Jill Greco Bodnar
Jill Greco Bodnar

Master of Fine Arts, MEDIA ARTS AND TECHNOLOGY

In this graduate program, I honed my interest in combining writing and digital media to promote the unsung stories that are not heard often enough. My proficiency ranged from writing and editing profile stories and research papers, filming and editing human-interest videos, developing digital marketing campaigns, and using the spectrum of Adobe software for developing cohesive branding materials and multimedia stories. Each class at Duquesne presented challenging assignments that took me far outside my comfort zone, but in the end I’m so proud of what I accomplished. The following are a few of the highlights.

“RIGHTEOUS: WHAT HOLOCAUST RESCUERS CAN TEACH US ABOUT A MORE ALTRUISTIC SOCIETY”

This project was the culmination not only of 18 months of research, but the closure of a story that began over five years ago in a small village in Italy. The result is a multimedia project that tells the story of five rescuers in different countries during WWII, the subsequent research in the 1980s that sought to answer why risking their lives to save Jews “was the right thing to do,” and how current leaders in education are rewriting how the Holocaust is used in teaching students today.

Winner of the Provost's Award for Outstanding Scholarship

 
 
 
 

VISUAL IMAGERY IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

CRITICAL STUDIES IN MEDIA, Dr. Mike Dillon

I had always been attracted to the stories built into stained glass windows of medieval gothic cathedrals. But what does the Catholic church use now to tell their stories and maintain an audience in the digital age? This was an interesting dive into how the different levels within the Catholic church perceive the use of digital media. It ultimately left more questions than answers.

 
 

Comparing 1968 and 2020 Civil Rights Events in the Media

Media Ethics, Dr. Pamela Walck

Summer of 2020: the murder of George Floyd by the hands of white policemen was seismic. At the time, I was taking the Media Ethics class led by Dr. Pamela Walck, who had studied and written extensively about the history of the Black Press. As we were discussing a research paper for the class, it seemed necessary and important to exam the difference - if any - between how the media was covering George Floyd and Black Lives Matters versus how they depicted Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights demonstrations.

 
 

CHURCH OF THE WHIRLING HUB

MEDIA WRITING, Maggie Patterson

This was a profile paper to practice interviewing primary and secondary sources, AP writing style, and painting scenes with “show, don’t tell”, which is so much harder than it sounds. More than just a story about cycling, it is about the importance of activity and camaraderie to the physical and mental well-being of the aging athlete..

 
 

OREO TWIST, LICK, DUNK ADVERGAME

INTERACTIVE MEDIA MARKETING, Dr. Zeynep Tanes-Ehle

This class studied the effects of advertising and marketing on consumers, and in particular advergames, which are a technical mashup of a video game and product placement that are popular apps on mobile devices. I chose to analyze the marketing of Oreo’s Twist, Lick, Dunk app because who doesn’t love learning about cookies?

My professor ended up loving the paper and asked if I would be interested in presenting it at a conference. We were too late for the oral presentations, but it was was accepted as a poster presentation at the Eastern Communications Association conference in Baltimore, MD, in April 2020. Unfortunately it was cancelled due to the coronavirus.

LABELS AND PACKAGING DESIGN

GRAPHIC DESIGN, Shawn o’mara

This project combined the skills we had learned in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop this semester, as well as researching the market competition and audiences. For my package labels I chose a fictitious local honey business that stood out by emphasizing the special flowers used to produce each unique flavor.

 
 
 
 
 

Holocaust Rescuers Video Trailer

Independent Study, Don Maue

I had so much to catch up on learning video production, that I rallied support for my own independent study class, led by the wonderful Professor Don Maue. I learned so much about the importance of audio (and cleaning it up!). My final project was to create a trailer for my Capstone project. It used all archived video from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

 

Duquesne University During the Pandemic

Media Project Management, Robert Healy III

This class introduced us to developing both public relations and journalism videos. The theme for the PR video was to show in a positive light how Duquesne was responding to the pandemic. I chose to interview staff at the university’s Gumberg Library and to film how their facility has changed. I also interviewed a fellow student about how their studies and life had been effected by the pandemic. It was important to provide a sense of personal connection to the viewer, which I enjoyed despite the difficulty of trying to plan everything with pandemic restrictions and inevitable pandemic fatigue.

 

Cycling During the Pandemic

Video Production I, Matthew Mustovich

We were to interview two subjects about how they have been effected by the pandemic. We had to ensure a focused storyline, character development, and a newsworthy human interest angle to pull the audience in. The video required A-roll, B-roll, narration, and a variety of angles and shots. This was very rewarding to put together. Everyone has a story of being effected by the pandemic, and these subjects were very open about theirs.

E-Bikes for aging athletes

Video Production I, Matthew Mustovich

The final video for this class was to showcase a product of our choice using A-roll, B-roll, lower third graphics, a narrated intro and outro, and background music. We had to set up a storyboard to plan for a 4-7 minute video. This included a variety of angles, shots, and interview elements to hold the audience’s attention and make them more interested in the product.

I spent about 20 hours filming and 40 hours editing this, which included a lot of reshoots, frustrating editing, and learning from mistakes, but I learned so much and that’s how we grow. It received positive feedback from my professor and from viewers. One person even said that he bought an e-bike because of it :)

 

The Dirty Dozen Bike Race

Intro to multimedia technology, dr. bill gibbs

This assignment was to create a video based only on photos to practice creating a storyline and emotions without narration. I really loved photographing that year’s Dirty Dozen race, and the women were so phenomenal. This was a fun project to showcase their emotions.

WE HAVE A RULE

INTRO TO MULTIMEDIA TECHNOLOGY, Dr. bill gibbs

This was to be a short (< 3 minutes) video on any topic to construct a storyline and practice audio and video recording. I used some new and old cycling footage. The cameras look pretty unsteady now, but at the time it was all a first attempt for me! Plus the winter scenes were freezing as I stood around waiting for them. The club members got a good kick out of it, which is all that matters.

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