Big Idea Reflection

How did you decide on your Big Idea?

I didn't. There were too many ideas, so i decided to take a risk with an idea i hadn't put much thought (or effort) into. It was late at night and i didn't have much time left to make something extravagant, so i filmed random things that i thought might match up with the poem i had written a few nights before. But the poem itself is something i wrote without a reason, so the ideas i had before of being genuinely human came out through my poem without me trying to execute it that way.

How did you decide on a way to show your big idea through video?

I just wrote a poem a few nights ago with no purpose. And because i was struck with such minimal time, i used the poem because if its something i wrote, it obviously means something to me. The poem covers alot of ideas and thoughts of mine. I think because i wrote it without a purpose, it has more meaning to it and is more genuine. It's not just for a project.

What video concepts did you decide not to do? Why?

I decided not to go with something over done and complicated, because i had no time and if i had actually done a complicated idea, i would have spent much more time than given to accomplish it. I also  have realized that the simpler the video, the more complex the idea can become. 

Do you feel you effectively talked about your Big Idea with your video? Why or why not?

Yes i do because the poem i wrote that narrated the film was very natural to me, because i wrote it randomly. And i think that's what made my "idea" better because it was genuine. It wasnt something i forced myself to do.

What was the best part of the process?  The worst part?

The best part was the editing. I thought this whole video would be complete crap, but going with my gut and putting it all together really proved me wrong. I realized i really need to just go with an idea and work with it. And because of that, during editing, i realized it works better that way. I thought the poem wouldnt go with what i filmed. But it worked! A very good feeling.

An additional idea:

Hm.

Big Idea Questions

What is beauty to me?

Beauty is all perception. We all have our own ideas of what is beautiful because we are all attracted to different things. And i find that everything is beautiful. Every ounce of our being is beautiful, however flawed we may be. And not just being, but our surroundings. Like the buzz of a bee. Or the sound of rain. 

What is beauty to others?

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Yet society has influenced us and told us what beauty is. We think beauty is a bunch of skinny white model purging themselves so their rib cages show. Beauty is imperfection and finding beauty and the perception of who is finding the beauty."--Trevor Lewis

Are we still as human as we were centuries ago, or has time changed our behavior?

I think we will always be human, but as time progresses, people learn to hide who they are. Its the product of society. To stop what is natural and do what is unnatural to us in order to be accepted.

What little things are there to appreciate in life?

Every moment that we regret, every moment of pain, every moment of despair. Those moments are those least appreciated. It makes sense though...why would anyone want to appreciate unhappiness? But looking back, those are the moments we should be most thankful for, because the only way to go is forward, and those vulnerable moments make us who we are.

Do we take these things for granted?

Yes. We dont appreciate the natural beauty of the Earth. This Earth was put here for us, why not appreciate its beauty?...not take advantage of it, as others would say. We dont appreciate elders, or "wise ones". We dont appreciate the wisdom the world has to offer. There's so much to this question.

Do we neglect being true to being human because of societal standards? (speaking at free will, pursuing our passions, nurturing our families etc..)

Yes. There are expectations to be met, but interestingly enough, these expectations are set by others. The line of being human and being a puppet is crossed when our dreams become fantasies and our lives resemble a glass ant hill where the people in most power look in at us and laugh because they can get so many people to conform. Being human is dreaming, thinking our own thoughts, and working towards our own destinies. We each have our personal paths, and it is our duty to follow it. 

What is the difference between the stereotypical beauty and the word beauty itself?

Stereotypical- skinny, piercing eyes, high cheekbones, small feet, small waist, muscular, nice teeth, clear skin etc.
Beauty- good heart, good intentions, genuine-ness in all forms (personality, appearance), intelligent but humble, giving, innocent

What are really important things in peoples' life/what do people live for?
Family, religion/faith, money, acceptance, love, peace, destruction, power etc.

Is there a limit to our thoughts, beliefs, feelings?
Not unless we let there be.

How free are we? Mind, body, and soul
Our minds are as free as we let them be. Oftentimes we forget to protect them from others (society). I think mind and body both connect, because we let our minds control our bodies. So if our minds' are controlled by society's wants of a perfect image, our bodies reflect that. Our bodies reflect how we treat ourselves. So our bodies are as free as we let them be. As for our soul, we are capable of immense freedom. Freedom incapable of understanding. We work on OUR lives, OUR people, OUR problems, but to be soulful would be to be free of all limitations. We would nourish every connection. But the hardest part is finding and connecting with our souls, and realizing that the world we live in has nothing to do with our souls...our souls are forever. So basically, our souls are as free as we let them be. Catch my drift? We are the key to our own destinies.

Big Idea brainstorming

A.
Big Idea: Observing the beauty in life/things that make us human
Examples: laughter, bare skin, smiles, tears, music, heart beats, hair, long car rides with the windows down, sunlight, wind, clear blue skies, rainy days, expression (angry faces, surprised faces, sad faces, happy faces, humorous faces), loud busy city, tranquil country side, holding hands, unexpected jestures of kindness, food, talking about life with a wise elderly, lips, collarbones, religon (buddhist temple, mosque, church etc.), protesting, rock concert, dancing carelessly, running around, water, swimming, hugs, sobbing, sound of a creek, singing....

