-26.3-

Disclaimer:
I am tired, running low on sleep, and it's dark out so these issues may very well be "night thoughts" and possibly are out of porportion to what I usually think during the daytime and at happier times.
Three minor issues:
1. Can I have hobbies?
I was a little bothered by this during the song writing workshop. I know that I'm not as serious about songwriting as my peers, and I don't intend to write songs for a living, so I feel like someone else who really cares should be in my spot. That I'm not...worthy enough to be with the serious people. That I'm out of my league. And yet...I want to be there and learn, too, but using chords and chord progressions is hard and it makes me think that I'm not cut out for song writing, but then I remember how accomplished I feel when I finish a song, and how I like the feeling of my brain turning off as I write a song, almost like when I'm drawing or painting.
2. Does everything have to be original?
Sometimes I want to play around. To not turn everything I do into an artistic statement, or something "of my own"- to not feel pressured  to make a great work and compete with others. To just do what I want. But sometimes I don't quite know what I want to do with Art.
3. Art funding vs. Science funding
This is from part of an episode of the show "Slings and Arrows" (which I love and I'll talk about in a later blog post.)
In one of the episodes, the financial director of a theatre company has to get funding for the production. He goes to the Minister of Culture, who grudgingly allots some funding. The Minister makes it a point that the funding for the production was the cost of one MRI machine, which could have been used to identify many terminal diseases in early, preventable, stages.
Ever since that episode, I was troubled by this. One must have bread, but also roses, I know this. However, I have a cousin who needs financial medical assistance, and I know that she's struggling to wait for a new wheelchair because hers is partly broken and a repair is too costly. It makes me uneasy to think that some of the money in the government that goes towards art programs prevents people in need, like my cousin, from getting much needed assistance. I know that funding art is important, I was angry when STAC got all of its funding cut (why can't they put some money from sports towards us!), but thinking about this issue brought feelings of conflict to the surface.

-25.3-

My brief commentary on two movies seen this year. (I would have included Kontroll, but I already reviewed it.)

-Rear window (seen in STAC): Great story, nice acting, and many beautiful shots. However, the plot moved slowly at times (we were discussing this in class, and this may be because of the style of the time...but I got a bit antsy while watching the beginning, which is odd because I'm used to slow movies.)

-Lincoln(seen outside of STAC): A good period piece, they really captured how dim things were eithout electricity, but the language was hard to understand at points... They did a good job at making a movie centered aroundthe passing of a bill be not as dull as it sounds.
(Also, it was odd to see Lincoln as a person...it shows how much you've learned about history when you didn't even know that Mr. Lincoln had children!)

-23.3-

The song writing workshop with Brian was different than I expected. It was more of a casual workshop. Brian brought his own chairs.
We sat and listened to some things that Brian was working on, and he took us through some of his creative process.
Sometimes songwriting seems overwhelming...you could have lyrics, but no music (I seem to be this type), music, but no lyrics...you can have a song in one key or change keys...you can take the melody up and then down again to change the pace or tone...then  many different styles...you could also pursue music writing, which is a different approach. With all of these options I feel a little overwhelmed whenever I sit down to write a song...
However, sitting down and writing seems to be the only way to find out which styles you're comfortable with, and which chord changes feel good to use. Brian showed us all of the files he had for a "daily practice" of song writing he had...I don't know if I'm /that/ dedicated to songwriting...sometimes I get in the mood to make music, but I'm never always flipped on. I like writing songs, but I feel worried that my seeing this as a...hobby isn't as good as the passions of the others in my group...but then again STAC is supposed to be for experimenting...
I think I need to find a method to approach songwriting -my very own procedure (since there isn't a set way to write songs...it's so boundless!)
I really liked the songs Brian showed us. My favorite was the Beatles tune he made for his girlfriend. He took famous lyrics from all of the Beatles' songs and turned it into a love song...in the style of the Beatles tunes, of course.) It was such a whimsical idea and very clever (I could feel myself grinning when he played the song for us!)
Brian also gave some good tips, such as, "Ask a question in your song so the audience's attention is grabbed." I wish he went more in-depth on how to approach styles of baselines/chord progressions, but I think I need to experiment with that (when writing the music for songs, I'm normally ok with the lyrics, but I get freaked out over how to approach the music.)
The song I presented went pretty well, I wrote it faster than my last two projects and actually had time to practice it, but I think I need to have more confidence in singing louder...it was odd, because Brian suggested that I record the instrumental and audio separately, and that's how I've been writing songs.
I was worried that mine wouldn't sound as well as the other people in my group, because I had so little experience with writing music, but everyone's songs were so different that it was hard to compare them to eachother.
Overall, I took away these five points:
1. To get good you need to practice a lot
2. Sing out
3. Try picking the tone of the song and writing music to that
4. Work on descendig baseline/chord progressions
5.You don't have to go through the process alone

edit: adding a point:
-Australia seems to be encouraging musicians to travel more than the American government. (see John's blog for more about this)

-24.3-

Trip 1: Met and The Neofuturists:

At the Met, Ishna and I went up to the exhibition on the roof, Cloud City. I had been on the exhibit earlier this summer, but it was just as fascinating as the first time. Every time you go into the sculpture you see new angles, and different ways people can be reflected.
After that, we ended up in the  Andy Warhol exhibit. At the exhibit, it was fun seeing how other artists stole ideas from Warhol and incorporated them into their own art. (My favorite pieces that I remember were the giant cigarette box and the maple syrup art of Jackson Pollock.)
We managed to get to the photography exhibit, but we didn't have a lot of time to look around. It was funny to see how people manipulated photographs before photoshop - a humorous example being an artist who boasted he could take a picture of the sky and moving waves...when in reality he took the pictures seperately and pasted them together (some of the waves in different pictures being taken from the same photo, as shown in the exhibit!)

