In 7th grade, my dad introduced me to a new show, called Def Poetry Jam, which aired on HBO. He even took me to a live taping once. I was drawn by the power with which the featured poets spoke, and amazed by their ability to communicate tough real-life issues and emotions in beautiful, eloquent ways.
Last fall I had difficulty choosing a topic for my final assignment (a 1,500 word story) in Magazine Writing. My professor had heard a few things about Cedric Bolton and suggested I investigate what his program was about. I attended my first two workshops the second Monday and Tuesday of November and knew instantly I had a story. The small group I met consisted of people who were intelligent, friendly, down-to-earth, ambitious, and extremely talented.
My product was this story (I got an A!)--which I've since slightly tweaked. (Note: It was never officially published, so I have used some of the quotes in other published stories. Also, I still can't seem to come up with the perfect final sentence!).
I knew I wanted to keep in touch with the group, even after I finished the project. I attended the first workshop of the second semester, and continued to record/document their meetings, attend their events, and conduct interviews whenever I could. Simultaneously, I was taking my Web Journalism course, and I mentioned in a previous post that I would try to get them on the NewsHouse. My professor introduced our final project about a month before semester's end; our task was to produce a package taking all we learned throughout the semester using text, video, data visualization and interactive graphics components. It was the perfect opportunity.
The text, I knew I'd figure out somehow (I decided to focus on the nature of the workshops). The video and data viz components were the most difficult to conceive and create. Gathering inspiration from something I had seen in Esquire, I decided I wanted to make an audio visualization--that is, create a way for a person to see, literally, how the poem sounds as they're listening to it. Unfortunately, many of my visions (including something similar to this kinetic typography video) were impossible to create, considering a number of things, including my skill level and limited access to certain programs. Still, using After Effects, I was able to create something pretty sweet. It took a lot of trial and error and the help from some awesome people, but in the end I created an audio waveform of Christiona Hawkin's poem "Change." To make the waveform more interesting, I placed text over it (a la Photoshop), and included a video introduction of Ms. Hawkins herself (I ultimately produced everything with Final Cut Express). And while I originally intended to make a short video of the last workshop, I instead edited a clip of an interview I did with Tyler Rice about snapping (versus applauding) and included footage from the last workshop. I used Dipity to create a timeline of spoken word history, which includes information ranging from the late Gil Scott-Heron's influence to the spoken word event hosted by the White House two years ago. Technically, my project would have been complete with all of the above. But most of my peers were using a program called Vuvox to create multimedia slideshows, and I wanted to, too. Plus, I had so much material that would go to waste; I decided to use Vuvox to highlight Verbal Blend events I attended throughout the year. More text, more audio, more video.
Verbal Blend is such a small part of a large university and sometimes I wondered if my persistence to cover them was more of a personal, selfish investment than a service to others. But on further thought, I found it hard to believe that anyone who attends an open mic or a workshop, or spends even a few minutes with these guys, can leave feeling anything less but inspired.
See my project here: Verbal Blend unites words and performance.
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