Monthly Archives: November 2015

PowToon

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Composing through sound and image versus composing the argument on paper was terrifying. I thought it would be really fun at first, but then started to work on it and was completely lost. I did not know how to work PowToon, and I had a heavy subject. I did not know how to make my topic, physician-assisted suicide, fun without taking away from the seriousness of the subject. I was very uncomfortable composing the sound track. I felt like I sounded like a man, and it was too choppy. It also sounded like I was talking too fast, but then at times was talking too slow. I was more comfortable when it came to composing the images, because I knew what I was trying to convey. At times, I would get frustrated, because it looked like my images were too childish. However, this project revealed my creative side. I tried to do images that would appeal to an easily bored audience. My favorite part from the soundtrack is in my closing paragraph, “Physician-assisted suicide is a killer (pun intended).” My favorite part of the visual track is the cat saying hallelujah and the picture asking if you are drunk. I love these because they bring joy. They also fit very well with my soundtrack. My least favorite image is probably the check mark agreeing with Byock on the cures. It goes with the point being made, but I wish I could have found a better picture.

I had no experience when is came to designing a visual presentation. The most enjoyable part was interpreting which pictures went best with what was being said. I loved finding the fun pictures. The hard part was making sure that each picture was timed with what was being said. One decision that I did not anticipate when doing this project was the use of emoji faces. I love emoji faces and feel like they make people happy. I did not think I would use them, because, again, I did not want my video to seem childish. After using them, I am really happy with my decision. It makes my video lively. My favorite design choice in the essay is the color scheme for the background. I knew I wanted it to be colorful in order to grasp the attention of my viewers, but did not want the video to be bombarded with too many colors. If the background would have been bombarded with colors, the viewer would not pay attention to the topic. I chose red, green, blue, and purple, and am very happy with that design style. My least favorite design choice would be the pictures. At the start of this project, the use of animated characters appealed to me. After playing around with the characters, I did not really like it. The video would have been more of a lecture which would not have made it fun. After deciding to use pictures, I was on the right track. I believe that they represent my subject best. I like the pictures, I just hope I did not use too many of them.

The advantages of already having a written version for this project were that I did not have to come up with another topic to discuss, and I understood the topic a whole lot more. When I did the written version, I knew what physician-assisted suicide was, but did not believe that I could have a discussion about it. After doing this project, I have a better understanding of physician-assisted suicide. The disadvantage was making a six-page paper into less than half a page. I had so much information in the formal paper, and it was a struggle condensing it. In which video website was best for me, I chose PowToon, because I never went to the website Alphabetic Essay. I am pretty sure Powtoon still would have been my favorite, because alphabetic essay sounds harder. Once I learned how to work PowToon, it was really fun. I prefer to use animated visual presentation, because it was a whole lot more fun than writing a paper. It gave me a new way to present a topic. It even made the subject more enjoyable. The advantage of composing for a different audience was not having to be so formal. When doing a project for a younger audience, you do not have to use words that are hard to understand. I used words that everybody should understand. The disadvantage was not knowing what was too childish for a younger audience. Even though most 18-24 year olds are immature, I still did not want to take away from their intelligence. The video needed to be entertaining but also serious. Even though working for a younger audience is easier, I actually prefer an older audience. An older audience will be truthful no matter what. Sometimes, younger people try to be too gentle. With an older audience, I try harder, because I know they will critique it more. An older audiences will honestly tell me how good or bad my project was.

New Medium

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When we first started working on this project, I thought it was going to be fun. Once I started to use powtoons, I thought, “Oh my goodness! I have no idea what I am doing!!!” I honestly wanted to kill powtoons and throw my computer against the wall. Not only did I not know how to work the visuals, but I hated the way I sounded on my voiceover. I went to my professor, Mrs. Forgette, and she told me that my voiceover was better than the paper I had written, and that it was artful. I felt like I could actually do this project now. She also showed me how to work the visuals which help the process a whole lot. My peer reviews also helped me. They all told me that my visuals were good which also made me feel good, because at one time I felt like my visuals were cheesy and childish. I am thankful for the feedback that I have received and hope that I follow all of it.

Op-Docs Animation

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I learned that I need to have more sources in my voiceover. I also learned how layer can make an animation really effective. Negative Space was something that I had never heard of until today, and I learned how to put that into my presentation. The most important thing that I learned was to have fun with the topic, but still add emphasis on the importance and seriousness of the topic. Do not take away so much from the topic so much that it dumbs it down.

Improving Voiceover

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I learned that it needs to be completely quiet when you are recording your voice. When there is noise going on in the background, it makes it very hard to understand what the person is saying. I learned that the medium needs to be consistent. If the person that I listened to wants to improve her video, she really needs to make sure that there is no noise in the background. There needs to be absolute silence. One way that I can improve my video is making sure that there is music to go with my voice and not just me talking. I also need to try to make it more lively and fun.

Reflection on Arguing

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One thing that I learned while researching physician-assisted suicide is that a lot of people have different opinions. Some see it as an act of compassion or as a way to end a difficult situation due to disease while others see it as devaluing and selfish. I have always seen physician-assisted suicide as selfish and devaluing, and it really surprised me to see that other people saw it that way too. I expected more people to view physician-assisted suicide as a means of ending the suffering of the ones with the disease. I also learned new ways to look at physician-assisted suicide from the other forum writers. For example, Ira Byock said that society should discourage physician-assisted suicide not encourage it, and that there are cures being discovered everyday so that it is not needed. I had always seen the cures perspective, but I had never thought about society encouraging it. I do not really feel like society encourages physician-assisted suicide, but I do believe that society urges people to give up when things become rough which is what I believe physician-assisted suicide does. I also learned that I have a decent writing strategy. I love to organize my thoughts first before jumping into the paper. When I just jump in, it is a mess. I like to write down all of my information first to make sure that I have enough, and then I try to go back and use what is necessary.

One of the two questions that I have after composing this project is how do you know if you refuted something or someone correctly. I was struggling with that in the paper. I was not sure if I refuted the topic or the two debaters of the forum correctly. I feel like I did by using facts to prove why physician-assisted suicide should not be legal, but I am very skeptical. The other question I have is how do you know if your writing strategies are working and also which ones are best for what paper. I feel like mine work most of the time, but I really struggled with using my writing strategies for this paper. At first, I felt like my paper was a complete mess. Everything that I normally do for a paper seemed to not work at all. I tried to organize my thoughts correctly and then start, but that did not seem to work. The only writing strategy I used was getting all the information and writing it down. The reason why this paper was such a struggle for me was, because at the start of the paper, I had a lot going on. I was sick with an upper respiratory infection, and I had a sociology exam to study for. Being sick, trying to study for an exam, and starting a paper were not a good mix.

One opinion that I have after completing this project is that I stress out having to write papers when I am sick or studying for another class. This was the most difficult paper that I have had to do in college, because of all the things that I was going through that week. However, I was able to complete every assignment and felt good about my accomplishments.