Video vs. Essay

            When I showed my video in class on Monday it felt weird. It was like writing a really bad essay and having someone read over it as a final draft, but ten times worse. I felt like I was much more exposed making a video than I ever have been writing an essay. It wasn’t just easy to change words on a page. I felt like the video did a much better job of catching my voice than an essay, and I guess that was the whole point of this project. I converted my essay to a different mode and I think it actually improved what AI was trying to say. The video format really let me choose how I wanted people to feel. Yes, you can do this with words too, but with a video you also have music, narration and the actual cinematography itself. It really allows one to create a mood on multiple dimensions. However, because this was a personal essay, all of those dimensions became personal too. It wasn’t just about how the audience felt, but also about it made me feel. What was the internal process I had to go through while writing this essay? I found myself asking this over and over again. When I was finished the reason it made me uncomfortable was because I think it somewhat captured that emotion. It made me feel like that with all of those dimensions I was putting myself out there more than before. It wasn't just because I thought I could improve on the video, and I certainly can. When I revise it I will definitely add clearer audio, maybe cut down the length just a little bit but I will definitely leave the same feel. The fact that it made me uncomfortable meant it worked, so I should keep the tone. However, this means I can’t tear every part down and remake it as I would like too. That would certainly get rid of the tone, and that “tone” is what I want to shine through when I turn it in, in my portfolio.