I also realized that there is a HUGE AMOUNT of mediums to work with.  cuz luke showed animation that I've seem before, but I didn't know the animation was made on a linoleum (check if it was a linoleum)

-Trip both plays:
I love all of the work of the Neofuturists!
In the first play, On the Future, they focused on lighting techniques. It was fascinating to see some of the shadows created... I also loved how they constantly broke the 4th wall and interacted a lot with the audience (that meatball smelled amazing...) There were a lot of good things that could be borrowed (I really liked the time travel one, with the guy yelling out the window at himself and constantly coming and going...the one about the history of space told by gay people was interesting also...great lines said. I wish I had the script to that show!)

The second show, Too Much Light Makes the Baby go Blind, was fun, but not as...serious with their meaning, from what I could remember. There were good things to borrow from there, too, but that one was a real "experiment" (slightly ironic since it's been around longer than the first performance...)

Great trip as always...I hope to see more neofuturists!

-22.3-

So. In preparation for STAC live, I've been assigned to play piano for "Street Fighting Man" and trumpet for "Alone Again or."
--
It was difficult to figure out the piano part because it was so soft in the background. (It was hard to hear even when I pulled up an instrumental version.) I think I've figured it out, now, so I just need to practice it.
--
For the trumpet part, I've never seriously played trumpet before, so I had to learn it on my own. I borrowed Ellen's mother's trumpet, and a few books. Youtube helped, and last thursday, the 6th, Mr. Taylor gave me some good advice on adjusting my embouchure to that required for trumpet (and those high notes). Before, I had been approaching blowing into the mouthpiece the same way that I had for when I was playing trombone.
Now I know that I have to keep my lips closer together in a more "flat faced" embouchure, and to focus on the speed of air rather than volume. I've also been practicing for 15-30 minutes every day (I've been consistent until last Thursday and Friday, which I missed practicing...)
--
At first, I played around and figured out the basic scale- concert Bb: link

Scale from today's practice (day13): link

--
Mouthpiece exercises(day9): link day13(today): link
After exercises (day9): link
--
Then, on the second day where I had more time, I experimented with figuring out the trumpet parts to "Alone Again or" by listening to the song and playing along with it.
(This is from the day after I got the trumpet: link
Playing along with the song on the 3rd day: link day4: link)
I practiced the song without backgrounds, to get the notes:
day3: link day4: link day5: link day6: link day7: link day8: link day9: link day10: link link2
day11: link day12: link day13(today): link

I'll be playing again with the song during my next practice. It's been really exciting learning how to play a new instrument! (One of my bucket list items is to sit down one day with a bunch of instruments and just play around on them for a day.)

-21.3-

Night thoughts are bad. Night thoughts discourage. Night thoughts make you say things you usually don't believe. Night thoughts make you tired. Night thoughts get turned off by sleep.

Good night.

-20.3-

Kontroll.
A Hungarian movie we saw in class on Tuesday.

Initially, I liked the movie...except for the fact that it had a feeling of claustrophobia. Since it all took place underground, towards the end, I kept on looking out the window to get some mental fresh air.

The acting was great - it all felt natural - and some shots were beautiful (I specifically remember one of the light hitting two enormous fans underground; the way the fans cut the light and dark of the scene appealed to my aesthetics.)

Most of all, I liked the characters. I liked the sense of camaraderie among the main team of Kontroll. Although they split up in the different trains, they always managed to get back together by the time the train got to the next stop. I also liked seeing different tropes among the group. For example the Professor and Tibi (I think? The young guy...) fit into the old cop young cop trope. (Mugi also fits nicely into PluckyComicRelief)

The end scene of the movie seemed pretty symbolic of death. Bulcsu goes with the train conductor's daughter, who's waiting for him in an angel's costume, up the escalator and into the light. Why Bulcsu had to suffer as a Kontroll poses the subject of atonement. If he did push the passengers off the platform, he may have had to suffer before he went to "heaven". Another way of looking at this is that Bulcsu is part of the "untouchable" class in the hierarchy of the subway, and must suffer in order to have a better next life (When he leaves the subway station, it's implied that he can go back to a successful life/job, with a girlfriend.)

---
Another point I'd like to bring up is that there is, basically, an all-male cast. I didn't notice this fact before Luke pointed it out, which brings up some issues to think about.

I don't think I noticed the lack of girls, because I've grown up in an all-male world. My Mom and Dad told me stories about male heros...the Greeks, Norse mythology, Peter Pan, Robin Hood...I grew up liking adventure and doing things by myself. When playing with my friends in elementary school, we used to pretend to be superheroes and we'd have our own myth-like adventures. In middle school, I was introduced to anime, and most of the ones I read had a very strong male myth structure to it. I think I'm so used to the male myth that female leads have become...on the back burner for me. I'd really like to see a strong female lead, but the shows/stories that do this are few and far between (off the top of my head I can't remember specific titles...maybe the show Madoka Magica?). I feel like boys get to have the adventures while girls stay at home. But I want to do things, too.

