Final Video

This was the final video that I created for this course. The point being made here, again, is that history is subjective. Further, in the Information Age, because of technology, we are bombarded with a re-mix and mash up of current events.

What this means for educators, is that we must teach media literacy. What it means for everyone else is, beware the source.

Research Ethics

 

In terms of research ethics, I looked back to Working in the Archives by Ramsey, Sharer, L’Eplatttenier, and Mastrangelo to determine how this affected my work this semester. What I realized, was that while I was pulling all of the material for DMP#1 and creating the narrative, that I had to be aware of the fact that some of my audience consisted of my subject matter.

That I was telling my father’s story, specifically, using his perspective, forced me to create a narrative that essential became very self conscious. I had to be aware that my father, his family and friends would be seeing this video on the internet therefore, I had to be mindful of the words that I used and the story that I told.

This leads me to the explanation of why I left out the clip of him telling the story of Reecy being forced to sit in the uppermost balcony of the Will Rogers Center during a major boxing tournament. I know that Reecy’s son will probably see this video and I didn’t know if he knew of this story or, if it would upset him.

So, out of respect for Reecy Jr., I left the clip out.

In Working in the Archives, Glenn and Enoch state that, “Researchers must keep in mind the members of the community they are writing about: ‘Whatever the knowledge accrued, it [should] be both presented and represented with this community, and at least its potential for participation in response, in mind.”

Public Domain

Creative work such as books and music that was either never licensed at all or, where the original license has now expired are works that are classified as Public Domain. Work that was published before 1923 falls under Public Domain. What this means is that these works can be used freely, in any manner, without permission from the creator.

The work of Shakespeare is a perfect example of public domain. 

Communication Technologies (more)

To compose is to create.

To compose in digital format using new communication technologies like video, audio, visual and other multi-modalities, causes the creator to compose in an entirely different manner than he or she might compose using only text.

We see a really fantastic video of this analyzation by Ryan Truamann in his piece titled, “In Medias Response” whereby he creates a reflective memo using new technology.

Entitled “In Medias Response,” Trauman’s video text is part of the scholarly webtext “Digital Mirrors: Multimodal Reflection in the Composition Classroom,” by Debra Journet, Tabetha Adkins, Chris Alexander, Patrick Corbett, Ryan Trauman” (Composition and Communication Online, Spring 2008). Web.

Communication Technologies

The 21^st Century has given us a vast variety of new communication technologies. Primarily due to the internet, we are immersed in the Information Age. This new era in world history gives us technology that no longer belongs to major media outlets and organizations like corporations, but now exists in the hands of the average American on a daily basis. We now communicate not only through written text but through a wide variety of multiple modalities. We can compose and express ourselves creatively through digital imagery, audio and video. This technology has given writers new access to the masses in ways never before experienced with the use of digital media.

The average person with an average computer can create and compose in a wide manner of modalities.

For example, we can create re-mixes and mash-ups of images, videos and music.

Here is a fantastic example of remix that is purely for your enjoyment but is a perfect example of mash-up.

What we have is a mash up that consists of two completely different music videos. The first is by Pink Floyd and the second is the Bee Gees. It's title is  "Stayin' Alive In The Wall (Pink Floyd vs Bee Gees Mashup)" by Wax Audio.


MP3 available at http://www.waxaudio.com.au

The Bee Gees: Stayin' Alive
Pink Floyd: Another Brick In The Wall Pt. II

Mashup & Video by Wax Audio

http://www.waxaudio.com.au

Composing Technologies

                What I discovered throughout the semester is that there is a whole world of composing technologies of which I was unaware. Audacity, Drop box, Jaycut, Hot Gloo, Zotero, Vuvox are just a few programs freely available on the internet. I currently use Dropbox and Zotero on a daily basis. In fact, I now use Dropbox as backup online storage for many of my documents. I attempted to work with Jaycut but found that it was much easier to work with Windows Movie Maker because of ease of access. Jaycut is for online use only therefore, I found it slower and more difficult to use. For DMP#2, I attempted to use Vuvox but I found the technology to be lacking. Also, the site was having serious issues and there were some students who were struggling to gain access to their work.

