Trey Pichon
A Video’s Worth
If a picture is worth a thousand words, imagine what a video is worth. I believe a video is far superior to any written work; given the video is done in a professional manner. Videos allowed me to, more effectively and accurately, shape the image the readers or viewers saw in their mind. A written document leaves the formation of mental images, to the reader’s imagination. For me to fully gain control of the interpretation of my work, a video is necessary.
There are certain drawbacks, I found, to creating a video project. For one thing, I had to pay attention to many more variables and details in my work. A video appeals to not just to an audience’s sight, as does a written document, but it appeals to their hearing also. This meant double the details I had to consider and create. When creating my video I had to find music, pictures, text, and video to represent my thoughts and feelings. I feel this is far more difficult to accomplish than simply writing down my thoughts and feelings. On top of the content, I had to make sure the video flowed and continually held the viewer’s attention. When composing a written document, I face the same problem; however, the added variables of a video make it much more cumbersome. I had to make sure I put transitions between scenes to insure that the viewer barely noticed a jump to a different scene.
There were many upsides to the downsides, of creating a video, too. One upside came in the form of increased reader or viewer-control. I was solely responsible for shaping the viewer’s thoughts and opinions formed. A viewer has much more freedom in reshaping dislikable parts of a work when it comes to a written document. With a video the viewer can form his or her own mental images to interpret the content of the work. I give them the mental images and they have no choice but to use them. With a written work all of the reader’s beliefs, past experiences, and other qualities can affect his or her mental images formed. With a video these traits can only affect whether or not the reader or viewer agrees or disagrees with the video; he or she can’t manipulate the content. Another upside was the amount of express-ability and freedom I gained from creating a video. There were countless more unique and organic ways that I could express my ideas with a video.
Overall I believe a video is a million times more effective than a written document. A video gives me greater control over the thoughts formed from my work, by readers or viewers. Even though there are, at the very least, double the variables to consider when making a video; it’s worth it. I am able to appeal to more of the reader or viewer’s senses which allows me to forge a stronger connection with him or her. A stronger connection means a more effective piece of work.