But does one have to be a man/act manly to have an adventure? How can girls stay as girls but still provide a strong point? I think this may be a better way of looking at things: link.

Gender roles is an extremely interesting subject, but it's so hard to overcome the partitioning ingrained for thousands of years in society. You've got to be carefully untaught, eh?
---
Misc. point: When the soundtrack to the chase sequence first came on (the one used in "The Laramie Project" commercial) I started grinning, because I recognized it, but didn't know it was from this movie.
---
Unrelated note: When we were talking about STAC live and all of the instruments required for the songs, I thought about my goal for trying to play a different instrument(s) bass, trumpet etc. I will delve further into this subject another time.

Another unrelated note: I like the main theme in the Thor soundtrack.

=====Edit=====
Perhaps Bulcsu fits into the MustMakeAmends trope, since he could leave at any time, but it was the trap of his mind that kept him underground until the very end.

-19.3-

Time for a college post!

-Florida New college + Birth play
I went to a college that (supposedly) sounded like STAC, the New College of Florida, during the Columbus day weekend. My Dad and I flew down to Florida, but my Mom had to stay behind because she had work.

Before taking the college tour, my Dad found out that the college was hosting a play at their theatre, so we went to go see it (and also see college life before touring around). After watching the play I took a few notes:

Birth the play

-great acting (they...really threw themselves into giving birth...there was even a scene where an actress breast fed her child on stage)

-promoted vaginal natural birth vs. hospital birth

-Immediate reaction after seeing the play: I WANNA HOLD A BABYYYY(there was a baby behind me that was sooo cute)

-The music was a bit loud, it might have been because I was right next to the drummer, but I liked that it was mostly live (some scenes had tracks played from the speakers, but at other times a drummer played)

-At times the play got immature "Having a baby is like taking a poo", but there were serious times when things got very emotional such as the scene when one of the mothers had a traumatic time at the hospital (she didn't want a c-section, but the doctors forced it on her)

-check if the author is a girl or boy

-The show used minimal props (literally stacked colored crates, exercise balls, chalk, and some hospital gowns)

New College the College

After the show my Dad and I went to the cafeteria area and ended up talking to a 4th year student. She was really friendly and happened to be in a bio major, or study of concentration as the college calls it. She also happened to be from New York (it was weird...all of the people we met on the first day coming into Florida were from New York!)
We talked about how the college was, and it seemed interesting. In New College, you can focus on one area, or else take classes that interest you. You choose whatever classes you want in the contract system. You also set your goals for the classes, and even set how many classes need to pass in order to get through the quarter. However at the end of four years, you have to write a thesis in order to graduate; the thesis can be on any topic you choose, but you have to get a teacher to mentor you (during the tour we saw the thesis room, which showed theses all the way from when the college began, and in the room student-written books lined all of the walls!) It sounded a lot like last year's STAC 4th quarter.
I was a little afraid of having too much freedom (during that time I was working on the extended project, and having no real guidelines on the subject scared me) but I also heard from other students that if you go into science at the school things are a little less free. (On the other hand, I didn't like the sound of having less flexibility because I wanted to choose the classes I want to do and not be restricted by required classes like in other colleges...)

Two days later I took a tour of the college. I liked how the campus was bright and airy, and near a great beach, but Florida was really hot that day, so walking around was a big turn-off. Another thing that I didn't like was that the architecture wasn't that colorful...stepping a little outside of the college was a neighborhood of houses, and those houses were more bright than even the student dorms!
However, I really liked the marine biology laboratories. They had fish tanks from every environment in the surrounding water! After the tour I got to sit in a science class. It was more of a lecture that day, so it was a little boring (even the teacher warned me before the class started), but the subject of the class seemed interesting (the class was a course on how events in history shaped the world of science ex. in times of the plague there were more advances in medicine than in other areas). I hadn't thought about science and history in that way before, and it was a different connection to look at!
Also, after the class some students went up and introduced themselves. They seemed really friendly and helpful, and I learned a lot about different clubs and activities the college had...and random stuff like how the cafeteria food sucks and the lake by the school has bioluminescence (another fact that was nice was that the students were all first years, but they already seemed like they were comfortable)!

Overall, I liked the college's freedom in classes and the openness of the students, but the weather was hard to deal with and it's far away from home...New York. I'll definitely keep this college in mind, but it didn't seem to completely...click. I'm not quite sure what I want, but I think I'd like to stay around NYC...also, I'm looking to major in Biology, minor in art, have an english elective and be in a band.
 (I'm worried that I won't find the right college...I suppose I'll have to do more searching, then time will tell!)

-18.3-

Quite a bit has happened since my last post...unfortunately, things have built up between that time and now, so I'll keep this post to my extended project, and talk about the other events at a later date:

