Narrative unit
For the narrative 1 unit, I learned how to tell a story in a satisfying way through the use of audio and visual art. In English we were given the task to write a short story with complete artistic freedom, being able to choose our own characters, setting, and plot. In English, we learned a lot about character growth, story arcs, and about different types of narratives. In film we learned about how to visually tell a narrative. We learned about many different techniques and rules of visual storytelling when creating a film. We learned about Griffiths pattern which is how visual narrative has evolved and stayed the same over time. Griffiths pattern is how visual narratives are started by having an exposition shot then leading to a closeup in the end
For the narrative 1 unit at freestyle, we learned how to tell a narrative in many different ways such as visually, through audio, and through writing. I learned a lot of new skills through my film, digital media, and English class in order to tell a story in an engaging manner. In English, I produced my own story with my own artistic freedom and from that, we generated art to support our stories. With the story from english in digital media, I used pro tools to generate an audio reading of my story with sound effects and music that matched with the story and also created an album cover from adobe illustrator. In Film I got to see a story I thought of come to life in a film I created. The Narrative unit was very for filling because of my own story that I thought of come to life. I developed my skills as a digital artist as I learned new programs and film techniques to tell my narrative in an interesting and appealing way.
In English we were assigned our first narrative project to create a story. For my story I wanted to do something about wintertime and the feeling of being in snow during the winter. I also then thought of the question, how will global warming affect the wintertime? I have always had this question on the back burner because all the fun with skiing, making a snowman, and sledding down a mountain as a child will be gone and If I have kids or if they have kids they may not experience the same fun I had in the snow when I was a kid. I wanted to tell a cute heartwarming story and I wanted to bring this global warming and snow conflict into action. I love stories about the future such as through the show black mirror that portray what the future might be like in an intense and dystopian tone. I produced the audio for my story through my audio recorder I then edited the sound to make it clearer through pro tools. In pro tools, I added sound effects and music to make my story more effective. Music changes the tone of a story in many ways, In film music is huge with how the audience views the story. I valued how my own unique story that I typed on a computer came to life with audio I produced.
Snow Days
Jackson awakes, opening his brown, beady eyes and letting out a great big yawn. He hops out of his bed, and a soft lifeless voice greets him and says, “Good Morning, Jackson. It is Sunday, October 17th, 2059, and it is 90 degrees on a cloudy day. Is there anything I can do for you?” he replies tiredly, “no, thank you”.
Jackson hurries downstairs towards the smell of bacon, his dad is typing away on his holographic computer while his mom is cooking breakfast in the kitchen. He sits down and starts watching videos on his iPad. His mom nags, “why are you always on that gosh darn iPad? I read something about how those screens are bad for you.” His father starts talking to him through the background noise of his mom “ hear this Jacky, the temperature has reached 10 degrees higher since when I was a kid, I remember when I was your age and during this time in December I would play all day in the snow, Jacky you know what snow is” he replies with “yes a little I hear it’s just white everywhere and it’s soft and fluffy like marshmallows” carol interrupts “Jacky here’s your breakfast honey and go out and do something today don’t just play video games all day”. Jackson’s dad sighed, “man I wish I could go back to those days when I didn’t have to work all day and night and I could just have fun, while we all got to grow up sometime” he replies, “Well I’m never gonna grow up, dad you want to play later” Jackson’s dad answers back “Ya Jacky I’ll see if I have time” then he quickly stuffs down his breakfast and leaves the table quickly.
He goes downstairs to his game room and put on his wireless headset and notices his controller ran out of battery. As he looks for another controller he notices some old dusty books. As he opens the book he notices words written “December 2019” as his eyes roll down the page he sees pictures filled with his dad and his friends when they were his age, building stuff in the snow. He first notices a snow made man with a carrot for a nose and rocks for a smile. his mind wonders as he looks closer and closer to the picture and he chuckles with excitement. He opens to the next page and his eyes widen as he notices his dad on some device going down a hill. He looks closer and closer into the picture and sees his dad’s big smile while going down a huge mountain. He stares and stares at that picture for almost 5 minutes. He loved everything about the act his dad was doing and how happy his dad was at that time, as he hasn’t smiled like that in years but he noticed the snow. He looks at the snow and looks outside the window in disappointment. He runs upstairs and asks his dad, “what is this dad, I want to do this?” His dad busy with his work brushes him off “I’ll tell you later I’m busy” he then stomps off loudly and goes back downstairs.
