Introduction
The narrative unit includes many different projects, and each class had different assignments. In this unit I used Premiere Pro, Illustrator, ProTools, and Photoshop. For English, I wrote a flash fiction piece where I was able to use my imagination. For Digital Media, I recorded an essay where Pro Tools and was able to edit the recording and add sound affects. For Film, I created my first major film, a narrative film. This production consisted of storyboarding my ideas, directing actors, operating the camera, and then edit it with Premiere Pro. With these assignments I have been able to become more comfortable and comfortable with different digital softwares.
Story
In English, I created a flash fiction story called “Through A Different Lens.” I decided to write about a a boy who had just recently moved to Truckee, California and had been struggling with the change. One evening his goes on a hike with his family and has an unexpected experience that will leave him with an appreciation for nature. Once I finished writing the story, I was able to record it in ProTools. Here I was able to edit the audio and add various sound effects to make the story more engaging.
Through A Different Lens
The sky was turning colorless, the air was crisp, and tree branches were bare while warm colored leaves were stacking on top of each other, forming piles on the ground. It was reaching evening twilight as Fred and his family set off on a family hike. Fred was wearing his newly purchased Truckee High School t-shirt. Fred and his family were all in shorts, and Fred was wearing his everyday Converse sneakers. They were heading up Deer Creek Trail, a winding path that zig-zagged up a mountain so high, Fred believed it touched the clouds. As Fred’s parents led, Fred lingered behind, glued to his phone. He noticed his toes going numb and sharp pain piercing his arches. The trail ahead of him was rugged, filled with moss covered rocks and muddy puddles. “Isn’t this beautiful, son?” his father shouted, drawing Fred’s attention to his surroundings. “Eh,” Fred muttered before releasing an audible and dramatic sigh.
Without hesitation, Fred’s eyes returned to his phone only to notice his screen had gone black. His phone had died. Instantly, he felt the weight of his thoughts take over. Fred turned his attention back to the trail, only to notice that his parents were already out of sight. Fred’s heart began to race and his breathing became heavy. He felt alone, hopeless. He shouted for his parents though the only response he heard was the sounds of nature. The wind started to pick up and the branches swayed as more leaves fell to the ground.
A bright burgundy leaf caught Fred’s eyes as it danced in the wind. Without much of a thought, Fred followed the leaf’s path, which led him off the trail. He wandered into the depths of the lush forest, eventually finding himself surrounded by towering Redwood trees that he had never seen before. The musky smell of nature hung in the air and flooded his nose, numerous pine needles crunched under his feet, and the tree branches formed a canopy over him. He felt the crisp wind pass through his thin cotton t-shirt and chill his skin. Goosebumps began to surface as the last few rays of sunshine briefly grazed his face.
Quickly, Fred’s attention turned to the sound of shuffling that hinted at potential danger. He watched anxiously as the bushes in front of him shifted. His eyes frantically scanned the bushes while his feet remained rooted in the ground. Suddenly, a fawn emerged from the bushes and joined him. Fred froze. The fawn studied Fred for a moment, and then began walking cautiously towards him. In response, Fred took an immediate step back. Fred watched and observed. The deer was covered in stunning brown fur and was spotted with a few white patches along its sides. It had no antlers, delicate small ears, and slender legs. As the fawn continued to close the gap between them, Fred was overcome by the calm and gentle presence of the deer. As his attention focused on the deer, he heard the nearby stream weaving through the forest.
As the deer leaned in closer to Fred, he slowly reached his hand out in an attempt to graze the deer’s neck. Her fur was soft and her body was warm. Fred and the deer stood there, connected by each other’s silence and presence. The sounds that surrounded them started to go mute. Fred took a step closer. He moved his hand down the deer’s neck. He went to graze her back, though the moment was interrupted abruptly by the sound of voices nearby. The deer lifted its head. Her ears perked up. Her eyes opened widely, and without hesitation, the deer pranced off. Fred stood still as he watched her disappear into the shadows of the trees.
Once again Fred was alone. The sun was barely peeking over the mountain and daylight was soon to disappear. He heard the faint sounds of owls and crickets beginning to sing. Fred smiled as he turned around and headed back to the trail. He felt a sense of peace. As he approached the trail, he scanned his dim surroundings and started to run down towards the direction of his home. His feet ached with each step and the tips of his fingers started to turn purple. As he ran, he thought about the calm company of the deer. The deer showed him gentleness, comfort, and acceptance. As he ran, he let the crisp air flow into his nose while his cheeks turned a deeper red with each passing minute. Fred continued to smile as he ran down the trail. He sensed the feeling of belonging, a feeling he had been craving so dearly since moving.
Illustrations
In Digital Media, Illustrator is a platform that we use frequently. I have been able to created an exquisite corpse with classmates and I have also designed and made my own earrings. For the exquisite corpse project I really liked the collaborative aspect of it. I thought it was an interesting idea of designing something of your own while additionally combining it with other pieces of art. In the own choice project I enjoyed how much freedom we had to create a physical object of something that interested us most. Both of these assignments helped me become more comfortable with Illustrator and I have been able learn about the tools Illustrator offers.
Exquisite Corpse
Own Choice Project
Artist Statement
In this Illustrator Own Choice Project I created earrings. In order to create this piece I used wood and a metal earring hook. I was inspired to create this piece of art because I wanted to make a meaningful gift for my mom. When we were going through the examples in class I really liked earrings because it was something that I knew my mom would like and the idea of having them made by me was an interesting idea.
