Intro to Writing Studies: Multimodal Portfolio

Final Portfolio Reflective Essay

When initially being assigned this project, I was excited to get started. I knew that I would be basing it on my husband. I love writing and did not think that I would run into any problems sharing memories and stories of why I feel my husband is special to, not only me, but to everyone’s lives he touches. I was also eager to utilize my skills in video editing to tell the story, as well.

WRITTEN: The written portion of the multimodal project came quite easy to me. I found that I was able to complete this portion fairly quickly. I wrote everything that was on my mind and then I would mull it over and constantly think about while I wasn’t working on it. These are the times when I feel that important memories or things I want to say usually come to mind. So, I would constantly come back to my laptop and jot down ideas. I also utilized the note section of my planner and my phone’s notepad and voice recorder to record ideas while I was away from my laptop. Then, I would come home and include them.

I find that my mind jumps all over the place while I am writing. What I did to make sure that the story flowed in a sensible order, I constantly reread it and moved sections around. I would also start typing various paragraphs with different headings to serve as a roadmap that kept everything flowing in a manner that would make sense to the reader. I did not have a problem tacking that small hurdle because it is the way that I have found best works for me with the way I think and how it is ultimately translated on paper.

VIDEO: Since I have worked as a freelance journalist, I have been making videos for our YouTube channel. I would write reviews and post them online on the publication that I wrote for, but I always wanted my work to reach a broader audience. I would also include a video review for those who don’t want to read the extensive reviews. We also make vlogs and stream our video game footage, so I am quite familiar with video editing.

I was ecstatic to make the video portion, not only because I love making videos, but also because I know that my husband is one that prefers this medium over reading. I created a script, which I am used to doing with my reviews, to ensure that I stayed on topic and covered exactly what I wanted. I felt that I would just be utilizing a lot of the information that I had included in the written portion of my multimodal project. I found that it was quite different with this type of video. I strayed from the script quite a bit because I wanted to tell the story in a different way. I decided to include videos of his family members sharing why they feel Gusto is special. This created a bit of a challenge because they were all visiting El Paso for Thanksgiving and I am in Corpus Christi. I text two of his sisters and provided them with their assignment. They were to record family members and text the videos to me, so that I could include them in the video. One of the problems is that one of his sisters recorded the videos vertically and I had to ask her to redo them so that she could record horizontally. Thankfully, she sent them to me while she was still with the family members that she recorded. Some of the videos were a little blurry at times and I had to make them work. Thankfully that all worked out in the end. I also ran into another problem that set me back in my work quite a bit. I had saved the videos to my computer’s desktop, but when I was opening the files in Sony Vegas, I was grabbing them from my phone’s folder. I didn’t realize my phone was still plugged in and I was grabbing them from the wrong folders. This created a problem because those videos went black during the rendering process. I didn’t realize that was what I did wrong and started over from scratch. Had I realized this, I could have simply plugged my phone in so that it was drawing the videos in from the original source and then render it.

Other than those slight difficulties, I was very pleased with the final results and it was the perfect gift to give to my husband for our 24th anniversary. I enjoyed grabbing portions of the videos and putting them together to tell the story that I wanted to tell. While it contained some elements of the written portion, I did not use as much as I initially intended. I liked the fact that I could include other elements that appeal to the senses to better tell the story. I included different songs that fit the mood of the various portions of the video and put a face to the people that helped tell the story and, most importantly, to the person it was about.

PICTURES AND TEXT STORY: I chose to create my pictures and text story using Spark. I like the way the pictures moved with the text and the examples had a nice, clean feel to them. In creating this portion of the multimodal project, I found that it would be quite simple, as well. I initially thought, once again, that I would simply utilize bits and pieces from my written portion of the project onto this one. While I did use some of the written parts, I told the story differently in this mode. I narrowed down why my husband is special to me and to those who know him, but I used a lot more pictures of him with different people showing them having fun. I did not have a rough draft of this mode, since Spark makes it easy to go back and make changes and additions on the fly. While I love writing, I really love offering visuals to the readers to allow them to be able to see the story being told.

