Non-reification

I worked really hard on this project, which I'm not sure is evident in my fine product. I spent at least 20 hours between collecting pictures, finding and cutting music, setting it, and then learning that it was too short and that I wouldn't be able to set the narration over the music. Then once I recorded my narration on gabcast, my computer wouldn't download it as an mp3 in a place that I could find it and I used explorer and AOL to try all these different ways to download it. Finally, after and evening of utter frustration, I accidentally stumbled upon a way to import it as an mp3 into MovieMaker. I tried so many ways I couldn't repeat it if I tried because I have no idea how I got it there. I tried to get some video in my document and downloaded snag it, but could only capture pictures. Then I figured out moviemaker better and made the pictures fit the narration, but I was disappointed with the sound quality and lack of music, so I decided to re-record the narration (which came out better the second time because I finally got through it without crying) and downloaded audacity to try to fit the music and narration together. Once I figured that out and made the music lower, it wouldn't let me export it as and mp3 and even though I downloaded some program called LAME that was supposed to let me do it that way, it wouldn't. After trying mulitiple times, I decided to take a shot int eh dark and export it as a wav file, which moviemaker accepted and finally imported. I knew my last hurdle would be to save it to a disc. I went through 4 blank discs in an attempt to "save to a CD" and finish the movie. After hours of trying and having it burn to a CD 65% and then tell me it had an error, couldn't finish, froze movie maker, and my computer so that I had to keep restartng it, I decided to save it to my computer and hope I could make a folder, and burn it to a CD. Somehow, once again I have no idea how I finally got it to do it, but it saved it in Windows Media Player and I burned it. I tried so many times with the other discs to play them on moviemaker on my roommate's computer, even to save them to my jump drive and hope that it would work, but EVERY time the pictures were red exes and only the titles showed up. I finally decided to relent and save the Windows media player version to a disc, which played in ym roommate's computer and that was the best I could do for 1am after struggling with it for 8 hours that day alone. Honestly by that point, I was just happy it played and that anything went together.
This project made me feel so incompetent on a computer, which I usually can figure out. It expanded my knowledge of internet capabilities and how to make a video and appreciate the effort it takes to create something like this, but navigating 5 new programs took a lot of time with guess and checking. I know I could have turned it in when it was in simpler form, but I wasn't happy with my outcome and so frustrated with the programs. You made it sound so easy in class, and I thought it shoud have been, but this ended up being the most difficult project I've ever had to do, and the worst part is I feel like I still don't have a very good product to show for it.
I really wanted to make something that anyone who has lost someone special to them would be able to identify with, which I guess isn't really an affinity group. I put in a lot of personal pictures and I feel like I could have said a lot more to explain these wonderful people. I felt my insider position made this more personal and hopefully this dispersed knowledge will allow people to appreciate their loved ones and find a way to deal with their feelings even when someone they love dies.