Personal Project: Movies and TV (Photo)

From left to right: Game of Thrones, The Big Bang Theory, The Shawshank Redemption, Forrest Gump, The Dark Knight, Breaking Bad, Taxi Driver, House MD, Friends, Pulp Fiction.

For my personal project, my topic is movies and television. This photo includes some iconic and also personal favorite characters of mine. My message of this project has been how movies and television can be the most powerful form of art. This photo shows each individual character and how they are unique in their own ways yet each of them have their own story.

Personal Project: Movies and TV (Minimal Posters)

Personal Project: Movies and TV (Written)

Selma

There are a couple of reasons why I love TV and movies so much. For example when you find reality is less than expected, you can turn on the television and indulge yourself into a world unlike any other. You can escape for an hour or two and forget about everything. But that is only one of the many reasons. The main reason is one I think people often forget; TV and movies are an art, and at its best, they can be beautifully and carefully crafted by geniuses who not only view the project as a way to share stories of all types, but they crave their message to be heard by every human being out there. When a filmmaker, such as James Cameron of Titanic or Richard Linklater of Boyhood, is passionate about his film, he can create a masterpiece. I think the two main components in a film that makes the difference between average and beyond incredible is how the story is executed and how the characters are portrayed. The number of stories to tell are endless and I think in history, there have been many spectacular ones. There is nothing quite as satisfying as a movie that concludes with a poised and thoughtful ending and nothing quite as satisfying as one that explores creativity, widens boundaries and throws all the rules out the window. There is also nothing as eye-widening as a story that is raw, fluid, and realistic. I think a standout this year was Boyhood; a movie that so perfectly crafted together a grounded, honest and natural story that left me humbled. In television, Breaking Bad is another example of a story that surpassed expectations. The brilliant journey of Walter White was gradual, as little by little we witnessed him evolve from a bored, average father and husband into a legendary drug kingpin. Another unifying factor in such films is that we get introduced to so many personalities, many of who have something to offer whether it be laughter or inspiration. The people of these stories, real or not, are complex, imperfect, often relate-able, sometimes powerful, sometimes strong, sometimes weak, and other times not. The best characters are really not the best at all, but the ones who are simply themselves and are also motivated and compelled. Film and television can also give us characters who are anything but ordinary, such as a couple of toys from Toy Story and still have the incredible ability to make us care about them and empathize with them and want them to have their happy ending. One of the most powerful things about a character is when we are able to see a bit of ourselves in them. When we see a character like us who is also feeling powerless, or out of control, or battling an illness, or struggling with whatever we may be struggling with in life, that character reminds us that we are not alone. That in itself can have the quiet but powerful effect of inspiring and touching lives. These are just a couple reasons why movies and television are powerful tools in our lives.

12 Years a Slave

Arrested Development

Breaking Bad

The Shawshank Redemption

Lone Survivor

I took my photo at High Street in Abbotsford. This specific location was empty and also fairly vast. I added my lone survivor (Emily Blunt in the film Edge of Tomorrow) and I also added some photoshop effects, such as the fires and the apocalyptic sky, and I also darkened some of the lighting in the store in the back to create more of an isolated effect.

Personal Project: Movies and TV (Video)

 

 This is part 3 of 4 of my Personal Project: Movies and TV. My message in this project has been that movies and television are some of the best forms of art and that they can be extremely powerful in the message that they send. I wanted to specifially showcase the best of some of those moments so I created this video of characters who give strong, perfectly expressed, perfectly executed and perfectly written speeches of all time.

5 Yearbook Photos

"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Add New Member to the Team"

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"Student Gets Arrested After Forgetting Homework"

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"Student Joins the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Gang"

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"The Walking Dead Replaces Rick Grimes with Mr Pue"

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"Student Appears to be Racing Zombies in Midst of Zombie Apocalypse"

Social Media Safety

The presentation "Internet/Social Media Safety Education and Digital Citizenship," presented by Darren Laur touched upon several topics including internet, phone, and social media safety. 
The presentation was interesting for two reasons. The first reason is Laur was energetic and passionate about what he was saying. The second reason is he presented new information about safety that many of the students didn't know about. As he promised, the presentation was different from the rest. 
He said in particular that the first thing colleges and universities do when considering your application was look at your social media sites. That was interesting to me because I didn't think that that was such a large factor into their decision. Another thing that immediately captured my attention was the introduction wherein Laur stated that he was communicating for the past few weeks to one our the ACSS students under the identity of a teenage girl named Beth. This was intriguing because he didn't tell us what we already know, but instead showed us that in fact, online predators do exist and we can become targets. It was a nice awakening to really lock down my social media sites. 