                For my second DMP project, I focused on refining my skills at “movie making” and used Windows Movie Maker to create my film. I discovered many aspects to it that I had missed the first time around and I found it incredibly easy to work with. In refining this project for my final webtext, it was merely cutting and pasting, moving images around, and shortening the amount of time an image was shown during the film to re-create the film in a more clear and concise manner.

               I found that my composing process to be quite different from the manner in which I tend to compose a text. First of all, I had to make sure that I didn’t get wrapped up in the visual images. Some of the images were so powerful that they can actually speak for themselves. In fact, the idea that “a picture is worth a thousand words” is very poignant. I had to make sure that my narrative was tightly focused and that the images used were specific. I wanted my audience to “get it” but I also wanted to give my audience space to comprehend the story on their own terms.

               Overall, composing with new technologies is a wonderful way to create a narrative. I intend on creating projects for my students whereby they employ at least one aspect of visual technology to create a story. It broadens one’s perspective of the overall objective and offers emotional aspects to the work that are more difficult to create in a text-only composition.

Multimodality

                The experience of learning multiple modes of composition the semester has been both exciting and challenging. For the interview with my father, I used a brand new flip camera and a small digital audio recorder. I then edited the 45 minute interview down to two separate clips where Charles discussed both Reecy Davis and O.A. Ray.

                In the creation of this project, my intention was to focus mainly on the impact that these two men had on my father as well as dozens of young men in the Greenville community. I made sure to keep my focus clear and concise, thereby making it very simple and an easy story to follow.

                There were several technological issues that I struggled with here, notably learning the flip camera software and Windows Movie Maker. It seemed to more of an experiment that gave way to much more creativity and movement for the next project. However, even in the struggle to learn these new modalities, what I found was a new source of inspiration in the telling of the story. As a visual person, I enjoyed using images and video to create.

History: Its "Story"

This blog will serve as the Reflective Statement for English 697: Writing in New Media, a graduate course taught by Dr. Shannon Carter at Texas A & M University - Commerce in Spring 2011.

Thoughts on Writing

When I first decided to take this course, I initially thought that I would use it as a way to organize the novel that I'm working on. I'm writing a novel that is loosely based on my mother's childhood that is centered around a series of letters that were written from her adopted mother to her foster mother. These letters tell the story of how my mother and her sisters came to live with both of these women. Because it is a complicated story, I thought that I would use this course as a way of using multimodal texts and sources to create the story.

I decided to use this as the focus of the course based on the two-year old syllabus that Dr. Carter sent to me last December. As an over-eager and highly neurotic student, I have a tendency to contact my professors as soon as I enroll in their course. So, kindly, Dr. Carter sent me the old syllabus - which inspired me to the point where I practically had my entire course outlined until....the first day of class. Unfortunately, she had created a "new" syllabus that would send me in an entirely different direction.

I quickly realized that based on the new structure of the course, I would no longer be able to carry out my Master Plan. So, I adjusted my plan and did what normal people do when they sign up for graduate courses....I bought the books, started reading, and got down to business.

Where the course led me next, was away from my mother's childhood and directly to the story of my father's boxing career.

For my first DMP project, I interviewed my father and digitized all of his old photographs and newspaper articles from his old boxing days. What I discovered, was that there was so much about my father that I had never known. Doing this work gave me access to him in a way that allowed me to see him in an entirely new light and discover how he became the man that he is.

Below is a piece that I cut from the final project.

This video depicts my father  recounting the events that occurred when his team attended a major boxing tournament in Ft Worth. His boxing coach, Reecy Davis (who happened to be African American) was told by the officials at the arena that he would not be allowed to coach Charles in his corner and that he would have to sit in the uppermost corner of the arena. Segregated from everyone else.

I deliberately left this part out of the video because I felt like it didn't fit in with the story that I was trying to tell. Also, I wanted it to be a positive piece about Reecy Davis and O. A. Ray so, I chose not to include it. However, what I realized when I watched this was the emotional impact this incident had on my father (not to mention Reecy). To him, Reecy was like a brother. He had so much admiration and respect for the amazing athlete that Reecy was and it really broke his heart that he was the victim of discrimination at one of the biggest tournaments the boys fought in.

Also, I think that it never hurts for us to remember that the days of Jim Crow are barely sixty years in our past.