digital story

Synopsis: A lonely slice of pizza sits at a party hoping someone will notice it. Several people almost pick it up, but it keeps getting passed over until one final person arrives with a plate and finally gives the slice the happy ending it has been waiting for.

Media Creation: I created the visual story using still photographs I took myself and then transformed them into a cartoon-style sequence for the video. I also recorded the dialogue/narration myself. The music includes an original piece I created, along with my own piano cover/performance of “Promontory” from The Last of the Mohicans, which is discussed in the fair use section below.

Software used: I edited the final video in Final Cut Pro. The still images were prepared as cartoon-style images from my original photos using ChatGPT, then placed in sequence and timed with the music. I recorded dialogue and credits. I used the images almost like a simple stop-motion sequence, with the emotion of the pizza slice changing as different people came and went. I used Ken Burns effect at the start and at the ending to enhance imagery. I show three of the original images I took that were used for the conversion within ChatGPT during the end credits scene.

Citations: Konawicz, Edward. It’s About Time! 2026. Digital video, 1:48. Created using original photographs, cartoon-style image edits, original narration/dialogue, original music for slow dance, and a short self-performed piano cover used under fair use. Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

Fair Use: The one asset I am claiming fair use for is the underlying copyrighted musical composition “Promontory” from The Last of the Mohicans. I used my own short piano cover/performance, not the original commercial recording. The use is limited and is included for a new purpose within my original story. In my video, the dramatic music becomes part of the joke because the couple forgets about the pizza and turns the moment into a slow dance. That changes the context from the original dramatic film use into a humorous story beat about a rejected slice of pizza.

Synopsis: This story explores how one song can bring back a powerful and nostalgic memory. Told from the first person’s point of view, the story follows how one song can teleport an individual to a specific moment in time.

Music by Jason Shaw licensed under CC by 4.0.

Visuals by Destiny Rogers licensed under CC by NC.

Sound Effects by Destiny Rogers licensed under CC by NC.

Edited on iMovie.

Synopsis: This story is about a portable CD player, discarded at a Goodwill, waiting to be picked up by someone in the year 2026. On the electronics shelf sits the discman, lumped together with a bunch of cords and alarm clocks, who begins to reminisce on his time with his previous owner. The story follows the point of view of the CD player, who feels largely forgotten by society and is just waiting to be noticed by someone, hoping for a chance to be useful again.
Media Assets/Software: All visual and audio content is originally produced by me, with some help from my partner. I recorded nearly everything on an old iPhone for a more vintage feel to accentuate the nostalgia I was trying to evoke. The rest was filmed on a newer iPhone for more precision aspects. The consistent background music is provided by Incompetech. I utilized Canva Pro for all editing needs, downloaded as an mp4, and uploaded to YouTube.

Citations:

• Original content by Jaclyne Jones licensed under CC BY 4.0

• “Almost Bliss” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.

• Narration by Patrick Zoeller licensed under CC BY 4.0

Field Notes on the Office Tribe by Viviana Mendiola is licensed under NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

Synopsis:

This digital story presents a humorous anthropological field report on modern office culture. The narrative follows an anthropologist documenting the behaviors of “office workers,” interpreting everyday activities—such as meetings, emails, and workplace interactions—as cultural rituals.

Content & Creation:

This project combines original narration, AI-generated visuals, Adobe Express stock media, and third-party content used under fair use principles. Visual assets include stock video clips and images representing workplace environments, as well as original images created using ChatGPT to support the anthropological framing of the narrative.

The video was created using Adobe Express, which was used for editing, applying a consistent mahogany color treatment, integrating stock media, and incorporating motion effects such as zoom transitions and animated elements. ChatGPT image generation tools were used to create original visuals, including the title slide, anthropologist self-portrait, field notes, email imagery, whiteboard diagrams, meme content, and closing slides.

Narration was self-recorded, and additional audio elements—including ambient music, office chatter, and dialogue clips—were sourced from Adobe Express stock tools.

Image & Video Credits:

Adobe Express Stock Library (licensed under Adobe Express Terms of Use):

• Office meeting video
• Office worker typing video
• Manager and subordinate interaction video
• Water cooler image
• Vending machine image
• IT workers image
• Office error screen image
• Tribal hut video

ChatGPT-generated images (original content, OpenAI Terms of Use):

• Title slide (“Field Notes on the Office Tribe”)
• Anthropologist self-portrait
• Field note image (“Field Report 27”)
• Email visual (“Just circling back / as per my last email”)
• Cavemen meme (“That meeting could have been an email”)
• Whiteboard diagram (cave-style symbols)
• Stylized coffee scene
• End slide (“Field Notes”)
• Credits 

Composited images (original and Adobe Express stock hybrid):

• Water cooler scene
• Vending machine scene
• IT workers scene

Audio Credits:

Adobe Express Stock Library (licensed under Adobe Express Terms of Use):

• Ambient background music
• Office chatter audio
• Dialogue audio clips – text-to-audio tool (“synergies,” water cooler conversation, and vending machine conversation)
• Closed captions were generated using Adobe Express to improve accessibility and ensure clarity of narration.

Third-Party Image (Fair Use):

Lion meme image (“The lion does not concern itself with Microsoft Teams notifications”),
from Instagram (account: garkuwan_matasa01; original creator unknown).

Under the CMSI’s Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Online Video, this image is used under Fair Use for purposes of commentary, illustration, and educational storytelling. It supports the analysis of workplace communication and functions as an example of memes as symbolic cultural artifacts. The use is transformative, non-commercial, and does not affect the market value of the original work.