Overall the multimodal project allowed me to tell the same stories in three different ways, which I really enjoyed. I initially thought that I would be using a lot of the same information, but to my surprise, the story is told differently through all three modes. I was still able to share exactly why he is special, but they allowed me to do so in different ways. If I had to choose my favorite way to tell the story, it would be through the writing and the video. I feel that the pictures and text aspect forced me to remove quite a bit of important, key details that truly allow the reader a deeper understanding of a story. I feel like this mode can be used as a preview into the more detailed versions and, in my case, work better if it came before the other two modes.

I enjoyed this multimodal project and had an “ah-hah” moment of realization that it circled back to our reading assignment of literature being its own form of technology. Technology is continues to advance and evolve, but it always has a beginning. Literature is no different and being able to work in different modes, allowed me to put that study into use myself.

Here is the link to all of the final projects in this multimodal project, in the event of video playback complications due to the privatization of the uploads: https://gusandtaun.wixsite.com/tanyavaldez/blog.

Draft of Written Profile

“For Always and Ever is Always for You”

There are many special people in my life and I thank God continuously for allowing me a sliver of time with them. There is one person that I can truly call my best friend, no matter how cliché it might sound. I have never called him by his real first name, which is Octavio. He introduced himself to me as “Gusto,” who was a character on the movie CB4, played by Chris Rock.

I was a junior in high school when we first met. It was not love at first sight or anything close to the typical eye-gazing, heart-throbbing, butterflied-stomach encounter that is usually described by others when meeting the person they love. I was wearing a Pearl Jam shirt and this short, scrawny kid started making fun of me because of my shirt choice. He stood in the same hall every day and I had to eventually start avoiding that area because it was more of an annoyance to me. We ended up having each other for guitar class our senior year. So much for trying to avoid the guy. We shared similar friends and I knew his brother because we took Spanish together and also worked together at the movie theater. So, eventually, we started talking.

While we didn’t have a lot in common, we were drawn to each other. On December 12th of 1993, he asked me to be his girlfriend. We were best friends and did everything together. We were completely inseparable and never spent a day apart.

Some may think that it was the way he sang a song to me, while playing his guitar, at our school coffee house that melted my heart. After singing one of our songs by Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here, he stayed there and dedicated another Pink Floyd song, Pigs on the Wing (Part 2,) to me, in front of everyone and it was truly touching as the song’s lyrics read:

You know that I care what happens to you, and I know that you care for me for me, too. So I don't feel alone, or the weight of the stone, now that I've found somewhere safe to bury my bone. And any fool knows a dog needs a home, for shelter from pigs on the wing.

However, it was a combination of characteristics that he held that made me fall madly in love with him. Not only was he very affectionate towards me, he’s always had a way of making me laugh and I love that about him. He only has to smile and I’m dizzy (The Cure, Halo). Yes, sometimes the words of another can truly capture the very essence of one’s feelings.

I can still remember our very first Christmas together. He was so excited to give me my gifts and he was so proud that he spent time trying to wrap them, since he never wrapped gifts before. As he handed over gifts messily wrapped with newspaper, it touched my heart to see the look of excitement in his eyes. He was so proud and I still see that young excited boy in his eyes and smile.

He knew how much I loved Prince. He used to make fun of me for it until one time I had his music on in my car and he asked, “Who plays guitar for him?” Since I considered Gusto an extremely talented guitar player, I knew he always dissects music and is very analytical when he does. When he found out that it was Prince who played every instrument he was listening to in each song, he had a new-found respect for him as a musician.

When Prince was touring in 1997, the radio station was having a contest for front row tickets. We had already bought our tickets, but we needed front row. The person who was willing to do the craziest thing for the tickets would win. While I knew that he had a great idea, I just felt it was too good to be true, but the radio station called him and he won! So, on a very cold day in winter, he had to carry out his idea. There he was, wearing nothing but a Depends diaper, with his body painted purple, his head shaved to the skin (which he never did at the time – well, he never did any of these things at the time), and dancing on the corner of a busy intersection of El Paso, Texas during morning rush hour traffic. I have to say that I felt a little guilty sitting off to the side, drinking hot chocolate. Being able to see the artist that I had loved since I was a kid, front row, and by Gusto’s side, is something that I will never forget.

I am not the only one who sees just how special he truly is. He has this charm about him that draws people in. He is extremely witty and can make a room laugh with his hysterical antics. He’s the kind of guy who will not only sing Prince’s Kiss during karaoke, but dance like Prince while doing it. He’s the kind of person that doesn’t care about how crazy people may see him, as long as he is just being himself and that is not a characteristic that you can easily find in people.

