DS 106 Assignment 1

Posted by on Jan 14, 2011

It’s been a while since I purposely set forth to engage in some interest-based learning. It’s been, well, all my life since I tried doing so with an open course. Thanks to Jim Groom, I’m giving it a go.

I’m hoping to not only have the opportunity to reflect on what it’s like to experience an open course, I’m hoping to enjoy myself as I muddle my way through more digital storytelling ideas, thoughts, and applications.

This is my first effort. Our assignment was to tell a story about something that has happened to us recently. We were encouraged to keep it under 30 seconds, but we were also given the freedom to go beyond if we felt we needed to. I felt I did. I only went over by 100%, which is better than Dean did.

This video reflects not only the first sledding experience we had with Logan a few weeks ago, it also touches on what I’ve been reflecting upon lately in life. That each one of the seconds we have counts. That sometimes we expect to find the big things in life in some big, glorious chunk of time. But when we look back, we almost always realize it’s the sum composite of the small moments we’ve had that matter. The routine moments we have rocking our child to bed. Reading the same book over and over. A single hug for our spouse. Each one of those is a small event unto itself, but someday, those small events will be gone. And I pray that I will appreciate and treasure each one.

And I pray that I will live my life in the seconds. Not waiting for the big events. But rather, treasuring, cherishing, and enjoying each small one.

12 Comments

  1. Dean Shareski
    January 15, 2011

    Impressive. Loved the black and white, transition to color. Not superfluous.

    One tiny critique. The black slide and font reeks imovie. Not that there’s anything wrong with it but i know its the default font and i wonder if even using a different font would make it less generic. The story itself sure isnt.

    The challenge you face is to top that. Good luck.

    Reply
  2. Tweets that mention DS 106 Assignment 1 -- Topsy.com
    January 15, 2011

    […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Dean Shareski, Ben Grey. Ben Grey said: My first #ds106 assignment is done. Sure am glad @shareski is here to feed me the deadlines. http://bit.ly/e09hrq […]

    Reply
  3. Russ Goerend
    January 15, 2011

    Loved it.

    Reply
  4. Tim Owens
    January 15, 2011

    I love now you executed this, the music, color transitions, even the narration and writing are wonderful. It all fits well to convey a great message. He’ll of a first assignment! 🙂

    Reply
  5. Ben Grey
    January 15, 2011

    Dean- Thanks. You’re absolutely correct with your critique. Typically I’m rather neurotic about font and text display, but I simply overlooked it on this one. I was caught up in how to make the story simple and effective in the treatment of the photos and narration, and I missed the details of the text slides. Perhaps I’ll go back and fix that at some point. Or maybe I’ll leave it as a reminder to myself. As Joe Lambert says, the economy of a piece is critical. This gives me something to work on for the next assignment.

    Russ- Thanks, I appreciate it.

    Tim- I appreciate the kindness. It proved very enjoyable to make.

    Reply
  6. Paul R Wood
    January 15, 2011

    Nicely done. The thing that struck me was the deliberateness of your voice seems to call me to an even deeper understanding of each second counting. Thanks.

    Reply
  7. Jon Orech
    January 15, 2011

    Another great effort by The Master. To those who like the fluff, the flash, and the lack of substance, I say Watch this. Love how the slowdown looks like jump cuts…slide to color rocks. Well done, Ben

    #lessismore

    Reply
  8. Grant
    January 15, 2011

    Great work & love how you moved from color to B&W

    Reply
  9. Assignment 1 for #ds106 » open thinking
    January 15, 2011

    […] of me walking through the snow, thinking about warmer climates, a tip that D’Arcy gave me, living life by the second, contemplating what an Italian guy said, and spending time with fish and my precious […]

    Reply
  10. Ben Grey
    January 15, 2011

    Paul- Thanks. I hoped the slight pauses between phrasing would help emphasize that point. Good to hear that it is effective.

    Jon- Too high an honor coming from the true master. Remember, it was you who got me started.

    Grant- Thanks for the kind words. They are appreciated.

    Reply
  11. Chad Lehman
    January 18, 2011

    Well done. I need to keep that idea in mind – enjoy the moment. I do not do that enough.

    I loved the transition from black and white to color.

    Reply
  12. Melanie Holtsman
    January 22, 2011

    That was a delicious thing to do with your photos! Loved it! Great project and advice. It’s one I still need to remind myself to slow down and savor.

    Reply

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