“Who am I?”

Our Reflections unit was really fun. The main goal was to learn more about ourselves through projects like the personal essay in English, the mandala in Digital Media, and the video essay in Film.

During the process, I discovered a lot about myself, especially through the video essay and personal essay. Since both projects were quite big, I had a good amount of time to think about my values and what really motivates me.

Mandala

For our mandala project, we had to make a piece of art that reflected our identity and looked cool. We used Illustrator and made a template so that each part of the mandala was the same, creating a symmetrical effect. My mandala was a bunch of my passions and things I like.

My inspiration for these colors were my favorite colors along with colors to match the meanings of the designs. I struggled with finding the full color scheme and which color goes with what. One thing I wold change is to the designs to make them more complicated. I am most proud of how the designs and colors relate. There are many small details that are important. This made me appreciate other people’s ways of expression and art.

My inspiration was who I am and my thought process. I learned that my thought process is very messy and I learned how to analyze each thought. I struggled with deciding what to draw and how the drawing could represent myself. I am most proud of how it looked and turned out. There are many small details that mean a lot that came out great. This project allowed me to appreciate everyones way of expressing themselves.

Personal Essay

In English class, our main focus was crafting personal statements for upcoming college applications. This tied into the theme of “reflections” as we engaged in various writing exercises to uncover our fundamental values and significant objects in our lives. I decided to talk about my unique experience confronting a religion in India.

Motion Graphics

During this unit, I learned how to produce motion graphics in Adobe After Effects. I learned how to use rotoscoping, create text animations, and how to sync animation with audio.

In class, we learned to match moving pictures with sound using After Effects. We played around with different ways to show sound waves that go along with the audio. I liked getting hands-on and being creative with something I enjoy.

Film

In Film class, my peers and I made use of our newly built campus and photography studio to start with a brief greenscreen project. Additionally, we honed our skills in screenwriting, production, and time management by collaborating on the creation of two short films.

In this unit, our main job was to make a video essay that showed how our minds work. It was a bit challenging because I had to figure out what makes me unique beyond just what I do. I chose to talk about how I like things to be balanced and even, and how it’s important to handle tough situations.

** Insert Relflections film not on youtube yet***