As a project for CAP, we were assigned to get into groups to create a movie trailer for a dystopian plot of our own creation. It was my job to create a propaganda poster that my be used in the trailer, as well as a movie poster.
Here they are:
This is the propaganda poster. It uses the techniques of Glittering Generalities (using powerful, loaded words) and Non Sequitur (making an argument that does not follow the premise). The Glittering Generality is the word "Freedom", and the Non Sequitur is that education does not necessarily equal freedom. We might use this in our trailer, but I haven't talked to my group about it yet.
This is the movie poster I made. It features an image of a diploma and a graduation cap, overlayed with a Matrix-like image. In the background, there is a picture of a 19th century classroom in Auckland.
Edit 9/26 - New version of video uploaded, had to block out a curse word
This is my 5 x5 video project for my Media and Film Production class. The object was to record 5 seperate videos, approximentally 30 seconds in length, cut out all but "that perfect 5 seconds" for each, and compile them all into one, 25-second video. All 5 clips needed to have a common theme.
I chose school as my theme. I just love the interior design of MBHS, so I decided to record clips of some of my favorite parts of the building. Here is a list of all the clips I recorded:
Arriving at school in the morning
Looking down into Blair Boulevard (the main hallway)
Blair Boulevard
Looking down on Blair Boulevard from the main staircase
Leaving school in the afternoon
I used my iPhone 4 to record all of these clips. It records video in 720p HD at up to 30 frames per second. I used iMovie '09 on my MacBook Pro to edit my clips. My clips are a bit shaky, so I tried to stabilize one of them using a special iMovie function, but it came out looking distorted. I just decided not to stabilize any of them. I exported the whole video in HD, with a size of 1280 x 720.
Overall, I am fairly pleased with my project. I just wish that I would've kept the camera still while recording. Also, I don't like how the first clip is very quiet, and the next is loud in comparison. The sudden increase in volumes sometimes startles me. I don't really know why the last clip looks distorted; it probably had something to do with the way I was holding my iPhone.
An idea I have for our next project is to record videos in which the audio is some random people's conversation. We could take several of these clips and edit them so that the out-of-context quotes sound comical.
In this film, humans live in a simulated world known as the Matrix, but a group of revolutionaries, led by the charismatic Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne). Morpheus seeks to recruit Neo (Keanu Reeves); he believes that he is "The One" who can help them.
This trailer is exemplary of the dystopian genre because it successfully lays out the synopsis of the film in such a way that the components of a dystopia are easily identified. It is also exemplary because it clearly establishes that the film has a theme of technological control. For example, Morpheus says that, "The Matrix is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth." One characteristic of a dystopia is that information is restricted. In this case, "the truth", which is that the government is exploiting human beings for their bodys' energy, is the information being witheld.
Another example is that the style of the text suggests technology, there is a bit of electronic music, and several clips of technological devices. These all contribute to a technological undertone, which in turn makes it obvious that the film involves technology. From there, viewers can assume that this dystopia is an example of technological control. I plan to use styles of text and video clips that suggest a theme of education for my dystopian trailer, since my plot involves the decimation of American education. In addition, we will use dialogue to establish the plot's dystopian elements.
This is a short film that 3 of my classmates and I recently created. We were told to make a 20 second video in which two people were having a conflict. Watch as Connor accuses Mr. Hat & Vest (portrayed by Jordan) of a crime!
For our first video, I think it came out quite well! We didn't have very many technical problems, and our group worked well together. All in all, our first taste of making and editing video (using Final Cut Pro) was successful!
I thought that this article was pretty interesting. I like idea of every student choosing his or her own curriculum in school. However, I think that it might be pretty difficult to pull off, since everyone would be doing something completely different.
One thing that I found surprising was when the article mentioned a student made a connection between British literature and football. He found that the knights were masculine and athletic, just like modern day football players.
A few topics that I'm interested in and would like to learn more about are:
I decided to use "The Matrix (1999) FILM REVIEW; The Reality Is All Virtual, and Densely Complicated" by Janet Maslin of the New York Times. You can find it here. The vast majority of the review consisted of literacy aspects, but some of it was also allotted for cinematic and dramatic aspects. While Ms. Maslin gives the movie a generally positive review, it was difficult to find actual examples of her directly giving praise. She revealed just enough of the plot, although she discussed it rather vaguely, to grab someone's interest, but not so much as to give away the ending. As stated in my annotated version (you can find the link at the bottom of this post), the author uses a praising tone when discussing the film.
For our quarterly movie review, each of us should have a choice about whether to work individually or in groups of 3-4 people. Each group will choose a film to review, and watch the movie over the weekend (therefore the assignment should be given towards the end of the week). Then we'll write our movie reviews, keeping three aspects of a film in mind. On the following school day, everyone should bring in a draft of their review so that we can peer edit them. We should highlight each other's drafts, as we did today in class with a movie review online.
You can find the version the movie review that I annotated here.
Hi! I'm Grace, and I'm currently a sophomore in the Communication Arts Program at my school. Unlike most of my peers, this is my first year at the school, I transferred here after spending my freshman year somewhere else. I am extremely glad to be here.
In case you're wondering, I named this blog Grace the Brony because I'm a brony - someone who likes My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.
I'm very excited to begin my Media class this year! In the past, I've worked independently on a few AMV's (Animated Music Videos). These are basically mashups of one or more animated movies/TV shows set to music. I haven't been making very many lately, but I hope to start up again soon.
A few years ago, I took a summer course in computer animation at a community college around where I live. A friend and I made two short stop-motion animations using toys. I was the person who came up with the ideas!
I have a few ideas about how we can use our blogs this year:
Sharing and collaborating on our film projects
Submitting ideas for class projects
If someone is having trouble with something related to filming or editing, someone can make a tutorial to help them and put it on their blog
