Our Film is progressing at the expected pace. We have made/edited the rough cut of our first act with a subsequent poster, and have gotten the footage for the ACT II scenes, in Downtown Silver Spring. Challenges included creating a manageable time for all of us to meet, but we were successful in sticking to the plan.
This week I have posed for our movie poster, started the Photoshop process for the poster, and compiled songs for our rough cut storyboard.
Next week, we shall finishing editing the rough cuts for Acts II and III, quickly film the third act with appropriate in school lighting, editing sound and clip order on FCP, and make polishes. We will also be re-shooting the first scene, tomorrow morning, due to loss of our previous clips.
Our film is progressing with adequate work being done with ACT 1. Although we have had a setback to do file deletion of our initial action scenes, we plan to redo them at Downtown Silver Spring, this weekend. Furthermore, we have finished act one scenes shot in school, both the bullying and and shoe purchase scenes, and are currently editing. Our editing and sound selection are going smoothly.
This week, I acted in the film itself, manage file storage to avoid media loss, and have begun planning for music selection. I have also helped with clip trimming, and editing the sound levels on Final Cut pro, for the first shot sequences in the hallway of Blair.
Next week, I will assist my group mates with shot editing of Silver Spring footage, and work on syncing music with action.
Our film is progressing slowly, but with good planning for a solid finish of filming the is week One challenge, we continue to have is following through with storyboard ideas. We plant to overcome this, by mapping out scene directions for the actors before filming and running through actions and acting before camera shots. With this, however, a major success has been establishing shot composition and clarifying camera angles for shoot in Downtown Silver Spring.
In a direct way, I have contributed to the film by playing the role of Joey, the protagonist of our film's first Act. Joey's role is essential to jump starting the conflict in our film, and thus I have tried hard to emotionally build my role as "vulnerable" and "targeting," so as to initiate tension among the actors as well. I have cooperated with scene composition and cinematographers Amy and Max, to seamlessly transition between scenes.
Our goal for this week is to complete our filming of Acts I and II of the film. This includes carpooling and pick-up to our shot area, enlisting a security officer or police officer for side acting, and coordinating shots with Silver Spring store-owners Thus, I am trying hard to make sure our pre-production is specifically and effectively accomplished to ensure maximum focus on the production.
Obstetrics and Gynecology is a tough profession. Not only do doctors in this subspeciality recieve some of the highest malpractice charges, but there is an increasing number of men in this profession who recieve scrutiny.
From a male perspective (with efforts to be careful in how I write this post/not gender-biased) I don't see why men CAN'T connect to emotional, social, and physical needs of female patients. Perhaps its a sense of personal experience with certain health conditions, or a sense of connection that female OB/GYNs have with their patients. But, having men in this profession as well as in others (such as Nursing), seems to be a way of diversifying the perspectives and lenses involved.
I think a few stereotypes need to broken. These include, the thirst for money among men in this profession, and the indifference to female needs. There are good motivations for going to medicine, and frankly, I don't see why one's gender has to effect their ability to practice.
And just to put the other side of the picture. What about female urologists? We need to look at medical practioners from an objective standpoint, and not just based on gender.
Here it is! An honest reflection of the documentary process. It had its ups and downs, but in the end, I learned a lot about Medicaid and disability care in the U.S. Making this documentary motivates me to make change!
My group’s documentary topic was a criticism
of the present-day attendant care benefits for disabled persons. It dissected policy that was ineffective for
disability rights flexibility and drew upon the personal experiences of two
disabled healthcare recipients. Now that
my group is close to finishing this project, I am excited to see the end
product and create an advocating message.
Having covered disability studies in my last year’s Inspirations play for drama class, the topic of disabled rights is
of huge importance to me. I will even
further explore this through an internship next summer with the Gilchrist
Center for Diversity in Montgomery County.
Thus, I have no regrets. Topic
selection was also hugely important because I needed to pick a topic that I
knew I could commit to, based on previous experience. The freedom in choosing a topic allowed me to
think and take time with my decision, which was beneficial in the long run.
One interesting
thing that I learned during the documentary process was the extent to which the
disabled are forced into Medicare, and the inhumane marrying for insurance, and
lack of security of benefits. The
personal interviews helped me to truly realize this, and also dispelled any
myths I had about disability healthcare.
The
biggest challenge that my group faced creating the documentary was integrating
the B-Roll and Interview A-Roll into a cohesive product. This challenge arose due to the lack of
communication between me and Ravyn, when we were scripting each part of the documentary. We tackled this challenged by first
transcribing all of the A-Roll footage and looking at where our B-Roll or
secondary research could add in more depth.
