Stand by Me

For this class Ollywood I was assigned to choose a movie that would best suit me and would be able to watch. I chose "Stand by Me" by Rob Reiner. I was recommended by my teacher and so I watched it thinking probably it was going to be boring but at the end I really like it and now it's one of my favorite movies of all times. I think that this movie was great. I am really proud that I got to see this movie because it was fun to watch especially a movie from the 80's.

Hey, my name is J.R and I’d like to talk to you about a really great movie titled Stand by Me directed by Rob Reiner” This movie was released on August 8, 1986, The Main characters are Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman. Stand by Me is now one of my favorite top movies that I’ll always recommend to other people. I liked this movie very much because it used some cool film techniques and some of the kids lives were a mess because of their parents really stood out throughout the whole movie. They really expressed a lot of their emotions and that’s one thing that I really liked because it made me feel what they were going through.

This movie is about four young kids that go on an adventure trying to find a missing dead body. As, they go on their adventure they go through some challenges and also become more mature. These kids try to find a missing teenage boy that got hit by a train. When they` found out about the missing boy they thought that if they found him they probably will become hero’s and have their faces on tv and the newspapers. The boys really want to do something different and special with their lives, and some just want to get away from their terrible families.

In some scenes of the movie there were a lot of fade out (dissolve) editing cuts used, more in the parts where the boys were talking/walking together on the train tracks and well because the movie is one long flashback. So, it makes good sense that the film editors would use fade outs to capture these past moments. Another editing cut used effectively was the Eyeline Match used when the group of boys all started on their adventure and one of them mentions “Food” and none brought food so they start giving their money to Gordie to count. The editing here shows that Gordie is really the unofficial leader of the group by focusing our eyes on what he is doing as he collects all of the money as the one in charge. In addition, camera techniques including long shots and mid-shots of the train tracks were used in the scene when the boys debated whether they should risk taking the train tracks and getting killed by the train and jumping off but it was 100 ft. These camera techniques, along with the editing made me feel like I was part of the group.

Besides editing and camera angles, the soundtrack of “Stand by Me” included songs weren’t really that familiar to me because the story takes place during the late 1950s. The song that really stood out to me was “Lollipop” by: The Chordettes, which is played in the scene when the boys were walking in pairs singing lollipop and making the “POP” sound. The song actually matches the action in this scene, which is interesting because the soundtrack is part of the story, not just playing over it like in most other movies. Another powerful part of the soundtrack is the flute played in Ben King’s “Stand by Me” song which is played in the early part of the film and played again in a different beat at the end of the movie. which is “stand by me by: Ben King” This song is also the title of the film, which makes me think that the theme of is really important in the movie.

Some sound effects that really brought certain scenes to life and made the boys’ journey more realistic were crumbling rocks, barfing and gunshots.

The film focuses on the friendship of these boys, and since it is told as a flashback by the main character, Gordie, it seems to show the difference between childhood and manhood. There were many scenes that showed parts where it was childhood to manhood like when all four of them went together to find this missing dead body. Chris manning up in front of his brother when both his brother’s gang meet where they find the missing dead body.

I’d recommend this film because it shows a lot of friendship between these kids and shows lots of bravery and confidence in going on to an adventure to find a dead missing body together. The best part is that each one of them has each others back no matter what.

Thank you for reading!

The AJ & JR Show: There Will Be Blood Critique

In my elective course, Ollywood we focus on the components that makes a film come together. The second Action Project is a video critique about the 2007 drama film, There Will Be Blood. The purpose of this project was to give a general explanation of the plot, characters, framing, lighting, and also our personal experience of the movie in a video format with a partner. I'm proud of being with a peer, and to accomplish this assignment in this time frame we had. The most challenging part for my partner and I was the filming of the video, we had faced a lot of camera and tech issues while filming. Overall I would do it again with my partner! Below you can locate the rest of our project. I hope you enjoy it as my partner and I enjoyed making it.

