Final Reflection

We started off with this idea and we wanted to create something related to nature. we think that the monkey is abstract and has a good meaning. The monkey represents about being unique and funky. The monkey's body and face are very strange and peculiar. Me and Mario collected our ideas and made a sketch of how the monkey would look like when creating the sculpture

The final piece with lights

We finally added the eyes by cutting out the ping pong balls in half. We drew the pupil of the eye and then attached it with a glue gun to the head. Then we pulled the green fairy lights through the body and into the head. When we switched don the lights the mouth and the body were lit up green.

Putting it together

We had to cut a big hole at the bottom of the bottle to fit the organs in. To do this we started off by taking a string/fishing line and attaching it to the organs. Then we pulled the organs through the body and attached it to the lid of the bottle. For the tail, we took a thick wire and shaped it into a tail and attached it to the body. Then we attached a bell at the end of the tail so when the hands rotate the bell would get hit by the hand. Finally, for the hands, we took a motor and attached it to the batters. we pull the motor ad battery through one of the holes on each side of the body. Then we attached a wire to the motors. This was successful but then the motor had some technical issues and it stopped working.

Attaching the head and legs to the body

We were contemplating on how to attach the head to the body. At first, we thought we should just glue it in as it would be the easiest option. However, when we checked out how it would look, it looked disproportioned. So then we decided to cut out a hole in the head. Our group was really worried that the head would crack and break if we cut a big hole. Tereza used a scissor to make a hole and then used sand paper to expand it. The sand paper was a safer way of making the hole, as it didn't cause any damages to the head.

Creating the body

 Instead of using Tupperware and layering the body with felt, we decided to use the big water bottles as the body. We decided to keep it transparent as we wanted to fit in organs of the monkey. Mario drew organs of the monkey and attached the organs to each other to put into the water bottle.

Our first idea for the body was to use cardboard or Tupperware box and shape it into the body. Our teacher then advised us to use the water bottle as it is more abstract. We had to cut in holes from the sides to fit the motors in so we can attach the hands

Finishing the head

At the point, our head didn't have a shape of the monkey. We were confused on how to get the perfect monkey mouth shape. So our teacher told us to look at reference pictures to help us out with creating the perfect side profile. So we took paper and crumbled it and attached it to the mouth to give the monkey a big mouth. Then we applied a layer of mod roc to finish it off.  Then after creating the structure of the face, for the ear, we made the shape with clay and then to prevent cracks we layered it with a mod roc. Then to attach the ears to the head we used more mod roc. I was quite hard to attach the ear as the mod roc had to dry up to be attached to the head. Then to give it the perfect look, we painted the head, brown at the outer parts and beige in the inner parts. It was hard to create the beige colour as there was not a lot of white paint in supply, but we still made it work.

structure of the head ready

The balloon dried up and we popped the balloon. After the balloon was popped, we cut out a mouth and then added clay to make the lips. We also did final touch-ups on the hands as the paints were cracking a little and there were a few white spots as well.

starting with the head

We blew up a balloon to the size of the monkey head. Then we took mod roc and applied strips of it to the balloon. After we dried we added another layer to make it strong, then we added a final layer to create a good structure so it doesn't crack. This step didn't take very long since the mod roc didn't take a long time to dry off.  

Creating the legs feet

we created the legs and feet by using clay. We first rolled out the clay in a round cylinder shape and formed it into the legs. Then we made the feet out of clay as well and attached it to the legs. The next lesson we noticed that the clay cracked and then we had to come up with a solution. Our solution was to layer modroc on top of the clay so the legs are firm and doesn't crack. We took a lesson to put on the modroc and it turned out successful. On the third lesson, we started to paint the legs and feet. The legs were painted brown and the feet were painted beige.

Group Powerpoint

Unit reflection

What skills do you feel you have developed in this unit?
I think I have developed a few skills during this unit such as staying in character and collaborating with others. When we were given our character profiles we had to learn more about the character in depth as well as act like the character. The way I represented my character was by having a Russian accent and talking about my interests. At first I was really bad at putting on an accent as representing my character. However, as the unit moved on I tried to have a Russian accent. I think it was the hardest during the scenes where I have to stay in character.

