Blog 23: Final Lesson Reflection

(1) What are you most proud of in your block presentation and/or senior project?

I feel that I demonstrated my knowledge of my topic very well and I was able to keep my audience engaged, as well as impart some knowledge about film on them.

(2) What assessment would you give yourself on your block presentation?

I would give myself an AE because I think I presented an abundance of interesting information to my peers while keeping them engaged.

What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project?

I would give myself an AE. I strived to find knowledge with depth about my topic and provided my peers with information about film they might not know otherwise. I also feel that even though I studied a broad topic, I was able to acknowledge and present the intricacies of each facet and aspect.

(3) What worked for you in your senior project?

I thought every single component challenged me to examine my topic from different perspectives, thus enhancing the depth of my project.

(4) What didn't work? If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your senior project if you could go back in time?

I didn't feel that anything didn't work in the project. Although, when I rehearsed with family members, they expressed concerns about me overwhelming the students I was presenting to with information, so that led to me taking out slides that I think would have added a little more to my presentation.

(5) How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors?

The project instilled knowledge in me that I may not have pursued otherwise. Also, I learned how to reach out to people in the industry and express my likes and dislikes about film and TV in a thoughtful manner. I found that I was extremely interested in screenwriting and producing through examining the different roles in filmmaking. Overall, my confidence in my abilities as a filmmaker has grown and my certainty about what I want to do in film.

Blog 22: Mentorship

Literal

• Link to Mentorship Hours
• Phillip Miller-ROP
• Priscilla Gonzalez
• Amanda DiPiazza-Disney 

Interpretive

• The most important thing I learned were the foundation and techniques for recording and mixing sound, camera angles and shot choices, lighting, cross-editing, and such in ROP. I also learned the importance of a pleasant collaborative environment with my mentors Amanda DiPiazza and Priscilla Gonzalez. I thought all of these things were valuable because I feel that even though I will not work in every single field in the industry, having knowledge of even the basics are useful to me as an aspiring producer and screenwriter. 

Applied

• Through taking ROP I learned the fundamentals of telling interesting stories, bringing them to life in unique ways, and trying to appeal to audiences. Through mentoring with Amanda DiPiazza I learned the importance of quality collaboration. Lastly, through mentoring with Priscilla Gonzalez I learned how subjective memorability can be, especially based on one's moviegoing experience. 

Blog 21: Exit Interview

1. My essential question and answers are as follows:

• "What technique can be most effectively employed to create a memorable film?"
• Successful collaboration between filmmakers--professionals in their respective fields whether it be writing, lighting, directing, cinematography, etc.--to combine their expertise.
• Screenwriters need to be able to empathize with their audience and know what appeals to people, whether it comes to story-writing or dialogue
• Filmmakers must be able to use their knowledge of what is aesthetically appealing to audiences. 
• My best answer is my third. I chose it because a film's aesthetic largely assists the story told in uses of camera angles, color, and production design. 

2. Initially, I read a lot more books on screenwriting because I intended for that to originally be my best answer, but I came across more visual sources such as informative videos, visually striking films, articles on visually striking films, and a couple of books that detailed the history of production design and how filmmakers have strived to alter visuals to appeal to audiences. 

3. Seeing as my focus was more so on screenwriting at first, I mostly just had to seek out more sources on visual aspects in film. 

4. The two most significant sources I used to determine my best answer was Gavin Miller's article 15 Visually Striking Films with Amazing Color Palettes because it provided an in-depth, solid foundation on how integral color palettes are to establishing the mood of a films and Cathy Whitlock's Designs on Film , which helped me understand the history of production design and how important it has been for filmmakers to adapt to their audiences' changing tastes in relation to aesthetic appeal.