The Good Life is a short story to give you an image of how I grew up in rural Minnesota. The image is a picture of the farm I grew up on. The sunrise was extra beautiful that day!
I used WeVideo to record and edit my audio. I also used stock media that WeVideo provides. If you are ever interested in learning more about WeVideo, let me know. I would enjoy chatting with you about the program. There is a free version of this, but the media is limited and the time limit of your videos are limited as well. The paid version is not cheap, but well worth the price....especially if you are in a masters program that has you creating a lot of video and audio content!
SCRIPT:
The Good Life
By Dmitry Bucklin
The brattle of the chainsaw woke me up. This was not unusual. My father always had the knack for letting me know what day it was by simply roaring up the 25 year old faded orange Stihl chainsaw. Today is Saturday and it was too early!
I grew up on a farm, a hobby farm. Here we raised much of what we ate. We had pigs, chickens, goats, and gardens. Two of them to exact. One was my mom's garden and one was my dad’s...and yes, they would have competitions of whos garden would have the first tomato or the most rain. My Dad of course always won!
We had it made and everyone would tell me this. Of course, back when I was a middle school and high school student I did not think this. The roar of the chainsaw waking me up meant that today was firewood day….EVERY Saturday was firewood day. I would grumpily stumble my way down the stairs muttering angry things to myself and wish “I could just live in town like the rest of my friends.”
Although it was hard work, I knew that there would be something special waiting at the end for me. Raising our own food meant that we always ate well. We would hear the rusty old cast iron dinner bell clanking away and we knew what time it was! A loaf of homemade bread and a large pot of chicken noodle soup was always a hit!
It wasn’t until the past year or two that I realized how much I miss this farm, the animals, the sunrises, the early brisk mornings, the lake, fishing, and our simple life. It wasn’t until right now that I realized that this was “The Good Life.”
Really enjoyed your story. It brought back many memories of visiting friends farms. The only critique would be maybe more sound effects. Great job!
ReplyDeleteYour use of music and sound effects added a lot to this story, especially when the iron dinner bell went off. It added just the right touch to bring the person into the story. The words you used and the details balanced things out, not too much and not too little. The photo was lightened from when you posted it the first time, and I do like this edit.
ReplyDeleteI would suggest more movement in the video. Even a simple zoom in or out would add value. In addition, there were a couple spots that more sound effects or background music could have kept us continuously nostalgic with you.
Great Job :)
You have a great voice for digital story telling. Love the sound effects that you used in this video. Love hearing the memories that you have, and its amazing how we don't appreciate things until we lose them.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if some movement in your picture would make the story more interesting, and possibly some more expression in your voice would help bring it more to life. Otherwise, I thoroughly enjoyed it! Nice job!
DeleteI love the use of music and sound effects to make your story really come to life! The detailed descriptions of the setting, and the rise and fall of your voice helped to keep me engaged! I enjoy hearing your stories and getting a feel for your experiences. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteDmitry,
ReplyDeleteNice job with the intro music. The sound effects throughout the story were great too. Terrific job narrating the story. If I had to critique something, it would be a few audio glitches or static sounds (1:28-1:29).