DMP Final Artist Statement
While creating this final product, I have reinforced the knowledge that I love creating videos because it allows others to see, hear, and possibly feel some of what I experienced. I also have been reminded of how difficult technology can be to work with. I learned that creating something that I feel is worth putting my name on requires a lot of work. It requires detailed planning, careful consideration, and a lot of patience. I realized that as an educator, I want my students to be proud of their work and create something that they feel is worth putting their name on. I want to be an educator that inspires my students to put their hearts into their work. Rather than doing the bare minimum, I want my students to want to succeed. I have learned that creating art actually deals a lot with technical aspects, and this project incorporates numerous skillsets.
I contributed to the project by being a part of every step of the process. I helped create our overarching theme of loss, helped design interview questions, and was a part of the scripting process as we decided the order and content we wanted to include in our final product. I recorded my own story, as well as performing verbatim the story of one of my friends. I also dealt heavily with the technical aspect of the project. We experienced many technical difficulties, so many of us ended up doing the same steps repeatedly, but I organized and created our final product on iMovie, and we used Corinne's version on Premiere Pro for class. I also was in charge of the instrumental background music, which including finding it and cutting it to fit with the film.
A modified version of this assignment could be used in the future by perhaps having less requirements, such as a smaller time limit, and decreasing the group size, or making this an individual project. I think this assignment would be amazing in a junior high or high school setting because it really allows students to be creative and to explore whichever technological medium they choose. For the future, it may be helpful to give a limited number of resources they can use, so that the students don't feel overwhelmed and aimless.
I noticed in this project how a digital environment takes away part of the humanity and human connection that is so vital to our wellbeing, as well as our joy and happiness. As I conducted several interviews, I felt like I wasn't able to fully be present due to the fact that the interviews were over the phone via phone call and FaceTime. The interviews that I was able to do in person felt much more personal and intimate. I feel that because I was able to be in the same physical space as them, there was a sense of camaraderie that was lost in virtual interviews. I used a virtual interview in the final project because even though the final project doesn't reflect this, I wanted to subtly nod at the current situation we are in due to COVID-19 and how many of my interviews had to be conducted electronically.
Because of my electronic interviews, exploring gestures was more challenging because I primarily had only facial features, tone of voice, and inflection of words or phrases at my disposal. In the final product, I worked hard to maintain the integrity of my interviewee as I repeated his words and attempted to mimic his mannerisms. Writing down verbatim what Garrett said was helpful, as I noted his pauses to breathe, his strange, almost smacking nose he made with his mouth, and which words he used to fill the spaces, such as uhhh, um, or dragging out a word when he wasn't sure what to say next, such as say colleggggeee.
Exploring space was particularly interesting because my group wanted to have a line of continuity as our theme did, but we were located in several different states and cities, unable to physically be with each other. We discussed having similar backgrounds, like trees or a white wall, but decided that we interviewed everyone in a different space, so recording each of us in a different space fit with our theme of loss, in the sense that we loss the ability to be in the same space. Within my own life, I've found that I have a limited space because I am currently living at my parent's house, and there aren't enough bedrooms for everyone to have their own space. This made me think of how important having our own space is, and how I have lost space as a result of COVID-19, further making me think of loss and how it impacts us collectively and individually.
I think I've covered some of how my group and I explored place in my paragraphs regarding gestures and space, but I think I personally saw how being in the same place can makes things significantly easier. Being able to communicate in person adds a level of understanding and ease that isn't as readily available when communicating via technology. In regards to how my group and I explored the performance of identity in a digital environment, I realized that identity cannot be lost through technology, but it's more pure in person, in my opinion at least. I think I also realized how much empathy is required to tell another person's story as if it were your own. It's an incredible experience, and I enjoyed being able to literally represent and tell another person's story.
I contributed to the project by being a part of every step of the process. I helped create our overarching theme of loss, helped design interview questions, and was a part of the scripting process as we decided the order and content we wanted to include in our final product. I recorded my own story, as well as performing verbatim the story of one of my friends. I also dealt heavily with the technical aspect of the project. We experienced many technical difficulties, so many of us ended up doing the same steps repeatedly, but I organized and created our final product on iMovie, and we used Corinne's version on Premiere Pro for class. I also was in charge of the instrumental background music, which including finding it and cutting it to fit with the film.
A modified version of this assignment could be used in the future by perhaps having less requirements, such as a smaller time limit, and decreasing the group size, or making this an individual project. I think this assignment would be amazing in a junior high or high school setting because it really allows students to be creative and to explore whichever technological medium they choose. For the future, it may be helpful to give a limited number of resources they can use, so that the students don't feel overwhelmed and aimless.
I noticed in this project how a digital environment takes away part of the humanity and human connection that is so vital to our wellbeing, as well as our joy and happiness. As I conducted several interviews, I felt like I wasn't able to fully be present due to the fact that the interviews were over the phone via phone call and FaceTime. The interviews that I was able to do in person felt much more personal and intimate. I feel that because I was able to be in the same physical space as them, there was a sense of camaraderie that was lost in virtual interviews. I used a virtual interview in the final project because even though the final project doesn't reflect this, I wanted to subtly nod at the current situation we are in due to COVID-19 and how many of my interviews had to be conducted electronically.
Because of my electronic interviews, exploring gestures was more challenging because I primarily had only facial features, tone of voice, and inflection of words or phrases at my disposal. In the final product, I worked hard to maintain the integrity of my interviewee as I repeated his words and attempted to mimic his mannerisms. Writing down verbatim what Garrett said was helpful, as I noted his pauses to breathe, his strange, almost smacking nose he made with his mouth, and which words he used to fill the spaces, such as uhhh, um, or dragging out a word when he wasn't sure what to say next, such as say colleggggeee.
Exploring space was particularly interesting because my group wanted to have a line of continuity as our theme did, but we were located in several different states and cities, unable to physically be with each other. We discussed having similar backgrounds, like trees or a white wall, but decided that we interviewed everyone in a different space, so recording each of us in a different space fit with our theme of loss, in the sense that we loss the ability to be in the same space. Within my own life, I've found that I have a limited space because I am currently living at my parent's house, and there aren't enough bedrooms for everyone to have their own space. This made me think of how important having our own space is, and how I have lost space as a result of COVID-19, further making me think of loss and how it impacts us collectively and individually.
I think I've covered some of how my group and I explored place in my paragraphs regarding gestures and space, but I think I personally saw how being in the same place can makes things significantly easier. Being able to communicate in person adds a level of understanding and ease that isn't as readily available when communicating via technology. In regards to how my group and I explored the performance of identity in a digital environment, I realized that identity cannot be lost through technology, but it's more pure in person, in my opinion at least. I think I also realized how much empathy is required to tell another person's story as if it were your own. It's an incredible experience, and I enjoyed being able to literally represent and tell another person's story.
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