Working with a new medium was slightly difficult for me. I am not the best with working technology, especially when I have to teach it to myself. I do not like to Google things to find out how to use them. I would rather be taught in person so that I can ask questions; I tend to always have a lot. Because my questions could not be answered without doing research, I found myself getting more and more frustrated. Not knowing how to work with programs such as iMovie also really set me back time wise. There were many times where I would have to walk away from what I was doing to cool down before going back to work.
In the beginning of this assignment, I was very excited to be making a video mashup. I do not think everything that making a video entailed. My enthusiasm did however make me not want to give up. I continued to work through. Working in a new medium does have many difficulties, but it can also be very rewarding. I now feel confident in some of the areas of iMovie, definitely more than I did before I started this project. I know the basics of the program, which I feel is definitely more than enough to get by.
I can see how digital video relates and contrasts with traditional writing. Like traditional writing, some sort of prior knowledge is needed. For example, you cannot have a student write a paragraph if they have not mastered writing a sentence. You cannot have a student write a sentence if they do not know syntax, and students can’t understand syntax if they do not know parts of speech. All of these layers are crucial when writing. Because we were all taught this at a young age, it is now second nature to us. Imagine being told to write a paragraph without having any prior knowledge. This is how I felt when working with iMovie, it was like working in another language. In order to make a movie, you need to have video clips. In order to have these video clips, you need to research and find these clips and make sure they relate to your topic and then be able to download this videos off of the websites. If you don’t know how to download these videos, you need to research it yourself and figure it out. Both writing and video making involve a lot of layers in order to have the whole thing put together.
Traditional writing and digital video contrast as well. The mediums are so different that it obvious to see how they would clash. Learning traditional writing starts out on paper, digital video has to start on a computer. Traditional writing is a crucial step in learning. Students can make it in the world without being able to make a digital video. It is not as important as writing. Writing is something that we do everyday. If we are not physically, traditionally writing with a pen and paper, we are writing with our fingers as we type and email or a text message. I am sure in the years to come, typing will be considered traditional writing.
In the beginning of this assignment, I was very excited to be making a video mashup. I do not think everything that making a video entailed. My enthusiasm did however make me not want to give up. I continued to work through. Working in a new medium does have many difficulties, but it can also be very rewarding. I now feel confident in some of the areas of iMovie, definitely more than I did before I started this project. I know the basics of the program, which I feel is definitely more than enough to get by.
I can see how digital video relates and contrasts with traditional writing. Like traditional writing, some sort of prior knowledge is needed. For example, you cannot have a student write a paragraph if they have not mastered writing a sentence. You cannot have a student write a sentence if they do not know syntax, and students can’t understand syntax if they do not know parts of speech. All of these layers are crucial when writing. Because we were all taught this at a young age, it is now second nature to us. Imagine being told to write a paragraph without having any prior knowledge. This is how I felt when working with iMovie, it was like working in another language. In order to make a movie, you need to have video clips. In order to have these video clips, you need to research and find these clips and make sure they relate to your topic and then be able to download this videos off of the websites. If you don’t know how to download these videos, you need to research it yourself and figure it out. Both writing and video making involve a lot of layers in order to have the whole thing put together.
Traditional writing and digital video contrast as well. The mediums are so different that it obvious to see how they would clash. Learning traditional writing starts out on paper, digital video has to start on a computer. Traditional writing is a crucial step in learning. Students can make it in the world without being able to make a digital video. It is not as important as writing. Writing is something that we do everyday. If we are not physically, traditionally writing with a pen and paper, we are writing with our fingers as we type and email or a text message. I am sure in the years to come, typing will be considered traditional writing.
The argument of my mashup is how feminism changed the way the Miss America Pageant operates. When I decided on this topic, I was very hesitant. I did not want to see what the feminist had to say about Miss America because I knew it was going to be negative. I am a huge pageant lover and did not want to hear all the negative things that all of the feminists had to say. I went into this topic as open minded as I could be, and I was very surprised as to what I found out.
In the beginning of my video, I began with the background of the Miss America Pageant. I felt that this is absolutely crucial to show my audience because I wanted them to see what went on. These girls were measured and their measurements were announced on stage. I can proudly say that the pageant as come a very long way since then.
