I've been feeling like I'm slowly (but surely) losing my mind lately. I feel like the workload has got the best of me - not because of how MUCH there is to do (even though much it is) but more because how MANY things there are to do. so, rather than going through tasks one by one (in whichever order - right now, they're all of pressing importance) I spend most of my time prioritizing, reevaluating the priorities, changing, doubting, starting all over again...end of the day, brain exhausted, person frustrated and the to-do list still there in it's full glory.
well, overly sensitive already, I've began hating on the internet for putting me through the exact same thing: so many things to see, read, so many great sites to explore (Amy Stein's blog,lens culture, conscientious, to name just a few I've recently added to my regulars) ...which to do first? and once you settle on one, how to stop yourself from sticking to it and not wonder if there is something maybe just a bit more interesting under that other bookmark...a whole new field where to fight with commitment issues.
anyways :) this morning, via a great multimedia blog by Richard Koci Hernandez, recommended to us by our amazing multimeda teacher Judith Levitt, I found a web-documentary Prison Valley . and watching it brought up all the above mentioned issues. the film is very well shot (both video and stills) but the whole concept (the way it is edited, the interactive play, the social networking) draws your attention in way to many directions...and the story itself takes the furthermost back seat. while yes, everything we can do now with our work on web is interesting and seems fun, there is something larpurlartistic about it. do we want the viewer to be thinking about the small prison town residents lives and struggles or do we want him to be admiring how well we use our 5D mark II and how well we work flash...
p.s.just as a comparison, I think Danny Wilcox Frazier story on Iowa utilizes just enough of what the new medium has to offer: like on a DVD, you can choose your chapters, decide whether you want to hear about the making-of and from there it is for you to kick back and relax and let the pictures and voices tell you their story...because it is their story to tell.