He puts on his headset and then quickly pulls it back off and glares down at himself. He goes over and analyzes the picture from the book again, his eyes widen and his mouth grins. He runs over to the game room rummaging through everything in the room, boxes are flying, random objects are all over the floor. Jackson suddenly stops and locks eyes with a bright red circular object lying on the ground. His eyes gloom with desire as he starts getting closer and closer to the red object. He grabs it as tight as he can and goes out the front door. As he leaves the door his mom asks him where he is going, he replies, “to go do something” Jackson’s mom laughs it off and goes back inside. He is running with an adulterated excitement but feels as if he was 6 feet tall. He is sweating through his shirt as he runs through the neighborhood in the scorching heat in the middle of the winter. He then sees the perfect little hill by a park he usually goes to. He sees the hill and looks up at the top and grins. He starts running up the hill in his drenched shirt reeking of sweat. He keeps on climbing and climbing and pretty soon he gets to the top. He looks around the park as if it were his own. He puts down his bright red sleigh, kids start looking at him with peculiarity. One kid asks, “why are you doing that? There is no snow, there hasn’t been snow around for years. It’s like 90 degrees out.” He quickly looks away from the kid and looks back at his sleigh with his eager eyes. He takes his first step into the sleigh, jumps in and closes his eyes shut. He starts sitting down onto the sleigh in his drenched t-shirt. He pushes forward again. He then slips and gets thrown back, other kids look at him and revolt in laughter. He doesn’t look back at them while they are making fun of him, instead, he instantly tries again, he grabs his sleigh and tries again and again but goes nowhere. As he hopelessly looks around he sees a hose dripping with water and he starts to run over and he turns it on and water starts rushing out. He hikes back up the hill with a hose on his back while kids are criticizing him left and right. He keeps climbing higher and higher. He gets to the top again and starts spraying the hill with the hose, he looks at the hill with a huge grin and he touches the grass to test the wetness. As he walks slowly towards the edge of the hill he slaps his sled down on the ground and gives a small nod. He places one foot on the sled and then the next and sits down. Feeling a downward sensation, his eyes lit up as he screams with excitement as if he was on a huge roller coaster. As he rushes down the hill he sees his parents at the bottom with a questionable look. As he descends he realizes other people are coming down behind him, the kids that once criticized him were joining him. He peers back up at the hill and takes a deep breath then smiles. He sees his parents and goes up and hugs them. His mom says “Jackson you really did do something” and Jackson’s father tells him with a nice big smile and tears in his eyes, “Wow Jacky, you brought back my childhood, I’m so sorry I couldn’t play with you today, I spend way too much time on work and I promise to spend more of that time with you” Jackson with a peachy grin says “ Thank’s daddy” he goes in and hugs his parents as his dad stares at the hill with the children sliding down and his eyes start to shine. Jackson and his family walk back to their house. As he goes back into the house he hurried downstairs and grabs the picture of his dad sliding down the hill and gives it back to his dad. His father’s eyes start to tear up and he hugs Jackson once more as tight as he can and asks I think It’s time for us to play. Jackson asks “don’t you have more work to do” Jackson’s dad replies with “you are more important than any work I will ever do”. Jackson’s dad starts to chase him throughout the house in a friendly game of tag.
Illustrations
In the Narrative unit, we used illustrator to create our own designs and created something in 3-D. Our first assignment was to use illustrator to create our own geometric light cover, We were given a template of the 12 shapes that connect into a puzzle. We had 6 print outs of our 2 designs. For my designs, I chose something that represents me and that is visually appealing such as a Waterpolo ball and a VW bus similar to the one I drive today. It is really cool to see something you create digitally and be able to make it into a puzzle that transforms into the Geometric Light Cover. We also used Adobe Illustrator to create whatever we wanted, I chose to engrave my wallet that I got in Montana because a wallet is something I have for a while and I wanted to make it unique to me. We were given complete artistic freedom to create whatever we wanted to and I really valued that from this project. I chose to use my initials in order to create a unique visual name tag that I created myself. I used fonts that I particularly like in order to make it unique and I also made my own border. I also added important things to me around my name to show what I value and what I love in my life.
Pieces of Me
The message I am conveying with my geometric light cover is that my car which is a 1971 VW Bus and Waterpolo are two very important pieces of me. I recently got my brother’s car which I always wanted and now it is my car and I am very happy that this car has become a part of me and that I get to drive it whenever I want. The car is almost like a part of me now people know that it’s me when they see it and it makes me happy every time I drive it. The 2nd design is a water polo ball which is another very important piece of me because I love the sport and I love all the connections I have made because of it. I have met a lot of new people and friends because of the sport as well as lots of opportunities because of Waterpolo such through college and through the connections I make. I valued this project because of how I got to see the design that I created digitally come alive and become a 3-d design that transforms into something truly beautiful. I also valued learning how to use Adobe Illustrator because at first I didn’t know anything about illustrator and now it is my favorite software to use. I also valued being able to create my own design and having the artistic freedom to make what I want to make.
NSR
The message I am conveying with my illustrator project is all the different parts of me that I want people to know about. I put all kinds of designs around my name in order to describe my interests in a creative way. The font’s I use represent me, for example, I used a 70’s font and a wetty rip curl font in order to display me because those don’t really fit with me because I love the 70’s and I still live today like it’s the 70’s. I used the rip curl wetty logo because I have always loved that logo and it is very flowy and has a very good vibe. I wanted to convey the message that you should celebrate yourself, you should share your interest with others and you should be proud of what you do on your time. I also wanted to send the message that you should be creative in the way you display yourself and use your own interests to form your self-image. I used fonts and designs that relate to me in order to create a name tag I wanted to engrave.
