Creating,+Imagining,+and+Innovating

=Creating, imagining, and innovating= One of the hardest assignments we've been assigned so far this year is the Digital Story. Unlike some other assignments we've been given, the Digital Story required more than just basic knowledge of the environment issue we discussed in the clip. We not only had to gather information on the topic, but also we had to assemble the information in a creative manner that was accessible by everyone who watches it. This required many skills--such as knowledge of iMovie (which the four of us really had little idea how to use), Chinese language skills to interview the villagers, research skills (to pick suitable music and images), and really some idea of how moviemakers manipulate their audiences (whether through music, through language, through logical fallacies that make sense).

Thus, in order to put the project together, our group somehow had to cover up our deficiencies in some areas and pull together our strengths. For example, we lacked footage of the city of Shanghai--obviously we were not in a position to take a helicopter-view of the city, so we came up with the idea of searching online for available clips. Chloe particularly excelled at this, so she was delegated the task of finding clips. We needed transitions in between scenes. Faline was able to "innovate" and compress a whole clip of the view of XiangDong village in order to create a transition with it. Despite that we weren't very knowledgeable when it came to iMovie, we did manage to put it together well.

On a more individualistic note, even though I may believe my ideas to be wonderful (see Listening to Others with Understanding and Empathy), I think I also lack confidence in my own abilities. Several times in the project, I told the other group members that I had absolutely no skill at anything. While I may not be pro at the skills required to complete the task, I have more ability than I give myself credit for--I may not be artistic, but I at least have some ability to decipher between aesthetically pleasing and ugly; I may not know how to embellish an iMovie clip, but I know how to find embellishments. After all, I did manage to (during the interview) ask questions that could lead to answers that were more "in-depth." I also came up with the idea of taking a water sample from the river/stream for more emphasis and tangible evidence of that horror people call "river," and much more.

Thus, together, as a group, we managed to "create", "imagine", and "innovate"--in order to create a final product that I believe (not to be arrogant or overly self-confident) was quite well-done. I think this is a habit that I have some mastery over--I, after all, have some abilities to "create" a final product, "innovate" if I don't know how to do something, and "imagine"--imagine what the final product should look like. Luckily, this isn't a habit I have to work on much.

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