What were your greatest successes during the unit? 
One of my successes was when we had to come up with ideas for the last documentary we had to do. Also I collaborated with the others members of the house for the scenes and documentary we had to do. Finally, the last success was that I made my character unique and different from the others.

Do you think Tv/film can change the way we see the world?
Yes, because reality tv targets our emotions and so it is essential for reality tv to be dramatic, as to evoke certain feeling towards the characters. Meanwhile in movies it is hard to separate the facts from the fiction. If the reality tv star has a impact on you, your behaviour could be similar to the character. However in movies, the way in which we perceive fictional characters has a direct impact on what we expect reality to be like. It changes our perspectives and as a result  we have unreal or unrealistic expectations.

What reaction did your performance get from the audience, and was it expected or planned for? (what was your original objective?) 
During the documentary, the audience were paying attention and interested. During some parts the audience laughed. However, at the negative parts of the documentary, the audience were quite shocked or disturbed. This shows that the emotions during the documentary had an influence on the way the audience reacted. Although, almost during end the audience clapped when we were not dome. We can solve this situation by giving an indication that the scene is not over.


How can you apply your newly developed skills to other performance work in the rest of this course or to another subject?
I could use collaboration any subjects that involve group work. When we have to be in groups we have to share ideas and be considerate of every single member's opinions and point of view to be a succesful team. We could use staying in character in any other play. In addition, in english if we have to read a book and you are reading out the speech of a character then you have to stay in character and talk like the character.

Audition Tape

CONFESSIONS!

Anastiya shares her opinions about everyone. She seems to be quite uncomfortable at this point. Everyone she had talked about were mostly considered bad. From her point of view, she thinks that Cleo or 'Leo' is the most irritating one as Cleo has a very deceitful and bossy attitude. She seems to be tagging along with Skyler the most as they do have a few things in common, especially their love for dancing. It really brings them together. Anastasiya has a doubt that Thomas does fancy her a little. According to her Tomas was trying to impressing her by cracking lame jokes. Anastasiya seem to not really care about Alice. Alice is quiet and shy, which is the polar opposite of Anastasiya. So Anastasiya believes that they wont really get along well.

                                

So today we had to create a plan of the new house. I was soo excited to do this activity except I was put with the wrong people, especially one of them. In my group it was me, Cleo, Thomas, Alice and Skyler. We first got a sheet of paper and then Cleo started to draw whatever  she wanted to without asking anyone of our opinions. Then Thomas got angry and ripped out the paper. There was a huge cat fight between Thomas and Cleo, they both were yapping about random crap. Then we started all over again. We all decided that we want our own bedroom and some of us could share our own bathroom, since some of use are not selfish brats like Thomas and Cleo. Then we decided to have a bar since Thomas is a drunk idiot. We also decided to have an outdoor pool and jacuzzi. We also have a barbecue in case we have a house party. Skyler and I wanted a tennis court as we are fitness gurus! Fortunately, everyone agreed to that statement for once. instead of a confession room we wanted a confession tree house since Cleo wanted something "outdoors". I have to admit I do like the idea of the confession treehouse. I do like a bit of gossip! For some reason, Cleo wanted a skate ramp. I totally didn't agree to that since none of us were really interested in that. How is a stake ramp supposed to be useful? After a lot of arguing, we agreed to have a skate ramp. For some comfort we obviously need a lounge. In addition to that, for a fun girls night out, we decided to add a home theater. I mean how can I catch up on Gossip Girl without a home theater. Ahh, just imagine on a Friday night, pizza and popcorn, fantasizing over how hot Chuck Bass is! I would just love that. Back to the topic, we also have to have a kitchen. According to Skyler "How am I going to make my Quinoa salad?". With the Kitchen we also need a dining room. How are we gonna have food fights? Finally, we need a fitness room which includes a dance studio, so I can practice tap dancing. Alice (the quiet girl) wanted a library and Cleo seemed to be happy about that since she can store her 'comics' there. During the experience, I felt like each person had their own characteristics, Cleo was annoying throughout the whole time. She was being selfish the whole time. I think I could have some conflicts with her later onwards. But the hatred between Skyler and Cleo is on a whole new level. They might even kill each other one day! I think that Thomas was quite a nice guy. He did act a little weird since he was drunk. The lame jokes he was cracking might not be as bad as i thought it was. He seems to be a nice guy though. He was quite considerate about my suggestions. What if he has a crush on me? Alice was boring, she had nothing to say. I prefer confident and brave people and obviously she didn't meet my standards. All she wanted was a library. Therefore, at this point I dont really have any friends or enemies. However, that could change later onwards...

