Andrew Davis Essays - Andrew Davis, Hollywood, Film Director

Andrew Davis As an accomplished Hollywood director, Andrew Davis' words are important for anyone hoping to become a player in the game, AKA Hollywood. Andrew Davis has directed many successful action films for Hollywood. The way that he found his success and has maintained it is the most important thing that I learned from Andrew Davis. He has given me an example of how one person found success in Hollywood amongst a flood of others seeking the same high ground. The Fugitive is by far the most successful film Andrew Davis has directed. Some critics have even gone as far to state that The Fugitive is the best action thriller of the decade. Some of his other more recent films include A Perfect Murder, Steal Little, Steal Big and Chain Reaction. Andrew Davis is also known for making intense action films such as Under Siege, Code of Silence and Above the Law. His comments on why and how he came into making such films and being labeled as an action film director provide an interesting insight into the way that Hollywood works. He stated that since he found some initial success with action films he was repeatedly called upon by Hollywood to "just do what he did last time." He mentioned that he had ambitions to break away from being pegged as an action film director, but that it was a difficult thing to do when you were trying to "keep your hand in the game." These comments illustrate one of the ways that Hollywood works. Perhaps the most important thing Andrew Davis talked about was the power of networking in Hollywood. Often talked about in class, Andrew Davis is a prime example of the breaks that one can get through friends and contacts. His relationship with Thomas Haskell provided him with a valuable contact in Hollywood. Andrew Davis's relationship with Academy Award winner Thomas Haskell points to the importance of making and keeping in contact with as many people as possible in the industry. Andrew Davis recommended to the class that if at all possible, one should try and find a mentor for guidance and assistance in the early days of delving into Hollywood. As a filmmaker, Andrew Davis utilizes a more spontaneous approach to directing, as opposed to more structured directors such as Stanley Kubrick. Andrew Davis described making a film as, "a cross between war and a circus." His approach to filmmaking in comparison with other guest this quarter and last fall illustrates the vast differences in styles of directors. Finally, Andrew Davis reconfirmed the comments of just about every other guest that almost every film is comes to production via different routes. Some films are handed to directors to be made and others are made when screenplays find their ways to directors who in turn takes takes the screenplays to studios for financial backing. Andrew Davis is a very interesting person and creator of cinema. The story of his journey to Hollywood and succeeding is an inspirational one. Many of his films have become very successful commercially. He has given me a valuable insight into succeeding in Hollywood.

