Welcome to my Project Info Page!

Click on each button that corresponds with the order of projects I did at Freestyle Academy. There will be a link to each project website in bold, as well as a preview image of what the website looks like.

My time at Freestyle Academy is filled with innovation. Each project that I did consists of multiple forms of media, from podcasts to online books. Being able to express myself through various outlets is a luxury that I've found at Freestyle. Not only have I discovered and embraced my creative side, but am able to display it to the rest of the world.

Throughout the year at Freestyle Academy, Web/Audio students used programs such as Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe DreamWeaver to make our own personalized websites– for example, what you are seeing right now on your computer screen is entirely made by yours truly. Every quarter of the school year was devoted to working on a project, which was a common theme the other two classes, English and Design, at Freestyle. The works from those classes are also integrated onto each project website.

Dive in!

Sheila

For Project 1, the Self-Portrait Unit involved creating projects that dealt with exhibiting and exploring who we are as individuals. The conceptual goal was to capture who we are as individuals. The artistic goal was to express ourselves through the content and design of the website. The technical goal was to utilize the accessible tools, such as Adobe Photoshop CS6 and Adobe Illustrator CS6 in order to do the previous two, as well as figure out how to create a website using Adobe Dreamweaver. Some highlights include hearing self made music, seeing pictures of the creator/author and their friends and family, a podcast, essay, diptych, illustration, photo gallery and their web gems. This was a really great experience for me because I learned so much about how to set up a website and photogallery, as well as taking things that I had made with other programs and placing them onto the site. I was able to understand myself better and learned to embrace my unknown creative side, too.

For Project 2, the Narrative Unit entailed creating a fictional story about a single person. The conceptual goal was to express the tale through various forms of multimedia. The artistic goal was to depict it through pictures, drawings and words. The technical goal was to figure out how to use Adobe Flash Player to create an animation and animatic movie. Highlights include pictures, animation, illustrations and the story in text form. I had an easy time coming up with a fictional story because I love reading and writing, but the technical side to this project was extremely hard for me. I felt like I had it all in my head, but putting it on Flash was incredibly difficult. Nevertheless, I grew from the experience and realized that time management is also a huge factor in the journey to success.

For Project 3, the Documentary Unit was a profile on a local place of interest. I chose the Red Rock Cafe on Castro street because of its popularity and nonprofit aspects. The conceptual goal was to determine what made the place chosen interesting. The artistic goal was to capture the place with varying viewpoints, both through the lense and with writing. Some technical goals were to understand how to use a DSLR camera professionally and to use Image Sprites on the website. Highlights include photographs, a slideshow and a book. The Red Rock is an amazing place and I loved being able to exhibit its greatness. Since I’m also a journalist, the unit was helpful because I learned a lot about profiling, interviewing and perspective.

For Project 4, the Experimental Unit entailed delving into abstractness. The conceptual goal was to think abstractly. The artistic goal was to share the abstract thoughts through different forms of art. The technical goal was to make a website, animation, and to make music through ProTools and Reason. Highlights include an abstract piece of artwork that is a combination of Photoshop and my own photography, poetry, an animation and music composition. My theme was “strength in vulnerability,” a theme I later recognized after creating some of my pieces. At first, I never considered myself to be an “abstract” thinker, but by the end of the unit, I realized that we are all abstract thinkers– we just have to delve into the depths of our minds and practice letting it out.

For Project 5, the Profile Unit involved reaching out to a unique individual and documenting them. The conceptual goal was to get the audience to understand that person. The artistic goal was to capture that person's essence. The technical goal was to make a website and multimedia presentations to display the person she is. Highlights include a photogallery and two presentations describing the person, as well as the project. I chose this person because I felt that even though she has a long road ahead of her, she's already impacted the lives of the people behind her. The website was themed around her tastes, as well.

For Project 6, the Music Video unit consisted of creating a song and video to accompany it. It was a group project: two web audio students matched up with two film students. The web students focused on the music, the film students made the video. The conceptual goal was to make a product that was both audibly and visually entertaining. The artistic goal was to create a piece that someone could relate to and also find entertaining. The technical goal was make the song, itself, and I used Reason for this.

For Project 7, the second Narrative unit entailed making another story. The conceptual goal was to not only tell an interesting story. The artistic goal was to tell the story well through animation and a web design that mirrors the story. The technical goal was to master PHP, which was a lot easier than I thought it would be.