Christopher Harris Story –
I really enjoyed listening to Christoper Harris’ story. Some of my favorite things about the video include: the background music, the clearness in both speaker’s voices, the pace at which the story went and how Christopher was not interrupted throughout his video. To start, the first thing that caught my attention in this video was the introduction music before the initial speaker began to talk. This was a good starting point for the story because the music was not sad or happy. This left me, the listener, wondering whether the story was going to be a cheerful one or more emotional. Overall, the introduction music set a tone for the story well.
Another aspect of this video that caught my attention was the clearness of the speaker’s voices. There is no fussiness in the audio of this video. Both speakers words pronounced well and easily understood. As a listener, this makes me want to keep hearing the audio. It was calming and made me feel relax. This brings me into another well done part of this video, the pace. Christopher did not seemed rush. There was an introduction to start the video off and then he had his time to speak. I enjoyed not having a back and forth type of interview for this story because it helped Christopher take his time and go at the pace he wanted. This allowed me as a listener to understand his emotions and get a clear visual of what Christopher was explaining.
Lastly, the video finished with music. It was quite a bit sadder than the music the story began with. I think this was a great touch added by the people at StoryCorps. After Christopher told the story I was left feeling sad, happy, and confused on how to feel. The music allowed me to bring all of my emotions together. I believe it fit his story and the emotional rollercoaster he had to go on throughout his life without knowing if he was going to live or die.
Octavius Smiley-Humphries, Carole Smiley and Seth Smiley-Humphries –
This story really brightened my day and filled me with a lot of knowledge on how I want my future interview to go in this class. This video began by jumping right into the story. There was no introduction by another party and no music to “set the stage” for the story, which I really enjoyed. It left me asking myself questions about how the story is going to go and where it all started. Over time while watching the video, it became clear to me what was going on. I like this style of interview where narrators leave you wondering, but give you puzzle pieces as you go.
The idea of having three people telling one story was very cool to me. It was insightful to get everyone’s perspectives of emotions and how they were throughout the time of the story actually occurring. It makes me want to include a friend of the person I am interviewing to get more details.
Everyone’s voices in this video were very clear and easily understood. I believe this is super important when having more people on a video and also by having a quick pace. In this story, there was a lot of back and forth between speakers. It grasped my attention and left me wondering what the other opinions were on the story. I believe it is important to take time when editing, especially when there are multiple speakers, to ensure all voices are clear and there is time between people speaking.
In conclusion, the music choice at the end of the story fit perfectly. It brought up the energy of the story and left me feeling good because after all, it was a happy ending. I think it is important to add music or background noise to keep listeners attention. More importantly though, I believe there needs to be time to find the perfect type of music to put in your video to ensure it fits the “vibe” of the story. I will definitely be using this tip in my interview editing!