Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Turkey Day Assignment

After reading the article I 100% agree with the topics expressed during the article and feel that it is accurate too. I do not have a facebook or play too many videogames so I do not experience the same problems that these other kids face but I have friends who do so it is very frustrating when they stop what we are doing like homework or just hanging out to check Facebook or play xbox or another videogame. It really can be a problem and I think this article really hits the nail on the head.



Monday, November 29, 2010

Turkey Day Mirror Response
I really agreed how misuse of media have rotten kids brain. I thought this article was pretty cool . Use of media in my life is not a lot, because i don't like to text or call people that much. I don't go on facebook a lot either. I think Media is not bad at all, actually Media is really important and helpful. But if used in a proper way. It all depends on the way we use it, Yeah if you are on it for 18 hours a day, you definatley are going to have some issues with your life. Media is realated to our homework we are doing because it comes from web site we look through. The information we get all comes globally from different countries, states, cities.

Adbusters II

What is Adbusters? What is the purpose of the organization?
 What did you read/see that interested you to learn more?
Please respond to this post.

Wired For Distraction: Media, Learning, and the Teenage Brain

This article, Growing up Digital, Wired for Distraction, seemed very reminiscent of my own problems at home. Although I do receive massive amounts of homework daily, I know I could do it much more efficiently without procrastination. Procrastination has always been an issue for me. I've been told I do it too much since 5th grade.
Even though I have a phone but barely ever text/call, I find myself constantly getting lost in the computer. The ability to receive information instantly is powerful, and the article perfectly described the problem. Even if my biggest problems generally tend to be random sidetracks off of my work that are somewhat relative to my work, they still take up way too much time. I generally end up finishing my homework between 10 and midnight, both because of the work load and the media. This putting off of homework was also covered in the article. In the end, the article definitely paralleled my experience with media and work. The article caught my attention because it was so personal. Even if I don't procrastinate via texts, it's a subject that I know all too well.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

What does it really mean to Grow up in a digital world? In today's society we see children as young as the age of 6 using technology. Durning my age as a child I did not have a cellphone until 16 nor a facebook until I hit high school. Seeing these teens and let alone kids abuse the digital world not only for school but personal fixation is shocking. Not only are kids loving the new world of media but could they be abusing it too? From the stories I heard where kids are getting caught in media whether it be facebook, texting, and the ever classic video games, these children let their school work fly on by and all there is at the end of the day is work piling up. What these teens need to do is find that balance from media and school work. I think that the mixture of new media technology and school would be the best way to get across to teens. Don't get me wrong I do find enjoyment from facebook and, I do love getting a text but I don't let it get the better me or my time. My use of media is under control and finding that control is hard. I can relate to kids that try to write an essay and you open up facebook and before you know it, its 12 am and your essay is still unwritten. In my own high school I see that too much freedom among teens effects their grades. So what needs to be done is that we have to find that moderation between the educational system and the digital world which is always on the rise.


Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction

This article is very interesting. I think it's obvious that kids and adults use technology a lot. I think the usage of media and technology isn't that bad as this article makes it seem, because without technology the world wouldn't keep going forward instead of thinking about how in the 80's and 90's there weren't technology. We need to move on. One good example that technology is being use productively is what is happing in African and the War in Uganda. The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) is a militia that is led by Joseph Kony and its mostly made up of children who have been abducted, the technology helps the people of Uganda because with technology they can communicate faster and warm each other when and where the LRA is coming from so they can runaway and not get abducted or killed.
 I use technology and media often but I’m still doing well in school. I found a way to text my friends, play video games and play soccer without failing any classes. I do not text during school hours except if it's a emergency, and when I’m doing my homework I turn off my cell phone and TV do get my homework done faster so I have time to play video games and text my friends. I hope I can keep this up throughout my whole school years, because I know I need both school and technology do become successful in life. I need media for many of my homework so I always need my laptop to do my homework, but most of the time I just focus on finishing my homework than checking my facebook account.
I think everyone needs technology, but also good school grades and if you are able to find a balance between those two things then you can become very successful in life.


Response to "Growing up Digital, Wired for Distraction"

My reactions to the article " Growing up Digital, Wired for Distraction" is that I think that the article is true. The article is true because alot of teenagers are engaged in media usage many hours of the day. I am engaged in media usage alot of the time. This weekend i was very engaged in media usage as I type this I am also on the phone. This weekend i talked on the phone alot, went on facebook, and played Call of Duty Black Ops. I use computers, phone, tv, video games everyday and I know I do this alot and should ease up on my media usage but I do not. I think anout 8 hours of the day i use media which is alot.