My first draft has a lot of background information. I went through this for my final draft and decided what needed to stay and when needed to go. I felt that my video was lacking an argument. I had the background video clips and the protest video clips, but I was not starting one thing over another. I know that in order to get my point across (and receive a grade that I felt I deserved) I needed to change my mash-up immensely. This required a lot of time and research. I had to be patient with my research and not just click on the first website on Google. I had to look into each source and find out what would work best with my topic, especially because it it so specific.
I made cuts to the background information. Even though I felt it was very necessary, it did not prove my point and I needed more time in my video to fight my argument. This is where I thought that I could make edits because everything else is important to my topic. For my final draft, I was lucky enough to come across a recording of Debra Barnes, Miss America 1968, who was inter upped with her speech because of protesters. I was very excited to see this and knew it would be perfect for my argument. This was a huge find and was very eager to include it in my mashup.
For my repetend, I decided to repeat the Miss America crown. I did this because I feel that it is an iconic symbol to the pageant and it is also identifiable. Whether or not you are for or against pageants, there will always be a winner, and there will always be another pageant. There cannot be a Miss America who holds her title for more than a year. A crown usually represents royalty, and in the United States, Miss America can be seen as an iconic figure.
I feel that my final draft encompasses everything necessary for an argument. I argued my point of view, which is that feminism did in fact change the Miss America pageant from what is used to be. It is now a scholarship pageant. The Miss America Organization gives out hundreds of thousands of dollars to contestants to go towards tuition and school loans. It has made many strides in trying to make everyone happy, but in the end, a pageant is a pageant, and there will always be a winner.
In the beginning of my video, I began with the background of the Miss America Pageant. I felt that this is absolutely crucial to show my audience because I wanted them to see what went on. These girls were measured and their measurements were announced on stage. I can proudly say that the pageant as come a very long way since then.
My first draft has a lot of background information. I went through this for my final draft and decided what needed to stay and when needed to go. I felt that my video was lacking an argument. I had the background video clips and the protest video clips, but I was not starting one thing over another. I know that in order to get my point across (and receive a grade that I felt I deserved) I needed to change my mash-up immensely. This required a lot of time and research. I had to be patient with my research and not just click on the first website on Google. I had to look into each source and find out what would work best with my topic, especially because it it so specific.
I made cuts to the background information. Even though I felt it was very necessary, it did not prove my point and I needed more time in my video to fight my argument. This is where I thought that I could make edits because everything else is important to my topic. For my final draft, I was lucky enough to come across a recording of Debra Barnes, Miss America 1968, who was inter upped with her speech because of protesters. I was very excited to see this and knew it would be perfect for my argument. This was a huge find and was very eager to include it in my mashup.
For my repetend, I decided to repeat the Miss America crown. I did this because I feel that it is an iconic symbol to the pageant and it is also identifiable. Whether or not you are for or against pageants, there will always be a winner, and there will always be another pageant. There cannot be a Miss America who holds her title for more than a year. A crown usually represents royalty, and in the United States, Miss America can be seen as an iconic figure.
I feel that my final draft encompasses everything necessary for an argument. I argued my point of view, which is that feminism did in fact change the Miss America pageant from what is used to be. It is now a scholarship pageant. The Miss America Organization gives out hundreds of thousands of dollars to contestants to go towards tuition and school loans. It has made many strides in trying to make everyone happy, but in the end, a pageant is a pageant, and there will always be a winner.
Core Values
4. Writing Arts students will be able to investigate, discover, evaluate, and incorporate material into the creation of text.
By thoroughly researching my topic of feminism and Miss America, I was able to incorporate what I have learned into the creation of my mash-up. I investigated possible topics for my mash-up. I discovered that feminism did, in fact, change the way the Miss America pageant is ran. I evaluated my sources in order of importance on which ones to incorporate into my video.
6. Writing Arts students will understand the impact evolving technologies have on the creation of written texts.
Without the technology of the computer, none of this work would be as easy as it was. We would have had to all of our research in the library, find VHS clips about our topics, record these clips, and somehow mash them all together. This process seems a bit ridiculous. With technology, we are able to do so much more than we could without it. We pretty much have unlimited resources at our fingertips. Written texts have turned into audio and visual, making it more interesting than just reading out of a book.