We bought our first house together in 2001 and here we are, about a year from paying it off. We have had three beautiful sons and have watched them grow. Our oldest one is already in college and I can still remember Gusto sitting backwards in the hospital room chair, with his fingers over his eyes and thumbs in his ears because he couldn’t bear the birthing process, but couldn’t wait to hold little Benji. He got much better with Tito and Zion’s birth, but it’s quite humorous to look back at. We have shared so many memories together that I hold very near and dear to my heart.

When I was a little girl, my dad brought home our very first video game console, an Atari 2600. He made a deal with someone and got a box of games along with it. My dad, my brother, and I would play games together quite often. Gusto played video games as well, so we have kind of grown up together and have seen the evolution of video games and consoles. One of our favorite pastimes, which we still do to this day, is go to midnight launches for a new system or game. We would go get a coffee and hang out in front of the store and just have fun as we anticipated the release.

When the original Xbox came out, we got one for my dad and it sparked that passion for games that he had, all over again. We would play different games online with my dad, since I was no longer living at home and online gaming allowed us to keep doing what we love together. One of the last games we played together was Gears of War 3. It came out the day after my dad’s birthday. Three months later, he passed away and that was one of the most trying times of my life.

During my dad’s wake, I couldn’t even look at him. I didn’t want to remember him like this. I couldn’t even get up and speak about all the wonderful things I had to say about my dad. My legs would probably not have held me up and I know I wouldn’t be able to get through the tears to be able to finish even one sentence. It was Gusto who went up and talked about him. We hate funerals and wakes, and we try to avoid them, but he went up. Through his tears, he spoke highly of my dad, telling everyone that “Bill did everything he could for everyone,” he said, “He would give the shirt off of his back, if someone needed it.” As he continued, I cried harder. What he did for my dad, and for me, will always be treasured.

I am not the only one who sees just how special he truly is. He has this charm about him that draws people in. He is extremely witty and can make a room laugh with his hysterical antics. He’s the kind of guy who will not only sing Prince’s Kiss during karaoke, but dance like Prince while doing it. He’s the kind of person that doesn’t care about how crazy people may see him, as long as he is just being himself and that is not a characteristic that you can easily find in people.

Going to concerts

Prince tickets

Having our 3 boys

Buying our first house

Amazing memories

PlayStation Experience

Getting my dad back into video games

My dad’s death and wake

Final Written Profile

“For Always and Ever is Always for You”

There are many special people in my life and I thank God continuously for allowing me a sliver of time with them. There is one person that I can truly call my best friend, no matter how cliché it might sound, and that is my husband. Actually, I don’t even care if it sounds cliché because it’s very true. What’s crazy is that I have never called him by his real first name, which is Octavio, unless, of course it was for an occasion where it was deemed necessary. He introduced himself to me as “Gusto,” who was a character on the movie CB4, played by Chris Rock. His family doesn’t even call him Octavio. They have their own nickname for him, which is Benji because they used to play house when they were little and he never wanted to play so he’d say, “Meh, I’ll be the dog then.” Back then, there was a popular show about a dog named Benji. So, it stuck and they still call him Benji to this day.

It's not easy to use a few words to describe my husband because there is so much more to him than just handsome, funny, and caring. Those are just some of the words I can use to describe him, without it coming across as generic. It’s best to share stories and memories that I hold dear to me when I describe him.

I was a junior in high school when we first met. It was not love at first sight or anything close to the typical eye-gazing, heart-throbbing, butterflied-stomach encounter that is usually described by others when meeting the person they love. I was wearing a Pearl Jam shirt and this short, scrawny kid started making fun of me because of my shirt choice. He stood in the same hall every day and I had to eventually start avoiding that area because it was more of an annoyance to me. We ended up having each other for guitar class our senior year. So much for trying to avoid the guy. We shared similar friends and I knew his brother because we took Spanish together and also worked together at the movie theater. So, eventually, we started talking.

While we didn’t have a lot in common, we were drawn to each other. On December 12th of 1993, he asked me to be his girlfriend. We were best friends and did everything together. We were completely inseparable and never spent a day apart.

