Kevin Pratt
678.369.6638
kevin.pratt@gmail.com
www.kevinpratt.com
Education
Clayton State University, Morrow, Ga. — B.A. Communications and Media Studies, Spring 2009.
Research
Papers
“Challenging Convention at Dragon*Con: The Visual Rhetoric of the Costume” — Sept. 2008
An analysis of the use of costume in identity politics at a fantasy/sci-fi convention.
“Queering Doctor Who” — April 2008
A textual analysis of the introduction of Captain Jack Harkness into the British children’s series, Senior Thesis.
“To Be Educated or to Have Nothing” — Nov 2007
A textual analysis of the use of visual rhetoric to extol the virtue of traditional education in Être et Avoir.
Instructional Activities
Workshops
Weekly Workshops – Bent Tree News: Morrow, Ga. — 2007-2008
Conducted weekly workshops on different aspects of newspaper production in coordination with my senior staff. I personally conducted workshops on the following topics: Graphic Design and Layout, Journalistic Ethics, Conducting Interviews, Constructing a Story, Narrative Photography, and Writing for the Web.
Guided Discussions – Dragon*Con, Podcasting Track: Atlanta, Ga. — 2006, 2007, and 2008
Because of my work on the alienEthOS podcast. I was invited to conduct a panel on ethics in science fiction. I structured it as a moderated group discussion after short presentations by the panelists.
Experience
Administrative
Student Member, Disciplinary Hearing Panel, Clayton State University; Morrow, Ga. — 2007-2009.
Student Member, Parking Appeals Committee, Clayton State University — 2007-2009.
Founding Member, Student Media Board, Clayton State University — 2007-2008.
Student Member, Student Financial Advisory Board, Clayton State University — 2006-2007.
Student Editor, Cygnet Editorial Board, Clayton State University — 2006-2007.
Business and Professional
Freelance Design – Blog building – Video Editing: Atlanta, Ga. — 2005-Current
I have taken freelance work designing and building blogs for small companies, and basic video editing. This type of work has given me a greater understanding of client based work. These jobs have included the needed paperwork and a working relationships with my clients.
Extra-Relief Clerk, Quicktrip Inc.; Atlanta, Ga. — 2002-2005
As an extra-relief clerk, I was trusted to fill in for others in the district during sickness and vacation. Also, I worked on a special projects team that went to each store to modify displays and merchandising.
Owner/Designer, Cobalty.com T-shirt Designs: Stockbridge, Ga. — 2004
After purchasing a booth at Dragon*Con for September, I enlisted the help of my friends and family to help develop several ideas for T-shirts that would appeal to the alternative/scifi/fantasy crowd of Dragon*Con. In the weeks leading to the conference I found an apparel company to work with, obtained funding, and moved the ideas from conception to design. During the actual event, I experimented with different approaches of marketing to stand out in a very crowded market and found several that worked to dramatically increase my sales toward the end of the event.
Server, O’Charley’s: Stockbridge, Ga. — 2000-2001.
Composition Editor, Interim Personnel: Macon, Ga. — 1999-2000
This position focused more on technical skill. I was responsible for the layout of Air-Force manuals and worked in a production assembly type environment working with Pagemaker.
Web-master, Mercer University (Counseling Dept.): Macon, Ga. — 1998-1999
As web-master for the counseling department, I was responsible for the design and creation of the website as well as several print projects such as flyers and brochures. I developed my coding and design skills for an interactive medium and learned the process for deadline based work.
Computer Technician, Best Buy: Morrow, Ga. — 1997-1998
My responsibilities here included computer repair and upgrades, new computer setups and basic training for customers, as well as, managing returns, and answering questions.
Extracurricular
Peer Mediator, Hearing Panel Member, Clayton State University; Morrow, Ga. — 2007-2009
As a Peer Mediator, I was trained to resolve disputes between students. From a neutral standpoint, we were to help the parties clarify their needs, hear each other clearly, and come to a compromise. For more serious conflicts or those involving academic misconduct, I have served as a hearing panel student member to adjudicate those cases. In these cases we reviewed evidence, heard testimony, questioned involved parties, and in closed discussion determined fault and if needed, sanctions. These experiences have taught me the fundamentals of conflict resolution and heavy responsibility of deciding cases.
