Blog evaluation - Music 2020

What have you enjoyed learning in music this year?

I enjoyed learning about instruments and what family they live in. I also enjoyed learning bits and pieces of the piano 

What have you found difficult about music this year?

What I found difficult about music this year was learning how to play the guitar and understanding the strings and notes.

What did you perform for your final assessment? Who did you perform with and what song did you choose?

I did not perform as I was away, although one of my group members sang the song mirror by Madison Ryann Ward

Any other comments for music 2020?

No just that I really enjoyed music this year

Health blog post

 In Health we were set a task that required us to research and provide information about something that is around health. The topic I chose to do was alcoholism. 

The first thing we did was to find a topic that we were interested in researching, once we finished choosing your topic we had 5 big questions to ask and answer. 

Here are my 5 big questions, I chose these questions because I think that they are the most important questions to be asked. 

Why do people become alcoholics?

There are many reasons why people become alcoholics. It could be from a mental illness or psychological problems such as low self-esteem, high stress, or depression, or maybe it could be passed down in the family. It could have been passed down from either the father or mother's side or even both.

What is alcoholism?

Alcoholism is an alcohol use disorder. It is when one can no longer control their use or intake of alcohol and experience emotional distress when they are not drinking.

Who is disadvantaged and advantaged in relation to gender and sexuality around alcoholism? 

Even though there are different patterns of alcohol usage around the globe, males are more likely than women to be heavy drinkers or alcoholics. Men may use drinking as a way to facilitate anger, export power, or to take risks. Women are more likely to stop drinking. That may be related to generally lower levels of drinking, social roles, or does not want to resume drinking.

How does alcoholism affect the brain when intoxicated?

Alcohol Heavy drinking has an effect on the complex structures of the brain. It blocks the chemical signals between brain cells. Leading to common symptoms of being intoxicated. Examples blurred vision, impulsive behavior, slow reaction times, difficulty walking, slurred speech, and poor memory

What are the consequences for long term and short term alcoholism?

Drinking too much overtime can cause many physical and mental health illnesses. A long term effect of alcohol abuse puts you at risk of liver disease, pancreatic, heart disease, inflammation in the stomach, and some cancers, it can affect your immune system or catch more colds and illnesses more than usual more than others who don’t drink.

From there we came up with 3 strategies that will help prevent or deal with the topic we chose. These strategies are helpful to use if you are ever going through something like this topic. 

Find alternatives - 

Taha hinengaro and Taha whanau. Finding alternatives will improve on your mental health by finding ways to decrease the amount of drinking you do. Activities such as exercise, music, and getting a massage can provide opportunities to hang out with friends or plan a date without going to a bar or club. If you rely on alcohol to wind down at home, effective stress relief alternatives can include meditation and gratitude journaling. Finally, there are many delicious alternatives to alcoholic drinks for sober or sober curious.

Set goals- All 3 dimensions. When people successfully change their habits they usually follow a simple plan and choose a goal. 

For example 

• When bored or stressed workout instead of drinking 

• Avoid drinking in large groups

• When out with friends avoid getting alcohol 

The first decision is to decide what you wish to achieve by changing your drinking, there are a number of choices you can make depending on your current drinking pattern. The following guide may help you in your decision but only you can make the decision that is right for you.

Get support - Taha hinengaro. Although a few people have too much pride in themselves to want support, support could be something like a support group for alcoholics, support could also be asking your family members or close friends around you for help. Getting support can improve your taha hinengaro in many ways, It can decrease the number of mental illnesses you have, it can help make new and better connections with others, and to see how others may have gone through it and what their outcome was. 

Taha tinana. Getting support will improve your taha tinana by decreasing the amount of alcohol you put inside your system. It also can help decrease the physical illnesses the body may have gained by drinking too much alcohol.

We then chose to make/create something that relates to the chosen topic, we did this to teach others about our topic/findings. 

Here is a photo of my collage and of me painting my artwork. 

This discovery task was challenging because you had to make sure you understood the topic and the findings of the research, the way I coped with the challenge was to choose a topic that I understood, and that made a lot of pressure go away. I am proud of myself for working independently and for doing two create tasks. I think I worked well independently because if I were in a pear I would also have to depend on the other person in my group to contribute to the work.

