Soon-to-meet-its-maker Tech
The Rundown:
.
.
.
.
.
.
|
Supporting blog posts/random rants/death threats in chronological order (dates unspecified because everything in a semester blurs together for me):
1. How has technology impacted your writing/composition?
In the case of the technologies used in this course, I've made a few adjustments to my writing/composition. The limited character count on Twitter (and the need to find a computer, log in, stuff my thoughts into a small space, and then post, hoping the stupidly slow site does its job without issues for once) has taken my writing participation in that medium down to the bare minimum. I was already semi-familiar with Twitter etiquette from Dr. Teston's module, but I didn't particularly enjoy tweeting in the first place, so that was of little consequence. (Who seriously cares about the day to day routine and observations of my life? There's a reason I read fiction. I don't want to read about real life!) Blogging involves similar issues; I don't have anything I particularly want to say to the public at large through a post, and it takes time and extra energy to make and post a blog. I guess I'm one of those old fashioned folk who would rather talk in person, as long as there's something worth talking about, versus texting, phone calls, tweeting, or blogging. With the blog and site, only vaguely knowing my audience and doubting their level of interest does not inspire a desire to write for them. Eh, who knows? Maybe I'll mess around with some video and audio files next, just to do a little experimenting and have some fun with this site, if nothing else. :) 2. How has technology connected or made you more mindful of your writing & place? Though it seems forever ago, I know my composition and writing process was different before I started typing everything. I wrote most assignments all the way through with little to no outlining, listing, or other pre-writing. (I think younger me didn't want to waste time drawing everything out on one piece of paper just to redo it and then some on another.) I was fully focused on writing as the finished product, and revision only came into play when required for grading. Since getting my first laptop for college and moving almost all my composition tasks to word processing software, I do a lot more pre-writing (listing, getting my thoughts in order) and revising. A quick "Save as" lets me make any experimental changes I want in structure or wording without losing the original, should I want it. In that way, I think technology has made me more mindful of my writing as a process, which is a good thing. As for place, I'm not entirely sure what Mangini's asking for here. I suppose I could say that seeing the global scale of the Internet and all it brings us from across the world at an instant makes me realize how I'm just a small piece of a large world; but I'm honestly not sure how Mangini wants us responding to "place" here. (I'm also severely tempted to take the easy road (until I've had more caffeine) and just say I have no opinion.) However, to show I made a good faith effort, I don't really feel like technology has connected my writing and (Twitterive) place. While being stuck can happen in the midst of working with technology, I would not go so far as to blame the computer's limited effects on my writing for my bad procrastination habits on homework. (That's a self-discipline issue and one that can be fixed. If I can stay on top of things at work, I can make myself do the same for school.) 3. How has technology impacted your identity construction? If, by "identity," Mangini is referring to the constructions we present to others (as opposed to my actual, personal sense of identity), then yes, technology has impacted my identity construction, but no more than any other situation or environment in life. Each classroom, each restaurant, each conversation with a specific individual requires an altered identity construct. While I tend to maintain some of the same qualities throughout identity constructs, I will admit to limiting the information provided to different audiences whereby they assess my "identity." For instance, in class, I probably come across as a bit of a loudmouth, maybe even a tad of a know-it-all on my caffeine-less, sleep-deprived days. However, on Twitter, my tweets rarely deal with anything important and provide a very limited view of my life and personality; I would almost call the identity presented here superficial, merely scratching the surface, giving the audience a tiny glance of the topmost layer. On this website, though it is available to the public (and there may be a link to it in my Twitter profile) I know that few people outside my class will ever bother looking. Moreover, as blog posts permit no interruptions and I can reasonably assume that few, if any, of my classmates will look at them without specific instructions from the prof, I can be even more of a rambling loudmouth here. No time constraints or word limits. :) The website, like the other two class-related environments, will never delve beyond the top layer of personal information (name, major, job, favorite food); then again, I've never been much for baring my soul to strangers without at least receiving some prior indication of interest in hearing about it. One thing grabbed my attention in a not-so-great way: Brown mentioned making sure you portrayed an attentive listener by giving verbal affirmations of your attention every here and there. She may have touched on this later (very, very briefly), but if there's any recording/filming going on and you hope to use the audio later, you better keep your mouth shut. If we have an awesome quote we just have to use in a video, but it's marred by an "uh-huh," we will feel like total and complete idiots. And there goes a beautiful moment, never to be heard again.
Well, the prof made a big telling the other day of how this (ulcer-inducing) Oral History project is all about the process. Here's what I say to the process: "I haven't felt like cursing this badly since Spain."
