Jason McDonald

1
Jason McDonald

• Multimedia EducatorApplication to Intrepid
  SeaAirSpace MuseumWednesday, July 22, 2009

2
Jason McDonald

• Educator, Filmmaker, Historian, Graphic Designer
  and Multimedia Artist
• Studied World War II Since Before Kindergarten
• Bachelor of Arts in History From Fordham
  University (3.89 GPA)
• Currently Enrolled in Master of Fine Arts Program
  in Television at CUNY Brooklyn College
• President and Executive Producer of MFA
  Productions LLC
• Married and Father of One Son
• Resident of New York City since 1982 currently
  resides in Brooklyn

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Teaching Experience

• 1982-1986 K-8 Day Camp Counselor in High School
• Worked With International Communities in Flushing
  and Bayside, Queens
• 1994-1995 Studio Manager at New York Institute of
  Technology (NYIT)
• Taught Technical Sections of Undergraduate and
  Graduate Communications Courses
• Advised Undergraduate and Graduate Students
• Managed Broadcast TV Studio, Mac and SGI Labs

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Teaching Experience

• 1996-2006 Media Specialist at United Nations
  International School (UNIS)
• Taught Video, Web, and Print Production to 5-12
  Grade
• Team Taught Computing, Humanities, Math, Art,
  English, ESL, Languages and More
• Supported All Events and Publications
• Designed and Installed RG-6 CATV Video
  Distribution
• Designed and Installed Portable TV Studio for
  Location Video Production and Webcasting

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Filmmaker

• Television Credits Include PBS, NY1, and Public
  Access
• Producer, Director and Writer for Scores of
  Video Productions for UNIS, Including Event and
  Fiction Videography
• Over Twenty Student Awards at Cannes for Kids,
  Toronto, Canada (As Producer)
• Producer, What Kind of Question Is That? Finalist
  for Best POV Documentary in the 4th Annual
  Varsity World TV Golden V Festival, 2004
• Presented Student Films Nine Times at the
  American Museum of the Moving Image (AMMI) in
  Astoria, Queens

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Filmmaker

• 2004 - Writer, Director and Producer for Day of
  the Kamikaze
• Aired in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Some
  African Countries on European Public Television
• Videotaped Aboard Intrepid in 2002
• Narrated by CW Network Channel 11s Marvin Scott
• 2002-present - Nine Sisters (In Progress)
• Documentary Miniseries on US Navy Light Carriers
  in World War II and Korea
• So Far, Interviewed Over 75 Veterans of Ten Ships
  in Dozens of Locations, Compiling 125 Hours of
  Interviews
• Videotaped With the Support of the US Navy
  Museums in Dana Indiana Buffalo, New York
  Norfolk, Virginia Alameda, California
  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Carnival Cruise
  Lines

7
Historian

• 2000-2007 Multimedia Consultant for Cabot
  Association and APA Project to Rescue US Navy
  Ships for Museums
• Jason McDonald Has Made a Substantive
  Contribution to the Preservation of the History
  of the Second World War. Peter Stoudt,
  President, Ships for Victory
• 2005 - Talent Coordinator for National Public
  Radios 60th Anniversary Commemoration of the
  Pacific War
• Expert in Finding and Identifying Historic Photos
  in the National Archives, Library of Congress,
  the Naval Historical Center and Commercial
  ArchivesSuch as Corbis

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Historian

• Website World War II Multimedia Database
• Recommended by Thousands of Secondary Schools,
  Colleges, Libraries and the Armed Forces As a
  Critical Source on the Major Conflict of the
  Twentieth Century
• Originally Undergraduate History Final Thesis
  for Fordham University, Running Since 2000
• Over 1.1 Million Visitors Annually, Mostly
  Students
• Over 500 Topics, 100 Video Clips, 2000 Annotated
  Photos and a Virtual Radio
• 400 Photos Are Super-annotated With Extensive
  Research, Biographies of the Subjects, and the
  Background of the Photographer in a PHP-based
  Keyword Searchable Image Gallery
• Dozens of People (Veterans, Family, and
  Historians) All Over the World Interviewed for
  Historical Accuracy

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Historiography

• True, they the Americans did not hate yet
  but they were developing the capacity for hatred,
  which required a nihilistic core of resignation
  and rage. C. Russ Martin, a sergeant in the 1st
  Division, hinted at this upon hearing of the
  death of his twin brother in North Africa
  Twins, we feel for one another, and the minute
  he got killed, I knew it, a sensation and a kind
  of relief from worrying about him. I didn't have
  to worry about him anymore.
• Rick Atkinson, An Army at Dawn, (2002) page 262
  Pulitzer Prize
• To scores of millions of participants, the war
  was also a race war. It exposed raw prejudices
  and was fueled by racial pride, arrogance, and
  rage on many sides. Ultimately, it brought about
  a revolution in racial consciousness throughout
  the world that continues to the present day.
• John Dower, War Without Mercy (1987) page 4
  Professor of History, MIT
• Im here to honor the two guys who were my
  closest buddies in the Air Corps--Joe Perry and
  Ed Plotkin, both of whom were killed in the last
  weeks of the war. And to honor all the others who
  died in that war. But I'm not here to honor war
  itself. I'm not here to honor the men in
  Washington who send the young to war
• Howard Zinn at the Dedication of the National
  World War II Memorial, Bombardier, France 1945,
  Professor Emeritus, Boston UniversityProgressive
  Magazine, August 2004