This is the link I got my photos from.

Dissecting the hearts - Science

The experience dissecting the hearts:

In science today we dissected a heart. We used tools like tongs, scissors, and a scalpel.

1. What have we been learning about?
We've been learning how about the heart and the circulatory system and how it works 

2. Why are we dissecting a heart?

We dissected the heart to see all the parts and how it all attaches together. since most of the diagram are all different we wanted to see for ourselves

3. What are the parts of the heart? Did you see them?
while we were dissecting we saw parts of the heart such as the valve, some of the arteries, and the septum. We also felt how the left side thicker than the right.

4. Did you enjoy the dissection? Why/why not?
It was alright, it did smell bad but other than that it was good.

My description of a good leader.

During wananga times the year 9s are looking at what qualities a leader has and examples of who leaders are.

Here are some qualities I think a leader has.

• A leader is someone who is honest and has integrity.

• Someone who is passionate about what they are doing.

• Has respect for themselves and others.

• Puts others before themselves.

• Someone who lifts people up instead of putting them down. 

• Is trustworthy and helps others.

• Has determination and can step out of their comfort zone.

• Has good self-management and is confident.

• Has good communication skills and can listen to others.

• You can count on them

• Delegation and empowerment

Here are some examples of who I think is a leader 

• Jacinda Arden 

• Barack Obama 

• Titaha Biddle 

• Mr Sutton 

• The school prefects 

• Hitler (was a good leader but made the wrong decisions)

• Albert Einstien

SEXXY paragraphs - Coraline

(S)In Coraline, camera angles and shots are used effectively to visualise the theme of “looks can be deceiving”. 

(E) For example, the closeup shot is used to show the audience the expression of the other mother. In this shot, we can see that the other mother is smiling. 

(X) This makes us think that a good thing occurred that made the other mother happy or somewhat welcoming 

(X)The director did this to show that Coraline could trust the other mother. This worked well with the combination of colours making it look welcoming and warm. 

(Y) There’s also a mixture of colour, applying motherly like clothing and makeup on the other mother, the purpose of these colour combinations is to create a warm welcoming scene.

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(S) In the movie Coraline, camera angles and shots are used effectively to portrait the theme of “looks can be deceiving”. 

(E) This is an example of the theme, as you can see, Coraline seemed frustrated as well as annoyed.

(X) This makes us understand the emotions of Coraline. How it feels getting no attention from her mother.

(X) This was done because the director wanted to give a clue of how the film is going to go, how Coraline’s world will be shown in the next few scenes. To show the reason why it happened what happened.

(X) Combined with the monochromatic colours in the background that gave it a moody vibe and the raindrops on the window, it made the scene a little bit more dramatic and it suits the event that’s happening in the shot.

(Y) This can be juxtaposed to when Coraline was in the other world with her other ‘family’.

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(S) In Coraline, shots are used to see the other person's perspective, with the theme of  “looks can be deceiving”.

(E) For example this shot we are introduced to the doll that looks exactly like Coraline is peeking around the corner just staring at her. 

(X) This shows the power that the doll has against Coraline because the doll can see Coraline clearly but Coraline could barely see the doll until she looked at the door and saw the doll's head peeking around the corner. 

(X) This director did this to show that it's not just from Coraline's perspective but from where the doll is this shows that the doll could be creepy, untruthful and more powerful than it was before.

(Y) This didn't work as well as the other scenes because the colours are darker and bolder than normal.

(Y) This can be compared to the first time we saw the doll because it was more non-scary looking, less powerful and not as creepy

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(S) In Coraline, camera angles and shots are used effectively to show the theme of “looks can be deceiving”.

(E) For example, in this shot we are introduced to the ¨Other¨ mother/Spider Demon's hand that was chopped off in the door when Coraline was closing it this shows that the ¨Other¨ mother's hand has more power because it is higher than Coraline.

(E) This shows there is an imbalance of power, the other mother is more non-threatening in the real world and she has changed into a more threatening mother. 

(X) The director is trying to show that this world is most likely not for Coraline but for lost souls and other demon-like things.

(X) This worked pretty well with the lighting skills, as the use of warm and this still makes the other mother look threatening, lost, and not trustworthy.