B.
What is beauty to me?
What is beauty to others?
Are we still as human as we were centuries ago, or has time changed our behavior?
What little things are there to appreciate in life?
Do we take these things for granted?
Do we neglect being true to being human because of societal standards? (speaking at free will, pursuing our passions, nurturing our families etc..)
What is the difference between the stereotypical beauty and the word beauty itself?
What are really important things in peoples' life/what do people live for?
Is there a limit to our thoughts, beliefs, feelings?
How free are we? Mind, body, and soul

C.
Things that make us human:
love
freedom
emotion (fear, anger, happiness, surprise, pain, jealousy, craziness)
thought
lying
conforming
growing
how we make ourselves a home
art (music, painting etc)
writing
living in an alive world (grass, trees, animals etc)
making alive things dead (wooden tables, paper, cooking etc)
destroying what's beautiful in the eyes of others/disrespecting eachother
pride/believing in something passionately
spontaniety (screaming out a sunroof, climbing things, tickling, weirdness)
being strange and different from eachother, yet being the same
words/language
chaos/violence
pain/injury/blood
time

Intervention Rubric

In your own words, what is intervention?

Intervention to me is going out of my way to present an idea or thought to someone else. Its sharing that idea or thought in hopes to reform their views on the matter, or just to make an impact on them in general.

- What was the purpose of this exercise? 

The purpose is to break social norm or what is "normal" and make a difference to someone.

- Why did you choose to intervene the way you did? I’m looking for more than “I thought it would be funny” or “no one would expect it.”  What social/personal/human issue did you intend to comment on? Why? How?

Well, i had many ideas i wanted to do. But to be quite honest, the idea i chose was the most simple but also the most personal of my ideas, since i knew the person. My intervention of ordering a pizza for my favorite teacher answers the question in itself. I just wanted to appreciate my teacher for putting up with my class and i. I also knew the class took advantage of that fact and would sometimes disrespect him, but i wanted to show him we do appreciate him even if we dont act like it by buying his favorite pizza.

- Why did you choose the location? I’m looking for more thought than “lots of people would be there, so I went there.” How did the location play up your specific idea?

The location of his classroom is where i have class with him, and at that time of day, so it would only make sense to order him the pizza in the class i have him in.

- Name three specific examples, ideas, artworks or statements you observed in class that helped you plan for this project.

1. I liked the simple idea of doing something nice for someone else. I wanted to do something that would mean alot to me as well as the other person, not just something silly.

2. But i also liked random, spontaneous things, that people would not expect. One of my ideas was to take bed sheets and hang them over hallway entrances. Something like that that would almost freak them out- i would love to see the reaction.

3. One idea i liked that i wished i did was keeping the idea anonymous. I liked the idea of keeping the intervention a mystery. It makes the intervention that much more effective if its unknown to the person being intervened.

NOT DONE WITH VIDEO

Intervention ideas

check out a cd at the library. take that cd out, return the cd with a cd of my own. could be myself singing, could be a recording of me giving an inspiring lecture of some sort. id ask them to return the cd by a certain date, and leave a note/cd of their own inside. i would check it out again. either keep this type of penpal thing going or just return the actual cd all together.
 OR take your own cd and put it in the library

write a note on the back of a bathroom stall (with dry erase marker)

find a random address, hopefully foreign, and write them a letter. 

get boys and blue together and randomly go up to an old lady in the cafeteria of tuttle mall and serenade her

ask random people the truth about what they think about people, society etc. they have to be completely honest answers, that usually people keep to themselves and are too afraid to say outloud. id make a montage of these people answering questions in a video and put it on the announcements. the basic idea is showing honesty and how important it is. and also the importance of stating our opinion and not letting others influence us.

get huge bed sheets and block the hallways with them. the sheets will be split down the center and there can be a sign and arrow pointing to it saying "Narnia". this hallway can be the one leading to the media arts room.  when people enter "Narnia" they'll come face to face with a huge poster saying something encouraging or motivating.

get a pizza delivered to my favorite teacher during class. (id pay for it and write something inside the box before giving it to him). i would get another teacher to randomly give it to him. he wouldnt know it was me.

give letters to people who i dont personally know, but that i admire and tell them why i admire them. anonymously. i could find their locker and stuff it in the slits.

i could tape notes on all lunch tables saying encouraging/funny/nice things 

Alter Ego ideas

1. American extremist/Confederate/Uneducated Hillbilly

american flag

camoflauge

dirt n' mud

timbaland boots

confederate flag

beer bottles/cans

2. Aliza Thornberry/Steve Irwin/Wildlife explorer/Construction worker

glasses

safari outfit

fake plants

fake animals

hard hat

saw 

timbaland boots

neon vest

3. Westboro Baptist Church-goer

offensive signs

bible

burning camoflauge

Animated Anicdote

Describe a challenge (or set of challenges) you faced in planning for your sequence.

This project was difficult for me because i am not particularily good at stop motion. Im very bad at managing my time and get impatient when doing animations. So my biggest challenge was putting down time and effort into my animations.

How did you meet the challenge?

I met this challenge every time i sat down in my room trying to animate. I get distracted easily, so sitting at home working on a project is not good for me.


Describe your rationale for animating what you animated, and for using the method (stop frame vs cut paper vs handdrawn vs rotoscope etc) you chose.

I did stop frame because i thought i could be creative and it would be easier since im not great at drawing. I used a toy to move around because i needed to show her dad flailing around. Unfortunately i didnt have a guy toy so it was strange using a big Dora the explorer.


What was the best part of the project? The worst?

The best part of the project was the open-endedness. I had the freedom to be as creative as i wanted without restriction. The worst part was the animating though because im neither good or patient enough for it.