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the World War II Multimedia Database

• "Intensely Richit Shows Remarkable
  Sophistication and Depth, and Uses a Fairly Wide
  Array of Multimedia Materials American
  Historical Association
• " An Excellent Resource in Words, Images and
  Video. Channel 4, United Kingdom
• "One of the Great Problems With World War II Web
  Sites Is That Countless Hobbyists Litter the
  Cyber-Landscape With All Sorts of Irrelevant
  Offerings. For the Serious Student of the War,
  It Is Difficult to Find Sites That Contribute to
  a Deeper Understanding of the War and War-related
  Issues. I Have Selected the Following Link in
  the Hope of Saving Students From Time Consuming
  Cyber-Wandering Through Unimportant
  PresentationsThere Is Much of Interest to See
  Here. Professor Bruce Hull, University of
  Maryland
• "Provides Historical and Detailed Information
  About World War II. WNET "Secrets of the
  Dead," PBS

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Day of the Kamikaze

• Aired in Europe in 2004
• Goal Was to Create a Documentary That Brought
  Teenagers and Veterans Together to Discuss the
  Pacific War
• Videotaped Aboard Intrepid
• American Version Narrated by CW 11s Reporter
  Marvin Scott
• Now Available on DVD Through the Website
• Remade in 2007 by BBC/Smithsonian/Discovery
  Channel

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Graphic Designer

• Freelance Clients Include NYU Medical Center,
  Goldman Sachs, Smith Barney, Playhouse of
  American Classics (Buffalo Drama Revival
  Company), American Place Theatre, People for the
  American Way, Friends of Ruth Messinger, Friends
  of Chuck Schumer, Friends of Andrew Eristoff,
  More
• Projects for UNIS Included Publicity Posters
  (Example Left), Official School Newsletters and
  Brochures, and All Student Publications
• Taught Graphic Design for Various Departments
• Included All Printed and Promotional Materials
  for UNIS-UN Conference
• Work Has Appeared in Albany Times-Union, New
  York Times, Village Voice and More
• Also an Experienced Photographer

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Multimedia Integration

• 1995 - National Organization for Women - Created
  Print, Television, and Organizational Materials
  for Local and National Campaigns and Washington
  March Against Domestic Violence
• 1996-2006 - UNIS
• Created Multimedia Across Web, Print, and Video
  Outlets in Support of Special Events, Plays,
  Concerts, and Guest Speakers
• Designed and Installed CATV RG-6 Distribution
  for Live Remotes From Any Connected Classroom
• Designed and Implemented the Schools Webcasting
  Technology
• Created a Financial Benefit for the School With
  Sales of DVDs of Events

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Other Interests
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Integrated Multimedia education at Intrepid

• Some Ideas for Curriculum Implementation Using
  Skills Im Familiar With and Can Easily Implement
  for Reduced Cost
• Documentary Workshop
• Classes for Grades 5-12 After School, on
  Weekends to Learn About Historical Documentary
  Filmmaking
• Videoconferencing History
• Connect With Other Museums to Stage Virtual
  Reenactments Over the Internet
• Schools Connecting With New York
• Focus on New York Shipyards

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Video Production Classes

• Requires a Multimedia Classroom
• Expenses Can Be Controlled
• Offer Documentary Production Classes for Both
  Children and Adults
• An Open Area for Green Screen Effects
• Multimedia Classroom Can Be Rented to Events
  Producers for Their Own Media Production During
  Major Public Events
• Show the Best Student Videos in a Festival
• Invite History or Discovery Military to Premiere
  New Docs
• No Such Military Documentary Festival Is
  Currently Active
• Festivals Are the Dominant Exchange for
  Independent Filmmakers

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Video Conferencing

• Using Either Apple iChat (Mac), Skype (Mac, PC)
  or Polycom (Proprietary) Connect Classrooms
  Around the World to Intrepid
• Besides Lectures, Have Students Simulate Historic
  Events Create Print/screen Multimedia So That
  They Research and Assume the Roles of Real People
• Studies Show That Todays Students Retain More
  Information From Multimedia Education Than
  Traditional Chalk and Talk
• Skype and iChat Are Free, Built Into Modern
  Computers, and Easy to Troubleshoot and Implement
• Reach Out to Other Naval Museums Through
  Videoconferencing to Compare Research and
  Experiences

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Photography

• Using Online Photographic Resources
• National Archives
• Library of Congress
• Naval Historical Center
• Corbis
• Others
• Have Students Research and Create PowerPoint
  Presentations About ShipsBuilt in New York City
• New Yorks Massive Contribution to World War II
• Carriers Like Intrepid
• Battleships Like USS Arizona and USS Iowa

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Room for Improvement

• Tendency to Take on Many Projects, and Complete
  All of Them, but Burn Out in the Process
• Sarcasm
• 95 of People I Meet Think Im Very Funny,
  Supportive and Engaging
• 5 Think Im Arrogant, Self-involved and Annoying
• I Just Started Considering This Issue
• People Come to Me to Get Things Done, It Has
  Engendered Anger As I Try to Immediately Solve
  Problems to Meet Deadlines Usually Problems
  Arise From Lack of Clear Responsibilities and
  Guidelines
• MFA Program
• Over the Next Two Years, I Will Be Required to
  Take One Daytime 8-hour Production Class Per
  Semester

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Questions and Answers

• Thank You for Your Time and Attention!