Week of June 12, 2015

Overall, I'd say that the film festival was a great experience, as well as a success for several students and teachers. I  attended three of the four screenings and in every screening there were always films that seemed more creative than the last. Every film managed to make the audience laugh, cheer, reflect, and jeer whether it was a narrative, documentary,mockumentary, PSA, or music video. Not only that but it also manged to inspire some and even warmed the hearts of others. If I had to choose a favorite film I'd say it would be the silent film featuring the two lovers and their disastrous date.

Week of June 5, 2015

This week my production company did the following:

• We rehearsed with our actors.
• Shot some interview footage for our mockumentary.
• Uploaded our most recent footage to iMovie.
• Continued to edit our film footage.

Week of May 29, 2015

This week my production did the following:

• We had our actors rehearse their lines
• We shot some field footage
• We shot some interviews
• We uploaded some of our scenes to the computer
• We edited some of our shots

Week of May 22, 2015

This week my production company did the following:

• Shot some scenes  for our mockumentary.
• Uploaded our footage to the computer.
• Edited some of the shots in our film.

Week of May 15, 2015

This week my production company did the following:

• We rehearsed our mockumentary script
• We shot some of the scenes for our film
• We downloaded some of our footage into the computer

Week of May 8, 2015

This week my production company did the following:

Monday-We edited our script.

Tuesday-We continued to edit our script.

Wednesday-We continued to edit our script.

Thursday-We rehearsed our script.

Friday- Minimum day (Periods 1-4) and blackout, no progress was made.

Week of May 1, 2015

This week, my production company did the following:
Monday- We thought over what content we should use for our mockumentary and which members would play certain parts in the production of our film.
Tuesday- We worked on the fake questions of our mockumentary.
Wednesday- We worked on the script for our mockumentary.
Thursday- We continued to work on the script for our mockumentary.
Friday- We will continue to work on the script for our mockumentary.

Week of April 24, 2015

This week my production company did the following:
Monday- We continued to brainstorm movie ideas for our production company's next film.
Tuesday- We decided to do a mockumentary and came up with some possible subjects for one.
Wednesday- We pitched our idea for a mockumentary on underprivileged schools and got it approved.
Thursday- We brainstormed on possible interview subjects and what questions/scripts we would need for them.
Friday- We plan to create a document with our fake questions and/or scripts.

Week of April 17, 2015

This week my production company did the following:
Monday- We continued to edit the footage of our film.
Tuesday- We added music to our footage and finished our PSA.
Wednesday- Our production company consists of just three members now (Byron Bustos, Astrid Castro, and Yolanda Garcia). We began to brainstorm ideas for our next film.
Thursday- We continued to brainstorm ideas.
Friday- We will finish our PSA evaluation which we forgot to do on Wednesday and continue to brainstorm movie ideas.

Week of April 10, 2015

This entire week my production company worked on the following for our PSA-
Monday: We continued to edit the second batch of footage we shot at the park.
Tuesday:We continued to edit the footage of our PSA as a whole and got rid of some unnecessary  shots.
Wednesday: We recorded the voice over for our PSA and imported it into our file on iMovie.
Thursday: We found a song to put into our PSA, but we only used it on the second half of our PSA.
Friday: We will continue to search for music for the first half of our PSA.

We will most likely finish our PSA on Tuesday, April 14, 2015.

Week of April 3, 2015

This entire week (Monday - Friday), my production company continued to edit our PSA. We managed to get more film footage after school on Tuesday, March 31, 2015 which we then uploaded on Wednesday, April 1, 2015 to edit.

Week of March 27, 2015

The members of my production company are Elisa Carillo, Astrid Castro, Kailey Clemente, and Yolanda Garcia. We are currently working on a PSA.
On Monday through Wednesday, we finished our story boards/screenplay.
Wednesday afternoon we shot the majority of our PSA after school.
Thursday and Friday we have been editing what we have uploaded from our film to the computer.

