My Little Narrative

I'd like to start off saying that I found Don Himsel's advice very useful. He really gave me a better idea of what it is like, behind the scenes, when making a multimedia piece. Up until this point I knew what a multimedia story was supposed to look like - I just had no idea how to approach it.

Now it seems clear to me - of course I should do an interview with my subject before sticking a camera and recorder in their face! But I was honestly confused by that before. And actually, I have good news about my big project.

Yay!

On Friday I am supposed to be meeting with a few fishermen at the harbor, who heard about what I am doing and are willing to cooperate. I'm really excited, and nervous, but it will definitely put me in a better place as far as the story is concerned. It needs a focus.

The entire 2-6 minute multimedia story should be able to be described by one sentence. It should be taut, and focused, and captivating. When I get to talk to these fishermen on Friday I'll be able to better find my specific angle.

I also thought what Don said about using music was interesting. Now that I think about it... using music is manipulative. Different music evokes different emotions - separate from what it is being paired with. If sad music is played to a story that seeks sympathy, it is manipulating the viewer to feel sad. That's not fair.

For my project this week I chose to just document myself... baking muffins.

I swear I am not a narcissistic jerk who just wanted to photograph and record myself! Really!

The reason I chose to create such a simple story that I played such a big part in, is because I really wanted quality material. I wanted better photographs and better audio than I've been getting. I wanted quality material because I want to focus, right now, on actually putting together a piece. I think that will help me a lot.

I didn't want to cover an event, have one shot, and then go back to my apartment just to find everything I shot and recorded is crap (this has already happened to me).

With this assignment I was less concerned with the story, and more concerned with the technical aspects of putting together a complete piece. I guess we will see how that goes tomorrow...