Some may think that it was the way he sang a song to me, while playing his guitar, at our school coffee house that melted my heart. After singing one of our songs by Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here, he stayed there and dedicated another Pink Floyd song, Pigs on the Wing (Part 2) to me, in front of everyone and it was truly touching as the song’s lyrics read:

You know that I care what happens to you, and I know that you care for me for me, too. So I don't feel alone, or the weight of the stone, now that I've found somewhere safe to bury my bone. And any fool knows a dog needs a home, for shelter from pigs on the wing.

However, it was a combination of characteristics that he held that made me fall madly in love with him. Not only was he very affectionate towards me, he’s always had a way of making me laugh and I love that about him. He only has to smile and I’m dizzy (The Cure, Halo). Yes, sometimes the words of another can truly capture the very essence of one’s feelings.

I can still remember our very first Christmas together. He was so excited to give me my gifts and he was so proud that he spent time trying to wrap them, since he never wrapped gifts before. As he handed over gifts messily wrapped with newspaper, it touched my heart to see the look of excitement in his eyes. He was so proud and I still see that young excited boy in his eyes and smile.

He knew how much I loved Prince. He used to make fun of me for it until one time I had his music on in my car and he asked, “Who plays guitar for him?” Since I considered Gusto an extremely talented guitar player, I knew he always dissects music and is very analytical when he does. When he found out that it was Prince who played every instrument he was listening to in each song, he had a new-found respect for him as a musician.

When Prince was touring in 1997, the radio station was having a contest for front row tickets. We had already bought our tickets, but we needed front row. The person who was willing to do the craziest thing for the tickets would win. While I knew that he had a great idea, I just felt it was too good to be true, but the radio station called him and he won! So, on a very cold day in winter, he had to carry out his idea. There he was, wearing nothing but a Depends diaper, with his body painted purple, his head shaved to the skin (which he never did at the time – well, he never did any of these things at the time), and dancing on the corner of a busy intersection of El Paso, Texas during morning rush hour traffic. I have to say that I felt a little guilty sitting off to the side, drinking hot chocolate. Being able to see the artist that I had loved since I was a kid, front row, and by Gusto’s side, is something that I will never forget.

Due to his strong mind and determination, we bought our first house together in 2001 and here we are, about a year from paying it off. We have had three beautiful sons and have watched them grow. Our oldest one is already in college and I can still remember Gusto sitting backwards in the hospital room chair, with his fingers over his eyes and thumbs in his ears because he couldn’t bear the birthing process, but couldn’t wait to hold little Benji. He got much better with Tito and Zion’s birth, but it’s quite humorous to look back at. We have shared so many memories together that I hold very near and dear to my heart.

When I was a little girl, my dad brought home our very first video game console, an Atari 2600. He made a deal with someone and got a box of games along with it. My dad, my brother, and I would play games together quite often. Gusto played video games as well, so we have kind of grown up together and have seen the evolution of video games and consoles. One of our favorite pastimes, which we still do to this day, is go to midnight launches for a new system or game. We would go get a coffee and hang out in front of the store and just have fun as we anticipated the release.

Now, on our anniversary, we attend a convention called PlayStation Experience, which celebrates the birthday of PlayStation. So, every December we celebrate our anniversary doing something that we’ve always love doing together.

When the original Xbox came out, we got one for my dad and it sparked that passion for games that he had, all over again. We would play different games online with my dad, since I was no longer living at home and online gaming allowed us to keep doing what we loved together. One of the last games we played together was Gears of War 3. It came out the day after my dad’s birthday. Three months later, he passed away and that was one of the most trying times of my life.

During my dad’s wake, I couldn’t even look at him. I didn’t want to remember him like this. I couldn’t even get up and speak about all the wonderful things I had to say about my dad. My legs would probably not have held me up and I know I wouldn’t be able to get through the tears to be able to finish even one sentence. It was Gusto who went up and talked about him. We hate funerals and wakes, and we try to avoid them, but he went up. Through his tears, he spoke highly of my dad, telling everyone that “Bill did everything he could for everyone,” he said, “He would give the shirt off of his back, if someone needed it.” As he continued, I cried harder. What he did for my dad, and for me, will always be treasured.

