This task was a lot of fun! I wanted to try another new-to-me piece of software, so this time I chose to use VideoScribe. If you’ve ever watched a video where a hand appears to be drawing an image or writing the text on the screen, there’s a good chance that video was created using VideoScribe.
Thanks to its fairly intuitive design I was able to take the idea that was floating around in my mind, and turn it into a video. Specifically, I wanted my first speculative narrative to represent a dystopic future; one where we’ve gone too far with consumerism and human selfishness. (Channeling my inner Orwell, perhaps?). I’m not going to spoil the video for you, but I’ll set the stage a bit. I wanted to use freely available images in addition to small pieces of text to tell the story. I chose to incorporate music as well. I intentionally left out voice. The only drawback is that I’m using a trial version of VideoScribe so you can see the watermark throughout the video which I found a bit distracting at first.
That’s all I’m going to say. Take a look and see what you think of my Dystopic Speculative Narrative .
Speculative Narrative 1: Dystopia
Speculative Narrative No. 2: Utopia
Utopia, the journey toward societal perfection, is what I’m trying to reflect in this light-hearted second speculative narrative. I wanted to flip the first narrative on its head and really lighten things up. I used VideoScribe again, but this time I tried to use some of the features it’s known for (hand-drawn vector graphics) just to see how it all came together. Again, this was a lot of fun! I tried to keep my projections quite specific to future ‘potentials’ I thought might be realistic.
Enjoy!
Hi Tamara,
It seems like you were trying some tools out over the course. I also took advantage of trying some never-used before tools out myself. I wish I had more time to tinker as there numerous other ones I would be interested in using.
As for VideoScribe, I have used it a few times. Like you, I think it’s a fun tool to get one’s message out. Saying that, my favorite use of it is to create a presentation full of pictures and video (and of course my favorite audio) of my personal vacations. I find it’s a great way for me to share their experiences.
Last year, I wanted to try something different. I bought a whiteboard animation software called Doodly. Silly name, but the power of it is similar to VideoScribe. It has some additional features, like a chalkboard, glassboard, and a blackboard beyond the typical whiteboard backdrop. It has a whole bunch of animations too. On the downside, I don’t find the interface as intuitive as VideoScribe. It’s worth a try if you get an opportunity.
Hey Shaun!
I had a fantastic time playing around with VideoScribe! I think it would be a great tool for sharing purposes (as you mentioned, holidays, and other experiences)-especially now when we can’t always see others in person. It’s a fun and quirky tool that adds an element of…whimsy (or it *can* add an element of whimsy) that I quite like.
I’ll check out Doodly as well. This course has been great because I’ve really felt that it was ok to test and try out new tools (and fail spectacularly if need be….).
Thanks for sharing,
Tamara
Hi Tamara – Well I just randomly selected a new student to review for comments and my linking assignment. Dytopia. Wow – it is pretty interesting that one of my narratives too prognosticates the end of the world as we know it – my focus being on the internet being disrupted due to WW III – global politics – and the impact that has on literacies. I am not sure about the links to my site – a work in progress, but I have attached my video (all in black, literally as part of the narrative that power is precious) set on July 1, 2050.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-BXijWsMRM
Hi Patricia,
Thanks for sharing your video. I’ll pop over to your site to leave a comment for you as well. It’s funny how we end up diving into Dystopia, isn’t it? At least, a dystopic view of the future was my immediate, knee-jerk reaction to this task. (I wish it was more sunshine and rosy, by then again, reality has been harsh as of late).
Thanks for taking the time to comment!