Introduction
This project is to exhibit the different mediums we learned throughout the semester to emphasize creativity and risk-taking through music, art, animations, film, and web production in our own styles. We began this journey by developing our own technical communication skills in a variety of professional software and equipment- Adobe suites, DSLR cameras, professional mixing techniques, and google apps for example.
Throughout my first 4 months in the Freestyle program, I valued the opportunities we were presented with-having an abundance of professional equipment at our disposal, and the vast creativity that can be taught to us through all of the teachers here in the program.
Haiku Assignment
For this assignment, we were given random prompts to create a haiku poem. A haiku is a traditional form of Japanese poetry consisting of three lines. The first and third lines contain five syllables, while the second line contains seven syllables, popularized in modern poetry by Japanese poet, Matsuo Bashō.
My prompts were: I am exploring enthusiasm through changing my mind.
I valued this production because it was the first thing I ever made in Premiere Pro and I’m happy with the way I completed it.
Free Verse Poem
For this assignment, we had to write a free verse poem about anything we wanted. For inspiration, I reflected on a memory of a street corner after a concert in San Francisco.
Intention Statement
Eyes Hung Up On a Streetlight is a free-verse poem about a specific interaction on a street corner. I gained the inspiration for this poem while in the backseat of a friend’s car as we were stopped at an unusually long red light at an intersection in San Francisco after a concert. I sat and observed the people streaming out of the venue and their emotions as they left the concert, reflecting on what I saw in this poem. Throughout the length of the poem, I use repetition of the different types of people to emphasize the various people I’m observing. Through this use of repetition, it encapsulates the sheer amount of different people in this group and the different emotions that they express while having just all been part of a bigger, uniting part of life. At the end of the poem, the tone shifts as the repetition is broken as the lines “Bleeding…Breathing…Dying…Reviving” ground the poem into the pure emotions of the human condition, representing the shared emotion of post-concert excitement and the purest emotions that all humans share, regardless of how they act coming out of the concert, stumbling out drunk, crying or the excitement that is felt in a mass crowd of people. To bridge the break of repetition and the continuation of the poem, the line, “smiling humans” unites the different people in a single shared observation, that although everyone is experiencing different emotions, ultimately everyone was smiling. The end of the poem repeats the opening lines to resolve the lines and reinstate that the speaker has a third-person perspective on the intersection and is simply observing.
This poem is very literal, using direct imagery to express the observed people, leaving little room for metaphors and similes, except for in the middle lines that break the repetition and change the tone. The use of this type of figurative language breaks up the direct observations to a metaphor for the emotions we all feel throughout life. Although the entire poem follows a repetitive format, the line breaks in the middle disrupt this flow and shift the tone to a more tranquil, simmered-down metaphor for the shared emotions felt by all, regardless of how they were observed in the mere minutes we were stopped at the light.
I valued doing this assignment because it taught me what actually goes into producing the content we watch on a daily basis. Creating the opening of my video, although only 7 tracks, showed me how much work and environmental design goes into making a soundscape.
PhotoShop Blend Modes Editing
For this assignment, we had to use PhotoShop blending modes to creatively edit practice shots. The goal of this assignment was to learn how to quickly and accurately process photos using preset modes, without having to manually each component of an image on its own.
- Using PhotoShop Blend modes allows you to quickly and accurately edit photos, I can see myself using blend modes to quickly edit photographs before I use them for future projects or for assignments for SLAM magazine- the campus publication that I’m part of.
- I can see myself using blend modes in my projects to layer images and combine different elements of a picture into a project for Freestyle.
Elective Class – Design
Design class, led by Ms. Parkinson, has been a foundational class for me at Freestyle. The class focuses on the fundamental design principles, how to apply them to projects and how to use professional software as a creative outlet. So far, this semester we’ve used PhotoShop, Illustrator, and Lightroom.
Alpha Name Assignment
For this assignment, we were tasked to go out into our communities (school campus, home, parks, downtown) and look for forms that look like letters. We had to collect and photograph these “letters” to spell out our names. The purpose was to train our eyes for the unconventional and force us to look in the little things.
“W” – sewer grate outside Freestyle campus
“I” – Pipe outside the Mountain View High campus
“L” – The painted leg of a handicap symbol on a parking spot
“L” – Rain Gutter at Freestyle
“I” – Pipe outside the Mountain View High campus
“A” – Bench Frame
“M” – Baseball bat holder at Moutain View High dugouts.
Concept Photo
For this assignment, we had to take the prompts we got in English and create a visual for it. This was a challenge for me because I felt my prompts didn’t complement each other but I was able to create an image I’m proud of.
My prompts were: I am exploring enthusiasm through changing my mind.
For the representation of changing my mind, I chose to take a canvas off the wall and instead paint around where it once hung, saying that art isn’t always where you think, thus changing the viewers’ minds about what a canvas is and what it could be.
For the enthusiasm portion, I added confetti, highlighted in the square where the canvas once hung.
Miniature Figure Photography
For this assignment, we had to take play toys out to a location and photograph them. I choose to use a little tree, a zebra, and an elephant and placed them in the landscaping along the Freestyle portables. I think it turned out nice and I like that the background transitions smoothly with the toys.
