Comedy Writing

Hello my fabulous fellow media enthusiasts. If you read my last post, I left a hint about what our newest project is. If you got it, good for you. If not, that's okay because I'm about to explain it all! So, if you read the title, you were probably able to discern that we are doing something about comedy. This is another project I'm pretty excited about. Do you remember last years project, Visual Poems? If you didn't read that post, I'll link to it below, and you can check that out. Not to mention you can read more of my hilarious bantering! It's a win-win. You get banter. I get page views (Hint hint). Well, this project is going to be similar, except instead of a poem, we will be reading our very own comedic monologues. When I say our very own, I mean it. We actually have spent about two weeks doing research and all that jazz to figure out how to write our own monologues. So, without further ado, I present to you... Comedy Writing

So, the great question we will be answering in this paragraph is... Why is sense an important character trait? Well, I mean, what would you guys do without my hilarious sense of humor to keep you smiling? The truth is, humans crave laughter. We bond with people we can laugh with, and a sense of humor is an important character trait we look for in relationships with others. We look for things that make us laugh online, or in our realities. Laughter is something that fuels us, that makes us happy, and without it, life would be dull and colorless. The color of my laughter is purple. Don't ask me why, because I have no clue. What's the color of yours?

While writing my humorous narrative, I came up with a few tips I would like to share with you, in case you're ever in a jam and need to write up something funny. I started by brainstorming. My idea of brainstorming is a little... unconventional. Instead of coming up with a bubble chart or something to write out productive ideas in, I basically write anything that comes to mind. Then, sometimes, I find a gem amidst all the garbage, which will sometime become my story. Another tip I have is base your jokes off of a funny experience you've had, or something funny about your life. Let's see... do your research is another good one. If you don't know how to write a joke, it's not going to be as funny. When I write, one thing I do is just get everything out on paper. I know that sounds kind of like brainstorming, and I guess it's kind of similar. However, it's a little more productive. I write my whole essay, or in this case monologue, out, so I can work from there. I don't try to make it funny. The main goal is to get it on paper, so when I edit, and begin to cut down on my work, that's when I go back and make it funny. It helps immensely, having every part of the story and then some spread out in from of you. Once I have a huge amount of writing, most of which is unnecessary, I begin to cut down. When it's cut down to size, I begin to edit. That's my final tip. Editing is a crucial step for me, because if I don't edit my work, especially when it comes to comedy, not only is not going to be funny, but it's going to make sense. That's five, (Thank goodness, I'm running out of tips!) so I'm going to move on!

My comedic monologue is about cats. Yes, you heard me correct, I said cats. Specifically my cats. I explain my experiences with cats, from ones that liked to use my clean laundry and a toaster as a litter box, to one that sat in my garage and attempted to kill everything that moved. Yes if you are wondering, the idea did come from a brainstorm. It turned out pretty good, and as of this week we've filmed the monologue and B-Roll, so by the end of next week I'll be (hopefully) done with editing, and maybe even have a blog post started. The next post will most likely have the finished video, so stay tuned! My monologue is funny, mainly because I've had some very funny cats. So thanks for that cats.

Anyway, that is all I have for today, or rather this week, so check out these links, browse the blog a little bit. I have some crazy old stuff on here, it's basically a portfolio of everything I've done in the three years I have taken this class. We've done some cool stuff, and I explain how a lot of it works, and how it can be done, so check it out! For links today we've got my old visual poem post, because it was a similar project. Below that I've got a link to a quiz you can take to get the color of your soul, which was as close as I could find to the color of your laughter. I have a great article about writing jokes, courtesy of Wiki How, and we all used it in the process of writing our monologue. Last but not least, I have a list of really corny cat jokes you can use to impress your friends. Enjoy! Anyways, bye for now. Signing Out.

