The Conceptual Project allowed and encouraged creative opportunities through poetry, music, art, and web production. In my first two months here at Freestyle, I have learned how to utilize and share my projects through multiple different outlets. Regular photo blogs have taught me how to use my DSLR camera and with the help of Photoshop, I am now able to transform my photos into their best versions and into something I am proud to showcase. Other resources such as my audio recorder and Premier Pro allowed me to create a visual art project by combing my poem with audio and music. In Design, we are constantly encouraged to tap into our creative side and procedure art with no limitations. Using professional equipment I have been able to produce art in a creative way effectively.
During the Conceptual unit, I immensely enjoyed being able to finish my first projects at Freestyle with the countless new skills I have learned in Digital Media and Design. In English, we read and studied poems and the screenplay, Red. We learned how poetry has the power to say more with fewer words. Digital Media has allowed me to convert my English projects into visual pieces I am proud of. I learned Premier pro for video editing and Pro Tools for audio editing. In Design I was able to work through the creative process behind my conceptual statement photo using my DSLR and Photoshop editing skills. I was initially stuck with half ideas, but then my fellow classmates all came together to help me finalize my idea. The environment at Freestyle is extremely welcoming and I’ve enjoyed learning along with hard-working people.
Photo Haiku
In English, we wrote a haiku based on an intention statement that was handed to us by random. We then had to compose an original haiku based on our intention statement which was later integrated with a photograph taken in Design. The final product was a combination of photography and poetry forming together to achieve a metaphoric meaning.
What I valued most from this project was my ability to be able to combine a project that started in English and ended in Digital Media. I learned through Premier Pro how to add text to a video with movement and how to cue it with music. In English, I took a lot away from the simplicity of poems and their secret messages, as well as the fun creativity that goes into turning an intention statement into something of your own.
Poetry
In the Poetry unit, we were challenged to create an original Free Verse Poem. I took notice of poems we studied in class such as “Bright Dead Things” by Ada Limon and the ways she used a close relationship with the speaker of her poems to add a personal touch. I also liked the surprise endings of her poems and adapted their style into my own Free Verse. In Digital Media we designed a photo to go behind our poem as well as adding in audio and SFX sounds to enhance the message behind the poem.
“Boxes” is a free verse poem about the power behind the simplicity of a box, and how a simple object can have a much bigger meaning. The speaker in this poem is a person not too distant from myself; in the poem, the speaker is observing different periods of their life and recollecting the different objects and memories they package away. At the conclusion of each chapter, they move on to the new things in their life. When the lineation changes from normal verses to the spread out enjambment and repetition of “Up, Up, UP”, it creates a highlight and emphasis to the audience as it paints an image of claustrophobia as the boxes of life start staking up, up, and up. The tone shifts from nostalgic and optimistic to a deeper and more thoughtful tone that suggest something more meaningful behind the symbolism of a box. Ultimately, the pattern of symbolism in this poem shows the profound meaning of a box. And how as simple as they are they tend to play a bigger part in our lives than we imagine. This can also apply to many other notions in our life. I tried to emulate the enjambment and end-stops I encountered in Ada Limóns’s “I Remember the Carrots” because I liked how Limón was using these lineation techniques to convey a story of her speaker’s childhood memory. In particular, her use of enjambment emphasizes tone shifts and thorough processes instead of simply writing it out as a form of text. Moreover, the use of end-stops gave clarification on the significant moments of her poem and gave a dramatic effect to her ideas. In short, I would like my audience to walk away with a different perspective on the simple things in their lives. And to hopefully encourage them to apply a deeper lens on some of the more elementary things in life and to get them thinking about the secret significance.
Some of the things I have learned to really value with this poetry unit are the various outlets in which I can express my creativity, such as the various formats and mediums (text, images, audio, video). I really appreciate the opportunities that arrived with this project and can’t wait to continue to advance my skills and knowledge in creating new projects in multiple formats and mediums.
Photoshop Blend Modes
Photoshop Blend Modes was a project that allowed us to explore all of the possibilities that come with Photoshop while using photos we took ourselves. I really enjoyed being able to expand my knowledge of Photoshop and learning creative ways to enhance and transition my photos to their best ability.
I value that I am able to learn how to use Photoshop Blend Modes because I am certain that I will be using it in the future not only with freestyle projects but also with personal ones as well. And I am very grateful that I am able to learn and understand the techniques behind it now. I see myself using this new Photoshop skill in my future creative projects whenever I need to combine two photos together or when I need to adjust the lighting or blend modes to enhance my image.
Design
For the Conceptual unit in Design, we focused on producing images and art that have to do with the Conceptual theme. We created the Alphabet Name photo, Conceptual Statement photo, and Miniature Figure Photoshop Practice. My experience in Design so far has exposed me to many new skills which I look forward to improving as I go into the second semester. I value all of the amazing opportunities and resources that I am provided and am excited to learn how to take advantage of them as time goes on!
Alphabet Name
For this project, we were assigned to walk around the Freestyle campus and take photos of things that look like the letters in our name found in nature. Once we found all of our letters I took the photos in Photoshop and stitched them together to form my name with the things I found around the Freestyle campus.
Conceptual Photo
The Conceptual Photo was the project we spent the most time on this semester. We used the concept statement given to us in English and worked on taking the statement to the next level by using our DSLR cameras and Photoshop skills to enhance the message or feeling that we felt came from the statement. After finalizing the message of our concept statement we spent the following weeks shooting and editing our photo.
Artist Statment
Concept Statment: I am Exploring the Feeling of Hatred Through Decorating my Room.
The two objects depicted in my Conceptual photo are a flower and a flame. Their meaning is found in the juxtaposition of something new and refreshing such as the yellow flower and something destructive like a flame. I used the yellow flower to symbolize the feeling of renewal and starting fresh because that is how I feel when I decorate my room. Moreover, the flame in the center of the flower symbolizes anger and hatred. Fire is known as destructive and dangerous, so placing it in the middle of the yellow flower shows the burning range of hatred affecting the peaceful presence of decorating my room. The flower and flame portray a sense of anxiety because you are aware of the destruction that is about to happen but at the moment can not do anything to stop it. The same applies to decorating my room with hatred, I know that once I do it the effects will only be negative however at the moment there is no stopping me. Thus this image depicts the final moment when I am given the opportunity to decorate my room and I choose hatred.
The Photoshop process was exciting and captivating. I learned many skills such as making selections and applying layers, changing the lighting, and adjusting saturation and hues. I applied what I learned to my final composition by putting my photo in the rule of thirds and making specific selections lighter using the dodge tool. Overall these tools helped enhance my image by giving my conceptual items more emphasis.
Miniature Figure Photography
This project was used to help us improve our Photoshop skills as well as get creative with simple objects to see how many different photos we could take and explore lighting. It was interesting exploring different forms of flash and light and seeing how the shadow adjusts and impacts the photo.