Now that I have spent the past week working on my Audio Story piece, and cramming in some thesis writing time between working at the diner and the writing center, all while thoroughly being completely distracted by the fact that Harry Potter 7, part 1, comes out tonight at midnight and I am waiting for my brother to arrive here in Philly from long island so we can go together to see the movie tonight, I am ready to start thinking about this next project that I will have about 2 weeks to work on. Awesome.
So. Ideas for my slide show audio piece. Well, if I thought they would've let me, I would have loved to bring the audio recorder and a camera to the Harry Potter premiere tonight to get stories from the attendees about their Harry Potter experiences. But, I'm pretty sure the theater will not allow me anywhere near that movie with any kind of recording equipment. Oh well.
Other ideas? I've been thinking about doing more of a sentimental type piece, by recording the things that my family is thankful for on Thanksgiving. But I don't want the cookie-cutter responses. I want the real stuff. The stuff that really shows what people have to be thankful for this year. Especially as compared to the audio story piece I've been working on about my dad. What kinds of struggles are other people going through and how do they remain cheerful during such a difficult holiday season?
Another idea would be to describe one person by using photos of them doing different things, quoting them with things they commonly say, and basically putting together a personal profile of one person in an abstract type of way. I'm not really sure how well this would work, but I'd like to be able to show who a person is in a very fictionesque type of way, by showing instead of telling. That way my audience could make their own assumptions and conclusions from the material I give them. I think that might be an interesting idea to pursue, but I'm not sure how well it would go.
I still need to think about some things, but I hope that I will be able to create an interesting way to combine audio and still photos to really tell an interesting story.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Reading Junger's War (Book One)
I have recently begun reading Sebastian Junger's documentary novel titled War, and have just finished Book One: Fear (which will be followed by Book Two: Killing and Book Three: Love). So, what do I think thus far?
Well, for one, great book to read for boys. It has a lot of gun and war terminology, definitely some good jokes about the natural instincts and behaviors of the male species. However, as one who is anything but interested in war and its politics, I am not impressed.
Yes, Junger did some amazing research. Yes, he captured war life in a way that felt both natural and surprising. But did he capture a wide audience, outside of war enthusiasts and documentarians? Not so much.
So far, Book One has been about getting to know the soldiers Junger has met during his time in the Korengal Valley. We see how they live their day-to-day lives while deployed in Afghanistan. They clean their weapons, sleep, eat, work out, go on patrol, build new outposts, and defend themselves against the enemy. That's about it. It is a constant repeat of just surviving until you can go home, either in a plane seat or below in a wooden box. Either way, going home is the only thing to look forward too.
The way that Junger easily navigates through narrative, description, internal thought/comment, and reflection allows for a piece that does come together nicely. He shows us that documentary can be personal and not just factual. By being able to describe the situation from his own point of view, as well as including the viewpoints from the American soldiers, he was able to craft a documentary with a very established human element.
I still don't really find this particular book and subject that interesting, but I guess it's not really about that. What am I learning from Junger about multimedia storytelling? Well, I'm learning that shocking is interesting, repetition is boring, and too much detail can be confusing. Keep it simple and let your audience draw their own conclusions. After all, it's their emotions you want to insight anyway, not your own.
Well, for one, great book to read for boys. It has a lot of gun and war terminology, definitely some good jokes about the natural instincts and behaviors of the male species. However, as one who is anything but interested in war and its politics, I am not impressed.
Yes, Junger did some amazing research. Yes, he captured war life in a way that felt both natural and surprising. But did he capture a wide audience, outside of war enthusiasts and documentarians? Not so much.
So far, Book One has been about getting to know the soldiers Junger has met during his time in the Korengal Valley. We see how they live their day-to-day lives while deployed in Afghanistan. They clean their weapons, sleep, eat, work out, go on patrol, build new outposts, and defend themselves against the enemy. That's about it. It is a constant repeat of just surviving until you can go home, either in a plane seat or below in a wooden box. Either way, going home is the only thing to look forward too.
The way that Junger easily navigates through narrative, description, internal thought/comment, and reflection allows for a piece that does come together nicely. He shows us that documentary can be personal and not just factual. By being able to describe the situation from his own point of view, as well as including the viewpoints from the American soldiers, he was able to craft a documentary with a very established human element.
I still don't really find this particular book and subject that interesting, but I guess it's not really about that. What am I learning from Junger about multimedia storytelling? Well, I'm learning that shocking is interesting, repetition is boring, and too much detail can be confusing. Keep it simple and let your audience draw their own conclusions. After all, it's their emotions you want to insight anyway, not your own.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Hashing Out My Story
No, we do not have class tonight.
Yes, I still need to figure out today what I'm doing for this Audio Story.
Why? Because I'm taking out the ComKit on Monday, driving to Long Island, and going to work with my dad the next day to get all my taping done. I have to do this in one planned day because, well, I simply live too far and am just too busy to go back for a day two before this is due. So, with a fire lit under my butt, here goes.
In class last week, Prof Lyons suggested that I might spin the story to be more of a father-daughter thing, about pride and being lower working class. Do I think this applies to me and my father? I guess. I've known my whole life that I wanted to be more than my parents. I wanted good grades, an education, a college degree, and a life not spent always feeling like we were living beyond our means just to survive.
We never really had a lot. But we weren't without either. My parents did everything they could to make mine and my brother's lives happy and comfortable. That's kind of a hard thing to do on two entry-level salaries. My dad has been a window cleaner almost his whole life. 40 some-odd years now. My mom has bounced between such jobs as in data-entry, clerical work, being a substitute assistant for the school district, and finally working her way up to a teacher's assistant position in the school district my brother and I attended our whole lives. She has finally hit the point of making a livable salary for a mother with two kids in college.
