I think the most important thing that I’ve grasped from this class is that I’ve found there are more work arounds than I thought to what I’ve often seen as personal roadblocks to learning, creating and, hopefully, profiting from the various forms of digital media.
Covid has knocked my borderline agoraphobia and tendency to avoid social/public situations due to general anxiety into full-blown agoraphobia and it’s been really frustrating. There are so many things that I couldn’t do well before that now I can’t do at all.
By including suggestions for copyright and royalty-free sites (meaning I didn’t have to go outside and shoot photos/video on my own) and, more importantly, focusing on completion rather than perfection, I felt confident in doing the assignments and that my current issues weren’t holding me back.
This is all a huge win for me, thank you!
The other thing that has been so helpful and fruitful in both this class and DDP 116 in the Spring was the Zoom sessions. I’m a pretty independent person by nature, but the vast amount of things that you cover in the classes really get tied together for me in the zooms. I know what’s the most important takeaways and get a better hold on what the assignment is each week. Also, it’s nice to interact with people on that small scale.
What was your favorite assignment?
So hard to choose! If we are talking end product, I’d say the Imagine assignment. I was so scared of it. I had no idea how I was going to go about doing a video project while stuck in my house like I am. I had visions of creating some God-awful stop-action thing with the one hot wheel car that I had. I really was at a loss until I had a light bulb moment and went with it. I think I’ll be polishing and tweaking that one for a while on my own for enjoyment and the learning exercise. Also, it just felt like the software was easier and when I did have an issue, troubleshooting it was much more cut and dry than the other assignments.
If I ignore my end product, the portal one was probably my favorite. I have paid for creative cloud off and on for years and every time I tried to work with Photoshop I was left in tears. I was never able to understand it and that program bedeviled me. Now, thanks to the assignment and your zoom tutorial, I have a better grasp of the UI of it and think I can manage most things, if not well, at least closer! One day, I will have all the angles and masks right so my dinosaur looks believable when he is attacking the Senate.
How could the course be better?
You mentioned maybe having an actual class meeting occasionally in future sections, I could see that being helpful for many. I wouldn’t be able to take part at this point but that is beside the point. My worry would be that it might get bogged down a bit. I’ve noticed in both classes that the skillsets of the students vary widely, like more than any other class I’ve taken over the years. Dealing with that and allowing time/space for everyone to grow and learn would be challenging.
Thanks for another interesting class, see you in a few weeks for Typography!
Gwen
