Digital Media Capstone - Knowledge Reflection Paper

Running head: DIGITAL MEDIA CAPSTONE - KNOWLEDGE REFLECTION PAPER 1

Digital Media Capstone - Knowledge Reflection Paper Kyle Mountcastle Dr. Mary Beadle John Carroll University

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In my time at John Carroll University, I have learned many lessons from the Communications Department. Dealing with other people, learning when to say yes to projects with others and when to decline to others about projects, and time management have been valuable soft skills that I have slowly internalized. However, five lessons have stood out the most: how to properly conduct research, how to plan creative works, how effective communication works in video production, how people debate effectively, and what it means to communicate effectively in mass media. Most of these lessons were learned from three primary instructors: Bob Noll, William Weaver, and Douglas Bruce. I learned from these instructors through the various communication classes they teach, some of which includes Writing Documentaries, Video Production, and Intro to Debate & Advocacy. From Bob Noll, the value of planning creative works became apparent in Writing Documentaries. The “Three-Act” narrative arc is primarily formed through careful arrangement of A-roll and B-roll footage within the realm of documentary filmmaking. Most of this footage is carefully considered with the narrative arc in advance. This careful consideration means planning shot and equipment lists well ahead of time, hiring crew members that respect the overall vision or intent of the film being made, and the filmmaker’s completed intents for what they are making. Any footage that was only found on-location is also to be taken advantage of, but it has to respect the documentary filmmaker’s complete understanding of what the final product should look like. If I had not come to appreciate this concept, I would be much less prepared for a career in video production because video production companies cannot necessarily afford to train interns such concepts without considering the costs.

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From my classes with Will Weaver, I have learned the value proper research procedures. Most research has a time limit, so I now appreciate the concept of quickly deciding what will serve as good information for research. Before meeting Weaver, I would make painstaking efforts to find the best possible information without considering the timeframe I had to work with. I could easily let too much time slip by and end up harming the quality of my work. Waiting until the last minute to assess my research was never a good idea. Another lesson I learned from Weaver was why the “Three-Act” narrative structure works best for film audiences. This narrative structure has been traditionally accepted since the earlier years in film history due to the respect placed upon “synthetic reality.” Synthetic reality, which, according to Weaver, reflects the selective nature of human brains. Synthetic reality ultimately reveals itself through the editing process: a film-watching audience dislikes a single frame or long-winded, slow-moving sequence for 80 minutes because the human brain does not process this as a narrative. We ultimately edit memories and perceptions down to the most important details, and good editing in cinema respects this psychological reality. Without understanding the concept of synthetic reality, I do not think I would appreciate the Three-Act narrative like I do now. If I continued to lack appreciation for these ideas, I probably would try to experiment with the Three-Act structure as only a means of amateurish indulgence. I would be making much poorer video productions. From Dr. Bruce, I learned how to debate effectively. While in his class, I did not rehearse well for debates. I tended to wait too long to do effective research, so I ultimately rushed the researching process. This affected my performance to reason properly and select strong, methodological evidence to support my reasoning. I did not always articulate and structure my

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debates coherently, so my overall performance in the class suffered.The letdown of my C grade in the class proved to be a lesson learned in showing up properly for work I may not immediately see the important rewards. Ultimately, I learned how to appreciate good debating as a well-rehearsed, carefully planned out process, and never something that is improvised or done on a whim. A general lesson from many communication professors at John Carroll is what it means to communicate effectively in mass media. Long monologues bore most information consumers, so brevity becomes most important. Brevity in communication needs to be taught because in working world settings, company issues take precedence over intellectual issues. For example, in working with Black Valve Media, I cannot afford to agonize about “editing perfectly” when I need to review footage with my boss for a deadline. Agonization over small details always bogs down the workflow, as said by Bob Noll, as well as my boss. In the end, these five lessons have helped me to be prepared for the workforce in video production through understanding the basics first. Learning the basics about video communication is likely going to make me better off than trying to rush through the basics to get to fancier topics before I am prepared to tackle them. Planning creative works ahead of time will always set me in the right direction for understanding what the final product may look like. Properly conducting research for creative works will help keep my ambitious ego in check when I become too excited within the creative process. Brevity in the communication style with video will help my audiences not be confused to the point of turning their attention away. Learning how effective debate works will help with my reasoning process for future production work.

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Ultimately, John Carroll’s Communication Department has helped me get my feet wet in terms of being a good videographer.