masterpiece essay

                                                 

                       Masterpiece Essay

     Through this entire process that I started long ago a lot has taken place. WhethI've  it was buying into the how class was being run or just me not wanting to work. It was and still is a process. And in the time I've spent in this class this year I've had to adapt to the disfigured landscape.  Many things go into this class, it's give and take. From being colleagues to passion and evaluating how you have done to just changing your habits.
     Changing for anyone isn't easy and is usually unwelcomed. There were times this year where I had to change my motivation.
I'm still unsure if it did in fact benefit me in any way, other than me not failing the class. In any class you take the whole point is to steadily improve as the year goes on. When it comes to this I think when it comes to reading, writing And thinking I'm probably still in the same place. I'm in the same place not because of not getting better but because of a inept ability to figure out if I have in fact improved. I'm sure I've gotten a tad better in the three above categories but they weren't huge leaps and bounds.
     One of the more perplexing elements to the class is that everyone is a colleague. Which is highly unusual since that is not how any other class works. This means trust was a huge part of the learning process. And many times throughout the year the trust was questioned. But the class kept moving on since faith was somehow restored. When it comes to figuring out if I earned this trust certain instances come to mind. I think one of  the only times I didn't really honor it was probably half way through the year. Which did carry on into the coming months following winter break. During that time I really didn't feel like doing anything in this class or any other one. Eventually I had to turn that around and actually do work again which I did and all was good.
     Finding your passion for something this year was one of if not the main focus. It seemed like many people struggled with this to some degree at one point or another. I definitely didn't know what I was passionate about through the entire year. I'm still a bit unsure what I an passionate about. I liked what I did my masterpiece project on which was short stories I'm just not sure if I'm passionate about it. In all likelihood I'll probably won't continue on with it for whatever reason going forward. I guess I'll eventually find something I'm passionate about but it's just a matter of when and what.
     Reflecting on the presentations of the past two weeks that I've witnessed there were a lot of different qualities to them. The most obvious one was how each person spoke about there topic. This isn't the fairest  way to break each one down. Especially since it depended on how each person was comfortable speaking in front of the class. But it was pretty obvious who was all in on their tooic. The main one that comes to mind is when Jacob presented his topic on Friday. You could tell by the way he spoke about his entire journey that happened through this year that he enjoyed it.
     When it comes to answering the call of this year I would say I did what I needed to do. I didn't go over and beyond, I rarely do that in any situation. For most of the year I just didn't do what I needed to. But I did turn that around when I needed to do so. One thing that came up that I already knew about myself is my lack of motivation that happens now and again through every school year. I just have to figure out how to minimize this. Not let it happen in huge gaps.
     This class was unusual in the way it works. It probably would've been easier if I just had bought into it earlier on. But I'll take what I've learned in this class and try to apply them elsewhere.

164 Barred's Way

He stands there waiting,  waiting for his train. His senses then begin to heighten. Every foreign noise whether internal or external permitting from inside him. The ever changing wind that passes by him switches from cold to hot then back again.  The dull  colors become vibrant,  every variation of color becoming noticeable.  His thoughts are clouded, it's his train. His vision becoming distorted,  images becoming bent. Bent by him. "I wonder if it will be like everyone says" he whispers to himself. "What if it's worse?" he utters. "What if it's better? If there's a possibility of it being worse than it can also be better." As the cool breeze hits his face, a sudden sense of euphoria lays itself upon him. With a brief look of relief on his face he began to get nervous about what was to come. Compared to the things he did before, this should be a calm-walk. He can see the smoke of the train in the distance and the closer it got, the more nervous he became. He glanced down "164 Barred's Way" was engraved into his forearm. He nodded and looked back up, the train roaring even closer now. "I hope she knows where to look," he says to himself as he stares down the oncoming train. With the nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach growing he stuck out his left arm and waited. Before he knew it the train had come and all nervousness and feeling had been lost. He was free

Mars One - Launch date 7-8-1

Approximately two weeks after the crash...
She put a finger to his lips "stop" she said "we shouldn't."
"..."
"No! You're crazy!"
Her once well nourished body is now a decrepit bag of bones. As she staggers through the stream of blood, corpses lie in her wake. Nearly falling as she kneels down she picks up the arm of her now deceased captain.
"Do you promise you won't mind"? She whispers as she slowly lifts the rotting limb to her mouth.
"..."
"Okay, but remember, this was your idea."
She opens her mouth and the flesh connects with her teeth. Without hesitation she takes a chunk out of the limb as if it were an apple. The smell putrid, the texture coriaceous, the taste outré. She starts chewing like she's never chewed before until she gets to the bone. She whispers, "Thank you" and waits for a response.
There is nothing.

