Explorations

Introduction

How can you find, explore, and/or expand your passion?

The Explorations Project is an end-of-year section of Freestyle. It’s a time to explore more unique things, or we are passionate about. All Junior Freestyle students will explore their passions while utilizing advanced skills that address 21st Century Skills. For my Explorations Project, I chose to research more about the elements of movie posters, then create my own using Adobe applications. This was my choice for my project because I’m transitioning from being a Film Student this year to being a Design student next year, and it seemed like something that is sort of like a transition project between the two.

I’ve also always been interested in posters and design, as seen here. If you were to ever see my room, it’s filled with random posters that I’ve collected from various places over time.

Process

For my project, I first did a lot of research about movie posters and the elements that make each one. Here are some of my planning docs.

This is the behind-the-scenes of creating a poster for the Dune movie using Adobe Photoshop.

This is the behind-the-scenes of creating a poster for the Poor Things movie using Adobe Illustrator.

Final Posters

Along with creating 3 posters, I also created an informational video about the different elements of a movie poster. To make this, I used Adobe Premiere Pro to edit.

Here’s my final video! I’m really happy with how it came out.

Reflection

What I benefitted from this project was learning to do something that wasn’t taught to me. I’m so used to just copying what is taught to me and making my own, but I found it to be a really fun experience to just choose anything that I’m interested in and make it. It was also a difficult project because the timing was all independent, so I had to keep focused and on task in order to finish in time. I actually worked on this project throughout the whole month we were given, and I finished early and wasn’t stressed the night before, which I’m really proud of.

Music Recording

Me and my friend Mia recently watched Whiplash, and we love the song Take 5. She is extremely talented at the Piano, so we decided that she would play the Piano and I would attempt to play the drums along with her.

Artist Statement:

The inspiration for this song was from the movie Whiplash which we recently watched. The soundtrack inspired us to record a similar song. I learned in this process that although I don’t know how to play the drums, it’s a lot of fun to just get in the studio and try and make a song. I value learning the behind-the-scenes of the music-making process and utilizing all of the equipment was a cool experience.

This is what the Pro Tools interface looks like that we used to edit the audio tracks!

Lyrical Essay

A Lyrical Essay is a type of essay that doesn’t follow the traditional norms of an essay. A common style of a Lyrical Essay utilizes something called a Hermit Crab strategy. This means that you choose something that acts as a metaphor, usually something casual or relatable, but you turn it into a metaphor for a deeper story. My ‘Hermit Crab’ shell is a types of ocean wave. I particularly found the work by Ross Gay extremely moving, and I found his work inspiring as I attempted to write my own.

Beach
Death is not the end but rather a transformation into new life forms.

Grandma Linda always told me this, and I used to wonder why. Every moment spent with her she talked about nature, always gushing about a new flower or bird she had discovered. “Did you know that the California Quail nest can contain as many as 28 eggs?” This is where I first came up with her nickname, Q.
We would sit at the beach, toes in the sand, letting the drone of the waves lull us towards sleep. I’ve never felt more comfortable with anyone than with her in those moments.

Point
Ocean waves have a rhythm, externally seeming relentless and unpredictable, but patterns return to themselves over time.

When Nana died in 4th grade, I felt the initial shock of the icy waves. At first, I waded in the water, shaky but held steady. Seeing my father cry was a type of pain I had thought only possible by cracking a bone or ripping flesh with a knife. All I wanted was to relieve him of the pain we shared.

Attending the funeral, I expected numbness, fearing I might “embarrass” myself by crying in front of my family. As soon as I saw the open casket, saltwater tears streamed from my eyes.

Double-up
The rhythm of the waves, relentless yet patterned, mirrors our journey through grief.

When I get back from school, the house is silent. My mom just got off the phone with my Grandpa, receiving the news of his heart failure. What is the reaction I should give?

Although I’ve never been close with my grandpa, death never seems real until it happens to ones around us. Watching my mom navigate the slow loss of her parents hits me as a stark reminder of what my future holds.

1. A sandbank may stay for months or disappear in a few days. The eaves may be long and gentle or hollow and powerful, depending on factors such as the time.
2. Cornell University, “California Quail” May 29, 2022. Accessed June 3, 2024. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/California_Quail/overview#:~:text=The%20California%20Quail%20is%20California's,as%20%22egg%2Ddumping.%22. Its stiffly accented Chi-ca-go call is a common sound of the chaparral and other brushy areas of California and the Northwest. Often seen scratching at the ground in large groups or dashing forward on blurred legs, California Quail are common but unobtrusive. They flush to cover if scared, so approach them gently.
3. Austin Neil, “7 types of waves surfers should know about” March 10, 2020. Accessed May 29, 2024. https://www.pacificsurf.com/7-types-of-waves-every-surfer-should-know-about/. A point break forms beside a headlock. It usually breaks over sand or rock. These waves peel for much longer than beach or reed breaks.
4. Green Light, “Unique grandma names to store nana in your phone”, May 28, 2024. Accessed June 3, 2024. https://greenlight.com/learning-center/parenting-and-family/grandma-names. Nana: A timeless and endearing term, “Nana” is frequently used in English-speaking countries, with origins that trace back to ancient times. It is thought to be derived from the Italian word “nonna,” meaning grandmother. This name embodies warmth and simplicity, making it beloved across generations.
5. This wave is the result of two waves meeting and coming together. As a result, you get a very powerful and large wave. Other than this, you should be able to identify where a wave is going. A left-hand wave, for example is a wave that peels or breaks to the left from the surfer’s point of view.

Bibliography:

Austin Neil, “7 types of waves surfers should know about” March 10, 2020. Accessed May 29, 2024. https://www.pacificsurf.com/7-types-of-waves-every-surfer-should-know-about/ I used this source to help me separate my paragraphs by type of wave. I also previously didn't know much about waves and it helped me understand it using basic terminology.
Cornell University, “California Quail” May 29, 2022. Accessed June 3, 2024. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/California_Quail/overview#:~:text=The%20California%20Quail%20is%20California's,as%20%22egg%2Ddumping.%22. This source answered a lot of questions and had an interesting point of view about quails. I always connected quails with my grandma and so I loved learning more about something that I associate with her.
Green Light, “Unique grandma names to store nana in your phone”, May 28, 2024. Accessed June 3, 2024. https://greenlight.com/learning-center/parenting-and-family/grandma-names. This source was interesting! Because I talk so much about grandparents, I thought it was really cute to read about the different types of names that people use for their grandparents. It makes you realize how different cultures and family traits affect our familial relationships.