Reflection

    There are certainly a few things I’d do differently if I could go back and do it over. I’d re-record my voiceover for one. I tried to pick the best audio clip out of the ones I recorded, but I still think the first half of the voiceover sounds really flat. It picks up and gets a little more dynamic toward the end, but the first bit just sets the wrong sort of tone for the story and throws it off. Honestly, I confess I somewhat rushed the voiceover recording because I don’t like listening back to my own voice. 

    I’d of course also have my photographer do the shots that I did myself. Her camera flash and focus was so obviously superior, and I wish that all the photos were that high quality, even though I initially wanted the photos to look really amateur. I felt it would be true to experience if the photos looked a little blurry and poorly lit, but I just didn’t end up liking that look in the final product. It was also my wish at the start to take all the pictures myself, but I realized after doing the extra shoot that I do NOT have the photography skills I thought I did. Humbling. I still thought in the end that the extra photos were worth keeping in the edit for the sake of illustrating the story, but I wish they looked better. 

    It also would have been wise to plan for two photoshoots from the get-go. The images don’t always line up in the right places with the voiceover. See, I wanted to have the POV of standing at the end of the street divider as I talked about it, but it just didn’t line up. It would be nice to make a plan for a reshoot now that I’ve realized the route needs to be revised, but this wasn’t something I even thought I might need to plan for at the start.

    I’d say I’m satisfied with my project, but it’s something I think I’ll revisit and try to make into something better. The subject is very meaningful to me, and I’d like to do it and myself justice by spending some more time on it this summer when I’ll be back home for a month or two, in between going to shows and getting drunk with punks.