Thus, we integrated our extra B-Roll by using the A-Roll as a point of
reference.
If I
had the chance to create another documentary, I would take more part in the
interview part. Finding diverse and
dynamic interviewees is the key to a great jump-start in a subject-based
documentary. Although our interviewees
were extremely informative and effectively passionate, playing a personal role
in that process would’ve helped to become more involved with the overall
process.
In
terms of what the teacher can do, I think less is more (to some extent). Monitoring the students is GOOD, and
honestly, it helps me stay on track.
However, I think the weekly planning half-sheets are a waste of time,
and don’t really help the students organize their time (tasks and plans are
often repeated). Furthermore, I think it
would be helpful to have a professional reference guide for technical
errors/troubleshooting in Final Cut Pro, such that major mistakes (such as
loosing footage) will be avoided. Along
with this, should come strict protocol for file management. A few final cut
basics should be re-enforced in the beginning of the process.
Overall,
this was a FUN PROJECT! I would definitely do it again, and feel as if I can
explore other documentary topics on my own, using the schools I have
learned.
She has an English PhD from Yale, and is by far one of the most talented memoir writers I know.
Priscilla Gilman writes about autism, but particularly how it has changed her as a mother, woman, and writer. After learning that her son, Benji, was diagnosed with severe Autism, Gilman ventured to write the book The Anti-Romantic Child: A Memoir of Unexpected Joy. This book speaks volumes on the subtle, and unspoken transformations people go through, while living and learning with an autistic child. Gilman's book, daily facebook posts, and deep insight shed an informative and progressive view on children with autism.
Me being personally interested in the neonatal aspects of developmental disorders such as autism, Gilman's book and perspective have really inspired me to pursue some area of research related to this. Her book isn't scientific but rather humanistic focusing on the little progressions and hidden talents of her son, such as poetry, or science fairs, and small milestones that reveal his true humanity!
I love the perspective and the light that's shed upon on just one boy. Gilman's message is one that I think we can all follow! There should be more books like hers.
Queens. Jackson Heights. Beeps. Lights. Fish Smell. Goat bones.
Is this the real precedence of BANGLADESHI AMERICA?
Not really. In fact, Bangladeshi American aren't solely a minority among the large of wave of Asians that came to the U.S. in the 60s. We have a history in New York, that goes long back.
The purpose of the book Bengali Harlemis to relay the profiles of early Bengali fishermen, and trades people who arrived on New York City's shores, and began their unique lives. They intermarried with Puerto Ricans and Blacks and created a long-lost identity in Baltimore Chicago, and NYC.
I'm getting this book in late february from a cousin-friend and am curious to learn about the history of my people in the U.S. I love diversity and the urban minority story of NYC. This book is sure to be a blast, getting to know to transnational stories of Bengali-mixed persons across the socioeconomic spectrum.
I am a sucker for all things Middle East. Not only the political and international relation tensions, but also the food, culture, music, etc.
However, one thing that has interested and provoked me recenetly, is a very silent war. A war done completely through computers, but also harming the United States' most precious security networks. The war is with Iran.
Iran's nuclear power is not its only asset. Its SMART country. Kids study almost all of hours of the day, and computer science and cryptography are majorly innovative fields of study in the country. With a plethora of youth and old professionals, cyber warfare is booming.
Network decryption, hacking into missile files, and damage personal information are some of the ways Iran is attacking the U.S. almost discretely. However, the true harm is that not only is the attack done on the national or defense level, but also at the level of personal computers and identity theft. Iran's leadership combined with the grandness of Chinese cyber-power, can only possibily result in utter chaos.
Colleges across the states are urging undergraduates to pursue the promised field of Cybersecurity. This push for more Computer whizzes in American soil is urgent, as the demand for strengthened securities is HIGH!
So let's think. Can we really wait long? How much time will it take for America's " binary" walls to start crumbling.
I love books. I love books about people, about changing experiences, and about people from all across the world. Reading a particularly short story about world travel in English Class today, reminded me of how much I love Children's Ethnic Literature. Ethnic I guess can mean a multitude of things. Chinese, Hispanic, Black, Indian, Arab, Pacific Americans and more. However, the interesting thing about this genre, is the mixing flavors of voice and style. Just take a look at a few of these excerpts:
"For woman is yin, the darkness within, where untempered passions lie. And man is yang, bright truth lighting our minds." - Amy Tan, The Joy Luck Club, Ch. 4
“We are like the phoenix," said Abuelita. "Rising again, with a new life ahead of us.”