Editor-in-Chief, Layout Editor, Bent Tree News; Morrow, Ga. — 2006-2008
Under the guidance of our advisor Dr. Randy Clark, I first served as Layout Editor then taking over as Editor-in-Chief of the student newspaper. My duties as Editor-in-Chief included recruiting and training new staff, holding meetings and training sessions, developing writers and editors, determining coverage, setting up collaborative systems and editorial workflows, representing the paper to the student body and to the administration, working with vendors and advertisers, creating a budget and securing funding from the university, working with the advisor to create and serve on the Student Media Board, as well as developing relationships with students, faculty and staff. As Layout Editor, I was responsible for the physical newspaper being created and distributed to the university. These positions have taught me the reality of deadlines and the challenge of leadership.
Podcaster, alienEthOS.com: The Ethics of Sci-fi: Stockbridge, Ga. — 2005-2006
Along my co-host, hydrogeologist Kade Hutchinson, we recorded and produced a talk show dealing with the ethical and moral dilemmas in science fiction. This required me to learn the complexities of blog creation and design, RSS feeds, and audio recording, editing and production. The project also requires a great deal of academic research, writing, and preparation. Our audience participation model was featured in Podcasting for Dummies by Evo Terra. We would announce the next show’s topic and host vigorous debate in our forums. We would then read and respond to the best comments on the show.
Member, Production Artist, Youth Pride: Atlanta, Ga. — 2000-2001
Volunteering my skills at Youth Pride allowed me to contribute my skills in a pro-social way. I helped develop a visual identity for Synergy, the new community outreach initiative by submitting several possibilities to the youth council. I came to understand the goals of an organization and how to best help achieve them. While doing this, I produced a steady stream of flyers for events every two weeks. I also created a proposal for a statewide publication of a survival guide for GLBT youth which lead to a Gil Foundation grant being given to the organization.
Layout Editor, Beartracks: Macon, Ga. — 1998-1999
Knowing the most about computers in my class, I was designated Layout Editor when we decided to start up an independent newspaper as an alternative to the traditional journalism course. In the process of putting my first paper together I learned about the basics of graphic design and copy layout. I was responsible for the production from copy to ads to working with the printers for the final production.
Skills
Research
- Film/Video text analysis
- Audience analysis (interviews, focus groups, survey, visual communications)
- Lit Review (developed a digital workflow by scanning documents/books and doing OCR for digital annotation)
- News and current research summaries (blogging)
Library
- Audio transcription (interviews, dialog)
- Archival/Microfilm summary and reproduction
- Dewey decimal categorization and shelving
- Online database research
- Copyright Law and Fair Use determination under Ga. University System
Digital Media Production/Distribution
- Image editing/digital Image Production (Photoshop)
- Publication Layout and Design (InDesign)
- Flyer/Poster/vector art creation (Illustrator)
- PDF creation and modification (Acrobat)
- Principal photography and lighting (Digital SLR/Handheld HD Cameras)
- Film Editing and Special Effects creation (Final Cut Pro/Motion)
- DVD/CD Mastering (DVD Studio Pro)
- Audio recording and production (Logic Pro)
- Database driven website production and theme creation with social network integration (PHP/MySQL/HTML/CSS/JS/WordPress/Joomla/MediaWiki/Drupal)
- Online video/audio distribution (podcasting/shoutcast streaming/Flash players)
- Flash movie creation/scripting (Flash)
Computer
- Windows/Mac OS X/Linux/Unix installation/maintenance/troubleshooting
- Mac/PC building/configuration/troubleshooting/repair
- TCP/IP routing setup/troubleshooting
- Windows/Mac/Linux file and printer sharing setup and configuration
- Firewire/USB analog/digital media capture
- OS X system wide workflows using shell/Apple scripts and Automator
- Collaborative software implementation (email lists/wikis/forums/etc.)
- Database creation and maintenance (Filemaker/MySQL)
References
- Jeff Jacobs — Dean of Students. Director, Office of Student Conduct. Phone: (678) 466-5444 Email: JeffJacobs@Clayton.edu
- Dr. Randy Clark — Advisor, Bent Tree News. Associate Professor English & Media Studies. Phone: (678) 466-4724 Email: RandyClark@Clayton.edu
- Dr. Steve Spence — Associate Professor English & Media Studies. Phone: (678) 466-4721 Email: SSpence@Clayton.edu
- Dr. Elaine Manglitz – Assistant Vice-president of Student Affairs. Phone: (678) 466-5444 Email: ElaineManglitz@clayton.edu