My dad, on the other hand, has been losing more and more business lately. His self-owned and operated small business is a dying breed. He's a window cleaner who cleans store-fronts and the occasional building or house. In these days of a "do-it-yourself" mentality, that certainly includes windows. Businesses are opting out of their $50 a month contract with my dad to add the simple responsibility to another employee's list of things to do. Are the windows as clean? Not really. But who cares? They're just windows.
That brings me to myself. I have been a working girl my whole life too. Camp counselor, concession stand worker, bagel girl, waitress, and bartender are just some of the jobs I've had since I was 14 years old. None of them were anywhere near what I wanted to do with the rest of my life, but they got me through years of needing my own money to help out the burden on my family. And I was happy to help. I know how to work hard and I don't mind putting in the necessary effort to get through each day. I'm proud to say that I'm smart enough and determined enough to successfully make it through life with something to show for it.
But has that affected my relationship with my father? I don't really know how to look at it. My dad is very proud of me, especially when it comes to my education. His favorite thing to talk about is me and all of my accomplishments. He rattles them off to whoever will listen like stats. I've been honored by being as important to him as his favorite sports teams. He writes down little notes about things I've done to keep in his wallet to remember to talk about later. And his bedroom wall at the head of his bed is covered in framed degrees, honors, awards, and certificates, one of the few things he spends money on that isn't considered "necessary". It makes me proud to know how proud he is of me. And it always keeps me striving for more things to give him to be framed.
So, has my father been an influence in my life on who I am and who I want to be? Absolutely. He may not be smart or knowledgeable, but my father knows that I am and is proud to know that I am his daughter.
Ok, now that I've gotten all that down, what does it all have to do with my audio story? I think it may just be the angle I had been looking for. My dad's small business is falling apart and he blames his lack of a retirement future on his own lack of a proper education, as well as the current economy. I think that's where I want to focus some of my questions for him. Not only do I want to know how he's being effected by the economy, I also want to know why he continues to work so hard anyway, instead of giving up, something he probably feels like he should do considering his deteriorating health. I want to know not only how his life has changed in recent years, but also how he finds the motivation to keep moving forward anyway, and how his determination has been tested. For the struggling man, how does one keep going?
I hope all of that makes sense. And I hope I've finally reached my focus. I guess we'll just have to see how it goes.....
Yes, I still need to figure out today what I'm doing for this Audio Story.
Why? Because I'm taking out the ComKit on Monday, driving to Long Island, and going to work with my dad the next day to get all my taping done. I have to do this in one planned day because, well, I simply live too far and am just too busy to go back for a day two before this is due. So, with a fire lit under my butt, here goes.
In class last week, Prof Lyons suggested that I might spin the story to be more of a father-daughter thing, about pride and being lower working class. Do I think this applies to me and my father? I guess. I've known my whole life that I wanted to be more than my parents. I wanted good grades, an education, a college degree, and a life not spent always feeling like we were living beyond our means just to survive.
We never really had a lot. But we weren't without either. My parents did everything they could to make mine and my brother's lives happy and comfortable. That's kind of a hard thing to do on two entry-level salaries. My dad has been a window cleaner almost his whole life. 40 some-odd years now. My mom has bounced between such jobs as in data-entry, clerical work, being a substitute assistant for the school district, and finally working her way up to a teacher's assistant position in the school district my brother and I attended our whole lives. She has finally hit the point of making a livable salary for a mother with two kids in college.
My dad, on the other hand, has been losing more and more business lately. His self-owned and operated small business is a dying breed. He's a window cleaner who cleans store-fronts and the occasional building or house. In these days of a "do-it-yourself" mentality, that certainly includes windows. Businesses are opting out of their $50 a month contract with my dad to add the simple responsibility to another employee's list of things to do. Are the windows as clean? Not really. But who cares? They're just windows.
That brings me to myself. I have been a working girl my whole life too. Camp counselor, concession stand worker, bagel girl, waitress, and bartender are just some of the jobs I've had since I was 14 years old. None of them were anywhere near what I wanted to do with the rest of my life, but they got me through years of needing my own money to help out the burden on my family. And I was happy to help. I know how to work hard and I don't mind putting in the necessary effort to get through each day. I'm proud to say that I'm smart enough and determined enough to successfully make it through life with something to show for it.
But has that affected my relationship with my father? I don't really know how to look at it. My dad is very proud of me, especially when it comes to my education. His favorite thing to talk about is me and all of my accomplishments. He rattles them off to whoever will listen like stats. I've been honored by being as important to him as his favorite sports teams. He writes down little notes about things I've done to keep in his wallet to remember to talk about later. And his bedroom wall at the head of his bed is covered in framed degrees, honors, awards, and certificates, one of the few things he spends money on that isn't considered "necessary". It makes me proud to know how proud he is of me. And it always keeps me striving for more things to give him to be framed.
So, has my father been an influence in my life on who I am and who I want to be? Absolutely. He may not be smart or knowledgeable, but my father knows that I am and is proud to know that I am his daughter.
Ok, now that I've gotten all that down, what does it all have to do with my audio story? I think it may just be the angle I had been looking for. My dad's small business is falling apart and he blames his lack of a retirement future on his own lack of a proper education, as well as the current economy. I think that's where I want to focus some of my questions for him. Not only do I want to know how he's being effected by the economy, I also want to know why he continues to work so hard anyway, instead of giving up, something he probably feels like he should do considering his deteriorating health. I want to know not only how his life has changed in recent years, but also how he finds the motivation to keep moving forward anyway, and how his determination has been tested. For the struggling man, how does one keep going?
I hope all of that makes sense. And I hope I've finally reached my focus. I guess we'll just have to see how it goes.....
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