Today we completed a task which saw us graphing our perceived strengths and weaknesses with direct regards to skills relevant to the upcoming assessment.

The key for my graph:

1. Brainstorm
2. Decide Equipment
3. Write Script
4. Edit Script
5. Record voice
6. Record Location Sound
7. Edit Sound
8. Mix Sound
9. Brainstorm Images
10. Decide Video Equipment
11. Record Images
12. Record on Location
13. Edit Video
14. Mix Video
15. Find References
16. Do Readings
17. Take Notes
18. Plan Essay
19. Write Essay
20. Edit Essay

It wasn’t until we were stood in our overall strength groups that I admitted to myself that perhaps my strength does not correspond to my interest and that I may have been blinded by my passions when completing my graph.
Though I don’t overly enjoy writing essays, I have a pretty good grasp on the practice and probably wasn’t fair on myself when completing the graph – I’m definitely more competent at essay writing than I am at working with audio.

I’m now the “essay specialist” in my group for the upcoming assignment which I admit is a reasonable role for me and will probably offer me the opportunity to learn from my “sound specialist” and “video specialist” peers in a more worthwhile capacity than I could have from a fellow competent writer.

Today in class I was fortunate to have my Assessment One task (My Water Bottle Saves Lives) presented to the class and, as a result, I was able to receive copious amounts of feedback from everyone. I was rather happy with the final product which made it easier to be comfortable with my work being shown and also was a way to receive particularly valuable feedback; the Black and Yellow feedback (being recommendations for how I can improve a piece with which I am already happy) are predominantly ideas which I had not considered and thus give me direction on where to explore and develop my skills in order to improve the quality of my work.

The pieces of feedback which stood out to me most and which will direct me in where to focus my attention for improving my work are as follows:

• “Maybe adding a backing track?” (Jack)
  Audio is the area of media production with which I’m least acquainted. I agree that a backing track could have made a huge difference to this piece and is imperative to the integrity of film so it is an area of knowledge and skill which I want to focus on expanding this semester.

• “Editing a little awkward – could have better rhythm.” (Ellie)
  This is something I’ve always struggled with. I always hoped that perhaps the editing felt awkward to me because it was my own work and I knew what to expect but I think it is an area I need to focus on a little more. Youtube tutorials here I come.

• “Different shots – all felt very close up.” (Ellie) (Also similar to Adrian’s feedback regarding experimenting with depth of field and focus)
  I haven’t played with my camera for a while and this assignment reminded me of my love of getting creative with it – if only I wasn’t so out of practice. Some of the other works which stood out to me as being polished and high quality made extensive use of more complex photography and filming techniques and I think that this is a skill which can immediately increase the impact and quality of a final product.

So shoutout to Ellie for all of her feedback, it really stood out to me as being something I could actively work on and once I read her points I understood and agreed with exactly what she was saying. I enjoyed this first task and I’m looking forward to acting on this feedback and seeing where it will take me.

Essentially what I gained from today’s discussion is that we’re blogging to invest in our futures.

It’s only second week and already I’m very clearly struggling to keep myself motivated and enthusiastic about blogging. Adrian mentioned that the hardest part of establishing a good habit or routine is in the beginning when the habit is not routine. He also mentioned the value of incentive. I think I need to find a way to incentivise myself to maintain my blog – at least for the time being.

We’re all in this class because we want to be in an industry which thrives on communication technology so developing good habits and skills is imperative to our future success and by way of maintaining a blog we are constantly putting these skills to use. I think it is also important to develop a distinctive personal voice in our online presence. Though I don’t consider myself to be there yet – I’m still somewhat trapped in this formal tone, I think (and hope) that with time and familiarising myself with the whole blogging atmosphere I will become more comfortable and more myself in my writing.

So although I know eventually I will (hopefully) blog because it is an easy enjoyable way to further my career, in the interim I’ll use the threat of this blog appearing in google searches of my name as motivation to keep it alive and thriving. After all, I don’t want the first item which pops up in a google search of my name to expose me as lazy or a quitter.