Introduction
The purpose of the Conceptual Project was for Juniors to develop their abstract thinking and communication skills through answering the question, “How can I use unconventional forms to express myself?” This project gave students the opportunity to experiment with a variety of forms of art such as poetry, music, art, animations, experimental film, and web production. Students began developing these technical skills by learning how to use modern professional equipment and applications. These included DSLR Cameras, Tascam Audio Recorders, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe Audition, and WordPress.
Throughout my 1st quarter at Freestyle in English and Digital Media, the Conceptual Unit has helped me a lot by pushing me to go out of my comfort zone, specifically with the Parody Song project in Digital Media. While I’ve participated in my school choirs for many years, I never thought I would be writing and recording my own parody. This experience at Freestyle helped me become more confident in myself as well as expanded my creativity skills. In English, I’ve started to learn how to think more deeply, especially when analyzing texts like short stories, plays, and novellas. At the beginning of the year, we started reading the playbook of Red, written by John Logan.
Art Reflection
Our first project in English and Digital Media was based on our field trip to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The assignment was to find a piece of artwork that created a feeling of awe within ourself, write our initial thoughts about it in a page long reflection, then revise it to 3-4 sentences. We then voice recorded this statement and created a video with both the statement and an image of the piece of artwork. During the process of creating this video, I grew technically by learning how to use Adobe Premiere Pro, a video editing software I hadn’t used before. This project also helped me to learn to think on a deeper level and have a conceptual thinking mindset.
I valued that the Art Reflection Video production served as an opportunity for me to expand both my writing and technical skills. I was able to analyze this piece of artwork through a conceptual lens as well as learn how to use the software Adobe Premiere Pro. I think these skills will not only be essential to future projects at Freestyle, but I’ll be able to utilize them outside of Freestyle.
Parody Introduction
The second project we were assigned in Digital Media was to create a parody about any topic and record it in class. My process of creating this parody was to first decide on the song I wanted to rewrite the lyrics for, write those lyrics, and finally record it using Adobe Audition and the sound booths in the Digital Media classroom. My artist statement is written below:
The purpose of this project was to create a parody of a song of my choice and rewrite at least one verse and one chorus. The song I chose for my parody was 22 by Taylor Swift and I rewrote it to fit the topic of craving Hi-Chews, a popular Japanese candy. To produce this parody, I used Adobe Audition which is a recording and editing software. I chose 22 to be the song I make a parody of because it’s a relatively simple song in terms of the syllables and rhythm, making it easier to come up with new lyrics. The inspiration for this parody was Hi-Chews themselves and how they’re one of my favorite candies. The message I wanted to convey through this piece was that I was “craving Hi-Chews” as sung in the lyrics and the lyrics talk about all of the good things about them. Using a high quality microphone and USB audio interface during Digital Media class, I recorded the parody lyrics in Adobe Audition. After recording multiple takes, I went through them and decided on which one I thought was the strongest. Utilizing what I learned in class, I then added a little bit of reverb to the vocal track to make my voice blend well with the instrumental. I also learned to normalize tracks so their volumes are well balanced. This project allowed me to grow artistically by pushing me to use my creativity and imagination to create a parody about any topic and I grew technically by learning how to use Adobe Audition, a software I hadn’t used before. The equipment used to record was also new to me and from this project, I was able to grow technically in learning about that equipment as well. This project changed the way I see and appreciate others’ art specifically in writing lyrics. At the beginning of this project, I had trouble coming up with a topic to write about, and from listening to other artists’ music, I’ve come to appreciate their work a lot more and the effort and thought they put in to produce something beautiful and meaningful.
Parody Lyrics
[Verse 1]
It feels like a perfect night
To unwrap some Hi-Chews
And try all the flavors
Uh-uh, uh-uh
It feels like a perfect night
For candy at midnight
And smiles and laughter
Uh-uh, uh-uh
[Pre-Chorus]
Yeah
They’re fruity, sweet, and sugary at the same time
They’re chewy and delightful, oh, yeah
Tonight’s the night when we unwrap all those tasty treats
And enjoy, oh-oh
[Chorus]
I don’t know about you
But I’m craving Hi-Chews
Everything will be alright if
You pass me a pack or two
You don’t know about me
But I bet you want to
Everything will be alright if
We just keep chewing on these
Hi-Chews, Hi-Chews
Design
Introduction
In the Design elective, students learn the basics of design, including principles, elements, and applications in digital media. They will explore design thinking, digital tools, and hands-on projects to build both artistic and technical skills, while also gaining an introduction to digital photography and completing creative photography projects using a camera.
Black & White Name Photography
For the Black and White Name Photo assignment, students had the option to use different lenses to photograph objects that creatively represented each letter of our name. This project challenged me to think outside the box, using my surroundings to spell out my name in a unique and artistic way.
Conceptual Photo
The Conceptual Photo project was designed for students to think conceptually and abstractly to photograph a metaphorical self portrait. Each student was given a statement following this structure: “I am experiencing the feeling of _____ through _____.” I was assigned the statement: “I am exploring the feeling of confidence through accepting someone different.” The guidelines for this project were to choose two objects that symbolize my concept (one for each experience/feeling) and arrange them thoughtfully for my photograph.
The purpose of this project was to create a conceptual and metaphorical self-portrait photograph of two objects that represented the conceptual statement: “I am exploring the feeling of confidence through accepting someone different.” The two objects I chose for my photograph were a piano trophy to convey the feeling of confidence and roses in different stages of bloom to represent the experience of accepting someone different. This experience, which I associated with transformation, is similar to the process flowers undergo. The relationship I saw between these two objects, which I wanted to communicate through my photograph, is that when you receive an award, trophy, or medal, flowers are often given to you as a form of congratulations. Additionally, the roses in the vase were arranged in order from an early blooming stage to the final bloom (from right to left). I wanted the lighting in this photo to primarily illuminate the roses, hitting them diagonally to create shadows on the other side. This approach helped create depth in the photo while also contributing to the feeling of confidence. The objects were also photographed from a slightly upward angle, which made them appear larger and conveyed a sense of power.
After choosing the final image for my conceptual self-portrait, I edited it in Adobe Photoshop, a popular software for photo editing. To enhance my image, I adjusted its brightness, exposure, contrast, levels, and curves by adding adjustment layers. I also made minor adjustments to the saturation and vibrance of certain colors in the photo. During this process, I learned about the various effects and general edits you can apply to improve an image and make it stand out. The edits I made—specifically, increasing the contrast and exposure—helped emphasize the objects themselves and created a greater distinction between the highlights and shadows, making the objects pop.
