Zuzanna Osiecka
ENG 2150, Dr. Blankenship
May 26, 2016
Extended Writer’s Letter
Dear Dr. Blankenship,
When I first found out about our assignment I felt petrified; turning an essay into a multimedia project sounded like an impossible task to me. My knowledge about creating videos and editing is very limited, and I have never considered myself to be very artistically-inclined. It felt as if I already set myself up for failure. However, I decided that I would try my best and use WeVideo to create a voice-over clip; I felt that I needed a visual representation and WeVideo seemed like an approachable option for the not-so tech-savvy people like myself.
Since I chose to create a video, I decided to use my own voice as a medium in order to make my argument more personal. From my own experience, I have noticed that videos that display images to accompany a voice-over make the overall experience more interesting; the pictures provide a visual representation of the context of the clip. Since my initial audience comprised of college students, it seemed appropriate to include photos; our generation has been raised on visual representations of everything we can imagine. In fact, people of all ages have grown accustomed to using Google and YouTube to teach them anything from how to change an engine in a car to how to properly tie a tie. Including pictures allows people to skip the effort of trying to visualize what the speaker is trying to say and focus on the content.
Because the length of my clip was limited, I knew that I would have to choose certain parts of my essay to focus on in the video. I decided to keep the same thesis, “education should be available to all and there should be proper programs in place for ESL (English as a Second Language) students”, but approach it from a broader angle; instead of mostly using statistics and historical facts, I decided that I would make the video using more of a “pathos” approach and appeal to my viewers’ emotions through my voice and images, making it multimodal. I have noticed that I tend to become more interested in a video when it feels more personable; there is something about listening to other peoples’ experiences and hardships that cannot even be compared to using facts and statistics. All of a sudden the numbers become real people with real struggles, and the argument seems more relatable. Creating a short video has allowed me to do just that. Although hearing a recording of my voice has caused me to cringe a few times while editing, I think that it has worked in my favor and has made my overall argument stronger.
I consider myself very far from a “tech wiz”, and because of that I have avoided creating videos my whole educational career. If it was not for the tutorials that the website, WeVideo, has provided for its users, I would probably still be editing my clip. The hardest part was connecting the images to the recording in a way that did not seem choppy or out of place. I have listened to it over and over until I felt that the transitions were appropriate and the images connected to the argument I was making. Recording my own voice took a few tries; I started by using the built-in microphone in my laptop. After realizing that the quality of the audio did not live up to my expectations, I decided to try recording myself on my phone. The difference of the quality between my phone and my laptop was huge; my voice sounded clearer and louder. I attempted to edit the audio but I decided that altering my voice took away from the personal aspect of the video; a proper or robotic voice was not the end result that I strived for. I wanted my video to convey my argument through my own experience because I believe that it is important for my audience to understand why my argument is important to me.
When choosing my images, I realized that I needed to consider another aspect- copyrighting. Without any prior knowledge about giving credit to images in videos, I decided to use the all-knowing web and found that Google Image Search was possibly one of the worst choices. Apparently, you are not allowed to use every image you find on the internet; in fact, you even have to pay for some! Luckily, there are websites such as Flickr, that allow you to only find images with a CC, or Creative Commons, license, or websites like StockVault.net that contain free images from photographers around the world. A Creative Commons license allows internet users to use any image, text, or video for free as long as they: include the link of where they found it, did not profit from it and used it for non-business purposes only, and used the same license for everything created with the material.
Since I am not as experienced with video-editing as other students might be, I am not as confident about my video. However, I think that it delivers the message that I want my audience to be left with. Sharing my work in a public venue will expand my audience from the students in my English class to anyone that has access to YouTube videos; this includes pre-teens as well as adults of all ages. Even though immigration is a sensitive subject due to people’s varying political opinions, I think that my video does not take an aggressive approach or force my views on others. Maybe not everyone will agree with the point that I am trying to make, but I think that most people will agree that a suitable education should be available to everyone, without any exceptions. Since the point that I am trying to make is something that I strongly believe in, I think that my audience will interpret it in a positive way. After receiving feedback, I realized that my voice was still too low, and I recorded myself a few more times. I placed in the new clip, and edited the pictures once again to match the audio. I added in a few more images and attempted to create a more professional presentation that would appeal to a broader audience. I also added a slide that includes the links of all of the pictures that I used, making sure that they were all free for public use. I think that if I worked on my editing skills, I could make the video look more appropriate for a wider audience. Although I tried my best to make the transition of the images as smooth as possible, the website limited my editing. Maybe if I used a different medium to create my video, such as iMovie, I would have more options to choose from. However, since this is the first video that I have created and edited all on my own, I think that WeVideo has enabled me to do much more than I ever imagined. Therefore, I think that my project is ready for public view.
Although I planned on incorporating a video into my project, I realized that finding something related to my argument was truly a challenge. Because of the time limit placed on the assignment, I would be forced to shorten my audio clip. Transferring my work from an essay to a short video has already condensed my argument and forced me to choose specific aspects to focus on, so I chose against it. I also did not want to take away from the impact of my own story. I feel that experiencing the hardships that I have overcome adds credibility to my project, along with a feeling of empathy. By keeping my voice as the only audio, my project remains partly a personal narrative rather than a video strictly dedicated to explaining the defects in our educational system.
Works Cited
Burt, Ronnie. “The Educator’s Guide to Copyright, Fair Use, and Creative Commons.” The Edublogger The Educators Guide to Copyright Fair Use and Creative Commons . The Edublogger, 09 Feb. 2012. Web. 25 May 2016.
Links to images used:
http://clatl.com/atlanta/closed-college-doors-for-daca-students/Content?oid=13721279
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