For the narrative unit, it was all about being able to use a bunch of different methods and mediums to create and tell a story. We used our creativity to form an idea for a story, and throughout the unit we used apps like Illustrator and Premiere Pro to tell these stories. We also used lots of equipment in this process, including our audio recorders, Wacom tablets, as well as the many tools in Illustrator like the pen tool and Live Paint.

Something I valued a lot about this unit was the storytelling aspect, and specifically how we could use the things we learned to tell our OWN story. It would have been much less fun if we had to follow a specific structure or write about specific things, but we had pretty much total choice when it came to choosing what to write about and how to write about it. Instead, I got to have a lot of fun making cool creations centered around subjects I cared about and stories that I was interested in.

In English class, we made a Flash Fiction(Short Story) about whatever we wanted. To help form our idea and story structure, we filled out a plot map, and also spent a good amount of time brainstorming who our character was going to be and the kind of world they lived in.

The inspiration for my story was really just ChatGPT. I wanted to incorporate it into my story somehow because we were actually practicing learning how to use it in English. I also was interested in giving my main character a sort of absurd story/personality. Eventually I decided to base it off of a guy who was totally addicted to using ChatGPT, to the point where the AI robot was his only friend. Once I had finished my Flash Fiction for English, we took that same story and applied it to Digital Media class. We were tasked to make an audio recording of the story, including sound effects to immerse the audience in the story. I went into the recording booth and did a pretty dramatic voice. It ended up sounding kind of cheesy in my opinion but I think it fit the assignment. I then took that recording into Pro Tools and inserted audio effects when they made sense. I valued the process because it was super fun to make the story come to life and add fun sound effects just like how you would hear them if it was a movie or something.

“Chat”

Here is my Flash Fiction:

12:18 PM

The worst day of Arthur’s 38 year long life was a Tuesday. He woke up late, sleeping through his 11 AM alarm, and from the moment he woke, things were going uphill. He had barely slept due to the sheer excitement that came from the announcement of a new version of open AI software. He wasted no time getting up and stepping straight to his swivel chair where he flopped down, filling the deep depression he’d spent his life creating. The lights stayed off(he almost never turned them on) and he would spend the next several hours conversing with ChatGPT. In his many years spent interacting with the AI, he’d never felt this engaged. It replied to his questions and comments with responses that were exactly human to Arthur. He felt so important. The next several hours were spent entertaining himself, eyes filled through his blue-light glasses with the glow of his PC. It would pain him to have to close that tab when it was time for his afternoon shower. . . so he didn’t. It was as he trudged down the hall to the full bathroom, computer in hand, that he made the fateful choice. With wits dimmer than his windowless bedroom, Arthur decided he would just bring the computer and his riveting conversation into the shower with him. The walk from his bedroom to the bathroom was especially tedious today, but all his effort would be worth it once he finally felt the warm splash of water on his back, combined with the warmth and happiness of his conversation with ChatGPT. That same warmth had vanished once he found himself hastily stepping out of the shower, snatching a towel to first dry off his computer, and then the tears rolling down his cheeks. A short desperate struggle to fix his mistake ended quickly when he realized it would be impossible to fix himself. He went to bed early that night. 

1:31 PM, The Next Day

The morning was devoid of life. Arthur awoke completely exhausted, and laid in bed for hours before getting up. By around 3, Arthur had made it to the kitchen counter, where he  poured himself some cereal and took a seat. Breakfast felt endless as he sat there, lacking the entertainment which his computer had always provided. As he ate, Arthur couldn’t help but think that he might never be able to solve this problem. I mean, he couldn’t even name the essential parts of a PC, let alone comprehend how they worked or any way to fix them. He hadn’t known the password to his phone for as long as he could remember because he never used it, but man would it have been helpful right now. He didn’t own any books about computers, or any at all for that matter, and even if he could somehow contact them, he would be far too embarrassed to plead to any of his online friends for help seeing as he had never even attempted to talk or type to them before. He was powerless. As the crunch in his Cheerios gave way to soggy mush, a deep, dreadful sense of responsibility took root. He had no other choice but to take the computer into a shop. He finished eating and sat there, stirring his spoon in the thin layer of milk at the bottom of his bowl, thinking. His only source of revenue, coin mining, was online, so he’d need his computer to get fixed, or else he could face bankruptcy in just a few months. He took a while to weigh his options, but ultimately decided that it had to be done. The rest of the daylight was spent planning. 

8:20 PM

The sun had set. Arthur’s plan was finalized and memorized, all down to the route he would take. After a quick dinner, and a warm up consisting of a couple laps back and forth in the hallway, it was about time for Arthur to head out. He stood at the door. His breaths were heavy and drawn, air blowing back in his face as he stood right up to it, squinting through the peephole, and then quickly back at the clock. The hand struck twelve, and he took hold of the doorknob in his right hand. It was cool to the touch, and required a decent bit of force to get open after years of being idle. The door cracked as he opened it, and Arthur shifted around it, peering out into the dim landscape, illuminated only by sequential light posts from the other side of the road. He stepped out onto the raised front walkway of his apartment, looking left and right down the long stretches with dozens of doors, only wasting a second of his time, and then he was off. His curled figure moved through the night as quick and graceful as a decently coordinated turkey. By the time his adrenaline died down and he took in his surroundings, he had already made it to the shop. He scampered towards the neon sign outfront, and took a prolonged breath before quickly pulling the door and stepping in with only a slight hesitation. The lights were mostly dimmed, with a white glow illuminating the back left of the room, where Arthur sensed he needed to go. As he cleared a final shelf of unfamiliar computer parts, the counter came into view, with a large screen faced away concealing the figure behind. He was caught surprisingly off guard by the worker, despite knowing full well that one must be there. He choked down a dry breath, and stepped forward. The young man, clearly occupied with something on the screen, glanced up at Arthur and gave him a friendly closed smile. He greeted him, and immediately asked what he could help with. Arthur remained speechless for an awkwardly long moment, and then coughed up a hello. “Um, I spilled drink, uh, water on my computer. It isn’t really working very much.” 

The worker paused. “Ok, so it short circuited. Normally that repair is going to take one to two weeks. You can come around the counter and take a look at some estimates for our pricing and also some rental rates.” Arthur froze a second, haunted at the thought of not having his PC for a week, and then slid around the counter to view the screen. He scanned it, not comprehending most of what was there. Suddenly, a small logo at the bottom of his screen caught his attention and he couldn’t stop himself from staring at it. Gabe noticed this, and was quick to ask if Arthur played that same game. He admitted he did, and uncharacteristically decided to follow up that inquiry with his own question about Gabe regarding the game. Gabe talked about his favorite quests and mods for a bit, and despite the immense fear in Arthur, he kept in the conversation, quiet and uncomfortable, but there nevertheless. Their conversation was short, as Arthur took the topic back to his computer after a few minutes, and the logistics were quick to work out. He thanked Gabe, and headed for the door. Before he stepped out, Gabe rushed from behind the counter to hand him a piece of paper. “It’s my username, we could play once your computer’s fixed up?”

With barely any hesitation Arthur gave him a nod. “Sure.”  

Gabe smiled, and so did Arthur as he walked back out into the dark.