One Minute Movie Reflection

The idea for our one minute movie just came to us. We were sitting down talking about ideas and one of us just shouted out “Kite”. From there we just started talking about possible ideas that could happen with a kite getting stuck in a tree. Throwing shoes in the tree, jumping to get the kite were all ideas that we came up with. Other ideas that were to difficult to film were climbing a ladder and jumping out of the tree. All in all, I was happy with the idea that we came up with and it worked out really well.
During the writing process the thing that I felt was most challenging was making the story less than 2 minutes and making sure we could make everything we were writing possible. There are so many possibilities of how to get a kite stuck out of a tree but we had to think of the ideas that we had props for and could be possible to film. I think that another challenge was agreeing on everything and not trying to go over the top.
We did write a lot of versions of our script. We had so many ideas and then narrowed them down to the best ideas and put that in the script. While trying to film a part in our movie we soon discovered that it was way to hard to film so we had to go back and delete that scene from the script.
The hardest time during pre-production was creating our props and gets our actors and actresses together. Making the kite was difficult because we had to make it stay in the tree and people were very bust so it was hard to gather them and it was even hard to get a camera at the time.
Using our story board was very helpful during the filming. It was easy to be able to see what we would be filming and know what we had to do and where we had to be. It was easier then looking at the script because we would lose that and we would have to read through but with a story board was very helpful during the filming. It was easy to be able to see what we would be filming and know what we had to do and where we had to be. It was easier then looking at the script because we would lose that and we would have to read through but with a story board you could just look at the drawings.
During the movie it was a challenge to get the right angles and the right light. Sometimes we had to stop because out camera would run out of batteries which were very frustrating. Also, the right wind at the end of the movie was hard because the kite had to hang and blow in the breeze. It was good because there was a lot of wind but it was so strong that the kite would blow out of the tree.
Something that struck me to filming a movie is that it is not easy. You can’t just grab a camera and start filming. There is a lot more to it and you have to do a lot of planning. In Hollywood they have amazing editors and there movies turn out great but it is really hard with a tiny little camera and not a lot of time.
I am not really sure what I would do differently next time because I thought that our movie turned out really well. I think that I would not try to make everything perfect because when you are filming it won’t be and you just need to let it flow. I think we spent to much time perfecting it.
During editing the hardest part was putting our music on the movie. It was very frustrating. Also, sometimes my partner and I didn’t communicate and I would work on it and she wouldn’t know and then she would go edit the movie and switch everything that I did so there the communicating was bad. It was also hard to put everything in order. Because everyone’s movie was in the same folder it was hard to find ours and put them in the right place.
The movie to me came out very much like the final script. I think that we went by the story board very well and the movie came out great.
We did have to delete some things from the story board because they did not work out well but for the most part I think that it went just like the story board.
At the end of the movie again the hardest part was putting on the music and getting it into the right folder. There were so many folders and I saved the movie at least 100 times.
To another young movie maker my advice would be to plane everything very good. Make sure that you have all of your props and the right people to be in your movie. Also create a story board because my partner and I found that very effective. Also make sure that your camera has batteries in them.

March 9, 2009

The Outsiders Book Review

By: Bailey Hawke

***** (5 out of 5 stars)

In the novel The Outsiders author S.E Hinton describes the rivalry between Greasers and Socs. The plot takes place in Oklahoma with the gang also known as the Greasers with members in it such as Ponyboy, Sodapop, Johnny and many others. They wear their hair greasy and long with jeans and converse unlike the upper class rivals that Socs who are tidier and wear much nicer clothes.

Throughout the book S.E. Hinton describes the nonstop rival between the two classes and the bond between “the gang”. She shows this by discussions with each class and the gang standing up for each other and fighting back. During the book best friends Ponyboy and Johnny, both Greasers learn valuable lessons by saving people from a church and from past experiences that Johnny went through with the Socs. Ponyboy being the youngest brother has to deal with his older brother, Darryl yelling at him a lot and being very over protective. After his parents death he lives with Darryl and Sodapop his two brothers who create a strong friendship while dealing with the Socs and going to fight in the rumble, a big fist fight held at the lot with both classes. “The Gang” must also watch out for Dally a very tough trouble making greaser who had already gone to jail. S.E Hinton clearly shows relationship between Dally and Johnny after Dally makes a complex dission after a shocking move by Johnny.

S.E Hinton writes a book about typical teenage boys in Oklahoma that describes a very rough life for all of them, some even growing up without parents. I think that this book is suitable for middle schoolers and up. Middle school is the perfect reading level and people at that age could possibly relate to the text very well. Younger readers may be very struck with some outcomes and it may not be suitable for their ages. Anywhere from middle school is a great age even if the book is to easy for you past those ages. As a middle schooler I enjoyed The Outsiders very much and I thought that it was a fantastic read.