Filming Info 

Movie Title: There Will Be Blood
Genre: Drama
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Release Date: December 26, 2007
Main Characters: Daniel Plainview By: Daniel Day-Lewis and Eli Sunday By: Paul Dano
Number of awards: 55

AJ and JR Show: There Will be Blood

        

Slideshow seen in the video above:

        

Thank you for your view! Click here for link to There Will be Blood movie trailer!

My Model Stage: Stage Chemistry

For this action project we were assigned to build our blueprint that we were also assigned to do for the first AP of stage chemistry. My first AP I chose to measure Fasseas in Menomonee Boys & Girls club. I Basically Measure throughout card board and cut and built Fasseas Stage that I drew on my blueprint. What I am most proud of is to have my stage built before everything is due and well, because it was a fun AP. As a follow up with my previous Action Project (Link) I had turned my blueprints into an 3D model, that you can locate below in a series of moving pictures.

For my first motion that I chose was a trap door that I cut in the middle of my stage. I chose to cut it in the middle of  my stage because I thought  it would be cool to have a person go through it while performing to get the audience to react some type of way. This trap door is made for actors (people) to make a good way out of the stage more like disappear. While someone is going through their scene they will usually go through the trap door to not make a plain exit from the stage, and they will usually end up in the bottom of the stage. As you can see on these to examples of the trap door on my stage this person weighs 135 pounds and the force being made on the trap door is 600.507 newton's same as the upward force on the trap doors. The way I found out how much force was given up and down the trap doors, with the persons weight. The person weighed 135 and so I multiplied it by 4.4482 and got 600.507 newton's which is the exact force for both ways (up and down).

JR. Going Through Trap Door. 2014

JR. Side View. 2014

For my second motion I chose was a pulley. I put my pulley above my stage so it can look like a real pulley and for the people that will be using it. I added a chair on the left so that a person can pull the person up and down and make it look like the person is above ground. Usually the person will wear a belt and that belt will be attached with the pulley to bring the person up and down. To make this pulley I made a hole on the top of the roof of my stage and inserted a loop to put in the rope to give my pulley some action.

JR. Pulley In Motion. 2014

Trap Door Safety Rules:

• Make sure your on time to go through the trap doors.
• Be careful how you land.
• Make sure the trap doors are unlocked.
• Fall the proper way in case something goes wrong.
• Trap door must be clear from the bottom (besides something comfy to land on) and top.
• If done using the trap door, please lock it so no one falls through it while walking on stage.
• Make sure their isn't nothing blocking the trap doors on stage.
• Don't fall head first while going through the trap doors.

JR. Safety Rule. 2014

Pulley Safety Rules:

• Make sure that you belt is clicked on and working good.
• When above ground don't touch the belt or release the buckle.
• Don't pull or grab on to the pulley rope.
• Don't get distracted while your about to get pulled up.
• Make sure to get your harness on before getting pulled up.
• Don't perform a weird stunt that will get you tangled while above ground.
• Chair man has to be strong and not get easily distracted.
• Make sure your weight is checked before using pulley.

JR. Safety Rule.2014

I used my blueprint to build my stage because when I created the blueprint with the measures of Fasseas and I needed those measurements for my stage. I also included a roof and also made my stage hallow so that way I have a better view of my trap doors I put on the top of my stage.

My Mathematical Formula For The Trap Door:

JR. Trap Door Mathematical Formula. 2014

The Beast of the Southern Wild

For my class Ollywood I was assigned to choose between five films to watch and write about the production design- the sets,costumes, and props of the film as well as identify the protagonist, antagonist, and other plot elements. I chose to critique the film  Beasts of the Southern Wild. I really liked the movie because it showed the positive things a child can do. I think that is very interesting that the movie was directed by someone who got inspired of the Hurricane Katrina.