-For my extended project, it evolved from a straightforward script, into a more abstract piece! At first, I had trouble beginning the script. I felt as though I didn't have anything to say...no ideas to pursue that were really meaningful. I knew this kind of thinking was dangerous, so I started to write whatever popped into my head (an idea I got from talking with my Dad- the conflict between a student and her unwavering music teacher).  When talking to Luke, about this problem, he said I wasn't thinking about my audience, and I realized he was right. But I was still confused about what kind of message I wanted the audience to take away. With this, I was stuck on a direction throughout the whole Columbus day break. I felt stuck with my original idea, but I didn't know what different direction I could/should take...
In the end, I borrowed an idea of two voices talking at once and wrote a poem/lyrics of...opinions about the internet. Through poetry I feel easier with using language...(although I feel like I need to use more vocabulary in my poems so I can express myself better). Sive the poem/lyrics were about technology, coming up with the music was a bit easier since I had an idea to work with. This time I worked in two keys. I found that B flat major and D minor worked relatively well together, so I played around with melodies that would fit with the "talking" in the poem. Recording went easier this time, since I coordinated both hands (I didn't need to record all of the hands on separate tracks) but when I put the song on garage band, the .mp3's didn't show up at all, so I was forced to edit with Audacity. (Annnnd Garageband ended up working again later, so I was able to record the audio on there and mix everything together.) I recorded the audio with my computer mike, because I was curious if having a "grittier" tone would affect the song. I have to listen to it again, but I think I'll re-record the voice with the zoom...(Sandy came and knocked out the power. Oi.)
After the finished version is done, I'll upload it here. I think after re-recording the voice, I'm done. It was painful doing the project (mainly coming up with an idea) and I just want to work on the next adventure (but...I'm stuck with ideas for that, too. Maybe I'll focus on more technical work...? I wanted to improve with my drawing...)

Misc:
-I feel stuck about what I want to say to audience. Nothing personal....just general things like school is bad and gay rights

-When I went to English extra help about an essay of mine..Mr. Mattson also said that I wasn't thinking about the audience (I didn't clearly state where logos, pathos, and ethos examples were)...coincidence?!

-8.3- -9.3--13.3-

My blog this year has been a bit disorderly with the posting order. This is because I've written/drafted some posts that I haven't had time to properly write. Here is a conglomerate of those posts I've been meaning to post, but haven't had the time to:

-8.3-

+Talk about vacation

During the Rosh Hashana vacation, I went to visit colleges in Florida. The last time I went to Florida (During the spring break of 10th grade I went to Tampa and visited the University of South Florida Tampa.)

This time around, I visited Miami University, Florida Atlantic University (FAU), and FAU's honors college (that was a surprise visit, since we first heard of it while on the FAU tour; we were feeling spontaneous, so we drove to the honors college right before going to the plane!)

Also during this Florida trip, I visited a Japanese garden and museum. I didn't get to see all of the garden, but there was a section where it showed how the zen gardens evolved over time (It was really cool...the earlier gardens were based off of chinese paintings, but the later ones took their own form and became more abstract.)

There was also an exhibit on folklore art by Tsukioka Kogyo. I was so glad that we went that day, because it was the last day of the viewing (in fact, they started taking down the art a few minutes after we left)! Kogyo has amazing brushwork. I loved the lines and the pictures had fantastic colors:

From the "100 Noh" series that was on exhibition

The next day, on TV there happened to be a news feature about the origins of Pixar. We tuned in a bit late, but it was very interesting! I didn't know they partnered with Steve Jobs.

They also discussed how they had to tackle their successes, along with their failures. I clearly remember the Pixar artists talking about how they had to overcome "second project syndrome". After the breakthrough of Toy Story, they had to come up with something just as good, which was a big challenge... (I felt some connection there...what am I going to do after my big animation from last year?) 

+Talk about Marc Chagall

I thought most of Chagall's art was ok. It was nice, but I didn't spend a ton of time on the majority of his work (but I did love his use of color on all of them).

The two paintings I liked best were this watercolor of flowers (I can't find a picture of it), which captured the airy feel of late spring/early summer and one of a winter scene (the description said that it was too cold outside, so he had to paint indoors...I think it was when he visited Switzerland?). The colors of the winter landscape also captured a feeling, but this was of the crisp winter air. It's amazing how, if you use colors just right, you can evoke specific feelings and memories...

I also liked the paintings when he used ink. One of mushrooms reminded me of when I painted mushrooms during the sumi-e workshop in 9th grade (again, I can't find a darn picture of it...)

-goache= type of opaque paint

---

-9.3-

The grey sky dark green leaves of the trees and the dull orange scraps scratching against the ground only add to the clear smell in the air distinct to the oncoming winter. The house is bathed in a blue-grey light the brown of the wooden paneling almost bright against the cloudy landscape.

Inside one finds immediate warmth...

The dark of the hallway, with a paper cut out of light pasted on the stairs, gain a bright yellow glow as a switch is flipped. Soft footfalls pad upstairs, the doorknob briefly losing its shine as a hand grasps it, opening the entryway into the cold blue living room. Northern light quickly loses its power as another yellow glow pops into existence, the room divided into fire and ice. A savory smell of tomato-baked chicken, or perhaps it's tomato soup, invades all scents.

And yet the room is quiet. The two orbs of light gloss over a silent TV, and illuminate the shadow of an empty table and coats are thrown over the three chairs still pushed out. The lady downstairs cooks well. What exactly is the food shes making. Who will eat it. A light hum pushes atoms around it creating vibrations. Flip.

Hi Im home.

Hi can you check the rice and beans?

Hm?

"You can probably smell it."

"Oh. Ok."

"Take off the lid. Try some."

"...It tastes good."

"Help yourself. It's dinner."

Suddenly, the warmth of the spoonful spreads to the rest of the body.

"Thanks...! See you later. I'm gonna hang up now."

Click.

---
-13.3- (written around 9.30.12)

I just finished watching the movie Tokyo Godfathers.

It was free on demand, so my parents and I decided to check it out, but I remember wanting to watch the movie when I saw it on a shelf in the library.

This animated movie tells the story of three homeless people living in Tokyo who find a baby on Christmas Eve. Through their journey to find the baby's mother, a darker side of Tokyo is revealed...