The process can go jump off a cliff for all I care. In fact, I'll help it along with a nice, healthy shove. At this point, few and disinterested readers, you are probably wondering, what finally sent the half-crazy girl over the edge? I'll tell you. Digital camera file conversions. Seriously, it would have been less trouble for me to transcribe the interview onsite instead. Okay, yes, that's an exaggeration, and truth be told, this isn't really that bad, especially compared to that incident in my high school media class where I was scrambling, trying to get the stupid files and computers to cooperate for an entire hour, to get our stuff ready for the school's live morning announcements show. Yeah, that was rough. So, in comparison, this is not that horrible, but still, come on! I know it would take up more memory, but why can't digital cameras all work off one commonly used file format? Why does there have to be a special extension and a special software to convert it into usable video for every single stinkin' one? 20 minutes, and it's barely halfway done. Yeah. Et tu, iMovie? Update: I take it back. This is the devil's file, and I will personally ensure it suffers a slow, painful death as soon as this class is over. So I finally called in the expert on the evil file and it is safely converted and ready for uploading and editing (which I'm sure will bring its own horrors). But yes, the world is safe from me going Hulk...for now.
Well, I was right. Editing did bring its own horrors. The most frustrating was when I accidentally exported the whole 30 minute original instead of the edited version and had to go back the next day to export the right one. (It's always something stupidly simple like that.) However, there was 1 other point in the editing process that really bugged me. I had everything cut up into its little chunks, arranged in the proper order, title slides in between sections set and ready to go...then I added transitions, and the technological tidal wave hit. Yep. I don't know if it's the specific version of Final Cut Pro I was using (or just that particular computer, which is my friend in everything but FCP), but for whatever reason, when I watched it, prior to exporting, it did its fade transitions, then a frame from who-knows-where popped up and stuck for approximately half a second while the audio continued like nothing was wrong. (At least it's not as bad as the time I got green pixelated nonsense over every transition...that was a bad day.) On the bright side, when I watch the uploaded version on YouTube, everything seems to be fine; my crossfade transitions work beautifully. On the dark side, technology still seems intent on giving me ulcers/heart attacks/various medical complications usually reserved for the highly stressed or old before I'm 25. Dear God,
Tomorrow, I go once again into the war zone of video files, editing, and uploading. Please protect my sanity, help me remember that you are in control and that you are good (no matter what happens). Help me to rely only on you and not worry when programs crash, computers randomly shut off, and exporting takes an eternity. Thank you. Gracias por todo en mi vida, lo bueno, lo malo, y lo frustrante. Kelly PS- Tonight, I am going to make muffins. Please protect me...and the kitchen. Well, due to some technical difficulties with one of my group members, I offered to use the "big guns" to convert and upload our other interview on YouTube.
Now, as we've decided to do a 10-minute documentary, I'm going through this other interview and finding some (from a purely technical standpoint) issues. The worst of the worst, though I somewhat expected it, is the horrible video quality. This is the interview we recorded via Skype, so the audio/video sync is way off on top of the poor video quality...which means, if I want to keep my sanity, the audio is the only bit worth using in the documentary. Even that has its own challenges; this interview has a much more back-and-forth conversational feel to it than our other one, which means there are fewer uninterrupted, clean sections of audio. The sound track is peppered with the interviewer's laughs, add-ins, and (if I'm not mistaken) clinks of silverware. I also noticed the interviewer adding many specifics to her questions, sometimes leaving less room for the narrator to expound on her answers...again, not ideal for an edited video. I'll work around this stuff to the best of my ability, but if you even think you might use something for a video later and you don't want your voice in it, you have to keep the interjections and background noises to a minimum. |
Supporting random emails:
Well, I went ahead and made the Google doc and sent invitations through your Rowan emails. It's set so you can edit with just the link if you're using another account.
Just checked. Looks like Photo Booth saves video recordings as Quicktime movies (.mov), which is perfectly acceptable. Yay!
With Skype, you'll have to download 3rd party software. As far as I know, Skype still doesn't have its own recording system. However, if you're not going to be there with your Mom, your other option is just to give her the questions, tell her to ramble, and let her talk to the computer, recording it and sending to us after. (Though I suppose that makes it less of an "interview.") Well, whatever works. Just make sure it's in a pretty standard file type.
I did some checking, and I think this is our best bet for now.
http://www.ecamm.com/mac/callrecorder/ It's a 7-day free trial, so choose your start date wisely. Good luck, and let me know if you have any questions. Okay, as expected, this is going to be a huge pain. The video/audio sync-up is about what I expected from Skype...which means I will probably only use the audio in the documentary from this one if I don't want to drive myself insane.
Meanwhile, I forget if I volunteered myself, but at the rate this junk is going, if someone (anyone) else can do a 500 word transcription for this interview, that'll finish off our Oral History tabs and make my life a whole load easier. My goal is to finish the 10-minute documentary tonight...but we'll see how it goes. I never make promises where video files are concerned. Happy Thursday, thanks for your continuing patience and help, and here's hoping this done sooner rather than later. Cheers! Dear kelpeterson1,
Your video, Veggie Documentary, may have content that is owned or licensed by WMG. No action is required on your part; however, if you are interested in learning how this affects your video, please visit the Content ID Matches section of your account for more information. Sincerely, - The YouTube Team |