Introduction
What does it mean to tell a story? This project allowed me to answer this question with technical, coherent, and vocal methods. In each class, I learned effective ways to communicate a story by writing, leading, listening, producing, and editing. Furthermore, allowing to express myself and my own story in a multitude of processes.
Narrative has taught me plentiful of lessons that I hold value with. In English, I valued the guidelines of writing a profile because it’s important to understand how to articulate and describe people. In Digital Media, I valued the long process of audio editing to make the listener feel more connected with the story. In Film, I valued the storyboarding process in order for the viewer to perceive the story differently. Additionally, I improved as a storyteller but identifying the progressions of a character visually and making it more dramatically with audio. Also, I improved as a digital artist by learning an entire new program, Adobe Illustrator; which allowed me to express myself with digital creativity and freedom.
Story
The assignment in English was about writing a Flash Fiction. Flash Fiction is about 500-1000 words that is comprised of a story with a plot and character development. In addition, our goal was to describe emotions, situations by not telling it outright. The inspiration for my story was to write about an event that would create a little bit of conflict between two characters.
I produced the audio version of my story by using Pro Tools. First, I had to record my voice in an audio booth recorder. Then, I edited parts of my voice and added sound effects to help guide the viewer into immersion in my story. I valued the little sound effects that was described into my writing and creating a situation where the viewer would hear it.
Tuning Out
The band room was cramped with violins, tubas, cellos, and clarinets that were scattered around the room. Assuredly, no student was able to practice their part in such a loud space that was meant for everyone. Henceforth, there were small and intimate rooms that could only fit an instrument and one to three students before being crammed with one another. Specifically, in the small piano room that was often associated with the space of an incubator, it didn’t bother White. Quickly, White shuffled himself closer to the wall as Melody gently opened and closed the door. Spending time with Melody was White’s favorite pastime. He admired her beauty and succumbed to his own delusional thoughts; that even the gods aligned with her symphony. Certainly, White was enamored by her beauty, style, and elegant mannerisms that never changed throughout their school years. Although, he never took into consideration the way he dressed, his lack of facial expressions, or his own actions that his classmates would also begin to take notice–especially Melody. White and Melody’s consistent differences made them prominent, yet standoffish whenever they proceeded to collaborate with each other.
During lunch, Melody stepped into the classroom and paused for a moment in silence. As her eyes gazed upon the classroom, she noticed White. Then, Melody swiftly smiled with her teeth glistening. In return, White offered an awkward grin but tried his best not to look embarrassing in front of her. After their brief encounter, White would start to continue his routine on the piano and Melody walked towards him and sat down. Melody patiently waited for White to finish his piece, then immediately started playing. Melody did not meticulously breathe deeply before playing. Instead, her smile immediately diminished and she her piece by harshly pounding her fingers against the keys. She grunted profusely as her eyebrows furrowed downwards. White took note of Melody’s behavior and he leaned over, attempting to whisper. But before he could get a word in, the discordant noise bloomed in an instant. White bounced away from Melody as he didn’t wish to provoke her. Melody came to a halt and took a deep breath in. Now sitting in silence, White recalled the time that their teacher had called her a prodigy, and so White thought, How can a prodigy who consistently plays the notes correctly–is not? Again, White didn’t want to put unnecessary pressure on Melody and simply rejected his thoughts. Two minutes later, Melody let out a deep sigh and attempted to play less vigorously. His thoughts became convoluted in his mind. He began to whisper under his breath in hopes that Melody would question his eerie voice, but restrained himself. Melody saw White’s quick gesture and she raised her eyebrow. Melody was not in the mood for small talk with anyone, especially White. She stared at him for longer, gazing into his eyes. Abruptly, Melody closed her eyes.
White questioned, “Is there a problem, Melody?”
Suddenly, White looked over to the other side of the piano and saw the droplets of water that were coming from Melody’s eyes. The sounds of her sniffling stopped White from continuing onwards. His presumed perspective of Melody started to sound like a bad Harmony. He wished he knew why and wanted to ask her all of the other questions he had in store for her. However, He knew his sudden outburst of questions was unjust. Evidently, White slumped over the piano and the feeling of guiltiness hovered over. Melody stood up and swung open the door. Before taking a step out the door, she slowly turned back and stared at him.
“I’m just having a hard day and I thought you would care since you were my friend. But you know what? I never wanted to be your friend anyway.” Melody announced as she slammed the door behind her. Subsequently, White was taken aback to what she had said. His face fell onto the piano, making another screeching sound. Defeated, White never knew that Melody thought of him in that manner. As a result, he established a new belief in Melody’s tainted reputation of perfection. White came to his own conclusion that Melody and him had a similarity between them; the discordant sounds they both made represented the way they felt in some manner. He now understood, Maybe she wasn’t so different from me after all.
Illustrations
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Music Production
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