Explorations Project
Introduction
“How can you find, explore, and/or expand your passion?”
For the Explorations Project, all Junior Freestyle students will explore their own passion and research a new skill. As a film student, we were asked to do a research project and explore a topic related to film we wanted to know more about. The majority of the project is research and knowledge, but we also have to create a final product to show our mastery. I chose to research music videos for my explorations project because I enjoy watching music videos and it is something I might want to do in the future.
Process
The first step I took for this project was reaching out to my friend who makes music and asked if she was interested in making a music video. She said yes, and so I started brainstorming ideas and planning the video. Next, was the research portion of the project. I researched the history of music videos, how to become a music video director, client relationship, different types of music videos, pre-production, production, and post production. After collecting research, it was time to film. I used my research to help me use effective film strategies, keep my video focused, and editing to music.
Here is a treatment I created for this music video. A treatment is made during pre-production and it is the idea for the music video in written form mixed with photos, references, color palettes, and the synopsis of what the visual will be like.
Final Production
Reflection
I really enjoyed this project because I was able to learn more and do something I am truly interested in. I valued the creative freedom we had with this project. I benefited as a digital artist because I learned a new skill.
Music Recording
The Music Recording Project is to encourage Freestyle students to use the music studio. This project was really fun and I worked with Jessie and Julia. Together, we created a cover to the song Riptide by Vance Joy. We all learned how to play an instrument and work as a producer in this project.
Lyrical Essay
The lyrical essay is a poetic attempt. It is very different than anything I have ever written, but I enjoyed creating it. We were given a lot of freedom for this project and were told we could write about anything we wanted. Before we started writing, we read and studied lyrical essay authors like Maggie Nelson, Ryan Van Meter, Claudia Rankine, Ross Gay, Heidi Czerwiec; and creative nonfiction by Ander Monson and David Foster Wallace. This allowed us to better understand the art of lyrical essays and brainstorm our own ideas on what to write about. For my lyrical essay, I decided to write about leaving for college and used the Golden Gate Bridge as an extended metaphor.
What Do I Know About My Future at 17
By Mallory Berent
You are approaching the bridge now.
It’s 746 feet tall and looks as if it’s touching the sky. It’s 4,200 feet long and on the other side is your future. I’m not talking about the future you in 10 seconds who is still writing or reading or driving on the bridge but the future you that crossing this bridge promises. A better you, you hope. Someone who knows what they want in life.
It feels as though you have waited your whole life to cross this bridge. You have spent endless days and sleepless nights working on this bridge. Dreaming of it. Planning it. Building it. Perfecting it. Yet here you are, afraid. Sick to your stomach to cross it and not look back. You worry the foundation isn’t strong enough. What if the weight of expectation causes it to crack? What if it gets hit by a wave too strong and crumbles?
Here you are and time has passed too quickly. You want to go home and lay in your bed one more time. Have you already forgotten what the walls of your house look like?
You are crossing the bridge now.
Your bags are packed. You have said your goodbyes. You have taken that extra moment in all your favorite places.
You have yearned for this moment yet you do not feel ready. Have you chosen the right place? You imagine the dorm walls engulfing you.
Can we turn around? you ask your mom. She shakes her head no and tells you this is just the beginning and it will get better.
You are 17 and feel you have lived many lives. You see them all as you cross the bridge.
You see yourself at age 6 playing with your toys in your childhood room.
You see yourself at age 10 staying awake on Christmas Eve waiting to see Santa Clause.
You see yourself walking into your freshman class so naive sitting next to the girl who will be your best friend.
You are 17 and have spent your life thinking of crossing this bridge and you hope to one day realize it’s not that tall. It’s not that long. You hope to see the larger bridges and have the strength and courage to cross them.
You hope one day you will see the things past the bridge. The water underneath. The wind that blows your hair. You don’t want to forget the birds you see flying above you.
You have put all your weight into this bridge but there is more to life than it. Afterall, you are only 17 so what do you know?
Footnotes:
1 Britannica. “Golden Gate Bridge | History, Construction, & Facts.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 2019, www.britannica.com/topic/Golden-Gate-Bridge. Accessed 20 May 2024.
This source talks about the famous Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California. It describes the dangerous and difficult construction process and the bridge’s significance. The Golden Gate Bridge was built in 1937 and at the time it was the tallest and longest suspension bridge in the world. Since then, there have been bridges that have surpassed it. Even still, the bridge is a symbol of power and progress for the US. This source also provides an image of the bridge which I use as a metaphor for leaving home to go to college.
2 Moody, Josh. “How to Handle Being Homesick at College.” US News & World Report, U.S. News & World Report, 2019, www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/how-to-handle-homesickness-in-college. Accessed 20 May 2024.
Homesickness – “a feeling of longing for one’s home during a period of absence from it”, is something very common for college students. This article describes homesickness and its symptoms along with advice to help alleviate it. Homesickness can happen to college students at any time they are away but is most common during a student’s freshman year when they are going through a major life transition and not living at home for probably the first time in their life.
3 National Institute of Mental Health. “The Teen Brain: 7 Things to Know.” National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), 2023, www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/the-teen-brain-7-things-to-know#:~:text=Although%20the%20 brain%20 stops%20 growing.
I think it’s crazy that at 17, people are having to choose their future path of their college, degree, and more. Being 17 you are still a kid and your brain doesn’t even fully develop until you are around 25. This source talks about the teenage brain and its development, response to stress, and the appearance of mental illness. I think it’s important for people to understand how teenagers’ brains are different compared to adult brains because it can sometimes explain our actions.