Evaluation

When I first started this project, I developed five goals to work towards, they were the following: > > I believe I met each of these goals. For the first, I was able to create an effective video project to go with, and seemingly prove, my research. I wanted to avoid both a bias in the video and making fun of people in the video in order to effectively convey my point, and I believe I succeeded in doing that. Although it feels like there is a small bias, I think that it is balanced out with factual information and professional opinions. My second goal revolved around the idea of developing my work ethic and becoming a more dedicated worker. I think that I succeeded in this, as after setting deadlines for myself with my project I improved my motivation to take the initiative with work. As for the third goal, I think that I did complete my project in a timely manner. I dedicated many hours to completing the video, many people do not realize the effort needed for video editing and producing – I spent nearly every C block for an entire semester completing my video project. As a result of which, neither my paper nor my project were left to the last minute, and now I can focus on compiling my portfolio and writing an effective speech. The fourth goal is very simple, and I achieved it. I was able to amass enough of a knowledge base to accurately address and research my topic. As for goal number five, I believe I have succeeded – although, I suppose I’ll have to wait and see how my presentation goes to address that one.  Throughout this project I sought much advice with my mentor, Mr. Meder. He aided me with many aspects of video production and video editing. As someone who teaches classes on video editing and production, Mr. Meder is an excellent person for consultation about video projects – he provided me with key thoughts and ideas that made my video possible. Also, he made his room, studio, and equipment available to me for the entire semester, and without those resources, this project wouldn’t have been possible. I feel very privileged and honored to have him as a teacher and consultant.  As far as risks go, I feel like doing a project such as this one, the whole thing is a risk. I banked solely on the willingness of others to be in a video that, in most cases, would not portray them in the greatest light. Luckily, I was able to get 100% cooperativeness from everyone I asked questions to. If I were doing this project again, I would make sure to have some sort of backup just in case people did not respond happily to having a camera in their face. Emotionally, it took a lot of mustering to gather up the courage to ask people questions. Initially, my intent was to ask totally random people, but upon arriving downtown on a Friday night during rush hour on Septa, most people did not look like they wanted to be asked questions that would make them feel…not so happy. After asking the first few people, however, I got the crease out of my shorts and into the flow and was able to compile a nice plethora of footage.  Beyond mustering the guts to ask random people questions, I encountered problems with some of my footage and time management. As far as the footage goes, some of my interview with Dr. Dwyer was cut off at the end; unfortunately, the pieces that got cut off were essential quotes that I really wanted to have for my video – I replaced them with less influential, but still meaningful, excerpts from the interview. As for time management, it really wasn’t a big issue, the only trouble I had was finding time in which both Dr. Dwyer and I were free; we figured it out pretty easily, though.  To be truthful, I found this entire project to be totally and completely satisfying. I suppose the first satisfying factor would be the knowledge that I made an excellent video (not to sound cocky) that accurately proves my thesis. The second would be looking back at all the work I put into the video. People don’t realize how hard it is to condense over an hour of footage into six minutes while still conveying the intended meaning of the video. Lastly, I know the most satisfying thing will be the presentation itself. My topic is critical of society; therefore, people (I hope) will have a predisposition feel intrigued by my presentation. I know I will feel satisfied when I’ve completed an interesting speech that keeps people attentive and interested in my presentation. I suppose another thing I found satisfying is how I dealt with stress. Well, honestly, I really didn’t feel too stressed, and I figured out that this is because is stayed on top of my work (for the most part) and did not behind. I hope I can use this to motivate myself for work and less stress in other classes.  If grading were based on the goals of the course, I would give myself a full 100%. I think that I reached improved “higher order thinking skills” because I was forced to assess issues of our society. In doing so, I think I developed a more advanced way of looking at people and accurately analyzing culture groups. In the realm of creativity, I spent many hours poring over ways to make a video interesting to look at and watch. I had to use a good mix of images, humor, and speech in a limited time frame while still conveying my intended meaning – and I think I did a fine job of that.
 * Make a productive video that is free of bias and effective in aiding my project. I would consider it to be an effective video if I can get enough footage to accurately portray American’s attitudes towards politics and culture. I hope my video will serve as a microcosm of the American population and prove to the audience the current epidemic of American apathy towards political issues.
 * I hope that trough the course of this project and paper, I will be able to hone in on and develop my work ethic. In all honesty, I feel that my work ethic could use some definite improvement – and I hope the deadlines for this course and project will help me get a grasp on that part of my personality. I need to learn to take more initiative and follow through on ideas and tasks that I must complete – I hope that working through this class will help me improve my initiative-taking skills.
 * I am setting a goal for myself to have this project done in a timely manner. In reference to my work ethic mentioned in the bullet before this, I want my initiative to have improved enough so that I will not have any of this project and paper left to the last minute.
 * To amass a base of critical knowledge that is substantial enough so I can talk about my topic fluently and sound intelligent.
 * By the end of this course I hope to have done an excellent job on my project and paper, and put enough time and thought into them to receive a sufficient and worthwhile grade.

