http://prezi.com/fuvymmizl8k_/copy-of-means-of-survival/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy
Reflective Piece
In writing the
script for the prezi, I had a lot of trouble visually representing it. It
especially became troublesome because I had already spent so much time on the
visuals in parts. Piecing them together was quite annoying. Going back again,
I’m going to solidify my script 100% before I do the visual stuff. On the other
hand, because of the way my mind works (visually), mapping the project out was
something I absolutely needed to do before writing. It was a catch 22, and the
middle ground between the two was not easy. I also think from now on I will use
a blank prezi instead of a template. The only things I kept from the original
one was the tape and one notebook paper. Everything else I deleted and
customized the fonts and colors of everything after changing the color theme to
Midnight. I didn’t like the color scheme in the template I used so I either
changed the colors or got rid of it.
The
overall look of it is trying to accomplish a contemporary ‘student’ feel which
would cater to people with similar problems. Though you may think this is more
geared toward creative endeavors, it’s actually addressed to everyone – science
majors included. This is about focus, not necessarily creative process. I tried
to address the root issues that could be detracting from a person’s ability to
focus on studying, reading, writing, yoga, a conversation with their mother,
anything. Some people are affected visually – which is why I did the stop
motion screen cast and tried to make everything cohesive. Also the sight of
clutter is connected to the emotional affect clutter can have on an individual.
Emotional distraction as I referred to it: depression during finals week is not
what I mean. During finals we tend to “excuse” certain unhealthy habits. But
what if you’re going 100MPH 24/7? Then your body will really start to suffer
and you can become addicted to various substances and sugars to maintain
animation, as I call it, animated corpse.
I
learned a lot about the connection to image and words during this project.
Especially in the process. I was used to photoshop key shortcuts and track pad
gestures that had to be re-learned in Prezi. I also struggled with PNG files
that had a lot of clear space around them until I realized I could just crop
them. I have layers and layers of frames in one, like the “Controlled”
Environment slide, where I had to actually go in and delete the stuff in the
first box, create new frames to focus on different things and then add the rest
back in the last frame. Timing was really important and it took many
run-throughs of my script read out to figure out the visual flow, and how best
to represent the words. I would go back and add more visual components, but
have them all my original drawings and photos. The part about NET is annoying
because those aren’t my images. The only one that is is the NET hands and the
brain, to represent that it helps to bring out the subconscious (the majority
of our brain) for us to deal with.
I
should have done my entire project on applied kinesiology and
Neuro-emotional-testing, because I know a lot about it, and am extremely
interested in Chinese medicinal practices, which is part of a heritage I’m
passionate about. It’s a hybrid of many different types applied sciences and
practices, which I think is really cool. I made one of my ways of getting
organized that focal point, because I figured it would offer something new to
start thinking about. I also focused a lot on music because it is the single
most important tool in doing almost anything. Whatever I’m feeling or doing has
a song. And if there’s no music available I’ll sing. I hope that it at least
started a thought process about the many forces at play that contribute to an
overall sense of control in an ideal study environment or situation.
Making
it your own was the main theme I wanted you to take from this. I wanted it to
be more of a food for thought piece, to raise awareness of different methods I,
and others use to improve productivity. I did so not just through ideas, but
through the lettering and pictures I created in photoshop. The letters are
constructed of the photoshoot I did in my room which is part of the video in
the “controlled” environment frame, just heavily edited. The pictures were done
in several shoots, and I’m really happy with how they turned out. I tried to
create consistency through the pictures, having a boy and a girl, a video, and
the layout similar. I spent the majority of my time probably on manipulating
fonts!
The
research I did was mostly for psych related articles. I recently attended a
research colloquium that taught me that google scholar can lead you to the
bottom feeder articles that aren’t as reliable. I used the Davidson access to
JSTOR and found exactly what I was looking for. It’s always exciting to find
that perfect evidence. One thing I would add for future research is that it
takes a while (and sometimes should be done on google to start) to find the
proper terminology which is widely used in tags, and may not be how you would
normally phrase your search. Those key words you pick up through finding
sharper connotative meanings through the net, will lead you more relevant
articles!
From
this assignment I really learned that before I can do anything visually I
needed to have the audio done first. That was a nightmare. I changed so much of
my presentation throughout the writing and recording process and am still
considering going back and changing it again. I depended to much on an audio
script and wanted my presentation to be more like a movie than a powerpoint. I
felt the need to visually entertain. There are points where my words don’t
match up with the text, but that is to try and elevator pitch those ideas to
you while I explain the depth.
I
would say that for the next class, definitely pass on the research information
I have in here. That helped me a ton! Also, I would tell students that before
they even get the visual representation together, they should treat it like a
podcast that will be shown visually as an aid, but not a necessary one. Or, for
screen-casting, to record a written piece after rehearsing the motions on the
computer, in audacity. Then, play that in headphones and record the screencast
silently. I think I should have done this, and I might end up doing it, but
taking the sound out of the screen-cast video and importing it to imovie, then
adding the podcast over it. These are things I hope will help to think about.
Being able to
manipulate my own images to create a look was so fun and fulfilling. I
definitely plan on doing many many more of these with my original artwork
completely. Down to every shape and every letter.
***On a final
note, I struggled with technical difficulties during this project. I couldn’t
upload the audio file for some reason, so I ended up changing it into more of a
movie and playing the audio on my computer. The recording is low quality and
that makes me sad, but hopefully I’ll figure out how to get a better video of
it. The audio file wont be emailed or uploaded anywhere… I must be saving it
wrong. I’ll figure it out!
Natalie -- as always I genuinely appreciate and admire the dedication to your work. It's extremely refreshing even to see what you've done with this simple blog post, to write out an entire reflection in addition to your screencast. With such care and poise and madness do you create and I love it. And if trying to line up your audio perfectly with the difficult and testing pace of a Prezi isn't dedication, well then, I don't know what is. ;) Thanks for bein' you!
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