Nicole D Digital Story Treatment
From LIS5313
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[edit] Summary
Title: Tiger
Image:
Description: I wanted to create a story that conveyed how important my cat, Pooky, is to me. It seems silly, but she's been a part of my life for almost 14 years. In a lot of ways, she's my family.
Two years ago, she became very sick with diabetes and the complications that go with it. I wasn't sure if she was going to make it. Treatment called for insulin shots twice a day for the rest of her life. The insulin was expensive and, as you can imagine, the shots did not go over well with my cat. It took awhile to find the proper dose and the correct type of insulin, but she gradually got better. She adjusted to the shots and now, she even comes to find me when it's time for the next one. Today, she's just like a normal, fun-loving, lizard-chasing cat.
[edit] Media Assets
My digital story begins with a black screen and the sound of a house cat purring. I'm using an excellent clip by Intimidated from freesound. Then the audio shifts to the song I've selected for my background music. The two tracks were merged together in Audacity and then imported into iMovie.
I'm using photographs of Pooky from my own collection (taken by me and my dad), as well as CC licensed photographs from Flickr. I've chosen tigers to represent my cat's alter ego.
[edit] Pacing, Rhythm, and Juxtaposition
Although diabetes is a serious issue, I wanted to keep my story upbeat. My pacing and choice of music reflect this desire. Towards the middle, the pacing slows down. This represents how helpless I felt as we desperately searched for the right treatment. The pacing picks up again as the endless vet visits blur together. As the right treatment is found, the pacing moves faster to show that Pooky has returned to her old self.
[edit] Narration, Dialogue, and Text
I used short sentences in white type on black background. I wanted to keep the text simple so that it didn't distract from the photographs. I used a lot of pictures, and the pacing is fairly quick. The text breaks up the action a little. The following is the text that I used:
this is my cat, pooky
this is how she sees herself...
she's been my baby
for over 13 years
through four apartments
and two cities.
in june 2006, pooky was diagnosed with diabetes.
she couldn't drink enough water.
she ate constantly
but she kept losing weight.
i lost my tiger for awhile.
treating feline diabetes is tricky.
you have to find the right insulin
and the right dose
and the right diet.
it took a year and a half...
and three veterinarians...
but we found the right treatment.
Lantus insulin glargine (rDNA origin)
5.5 units twice a day
and Hill's W/D prescription diet.
pooky slowly recovered
and i got my tiger back.
[edit] Reflection
Originally, I wanted this to be a funny story about Pooky. I wanted to show her as a tiger trying to cope with a house cat's life. I had no intention of mentioning her diabetes at all. Once I decided to work her diabetes into the story, it gradually took over the whole thing. I tried to keep the story upbeat. Even though this was a difficult time in my life (for me and my cat!), I didn't want to focus too much on the downside. I wanted my story to be about hope.
[edit] Draft Media
The software that I used include iMovie, Audacity, Adobe Photoshop, iPhoto, and Photo Booth. Internet sites that I used include CC Mixter, Flickr, and freesound.
Here are the audio resources that I used:
Here's a sample of the photographs that I selected:
- Tiger Cub at 8 months by artct45
- tiger tight orton by Sleestak66
- A Tiger in My Neighborhood by Bob Jagendorf
- October 14 2007 day 2 - Insulin syringes by DeathByBokeh
- Katcher's kit -- treatment center part 1 by vieux bandit
Here's my rough draft.
And here's the final version.
[edit] Copyrighted materials
None of the materials that I've used are copyrighted. Two photographs feature trademarked items (insulin and cat food). Use of these items is allowed, as I am not representing these items in a negative way.