I love the traditions of old generations past, the tones of ancestors, and the interesting facets of one's ancestral ethnic culture that play a part in the American Dream. That's why I really love this genre. It makes being American so flavorful, all-encompassing, and new in constantly changing experiences. Future Plans? I may take some college courses on Latino Studies, Asian America Lit, Black Diaspora, etc. (you name it!:)). The more classes and experiences I get to have in this genre, the more tastes I'll get of the melting pot! And oh, just one more proposal. How cool would it be to take a shot at creating some of my own. Maybe integrating an Ethnic Short Story into a project for Film Class? I'm sure It'll be a challenge, but I think it might be an interesting/supercoolandfun idea. Tell me what you guys think. Any ideas??
Hi Readers! This is my new Independent Video Project on what it is like to live in Silver Spring. It combines two of the main things I love about Silver Spring, Maryland: the murals and multicultural diversity. I highlighted my favorite pieces of public art displays in the downtown area. I hope the British kids coming to visit CAP enjoy it, as well as Blair Students. We often take for granted a simple piece of sculpture or painting as we pass by, but taking a closer look helped me to TRULY to appreciate the hidden layer of intense history and stories! I hope you guys enjoy this tour through Downtown as much as I did!
(This was shot using an iPad 2)
Flamenco. Not a lot of people know exactly what it is, more or less, have an interest in it. To me, its an art form, a form of expressing ones feeling, in either dance, music, or any form of movement. It can be broad or narrow, and interpreted in so many ways.
A traditional dance and music style originating from Andalusia, Spain, Flamenco is a tantalizing melting pot of arab, gypsy, and spanish art. The tocaor (guitar player) accompanies the bailaor (dancer) and cantaor (singer). To me the mixture of these three artists, along with a clapping rhythm allow for the most simple yet versatile mode of expression. Anger, love, jealousy, glee, and despair are just some of the multitude of feelings expressed in this art form.
Of my favorite beats/rhythms of flamenco is the traditional buleria. This slow, and passionate style is very raspy and mystic sounding to me (a facet I love). Here is one of my favorite examples, featuring the renowned Estrella Morente and one of the three flamenco dynasties: Los Habichuelas.
Flamenco can be a single art form, or a musical festivity enjoyed by many. One of the three flamenco dynasties is called La Ketama. Here is one of their popular DVD albums. I love how its so improvisational and family-oriented.
Finally, flamenco is slowly evolving with tastes from other nations and Spain's youth. Here are two examples. One is a collaboration with more modern artists: Nina Pastori and Raul Rojas. The other is a flamenco rendition of a famous Turkish folk song.
This post was almost like poetry for me. It helped me put out my true feelings for this art form, and I enjoyed sharing some of my favorites with you:)
The
biggest challenge that my group faced creating the documentary was integrating
the B-Roll and Interview A-Roll into a cohesive product. This challenge arose due to the lack of
communication between me and Ravyn, when we were scripting each part of the documentary. We tackled this challenged by first
transcribing all of the A-Roll footage and looking at where our B-Roll or
secondary research could add in more depth.
Thus, we integrated our extra B-Roll by using the A-Roll as a point of
reference.
Priscilla Gilman writes about autism, but particularly how it has changed her as a mother, woman, and writer. After learning that her son, Benji, was diagnosed with severe Autism, Gilman ventured to write the book The Anti-Romantic Child: A Memoir of Unexpected Joy. This book speaks volumes on the subtle, and unspoken transformations people go through, while living and learning with an autistic child. Gilman's book, daily facebook posts, and deep insight shed an informative and progressive view on children with autism.
The purpose of the book Bengali Harlem is to relay the profiles of early Bengali fishermen, and trades people who arrived on New York City's shores, and began their unique lives. They intermarried with Puerto Ricans and Blacks and created a long-lost identity in Baltimore Chicago, and NYC. 
I love books. I love books about people, about changing experiences, and about people from all across the world. Reading a particularly short story about world travel in English Class today, reminded me of how much I love Children's Ethnic Literature. Ethnic I guess can mean a multitude of things. Chinese, Hispanic, Black, Indian, Arab, Pacific Americans and more. However, the interesting thing about this genre, is the mixing flavors of voice and style. Just take a look at a few of these excerpts:
I love the traditions of old generations past, the tones of ancestors, and the interesting facets of one's ancestral ethnic culture that play a part in the American Dream. That's why I really love this genre. It makes being American so flavorful, all-encompassing, and new in constantly changing experiences.
