COVID-19 has obviously affected the majority of industries, but the retail landscape appears to be particularly struggling. With retail stores being considered nonessential businesses, companies have been forced to transfer focus to online. I am a member of the MPorium retail entrepreneurship class on campus, and we have been required to undergo this transition as well. As a member of the e-commerce team, I have been extremely hands-on in tidying up the website and pushing traffic to the online store via social media and SEO. Although this was an unprecedented challenge to our team this semester, we came together to make the most of the transition online and had are continuing to have a great amount of success. View some of our best selling products bellow.

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This semester I have served as a consultant to the Athletics Department regarding their newly opened Pro Shop in the McCann Center. COVID-19 presented several challenges and obviously caused a shift in my capping project as classes moved online. We were fortunate to have the beginning of the semester to meet with athletics, visit the location, and analyze the target consumer during the men’s and women’s basketball games. We implemented Shopify and attained sales data for the entirety of the basketball season, which we were able to analyze and provide suggestions and recommendations for the Fall 2020 semester. We also managed to re-merchandise the store and produce a guide for store operations going forward. Finally, we included a promotional marketing calendar featuring dates and sports to be considered and we concluded with sales projections for Fall 2020.

Here are some photos of the Pro Shop after our revamp.

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With much of this work being conducted from home, I enjoyed compiling all of the data to a playlist such as the one below.

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For the red and white,

I took a flight,

A long, long way from home.

For the Hudson River,

my legs still quiver,

it’s my favorite place to roam.

Lowell Thomas, Dyson, and Steel Plant,

will not be forgotten, they can’t,

I miss all my time there so much.

And no we’re online

and I have too much time,

but I’ll be back soon in a rush.

This song titled “Uneventful Days” by Beck resonates greatly at this time of quarantine. The song’s theme revolves around isolation and boredom, two common things that people are feeling at this time. Most days and nights are very uneventful out to the multitude of restrictions and precautionary measures now effecting our everyday lives. Hearing someone else sing about the same feelings that I have reminds me that everyone is going through the same thing. It is almost comforting to hear, even though it would normally be a sad topic to listen to and think about.

With all gyms and fitness classes closed for the time being, people have been forced to get creative with at home workouts. Orange Theory Fitness has been posting workouts to their youtube page daily after all locations were shutdown across the country. They also hold live workouts on Instagram and Facebook with familiar coaches from your region. In understanding that not everyone has access to weights and special equipment at home, they promote the use of household items like water jugs and jars of pasta sauce. Aside from at-home workouts, Orange Theory is still working to promote their sense of community with weekly and monthly challenges that encourage social media posting and weekly zoom sip and chat sessions. As much as I can’t wait to be back in the studio, I really appreciate all the effort they have put in to allow everyone to continue their fitness journeys from home.

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Distant Feelings showcases a recorded zoom call where strangers gather to close their eyes for 15 minutes in an attempt to feel each others presence. After the 15 minutes is up, a timer goes off instructing everyone to open their eyes. They then just sit and observe each other as everyone begins to open their eyes. No one is able to talk for the entire duration of the zoom call. This social experiment comes during this time of social distancing as a way to come together while remaining separate. COVID-19 has caused many people to be alone and/or feel alone, so this is a great way to bring people together virtually. This video reminds me that everyone is going through the same things during this crazy time and that we should all be in solidarity together. It also is a great representation of the fact that words are not necessary in order to be there for someone. The simple ability to be present can have such a large impact on other people.

I found this video itself to be rather boring as an entertainment piece, but I can appreciate the idea behind it especially in this time of separation. It is particularly difficult to pay attention to such a large variety of faces at one time. Additionally, there are such minute movements and changes in facial expressions done by each person that can be easily missed due to the large amount of faces on the screen. An editing technique that may make this more engaging as a video piece would be to cut away from the screen showing everyone and focus on a particular person for a set amount of time to showcase their experience. I think that a debriefing after or a follow-up video where the people involved could share their experiences and reactions would be a more engaging and interesting way to close this out as well.

Overall, I do value the message and intention behind this video.  I feel as though this experience could be particularly valuable to a wide range of people including those who have between very limited and no social interaction and also those who have too much interaction and need to be reminded to slow down. It is so important to bring people together at a time of separation. For that reason I still value this video piece even though I didn’t find it to be the most interesting or engaging.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvtWDIZtrAE&feature=youtu.be

Scene from 1:03.33 – 1:06.26

This scene uses contrast of light and dark and varying speeds and volumes of sound in order to portray a rather suspenseful and emotive effect. A woman can be seen walking through a dark hall or cave with only a candle as a source of light. When she turns a corner a shadow appears and the music speeds up creating and displaying the emotion of fear. She paces away as the music increases in sound, almost as if it corresponds to her suspected loud and quickening heart rate. When she thinks she is in the clear the music softens, but is quickly altered again when a hand reaches out smothering her light source. The transition of light from her hand to that of the mystery figure also causes a transition in the mood. When the woman held the light source all seemed okay and she was oblivious to all of the remnants of skeletons and bones in the cave. On the other hand, when the man stole her light source, a spotlight began to shine on all the terrifying things. This use of light, in collaboration with the music, created an even more horrific scene. The music creates an even greater effect on the viewers perception than it may seem. The women’s act of hovering close to the walls also creates an effect as though the walls were caving in and she had no where to escape to, shortening the distance between her and the man. The spotlight shining on her makes her the center of attention, placing all focus on her quivering body and frightened facial reactions. The light directs the eye to her, preventing it from wandering elsewhere during the scene and taking away from the emotion. Her hand motions also appear to display the same effect as spiders crawling up a person’s body which evokes a very unsettling feeling. It is almost as if every time the light hits her or stops on her it suffocates her and holds her in place before releasing her. She then runs frantically again before being caught by the light over and over. Her struggle to escape is portrayed by the escalating music once again. No sound effects besides the music are needed to tell that she is in a struggle. By cornering herself into the wall, this symbolizes vulnerability. The scene ends with a final fade to black and a silence of the music, recognizing her ultimate defeat.

Ugh I don’t want to get up. It’s so warm, this is so unfair. How long can I lay here for without being completely late to class. Like I can just throw on clothes and brush my teeth and I can totally be out of here in 20 mins. But what am I gonna wear. Hmm do I want to look presentable today or, no I’m lazy I’ll just throw on leggings. Wait but did I wash my laundry or are they still dirty. Damn. What else can I wear without looking like a bum. Ugh only 12 minutes. Well let’s see, I can definitely make it to campus in 5 so I can take the extra time. Oh or wait, I should see if Megan is driving to class and if she can give me a ride.

Frequent watchers and non-watchers alike are familiar with the fact that on each new season of the bachelor or bachelorette host Chris Harrison always recites the same line: “this week on the most dramatic season ever of the bachelor(ette).” The franchise somehow always manages to live up to it’s dramatic expectations.

On this season, Pilot Pete falls in love with two women, Madison and Hannah Ann, and struggles to decipher his feelings. When Madison chooses to leave, he ultimately asks Hannah Ann to marry him. Flash forward a couple months to Hannah Ann breaking of the engagement and Madison and Peter reconnecting. The biggest drama of all is Peter’s mom’s pure favoritism of Hannah Ann over Madison. She holds nothing back when speaking about her beliefs that her son and Madison will never work out. See the tweets below for Bachelor Nation’s response.

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