Death of the New York Accent- Becky Torres

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Philosophy:

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When I was 7 years old, I accidentally sliced my finger open with a potato peeler. I have a scar on the third finger of my left hand that reminds me of that incident every day. It reminds me of the pain I felt in that moment, but it also reminds me of my aunt’s delicious mashed potatoes, the warmth of the holidays, and my mother laboring in the kitchen to make a savory turkey dinner.

Every story leaves a scar. Whether it’s the scar on my finger or the memory in my heart, a story leaves its mark and that mark has a purpose. Its purpose is to teach us, remind us, encourage us, and show us who we are.

When I was 15 years old, my pointe shoes destroyed my childlike feet. Callouses, blisters, and bruises formed from the intense wear and tear I endured during dance. I have a scar on the heel of my foot reminding me of those painful, yet incredible years. The scar reminds me of the hard work and passion I poured into dance; it reminds me of the many years that I spent expressing myself through the beautiful art of ballet.

I cherish these scars, not only because they tell my story, but also because they define me. Without my battered feet, or my childhood experiences, I would not be the person I am today. Although scars are associated with a negative connotation, they often illuminate and expose the positive. With every bump, scrape, bruise, and cut, we heal and form a different mindset, we become a new person from the incidents in our lives. Through these scars, we remind ourselves of our stories, which allow us to grow and learn. We look to stories to search for answers, to figure out what happened, why, how, where. We look to stories to remind us of the moments in life that we enjoyed, cried, screamed, and laughed. Without these stories, and without these scars, storytelling would not be possible.

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Composing Process Reflection:

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Envisioning something and making it come to life do not go hand in hand. I had a vision when beginning this process and that vision has gone in circles, down unchartered paths, and to dead ends. The clear image I wanted did not translate smoothly from my mind into a video. Initially, I found difficulty when creating my finished project because of the lack of footage I was able to find. I wanted certain videos, filmed from certain angles, and the Internet did not always provide me with the resources I needed. Due to these restrictions, I had to alter my ideas and visions of what I wanted, leading to a turning point in my entire project.

Three weeks into the project I decided to scratch everything I had already done. I decided to rethink my vision. I rewrote my entire script and re-recorded my audio track. I created a storyboard of videos and images I wanted, and I considered the availability of such videos on the Internet. Following an initial discouragement, I was ready to fully commit myself to creating an attention grabbing video. I started from square one and opened an entirely new file on Premiere Pro. My initial thought was to find all of the footage then start to organize it, so that’s what I did. I spent hours on archival websites, YouTube, and Google searching for videos that looked as if I captured them myself. I searched for the perfect songs and timed out my audio to match with it. I wanted to create a video that pleased myself, as well as my audience, and I wanted to create a video that I was proud of. My goal was to make my audience see the story from my perspective. I searched for videos that provided intimacy and tactile feelings; songs that made the video feel relatable. I spent hours reconstructing my video. Finally, I was able to produce a video project that was representative of myself as a writer and as a creator. I was able to translate my vision from my mind into a video. After rethinking my story, I was able to improve its overall fluidity and purpose.