(Y) This aspect can be compared to the first time we meet the other mother in the actual world where we first see her, she was nice but now she seems scarier, and more frightening.

Mind map - Film study

In film study, we previously watched a film in term 3 called Coraline. Our class was given a choice to either create a mind map using coggle to show many examples explaining a theme or writing a theme guide explaining how each scene is shown in the film. 

I choose to do a mind map - Hope you enjoy!

What am I learning?

I am learning to analyze the looks of characters.

How does this show my learning?

This work shows that my learning by creating a mind map that tells the audience about the characters and their looks by their appearance.

What am I wondering as a result of my learning? 

I'm not wondering anything.

Caroline notes

 Opening scene:

What happened - Coraline's other mother grabs doll through a window and un stuffs the doll and then continues to stuff it to make it look like Coraline. 

Camera shot/angles - Close-ups, as showing details of dolls when it's getting constructed. No wide shots included in this scene, so it doesn't give away the identity of the person.

Music - Slow, suspenseful and scary. It's a made-up language so it sounds sweet and innocent sung by kids. The only real word is dreaming. Genre = classical music.

Colour - Green, black, aged and old filters and also a cream colour. Feels as if the doll was made a while ago.

Lighting - Artificial light/lamp, Natural light as in the moon. It is very dull and deemed light because it needs to set the mood of the scene.

The real house/world : 

What happened - Feels as if its abandoned, faded pink, old and run down, peeling paint, dead. Weather looks cold, grey, misty and wet.

Camera angles - Wide angles/shots show the whole house.

Music - Background noises, also a lot of diegetic sounds. So sounds that that happen naturally like footsteps.

Colour - Faded, dark and cloudy, because it tries to make it spooky.

Lighting: Natural lighting from the sun behind the grey clouds. It is very dim and cold. It makes the location feel very unpleasant.

Extra notes - There is a birds-eye view of Coraline and it makes her seem small as the music starts speeding up and getting louder to make her feel cautious of what she's doing, and then a cat pops up and everything freezes and goes still. Whilst everything still remains dull and dark. The transition from in the woods to in the kitchen was very well done. When she is in the kitchen she has a lot of close-ups and low angles. But the mood is still very cloudy and dark.

Character comparison 

Real-world 

Describe - Cranky, Strict, hard-working, they care about Coraline but don't show it. They look as if they are run down and tired due to having black bags under their eyes, pale skin and washed out.

Costume - Worn, faded, baggy clothes and very plan and lazy clothes.

Lighting - Cold, dull and artificial and a bit of natural lighting.  Isolated, dark and lonely lighting.

Colour - Pale, bone dry, faded and of course Coraline and the cat's eyes is the only bright thing in the real world.

Music - No music just diegetic sounds.

Otherworld  

Describe - Bright, energetic, friendly and looks like they have time for Coraline. Other father waiting for Coraline and while the other mother is cooking. Look more fit with rosy skin and more alive.

Costume - Bright colours, more fashionable, newer, fancy and fits better. Fitted nice clothes.

Lighting - Bright, artificial, saturated and warm\happy with a welcoming feeling.

Colour - Bright warm-toned colours, vibrant, everything is eye-catching. A welcoming place you'd want to be. Coraline blends in better.

Music - Happy music, the piano is being played by another father. Another mother is always humming a creepy song. The minor scary feeling when the other mother hums.

Character comparison: Neighbours

Describe - Weird, eccentric, dismissive and crazy. Keeps calling her Caroline even though she corrects them all the time. Talkative and self-absorbed.

Costume - Old worn, baggy clothes are too big, Mr b in too small outfit, miss Spink d Forrible clothes don't fit, not presentable.

Lighting - Foggy, dull and natural lighting. Makes as if you don't want to be there.

Colour - More colours of the clothes on people and their hair. But it's not as bright and still quiet faded tones of colours. Still lots of bland colours.

Music - Old fashioned, but they all have their own types of music.

Other World 

Describe - The things that Coraline didn't like about her neighbours changed, and they started using her proper names. Look younger and more appealing. The colours are more vibrant and bright colors. Wybie can't talk.

Costume - 

Lighting - 

Colour -

Music -

Hand and bone structure

In hurumanu 2 we have looked at the hand - how much bones does it have and what makes the hand move. There are 27 bones in your hand. 5 bones in your palm, 8 bones in your wrist, and 14 bones for your fingers.

