This project really didn’t go quite the way I had hoped. In retrospect, there are so many things that I wish we could have done better or differently as a group. The big one being communication. This really wasn’t the finest example of great communication, or organization for that matter. It is possible that a few of my group mates would say differently, but that would also be influenced by the fact that they were constantly in the loop while myself and another were shut out of pertinent information at times–for whatever reason that may be.
There was never much of functioning as a unit throughout the duration of the term. Around week 6 we finally buckled down and realized we needed some kind of game plan. This was merely laid out as:
Makenzie: Senior Center interviews
Jonnie: Senior interviews
John: Senior interviews
Mike: Graphics
Mahria: Professor interviews
This was as extensive of an outline as we had. The rest was improv that really left people out of the real artistic design and vision of this project. Obviously, these things happen. People get silenced during the creation do to differences, some form of personal matter, etc. This is very unfortunate as I had planned on getting far more out of this project. I had a far different idea of how this would turn out in the end and how proud I would be of the content I helped produce, but instead I’m left concerned as to whether or not I will even be receiving a copy of the work for myself as there is so much on the final product that I wasn’t made privy to, nor was I involved in any of the editing process which I had expressed extreme desire in being a part of. This is an area that I need work in and my idea was that the class was supposed to be used for utilizing each other’s talents and stepping outside of our comfort zone to get acquainted with programs, techniques, and processes that prove to be crucial traits within this given industry. This I got none of. I conducted interviews, which I have done plenty of, did a lot of research, ran the camera and that was all my claim was allowed to be. The group leader took the footage to keep with them, did not contact me on being able to help with the editing process as I had made myself available for, then as I was informed from another group mate had a few words to say about me when I was at work rather than a “night before the project is due” meeting that I was never informed of. I credit this to all of the last-minute planning and disorganization that lead to scrambling and the project becoming nothing more than an obligation to get done, rather than something to really explore and learn from. All of the exploring and learning I got out of this was simply from the interviews that I conducted with Bill Loges and Jon Dorbolo. Worse yet, is that the interviews conducted with these two professors were very manipulated to appease our initial theory rather than dealing with the revelations that were made through these interviews that our theory was and is, in many ways, disinformation. I wanted this to be shown, as the truth that transpired through speaking with these professionals, in the process of our project. But, as I said, I was left out of the editing process and am very displeased with carrying the initial assumptions over as fact. This is not good reporting or storytelling. It is manipulative storytelling to satisfy one’s own opinion. This certainly isn’t want I hoped to get out of the project at all, or a fashion of storytelling that I would like to be known for. I wanted the story to be honest, not one-sided.
I have a very sour taste in my mouth after this project. I am very impressed with other’s contributions; Makenzie’s website is fantastic and John did a great job of editing. These are things that I would have loved to have seen in the process, but with the lack of planning and time constraints due to this people were just left to do what they already knew and it is hard to be proud of something that you really don’t feel like you were a part of, so in this sense I am very displeased. I wanted to feel far more proud of the work that I did at the end of the term, but unfortunately that just isn’t the case right now. I’m sure my group mates have their opinions, as I have mine, and we should probably leave it at that. I will say that I am impressed with the final product, still, overall. It is a good story and one that deserves and needs to be told. However, it needs to be told with a little more responsibility and care for the facts and professional opinions rather than manipulative to conform to an initial assumption.
