Proactive or Procrastination?

Hey Everybody! What's up! Today I'm writing about something that challenges a great amount of people, and it's called Procrastination. I admit it. I am a total Procrastinator. I know the effects this can have on me, and I have always wanted to be Proactive, but well, it's harder than it looks. With my very busy life style, putting things off is pretty dangerous to my grade. I always have at least swim after school for two hours, school itself, and usually something else as well. Robotics, which just ended, was an hour and a half, so I would need to go right to swim afterwards. Then, in a little while there is paddling, and my moms many classes scattered around the clock, so I'm booked around the clock.

I feel that because I have so little free time most days, when I do have free time, I feel like I need to use it the best I can. I am usually going all the time, so when life actually stops for a little while, I seize the moment. However, I do realize when I procrastinate, it leads to nothing but stress and fear, and I end up with less time anyway, and I'm often unprepared for things. I also find myself with less time all together! Therefor, it is important for me to get things done as soon as possible.

For me, the hardest part about being a procrastinator is the fact that it makes me feel like I have no control over my life. It's hard to control things, which as a control freak is an important thing for me, when you are busy doing things last minute. I really need to step up my game, especially if I would like to see that shiny 4.0 on my report card this semester. Semester grades are the ones that really count, so I want to stay at the top.With the end of Quarter 2 coming up I really need to keep up my hard work and stay with the program.

I would certainly work on my time management skills, and be prepared for everything that is going to happen. I will also take more time on things, to make sure I have perfect, quality work. I would also like to learn how to keep that laser focus that helps you get things done. I really need to learn to prioritize a little better, and be more organized. These are the kinds of things I need to hold my 4.0 average, and that is what is important to me. If I could learn about these things, then practice them, I believe that I can finally overcome my procrastination and become a proactive person!

My Visual Poem

Hello everyone! I am excited to share with you my newest project, which we just completed last Monday. It was called Visual Poem, and we wrote poems, then read them on camera. We then spent a week collecting B-Roll, then slapped it all together in Final Cut. (I say slapped; I spent three days editing and making it perfect!) We used effects, transitions, music, and transformations to make it excellent. My poem was about writing, and all that it entails. I explained how writing makes me feel, how ideas bounce around in my mind, how tools of the trade, notebooks, pens, feel in my hand, how they work for me, under my hand and spell.

My visuals make an impact because they correspond with my poem. While I read it, the visuals show you exactly what I feel. It's like a personal view into my mind. I really challenged myself to show passion in both my visuals and my poem itself. Writing is a special part of me, and I tried to showcase that in my video.

For special effects I used an film roll filter on the very first shot, and an old paper on a different shot. I think that it helped me create the right mood, a kind of dark, deep, but still warm place. I wanted to show my feelings and really help you get inside my head. I wish I had added some more, but with a deadline looming over my head, getting it in seemed most important. I am happy, however, with how it turned out.

I am satisfied with how my video turned out, though I wish I had added more effects. I could have made it better by maybe spending a little longer on it, but I really believe I able to convey my story, which is all I wanted. Another is to maybe use my technical knowledge a little better by refining it in final cut some more.  Despite that, I am very excited for the critique, and I hope others enjoy watching it as much as enjoyed creating it. I enjoyed watching my final video, and am looking forward to sharing it with others.

Thanks for reading! I'll see you next time! Enjoy my poem at the bottom, and in case you were wondering, the visual is my poem plan, the backbone behind my video. Anyway, farewell, and enjoy!

Finished News Story

What was your story about & who contributed to it?
How did the final turn out? Are you happy with it?
Conclude with your critique results, do you agree?

Hi everyone! I'm back from vacation, with a post about it on the way, and I'm excited to share with you our finished Hiki'no video! For those of you who know my blog, you know that I write first and put videos in last, kind of like the seal on a letter. So to get to the video, you'll need to read my awesome info before you get to it. (Yes I realize you can just skip over it, but don't, otherwise you don't get to read my humorous account of creating the video you see before you.) Anyway, I better get started, I already need to write an extra paragraph because I spent this whole time rambling on to you. Oh well.

Our video was about health and wellness in Hawaii, and it turned out really good considering that I left three brand new sixth graders, Denae, Jhoanna, and Kyla, alone to finish it themselves. (I feel really bad about leaving. I was  supposed to be teaching them!) There were some shots that weren't three shot sequences and other technical difficulties, but they did amazing! Contributors were Missy Hoesel, my mom, Josh Nations, co-owner of the Kauai Athletic Clubs, Heidi Tokuda, Computer Teacher at Kapa'a Elementary School, and of  course Mr. Sanderl.

Our critiques were pretty good, I wasn't here for them, as I was still on vacation, but from the chart below I'd say people thought we did fairly good. Comment with what you think. I agree with the majority, that we were in the 3 range. I do think a 1 is a little harsh, and a 4 is pushing it, but 3 seems fair. It could have been better, and I wish I could help the girls with some of the more technical things, but really, their naturals. I mean, this was their first project!

Anyway, thanks for reading through my writing, I really appreciate it, and I promise that soon I will have a post about this summer (so overdue) and I'm thinking another book review. Also, I wanted to ask if anyone would read my writing, and maybe a friend of mine's writing if I started posting it up here. Let me know. Then maybe, if your interested in posting your writing,  I could set up an address for you to send it to me. We'll see. Comment with your thoughts, and enjoy the video! Bye till next time!

-Maddie

T6: Health & Obesity Rate in Hawaii by Maddie, Kyla, Jhoanna, Denae

1	1	4%
2	7	26%
3	12	44%
4	7	26%