3/1/2026
For the month of February, I’ve been working on prepping for a talk! That’s crazy! Early in the semester, I was suggested by my supervisor to look into, and maybe apply to speak at, an event coming up geared around Digital Media. I was sort of hesitant at first, as I’d recently just finished attending another conference that left me stranded in DC due to a snow storm. I wasn’t anxious to leave campus again this semester. But, since it is only a day, and only a five minute talk on my part, I eventually thought, why not.
I’ve spent the last month, applying, getting accepted (HOOORAY!), registering, and working on my materials for the talk. For materials, I’ve been primarily working on my script, but over the next couple weeks, I will also be making an accompanying slideshow to just show off the behind the scenes of working on the Virtual Titular Head Project. While my script does run for the correct amount of time, I’ve found myself somewhat dissatisfied with the work I’ve done it. I’ve always been more of an unscripted speaker, especially at these sort of events, but I’m just a little worried about going overtime or being under-prepared so that’s why I decided to write one up. I think it probably still needs a little more work until it feels genuine and real to my experience working on the project. I think I’d like to speak a little more about the experience of actually working on it, rather than just what the Virtual TitHead project is.
That being said, working on the process of prepping for this conference has been nice. I feel like I’ve been able to take a step back from the project itself and appreciate the amount of work I’ve done on it, as well as how much work previous fellows have done on it, and how much interdisciplinary work goes into the project. I never put into picture just how much of the work of this one relies on info from alumni and the archives. I’d almost wager to say that maybe 40% of my work is just chatting to people and sorting information (sometimes films)! Regardless of my sort-of-still-in-progress script, I am proud of what I’ve done so far, and I’m excited to keep working and get everything ready for the conference coming up soon. Next time you hear from me, I’ll have something new to share. See you then!