The movie was a fresh take on Japanese culture and city life that I've never seen before. Although there was an ugly side, some of the characters looked downright gross, the characters seemed real (although overdramatic) and believable. It was a serious story, but there were lots of humor throw in, too.

The movie was rated PG-13, but I thought that was mainly because it was an animation. If the movie had been real people, it would have been rated R, I think (there were violent scenes, strong scenes of suicide, and lots of cursing.) ...It annoys me when people underestimate animations becuase they think it's "for kids".

The 3 main characters + the baby
(by the way, the character on the top left is actually a guy)

Speaking of animation, the art was fantastic. As I mentioned before, some of the scenes were very gory and ugly-looking, but the backgrounds looked almost as though they were photos. Almost.

The realism of the animation

-17.3-

I'm a bit confused about what I missed yesterday. I asked a few people and got that we were making groups, and that we're going to make projects for the city, but I don't get if we're making our own projects or if we're doing a project in a group.

If we're doing our own project, I may do something with photography (with my iPod camera or another camera I have) or with writing (probably short poems). I was thinking of doing art ("draw the first thing that stands out to you at every place we go to"), but I think that would be difficult to accomplish...I'd like to do something that can be done while on the trip.

-15.3-

Extended project day 0:

I recieved the e-mail froom Luke, and, from the description, it looked like I was doing a type of radio drama. However, when I looked at some examples, it seemed more like a song, but with spoken lyrics instead of sung lyrics.

I brainstormed in the car with my Dad and came up with a plot. I was telling my Dad about a voice that bothered me in one of the Youtube videos Luke sent. Dad said maybe I could play off of that strong feeling, and asked me what kind of people would usually have that voice. I said a teacher.After we talked more, I came up with an idea of a dialogue between an interfering music teacher and a  student trying to write a song.

Extended project day 1:

I started writing my script. I managed to get a good chunk of first draft completed within two periods, but part of the time was spent going, "Is this good enough?" I didn't get to finish watching all of the Youtube examples, so I was a little confused about what exactly to do.

I haven't started thinking about the music part yet. However, since the story is about writing a song, I did think about writing the "song" the student writes and using that as part of the beginning and ending. Then I'd play around with the melody while the teacher and student were conversing. The audience wouldn't know the significance of the song until the student started to play it.

Extended project day 2:

I finished watching the Youtube videos in class today (Thanks, Matt for letting me borrow your earphones!) I really liked how all of the artists played around with the sound and rhythm of words (Bbut listening to songs from The Velvet Underground was a little hard because there were two tracks separately recorded for the left and right ears. So when the song played it was an overload of information coming in, and my brain didn't know which ear to focus on.) I think my favorite song was Elephant Talk by King Crimson. It had a neat concept of using alphabetical alliteration of different ways to describe talking.

When I got home, I looked over my script with my Dad and he gave me some feedback that I'll work on tomorrow (For example, I need to get stright to the point!)

-16.3-

Quick puddle study (17 minutes on oekaki)

12.3

I loved the movie, The Fall, we watched in class on Thursday. It reminded me of when I was little and my parents shared with me tales about the Arabian Nights, Greek myths, and their own stories (I remember one about the little fairy who lived in my teapot nightlight.)

The movie's director used great choices of locations, great character concepts (I loved all of the outfits!), and amazing colors. In fact, you can divide the movie into scenes with cold color, scenes with muted color, and scenes in black and white. You could also follow both of the plot of the hospital and fairytale fairly easily. (This is unlike another movie I saw recently, Black Rock Shooter, which had similar intercutting between fantastic and realistic scenes. In the movie, the matches between otherworldy fighters was supposed to parallel the troubles of everyday schoolgirls. But they didn't manage the intercutting between the two worlds at all, so it was quite confusing until the end, where it's finally revealed too late.)

I felt like the movie should have been rated PG-13, but I can also see why it was rated R. Little kids probably would have liked the parts that had fantasy, and would have ignored the more gritty and realistic hospital scenes, so it would be okay for younger audiences. (What's more, the themes of suicide, manipulation of children, and violence were scenes that kids haven't been exposed to already.)


---

The movie renewed my love for stories. I hate to say this, but most of the manga and anime I've read and seen recently haven't held my interest like they used to. (Even among the ones I'm still reading, the stories have gone downhill since I first started reading them.)
I think the message is for me to go back and look at stories older than manga. Stories from ancient mythology, and tales of ancient heroes. I think by doing this, I can gain inspiration and lots of materials for my "library." I have bookshelves in my brain-attic that are waiting to be filled (if anyone gets the Sherlock Holmes reference). Also, those stories are entertaining for everyone, so I think I'll feel happier just by reading them.

Finally, I had been feeling a little down before we watched the movie. I took away the uplifting message that (at least) one person in the world loves you and doesn't want you to give up (not just on life, but on anything you're trying to do).
---

By the way, I noticed an odd connection.
One of my characters, Weiming, looks similar to the Red Bandit. Does this mean something?

-14.3-

I had an odd dream about STAC, and I'd like to share it:

We were on our way home France, and we were waiting for the plane. I was reading on my iPod and looked to notice all the STACies were gone! I immediately felt panicky. I saw a group of students heading out and followed them onto the plane. After we took off, I realized that this was a different class.

I managed to talk to the pilot of the plane, and he landed by the real plane I was supposed to go on (for some reason it was in the water of a docking area). Thankfully, they hadn't taken off yet, and I got on.

