Digitizing Comments on the Digital
This documentary
was my first attempt at stringing scenes together into a cohesive story using a
movie making software. I specifically used Windows Movie Maker for my project
as I am a PC owner. I originally would have liked to have been able to use iMovie
since that is the software with which we practiced in class; however, after a
rather unsuccessful attempt at converting video clips on iMovie, I figured it
would be simpler to proceed with Windows Movie Maker. Captioning was kind of
challenging at first, especially just figuring out the technical aspects of how
to time it so that I can begin a new caption, but once I got the hang of that,
the process was rather simple. It was only time-consuming, which is my only
complaint, since I had to listen, pause, type and repeat that process. I
quickly learned that the captions don’t have to match the audio to the exact
second though it wouldn’t be good to have the captions too off. I feel that
would not only be distracting to those watching and reading at the same time
but also sort of deceitful to an audience with disabilities and who relies on
the captions to provide an experience closest to the original as possible.
The production
process consisted of me outlining the components I wanted to include in my
video where image stills figured largely into it. Part of my preparation
involved gathering the screen shots that corresponded to each piece of
information that I wanted to present. I also wanted to include clips of
professional dancers, so I collected that as well. Finally, I thought it would
be a cool introduction to have myself do a simple and short combination of
ballet steps. I was lucky to have a friend be able to film in my room so I
didn’t have to bother much with tripod settings and constantly adjusting it for
the right angle. The lighting in my room was ideal without being too bright or
too dim for shadows. It had a nice, quiet ambient that was perfect for the
slower ballet music. One of my aesthetic aims for this video was to keep in
line with the slower, fluid, and melodious aspects of ballet and the music.
My target
audience was students of dance and/or anyone interested in digital culture,
particularly how non-digital discourses intersect with the digital realm. Keeping
this in mind has influenced me to present the kind of information I did and in
the way I did, which was supposed to be a logical, easy-to-follow progression
punctuated by certain choices made purely for aesthetic reasons. In other
words, the rhetorical reasoning behind including the dance clips and
interspersing them throughout the video rather than just including it all at
once at the end was to keep the flow of the video tied to the idea of dance. I
also felt like it broke up what could have potentially been a tedious string of
voice-over clips and thereby serve to engage an audience of dancers more. Plus,
considering that one of the intended tones for my video was to be educational,
I felt seeing beautiful performances would inspire students at the same time.
While the dance
footage itself served to create the pathos for the message for its artistry and
inspiration, the screen shots coming from reputed websites such as
DanceAdvantage.net and theballetstore.com contributed to both logos and ethos.
The credibility of the websites built my own video’s credibility in relaying
the information I did while providing a logical and informative basis. Seeing
as my aim was to direct students to actual helpful resources, using popular
sites with substance was obviously of utmost importance. Offering a concise
summary for each of the screen shots so that it is most accessible to the
dancer audience helped to build logos. Perhaps it was this choice that may have
made my logos appeal a bit weak to the more academically-oriented audience who
would typically be interested in more in-depth analysis than what I ended up
offering in my video. Furthermore, the clip of me doing a simple dance
combination helped to boost my credibility by showing me engaged in the actual
art I intend to discuss in my video so there is physical evidence that this is
something I do and enjoy.
Based on what I
originally intended for my two general audiences and what I actually ended up
creating, I have to say that my video really seems to be of more value to one
audience than the other, that is, dancers moreso than academia. It is true that
my rhetorical choices lean more heavily towards dance and musical aesthetics and
a rather basic offering of information. I wish I had spent more time developing
how I could make my video useful for scholarly discussions as well. Some
suggestions I can think of in retrospect are including clusters of information
relating to certain umbrella topic, as in “community,” and using more of the digital
studies terminology we spent class time discussing. So if I were to revise this
video, I would perhaps include “fandom and online community” as one area of
analysis, make that heading explicit, and have included more than Facebook as
an example. This would also mean cutting back on some of the clips and really
only using them to exemplify another category of digital culture under which
YouTube would fall (interactive platforms and/or digitizing entertainment).
Nevertheless, part
of what is inherently challenging about serving both audiences is that their
interests really are divergent. I doubt most dancers looking for helpful, go-to
information would care to stop and analyze the scholarly aspect of what exactly
they wish to access online. In this regard, I feel my video was at least
somewhat successful in directly addressing the needs of one audience. At least
this project was a lesson that a very specific message can really be delivered
to one type of a specific audience, and that trying to meet the needs of two
very different audiences requires a careful balance of moderation.
Because the
topic I chose is a traditionally non-digital discourse, I feel like this
project really challenged me to applying knowledge from class in a different
context. Other than using the practical software skills we explored in class,
such as video editing, this project was really an opportunity to isolate
certain subtopics relating to new media, which in my case included the larger
notion of fandom as including dancers (or practitioners of a certain art) and
how they may engage in their fandom (or art) online.
image courtesy of: http://www.iteclansing.org/digital-media/
image courtesy of: http://www.iteclansing.org/digital-media/
