Remediation Poject
For the remediation project, we were instructed to take our re-purposing project and address the same audience through a different type of media. I created a five-minute video in which I contrast the audio interview footage of Dovey's and Ellen's personal experiences with current news clips that depict congressmen belittling the need for women’s health services and news reports of policy that aims to close abortion clinics across the country. I wanted to show the necessity of voting to protect the personal rights and freedoms that were granted to us by Roe v Wade. Incorporating personal stories was the key component to creating a compelling narrative that has the potential to engage voters of any demographic. Working in a new medium was challenging, yet I learned about maintaining a specific voice, authority, and purpose despite the multimedia setting. For me, that idea revolved around storytelling. The project went through two drafting processes. You can see see the final draft, and the first draft below that.
First Draft
This first draft was really challenging, as I had never used iMovie software before. The skeleton of my project was there, but my peers and instructor felt that the slides were a bit out of order, and didn't tell the narrative in the most compelling way possible. My instructer also pointed that there was some disparity in terms of font and layout in some of the slides - though a small detail, this is something that really impacts the cohesion of the whole piece. In addition, the ending didn't have the punch I wanted it to. I didn't feel like the video would engage with voters and have a lasting impression. You can watch my first draft here.
Final Draft
I took the feedback I had received on my first draft seriously, and the end result was a much more cohesive and impactful piece. First, I reworked the order of some of the slides so that everything appeared in chronological order. Dovey's story took place first, then I discussed the passage of Roe v. Wade, then Ellen's story, and finally the current political climate regarding the issue. Then, I worked on some of the technical issues the first draft had - I made the font and layout uniform, and I re-worked the audio recordings and music so that the interviews sounded clear and the music didn't overwhelm the video. Finally, I added two slides to the end encouraging the audience to vote for politicians who will fight for reproductive rights - a message I think was much more clear in the final draft. Overall, I was thankful for all of the constructive criticism I received, and proud of myself for mastering a new technology.