Web Conference November 20, 2011

Okay, this web conference really made my blood pressure rise. First, I had no audio at all during the entire conference, so that was REALLY frustrating. Not just cutting in and out, but NO audio whatsoever. (Now I know how the others felt when that happened to them in the past.) I found out it was my headphones, not the fault of my computer or anything else technical, which was a relief. Having to get new headphones is an annoyance, but not a major obstacle, such having the audio malfunction on the computer. So, I had to depend upon the questions others were asking, and the answers people were typing to those questions. Next blood pressure increase: We found out that the instructions in the assignment were not correct. Instead of our video being 2-3 minutes in length, it could not be over 2 minutes, 10 seconds long. Wow. I had already submitted my homework, so I had to go edit 15 seconds out of my video. I was able to accomplish that by shortening transition times and cutting a couple of slides that did not have any narration on them, so at least I did not have to rewrite my script. Several of my cohorts had to leave the conference so that they could go edit; they had some extensive work and rewrites to accomplish in order to turn their work in, although Dr. Abernathy did open up the EPIC homework site and extend the deadline to the next day. This week I am going to print out both the assignment and the overview as I usually do, but I am going to compare them both with a finetooth comb. I will have new headphones for the next web conference as well.

Web Conference November 15, 2011

This conference was quite different than others in the past because the audio was very good, and no one was getting bounced off. I found out this is because Dr. Abernathy is very strict about attendance in the web conference: only the allowed number of participants are permitted in, and no one is allowed in late. The correct number of people seems to help keep the feedback noise down tremendously. This conference was helpful to me because I am pretty confused about this week's assignment. The video seems like a huge project, and I am a little concerned about getting it finished. I feel like I am behind because I missed Sunday and Monday's web conferences. My cohorts always seem to ask the right questions, so a lot of my questions are answered before I can even ask them. Dr. Abernathy is very supportive, but I know I have my work cut out for me this week!

My first photo story

WOW. I have a completely new respect for filmmakers. The amount of time it took to create 2 minutes and 24 seconds of video is astounding. Gathering the pictures was a challenge for me because most of my pictures are still in boxes that were just delivered from the restoration place that has had our possessions since we had our fire in May. So, I was limited to pictures I had saved on the computer, my phone, or that friends could loan me. Writing the story did not take any time at all. It's funny how quickly the words spilled on the paper (metaphorically speaking, since it was actually the computer screen they spilled on). Editing took longer than anything else, because once I had put gathered the pictures & narrated my story, it was way too long. I had to cut the transition time, adjust my rate of speaking, cut a BUNCH of pictures, and cut a lot of dialogue. You can tell on the Google doc that Allicia and I worked on, I cut my dialogue by over half. I did spend WAY too much time Photoshopping two of my pictures. Note to self: When working on an assignment about something you have never done before, do not attempt something else you have never done before that is incredibly complicated, like Photoshop. The good news is: I Photoshopped, first time ever, and it worked! (Check out the picture of my house on fire. I put the flames in!) I enjoyed this project very much, although I obsessed over it, as I usually do. I like learning all of the new technology tools and am looking forward to learning more in this course. I have also enjoyed viewing the videos my cohorts have made. Everyone's is so different, and I am learning a lot about my classmates. It probably would not have been so hectic for me, except that we are also trying to move into our new house this week. So, we are between two houses, and the only things I have that I am sure of their current location are this laptop I am using, the chocolate cookies, and the bourbon. I have my priorities.

Here is the link to my video on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WW6XiwgbW50