Beasts of the Southern Wild is a film directed by Benh Zeitlin. The movie was filmed in Louisiana and released in the year of 2012. Young Hushpuppy lives with her father Wink in a little community on water with a small group of neighbors. Hushpuppy is only six years old and is curious about her mother who is missing, but is maybe alive somewhere. Wink is the only thing she has right now, but he’s extremely sick and is an alcoholic Hushpuppy is the protagonist of the film, and one of the quotes that best represents her character is when HUshpuppy says, “The whole universe depends on things fitting together just right.” I liked this quote because for her to be six and actually speaking this is pretty impressive; she seems to know a lot like an adult. The antagonists of the movie are the aurochs and the storm.It clearly has the residents on edge, as one. The little boy warned the others“ The storm is coming, the storm is coming, the storm is coming.”

Hushpuppy wants to find her mother and spend more time with her father, Wink. She tries to understand why her father acts the way he acts and what’s wrong with him. She questions herself about why her father doesn’t seem to want to be with her and pushes her away. She tries to understand him and talk to him but he’s always busy drinking and barely has time. She wants her father to stay healthy and be there with her. But, there’s a problem that happens. The storm get overly aggressive and floods the town, affecting a lot of the people in their own households. This storm infected most of the animals, leaving the people in the town to starve.  Hushpuppy’s desire is to leave on an adventure to find her mother. She wants to find out if her mother is still somewhere alive. She carries the hope with her even when her father tells her that she’s dead.  Meanwhile, the antagonists - the aurochs and the storm -  lead to the destruction of people, houses and constantly threaten the other characters and take over of Bathtub make Bathtub as their environment the entire community of the Bathtub.

The director, Zeitlin, was inspired to make the sets of Beasts after the crisis of Hurricane Katrina. That hurricane struck the Bahamas before passing to Southern Florida, then to the Gulf of Mexico and the southeast of Louisiana in late August of 2005. It caused severe destruction and left a lot of people injured, dead, and homeless. Beasts shows the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina through the sets and costumes. For example, the houses in the Bathtub were destroyed, garbage was floating on everywhere on the water, there weren’t enough animals to feed on just everything was a disaster from the beginning of the film . The characters who lived in the Bathtub wore the same clothes again and again -- often they were ripped, worn out, too-big boots and shoes. The outfits that the characters wore actually fitted with their personality it makes people think about who the person is.

Hushpuppy now knows that her father is ill and is soon going to die. The only way to not stay alone is to go on an adventure to find her dead mother. Hushpuppy and her friends, leave the hospital and make her company as she tries to find her mother.The scene that most stood out to me was was the ending of the film. The scene is when Hushpuppy’s father dies and Hushpuppy sets him on fire on the car boat onto the water. It really shows the courage, bravery and strength to actually do what she did. She now has to face the real world, being an orphan, also with the Aurochs taking over is a big deal for her. Not only that she’s an orphan but she also has her fathers neighbors that were his close friends. Hushpuppy now is on her own with no family.

Stolz, Kit. Meet the future, little girl. 2014.

The Famous Theater

For this class Stage Chemistry I was told to pick an available space, to create my own theater. I measured the space that I chose which was Fasseas from Menomonee Boy & Girls club. I thought that picking Fasseas will be a good idea because I go to school everyday, might as well pick a place where it’s big and enough people can fit in. Fasseas is part of Menomonee where GCE staff and student usually meet for morning meetings. As, I measured I had to create a scale for the blueprint I had to create for Fasseas, and this is my explanation of my blueprint and micros.

JR. Fasseas Blueprint. (2014) Issuu 

Stage
The stage is located inside of Fasseas, in which is accessible to a lot of outlets, and the light and sound box that isn’t going to be a problem with a lot of cords in the way. The performers won’t trip on their way in to the stage. The viewing angles of the seats are very good, no matter what seat you choose to sit at.