The STAC plane looked like it was a huge dish rack bent into the shape of a plane. The seats were the ridges you normally sit dishes on (in fact, towards the back of the plane were some dirty dishes from the in-flight meal) and there wasn't a top to the plane.

As we were flying towards the USA Luke, the Pilot, suddenly dipped the plane down, and we all fell out. We landed in the suburbs of Texas, so we needed a ride home. We were looking for a car - something to rent, when a few STACies wandered off and came back with an old milk truck they "borrowed" (I think those STACies were Jessica and someone else...).

Apparently this is the STACmobile's inspiration
(an old milk truck I saw when visiting a cousin's house upstate)

We all climbed in the milk truck and Luke drove off toward a more Florida-esque scene of boardwalks and beach. I took pictures of the surroundings and at a red light, showed them to Luke, who said that a few were good, but most needed work.

The End!

-11.3-

Edit: I finally got to fixing my blog. I tried posting this before...when it finally loaded my blog was spammed with the same post!

I've been so busy this year, I haven't had a lot of time to draw...however, I did this cloud study today, and I wanted to share it:

(Based on an image/the colors I saw when walking home...)

-10.3-

QVESTION SET EINS:

1) You've worked on a group film and on your own. In which situation are you most comfortable - group or solo? Which do you work best in?

I'm more comfortable working solo. Although a group can give you many opinions, and more hands to do the work, I've had bad experiences in the past where people didn't get work done, and I ended up doing everything. Also, it's hard getting your opinion heard, and incorporated, depending on the people you work with (Sometimes the group doesn't entirely stick to the plan that was assigned.) Conversely, none of the group members may have an idea on how to start, which results in nothing getting done.

2) What did you learn that you expected to learn?

I learned how truly hard it was to write a song, and I also got more experience on song writing.

3) What did you learn that you didn't expect to learn?  


I learned that STAC is very supportive :). I also learned that I should give myself more time to record a song (I had recorded things before; but I never realized how long they took, since I was able to work on them casually.) 

Furthermore: rehearse plenty before preforming something live.

4) What didn't you learn that you expected to learn?

I expected to learn a bit more about musicianship. I'm not sure if I did. While working, I wasn't really thinking about variations on chords etc. ...it was more along the lines of: "This sounds cool, it's in the key, so I'll use this!"

5) Praise your amazing achievement and explain your brilliant plan for pulling it off.

Through all of the difficulties, I managed to write and record a song in a short period of time (and, as a bonus, perform it in front of the class). I hadn't done anything close to that before, so I felt really proud. I knew that if I turned song-making into a STAC assignment, I'd get things done that way, and I'd also have more time to work on it during school. Now one of my life long goals has been achieved!

QVESTION SET ZWEI:
1) How much time did you spend working?

I mainly worked during the three STAC periods, but on the last day I brought my work home so I could finish recording/editing on Garage band.

2) How much time did you spend thinking about the work - sort of sitting there and staring at it, or listening to it over and over again, etc.?

On the first day, when I was writing the lyrics, I spent a few minutes here and there being "stumped" about what else I could write. During my time when I was writing the music, I spent more time being stressed over how I should start, and what else I could add on to what I had (maybe...half an hour each day for the four days I did it?)

3) How much time did you spend doing other stuff that seems like work to that make you think you're working but you're not?

I worked until the end. However, on Thursday, I got kicked out of the practice rooms 9th period, so I didn't have any work to do during STAC that period. (I worked on my homework that period so I could have more time to record/edit when I got home.)

4) How much time did you spend socializing?





Again, I mainly focused on my work, but during 9th period on Thursday, I did a bit of socializing because I was in the STAC room around peers.

5) How did you use your community?

I....barely used my community. I asked Luke about a chord, and used a common chord/snippet sheet from the songwriting exercise we did from last year, but that was it.

6) Rip apart your awful project and how did such a disaster happen?

I just charged headlong into it. At first, I had somewhat of a plan, but I ended up doing whatever looked good, so I think I broke some of the rules I set for myself (ex. although I didn't have any sharps or flats, it felt like it wasn't in the key of C....). You're supposed to learn rules before you can break them, so I think I approached it the wrong way....
Also, I didn't give myself enough time to record properly, so I ended up singing it in front of the class and not having a polished performance. It's embarrassing not showing a good final product...


7) You've completed a step on your path. What is your next step?

Since my recording didn't come out great, I'd like to finish adding the audio to it. I'd also like to experiment with another song(/songs?), but with more limits to it, and more instructions on how to approach writing music.

QVESTION SET DREI:
Not given yet

-7.3-

"Big Week 1" Presentation+Reflection post

I felt like the presentations were similar to STAC live from last year, except in miniature form! Ellen's dubstep sounded professional...Matt's film used really cool special effects...John's trailer was impressive...Andrew's skit was crazy (after the initial confusion, you got a hang of who was who- or rather who was he currently speaking as)...Megan's video effects (I have to ask her how she did that light saber one....I feel like learning how to do special effects like that may come in handy in the future...)...Jessica's performance was intense...Emily wowed everyone again...

I was EXTREMELY nervous about singing. Earlier in the week I actually read something to my whole congregation, but the fact that this was something I had created made it scarier than that... Also, I didn't have much practice singing with the instrumental I created, so I was trying to sing along to it in my head all during the school day...

