Foundations of Media Design: Post Mortem
The dog runs but he does not get anywhere. No, that is not an ancient proverb. That was my first experience with Fetch. The dog ran and ran, but he would not connect to the server. And then after trouble shooting, he did. This was my experience with many projects during this class. It was a process. I had to allow myself to become frustrated, battered, sometimes even weep to get results. In the end though it was always worth it.
This class was exactly the thrown into the fire scenario I was looking for. As I've mentioned before, this was my reason for applying to graduate school, to be removed from my comfort zone and asked to take on challenges. While they were exhilarating, they were also terrifying. Since completing my under graduate work almost nine years ago, I have taken a few continuing education courses here, completed a few treatments there, taken a few courses at not for profit media organizations, like DCTV, to alleviate some of the banality and stagnation of working full time, but it was never enough. I was yearning for the opportunity to collaborate with other students and see what mediums my peers were producing. I got that and whole lot more out of this course.
Though in the last few weeks since beginning Flash and Dream Weaver, I have staggered into class looking exasperated and exhausted. I accept that this too was part of the process. When I take Media Film Form in the fall, I'm going experience this all over again, and I'm glad because if I shied away from these challenges. What would be the point of attending graduate school then? As one of my good friends has reminded me time and time again whenever she has seen a pained expression or look of dismay creep across my face, "This is graduate school. It's supposed to be hard".
So a critical constructive self-evaluation of my work this semester? This is easier said than done. I am my own worst critic. From a Wabi Sabi perspective, it is important that I recognize the beauty and wonder behind my imperfect projects. I'm sure their are qualities in the work I have produced over this semester that expressed something wonderful and unique that I was unable to see but others were. All visual mediums are subjective and offer different meanings and interpretations for each person. My work is no exception.
Beyond quality and execution of technical applications? One aspect of my work where I did achieve exceptional results was by throwing myself (literally) into every project. I immersed myself in every process and after the subway/faceless portrait assignment I became determined to carry a camera around with me and take photos outside of controlled environments, like my office and my surrounding neighborhood. I did just that. I observed people on the subway and became adept and capturing them in their most vulnerable moments. When we studied sound, I recorded conversations inside stores and coffee bars, and entire conversations between surly MTA workers and commuters haggling over reimbursement for damaged metro cards, and I LOVED IT!
When Von and I worked together on Dream Deffered, on Virgil's recommendation I screened all four parts of the Karen Carpenter story on You Tube. I looked for techniques in lighting and visually storytelling that could be applied to our narrative. We were able to apply some of these techniques to our own story line which included clean titles and a nice still photo opening montage. Even though in these past few weeks I felt stymied by the precise steps involved to create a motion tween in Flash and working links in Dream Weaver, I worked very hard. And even though I've felt frustrated and battered, I've enjoyed myself. Writing a fable about gluttonous hurling lasses and choosing Oscar and Hammerstein's The Lonely Goat Herd to tell their story was fun. Quirky, like me. I took the bench marking and site map assignment very seriously. And If I can master Dream Weaver over the summer, which I plan on, I will definitely take this vision to the next step.
