Reflections

In the reflections unit we focused on answering the question “Who am I?” In English, we focused on finding essence objects and our core values we completed assignments and writing projects based on our values. In Film, I made a short reflection video explaining something interesting about myself.

I learned to push myself to combine my personal values with artistry which I was able to explore through using new software. Through all the reflection projects, I was able to use my imagination coupled with technology to learn new skills. One of the assignments I completed in Digital Media was the “Core Values Video.” I recorded my core values, edited, and animated on Aftereffects.

Mandala

For the Mandala project, I designed a symmetric mandala with vibrant color and a variety of objects. I created digital art to enhance this piece on Illustrator. I grew in my appreciation of symmetry and developing my digital art abilities.

Artist Statements

Here is my artist statement for my my black and white mandala. I was inspired by nature, and my favorite animal is an elephant which is why they are displayed throughout my mandala. It was difficult to think of what to draw that would go together nicely when reflected. When I started drawing it became easier to add and delete what didn’t work. If I were to change anything I would have made the mandala more cohesive. I am most proud of the little details that were added to the piece. This project taught me to appreciate symmetry in art.

Here is my artist statement for my colored mandala. I am most proud of how colorful the project is because I tried to make it very happy and uplifting. If I could change anything I would make more of a color scheme, but I think the wide range of colors work too. I will use these mandala skills in the future, and have a newfound appreciation for symmetry in art.

Here is my artist statement for my laser engraved mandala. Seeing the mandala printed out, I appreciate the time and effort I put into this project more. I think it shows my personality, and creativity well. If I could change anything, I would add more detail to the outer edges of my mandala, but I am happy with the ensign result.

Personal Essay

With college applications a big part of the beginning of senior year, a large part of my time this semester has been taken up writing college essays. I wrote passionately and was inspired by influential experiences in my life for my main personal essay. I think this fits well into the reflections units prompt “Who am I?” Here is a recording of my personal essay that I edited on Adobe Audition.

My personal essay discusses the special education classes I am a teacher assistant for and what I learned from working with the students.

It has been a highlight of my high school experience, and I have learned so much. I had known most of the kids from being on the board of Spartan Buddies, a club that fosters friendships between students with disabilities and their peers, but immersing myself in the classrooms allowed me to make even deeper connections.

Motion Graphics

I learned how to animate text on Aftereffects. This is a great tool to have because I can now edit videos in film, as well as edit animation. The software is similar to Premiere Pro which I work with more consistently which made adapting and understanding Aftereffects easier.

We were challenged to make out own animations sing the skills we had practiced. This is what I completed.

We also practiced rotoscoping which is popularly used in commercial making and feature length films. I enjoyed learning rotoscoping because I can now apply it to my future film projects.

My graphics and audio was a practice exercise to become familiar with the tools Aftereffects has to offer.

Film

For the reflections unit in film we made a reflections video essay, developed our green screen editing, and made stories come to life under a time crunch.

The reflections video essay was one of the bigger assignments this unit. We had to write, film, and edit a two minute video that shows people who we are. I took many creative avenues to make the video interesting while also philosophical.

We also had to make a minute video in one class period, which was a difficult task considering how long a film normally takes me to edit.

One of the most interesting and challenging assignments from this unit was the one minute video assignment. We all made stories one class to practice storyboarding not told we would have to film and edit the story. Once we were done our storyboards we not only were told we had to make the film, but we also had to swap stories with another group. After filming, there was a plot twist yet again where we had to give our footage to another group to edit.