Turkey Day Mirror Response


My reaction to this article is I agree about what the article is saying about teenagers that use facebook and their cell phone that it messes them up in school because if their most focused on one thing for a long period of time it's hard to make the transition to another thing in this case it's school work. I think by going on facebook and texting all the time there kind of getting brainwashed and then they might forget to do there homework or even forget how to do the work so I do agree with what their saying because school work is the most important thing of all not facebook and texting. Now with my own media use I pick certain times when to go on facebook and to text I dont text in school because it's important to focus on class work and whats going on but I either go on facebook and text when I have no homework or no school I will go on facebook occasionally when I'm done with my homework but other than that I don't spend a lot of time doing either one of those things. I think homework may be a little distraction when texting or when your on facebook because you can forget to do it or might forget to study for a big test you have so that's why I think it's important for students not to do either one of those things while in the process of doing homework, and I would compare myself to the kid in the video that doesn't spend a large amount of time on facebook or texting because he focuses on his education and wants to do well in school I am like that because I want a good education and I care a lot about school so I would be that type of student. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-3cuSvSO8s

Turkey Day Mirror Response


The article Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction, was interesting to read mostly because it is in most ways true. I found myself relating many of the situations to my own life. Even as I was reading the article and watching the video I was checking back into Facebook to talk to my friends there, as well as texting multiple people. Media has certainly incorporated itself into the lives of most Americans, especially teenagers. The part I found most interesting was when the topic of technology in schools was discussed. As a student, I agree with schools incorporating technology into their teaching methods and classes. Using computers in school gets teens more involved with what they are doing because they are in their own area of specialty. Students use technology as a part of their daily lives, so it only makes sense that they would learn more easily if they could use it towards schoolwork.

As for myself, media is heavily incorporated into my daily life. I am constantly texting a friend or checking Facebook through both my computer and my phone. Watertown is a small town with a limited number of people to talk to, but technology makes it possible to interact with people from other towns just as easily as it would be to talk to someone in the same room as you. But, as much of an advantage as that is, it can also be a disadvantage because news travels very quickly, and it is as if there is no distinction from your personal life and your public life, online or not.

Admittedly, homework does seem to suffer as a result of teens increase in media usage. Teens choose to spend their time at home on their computer or phone instead of doing their schoolwork. This is true for me, as I am usually up late doing homework that I decided to put off in favor of Facebook and texting, and even then I continue to use these technologies as I am doing my homework. Although my grades have not suffered noticeably, and I am still on the High Honor Roll, the amount of sleep I get certainly has. Some nights I get under five hours, and find it hard to concentrate or even stay awake in my classes.

Response to Article


I found the article to be very true and I agree that most teens are distracted by technology such as texting , video games, and the internet. I also liked how it referred to some peoples as addicted to technology. The artice also relates to me in a way. I mainly play video games and use the internet for stuff such as youtube. I also text but I don't usually have long conversations Such as the girl in the article who sends a lot of texts a day. However it gets in the way of getting my homework done. When I go online to look up my homework I usually get distracted and and end up on youtube. So, in a way I am like the kids in the article but I still get my work done.

Turkey Day Mirror


I found the article "Growing up Digital, Wired for Distraction" to be shockingly true. I agree that many teenagers are distracted by technology such as the Internet, video games, cell phones and television. The article did a nice job of interviewing both students and teachers. I also like how the article used the idea of people being addicted or to an extent dependant on technology. I use the Internet and watch television often. I would say I watch television and go on the Internet for a total of two to three hours a day. Also, I text my friends often and sometimes have long conversations through text. A problem that I face often is when I am on the computer or on the Internet for my home work and I get distracted and go on a website such as Youtube or Facebook. I often get distracted from my homework for up to twenty minutes. As a result I usually finish what I have to do on the computer and try to focus on my home work until I finish a certain subject. I am often texting my friends but when I do my home work I am not texting and I usually put it away so I am not tempted to text. I do get distracted by technology but I also always finish my work so in some aspects I am like the kids from the article but in other aspects I am not.

Article Response Homework


I think the article had many interesting views on modern media use. It related what applications students used to their personality, as well as touching on whether or not they were "addicted" to technology. While I do not relate directly to any one person mentioned in the article, I do relate to some of what the article had to say. My media use consists mainly of Facebook, Youtube, and texting. I usually watch Youtube while having Facebook on in the background, watching random videos while having conversations. I text often in school. Sometimes my homework is overridden by media, like when I go online to see what i need to do for English, but somehow type Youtube.com into the URL. Much like some of the kids in the article. Like the kids in the article, I would procrastinate with or without a computer, the computer only amplifies it.

Article

Friday, November 26, 2010

Response to Article

I think the article has some interesting points, like about how kids can be distracted by technology and how to teach kids through technology. I don't really resemble any of the kids in the article or video, as far as my media use goes. (funnily they only show the two extremes) I manage to do my homework, and still spend a lot of time on the internet and gaming. I'm in the middle, like they guy in the video says; "moderation" My phone is also bad for texting, so I guess that helps.

I spend a lot of time on the computer, gaming mostly, or just surfing around. I do a lot of my homework on the computer too and I do sometimes take brakes and look at Facebook or deviantART, I also might read a few web comics. But I don't let myself take to much time on it. It's just so I can take a rest from my megahuge essay or what ever else I'm working on. It often helps my homework be less painful as long as I don't spend to much time on it. Often I won't let myself do anything to awesome until after I finish my homework, that way I know I will get ti done. I don't play games instead of doing homework, that is really the big thing that helps me. I mostly play strategy or puzzle games anyways, like Portal, not shoot 'em ups.

So, I'm not like the kids in the article at all. I game a lot and use the computer, but I still get my work done. I can limit myself if I need to.




