Blog 24 - Last Presentation Reflection

"Cinema is the most beautiful fraud in the whole world." - Jean-Luc Godard

1) Positive Statement: What are you most proud of in your block presentation and/or your senior project? Why?

A: I feel overall, I am most proud of my content explanation of my first answer (aka my best answer). The answer, although simple on the surface, has a lot of jargon in relative to psychological terms and concepts. I felt as though complex, I was able to bring it down to a level of explanation for the typical layman to understand, resulting in the overall comprehension of my answer. In addition, I feel like as an overall senior project, I am most proud of my independent components. With these projects, I was able to fully express myself as a filmmaker and explore techniques I had never previously thought to do.

(2) Questions to Consider

a. What assessment would you give yourself on your block presentation?  Use the component contract to defend that assessment.

AE P AP CR NC

A: I think for my final presentation I deserve an AE. Overall, I believe that I was able to hit all of my major content points and was as clear as possible in order to gain audience comprehension of answers. In addition, I filled my presentation with different demonstrations and examples across many different forms of media to convey a certain point or back up certain points. I feel as though these different examples that I was able to get across and make sense to the audience members. In addition, I feel as though I had good enunciation and speaking tone to the students.

b. What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project? Use the component contract to defend that assessment.

AE P AP CR NC

A: I believe for my final assessment on my overall senior project that I deserve an AE as well. I feel as though I learned so much this year over the course of the project. I was able to gain so much from the project itself and learn new and interesting points about what it is about the psychological aspects of filmmaking. Over the project itself, my research has always been up to a high standard and to the utmost quality in relevance to usable sources for my final presentation and I-Search. My I-Search was completed with hard work and the maximized amount of effort I possibly could in order to release and produce such content. My interviews were some of the best resources I’ve ever received as well as some of the best advice I’d ever been given as a filmmaker.

(3) What worked for you in your senior project?

A: I think as a collective project, the senior project was a very good experience for me overall. Throughout the entire process, I was able to grow in knowledge and had new opportunities that I would have never been able to experience had it not been the ability to participate in this project. I really thoroughly enjoyed the production of my independent components and the journey of researching content I am genuinely interested in.

(4) (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your senior project?

A: Honestly, like I’ve already said, I enjoyed the project as a whole. There were a few moments where I did think certain things were tedious, but those were more in moments of procrastination and sleep deprivation. I wouldn’t do anything different for my project. I am proud of the way it turned out.

(5) Finding Value: How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors? Be specific and use examples.

A: The senior project itself has allowed for so many new opportunities for me. It has allowed for personal growth and exploration into the film industry and research on a balance-able level. Through my project, I have made so many relations and began building my network of people for relationships in the field. Because of the project, I have been able to meet some of my biggest inspirations into my drive to be a filmmaker. It was a dream come true to gain advice and knowledge from such professionals that have shaped my career choice and aspirations.

Blog 18 - Answer 2

"Cinematography is infinite in its possibilities... much more so than music or language." 

- Conrad Hall

1.  What is your EQ?

A: How can a filmmaker maximize the affective domain of the audience’s viewing experience?

2.  What is your first answer? (In complete thesis statement format)

A: A filmmaker can maximize the affective domain of the audience’s viewing experience by utilizing screenwriting elements to depict an engaging plot and colorful assembly of characters.

3.  What is your second answer? (In complete thesis statement format)

A: A filmmaker can maximize the affective domain of the audience’s viewing experience by applying proper cinematography techniques to provide an aesthetic and visceral connection to the images portrayed on the screen.

4.  List three reasons your answer is true with a real-world application for each.

A:

a.) Angles alone can provide a sense of emotion in the way something is portrayed on camera. In the real-world certain things are depicted to be grandeur or minuscule to our eyes making us feel the ways we do when we see them. For instance, when we see a towering skyscraper closer to the foot of the building itself, we can truly see the breathtaking marvel that stands before us. However if you were to look at the same skyscraper 10 miles away on a hill, you wouldn’t have the same stunning reaction.

b.) Lighting can make a shot more interesting and appealing. In the real world, shadows and light sources are everywhere. However, in film, light tends to be more dramatized in order to get darker shadows to provide information to the audience in terms of visuals. With lighting, a filmmaker can chose what they want to show an audience and how they want to.

c.) Composition is a big deal and get us to feel uneasy in certain ways when viewing a film. Film usually has a list of normal guidelines and standards that are typically followed, like leading lines and the rule of thirds. However, filmmakers can sometimes deliberately break these rules in order to make an audience on edge about what’s about to be viewed on screen. It’s a very strategic technique, but usually works if executed properly.