How Dyslexia Impacts Writing Skills

How Dyslexia Impacts Writing Skills Dyslexia is considered a language-based learning disorder and is thought of as a reading disability but it also impacts a students ability to write. There is often a large discrepancy between what a student thinks and can tell you orally and what he can write down on paper. Besides frequent spelling errors, some of the ways dyslexia affects writing skills: Essays are written as one paragraph with several long, run-on sentencesUsing little punctuation, including not capitalizing the first word in a sentence or using end punctuationOdd or no spacing between wordsCramming information on the page rather than spreading out In addition, many students with dyslexia show signs of dysgraphia, including having illegible handwriting and taking a long time to form letters and write assignments. As with reading, students with dyslexia spend so much time and effort writing the words, the meaning behind the words can be lost. Added to difficulties in organizing and sequencing information, writing paragraphs, essays and reports are time-consuming and frustrating. They may jump around when writing, with events occurring out of sequence. Because not all children with dyslexia have the same level of symptoms, writing problems can be hard to spot. While some may only have minor problems, others hand in assignments that are impossible to read and understand. Grammar and Conventions Dyslexic students put much effort into reading individual words and trying to understand the meanings behind the words. Grammar and writing conventions, to them, may not seem important. But without grammar skills, writing doesnt always make sense. Teachers can take extra time to teach conventions, such as standard punctuation, what constitutes a sentence fragment, how to avoid run-on sentences and capitalization. Although this may be an area of weakness, focusing on grammar rules helps. Choosing one or two grammar rules at a time helps. Give students time to practice and master these skills before moving on to additional skills. Grading students on content rather than grammar also helps. Many teachers will make allowances for students with dyslexia and as long as they understand what the student is saying, will accept the answer, even if there are spelling or grammatical errors. Using computer programs with spelling and grammar checkers can help, however, keep in mind that many spelling errors common to individuals with dyslexia are missed using standard spell checkers. Specific programs developed for people with dyslexia are available such as Cowriter. Sequencing Young students with dyslexia show signs of sequencing problems when learning to read. They place letters of a word in the wrong place, such as writing /left/ instead of /left/. When recalling a story, they may state events that happened in an incorrect order. To write effectively, a child must be able to organize the information into a logical sequence in order for it to make sense to other people. Imagine a student writing a short story. If you ask the student to verbally tell you the story, he probably can explain what he wants to say. But when trying to put the words on paper, the sequence becomes jumbled and the story no longer makes sense.Allowing a child to record his story or writing assignments on a tape recorder rather than on paper helps. If necessary a family member or another student can transcribe the story on paper. There is also a number of speech to text software programs that allow a student to say the story out loud and the software will convert it to text. Dysgraphia Dysgraphia, also known as written expression disorder, is a neurological learning disability that often accompanies dyslexia. Students with dysgraphia have poor or illegible handwriting. Many students with dysgraphia also have sequencing difficulties. Besides poor handwriting and sequencing skills, symptoms include: Grammar and spelling errorsInconsistencies in written assignments, such as different size letters, mix of cursive and print writing, letters with different slantsOmitting letters and wordsNon-existant spacing between words and sentences and cramming the words on the paperUnusual grip of pencil or pen Students with dysgraphia can often write neatly, but this takes an enormous amount of time and effort. They take the time to correctly form each letter and will often miss the meaning of what they are writing because their focus is on forming each individual letter. Teachers can help children with dyslexia improve writing skills by working together to edit and make corrections in a written assignment. Have the student read a paragraph or two and then go over adding incorrect grammar, fixing spelling errors and correcting any sequencing errors. Because the student will read what he meant to write, not what is written, having him orally read the written assignment back can help you better understand the students meaning. References: Dysgraphia, Date Unknown, Author Unknown West Virginia UniversityTeaching Dyslexic Students, 1999, Kevin L. Huitt, Valdosta State University

Phase 1 Discussion Board Schedule and Cost Control Techniques Essay

Phase 1 Discussion Board Schedule and Cost Control Techniques - Essay Example After this survey we have to analyze the gathered data from the survey. This analysis sub phase provides all required information for our project seclude and cost estimation. After this analysis sub phase next comes the design sub phase of the project in which we have to design all events and process that are necessary for the completion of this project. In this phase we also demine expected expenditure, estimate time required, and main events of the up gradation project. Then next phase is Executing Phase. Here we hire a software development team for the implementation of this new upgraded email system, now our project team completes the work related to all aspects of this up-gradation. Here an impotent phase is controlling phase that will run in a parallel way with all other phases. In this phase we control the time, cost, manpower required, resources needed and all things that are associated with is project. We analyze all the ways like project is running on time, is any module required additional time, then managing time in such a way that additional time is not required. Cost and expenditure monitoring is done in such a way that no extra resources will be needed along the way. Then the last and final phase would be Closing Phase: here we have to ensure that the project work is complete successfully, we have to confirm and verify that the deliverables and then completed out the project finances, panel reports, and lessons learned are all documented and analyzed that all thing are well and new email system is working properly. Cost estimation is one of main and difficult part of any project (Chamoun, 2006). All project depends on this estimation, if this estimation goes wrong then lot of complexities might occur during the project. So in our Email Up-gradation project we have to estimate the cost in such a way that no complicity can happen, and project can be completed successfully. As a project manger it is my