Watching a graduation day video on YouTube, the first thing that popped into my head was ‘Wow, how has he filmed all of this?’ What did he use and where did he get it from?
Watching a graduation day video on YouTube, the first thing that popped into my head was ‘Wow, how has he filmed all of this?’ What did he use and where did he get it from? Is this how quickly technology is developing?
Then it hit me. The personal fact that, that’s going to be me in a year’s time. How am I going to deal with that? How could I capture my special day in an equally effective way?
Let me rewind a little, if you have no idea what I’m talking about well this is it. A student from the University of Sheffield decided to film his graduation and upload it to YouTube. But that’s not the interesting bit. Munyaradazi “Munya” Chawawa, 21, captured the emotions of the day on a new spectacle-based innovation released by Google – Google Glass.
New Technology
Google Glass is a hands-free camera device which you clip onto your glasses and can record anything freely. Munyaradazi broke new grounds as he became the first person in the UK to use this technology to film his graduation.
Thinking back, you realise how quickly technology is developing and what will be the next thing to be released. This scares me slightly. Think about the future, what will there be that there isn’t now. Will your children know more about technology than you?
Maybe not even that far ahead. What will it be like when you graduate? I bet there will be another new way to capture your graduation day. Maybe it’ll be you that uses the latest technology to record it.
Google Glass seems such an easy piece of technology, so easy to use and wear, but when you’re watching Munya’s film, you’re in awe of how he’s recorded the footage.
Emotions
If you’ve been, are or going to be a university Student emotions will be a part of watching the video. Even if you’ve known a family member who has been to university, it will bring back the memories.
A big reason for this is the editing. The way Munya has edited the video shows you the important, most emotional parts of the day. The dialogue in the voiceover adds that extra bit of emotion, not just telling you what’s happening but making you feel it too. Talking about the emotions and thoughts that go through everyone’s minds when they’re in that position; how to walk, hoping they don’t fall over etc.
If you’ve been there, it brings it all back—getting your robe and hat, sitting in a massive room, walking up to collect your certificate, the celebrations afterwards, all of it. If you’ve still to experience it, then it’s an excellent indication of what you have to look forward to.
Being a student who’s about to start final year in September, that’s what got me the most. The final year of studying, the final year of university, the final year of living in a city I love. I’m going to be standing there and my parents are going to be watching me (and in my case probably crying) and then I’m going to have to look for a job.
“Three years gone all too soon,” are Munya’s words that resonate and bring emotion. If you’ve been there, you’ll know how true that is.
Sitting here writing this I don’t know where the past few years have gone. Munya captured such an amazing day in a ground-breaking way and is a reminder that we should all be looking to the future in the technologies we use and the memories we create.
What do you think about Munya’s video? Would you use Google Glass to record special events like this? Have your say in the comments section below.
Image: Loic Le Meur / Wikimedia Commons