During the performance, I missed some of the lyrics , and I wasn't sure if I sang so people could hear (I feel like I would have been more confident and would have done better if I had more time to practice.)

...But everyone was really supportive, and I was glad of that because I felt like I messed up, but no one said anything about it. I'm also glad that I didn't break down and pressed ahead while I was up in front of the class. (Actually, I felt like I was going to cry when I sat down again, and I ended up getting a little teary with Emily's piece...)

I'm also posting the final draft of my lyrics, in case anyone would like to read them:

Places normally crowded
the heat quickly blows
into cool
-molecules

standing in the sun
then clouds come
tag along
-clinging

Grey clouds
follow me
some say it's a
curse
but I see what I want to see
the green of every tree
and the silence of
the sound

striding (or standing?) in the rain
all around's the same
an umbrella world
population decreasing
-cohesion

one
feeling clinging
time ins moving on
following the way
along the silent path
like the non-existent
shadow
-one

Grey clouds
follow me
some say it's a
curse
but I see what I want to see
the green of every tree
and the silence of
the sound

have to stop have to go
during this time everything's slow
time likes to wait
for the watcher
-drop

-6.3-

"Big Week 1" Post 3+4

Day 3:
-I continued working on the melody (somehow I managed to follow my rule of staying in one key, which was C)
-I figured out which lyrics I wanted for the chorus, then worked on melody for those

Day 4:
-I played my piece in multiple practice rooms (after one period, there was a class in one so I had to move to another room, then was kicked out of there 9th period because choir was there). I also did some last-minute changes to lyrics/melody
-I recorded in both rooms my song (one time with only left hand, one with only the melody)

-When I got home, I tried mixing the two together on Garageband, but it the melody and the left hand weren't on time together, so I had to play it on my piano again. I contemplated writing a whole new part for the left hand, but my Mom suggested that I should just play the left hand while recording the right hand, so they would be on time together. My piano has this recording feature, so I recorded the left hand first, then recorded the right hand with the left hand at the same time.

After a few takes, I realized that I could record both parts as separate tracks (I liked it that way so I could edit them easier on Garageband) if I just recorded them on my piano on separate tracks first, then used the zoom to record the recordings on the piano (it took me a while to realize that...). I took three separate takes of the melody and the harmony. After that, I put the recordings on garage band and edited them slightly (they were mostly on time on the takes because of the way I recorded them). I tried doing vocals, next, but by then it was 12 AM so I had to stop...(I had a AP Bio quiz in the morning, and I was feeling sick already).

in summary:
1. Touched up song and recorded at school
2. Tested out recordings on Garageband, found they didn't sync together well
3. Recorded the left hand on piano, then used zoom to record left hand(piano recording)+right hand at the same time
4. Had an epiphany and recorded right hand and left hand separately on the piano (I was able to play the left hand track while playing the right, and the piano recorded them as separate tracks). Recorded the recordings with the zoom
5. Put on Garageband and did minor edits
6. Tried recording the vocal, was taking too long to edit, so had to quit for the day.
7. ...Felt nervous about singing tomorrow.

-5.3-

"Big Week" 1 post 2

Quoting Luke's e-mail:
"So...you worked today, what inspired you???"

If talking about specifically today, my inspiration came from this packet of common chords we got from a Cabaret songwriting exercise from last year. I played all of the chord progressions out, and I found that I liked the I IΔ7, I7, I6 snippet (although the way I thought it sounded was a little different when Luke came in and showed me).
I was also inspired by the "just do it" work ethic that we STACies are constantly told we're supposed to have. If you work through something and not worry about if it's good or not, you'll get more things done.
---
If talking about what inspired me to write a song, well, writing a song has been on my bucket list for a while now. When writing responses to the 7 questions, when I was writing that making an original animation had been one of my life goals,  I started thinking about what other life goals I wanted to achieve, and I remembered writing a song I liked was one of them.

Over the past few years, I've been extremely interested in "Vocaloid" songs. If anyone remembers my post about UTAU a year-ish back, they know what I'm talking about. For those that don't, "Vocaloids"is a music software program where the voice is provided, but you can manipulate it and make your own songs with the voice, not you, singing it. Before I liked Vocaloids, I thought songs were mainly for pop stars and classical composers, but when I started to see (well, hear) different kinds of people from all over the world making their own songs, songs that became popular and were appealing to the ears, I thought that if they could do it, I could to!

I also gained inspiration from all of the songs the music STACies were doing last year, especially during the intensives. It seemed like a great challenge to do, and again, they weren't pop stars, they were my age. That gave me more motivation and confidence to try my own hand at songwriting, and here I am (although it's really difficult...so many options to work with and so little time....)!

-4.3-

"Big Week 1" #1

Today I worked steadily, and I was able to write 11 poems/bits of poems that I could use for lyrics.

However, I did have some problems at the beginning of the period. Since I've never seriously written a song in years (I wrote one in 3rd grade for my band teacher's baby...I never did send that to her), I was a little unsure if I should work on the music aspect, first, or if I should focus on the lyrics.

Even then, once I decided to work on the lyrics, I had trouble getting myself to write (I admit...I had a couple thoughts of "this won't be good" and "this sounds stupid" at first.) I remembered what an english teacher once said, As long as you put something on the paper, things will start coming to you", so I forced myself to start writing single words that reminded me of rain (I also remembered past years in STAC where we were urged to "just do it and don't worry about it".) After about 10 words or so, phrases started coming to me and I was able to go off of them and make poems.

