Over the past week in our media classes we have watched the self portraits of our classmates as well as some documentary style portraits from external sources. I really liked the use of voice over to narrate the footage. It created personal touches and a connection between the audience, voice and visual material. I also often found the voiceovers calming, they allowed the viewer to focus directly on what was being said and listen attentively. I liked the use of slow shots and prolonged visuals with minimal accompanying audio. This allowed the audience to accept the quietness and stillness and focus on the visuals, telling the story through pictures. It also helped to create questions for the audience to ponder. We were forced to find our own conclusions as to what relevance the images have to the subject and their identity. Another thing that captured my attention was the use of stop motion, it created a childlike innocence in the piece, it also helped to produce a more personalised effect. The segments of film that documented memories through appealing to human senses were especially endearing. We usually associate things in our past with specific senses. Our memories often flood us as a stream of different sights, sounds, smells, tastes and textures. It documented the appreciation of simplicity in everyday life. The videos that paired audio with an associated still image were also engaging. The combination of the stillness of the images and fluidity of the sound was simultaneously disjointing and cohesive. It reminded me of old school video and computer games where the introductions and loading screens contained still shots rather then animated movements. I also found the information about peoples cultural backgrounds intriguing. The richness and diversity of different traditions and heritage was fascinating and personal.