This is the article.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Turkey Day Mirror


I thought the article was very clear, relating, informative, kind of repititive but helpful, and very true. I completely agree with the article's views and arguments about the usage of technology within growing generation of students around the country. I find this article very helpful and challenging because it relates with me. I'm not against this article but alongside the article's views about using technology of students on a daily basis. This article called "Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction", talks about students from Woodside High School who use Facebook, watch Youtube, play video games more than needed, text their friends, and do multi-tasking after they reach home. These students are perfect example of what the students in America are look like or what they do at home rather than studying or doing homework for school. These students use the media for fun and entertainment rather than using it for educational purposes. There is this student named Vishal Singh who attends Woodside School who is a very talented film-maker and an editor but lacks focus in academics such as doing his homework and paying attention in the class. When he's at home he mostly spends his time using Facebook, watching Youtube, and making videos on his home computer instead of studying and doing his homework. He says he lacks concentration and is easily distracted by the media and that's the biggest reason why he always does poorly in school. His future goal and achievement is to be a film-maker and an editor and he says that is what he is going to do for living in the future. Some psychologists, professors, and scientists in this article talked about usage of media in extremity affects student's brain and it eventually affects the student's lack of concentration. The other students in this article are media-addicts also and they talk about how they use media more than 8 hours everyday and it affects them on the academics and schoolwork. My media use is limited sometimes but if I have nothin else to do I use media a lot. Most of the time I listen to music on my ipod. The second most media I use is my computer using Facebook and Youtube everyday for more than 3 hours maximum. I do my homework regularly evryday but I listen to music too much that it affects me from studying for my tests or quizzes and also it distracts me from doing school work. I'm basically addicted to music and Facebook. I do my homework always late at night because everyday I return from school the first I do is turn on the T.V. and watch ESPN then I use my ipod to listen music and finally I use my computer to use Facebook, Youtube,etc. After doing all that and wasting all my hours of precious time, I finally start doing my homework late at night. And it affects me big time because I don't get enough sleep and I have no time studying for tests or quizzes except finishing homework for the next day of school. That is why I always feel tired, exhausted, and sleepy everyday mostly in the morning at school. My extreme use of media has definitely affected me by getting distracted from doing my school work and I have touble concentrating in classes and it's hard to focus on my studies. I can say that I'm part of this media-addiction similarly to the kids from the article because we all have trouble focusing in our academics because we all use media too much which turns out to be a bad thing. I listen to music all the time whereas Vishal spends time making videos but one thing we both have in common is that we both use Facebook and Youtube a lot everyday. So there are both the similarities and differences that me and the article have. But the one thing that me and the article both have in common for sure is the extreme use of media.


Sources: Website

Technology


I felt the article and video helped to show how technology can be used in school. However it made it seem ok for kids to stay up all night and then slack off when it comes to school. In the video it says parents are helpless which is not true. Parents need to figure out how to control their kids technology use if it is an issue. Kids need to learn to limit their technology use by themselves. Its only their fault if they cant focus on work because texting is more fun. Homework and work in general is not normally fun but we have to learn to deal with that in order to do well in life.
I use technology yet have learned to stop when I need to do something else. I can live without my phone, which is my main form of communication, but I don't like to in case I miss something. When it comes to doing school work or going on the internet I do my work first. The internet is cool and all but I don't care about it a lot. I'll even stop playing xbox if I have a lot of homework. Technology is important to me but its important that it is kept in control. Kids need to be the ones in control of their media use, not parents and not schools.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Turkey Day Mirror Response.


(The one in the middle is what my phone looks like)

The article 'Growing Up Digital, Wired For Distraction' was not a surprise. After all, with technology sweeping society, we see such articles everywhere, because it's the truth. People, especially children are becoming dependent on technology for communication. Texting is probably the largest used for of communication, but there has developed a certain assumption that all teenagers text. I am living proof that this is not so. It takes me about an half an hour to write a few-word message. On someone else's phone. My own phone is a TracPhone, not really built for texting, and I don't use it much. I'm more likely to be on the computer, or watching a movie. I don't normally watch television shows unless they're very good. I use the computer more often (which brings up a random point; Blogger seems to think everyone is using a Windows keyboard. There is no 'Ctrl' key on the Mac keyboard. Silly Blogger) mostly because I love to write, and I prefer typing to handwriting stories, though I will do that as well. Writing too much (as I often do) makes my hand hurt, so I prefer to type, because it's faster, which allows my hyperactive brain to get everything down before it forgets it. That, I roleplaying is one of my favorite pass-times. I have a Facebook, but I rarely go on it, despite the stereotype that all teenage girls are obsessed with Facebook, my mother actually spends more time on it then I do. I just look at pictures. I do have Gaiaonline, another social networking sight that is better fitted to my interests. You don't put out your actual picture, nor your name. I admit I am somewhat addicted to Gaia.
I group in a fairly conventional household. My parents' rule is that everything, from homework to viola, must be done before either I or my sister may play on the computer. The result, we usually do our homework as soon as we get home from school. It's that simple, keeping priorities. I have trouble understanding why people think that it's so hard to not get distracted from homework. I might get distracted once or twice, but it's usually because my mind goes off on a tangent while I'm trying to work. Not exactly because of technology, I just start thinking about something I found more interesting. Then I usually get back to reality and finish my work. Still, I do have other things I do in my free time. Reading, for instance, or drawing. Neither of these involve computers or phones, but I so often get caught up in them. I don't think I'm fully addicted to technology, but I do like to use it (part of my lack of addiction maybe because I'm the least tech-savvy teen I know). I have other pass-times, though, and I do not think that I am quite as bad as the children in the article. I don't relate to any of the children in the film (why on earth would you text that much!?) because I'm not addicted, but I do use technology (my life would be hard without it).
(And the formatting on this website is driving me nuts)















Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Reaction to ''Turkey day mirror''


My reaction to the article ''Growing up digital, Wired for Distractions'' is that I found the article to be stunningly true, in many aspects. I think it is very true that many teenager's today get distracted by many of the technology around, whether its Facebook, texting, or video games. The article did a great job of using knowledge from research, and from other students themselves, and the reason as to why I agree is because I have had experience myself, and I can honestly say right now as I'm writing this, I happen to be on Facebook. The article does a great job of describing how the Internet and media, and technology can bring distractions from homework, especially when they used many example's such as Vishal Singh, David Reilly and Allison Miller. But although they described the bad things about this habit that runs throughout most teenagers, I don't think they did enough to show the benefits about this. Sure, it may be a distraction from homework, and may keep teenagers up restless awaiting the next text, or hungry for my information from the technology, but for many people, things such as video games and media and technology is a source of stress release, it can calm you down, help you forget about other things such as the stress of school. It may not be true for all people, but for me personally, the fun of playing a game in which makes you feel as if your in a whole you new different world doing something different than you are doing in your everyday life is a sweet escape, and the access to media and technology gives you access to Friends everywhere you go, making life easier so that you can talk to people when you need to.
I think many of what other teenagers did in that article directly reflect on a lot of the things I do. Like when Mr Reilly says '' He's a kid caught between two worlds,'' I feel that applies to me and many other students because now is a time where many of us are caught in between reality and the digital world. But despite that, I personally try to regulate my hours spent using technology for none school related reasons, so that i can focus on school work, but its often very hard, sometimes your just tempted and cant stop. But most of the time I end up realizing that my school work is really more important, and I'm completely aware of the effects of spending all my time on Facebook, or on video games, so I always go back school work, because surprisingly, I find that the time i spend on the media and technology have an affect on my grade due to the amount of focus I lose from it, which is why I keep trying harder to focus more on my school work.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Turkey Day Mirror


After reading NY Time's Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction & Video you will create a blog post in reaction to this very important article about learning, media, and the teenage brain.
These blog post are due Monday, 29th and will be graded.

1- Include your reactions to the article
2- Talk about your own media use
3- Discuss your homework habits in relation to your media use. Do examples from the article parallel your own media use?

Please make sure to correct grammar and spelling as these will be graded. Please include a link to the article and pictures to enhance the blog.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Food Inc Response


What are your reactions to the documentary Food, Inc? Please make your responses thoughtful and include direct references from the film. Check grammar and spelling before posting. Due on Monday.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Your Movie Idea

What is your movie idea? You must be as specific as possible. Perhaps your movie idea will be our inspiration!

Monday, November 8, 2010

Movie Script: Rush Hour 2


The movie script that I chose was from "Rush Hour 2" beacuse the scripts in this movie are fun to read and it's very hilarious. Rush Hour 2 is a classic movie and it is one my favorite movies. The reason i chose this movie was because it's a comedy movie which was a hit and I'm pretty sure that everyone has seen this movie and laughed. Rush Hour 2 was released back in 2001. Rush Hour is not only a family fun movie but it is fast-paced action and comedy combined together to make a great movie. This movie is considered one of the most funniest movie of all time because of the two most legendary and funny actors playing in the same movie. And they are one and only Jackie Chan as Detective Lee and Chris Tucker as Detectieve Carter. They are the two main characters of course but other main characters of this movie are Roselyn Sanchez as Isabella Molina, John Lone as Ricky Tan, Ziyi Zhang as Hu Li, and Harris Yulin as Agent Sterling. This movie takes place in Los Angeles and in Hong Kong. This movie is about two friends who are cops trying to enjoy their vacation when suddenly they got new case on their hands to solve. They search to track down the Triad gang Lord who was responsible for killing two men at the American Embassy. But the script that I chose from this movie is when Lee and Carter enter the big Casino in Las Vegas to solve the case. The reason I shose this scene is because it's hilarious. Everything is perfect about this movie; the shots, the stunts, the characters, and the setting. I would rcommend everyone to watch this movie to ones who haven't watched it yet and also to the ones who have already it about 10 times. The shots they use in this movie are dolly shot, long shot, close-up shot, high angle, and rack focus.



Other Source: Video Clip

Food Inc. Doc


My documentary that I choose it called Food, Inc. I liked this doc because it let me know what food we really eat in America and where it comes from.
The people who made the doc. did a great job of conveying the information regarding this important issue.
I think we should all see it because it would be good for everyone to know what is in their food that they are actually eating.