Snack Bar
The Snack Bar at Fasseas will be located inside of by the seats and stage inside. Any beverages or any other snacks will be purchased before the start of the film or performance. After film or performance is starting, there will there will no longer be a Snack Bar. When film/performance is finished the Snack Bar will re-open again. There is also permission to take beverages and snacks in the theater only, if you bought from the Snack Bar after purchased.

Ticket Booth
The Ticket Booth will be held beside the entrance of Fasseas doors. Each ticket will cost more if closer. The VIP seat tickets are $25 dollars, 2nd row is $20 dollars, 3rd row is $15 dollars and 4th row is $10 dollars. Every person who purchases a ticket, they will get a 50% discount for children ages 3-7 years old (If they have children). The children are free to watch film or performance.

Coat Rack
The Coat Rack is located further to the left of the Ticket Booth. For every ticket a person buys they will get a 50% discount on the coat rack for children ages 3-7 years old. Now, all adults coats, jackets will cost $1.00. Their will be a person in charge of taking all coats, they will punch a hole in your ticket to let them know they have your coat so their responsible because your paying for your coat to be put away.

Light&Sound Box
This is the Light and sound box located inside Fasseas close enough to the stage. The Light and Sound box is basically the the electricity box. The Light and Sound box will power all the lighting and sound while film or performance is being done in session. This box will give the light that they audience will need such as the sound also so people won't have trouble listening or watching anything on the stage.

Preparation Hall
The preparation Hall is the hall beside Fasseas other exit door. I chose to have this part on my stage so that the performers or film takers can get settled and ready. This is a huge opportunity for all actors and and film takers, since their isn't curtain to block the stage in the front, just like most stages. This is also a better way to make a good exciting entrance to grab the audiences attention. Preparation Halls can also be to practice your roles/scripts whatever that needs to be done will be set in Preparation Hall, even for taking deep breathes before starting.

J.R Comparisons.2014. Photography

Poverty

For this course, Populations last unit on if/then was based on over population and how it effects the world. I was assigned a project, to choose a topic on which applies to population growth and how that will also reflect on it's symbiosis. I chose poverty because I am more familiar with this topic and I like talking about it.

The symbiosis that will apply to poverty and the two interacting parties will be competition. The reason for choosing competition as the symbiosis is because United States and Congo are in competition of lack of jobs. The more the population grows the lesser jobs people have, which will make it harder for people to look for one.

Here is a picture of how much of the population growth will be in 2050.

JR. "Human Population Growth In A Geometric Sequence". 2014. Photography.

Right now the human population is 7,125,000,000 billion people. As a result of the prediction of the human population growth in 2050, is 10,715,465,520 more billion people

Here is also a script of Kevin and Cynthia conversing about the lack of jobs because of poverty and over population.

Kevin: Hey Cynthia! do you know any places where they’re hiring?

Cynthia: Certainly NOT! Good luck finding one.

Kevin: What do you mean?

Cynthia: Well, there aren’t enough jobs offerings for the amount of people here.

Kevin: Really? How do you know?

Cynthia: Look at the population and economy right now! Do you really think we have job offerings

for 7,125,000,000 people?

Kevin: Woah! that’s a lot of people

Cynthia: Did you know that the population in 2050 will grow to a maximum of 10 billion people, which people would want jobs and be in competition for jobs.

Kevin: I never knew that? tell me more.

Cynthia: it’s true and now people are going to struggle because of the lack of jobs that is going to happen from then to 2050. If I was you I would start researching and looking for jobs quick.

Kevin: Thanks, I will.

Spider Man The Ultimate Hero

For my Stories course, my class and I were assigned to pick a fictional hero and a non-fiction hero. We are to write a story about the 8 steps of a Hero's Journey and a non-fiction hero. The purpose of this action project analyze the journeys of both characters.

                                                    

Spiderman is a fictional hero, a superhero who appears in comic books that are published by Marvel Comics. I picked this hero because there was an episode of Ultimate Heroes on Netflix that caught my attention. I started to watch it, and I liked it a lot and chose Spiderman as my fictional hero.

