Reporting:
Project two was presented to our lecturer today. Well all I can say it was… a good effort. We presented our ten sketches through our thorough research on our case study, 89 Steps. Peter had explored in the user-action aspect of online video. He experimented with the various online video platforms suitable for interactivity shorts. I explored in the technical and participatory aspect of the interactive documentary. I picked out certain technical shots that enhanced participatory affect as well as using participation like alternate endings.
Our issue today was… I guess our presentation preparation did not prioritise the timing but more on the content for the sketches. We were so focused on how to explain the sketches that we did not time our presentation. Even that as well, we failed to make time for explaining how these sketches helped us understand in relation to the case study video. I had trouble trying to understand questions being thrown in during the Q&A session because I did not quite understand some of the concepts.
Relating:
I had a similar problem once back in college. We had timed the presentation more than three times but we still were press for time. When we presented, one of our group members accidentally talked more than she was supposed to and one of us did not have enough time to explain her part. All in all, I probably think I have problems with timing during the actual presentation.
Reasoning:
Practice makes perfect! – Timing is very important. If you see TED talks, the presentations are heavily timed, practiced until they memorised their script. When someone knows their facts well and presents with full confidence, the audience will pay attention to them. A lot of preparation is needed and sometimes some people have a talent in talking in front of the people. The good thing about this course is we will be presenting for every single project and so it will give me a chance to familiarise myself with presenting in front of a crowd.
Looking back on this issue, I believe that it wasn’t only just the timing issue but rather more on the content. I also think this content issue was my fault for not trying to clear up misunderstandings of the project brief with my lecturer. I need to also read up more on the concepts I am working around in so that I can clear my doubts as well.
Reconstructing:
There are a lot of things that I need to take in consideration in the future. This issue helped me review the problems I had so far. We should have explained less on the sketches and more on the concept of how this sketches made us understand the concept of narratives. We did not describe enough on our sketches in relation to our case study. I felt this was a little difficult to grasp. How can I make this easier for me to understand? What does this mean to understand the hybrid narratives of my documentary short case study? Should I back track a little and figure things out again or just use my sketches and connect them back again?