Sunday, November 7, 2010

Mean Girls


Her parents being zoologists, Cady Heron has never known what "high school" truly meant. She lived her first 15 years in the African jungle, home-schooled, living life with only her parents and the animals of the wilderness, knowing all of the rules of survival. However, when she moves out of Africa, she has to learn the rules of high school, a jungle in itself. She instantly makes friends with two sweet teenagers, Damian and Janis, who, in the terms of the high school, were in the "out crowd." Soon she meets the Plastics, the three crude, beautiful, popular girls, consisting of Regina, the unofficial leader, Gretchen, Regina's full-time follower, and Karen, "one of the dumbest people you will ever meet." They immediately let her into their group, but Cady, wanting to keep her first friends, is unsure. The two convince Cady to keep her relationship with the Plastics, only so that they can know their dark secrets. However, events turn for the worse when Cady falls for Regina's ex-boyfriend, Aaron Samuels. When Regina finds out, she seeks revenge of Cady by taking Aaron back. When Cady finds out, what began as a game to discover secrets turns into a plan to destroy Regina. Now, Cady, Janis, and Damian plot together to bring Regina's status down. However, as Cady spends more time with the Plastics, she, too, begins to become one. I really liked this movie because it can happen, in any high school. The script is a little different, a couple of scenes were deleted.


Source: IMDB

Trailer

Memorable Quotes

Interview

Pictures

Script : Middle of Page 8 for in class reading

Media Matters: An Experience You Wont Forget

The morning started at 6:45. A group of 9 students and 2 teachers took the bus to the train and then off to UMASS Boston, where it all began. Breakfast was served at 8 o'clock sharp and the first class started at 8:30. My first class was Sport Stories with Bill Littlefield who is the host of WBUR's Only A Game. The class was about getting a sport game or interview onto paper. He started off talking about arcade games, and how you never win, and just that little idea, sparked him to write a story about it. He also said when you want to write about a championship and get the teams side of the game, you go to the losers instead of the winners, because it gives a interesting point of view on the story. After that class i had a hour and 10 minute wait for my next one, which was How to Sound Smart. This class was one to listen to, the speaker gave very good ideas. The key idea, was to be PREPARED for the interview that you are going to give. Keep in mind your 5 W's -Who -What -Where -When -Why, that'll keep you in good condition of what your going to say. You also want to get specific on what the focus is. The tone in your voice also tells alot. If the person you are interviewing corrects you on something you said, just move on and don't get mad. At the end of the class, a couple of volunteers interviewed each other on an idea they came up with. Overall I really enjoyed that class, even though the teacher was 20 minutes late. My last class was presented by the main anchor for the 6,10 & 11 o'clock news for Fox25, MarkOckerbloom, he just showed us interviews of the governors that were in the running, and all other eye catching videos. He also explained his every day schedule which was he got up at 4 got to the studio at 5, did the 6 o'clock news, stayed there all day going over what their going to say and do for he 10 and 11 o'clock news, not leaving the studio. He has a tiring jam packed day. That class was a nice way to end the day. I was very honored to attend this event.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Tha West Side

Tha West Side is a movie about all the West side of U.S. A lot of famous rappers are shown in this movie like Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Eazy E and Suge Knight. It is a Rap music, a documentary type of movie. I really want to watch this movie because i think it is an interesting movie. I want it watch it because all of favorite rapper's are in it.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Movie Script-Terminator 2


The movie script I chose Was Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The reason I chose this script is because it's one of my favorite movies and it's a really good action movie. The movie is about a terminator sent back through time to protect a young boy named John Connor as they are chased by a more advanced terminator. The characters in the film are the Terminator(Arnold Schwarzenegger), Sarah Connor(Linda Hamilton), John Connor(Edward Furlong), and the T-1000(Robert Patrick) and they are all different and interesting characters. The script really described a great story and the dialogue for the characters was really well written too and the actors really helped move the story along. James Cameron and William Wisher Jr. did a good job on the script and cameron did a good job directing.

Movie Script: 2 Fast 2 Furious


The movie script that I chose was from 2 Fast 2 Furious because the scripts in this movie are very interesting and fun. 2 Fast 2 Furious is one of my favorite movies so that's why I chose this movie for the scripts. This movie was released back in 2003. There are 5 main characters in this movie but the two main characters in this movie are Brian O' Conner (Paul Walker) and Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson). Eva Mendes (Monica Clemente) is one of the main characters also. One of the best scenes in this movie is when Brian (Paul) gets ready for his first race in the movie. That is the scene that I chose for my script on and it is one of the most exciting moments in the movie. This movie takes place in the streets of Miami. Everything in this movie is perfect, the characters, the scenes, the stunts, the setting, and of course the shots. The script from the first race in this movie uses shots like rack focus, close shot, long shot, high angle, and dolly shot. The scripts in this movie are pretty short compared to other movies as in each sentences for each characters. But the scripts in this movie are fun though. There are lot of great scenes with great scripts in this movie but the one I chose was the first race like I mentioned before. Yeah and in the first race scene Brain O' Conner races four people including himself and in the end he wins the race and gets stack of money as a prize. This movie is a fast-paced action and a racing movie which is one of my favorite movies so that's the reason why I chose it. And it is a great movie too. And other characters in this movie are Monica Clemente (Eva Mendes), Tej (Ludacris), Suki (Devon Aoki), Carter Verone (Cole Hauser), and Jimmy (Jin).