After that, writing became smoother, but I did find that I had a few problems finding words for some ideas I was trying to get down...Other times I felt that I was using a single word too much throughout my drabbles.

Tomorrow, I'll continue working on the words, but also start playing around with the music. As I said in the intention statement, I plan on working with simple chord progressions, and working in one key (whether the key is minor or major, I'm not sure yet).

Typed up poems/potential lyrics:
1. Sneakers squeaking
against the rippling waves of drops
a walk alone, the repeating
sounds quietly keep the volume down

2. The waves fly
down the street
imitating reality
in their soft palette of muted tones
one could almost
sleep

3. In the calm of the storm everything is as it seems
clarity between the drops
or perhaps it's
all an illusion
well...one I like

4. (Something about looking out at a boring/ugly landscape and the rain makes it shiny and better looking)
sitting staring out the window
a splash and the grey pavement shines
sparks sprouting out
of the ground
as green leaves fall

5. Grey clouds
follow me
some say it's a
curse
but I see what I want to see
the green of every tree
and the silence of
the sound

6. Every time it rains I feel younger
riding in the car
sitting by the window
the world was
less black and white
but the grey
and the green of the earth

7. I think it's fine
to see the sun
go take a nap
behind a blanket
of cloud
the leaves shine bright
there's not a sound
and I think it's
just fine
no one's out and about

8. Recycling recycling
refreshing the green
a silent scene
of a never-ending movie
umbrella out
but there's no one about
on the set of my show
the only players are thoughts

9. I'm not blind
the world around is grey
so it's time
to go out to
play
in the world
of umbrellas
no one's hurt
no one cries
people just want to
get inside
and I walk about

10. Places normally crowded
the heat quickly blows
into cool
-molecules
standing in the sun
then clouds come
tag along
-clinging
striding (or standing?) in the rain
all around's the same
an umbrella world
population decreasing
-cohesion
one
feeling clinging
time ins moving on
following the way
along the silent path
like the non-existent
shadow
-one
have to stop have to go
during this time everything's slow
time likes to wait
for the observer
-drop

11(?) The palette of the suburb fades
bring another world
into play
pay attention to
the world of what's
important to you
green leaves
brown bark
it brings a stark
contrast of what
you need
green money
brown coach
when rained on, which
really is a treasure?

-3.3-

Draft intention statement for "Big Week 1"

 I will be creating a song based on my love of rain. In contrast to the negative stereotypes for rain, I will explore my positive feelings for it. The lyrics to the song will be derived from poems that I will write the first two days of this process. Since I am new to song writing, I will be exploring basic techniques involved (ex. staying in one key and using simple chord progressions...) As a final product, I will either record the song and play it in class, or record an instrumental version and sing it live in class.

-2.3-

I figured that I should blog about my experience with the Be Kind Rewind film, since I did so the past two years.

I felt that working with strictly veterans this time made things run smoother. We all knew each other, so there wasn't much confusion about what to do.

This year, I believe our main problem was that we jumped the gun a little. Even before we came up with a genre, we started suggesting ideas for plot. We tried to stick to the steps, but with ideas already in mind, it was a little hard taking things one thing at a time... (Then again, jumping the gun seems to be a problem every year.)


I had a bigger acting part this year! I think I did ok...I told myself to not care about what other people think, and to let myself go in front of the camera...if I let myself go, everyone would think it was great and not awkward... but I still had a hard time doing that. (However, I have a much easier time expressing myself in different characters through writing.) I'll just have to work on this if I continue to be put into acting roles...

Looking at everyone else's videos, I really liked the one with the bike (and bad subtitles), and the Morgan Freeman one (the plot was a little hard to understand/hear. but...Peter's voice over was nearly spot-on!)

...I think using the shot of Caitlyn clapping from three different viewpoints may become an official STAC meme this year...

Also, a random point:
Isn't it great when you're singing along to a song, and you hit the exact note/notes? There's this feeling of synchronization that goes on, and you feel one with the tune that's playing....

-1.3-

FIRST POST OF THE NEW YEAR!

Questions:

• 1. What is the first creative moment you remember?
• The first creative moment I remember was when I drew myself as a Powerpuff Girl. I believe I named her Skye.

An attempt at a redraw

• 2. Was anyone there to witness or appreciate it?
• I forget if anyone was there while I was drawing it, but I do remember showing it to my Mom, who, being my mom, liked it!
• 3. What is the best idea you’ve ever had?
• ....There are lots of good runner-ups, but deciding to do an animation for the STAC quarter 4 project last year was probably the best. 
• 4. What made it great in your mind?
• I achieved one of my life goals: make an original animation that I like, and that people appreciate. It also showed that if I worked hard, I could do great things!
• 5. What is the dumbest idea?
• ....Again, there are a lot of good runner-ups, but the one I remember most vividly is filming a scene on my friend's roof for the 7th (or was it 8th?) grade Chinese project.
• 6. What made it stupid?
• My friend's roof was fairly high off the ground, and during the process, we had to climb out of a window in my friend's older brother's room to get out there. In order to get out of that window, we had to move his desk and disconnect his X-BOX. Not such a great idea...
• 7. Can you connect the dots that led you to this idea?
• Well...we were filming a movie about ninjas/assassins/something Asian, and we thought a roof scene would be "cool" and "authentic." I personally thought it would add a lot of mood to the story. We also thought that this scene would make our movie better than all of the other groups, and we'd get an A+ for sure!