Key Insight 3

A class in which I thought would be an easy A once I signed up for it, quickly began to make me frustrated. I remember this class had weekly quizzes. The grades that I received from the quizzes ranged from an F to an A. The quizzes were based on weekly readings that explained concepts and the working parts of an individual camera. In the classroom I always had the idea in the back of my mind that I was about to fail a quiz. Which sometimes, I did. My quiz grades fluctuated with quiz to quiz but I was determined to become better. The artifact I used is a screenshot of a period of quizzes in which my grade constantly went down. I feel as though some people take bombing a quiz/exam the end of the world, but I took it as ways to improve. These quiz grades, although were sometimes not the best, were used as reminders that motivated me to become better and I completed the class with a B. This artifact is my within the classroom experience.

One project that we were tasked with was the creation of several shots. By this time, I had mastered the usage of the cameras we were working with. For this project I had to come up with my own ideas for different angled shots such as extreme close-up, close-up, centered mass shot, and long shots. Each shot had to reveal to the audience something new. Someone in the previous class made up a crime scene with their four pictures. At first it seemed as though a person was digging, then the moment came to the point where it was an extreme close-up shot and we as the audience were finally able to see the whole picture and concluded that the person was burying someone alive. At that moment I realized that there was no way I could ever top that idea or even come close to it. I began to get weary over the fact that I wouldn’t be able to come up with an idea. I started to research some ideas that I could go off, and after a few hours looking at examples of professional photographs of people doing their own version of this project, it finally hit me. I decided to start out small and work my way out. My first picture was an extreme close-up shot of my roommate pretending to draw something I had previously drawn for fun. Once I had that picture, I took a close-up, and worked my way outward. When I saw the finished product, I realized that research involves some creativity. Looking through the lens and feeling proud of myself was the biggest feeling I had. If there’s anything this class has taught me, it was to be true to myself and note that my creativity goes hand and hand with research, it just takes time. These experiences shaped me because through failure and setback, I can always rely on myself to come out on top. Pictured below is my beyond the classroom experience. These are the pictures I used for my media arts project. In frame, is my roommate from sophomore year, Chris.