My aim was to make a digital story about my daughter Jasmine. Jasmine has changed my world due to the challenges she faces everyday as a child with a disability. I have discovered that having a child that has several diagnosis and challenges in daily life has changed my perspective in this world. The aim of my digital story was for people to look past the diagnosis and the equipment they require to function, and focus on the person. Jasmine is not a Special Needs Child, but a Special child with needs. See the person not the disability.
I did find this challenge challenging, yet rewarding. I had over the years many photos of Jasmine. I was however had to ensure that no other person was visible in the photos I used (as I had not gained their permission). The focus was to focus on the person, so the type of shot used was close ups. The close up keeps only the face full in the frame. It is, without a doubt, the most important shot type to show dramatic elements, reactions, or emotion, which was my aim. I found the adding of text an issue, as the text was important to portray the message. Therefore using the white board with black text highlighted a point of difference. Using also handwriting gave a feeling of being raw. I use the soundtrack to also emphasise the message of the story. I used a lot of close up shots and pace to emotional engage the viewer into seeing a child, not the disability.
This challenge was very emotional for me, as the subject is very close to my heart. However I felt like it was time for me to open up for the benefit of my daughter and all others who have a disability.
LaneWay 2 Teaching 
Oh, Melinda this is beautiful! Just beautiful. I love the Music you have chosen and that you are used it to create the overall message of the video ‘this is me’. What a powerful song and powerful message that is. Jasmine is beautiful and it was so lovely to get to know a little bit more about her. I love that you hand wrote the text as it gave it a much more personal feel. I also loved that you wrote the messages from Jasmine’s perspective. Very heartwarming and allowed me to connect with her even more. Thank you so much for sharing Jasmine’s story.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This was so well done Melinda. The elements you used of close ups, slow transitions between photos, and simple text to inform the audience, allowed the viewer to connect to Jasmine and her story. It was really quite memorising at times. I enjoyed the choice of music and applaud the uplifting theme you utilised. I liked that you used different formats with your text, from using text on white board at the beginning when you were slowly introducing Jasmine, to using text over images when the music was building. This ensured that the images and text were matching the music tempo. Well done Melinda.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Melinda,
Thank you for sharing images and some of the story of your beautiful daughter Jasmine. Each image of Jasmine I saw I was drawn to her lovely blue eyes, further emphasised by your choice of close-up shots. Your choice of music was ideal, in terms of the tempo and instruments, and also the lyrics were very befitting of the digital story. I liked your whiteboard use for the initial statements and reflected they would be phrases and words you perhaps use or think about every day about your daughter. Although there is impermanence of writing on a whiteboard in a removable pen, those words can’t be removed from the minds of you and your family. You’ve done a beautiful and I suspect cathartic job. Well done. Kindest Regards Alannah Shore
LikeLike
Beautiful. Thank you for sharing something so deeply personal. I absolutely agree with you when you say to look past the disability and look at the person. Little Jasmine has so much to offer the world. A great sound track as well. This whole production gave me goose bumps.
LikeLike