Why do people have a natural inclinations to look for a leader?

I think that people look for a leader because it is someone to look up to and depend on and other people may not like to rule. People think that you won't be liked if you do something wrong for your group. Being a leader you can get blamed for many things like not ruling right or making the wrong decision and things come falling from your group and your members of the group may get upset while you are getting blamed. People look for good leaders to move there group forward.

How does the need to belong and be accepted by others cloud our judgment and keep people from making good choices

I think that people belong and be accepted by a club or group because they sometimes feel the power to do what they want and everyone is equal. In The Wave the students have to basically do what Mr. Ross tells them to do like the wave motto or how you speak in class. Being a part of The Wave was a big deal at Gordon High. If you are in The Wave you may not be friends with one of your old friends just because they aren't in The Wave. The was sort of chose your friends if you were in it or not. Also in the Wave people were getting beaten up because they felt that they had more power over a person that was not in the Wave. However in the Wave everyone was treated equally even the class loser Robert Billings. It is definitely not good to beat up or hurt someone or feel better then someone because they don't want to be in a group.

I think that people are misunderstood by parents and teachers. I think that kids are misunderstood by there parents because some of the time parents tend not to believe you or they think that you aren't right. Parents tend to get the wrong idea and not really believe what someone is trying to tell them. I think that parents and kids have different minds and understand things differently which make the parent or adult think that they are right. Just because the adults are older and maybe have more experience with things they always think that they are right. I think that they get a misunderstanding of what the kid is trying to tell them. For example, in the book THE WAVE this happens to Laurie and her mom does not like the idea of what they are doing in history class. Laurie thinks that she has a good understanding but her mom disagrees.

Memoir

Hit or Miss
By: Bailey
Before the game my dad, the head coach called me over and said that I had to pitch.
This made my stomach drop. I wanted to pitch and I was excited but at the same time I was nervous. Pitching for my dad made me nervous because he always wanted me to do so good and he would always yell and give me advice from the dugout. In the first inning however, this didn't happen, I did fantastic. The crowd cheered and my team-mates gave me high fives when I ran in from the pitching mound. This made me very confident now.
The next inning I sprinted to the mound and did my usual warm-up that every pitcher does. This was five pitches to the catcher before the batter was in the batters box. Once the batter walked up to the plate I soon noticed how tall she was. This was the scariest feeling as a pitcher. Especially when the girl had to be two feet taller than you. My dad yelled to me from sitting on the bucket from the dugout “Concentrate Bailey and pitch as hard as you can.” Sometimes for me it is hard to listen to my dad and do what he says but I wanted to make him happy so I listened. It turned out in a good way and the girl struck out.
While I wasn't pitching I drank so much water. I had an ice cooler wrapped around my neck and my forehead so that I could try to stay cool while I was out in the field pitching. That wasn't really possible knowing that it was over 100 degrees. During the next inning more and more sweat dripped from my forehead. The ball became slippery as it usually did in the hot humid weather. I had to continuously wipe my hand on the dirt and then rub my hand on the ball. While I was doing that people cheered and screamed and the other team yelled and cheered but I was used to this and it didn't mess my pitching up one bit. I was still concentrated and kept pitching great for 3 straight innings. We were winning by a landslide and I was confident that we were going to win the game but I new that I couldn't give up. I had only heard that about 10 times from my dad. I was used to that and I had to just acknowledge him and keep pitching just like I was doing before.
During the middle of the 5th inning I overheard my dad and the umpire talking and that if I got through this inning without letting the other team score we would win the game by mercy ruling the team. I wanted to jump up and down but I stayed calm and concentrated on pitching well. When the batter came up to bat and my heart started to beat like crazy. My hand got sweaty and so many voices were running through my head voices of people cheering and the other team. The first two batters were out and the last batter stepped up to the plate. There were two strikes and just as I through the pitch my hand totally slipped off the ball and drifted to the middle instead of being outside. The girl hit the ball really far to center field and I thought that this ball was going to be a home run. I didn't want to turn around. I new that if I did it wouldn't be a good sight. I waited and I finally turned around and took a very deep breath. Our center fielder had the ball in her glove and was running in jumping up and down knowing that we had won. I jumped up and down just as the rest of my team did. We smiled as we shook the other team’s hand. We were thrilled that we won.
While getting our trophy's everybody was cheering for one another and each person had a huge smile on their face. I was very proud that we won but most of all that I had accomplished pitching the whole game. It was or last tournament of the year and I was extremely proud of myself for all that I had done.
This was one of the best games and all-star season of my life and an unforgettable memory.