masterpiece interviews

When talking to people about their masterpieces there was a lot of I'm focusing on this followed by a slight hesitation when asked what exactly what they were doing. The confusion part that was there makes sense especially when it comes to this masterpiece.

beginnings

The masterpiece hasn't been serving a purpose.
 I'm not really sure how it's supposed to.

design

Physically just leave as is, when it comes to the classroom. Structurally, guidance along with with just brief status reports. Culturally,  seems pretty solid nothing drastic needs to happen drastic change would probably hinder progress.

parental involvement is overrated

There's nothing worse than an overbearing parent, especially when it comes to school. And usually the longer it goes on the worse it can get, since the stakes get higher. It seems that the older the kid gets the more the parent(s) should begin to ease off. But in most cases this doesn't happen. There are multiple reasons why this may not take place as it should.  Whether it's the parent(s) that wants the kid to succeed at a high rate. Maybe even that it seems to the parents that it feels like the right thing to do. There just needs to be a certain line to be drawn. It's already bad enough that you have this kid who is growing up and trying to figure things out for themselves but when you add the possible pressure the parent(s) can add it can get hectic. Every parent wants there child to succeed that's a given, it just wouldn't hurt if it was done with a little more distance in certain instances.

the crossroads between should and must

• In general most people are stuck in should rather than must. The article makes it clear what the two roads are. Most people in high school and in life are on the should road. We are all directed to the should path. You're directed towards this path because for many people its seems like the only way to succeed. If you were to go down the must path it wouldn't be smooth. There would be obstacles you would need to conquer. But it seems to me that after going through those obstacles that you come out more knowledgeable. Not to say that you wouldn't gain knowledge going down the should path. I would rather go down the more difficult path since I would learn how to fail. That's another reason why people don't go down the must path they don't want to fail. Some people will never go down the must path and some people will leave the should path. It just appears that whether it's the should or must path that either way you have to give yourself a chance to succeed. 

look at my brain

In the case of my general work in all of my classes it's all pretty similar. I just get whatever it's and do it. The difficulty varies from class to class and assignment to assignment. When it comes to my thoughts it's always how do I do this and how long will it take.  The quicker the better. Collaboration not that much, sometimes in chemistry and in expos. comp. from time to time. Whenever I really start to think critically of anything but especially in the case of assignments and work in class my mind wanders. I usually think of something that interests me or that'll interest me while I pretend to do my work. Creativity doesn't get involved in my work, it's usually not needed.

/r/woahdude

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ddVEFQq819o
Invisibility spray

movie trailer

 http://youtu.be/rae7_O_6EtU
Zero Theorem trailer

raising digital awareness

It is important to draw visitors to your site in order for you to show them what you're up to. While they are there they will be able to decide if they are interested in whatever it is you are doing. I am not currently addressing the visitors needs. I haven't put any time or effort into it. When it comes to improving the value of the site is by producing good content. In general human ideas and interaction is more important than whatever tools you may be able to use. Especially since you can use those experiences from those interactions as tools in the future.

lit. analysis 3

Fiction Analysis

1)The plot revolves around the two main character Michael Garrick and Nora Hartson. In the beginning of the story they witness some shady behavior from a White House staff member. By them witnessing this act it sets up the rest of the story. Which is filled with suspense, mystery with many twist and turns.
2) When talking about the theme of the book two things come to mind. One, absolutely trust no one in general. Two, question everything when faced with a uncomfortable situation.
3)The tone of the author throughout the story is a cluster of suspense and mystery. "What do you mean it's not who you would expect." This would be an example of mystery. This takes place when the search for a black mailer is happening. "You really don't know her do you?" Another example of mystery when Michael begins to question Nora's ulterior motives. "She better not be dead." This takes place when when Michael thinks Nora might of overdosed. Something that Nora struggles with throughout the story.
4) The tone involves suspense and mystery. "Why is he stopping, it looks like he is going into the woods."(pg.23) Michael and Nora decide to tail the White House staffer to see what he is up to. "We should go see what is in that envelope."(pg.25) Nora wants to know what's in the envelope.  Michael is hesitant at first but the gives in to his own intrigue. "What was that, it feels like someone is watching us."(pg.37) Michael knows they shouldn't be with the envelope so the feeling of being watched is overwhelming. What's in it Michael?"(pg.31)Before Michael even touches the envelope Nora's excitement engulfs her. "Who do you think the money is for?"(pg.48)After they realize they've find out it's money and a lot of it they try to piece together what they might think it's for. "You drugged me, you just don't do that without the person knowing."(pg.118) Nora decides for some reason to slop Michael some LSD without him knowing. He then passes out from having a slight panic attack. After he wakes up he is obviously furious and confronts Nora. "Who would he might be black mailing?"(pg.70) Michael along with Nora try to piece together what exactly might be going on with all that the know. But at this point are still unsure. "I'm dead, why would I be a suspect?"(pg.90) Michael becomes a suspect when a fellow employee winds up dead. Now along with everything that else is happening Michael must now prove his innocence. "You realize Nora might have been playing you this whole time."(pg.202)Part of the story where Michael feels that he is all on his own trying to prove his innocence. "Everything was a lie."(pg.249) Michael realizes Nora has been telling him lies. But he has to find out how many lies and what those lies were.

