Im posting this to kind of make up for what i have been slacking on. I realize that I wont get credit for it, but I know I need to do this. At least it should help me work on the final project. I am really not a blogger, so doing this is really difficult. I dont like keeping a diary or journal and this seems very much akin to doing just that. I think I would rather have to turn in a paper each unit about this topic than post something here. So anyway here goes.
Photography - I think what I learned most from doing this unit is that photography is supposed to be fun and that you should shoot what feels right. I liked working on this project because it made me think about the images I was capturing and how that image might effect another person. I had to look at the objects, in the view finder in the way that the person viewing my image might look at them. I had to try to see the meaning that the object would have to them, if any. Trying to view images in this way made me think about what it would be like to do this for a living and how that kind of constant observation would change me. I think that it would force me to look at the details more and realize what the feeling is behind the object. I would have to capture the moment when the moment was right, regardless of my own personal feelings about the image I was going to capture. Another thing I thought about was how to get students, especially freshmen, to see things like this. I thought about having them go on a cell phone hunt for something that was unique or something that would last longer than they would live or something that reminded them of their favorite memory. Then having them write a short story about the photo and what the meaning was to them and what they would want others to see in the image. I also thought about having them discuss what the meaning of their photo's were in a small group, but im afraid that with freshmen, they would be too inmature to understand that there are feelings behind these images and they might make fun of others for how they feel. Anyway, these ideas are making me think of ways to get my photo unit to be more meaningful to my students.
Movie: I think what I learned from this lesson is recreating a moment is hard, coordinating a moment is harder, and catching a moment is impossible. I do movie projects with my students often and I know how much work goes into a successful film. I also realize that sometimes an idea just hits you and you have to go with it. This project was difficult for me because I didnt know how to make a film more compelling by staging it. I didnt want to just make a movie about something that I didnt care about but I felt that was what i needed to do. I tried to write down ideas about what to make a movie on and it was almost impossible to get actors or time since I was home with a new baby. This was probably the most challenging project in that I really had to think about what to do. I got my idea from watching a video where a kid was reacting to something in an unusual way, I thought that would be cool, but hard to film. Then on superbowl sunday, my son reacted in such a wierd way at having daddy eat the spider (sillyband) that I wanted to somehow recreate the moment. I knew that recreating it would be next to impossible, but I still wanted to try. So while holding my squirming newborn, we got our chance and tried to make it happen. I filmed the entire thing so I would have some choices to go with in editing. In the first instant my newborn cried because big brother was crying. I really wanted that, but he didnt do it again, so we went with the spider act. Doing this project made me think about what it would take to have my students make a movie that was emotionally moving. I thought about the problems that could come up, things that might make others very uncomfortable. I dont want that. Having a group work together also causes other issues, they may not feel the same about the same things. Another limitation to this with my students is that not everyone has a video camera and often will want to use mine outside of school, which I am not allowed to do. So they have to create their video's in class. This limits what they can do. I thought about having them remake a commercial or scene from a show in a way that would better sell the item or better display the meaning behind the scene. This seemed more doable because the kids would know more about these films and be better able to make it something more moving to others who watched them. I think overall the movie section would be more dificult to work with in my class because of the limitations I have with my group. Film is something where you can completely control what the viewer sees and in a way tell them what they should feel about what they are seeing by controlling the lighting, music, pace, and background. It is this medium that can be most impactful on a person's emotions, but is the hardest to work with.
Architecture: THis project was the least meaningful for me thus far. I realize why the requirements were the way they were and that you wanted us to focus on the way the store helped sell the products using decorating, color, lighting, and arrangement. It was the suggestion that we be descrete that made this project one I did not want to do. I do not like being sneaky or underhanded and that is what I felt I was supposed to do. As for what I learned from doing this. I learned to look at the way the store was laid out to try to see what they were about, was it effeciency of people movement, or trapping them in to get them to buy more stuff? Were the colors meant to excite you, calm you, or remind you of what was being placed in that area? Were the arrangment of the product for ease of finding them or to decoratively display so you would think of what they would look like in your home? All are good things to think about when evaluating a store. I think with this project I would have liked to compare exterior architecture and design while relating the design to what the content of the building was. I think that relating signage, shape, and purpose would be something more interesting and easier to film. When it comes to making architecture more compelling, I think of looking at how architecture has progressed throughout the ages. I think of all the ways that buildings and monuments were constructed and developed. I think of how the artist (architect) was thinking when developing this. I wonder what that person would have thought to see their building/ monument the way it is today. I also wonder what that same person would do if their creation were destroyed. How would they feel? I know that when I create something I am protective of it and will try to keep it safe for a long time. I guess when it comes to architecture, the why is more important than the what.
work of art: this project looks like it is going to be something I will really enjoy. I want to capture things in a new way and make people see something they didnt see before. I think that photographing the people's reaction to a homeless person's plea for help will be something more compelling than just a photo of a homeless person. I think making people react is the point of making a photo.
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