Resources: Movie Script

Other resources: Pictures

It might get loud

The documentary that I choose is "It might get loud." The documentary features 3 famous guitarist getting together to explorer and find the perfect sound for the guitar. The documentary features "The edge" from U2, Jimmy Page from the Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin, and Jack White from the White strips and the Ranconteurs.This documentary is very interesting because it shows the struggle of three legendary guitarist trying to find the perfect tone and to me it's very interesting.

The reason why I choose this documentary because I thought it would be a good documentary to watch it's also very interesting to see how much goes into just getting the right tone for a guitar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4EvZtsXz7w

U Mass Boston

UMass trip was a great experience for me.It was sponsored by The Boston Globe. They had different classes for the students to attend. My first class was Sports Stories. The presenter of this class was an amazing guy. He told us a story about a girl who went to a store where she saw a arcade game. The game was where you pick a toy from a machine and the claw brings it and drops it to the bin. He said that the girl was two and half years old. She said "daddy daddy " to get his attention towards the game. She wanted a yellow dog and miracly she got it.He said she was the first person to get something she wanted.

Tupac Resurrection

Link for Tupac Resurrection


This documentary is about Tupac Shakur's life and death. This  video is also narrated by himself and it is the eleventh highest grossing documentary film in the United States. The gross revenue was $7,808,524. 




I picked this documentary because I know Tupac's music and I like it a lot. Also I want to learn more about him and his life because his an icon of rap and one of the best rapper ever even though his career was cut short.

Link to trailer of Tupac Resurrection

Man on Wire

The 2008 film Man on Wire chronicles the 1974 stunt in which French tight rope walker Philippe Petit walked across the world trade centers. The film does not focus at all on the 9/11 attacks, but rather on the ability for humans to do crazy things, like walking across the twin towers. The film shows the plot that was used to complete the stunt by using TV clips, interviews, still photos, and reenactments.
The film won the Academy Award for best documentary in 2008, the grand jury prize at the 2008 Sundance Festival, along with many other awards, and is considered one of the best documentaries of all time, appearing on many top 10 lists.

Documentaries Blog: Planet Earth

Planet Earth is an 11 part television documentary series that aired on the Discovery Channel. It took 5 years in the making, and provides stunning visual footage of real life animals in nature. Each installment shows a different habitat on the planet, and the animals living in them. Narrated by Sigourney Weaver, these documentaries show animal behavior and remote locations that have never been caught on film before.

The 11 episodes are: Pole To Pole, Mountains, Deep Ocean, Deserts, Ice Worlds, Shallow Seas, Great Plains, Jungles, Freshwater, Forests, and Caves. The very first episode, which gives an overview of the rest of the series, examining life all over the globe. Each individual video is an hour long, showing astonishing footage and informing the viewer of the conditions and ways of life of the animals living in each habitat.

We should watch at least one of these episodes in class because they are extremely interesting, and the footage is incredible to see. It would give us an opportunity to learn about and see the planet we live on in a whole new way.



Source

Winning Time Reggie Miller vs New York Knicks


My favorite documentary of all time is Winning Time Reggie Miller vs New York Knicks. This documentary is directed by Dan Klores and was part of the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary series shown over the past year. It is about how in the mid 1990's the Indiana Pacers lead by Reggie Miller would yearly play the New York Knicks in the NBA playoffs. The documentary tells the story of how Reggie Miller would torch the Knicks nightly and tells the story of all the intense battles the two super powered teams played in 1993, 1994, and in 1995. Some games they focus on more than others in game 3 of the 1993 playoffs how Reggie Miller trash talked Knicks point guard John Starks so much that he head butted Reggie on the court and got kicked out of the game. Then again in 1994 how in how Reggie Miller and devoted Knicks fan Spike Lee got into a verbal fight and that seemed to fire up the ice cold Reggie Miller that night as he scored 25 points in the forth quarter to lead the Pacers to a win crushing the spirits of all in Madison Square Garden that night. The other game they focus a lot on is game one of the 1995 playoffs and how the Knicks were up by six points with 9.8 seconds remaining but Reggie Miller scored 8 points to lead the Pacers to a thrilling win.


Link to my info: Winning Time

Spike Lee and Reggie Miller



Link to videos: Spike Lee in news paper



Link to trailer: Trailer

March of the Penguins


March of the Penguins is a documentary about the migration of penguins to the site in the Antarctic where they nest. This is a wicked good documentary narrated by Morgan Freedmen. It has drama, sorrow, good times, and adventure. Its a truly moving movie with the ability to impact many people. It also shows how changes in the environment are effecting the penguins and their nesting. Personally I really like this documentary and think its amazing, really well made and all together entertaining.

The movie script I picked to talk about is Saw. Saw is a movie about a bunch of people that enter this game to stay alive. A guy name Jigsaw set this up. So basically your put into different rooms and you have to fight to survive or you have to sacrifice your body to win. So there is a time limit and if people don't work together enough or sacrifice their body enough they will die different painful ways. Jigsaw is a guy that planned this whole thing. You''ll need to see every Saw to understand what's happening during this series because there are 6 of them. He almost died because some people torchered him once so he wants revenge on different people. But in this case, there are 2 people in the movie Gordon and Adam. They work together and they need to save Gordan's family. They are being held hostage but get injured with a lot of blood loss by the different games they play but in the end they up surviving.



