5x5

First video project!

Clip 1: Writing
Clip 2: Erasing
Clip 3: Brushing away eraser particles
Clip 4: Crumpling up the paper
Clip 5: Drawing on my nails

Overall I really enjoyed this project. I'm not sure how it ended up at 22 seconds long instead of 25. In WeVideo all the clips were the correct length. Anyways, I used my phone camera to record the footage, which worked surprisingly well. As mentioned before, I used WeVideo which is an online cloud editing program that allows people to access their work from anywhere. The website was very easy to follow and I could export the footage straight to YouTube. I was pleased with the final result although I could have had better lighting in my film. I liked being able to work on my own and choose my own topic. I could work on my own time and did not have to share a crowded editing suite. I think we should do more projects like this outside of school; for example, we could make more films similar to the 20-second scenes. I was interested in making short scenes (not as short as the latter) in which we could write a simple script and work with one or two other people. This can be filmed around the school as well as on our own time. There could be requirements for using certain film techniques such as rack focus so that we would have some sort of structure to be graded. Also, I was interested in doing news-related films or investigative pieces. We could interview people around the school to digitalize the work we do in Ms. Cullen's class. If these films end up being relevant to current school or community events. they could even be aired on Infoflow. I think this was a very successful first project and I'm excited to start shooting more videos.

Minority Report- Dystopia Trailers

Minority Report. Stephen Speilberg. PG-13. 2002.

In the year 2054 while a specialized police department called the "PreCrime" arrests criminals before they commit murder in the future, an officer that works for this organization is predicted to commit murder.

After spending quite a bit of time on YouTube, I have come to a sad conclusion: most dystopia trailers are cheesy and boring. They all use the same structure: a deep-voiced narration inter-cut with headache-inducing action shots and short snipits of clichéd dialogue. We've seen it all before. So what? Well I was finally able to find a trailer that didn't damage my eyesight. The trailer for "Minority Report" (2002) was one of my favorite movie trailers because it was simple and intriguing. Usually, creators of movie trailers try to hodgepodge clips from every scene in the movie over some dramatic orchestral underscoring. Instead of confusing the viewer and spoiling the predictable outcome, the makers of the trailer for "Minority Report" were able to clearly convey the concept of their film using images and quotes that were interesting and meaningful. The film is based in the year 2054. There is a new police department called "PreCrime" that arrests criminals for crimes they have not yet committed. In the beginning of the trailer, several staccato establishing shots flash by to give the viewer an idea of how this grim future would look. Many of the clips are shot in high-contrast to create shadows and gloom. The viewer is then intoduced to the PreCrime officers as they take on an arrest of a man that is supposedly going to murder his wife later that evening. We then see short segments from a scene with Cheif John Anderson (Tom Cruise) and the head of the "PreCrime" squad after Anderson is predicted to be the next target. We see Anderson's transformation as he starts to see that this perfect system is fundementally flawed. This trailer gives the viewer a good idea  of what the film is about without over or under-informing. Hopefully I'll get a chance to actually watch this movie and see how the trailer lives up to the real film. I want to use some of the interesting editing effects in my dystopia trailer to make the setting more realistic. Even if the props are not perfectly-made, simple editing techniques evenly sprinked over the film will give it an authentic look.

Self-Directed Learning

I've always been jealous of people who can teach themselves something, be it a foreign language, an instrument, or a unique skill. I am intrigued by jugglers and street performers who claim to be "self-taught". In the realm of academia, the internet has made it so that knowlegde is just a click away. It is not as difficult to self-instruct when we are presented with so many more resources. I recently read an article about self-directed learning as a teaching tool. In this article, a parent ponders how his son could learn about math through his passion of basketball. He writes:

"What I wonder is whether his classrooms and teachers can help him become a passionate, patient, connected learner who is empowered to truly learn whatever and whenever he needs to."

 He lists and describes many academic programs that help students learn about school-related topics through the interests of the students. Some schools let students have more freedom in learning style. Kids are allowed to use certain resources to teach themselves and personally make the most of their lessons.

I think this is a good strategy to use in moderation. If students are given too much freedom, they will potentially go off-task. I think there needs to be some sort of rubric or loose structure so that the students can have a mutual understanding while having the freedom to go at their own pace.

Here is the link to the annotated article:
http://diigo.com/0syj0

Film Reviews

A review of a film review? Film-review-ception much?Anyways, I read a Silver Chips (yay!) review of "The Expendables 2" (2012). This reviewer did not like the film but was able to review it in a humorous and lighthearted way. The author briefly summarized some important elements of the plot and went on to elaborate on their specific opinion when it came to certain points in the movie. Though the piece included all of the necessary parts of a good film review, it did not follow a cookie-cutter structure. That is not to say that the author was disorganized in their writing style. The ideas were adequately grouped and flowed nicely.

I think we should have the freedom to write our movie reviews in a way that works for the specific film we watch. The author of this review was able to put forth they're ideas on this film while writing in a format that worked for him/her. We should have a list of elements we must include in our movie review, but having a fully developed structure is not going to work for every film.

Even though its not the morning right now, I have to quote one of my favorite movies to close out this blog post:

"Good morning, and in case I don't see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and good night!" - The Truman Show 

Hello World

If you didn't notice, there's a pile of newspapers at the top of this blog. I could explain in the "CAP way" that the juxtaposition of the light and dark shapes in someway represents my path in life, but instead I'll just say that I am interested in news and media.

My name is Natalie and this is my second week of being in CAP 10. I'm not sure I'm used to being a sophomore (I still get lost sometimes) but I'm excited to start blogging this year. My favorite part of filmmaking is being in front of the camera. Editing isn't my cup of tea, mainly because I'm not very good at it. My only experience with media is the CAP required Photo/Video class freshman year. I was able to master the basics about filmmaking as well as put together a few small projects. The project I most enjoyed working on was the Infoflow Show Open. At the beginning of every Infoflow Show, the BNC students aired a student produced introduction sequence that was about 15-30 seconds in length. Our class had the opportunity to create show opens that would later be aired on Infoflow if they met all the requirements. Although there were many criteria, this project allowed the most creativity in the set up. My group's show open was very successful and it was used on Infoflow twice.

As much as I'd like to prattle on about my social life, which by the way is very interesting, this blog will be used for academic purposes. These CAP blogs could be used to reflect on our work in other classes such as essays and activities. We could also use our blogs to update the status of our change projects and write about the steps we are currently working on.

I guess that's all I have to say for now. Until next time...whenever that is.