I am not the only one who sees just how special he truly is. Gusto has this charm about him that draws people in. He is extremely witty and can make a room laugh with his hysterical antics. He’s the kind of guy who will not only sing Prince’s Kiss during karaoke, but dance like Prince while doing it. He’s the kind of person that doesn’t care about how crazy people may see him, as long as he is just being himself and that is not a characteristic that you can easily find in people.

So, while he didn’t necessarily have me at “hello,” I can say that other clichés seem fitting in our relationship- opposites attract, everything happens for a reason, marry your best friend, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Wait, we’ll leave that last one out.

I can come up with a list of words to describe Gusto, but that truly doesn’t even offer a glimpse into who he is and what truly makes him special.

Video Script

Dialog/Sound: 0:00 - 0:05

Opening Video/Gusto’s “hello” Opening clip: 0:05 - 0:15

Introduction Message/Introduce the viewers to Gusto: 0:15 – 1:00

Topic 1: Talk about what makes him special: 1:00 – 1:45

Interview 1: Interview with Gusto: 1:45 – 1:48

Introduction Message/Introduce the interview compilations of those who know him and why he is special to them: 1:48 – 2:45

Interview Compilation/Allow the viewers other viewpoints from those who are also close to Gusto: 2:45 – 2:50

Closing Discussion/Wrap up information for closing: 2:50 – 3:00

Outro Video/Closing video of Gusto

Video Notes

There are many special people in my life and I thank God continuously for allowing me a sliver of time with them. There is one person that I can truly call my best friend, no matter how cliché it might sound. I have never called him by his real first name, which is Octavio. He introduced himself to me as “Gusto,” who was a character on the movie CB4, played by Chris Rock.

His family doesn’t even call him Octavio. He grew up with a big family and when his siblings wanted to play house when they were little, he would say, “Meh, I’ll be the dog!” Since there was a popular show back in those days called Benji that is what they have called him since then!

What makes Gusto really special is that he has this charm that captivates a room. He can fill a room with happiness because he makes everyone laugh. He has a kind soul and an overall fun personality.

He is strong-willed, full of determination – when he sets his mind on something, he gets it done.

It's not easy to use a few words to describe my husband because there is so much more to him than just handsome, funny, witty, and caring. Those are just some of the words I can use to describe him, without it coming across as generic. It’s best to share stories and memories that I hold dear to me when I describe him.

He has always known how much I loved Prince. He used to make fun of me for it until one time I had his music on in my car and he asked, “Who plays guitar for him?” When he found out that it was Prince who played every instrument he was listening to in each song, he had a new-found respect for him as a musician.

When Prince was touring in 1997, the radio station was having a contest for front row tickets. We had already bought our tickets, but we needed front row. The person who was willing to do the craziest thing for the tickets would win and he won! So, on a very cold day in winter, he had to carry out his idea. There he was, wearing nothing but a Depends diaper, with his body painted purple, his head shaved to the skin (which he never did at the time – well, he never did any of these things at the time), and dancing on the corner of a busy intersection of El Paso, Texas during morning rush hour traffic. I have to say that I felt a little guilty sitting off to the side, drinking hot chocolate. Being able to see the artist that I had loved since I was a kid, front row, and by Gusto’s side, is something that I will never forget.

He always does things for others….

When my father passed away about six years ago, we were at his wake. I couldn’t get up and speak about all of the things I wanted to say about my dad. Gusto knew what I was going through and he stood up and through his tears, he spoke highly of my dad, telling everyone in the room that he would give the shirt off of his back for any one of them if they needed it. What he said and did for my dad, and for me, that day will always be treasured.

I am not the only one who sees just how special he truly is.

Gusto has this charm about him that draws people in. He is extremely witty and can make a room laugh with his hysterical antics. He’s the kind of guy who will not only sing Prince’s Kiss during karaoke, but dance like Prince while doing it. He’s the kind of person that doesn’t care about how crazy people may see him, as long as he is just being himself and that is not a characteristic that you can easily find in people.

Video Rough Draft

In the event that the video does not play, here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffkAABUYHOM

Video Final Draft

In the event that the video does not play, here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gtbAPCQ9eM&t=215s

Text and Image Presentation

Here is the link to the presentation, created on Spark: https://spark.adobe.com/page/uH0VaG1STIrDw/