Script Writing




I chose the original script for the Clash of the Titans film, released in April, 2010, because it was so bad it was funny. Parts of the script were alright, but some parts were just the stupidest things. The plot is essentially this: There is a war between humans and gods, and each side is angry at the other. At some point, Zeus goes and begets a child with a human queen, who is then cast into the ocean (with her child) by her jealous husband. Afterward, her husband rants about how angry he is at Zeus, and how he supports Zeus' rival (who is apparently an Assyrian Goddess of the sea by the name of Tiamat). Suddenly, he is mutated into the monster Kalibos, and thereupon kills his own steward. The script then skips to twenty-five years later, the gods have decided that they are going to give the humans a truce. This plan is a shock to Tiamat, who arrives with none other then Set (an Egyptian god, thank you very much) in tow. After berating the others for a while, the two of them start talking about plans to institute Tiamat on Zeus' throne. Meanwhile, in the city of Joppa in Argos. King Kepheus and his Queen Cassopiea are talking to their adviser (who is also apparently a mage) named Amoun (who is my favorite character), who is trying to advise them on how to handle a divine ambassador. The ambassador arrives, and it's Thoth (another Egyptian god). Thoth tells the king and queen that Zeus has a plan for his own son to marry the king's princess. Kepheus is at first shocked, but after the god bends the floor and some of the furniture, things are settled. Still, they berate the half-god until Amoun speaks up to say that the boy actually exists, Amoun himself was the boy's tutor. When they tell the princess (Andromeda) of it, however, she announces she would rather kill herself (maybe because they dragged her away from, er, fondling the serving boy) and stomps off. In another part of the world, a forlorn earth goddess shows up to take Perseus to Joppa, and ends up forcing him. They arrive in Bascilica, were Kepheus lectures Perseus about Andromeda (he seems to not know she's not exactly a virgin). Then it turns out that the Princess is mising, and they insist on Perseus going to find her. He does this with astonishing speed, but then they wander off, decide that they're not going to get married, but then 'make love' anyway (why, I haven't the slightest idea). Then they come back for the official announcement, and Cassopiea goes a little overboard and compares Andromeda to Tiamat, who promptly appears and curses the city that the kraken will destroy it in thirty days unless they sacrifice the Princess to her. Havoc promptly breaks loose, and after all the king's advisors shout at each other for awhile, Amoun convinces Perseus to volunteer to try and find the kraken's weak point. They thus set out, a group of thirteen (unlucky number, no wonder so many die horribly). From then forth, most of the expedition is pretty much doomed. They reach the Norn Sisters (who apparently owe Amoun a favor because he was the one who made their eye for them. This man's awesomeness is increasing dramatically) and they tell him he has to use the head of Medusa. After an oddly changed version of the myth of Medusa (since when did Set and Tiamat replace Poseidon and Athena?), they get to her temple, which is in the underworld for some inconceivable reason. Perseus and some friends go in and fight Medusa. Meanwhile, Amoun and the others end up engaging the two centurion guards outside (Amoun turns sand into darts at one point. I really love this guy) and more people die. On the way back, the earth goddess finds the place where her temple used to be. Perseus follows her and, nad since they have apparently fallen in love, and they, well, 'spend the night together'. In the morning, Perseus wakes to find Amoun standing over him. Amoun berates them both, but is then interrupted by the arrival of Set, who promptly kills Amoun (in a rather grisly fashion, might I add), and then turns on the earth goddess. Perseus tries to save her, but is paralyzed until he accepts his birthright. He then defeats Set (thus felling both of my favorite characters in one scene). After a far to brief moment of grief for Amoun, Perseus dramatically retrieves his sword (do they even bury the poor mage? I mean, honestly Perseus! He indirectly died for you!). Meanwhile, back at the ranch (I mean Joppa), a group of revolutionaries has decided to sacrifice the princess to Tiamat by chaining her to a rock for the kraken to eat (honestly, people. Couldn't you have just lopped her head off?). Of course, Perseus arrives just in the nick of time and saves her. Afterward, he goes and talks to Zeus, then declares he is going to go look for the earth goddess, who vanished during the journey, and rides a pegasus off into the sunset.
I think the best characters were Amoun, Draco, and Set (though he didn't belong). Amoun was outright the best thing about the script, so of course he died horribly (I still want to know what they did with his remains. And I think Perseus could have shown a bit more emotion for him instead of obsessing over the earth goddess). Not only was he a mage, but it seemed to be implied that he was a bit more then human. After all, he made the Norn Sisters their eye, and he knows a lot more then it seems he lets on. Draco was simply a decent, honorable, steadfast soldier (who I believe dies heroically in the final release). He's perfectly willing to try and smack sense into Perseus's dense, impulsively noble skull. Set was fairly well written, and it is insinuated that he is not doing this because he believes in it, but because he owes Tiamat some sort of boon (or maybe she's just threatening him). I think Perseus kills Set without giving him a real chance to explain, but maybe that was almost the point. I found Perseus obnoxious most of the time, but he had a few good points (but, really, man, just pick one girl, and sleep with her. There are far too many naked girls in this script). The earth goddess was alright, though I really don't need to hear about her getting swept off her feet by Perseus (she, at least had the decency to say something over poor Amoun's majorly under-appriciated death). Most of the other men died a bit too quickly for me to get to know them, save Spyros, Perseus's adoptive father (who I think also dies in the final release, but survives in this script). He seems to be forthright and honest, and far more sensible then his bone-headed son. The script mentions transitions such as dissolving, and camera movements, such as the 'WE ZOOM UP' line in an early scene, and directions as to what the camera can see. All in all, I found most of the script very disappointing (especially the part where they kill both my favorites in one scene).