Characterization
1) Michael in the beginning states what he fears in life. This would be direct characterization.  Some of his fears are logical and make sense but others are irrational. One form of indirect characterization is all the times Michael is hesitant. He doesn't like to take chances because that is not what type of person he is. He slightly begins to change as the story goes on.
2)The authors syntax doesn't really change from character to character.  It remains the same, but by him doing this it really doesn't hurt the characters. You still get a feel for each character and what he or she is like.
3)Michael is definitely a dynamic character. He had to be in order to succeed in his goal. If he were to stay the same person he wouldn't have gone far in his journey.  In the beginning he didn't take chances with anything. But by the end he will do whatever it takes to succeed.
4)After reading the book I felt as if I had met a person. You really get to know Michael and what he is like and how he works. The detail that went into his character was really good. It furthered the story when you either got a feeling or didn't when you tried to predict what may happen next.

seeking mentor

The article just told you how to approach the whole idea of seeking out a mentor. It alto said it doesn't matter if they aren't in a field you're interested in as long as they can help you. Questions to ask the mentor you have in mind I guess depends on whatever field you're in

resource of the day

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/quentin-tarantino-accuses-gawker-of-fabricating-story-about-leaked-script-1201146499/
tarantino leaked script

This is only a test

For the test I had and still have no idea what to post exactly I couldn't think of anything that seemed like a good idea I'll need to ask questions

entrepreneur

After writing the essay and viewing myself as a entrepreneur my work still seems as it did in the beginning. When thinking of myself as an entrepreneur I don't see myself as one based on how we defined it in class.

resource of the day

http://my.chicagotribune.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-79423939/

10 questions

The 10 questions I would ask I would ask to a director.

-what influenced you into becoming a director 

-at what age did you start to film things

-how did you approach directing when you first began

-did that approach change as you gained more experience

-what advice would you give to someone starting out

-how do you get better at your craft

-what's is your favorite or one of your favorite movies of all time

-how tedious can filming a single shot be

-how much responsibility is bestowed on the director

-how important is the staff surrounding the director

masterpiece essay

Almaguer 1

Nick Almaguer

Per. 1

3/9/14

Masterpiece Essay

     I’m not sure what I am passionate about. I don’t know what I’m passionate about at this second, I may never know. So when thinking of a topic to focus on I was drawing blanks. I could’ve chose space since that is a big interest of mine. But I thought better of it. I didn’t chose space since if I had to do research on it as an assignment I would’ve wind up hating it. I also could’ve chose psychology; I’ll be majoring on it in college. But the same rules applied to it like space. So eventually long complex narratives in the form of movies and television along with film criticism is what I landed on. The reason for the choice is simple; I enjoy movies and good television. The film criticism part of it was not planned but became a part of it. The movie aspect really important the film criticism not much.

     At the start of researching my topic it was pretty simple on how I would approach it. Use the internet and only the internet. It’s pretty simple on what I should’ve been looking for. But finding good helpful resources isn’t that easy as it would seem. At times I didn’t know what I should be looking for. Eventually I got

Almaguer 2

the hang of things and it came easy. Although when it comes to the using the internet as a full tool I don’t use it in that way. Which basically means I am not utilizing it as I should be? The reason for me not using it in a way of networking is for two reasons. One, I don’t necessarily know how to approach it. Two, if I do use it and something sprouts up from it I’ll probably won’t go forward with it. Not because I’m scared but because I’ll probably drop this whole research and stuff quickly. By that I mean when the school year is done.