5.  What printed source best supports your answer?

A: One of my best sources so far with my research that supports this answer is a book called The Five C’s of Cinematography by Joseph V. Mascelli. The book itself explores many of the techniques that need to be understood in order to properly convey visuals on a screen. These are concepts like continuity, composition, etc.

6.  What other source supports your answer?

A: Some of the other sources that highly support my answer are the notes I took from a college film class I took at Cal Poly Pomona regarding certain angles and the emotions that are conveyed with them. In addition, I found a filmmaker’s handbook to composition that really helped me grasp the concept of certain aspects such as lighting from teacherweb.com.

7.  Tie this together with a concluding thought.

A: Filmmaking itself is a very diverse field of study with many different aspects affecting the way an audience views and ultimately reacts to it in the end. Cinematography is one of the most essential and crucial elements in a film that can make an audience experience certain emotions. In the end, a cinematographer chooses what to show an and what type of information to provide them so the story can progress.

Blog 15 - Lesson 2 Reflection

“The most amazing thing is that every single person who sees a movie brings a whole set of unique experiences. Through careful manipulation, you can get everybody to clap at the same time, to hopefully laugh at the same time, and to be afraid at the same time.” - Steven Spielberg

1.) What are you most proud of in your Lesson 2 Presentation and why?

A: From my Lesson 2 presentation, I am most proud of my hook activity. I took a very big risk with the way my activity ran and wasn’t quite sure the way people were going to react. In addition, people were only going to react if the execution of the activity was done properly. I was able to successfully get my timing down and present it in order to achieve the precise reaction I was looking for.

2.)

a.) What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 2 Presentation (self-assessment)?

   AE P AP CR NC

A: Personally, I feel very confident in the way my second lesson went and believe I deserve an AE. I honestly think this has probably been one of the best and most confident presentations I’ve done over the course of my four years of I-Poly.

b.) Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 2 component contract.

A: Through the component contract, I feel that my lesson altogether was pretty solid. Personally I feel that my research did show a depth of 6 months of knowledge and that it was done in a very professional manner. Like I said, this has probably been the most comfortable and confident I’ve ever been when actually up in front and presenting my information. My answer itself was very clear to the audience and the time in my presentation was used as effectively as possible. I didn’t let a minute go to waste. As for my activity, I think it went fairly well. I think the audience learned effectively from it and that they were able to apply the knowledge acquired from my presentation in order to execute the task at hand.  In addition, my body language was pretty good and I was very articulate and passionate about the topic I was presenting.

3.) What worked for you in your Lesson 2?

A: I think my general flow worked very well in my lesson. At the beginning, it was one of my biggest concerns when coming up to present. In addition, I think I had the perfect amount of information to talk about. One of the biggest issues I have with presentations is that I usually have too much to talk about. For this particular presentation, I feel that I relayed the proper amount without feeling that I robbed the audience from further learning and explanation.

4.) What didn't work? If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 2?

A: I think my conclusion could’ve been a little more articulate and summarized. Looking back now, there are a couple of points I wished I put more emphasis on and reiterated in order to get the most solid foundation of understanding for the audience. Having the opportunity to fix it, I would have restated my essential question and remind the audience about my answer in case it wasn’t made clear in the beginning of they had simply just forgotten.

5.) What do you think your answer #2 is going to be?

A: I think for my second answer, I want to explore the idea of production value and cinematography. I want to see the ways in which visual stimulants can affect a viewer in their emotional state when watching a film.

Blog 11 - Lesson 1 Reflection

"Filmmaking is the chance to live many lifetimes." - Robert Altman

1. What are you most proud of in your lesson, and why?

A: I am most proud of my hook from my lesson. I spent a lot of effort and work to try and put together a slideshow of pictures together that would feel most like a teaser trailer since the first lesson is essentially just a sneak preview of the final lesson. In addition, it took me quite a while to memorize the lines and practice it to properly convey the general feeling of a film commercial.

2. What assessment would you give yourself on your lesson? Explain why you earned that grade using evidence from the component contract.

A: I feel as though I earned a P. Based on the rubric, I did believe I hit all the technical aspects (enunciation, volume, eye contact, etc.) as well as all the information foundation such as the referenced, published article, real world examples, and the reference to my interview with my mentor. I also did complete all the ‘P’ consideration points such as the 8 minute minimum presentation length, use of topic specific props and pictures, as well as the completion of my lesson plans on time.

3. If you could go back, what would you change about your lesson?  How can you use that knowledge to give a better Lesson 2?

A: If I could go back and change my lesson, I’d change some of my speaking points. I feel like I didn’t explain my point about the “suspension of disbelief” as well as I had wanted to The reason being that I was very nervous and scatterbrained as the timer quickly counted down. I feel as though I can improve this in Lesson 2 by staying more composed and collected since the maximum length is a bit longer and I will be able to get most, if not all, my points across.