Preparing a Presentation

The PhD comprehensive portfolio defence presentation is a media production so specific media angles need to be considered in its preparation. I’ll use the media triangle to frame my considerations while planning and reflecting on my presentation. First, the audience needs to be considered. For the CompPort defence, the intended audience is my committee, but could also include any guests from the university, and, in my case, any interested audience members beyond the defence event itself. This presentation will be captured and left as an example to others who may wish to follow my path, or my research. For this reason, I will post to YouTube and embed directly onto a page in my comprehensive portfolio. Secondly, the text needs to be considered – which in my case is not just the alpha/numeric traditional text formats, but also the images, icons, graphics, colour choice, audio options, transitions, and movement between or within slide elements. It all has an impact not only on the appearance of the video, but on the feelings or reactions to the video production. I will also consider the cognitive load required for each of the elements in the video presentation to ensure just enough novelty, consistency, and movement to ensure attention to the details for each slide/item of information. Finally, the production tools need to be considered for specific codes and practices, access, and distribution decisions. I’ll expand on how and where I’ve made decisions that will impact the overall media production of the defence presentation.

First – the audience. While the video presentation of the comprehensive portfolio is based on the assumption that the committee members have read the portfolio, others who may view the presentation may not have seen the portfolio or have no knowledge of the content in the portfolio. Thus, specific and explicit references to sections in the portfolio will help frame the information. I’ll strategically mention the location where evidence of skills and competencies may be found, without actually showing the images of those items, since that may cognitively overload or distract the viewer from the voiced message. As I script the voice-over, I’ll also carefully consider the committee members awareness of my portfolio, by providing just enough information without being repetitive. In preparation for the video production, I wrote a script within the word count required to be read and recorded within a 20 min presentation. I rehearsed extensively using audio recording tools like Zencastr. I downloaded and listened to my audio recordings to ensure a fluidity in phrasing, pace, and timing. Breathing became evident, so I rehearsed where to insert the audible intake of breath, so it would not noticeably detract from the message. The more I rehearsed the audio, the more I removed from the script and rewrote as a result of a possible lack of clarity in the phrasing. So, considering your audience is an essential element in preparing your defence presentation.

Secondly, I considered the ‘text’ I used to create the presentation. I made the decision to use a powerpoint style set of slides, with transitions built into the slide format to build the sequential revelation of text or images, timed to the script. In order to become cognitively aware of when to click for the next textual element to appear, I used bullet points in my word processed script. In this way, I could read the script in time with the transitions, thus enhancing the message with timely revealing the items I was speaking about. In order to make this work within the video, I recorded each slide as a mini-video using screencasting (Quicktime). These mini-videos were then inserted sequentially into iMovie, where I then played with transitions and timing to ensure the video matched the voice-over audio recording. While I had completed the audio recording as one long file, I was able to ‘cut’ and splice in iMovie to ensure a closer connection between image and audio. I was also able to insert transitions from one video element to another, depending on the content being presented. Decisions about image elements in the presentation were strategic, based on the message and impact I hoped to achieve. For example, I searched for an image of a crystal that matched the colours I was using and was representative of the crystallization concept being referenced. I timed the image to be revealed specifically, along with text that made reference to this concept. Other images were selected and inserted as needed, but were not included on each slide. The background of each slide also was strategically shaped and faded to add to the consistency of the messaging, but was specifically changed in the final slides as an indicator of the shift in time and messaging. While colours were not a primary consideration, there was one place where I intentionally changed the frame for the text from green to red to evoke an emotional reaction. On the second slide, when considering the elements of a ‘defence’, I used a red frame around the text, as a visual cue to the meaning and intention of defending something. In this way, you can see how I strategically applied media considerations to the multiple text elements used in the presentation.

Finally, I needed to consider the production as a media consideration. While the intention of the PhD portfolio defence is a live event, done in the moment during the twenty minutes set aside for this presentation, I made the conscious decision to not only created a pre-recorded video, but in the end, I could also consider using this pre-recorded production as the actual presentation during the defence event. Access and distribution to this pre-recorded video presentation was also a primary consideration. Uploading to my YouTube account, I designated this video as unlisted as a way to limit access, but left it open to being embedded since I hoped to include this as an embedded object on my Scalar portfolio site. I uploaded an image of the opening screen as a thumbnail since the thumbnail options did not accurately represent the overall video content. Once uploaded, which took substantially longer than any of my previous video productions, I embedded it onto a specific defence page on the portfolio site. I shared the link to this Scalar page with anyone who sent best wishes but who indicated they could not attend the session during the scheduled timeframe. In this way, I was able to expand the audience as well as share further.

I hope that by illuminating some of the process decisions and how media was considered for this portfolio defence presentation, you can also make strategic decisions that fit your intended audience, text, and production elements.