(Pssst- Links!)
Visual poem
Color of Your Soul
How To Write Jokes (Actual article we used)
Corny Cat Jokes (Didn't use this one)

Motivational Poster

Are you ready to be amazed by the stunning beauty of my final motivation project? I swear guys, this time it's for real. My final poster will blow you away with it's wonderful motivation prowess. Okay, so at the time I'm writing this introduction it's not completely finished, however, by the time this post is complete it will be. So sit tight, and prepare to be amazed. I'll see you at the bottom, because we all know that those who read these only read them to read my lovely sarcastic intros and conclusions. Anyway, keep on reading to finally get to find out what we did with our Manifestos, personal quotes, and those fabulous symbols I had posted on the last post without telling you what they meant. Tricky of me, I know.

So, I'm going to start by describing all of the requirements for our motivational posters. First of all, we were required to use those three symbolic images we took. Mine were on my glasses, combat boots, and candles, and if you want to find out how they represent me, check out the hashtag #gtsym1, #gtsym2, and #gtsym3 on google+. You'll also see the rest of the GT student symbols, and it's really cool, so check it out. We also needed a portrait of ourselves. The lovely Kasiah Vercelli took mine, I'll link to her blog below. Our personal manifestos and personal quotes were also a requirement, and the text had to be nicely kerned. Also important was the kerning of our text, a triadic color scheme with one dominant and two harmonious colors, blending options such as drop shadows, stroke, outer glows, and bevel and emboss, and layer adjustments for our pictures like color balance and exposure.

Now I'm going to move on and explain the step by step process we used to create our pictures. We started by writing out our personal quotes and manifestos. Then we kerned them until they fit perfectly without any gaps. After that we added effects and a triadic color scheme to the text, as well as adding our portrait and symbolic images. Next, we added color balances to our pictures to make them match the triadic color scheme we had chosen. Finally, we focused on adding the finishing touches and layer effects to the pictures to make sure they stood out.

I'm actually really happy with how mine turned out. Usually when I do a project, any type of project, I never feel ready to stop. With this one though, I feel like it turned out really well, and I believe that I followed the requirements. The biggest challenge for me was getting my pictures balanced and with enough color balance. I hadn't realized that by choosing yellow I would end up having to use 6 different color adjustment layers! In the end though, I'm glad I chose yellow, and saved my blue and purple for the text, because this way the text really pops, which was my goal. My base color was the warm purple on my manifesto, and the two supplementary colors were the turquoise used for the personal quotes, and the yellow used for the pictures.


Okay you guys, thanks for reading! Stay tuned for our next project, it's going to be really fun to film, (hint) so check it out. The first post will come in about a week or two, depending on how long we will be spending on this project. It's going to be a barrel of laughs! (hint two) Until then, enjoy yourself by checking out the links below, to help you understand the "techno babble." If you already speak fluent babble, check out Kasaiah's blog to see her poster! By the way, the first kerning link leads to a definition, the second to a fun little game related to it! See you later my lovelies!

(Psssst- LINKS!)

• Kass!
• Kerning1! Kerning2!
• Triadic Color Scheme!
• Visual Balance!
• Layer Effects!

Personal Manifesto

Hello Everybody! I'm back!!! I know, it's been a ridiculously long time. All summer, in fact. Well, I'm finally back, and it's hot out, and the end of the day, and I'm so ready to go home, but not before updating you guys of everything that's going on here in room F-101. Keep on reading, and I'll see you at the bottom. :)

So, first G.T project of the new school year... exciting! It's going to be a personal manifesto motivational poster thing, and it's going to be awesome. Before I give you all the details on that though, I'm going to tell you a little about myself. One interesting fact about me is that I've completed several sessions of junior lifeguard training, and although I haven't been to a state championships yet, my district, Kauai, has been undefeated for 12 years! I'm also a swimmer for Mokihana Aquatics, and have gone to several state invitationals off island. I live in Hawaii, which is pretty normal for me, seeing as I've lived here my whole life, but to the readers who live in Germany, or wherever, I suppose that could be interesting. Another fact about me is I have actually only been out of the country once, on a cruise to Alaska. We stopped at a port in Victoria, Canada at 10:00 p.m, and stayed there for about an hour and a half. It was really nice, although everything was closed. How many facts is that? Three? All right, two more. Let's see... I keep lots of journals, not the kind where you make daily updates about your life or anything, just composition books that I use to write ideas down in. Heres a fact that goes with that one; I write a lot. Just stories that I make up, whether short or long, and I love to create charts that organize different characters. I'm really into character development and all that.

