final summary!!
Well, we made it to the end! I really enjoyed this class, helping me practice and grow my skills not just with telling stories, but by putting my editing abilities to use! Even if it was a couple of weeks, I was occupied and constantly thinking about what I wanted to do each week. So before arriving to the final week, lets go over the things I remember from each week before this one!
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We started off with visual! Probably my weakest section. I remember learning about being “visually literate”, reflecting on how each picture we take has a story to go along it. It all has meaning- it’s not just a meaningless image. I remember thinking about how AI isn’t capable of conveying the meaning behind a photo, and those are typically just a meaningless image. When we take a photo, everything has its importance- from the lighting to the perspective it is taken from.
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After visual, we moved on to design! I think I was starting to get the hang of the class at this point. We learned many design principles here, reading The Vignelli Canon and the importance of grids. I think the biggest thing I took from this part of the class was understanding how every little thing matters. Designers take every pixel to importance, even the way the text is placed can help make a coherent and working design.
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Once we finished design, we moved onto sound! I’ve always thought that sound was super important when it comes to storytelling, and can really help solidify a good story. Sometimes music or the speed at which something is said can really set the mood for your story. I really enjoyed hearing Ira Glass talking about what it takes to storytell, and his video really stuck with me. It takes time to really grasp it- to really make something that sounds good. But we have taste! We can tell when something we make isn’t the best, and that’s really important when it comes to sound. We can keep pushing to make something that will impact people.
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Finally, video!! Video editing has always been one of my favorite things to do to pass the time. But it’s a lot more than that. During this week, we had to learn to read a movie. I really enjoyed learning about how camera angles can help set a scene. From the motion to the size, to even whether or not the camera is at eye level or over someone’s shoulder, each aspect of it can create a strong scene.
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But we’ve made it to the end. Using a little bit of everything, I was able to create my final project! I continued the story from last week’s alien bit (and you’ve probably seen her on my summary posts), this time from the perspective of a person who met her on Earth. So, here’s the link to the final project!
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I think the biggest thing I learned from this class is a larger appreciation for people who do these things, be it as a hobby or for work. There is so much thought and effort that you might not realize until actually trying it- and I’d love to be able to grow my own skills, too. If I were to take this class over again, I think I’d like to try certain projects that I was afraid of trying! Looking through the assignment bank, there were a lot that I was interested in, but I felt I wouldn’t be capable of doing them well. But I think now, at the end of the class, I realize the best way to grow my skills is to try those things that might seem too difficult.
To me, the most exciting project was probably the final one. But I mean, it’s the final one! I knew I wanted to use my alien character, so finally being able to use her in a story was really fun for me. I thank this class for giving me the opportunity to do all of these things, and for helping me come out of my comfort zone a little.
