Thanks again to Ken and Hil for a wonderful, engaging, and fun week. I learned so much!

I second Nicole’s sentiment that “practice makes product”. I definitely view my digital narrative and interview as “practice” or “experiments,” which makes me question the polished final products I expect of my students on alternative projects. Perhaps simply changing the assignment language would free them to play a bit more and work more diligently on the process rather than a perfect final product. Not that a tight final product isn’t important, but sometimes the end product (i.e. the grade) tends to overshadow the actual point of the assignment. Thanks for reminding me about how the process works from the student perspective!

Like others, I was fascinated by iMovie and all it can do. I love details and the ability to play with different parts. That certainly got me into a bit of trouble, as I don’t think I knew exactly what I was taking on, but I had a ton of fun. That said, working on the video today gave me a whole new appreciation for production. I knew it takes time. How much time I underestimated. I got caught up with the cool “tricks” I could do and then realized that something I had just worked an hour or so on was only about 20 seconds worth of video, and I had a lot more to go. It’s extremely gratifying when it comes together, but frustrating when you realize the ratio of process to product. That sounds negative, but as I’ve been thinking about it, it’s not so different from working on a paper. I just have better writing skills since I practice those more. I guess my takeaway: practice makes product.

I saw a lot of my students in myself today, so again a humbling experience.

In terms of teaching, my digital story was actually a trial run for an assignment I was thinking about giving my classes in the fall. Having completed it myself now, I’m not sure using the digital story for this particular assignment is best, as it posed some visual challenges I hadn’t quite thought through. I am still thinking about this type of assignment for the intro course, as the questions I struggled with today (audience, soundtrack, misc. sounds, visual, etc) are a great starting point.

Finally, Ken & Hil – thank you for all your help. This has been a fantastic experience!

Here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zVRXnSPm7c&feature=youtu.be

I found the exercise of working with sound files, still images and text to be extremely engaging and now can see how these multiple dimensions enrich the creative experience. I admit that I also enjoyed the challenge of precision in the process: finding the right image at an appropriate resolution, harmonizing the tones of voice, soundtrack (!) and content, finessing the placement and duration of visual elements, all while just touching the surface of what iMovie and Audacity are capable of. This has been a wonderful opportunity to explore new methods of conveying ideas in aesthetically interesting and animating ways, and I’m audaciously hoping to develop inspiring ideas for how to integrate this new knowledge into my teaching in the future.

A big shout out of appreciation to Ken and Hil for organizing this session and running it so effectively!

http://youtu.be/q4xQ1KX7-qk

http://youtu.be/HwQ8a9a3Nl8

Thanks to Ken and Hil for a great introduction to iMovie today. I’ve used it in the past but to sub-amateur results, and I’m feeling much better about my abilities after yesterday. My interview is another issue entirely…

As for the voice recording, I’ve mentally written the first rule on my “how to” worksheet: How you feel when you record (unless you are a stellar actress) is how you will sound. Recording after midnight reveals a tired, hollow voice that is painful to hear. My apologies in advance.

Okay, maybe it was just me, but when I played back my text on the voice recorder, I sounded like a zombie, sleep deprived or on some kind of drug. After I don’t want to confess how many re-takes with increasingly accelerated speech bordering on hysteria without much difference in the playback, I tried it on my computer and found the speed to be much more natural. Too bad I deleted several takes that might have been just right…

Breathless in Henrico, out.

Clueless in Henrico, in: Just realized that I’d been using the DPC speed control function that affects playback. Switched it to on thinking it was linked to turning the recorder on. Cue Homer Simpson: Dooh!