Reflection Essay

The Project:

The biggest struggle I dealt with concerning the project was learning how to use video editing software. Once I figured it out though, there weren’t really any issues or struggles. When I watch the documentary, the part that makes me most proud is the ending. I think the last few shots in conjunction with the music are very powerful. If I could change any part of the documentary, I would try and focus it more instead of being such a broad overview. I think it accomplishes what it needs to as an overview, but I do think it could be better if it discussed more in depth on fewer topics.

In terms of responsibility for the documentary, everything was split very evenly, being that pretty much all of us did everything. I didn’t film at all, but I contributed a substantial amount to editing. Honestly, our group functioned in a way so that nearly everyone did nearly everything, once the group dynamic was established.

In the beginning of the project, I know that I was not as motivated as others in my group to contribute. I attribute this mostly to not making myself aware of how much time we needed to film and edit a documentary. Once I was made aware of this, I tried to promote a healthy group atmosphere by making my schedule known and being available as much as possible to the group. I really wish I had been more motivated in the beginning of the project, but I do feel as though my contributions through the rest of the project compensated for my shortcomings.

The Class:

           

            I do think my critical thinking skills were improved in this course. The blog responses engaged me differently than assignments have in the past and they were as mindless as I had first expected them to be. I ended up thinking a lot about them and having to put a lot of time and effort into them. I really enjoyed using different forms of media, rather than just essays. I think it is really important, especially as technology furthers, for people to be able to convey their thoughts through mediums other than papers. I think public speaking is really important, even though I’m not that good at it. One particular media we looked at that really stuck out to me was the art/photography projects about the death penalty. It was really cool to see ideas and opinions conveyed without the ideas and opinions actually being said.

            I really enjoyed the discussions that we had in class. I would have liked to have more of them. I wish that less of the class was devoted to the final project, but when the final project is a documentary, a lot of time is needed to be devoted to it, so I understand why we did it. I liked how you left the discussions up to the class and let them go in whatever direction they ended up going in. I really liked your style and found it really effective.

            I can’t really think of anything you should do to improve the class. I thought the class was very interesting and I had a lot of fun learning how to make a documentary. I really enjoyed the class and I wouldn’t change anything about it.