What Music Means to Me

Music, it is the one thing that the majority of us say is necessary in our daily lives. Although I do not take the time to listen to music very often, it is still something that I consider very valuable; you could even say that music is what helps to keep me positive. When I listen to music, I do not stick to a particular genre; I simply listen to a song because I genuinely enjoy it or because it provides me with a sense of nostalgia. Whenever I hear a song now that I used to hear often as a child, I can't help but think back fondly of the days of my past. After a tiring or stressful day, I listen to music to relax and unwind. Since I do not have an iPod, I usually go onto YouTube to look up music as well as music videos. It is hard to pinpoint, but I suppose that it is the creativity in the beat, the visuals, and the singer's voice that makes me appreciate all the talent and ingenuity in this world.

Problems and Struggles

There are several students at Bell High School, all of whom have their own problems and struggles. Unfortunately, I am only aware of a few of these problems. I happen to know of some students who are burdened by all of their advanced placement classes. While the excessive work may seem like something trivial, it is only a factor in their problem. Some students have major responsibilities like working to support their family financially or taking care of a sick parent. Ultimately this leaves little time to focus on homework or studying for tests. As a result, some these students' grades have dropped and have only increased the amount of stresses in their lives. It is the excessive amount of responsibilities placed on these individuals that is the main source of their problems. Not only that, but some student find it difficult to come across money, which may force them to miss out on things like Grad Night, or even a college education. These are only some of the problems that high school students face.

The Most Interesting Person in the World

The most interesting person I know would probably have to be my older sister Sheila. I say this not because of a long list of accomplishments, but rather a long list of experiences of which I can say for certain do not apply to the "average Joe". Her experiences do not portray her as an "outstanding citizen" , but they certainly are interesting. From being arrested to even struggling between her family and her vices, my older sister has seen it all. While I would not like to disclose the details of her experiences, I will say that they provide a unique point of view of someone who has indeed lived a genuinely difficult life. Whenever I talk to her, I try to learn from her experiences and apply what I learn to my very own life. In a way talking to her also allows me to relive a moment in time that not many people get to experience for themselves. It is because of this ability to share rare life experiences that I consider my sister Sheila as the most interesting person I know.

My Anti Drug

If I had to choose, I suppose I would say that my anti drug is playing video games. While it may not be the most impressive or refined activity, it is something that I truly enjoy doing. With all the stresses involved in life, it is certain that everyone needs some type of activity to help them cope. After a long day, I find nothing more enjoyable than sitting on a comfortable couch and playing a round of games like Mario Kart or Super Smash Brothers. What I find most appealing about video games is the social and competitive experiences that coincide with online game play as well as the story lines within the offline game play. In a world like the one we live in now, it's fun to take a break from reality, forget your troubles, and immerse yourself into an adventure that surpasses the limitations of our reality.

An Inconvenient Truth

Watching the documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, really opened my eyes and made acknowledge the urgency of environmental issues concerning global warming. While some people tend to say that this ongoing danger is nonexistent, this documentary presents legitimate scientific facts and data that are too well supported to ignore. After watching this documentary, I am now aware that global warming can raise sea levels by up to twenty feet due to the increased temperature of oceans melting the polar ice caps as well as Greenland. This also has the effect of displacing animals such as penguins and polar bears from their natural habitat. Not only that, but the increased temperature of Earth's surface also melts the ice from several mountains whose runoff water supports nearly forty percent of all people on Earth. Aside from arctic and antarctic animals, Global warming has had the effect of speeding up the time at which certain insects and birds hatch. However, some species of birds do not hatch fast enough in time to feed upon the newly hatched insects that hatch faster and are forced to deviate from their normal eating pattern, endangering the size of their population. Indeed, such consequences should attract the attention of many, but sadly, they do not. I am glad to have been enlightened on the subject of global warming, but it worries me of what consequences are to come in the near future if people continue to remain apathetic to this issue at hand.