Laur also told us some ways to be safe online. Some of the ones I remember are to keep some tape over the cameras on our laptops because people can find ways to hack our cameras. Another was to un-click a button on our phones to prevent hackers from finding us through our photos that we post online that have been automatically tagged with our location. He also mentioned that we should always keep our social media sites on private.
Laur also talked about how we can help our peers and community. He specifically talked about sexting, suggesting one way to help others is to not share those photos and do other petty things like gossip. He also really talked about online bullying. He recalled having to tell parents that their child had committed suicide as a result. I think this really stuck into everyone's minds. He mentioned that it is okay to speak out and get help from someone whether it be a parent, teacher, counselor, the police, or Laur himself. 
I think, in all, this presentation was interesting and fulfilling. New information was presented and we all became a little more concerned about our safety online. 

 Here is the official site for Personal Protection Systems Inc.

http://www.personalprotectionsystems.ca/

ACSS Instructional Video

Comic Strip Story Board

Here is the original comic strip I used...

Here is my adapted version...

What's a Storyboard?

sto·ry·board

ˈstôrēˌbôrd/

noun

a sequence of drawings, typically with some directions and dialogue, representing the shots planned for a movie or television production.

HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES:

Planning is an essential part of creating any type of short video or feature film. Story boards are the best way to plan your story because it saves time and effort when it comes to filming time.

A story board is often compared to a comic book because they are so similar. A storyboard is a graphic interpretation of how your video will unfold, shot by shot. It uses squares with notes to describe each scene and what is being said during each shot. This is what makes it comparable to a comic book.

There are several reasons many filmmakers create a story board before filming the scenes. The first is that it is the best way to share your vision. Using a visual aid allows everyone to see and understand what is being interpreted, and leaves out confusion. The second is that it makes production much easier. The storyboard is a visual guidelines so you know exactly what you need and don't. It saves time and effort and makes production much more smooth and efficient. Also the editors will have a much easier time as they know exactly what they are piecing together.

To create a story board is simple. With a piece of paper and a pencil, you can draw as many squares as you need for your video. In each square, draw or even sketch each scene. On the side, write what is being said what is going on in each scene. It is also a good idea to add small notes about angles and camera. Each square uses up each scene so that the entire video is being portrayed in a smooth manner. Once you are done, you may begin filming!

Traditions and Customs of the Holiday Season

      THE HOLIDAY SEASON     

In my family, Christmas is definitely the most celebrated holiday. Every year we try to do something different, but our day is mostly traditional. On the weeks leading up to Christmas, we always decorate the house with our fake tree, (although I prefer real ones) and place candles and lights and more, and also hope for snow!

On Christmas Eve, we go to our extended family's house. There's usually plenty of people there, and we all have one big feast that my cousin cooks and finish the night with typical family banter. When Christmas morning comes, the first thing we do is open our gifts, which is always a very enjoyable and often hilarious thing, thanks to gag gifts. My parents work and probably don't get home until noon so it's just me, my brothers and sister for a while. I help my sister cook her famous breakfast, which is one of my favorite things in the world. (I especially love breakfast food.) 

When my parents get home, they open their presents. Afterwards we usually play some video games; the list probably includes Goldeneye, Super Smash Bros, various shooting and sport games, and Mario Kart. Throughout the day, there will definitely be some sort of Christmas music playlist playing in the background. When dinner time comes, we all have my mom's mashed potatoes, salad, and roasted turkey usually while watching a movie and for the rest of the night, we all just sit around and enjoy each other's presence. Our Christmas is fairly simple but I don't think it really matters what you do, because when you're with your family or friends, the day is automatically superior.

Here is a delicious Rolled Sugar Cookie recipe from allrecipes.com that we love!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/The-Best-Rolled-Sugar-Cookies/Detail.aspx?evt19=1

Happy Holidays!