my first "vlog" entry: process and product (ci.5410.3)
So here it is--my first attempt to produce some type of digital narrative beyond a photo slide-show. Already there are so many things I would revise. But alas, a deadline forced me to publish it as is. Thank you for deadlines. While the final product is not much to be excited about, I am very interested in the process that lead to this process.
(For a product that I think is worthy of viewing check out Carlos Virgen's Dinkytown Steak House. This is a "product" that I'd eventually like to play with--especially in terms of his use of diegetic sound and voice.)
... in terms of process I can't help but think about how much the images drove what I decided to focus on. Eventhough my interview with Jim contained much more information on the internet's impact on used book stores, I feel that the images and footage I had reflected more the "feel" of the store. So, I found myself playing up that aspect in my final product.
Another aspect I keep thinking about is the choice to use my voice to narrate the piece. Ideally I would have liked to enter sound clips of Jim talking, yet I didn't have the equipment or the skill to do so at this point. In a way I feel like my son, almost two years old, who comprehends so much language yet has so little language for expression of his ideas. This gap or disconnect leads to feet-kicking and food-throwing tantrums. In my case the frustration leads to fear and anxiety about taking on this new genre of communication--fear that often keeps me from taking risks. I'm sure that our students experience these frustrations too.
pre-production preparation:
In terms of my pre-writing or pre-production preparation, I tried to story-board my ideas first. Yet once I got involved in the research (interviewing and filming) I found that my plan changed dramatically. I guess this is typical for my writing style. I will often make an outline and then never follow it. Sometimes the outline or the storyboard in this case is just the "chafe writing" for me the writing that I do to just get my ideas flowing.
In the end, my process planning occurred after researching and involved reviewing my interview notes & footage and then trying to think about how to match images with my voice-over.
Revision--well, I can't really get into that right now. I've rambled on enough as it is. I hope to write more on this later-especially as I acquire more language to describe the process in a meaningful way. But, to summarize in ONE sentence, I would say that ... the editing interface of imovie, with its three tracks and clicking and dragging feature, makes the revision "stage" of writing much more tangible.--much more than it is in writing with pen and paper.
That said, I wonder how studying the revision and editing process during video production might better help students revise their written documents?
... enough for now.