     Triumph, a great victory or achievement and regret is to be disappointed over something that has happened or been done. In order for me to feel a sense of achievement I’ll need to do what I think needs to be done. Regret will only come if I feel that I have failed. Basically I’ll just need to continue to do what I’ve been doing. Which is watching movies and television shows and taking notes and also to try to find helpful resources. The resources will help me to get a better understanding on my topic. But failure is possible in this situation like in any other situation. Mainly because there has been many times during this process that I’ve been over this whole thing. In part due to the fact that when it comes to staying locked in on one topic it usually doesn’t work all that well for me. So failure and triumph are both in play but as long as I try and stay on track I should come out on the other side okay. We will see how this whole thing continues to

Almaguer 3

Play out. I just have to convince myself that I should try to go all out on this project.

     When it comes to impressing others with my work I don’t really care. Most people have a set topic and are only focused on that. So when it comes to putting out stuff not much thought will go into it. When thought is put into it it’s probably pretty good. The good thoughts however aren’t put into it because when they happen work isn’t being done. I also don’t think people care about my topic and if they find it interesting in some way. I know I don’t care what other people’s projects are on. One reason is because I don’t find what other people are doing as really interesting. I really don’t know why that is but it will probably not change. The only persons topic that I do have interest in is Grant’s since he is focusing on also Austin’s since he is focusing on stand-up comedy. Other than those two I can’t really think of anything else. When it comes to impressing others with my work I’m not really doing that. Just because of the simple fact that I will most likely not continue this work beyond this school year. I maybe the only one thinking like this but I highly doubt it. I just can’t seem to change my viewpoint on this situation.

     Bringing my idea into reality, it seems to me that I’ve accomplished it in some way since I’ve been doing the work. The work being the stuff I’ve been posting

Almaguer 4

since we stared this project. I don’t really have any ideas when it comes to expanding my horizon. Writing some reviews came up and trying to get them published came up also. But when it comes to the whole criticism part of this masterpiece I don’t want to do it. The main reason is because it just seems really boring. In this process I’ve been done many things. Including taking notes on things in notice on screen and learning on how they are done and what goes into it. Whether it is lighting, contrast, framing, mis-en-scene, camera angles and the setting. I even learned some technical stuff which includes cross cutting, dubbing, voiceovers and many other things. But when the process of reviewing a film comes up I hate the idea. I have been to sites to see how it is done and thought on how I would approach it however it doesn’t seem to spark that much interest. Even if the reviews cam from npr or even Roger Ebert it really didn’t make a difference. I hate the idea because if I were to do it my love for movies would slowly begin to die. I wouldn’t enjoy watching a show or movie like I do now. I guess I am not trying to make anything become reality when it comes to film criticism. So I don’t know which other thing can become reality. The whole reality thing seems like it won’t happen which I am okay with.

     Networking, I would say I don’t know what to do. I’m not sure who I would exactly need in my network. I guess just people in general that find what I am

Almaguer 5

doing interesting. But like I said before I am not sure if there are people that find what I am doing interesting in any way. The expert part to it is that I could possibly reach out to certain people. But rather, I have just compiled a group of directors whose movies I enjoy a lot. And when it comes to these directors I have just watched their movies and took notes. And tried to pay close attention to try to notice a technique that I have learned about. But past this I am not sure what I should be doing.

     The masterpiece project isn’t what I would call it. Not because it isn’t a masterpiece but because it won’t be perfect. And unlike other people I find that things that are imperfect can be better. I’ll just continue on with my imperfect project. And along the way I will see what comes of it.

 Almaguer 1

Bibliography

       http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/moviessnow/cl-turan-sg,0,478868.storygallery#axzz2tbU5Wzo6

       http://www.npr.org/people/2101621/kenneth-turan

       b.com/features/main/http://thescriptla1457-structure-of-pulp-fiction-method-in-the-madness

http://classes.yale.edu/film-analysis/htmfiles/basic-terms.htm

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_criticism

http://m.chronicle.com/article/The-Death-of-Film-Criticism/64352/

http://www.filmsite.org/filmterms6.html

http://wiki.tarantino.info/index.php/Quentin_Tarantino's_Trademarks#Camera_Angles_and_Shots

http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/pulp-fiction-1994

http://m.imgur.com/a/cpLno