For my non-fictional hero, I picked E.B who I met probably 3 years ago as a volunteer at a program called Inner City Impact (ICI). She became the discipline leader of the high school program on Fridays, which then i started to attend. I got very attached to her, we became very good friends. I chose to interview her because she is like a second mother to me.

 Hero's Fictional Journey

Call To Adventure

Spider man is at school one day, when the principal gets kidnapped by four frightful villains. Spider man has to rescue the students and principal and defeat the villains in order to bring back safety.

"spider man off to his adventure"

Mentor

Nick Fury is a secret spy who helps heroes improve their skills of responsibility and safety. He helps train Spider Man to fight villains and combat). Fury trains Spider Man to not be messy and to fight quickly against other villains.

'spider man and the frightful villains"

Threshold

Spiderman gives up after training and thinks that he can be responsible to and train himself to be fast and not messy. The four frightful villains capture Spiderman and Nick Fury’s four trained hero’s.

"Nick Fury telling Spider Man about the training"

Growth

Spiderman and Nick Fury's four heroes all now go to the same school so they can keep an eye on  Spider Man since he didn’t know how to properly and quickly fight against of fighting with villains

Ordeal

Spider man fights with the four frightful villains. He fights with the villains because they try to take him to kill him.

Reward

Spider man goes to Nick Fury for training and his heroes now go to Spider Man's school to protect him.

Atonement

Spider man uses Nick Fury's advice which was to give him a chance to be more quick and responsible while fighting as he trains

Return

Spider man now fights villains fast and not messy and responsible.

Hero's Real Journey

The Call

It is hard to say exactly what other people see in me, but from what others have said before, I believe that I am compassionate and really love deeply those who are in my life. I thrive from being available, loyal, and intentionally invested in the people I come to know. I believe that people and relationships are worth working for, which leads me to be quick to forgive and show grace to others.  I also feel very strongly about my convictions and faith, which is an area that causes some people to respect me.  

Mentor

I hope so! That is my goal at ICI! We desire to be as available as possible and build real relationships with kids, so that if/when a kid is looking for a mentoring relationship, we are available to fill that role! There are some kids that I spend more time with others, the ones I really connect with, and I would say that a few of them would think of me as their mentor! It was a combination of trial & error, and God opening and closing doors. I went to school for Social Work, and it was during grad school that I realized that as much as I loved social work, that there was more that I wanted to do and God opened a door for me to work at ICI.  Even though I wouldn't have expected to be here, I am so glad that I am!

Threshold

This is my first full-time job since graduating, but this environment is different in a lot of ways.  In this environment, I am surrounded by more people through my job that have the same passions and beliefs that I do, which allows me to feel supported and encouraged in the convictions and passions that I have. And Chicago offers way more diversity in people and culture than the areas I lived in before.  I love being able to learn from and be stretched from being in community with people from other cultures!

Atonement

One of the biggest challenges I ever faced was actually moving to Chicago.  I had never been to the city, and I moved here without really having any idea what I was getting myself into! It definitely required a step of faith and had lonely moments, but it was worth it!

Rebirth

Through that year of being in a new place and having to make new friends and reestablish myself, I really got to know myself in a new way.  I had more moments of being on my own, and not depending on others for my happiness.  I also saw that the plans God had for my life were better than what I could pick for myself! And like I said before, being in Chicago has allowed me to learn about other cultures first-hand, and understand my culture better, too.  

Return

It has allowed me to be more comfortable doing things on my own and knowing who I am. Which in turn, allows me to be a more sincere friend and truer to myself. It also allowed me to see that taking risks can sometimes be a good thing! Instead of trying to control every aspect of my life, I can trust that all things happen for a reason and be more open to go with the flow! If I had not been willing to take the risk of moving to Chicago and work for ICI, my life would look so different today! I wouldn't trade this season of my life for anything!