Movie script: Scarface


For my movie script, i chose to do the movie ''Scarface''. I chose to do the script of ''Scarface'' because i found that it was a legendary movie, and it would be very interested to see the movie from this angle, a sort of ''behind the scenes'' angle, and that is why i chose to do it. The script includes all unique characters portrayed by the amazing characters from the movie. These characters included Cuban immigrants Tony Montana and Manny Rivera, and later on some of the most important characters, Alejandro Sosa, and Tony's wife, Elvira. the movie included many more characters, all portrayed by some of the best amazing actors, and directed by the greatly talented Brian Depalma.
The Plot startes with Manny and Tony, the Cuban immigrants, who come to America, but get alot more then they expected. For these former political prisoners, it was a huge step from living in persecution, to living in a world of cash, expensive cars, and luxury mansions, and most importantly cocain, the substance that led them so far in life, and then in the end caused them alot of trouble. In the plot many other characters came into the main character's (Tony's) life, whether it was good or bad, such as his loving wife Elvira, his body guard Ernie, or his killer, Sosa. The script did i great job in showing the plot, and the characters very well, i'd say for somebody who was reading this plot for the first name, they could easily catch up with the story because the script not only showed the Characters lines, but also it showed alot of details about the story line and what is going on as the characters are speaking, Oliver Stone did a great job in doing the script. The script included many details shots as the dates, and the line numbers, and the shots and scenes shot in the making of the movie. The script also included the sounds that were made in the movie, such as the money peircing sounds of gun fire. The script can be found here. it is the 4th one down:
Scarface script

Movie Script


I chose the "kitchen sink" script for the movie Serenity, written in 2004.


I chose this script because I practically have the movie memorized. It was interesting to see the differences between the movie and the draft. There are a lot of characters in the movie, the main characters are the crew of the space ship Serenity who have taken in two mysterious fugitives, Simon and River Tam. The movie is set in a science fiction future, where humans have migrated to another galaxy. Serenity's crew are slightly shady legally, but they really only engage in petty crime. The writer uses descriptions in the script to show what the characters are like. (Keep in mind, all the main actors have already been chosen because this was once a TV series. They know their characters already.) The new characters, like the Operative, have more description about them. The Operative, as an example, is not described physically but his clothes and manner are. This is how it is with most of the characters. The script uses terms like closeup, pull out, P.O.V. and voiceover.


This is a link to the script.

Movie Script: Jaws


A read the script of Jaws for the project. I chose Jaws because it is one of my favorite movies and I could not find some of the films that I prefer to Jaws. The character of Martin Brody, portrayed by Roy Scheider, is the police chief of Amity Island which is a coastal community in New England. Matt Hooper, played by Richard Dreyfuss, is a shark expert and oceanographer who helps Brody how serious of a threat they have. Quint, played by Robert Shaw, is a shark hunter who allows Brody and Hooper to use his boat. Finally, there is the antagonist of the film which is a thirty foot long, monstrous, very aggressive great white shark that eats humans. The story starts off when an young woman is swimming and is eaten by the shark. After a dog and a young boy are eaten the town offers a reward to who can kill the shark. A group of sailors catches a shark but after an examination by Hooper and Brody it is found to not be the man eating shark. Quint allows Brody and Hooper on his boat to hunt down the shark. After attacking the shark it manages to sink the boat and eat Quint. While the boat is sinking the shark put a compressed air tank into its mouth which Bordy shoots. The resulting explosion kills the shark. Afterwards Brody and Hooper swim back to shore.

Resources: Script
Wikipedia(I used Wikipedia for the picture and information.)

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Documentaries Blog

As we now have " Documentary Friday," I would like you to submit proposals for a documentary that interest you. The purpose of this blog will be to convince me to show your documentary, so make sure to be persuasive!
Documentaries can be in the form of movies or TV shows.

You must include:
1) A short summary of the documentary
2) Links to where you obtain the information
3) Pictures that are relevant
4) Video clips or trailers

The majority of your time should be spent reading reviews and looking at clips of documentaries that have already been produced. Here are some links to get you started:
http://www.hulu.com/documentaries
http://documentaries.about.com/od/revie2/Reviews.htm
http://boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=documentary.htm
http://www.mahalo.com/answers/best-documentary-films-of-all-time
http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/subjects/d/documentary_films_and_programs/index.html?offset=0&s=newest


BLOG WILL BE GRADED AND
IS DUE ON FRIDAY, NOV 5TH