Little Sister Application Form

Anastasiya Valentin was born in Russia and then migrated to the USA when she was 5 years old. She is a very carefree, bold and confident person but her upfront attitude could take a toll on her rude side. She is currently working as a bartender. She had won a lot of national marketing competitions during her college days. Her favourite TV show is gossip girl and her favourite food is Caesar salad and lasagna. Her least favourite TV show is Grey's Anatomy and her least favourite food is brussel sprouts and broccoli.

 Anastasiya when she won her national marketing award

Group reflection

Drama psa video and reflection

First, Ms.Ruiz introduced us to the new assessment where we were introduced to the PSA video. We watched a few examples as well to get an idea. Ms. Ruiz allocated us into groups of fur and I was with Yuya, Mario and Joseph and we first had to do a hot seat where we chose characters and then answer question based on your character. I was the victim and Joseph was the abuser. We started acting out a scene where the victim is noticed by the neighbors son and then the neighbors son complaints to the neighbor. This scene was about 30 secs. We did the scene properly except i did turn my back at one point.



Pre- Planning:

The day of filming:

We decided a few days back before filming that we should organize a day to shoot the video. On the day of the shoot (Sunday), after school hours we went to a street in Meadows four were we shot the PSA. I first did my makeup and changed my clothes as well. I think that the make make a huge impact on my character. Then we stop the scenes and it took about 30 to 40 mins to film everything. 


Props:

• Clothes for victim
• makeup 
• grocery bag
• football
• phone ( for the neighbor to sit and read)
• Lights for the shadow scene

Strengths:

• As a group we considered each others ideas and was contributive
• We shot the film on time and were organized
• Background music was utilized to create the tension and fear
• Shadow was used to represent the scary and torturing aspects of domestic abuse
• Sound effects for the fight scene was used (such as the knap)

Improvements:

• Get the preplanning and reflection done on time
• Stay in character during the shoot
• Improve the makeup look since it needs to look more intense and frightening 

How could we relate this to other subjects?

• We could use editing for ICT in case we need to make a video or a short film as an assignment.
• I could use the shadow effect for art as we were learning about shadow puppetry 
• We could lean new facts about domestic abuse and use the statistics for math, geography or history
• We could also use the background and sound effects for music.

Reflection on Domestic Violence act

For this act we were assigned into groups and the members of my group were me, Oliver, William and Josephine. We were given a scenario about a wife being abused by her husband and her friend was trying to help her but then the wife kept ignoring when the friend gave suggestions. The roles were:

Wife- Josephine
Wife's friend- Kalyani
Husband- Oliver
Husband's friend- William

It starts off with the husband and his friend complaining about the abusive husband wife. Then it cross cuts to a thought tracking of Josephine before she meets her friend(me) at the cafe. Then the friend comes in and they start to talk. The friend notices that the wife has a bruise on her lip. Then Josephine talks about her her husband abusing her. Then it cross cuts to a flashback of Josephine being abused by her husband. Then the cross cutting ends and scene goes back to the cafe The wife's friend suggests her solutions but the wife keeps ignoring her. Then there is a cross cutting of the husband at the bar and then the friend tells the husband to divorce her. Then the husband returns home and abuses her wife and files a divorce.

What were our successes?

• As a group we collaborated to make a script that was followed properly
• We made use of though tracking and cross cutting during our play
• As a group we stayed in character throughout the whole play
• We used props to give an impact on the audience
• We used sound effects to give a better visualization of the setting.

What was challenging?

• It was challenging when we had to think of how to use thought tracking and cross cutting 
• It was challenging when we had to make our plot more creative

Improvements:

• During the play we should have faced the audience
• During the play we had some issues with stage combat
• one of the members of the group didn't forget one of their lines at one point.  

Conflict Lessopn 1

Unit Introduction