This project was unique and different to what I have done in Digital Media before because I was able to sketch an idea, recreate it digitally, and then create it physically. So far this year we have worked on a lot of Adobe programs, making digital illustrations, though this time we made a physical object. This was the first time we were able to take our design from Illustrator and make it into an actual object.
The process of constructing earrings was something very new to me, though it taught me two things. I learned how to take something I sketched and turn it into an Illustrator illustration, and I also learned how to turn an illustrator design into a physical object. When taking my sketch and turning it into an illustration on illustrator, I learned how to better use the pen tool. Since my sketch had many different shapes in it, the pen tool allowed me to follow the lines of my sketch precisely so that my trace was as accurate as possible. When taking the Illustrator design and turning it into a physical project, I learned how the machine in Mr. Florendo’s classroom can take your illustration from Illustrator and cut out the shapes perfectly onto a piece of wood.
With this project, I think I was able to become more comfortable with Illustrator. I am proud of the art I made and the fact that I was able to take something I sketched, and turn it into physical earrings. In the future, I can now use Illustrator more confidently and specifically use the pen tool more comfortably. I think that this project will help me in other aspects of my education because it taught me how to be more creative, and it also taught me that anything I create digitally can be also made physically. This project made me appreciate the thought and effort that others put into art because it allowed me to understand the process that goes into creating art.
Music
In Digital Media, I create experimental music in Pro Tools. I was able to try out different instruments and create music that was appealing to me. I used the piano, vacuum, boom drums, and other instruments as well. I found this assignment really interesting because I was something that I had never done before and it was rewarding creating my own music.
Artist Statement
For this piece, I didn’t have any expectations going into production. Making music was very new to me, something I had never attempted before, which made it interesting. I was inspired by the examples we listened to in class and found it fascinating that each song had a different tone and vibe to it. For this project, I really wanted to make a piece of music that was unique to me and something that I enjoyed listening to.
I am most proud of how I was able to combine multiple instruments to make a unique sound. Understanding how to use digital instruments was challenging at first, though once I got more practice, I found it really rewarding to listen to the music that I had created.
I valued learning how to use virtual instruments for music production because it allowed me to use instruments that I didn’t know how to play. Also, it allowed me to be creative and also helped me become more comfortable with Pro Tools. This project helped me learn about music production and the numerous steps needed to create a song.
Film
In the film narrative unit, we spent several months creating our first narrative film. At first we started by storyboarding which took a lot of time and thought. Originally, my partner and I had an abstract idea that we wanted to use for our film however after putting our ideas into the storyboard, we decided that the idea was more experimental rather than narrative focused. This was frustrating at first because we spent a lot of time creating our storyboards, however I am much happier now that we decided to choose a different story. Once we decided on our new story, we made a storyboard again. My partner and I ended up drawing around 100 cards that included every shot in our film. This took us a lot of time, though it ended up being super helpful when we started filming shots.
My partner Mia and I, decided to create “Dog Days.” This narrative is about two teenager neighbors who have a crush on each other, though they are both awkward and unsure how to express their feelings to each other. In the film, the boy is in charge of taking care of the girls dog, however not everything goes smoothly. This was the first big film I have created and it was definitely challenging, though also super rewarding! Filming all the clips we wanted, and even refilming some of them took a lot of time, though it was worth it in the end. After we got all of our shots, my partner and I then started editing in Premiere Pro. This film took countless hours to edit and finding the right music was challenging for us. We had to look on the internet for sound affect and music that fit the film well. Looking back now, I am super proud of the work my partner and I did and I am super happy with how it turned out.
Synopsis
Tim (boy), Laura (girl)
In the beginning of the story, Tim goes out to get the mail. When opening his mailbox, he looks over to his neighbors house and sees Laura standing with her dog in hand. Laura waves and smiles at Tim, though he is surprised to be noticed by her. Tim smiles nervously and waves timidly, grabs the mail and quickly runs inside, trying to avoid any longer of an interaction with Laura. Soon after, the doorbell rings. He looks through the window by the door, realizing Laura is at his doorstep. His heart begins to race and he takes a deep breath. He opens the door and Laura smiles with her dog in hand, indicating she needs him to petsit. Laura hands the dog over to Tim and heads to the library.
In the middle of the story, Tim is now alone with the dog Fred. Tim walks the dog to the living room and tries to entertain her. The dog is uninterested in Tim and walks over to the front door. Tim realized that the dog wants to go on a walk so he takes her outside. Without time for Tim to react, the dog starts taking off, running through down town and towards the library where Laura is. Tim chases after the dog. As the dog begins to get closer to the library, Tim begins to freak out. The dog ends up stopping right outside of the library where Laura is. Tim tries to get close to the dog without Laura seeing, hoping to get control of the dog though the dog takes off again. The chase continues.
In the end of the story, Tim is alone, without the dog and extremely tired and disappointed in himself. He walks down his street and sits on his front steps. He sits there upset and moments later Laura’s car starts coming down the street. Tim knows that Laura is going to be frustrated with him and Tim looses all hope of impressing her. Laura parks her car and approaches Tim, confused because she doesn’t see her dog. Tim is about to explain everything to Laura, though a miracle happens and the dog walks out from behind the bushes of his front yard. They both see the dog and hurry over to pet her. Tim is in relief that he didn’t have to explain what happened and Laura is happy to be reunited with her dog. The film ends with them both petting the dog happily together.