Narrative 1

Introduction

This narrative unit encompasses the act of telling stories through different mediums including digital art and film. I used different Adobe apps like Illustrator, Photoshop, Premiere Pro and ProTools. I created different projects for each of my classes that all corresponded with the narrative unit. In English, I wrote a flash fiction story where I had to practice my creative writing skills and make an interesting story for people to read. I enjoyed this process because I was able to make up characters and a setting then design it in Digital Media. I used Illustrator to make cover art for my flash fiction story, and used ProTools to edit an audio recording I made of my story. We also had more assignments this unit in Digital Media including a parody song, and learning how to use CSS and HTML in WordPress. In Film, we drafted, filmed and edited a narrative film that practiced our camera and Premiere Pro skills.

I valued these narrative projects because I continued to improve working with Adobe apps, as well as improving my storytelling skills. I enjoyed telling stories through different modes of art and pushing the limits of my creativity. I learned how to make an interesting plot and thinking of new ideas in English, while I learned new technical and editing tricks in film. I also learned how to make digital art which I had no prior experience in. This narrative unit helped me grow as an artist and broadened my skillset in all of my classes at Freestyle which I will continue to use outside of class.

Story

In English we worked on a flash fiction story. I crafted an idea, made characters, and outlined to make the best story possible. I created the audio by using my audio recorder device, then uploading the recording to ProTools. Then, I edited out any unnecessary noise, added SFX, and quiet music to the beginning and end of the track.

I made the sounds slowly die out to avoid any sudden changes in sound. My ProTools skills advanced greatly through this project. Here is the audio of my short story “The Shadow’s Halo” below.

The Shadow’s Halo

I enjoyed this creative writing process. I edited and revised until I was left with my final draft. I wanted to write a story outside of my comfort zone, and make an exciting descriptive story. My final idea landed as a girl who wants to be a playwright, and she had been writing for a long time. The reader follows her journey as she grapples with what she wants her future to look like.

This assignment pushed me to think outside the box, and develop an interesting story arc that could be relatable to readers.

Illustrations

I used Illustrator to make custom images, banners and graphic designs. This has been a useful skill to practice, and I have enjoyed learning how to make digital art. I made my short story art on illustrator as shown above, an exquisite corpse illustration, and printed an image I drew on a tote bag. Here is the exquisite corpse image below.

This was an interesting project because we could practice using the pen tool in Illustrator, and think of a new idea of our choice. In the end, all of our images were compiled to make something new. I liked how the project turned out. Along with an exquisite corpse, we made an illustrator design of our choice to print on an object or clothing. I chose cloth art and printed my image on a tote bag. Here is the online design below.

Title: Choices

Music Production

During the narrative unit, we also worked on music production using ProTools. Our main project was writing, singing, and producing a parody song. I used a song by the Beatles “Imagine” because it had a simple structure making it easier to create new lyrics with matching syllables.

To the left are my parody lyrics. This assignment helped me to think creatively and practice humor in music. We were working on this project right in the middle of studying for finals. This gave me the inspiration to write my song centering around a world with no finals.

The most difficult part of this project was editing the audio. I had to adjust the volume and transitions, so they all matched, and soften any harsh syllables that I sang. The editing of the audio on ProTools was the longest portion of the project.

Film

For the narrative unit, we worked on a narrative short film of our choice. My idea was to make a funny heartwarming story about a high school girl who wants to ask a guy to a dance at the end of the week. We started by working in the pre-production phase where we drew a storyboard of every single shot we needed in our film. We had to think of the framing, how our characters are produced, and the story structure prior to filming. My film partner and I made over 80 cards to make our storyboard come to life. I found this one of the most difficult parts of the process because we had to visualize every part of our story and finalize everything in a short time span. Then, we moved on to the production process where we filmed our actors. I worked on my directing skills and worked with different settings and times of day to make the best quality shots. The last part of the filming process was the post-production phase. I used Premiere Pro to edit, color grade, and add effects to the film. This was the most time consuming part of the film process because we had to make sure the pacing and story all made sense to the audience.

The biggest project of this unit was our narrative film. The film is called “Valentine” because the main character is trying to ask a guy to the Valentines Day Dance by the end of the week. Her name is also Valentine. I thought this film had a cute premise. Here it is below.

Synopsis

The film stayed pretty similar to the synopsis I wrote at the beginning of the project. This was written before the storyboard and all the details of the film, but it gives an overview and an interesting comparison to the final product.

Outten_Kylie Synopsis

Valentine

The film stars a teenage girl named Valentine. She starts at school and she has a goal to speak to her hallway crush before the school dance at the end of the week. The first act starts with an establishing shot of the bleachers, her usual spot to sit. She then goes to class and Valentine is shown looking at her crush. She then writes a note on a yellow piece of paper. She signs the note and folds it up. She then gets called on by the teacher (shown by him knocking on her desk, to avoid showing his face). This snaps her out of her trance and the class carries on. Then the bell rings and everyone gets up and moves to the hallway. The camera starts on a poster in the hallway that says there is a Valentine’s day school dance the upcoming Friday, and there are 3 days left. This will pan into the hallway. She goes to give her crush the note, but then he turns a corner and she rethinks it and puts the note away.

Act two starts with a montage of her going through classes, syncing herself out of talking to him. There are scenes of her just missing the opportunity to talk to him when he turns a corner, or just missing each other altogether. It will show her slowly losing motivation. In one class, her crush will drop a notebook she sees him walking away and she goes to give it back. She gets her note ready. When she reaches him and gives his book back. She then freezes and clutches her note. Instead of giving it to him she hurries away. She becomes frustrated that she can’t work up the nerve to talk to him. She throws the note away. Above the trash bin there is a poster announcing that the dance is that night. She gives up (abyss moment).

In act three she ends up going to the dance alone. She is standing in the corner off to the side. She walks outside about to leave, when she sees her crush sitting on the bleachers outside alone as well. She finally gets the courage to talk to him, and sits next to him. He gives her a note that was very similar to her’s, except it is on a green paper (final scene). This represents the same but different.