun on the bus on the way home celebrating our success,” Burkett said. Burkett’s personal record was 22:17.
MY WORK _Photos
PHOTOG INFO
_Sports _September _030-031
long stride. At the start of the race, sophomore Spenser Blake leads the pack. “I’m in the best shape I’ve been in all season, and have over reached my goals at the beginning of the season, when I only hoped to be in the low 17’s. The training has gotten me into the 16:30’s,” Blake said. Blake ran a PR of 16:34.
MY WORK _Photos
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–R A P H Y INFO
_Student Life _October _054-059
flip out. Sophomore Ryen Webb surprises the crowd by doing a back flip in the middle of the circle during the dance off. “[Homecoming was] crazy. It was like everyone was dancing and having a good time,” Webb said. After he executed the flip, Webb felt a rush of adrenaline.
MY WORK _Photos
PHOTOG INFO
_Student Life _November _072-073
money money. At halftime of the Dec. 5 basketball game, State Farm Representative Julie Smith presents Principal Margaret McMillen and Athletics Director Doug Patterson with a $25,000 check from Celebrate My Drive.
MY WORK _Photos _Design
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–R A P H Y INFO
_Theme _January _094-095
turn down for what? Performing in Brave Aid XXX on Jan. 23, junior Madissan Walther glides in formation to the final notes of Silent Expressions’ mash-up performance. This was her third Brave Aid performance.
MY WORK _Photos _Design _Writing
PHOTOG INFO
_Sports _January _096-097
dodge and weave. In the game against the West Orange Warriors, senior Jeremy Bouton breaks through defenders. “My favorite thing about [basketball] is being able to share a bond with my team,� Bouton said.
MY WORK _Photos
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–R A P H Y INFO
_Sports _January _102-103
corner kick. Senior Kennedy Heath kicks the ball into play in their game against Lake Highland, on Jan. 9. “[This year] the team connected more, we played better as a team and with more team chemistry,” Heath said. Heath scored three goals in the season.
MY WORK _Photos
PHOTOG INFO
_Issues _130-131
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION (no associated caption)
MY WORK _Photos _Design
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–R A P H Y INFO
_Issues _132-133
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION (no associated caption)
MY WORK _Photos _Design
PHOTOG INFO
_Theme _Cover
let me take a selfie. At the Dec. 5 basketball game against South Lake, senior Amanda Bordonaro takes a picture with the student section after the victory, 68-38.
MY WORK _Photos _Design
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–R A P H Y INFO
_Theme _Community _244-245
serve ‘em up. At the senior breakfast, Dec. 3, Jeff Krauss hands pancakes to the awaiting seniors in the cafeteria. Krauss also served at the honors breakfast on Dec. 4.
MY WORK _Photos _Design _Writing
PHOTOG INFO
_Student Life _October _054-055
While dodging the opposing junior team, sophomore Alexis Musser avoids getting her flag pulled. “[I practiced with] my brother [because he plays football], so I learned from him,� Musser said. The sophomore team lost to the juniors.
MY WORK _Photos
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–R A P H Y INFO
_Student Life _January _112-113
With pianist Carly Meyer, junior Carson Lane performs “Everyone is Going to Love Me Now.” “It was terrifying but really exciting,” Lane said.
MY WORK _Photos
DESIGN— INFO
_Theme _Title _001
MY WORK 34
_Design _Writing
INFO
_Theme _Opening _002-003
MY WORK
_Design
DESIGN— INFO
_Theme _Opening _004-005
MY WORK 36
_Design
INFO
_Theme _October _040-041
MY WORK
_Design
DESIGN— INFO
_Theme _November _060-061
MY WORK 38
_Design
INFO
_Student Life _November _072-073
MY WORK
_Design
DESIGN— INFO
_Student Life _November _074-075
MY WORK 40
_Design
INFO
_Theme _December _078-079
MY WORK
_Design
DESIGN— INFO
_Theme _February _114-115
MY WORK 42
_Design
INFO
_Academics _January _120-121
MY WORK
_Design
DESIGN— INFO
_Theme _Issues _128-129
MY WORK 44
_Design
INFO
_Issues _130-131
MY WORK
_Photos _Design
DESIGN— INFO
_Issues _132-133
MY WORK 46
_Photos _Design
INFO
_Issues _134-135
MY WORK
_Photos _Design
DESIGN— INFO
_Issues _136-137
MY WORK 48
_Photos _Design
INFO
_Issues _138-139
MY WORK
_Design
DESIGN— INFO
_People _149
MY WORK 50
_Design
INFO
_People _202-203
MY WORK
_Design
DESIGN— INFO
_People _220-221
MY WORK 52
_Design
INFO
_Sports _Spring _014-015
MY WORK
_Design
DESIGN— INFO
_Sports _Spring _018-019
MY WORK 54
_Design
INFO
_Sports _Spring _024-025
MY WORK
_Design
WEB— INFO
_Sports _tinyurl.com/FlagFootballCrushesWildcats
MY WORK 56
_Writing
INFO
_Sports _tinyurl.com/BravesBatInWin
MY WORK
_Writing
MULTIMED INFO
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_Yearbook marketing shirt design
IA—OPEN INFO
_Yearbook Camp Orlando shirt design
SPREAD DESIGN
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—ABOUT ME—
I ’ M P R O B A B LY AT S TA R B U C K S . ” — M AT T C A S L E R