Documentary Topics

Oh gosh, time for the picking of documentary topics. There were so many good ideas presented in class that I don't know which one I want to do yet. Maybe I should do a profile on my friend's dad who is a former NFL player and now owns an investment company. Or maybe I could do it on the conceptions of beauty, where I could go around and interview people in the school about what beauty means to them. Hmm, or maybe I could do it on the immense pressure that students feel to do well in school since that is accessible. OR I could do a documentary about how sports affect people's lives.

There are just so many things that I am interested in, that I can't decide on one topic. I can visualize what each of these would look like, but, unfortunately yet fortunately, I can't do all the topics. I guess I will have to decide sooner or later. But my top three are probably:

1. Profile on my friend's dad
2. Conceptions of Beauty
3. Pressure in School

Those aren't in any particular order.

Dystopian Trailer Homework

Our script for the dystopian trailer is going well. We have easily incorporated dystopian elements such as the use of propaganda and conformity into our script. The only element we have had trouble with is the illusion to the citizens that they live in a utopian society. All of our audio is dialogue and music, but we have text slides to better explain certain elements that the audience may not be able to understand from the trailer. Our trailer follows the basic beginning, middle, and end structure. Another problem we are having is the ending. We are not sure how to end the trailer.

I found two sound clips that we could use in our trailer. One of them is Scary Scapes, which we could use at the beginning of our trailer to introduce the hazy mood of the trailer. The other sound clip is Dronetail, which we could loop somewhere in the middle of the trailer when Matt, our protagonist, becomes flustered and helpless.

Here are two sound clips:

5x5 Independent Film Project: Getting Ready for School

1. Waking Up to the Alarm
2. Taking a Shower
3. Eating Breakfast
4. Putting Shoes On
5. Leaving the House

I used a Canon T3 to film and I used WeVideo to edit my clips. I found the process fairly easy, but the edits I could make were basic. I have been using Final Cut Pro as a video editor since middle school, so I felt limited as I was using this editor. I couldn't, for example, cut out parts within a clip. I was only able to trim an entire clip.

I believe my 5x5 is okay, but it could have been a lot better if I had thoroughly planned it through. I could have also done a lot more advanced editing if I had the patience to play around with WeVideo.

I don't really have a specific idea about what our next project should be, but it should be something that allows us to express ourselves through the film.

Preparing Students to Learn Without Us

I read the article, "Preparing Students to Learn Without Us." The writer discusses how it would be beneficial for students to chart their own course based on the school curriculum. To do this, they have to find their passion in order to participate in personal, not personalized, learning, Personal learning is "self-directed and self-selected according to the learner's own needs, preferences, and learning arrangements." Technology plays an important role in personal learning, as students are able to use blogs and social bookmarks such as Diigo. 

In the beginning of the article, the author describes how her son has a passion for basketball, and she learns that she can connect basketball with a listless amount of concepts such as slope, variables, bivarate data, and much more. This was surprising to me because most students, including myself, always wonder how we are ever going to use what we learn in our classes such as math and science in real life. 

I like the idea of personal learning, but it could either be a hit or miss. Some students might not put their hearts into it and take the full advantage out of it, while others could subscribe to endless blogs containing information about their interests and our class, learning everything they can. 

I am interested in journalism, so I could subscribe to blogs that feature articles, editorials, and information about journalism in order to learn more about it and become a better writer. \

Annotated Diigo Link: http://diigo.com/0syan

Diigo Movie Review Annotation

For this assignment, I read the movie review titled, "The Dark Night (Surp)rises," by Aanchal Johri, which was posted on Silver Chips Online. The review begins with an introductory statement setting the tone of the review and implying that the writer enjoyed the movie. The reviewer focuses on the plot throughout most of the review, then goes on to critique the character development. Johri then goes on to talk about the cinematographic aspects of the movie for a paragraph, discussing topics such as the soundtrack and car chase scenes. The opinions are focused on in the end of the review, but a few opinionated statements are thrown in throughout the entire movie review. Dramatic aspects of the movie were never discussed. The tone of the movie review is critical at times, but mostly takes a casual tone.

Regarding the quarterly movie review, I believe that we should have as much freedom as possible in order to make the assignment enjoyable. The only requirement should be that the three aspects of film should be included, critiqued, and portrayed in some way. Other than that, there should be freedom as to the way we would like to write it. Also, instead of always having a typed movie review, we could tie it the assignment in to what we are learning in class. We could make videos to persuade others to watch the video we watched, for instance, when we learn about persuasion in class.

Annotated Link: http://diigo.com/0suf3

First Blog Post

Hi, my name is Leila, pronounced Lay-luh. I'm Ethiopian and Muslim. I hate chocolate, but I love cake. I enjoy taking pictures, listening to music and writing. I love the Redskins. I play volleyball and I run track.

I like all aspects of film making, but mostly the actual filming of the project. I was in the Humanities program in middle school, so I've had a lot of experience with film. One of my favorite film projects was Personal Profiles from seventh grade. For this project, we had to find someone to interview about their profession, and make it into an interview show, including commercials. I enjoyed this project because everyone got a chance to perform each job from behind the scenes, such as technical director, cameras, and director. Another fun film project I have done is a NYC documentary about a person we interviewed. It was interesting to see everyone's different interpretations and methods of portraying the information the interviewee revealed.

There are several ways we can use this blog. One way is to keep group members and teachers updated on the progress of the group when doing group work. Also, we could post our projects online on our blog so that it's easier to grade and find. The blog can also be used to share helpful sources with others.

Image source: Washington Redskins Helmet