Turning My Summer Goal Into My Fall Project

I like having creative freedom when it comes to assignments; however, when I’m allowed a lot of creative freedom it can be daunting. Sometimes there are just too many good ideas. Other times I feel like there’s a better idea out there, so I won’t settle for whatever comes to mind first (or second, or third). So, when we were given the freedom to choose our topic for an instructional video assignment, I spent a lot of time thinking about it.

I could make a pretty decent instructional video about a lot of things. But, when I work on projects like this for class, I keep in mind that I’m not doing it just for class. These are the kinds of things that will go into my portfolio. The project is for my career, not just for a grade.

I generated a list of ideas in my notebook. They were all reasonable ideas, but I didn’t feel motivated to pursue any of them. It wasn’t until I looked down at my shoes (my favorite pair of shoes that are black, white, green, and pink) that the idea struck me.

If you have been reading my blogs for the past few months, you would know that over the summer I started running. I wanted to run properly and work up to running a mile at a steady pace. Fortunately, I have a friend who has been involved in track for years, so she knew how to run and how to teach me the right way to run.

When I looked at my shoes I thought of all the great shots I could do to make this instructional video visually interesting. There is a lot to learn when it comes to running, so I would have plenty of content. You have to be aware of your posture, at what angle your arms are positioned, and proper shoes and clothing. It’s actually pretty significant to know these things if you’re going to take up running so you don’t injure or exhaust yourself.

So, now that I’ve got the idea, I’m off to write a script and a storyboard. What’s the most challenging part of all this? It’s November in Wisconsin and I want to film at least some of this outside. I’m motivated enough by this idea to figure it out, and that’s exactly the kind of idea I was looking for.