What I valued from this project was the creativity I was able to use and how I was able to create something truly special on a program I had recently learned. I learned a lot about illustrator as well as tools I could use and the different ways I could display my creations. I also valued how I could do what I wanted to do. I could use adobe illustrator to create what I want to create with no boundaries. I also valued how I will have this design that I created with me for a long time as I am putting it on my wallet that I will probably keep for a very long time and when people ask me about my wallet I can say I created it. I really valued being able to create something digitally and then see it being made in real life.
Film
I learned a lot of new things in film during the narrative unit. I learned about things such as Griffiths Pattern, how to make correct credits. compose a chase scene, correct screen direction, 3 act structure, how to make a compelling visual narrative, and etc. In Film class we were assigned our first large scale production for our Junior Narrative. We pitched, made storyboards, and filmed our junior narratives and turned in our rough and final cuts to create our junior narrative.
Griffiths Pattern Excercise
In Film we learned about Griffiths Pattern which is the way film language is created. Where there is an exposition shot showing where the film is taking place then there is a long shot of the room or wherever the scene is. Then there is a medium shot of the characters, then there are close-ups and extreme closeups of the main characters. In this exercise we started with a wide shot of me and Zazi then we started moving closer and closer ending with close up shots of both me and Zazi.
Suspense Scene
In Film we learned about how to create suspense visually in a film by cross-cutting between two situations. We used cross-cutting to create suspense when the character was late to school and he had to get to school before the big test. We cross-cut between the late kid driving in a hurry while the two normal students were going to class to start the test. In the end, the two situations blend together to create suspense. Cross-cutting shows two situations going on simultaneously and to show time passing.
Chase scene
In Film we learned how to compose a chase scene which is a very important part in most movies or tv shows. A great example of a quality chase scene was from back to the future when biff is chasing Marty. This chase scene maintains screen direction and the 180 degree rule while creating a very suspenseful and enjoyable chase scene. We learned a lot of hidden rules to film such as the 180 degree rule which means when you are filming a subject you have to film in the same direction as where the subject is unless you have a neutral or head-on shot. We also learned how to maintain screen direction so the viewer is not confused which direction the subject is going. For my chase scene I had a character receive a paycheck while a thief is on his way to steal the paycheck and try to escape the chase is between the hard worker and the thief. I maintained screen direction while having a varied amount of shots.
Junior Narrative
We see the front of the house and then we see the kid’s room. In the room his mom is reading him a story and the kid is annoyed and slapping the book away and the mom keeps smothering him and then she leaves the room and turns the lights off. He gets a text from his friend saying that they’ll be there in 15. Then the boy gets out of his bed turns on the lights, changes clothes puts on clothes and gets ready to go out. He sneaks out the back door. The kid gets in a car with a bunch of people blasting music and going fast out of the driveway. His mom is walking towards the room with a glass of milk and some cookies. The mom opens the door and sees he is gone, she drops all the food and checks under the covers.
She starts freaking out looking everywhere in the house for him.She looks outside and inside. She opens up her phone and opens up the tracking up and sees he is not in the house. She starts the car and races out of the street. We see her constantly looking at the phone and back while she is driving to see where he is. We see the kid walking into a new house with all his friends and they go to the basement. They all sit down on the couch. One kid pulls out a bag and empties a bunch of party games like apples to apples, twister, monopoly, and headbands. They all start playing all the games and laughing and having a fun time.. Then the mom is on her way to the house and turns down the same street as where the house is. The kids are all having fun, they open up monopoly and start handing out the cards to play, they are all playing and laughing. The mom’s driving fast on the street and suddenly stops where she sees the tracker end. She gets out of the car and starts stomping towards the loud room. The kids are playing headbands and switching cards and putting them on their headband. She opens up the door and sees that they are all playing headbands and they all look at her wearing their stupid headbands and the music stops. The mom is shocked. The kid goes up and walks out of the room with her. They start yelling at each other.
The son just starts walking away. The mom runs up to him and grabs him and hugs him and the mom gets out her phone and deletes the tracking app that she uses. The mom waves him off to go hangout with his friends. The kid walks away and stops. He then runs back to his mom and hugs her. The mom waves him off and pushes him away once more. The kid and mom are good with each other and lets him stay at the friends house. He starts to head home after a while and comes home to his mom reading a book and doesn’t say anything to him. As he is getting into bed his mom walks up to the door and smiles and says goodnight without tucking him in or doing any of the extra stuff she did previously.
For my film I wanted to show a prominent relationship change between a helicopter mom and her child. originally I wanted to do it with teenagers going to a party but when I pitched the idea everyone agreed that it would be better with children instead of teenagers. This was a challenge because it is a lot easier to get teenagers and people from my grade to act than children from elementary school but in order to make my film the best I could be I found great actors for my film. The mom is the main character where she respects the kids time and freedom by the end of the film.
For the film we had to make storyboards for a visual representation of what our story would be before we filmed it. We learned about the importance of storyboards and how they are used in the film industry. We were challenged to create more than 100 storyboard cards for our junior narrative. We then got greenlit to go on with our film. The storyboard helped me a lot because it worked as a shotlist and script for my film.
Junior Narrative Trailer
Junior Narrative film