 

Tendons:

What is a tendon? 

A tendon is a stringy connective tissue that attaches muscle to the forearm bone which allows your phalanges (fingers) to move up and down. Tendons also attach muscles to the structure such as the eyeball.   

 

Muscles:

The muscles in your hand are Thumb Muscles, Palmar Muscles, and Little Finger Muscles. The main muscle in your hand that moves your phalanges is called Flexor Digitorum Profundus. This muscle is in the forearm which flexes the fingers to move, contracting, and relaxing the tendons. 

 

Ligaments:

The ligaments are strong bands of connective tissue that attaches to the bones to support them and keep them in place.  Ligaments also help the structure of movement for your fingers so they aren't jelly.  

Camera techniques - Visual dictionary

Camera techniques 

Visual dictionary

Extreme close-up: An extreme close upshot is a shot that is often used to point out small detailed areas or subjects such as parts of the face, fruits, and animals. 

Close-up: Close-ups are one of the most common shots usually used with medium and long shots. Close-ups are capturing the face and the emotions and the reactions they have on it. 

Medium close-up: Medium is a shot that is tightly framed of a person or subject from their chest or shoulders up. Mediums are used when there are “natural” scenes or with scenes showing full face emotions.

Medium shot: Medium shots are usually taken from the waist up, it catches more of the setting and the characters body language It is also used for dialogue scenes. 

Medium long shot: A medium long shot is taken from the knees up it is generally used for group shots as the frame can include from many characters or visual elements simultaneously. The shot is in between a medium and a long shot making it able to see more of the setting and body language the character has. 

Long (wide) Shot: A wide shot is a shot usually taken of the whole person or object and is easily captured - A long shot is used to indicate a location around the subject.  

Extreme Long-Shot: A extreme long shot is a shot from the distance showing the landscape making the human figure or an object look small. 

Low Angle: a low angle is a shot from which is taken low on a vertical angle from anywhere under the eye line to possibly below the feet of the subject, It is often used to make the subject feel powerful or threatening.

High Angle: The high angel shot is a technique where the camera is facing down at the subject from a high angle making the subject look weak or vulnerable. 

Eye Level: An eye-level is the most common shot. It is a camera positioned so the subject can look into the camera without having to move their eyes up or down. It is considered to be emotionally neutral and is best used for straight, factual presentation

Birds Eye View: A birds-eye view is a view from a high angle as if seen by a bird in flight. It is a view that is seen as a bird might see it, from an elevated perspective. 

Dutch Tilt: A Dutch tilt is a camera shot in which the camera angle is slanted to one side - this can be used for dramatic effect. 

Pan: A pan shot or panning shot is a technique where you follow a moving subject, and you can shoot this with a slower shutter speed to create a feeling of speed or action

Tilt: A tilt shot is a shot that uses a cinematographic technique called tilting in which the camera stays fixed but rotates up and down on a vertical plane

Tracking: A tracking shot is any shot where the camera follows backward, forward, or moves alongside the subject being recorded.

Point of View: A point of view shot is a film angle that shows what a character is looking at in the first person.

Over the shoulder: An over the shoulder shot is when the camera is positioned behind one character and facing another.

Mise En Scene: Mise en scene is the stage design and arrangement of actors in scenes for a theatre or film production, both in visual arts through storyboarding, visual theme. 

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What am I learning?

I am learning to understand the different types of language used in film and Camera techniques.

How does this work show my learning?

To show that I know and understand what I’m learning about. 

What am I wondering as a result of this learning?

I am wondering who made all of these techniques and angles.

Photomontage

Lately, in art, we have been looking at photo montage and who might also create art pieces like Hannah hotch and John stezaker. I think making these montages have been really fun and interesting, I have learned many things about putting montages together and about Hannah Hoch, Did you know her mostly used techniques was the of fusion male and female bodies of traditional german women.

With this montage, I got inspired by nature and the world. I threw together a sunflower(being big), a cave(being a telescope but zooming in making it look small), and the earth - The reason why I used colour on this montage is that I look at it in a bright colorful way because it went with the nature and beauty theme. What I’m trying to tell in the montage is that the world is smaller then you think but bigger than your opinion.