Thank goodness we're done with that. Let's move on to writing a personal manifesto. So, for those of you who don't know what a manifesto is, let me give you a short explanation, and then if you still don't understand, or you want to go deeper with that, then you can check out the lovely link I'll be leaving for you below. A manifesto is a basically a creative, public declaration of your goals, beliefs, and ideas. Now, without further ado, my 2015-16 manifesto!

Be true to yourself. Live your life like nobodies watching. Do what makes you happy. Surround yourself with people who love you for who you are, not who they want you to be. Be the best version of yourself. Laugh often. Be happy. Love who you are. Love others for who they are. Appreciate what you have, for there is always someone who has it worse. Push your self past the limits set for you, whether by yourself or others. What you put in is what you get. Never give up on your dreams. Do something creative every day. Appreciate the people who care about you, and who help you grow as a person. Learning is crucial. Make mistakes, learn from them. Have courage. It's your life, take control of it. Live your passion, and find the joy in it.

So that was that. Manifesto has been written, and I actually have more than the required amount of sentences for today... but I have yet to explain why my manifesto matters to you. To be honest, I'm practically making this up as I go along at this point... lets see. My manifesto should matter to you because I believe these are things that everyone should strive for. I think that anyone who tries to find something that relates to their life in this list will. Everyone should have a motto, or something they live by, wether you publish it in a manifesto or not.

So, that's all the wise advise I had stored up over the summer. I'll see you all next time, and don't worry- I'll be keeping up with blog throughout the school year, as it's a school assignment. I'm not quite sure what will happen next year, when I move up, and leave K.M.S, but I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I have enclosed two links, one to a google image search that explains manifesto, and a link to Mr. Sanderl's blog, which has links all GT student blogs. Until next time my darlings!

(Pssssst- here's the links for today)

• MANIFESTO
• Mr. Sanderl's Blog

Music Videos Rock!!!

Hello Everyone! Today I'm going to elaborate a wee bit on last weeks post. So, I'm going to start on that, might as well get right to it! Sorry for the lack of a long, winding, distracting entry paragraph, but I'm tired, so we'll all have to make do with what we have. Maybe I'll come back later and rewrite this. (I say this every time and never do... I'm such a flake.)

As you all know, my team consists of the wonderful, beautiful, and talented Julie Castro and Kasiah Vercelli. We have all contributed to the project so far, with Julie and I focusing mainly on filming, and Kasiah being our fabulous movie star. Kasiah also did a band poster for us, showcasing some of her Gt student skills. The editing of the video was done mainly by Julie and I, with the occasional constructive criticism from- who else- Miss Kasiah. We all contributed to the creation and completion of our music video. 

I think our audience will enjoy our story. We interpreted Taylor Swift's song in a way we felt was relatable and fun. Our story is about a girl who is explaining how she overcame adversity to love herself for who she is. There is, of course a lot of dancing! What would a music video be without it?

Our music video shows what we learned this year by showcasing the skills we've gained. We did our best to use composition techniques and interesting and creative camera shots. Kasiah made us a beautiful band poster, with assistance from the rest of us. Julie and I got to explore iMovie's many effects, and use them to enhance our story, not take away from it. Finally, all three of us used the skills we gained this year to edit our long, winding clips into 2-4 second scenes!

Thank you everyone for reading! I just noticed I'm not in any of the pictures above... oops. Oh well. This is the last Gt post for the year, so I might not get a chance to write again until August! I'll see you then! Or maybe before? We'll see! BYE!

Lyrical Livelihood

Hello Everybody!!! I'm really excited to inform you all that It is the last five weeks of school for us on Kauai... or at least KMS! the countdown to summer begins! And those of you who consistently read (Hello Mom) will know that this time of the year means one thing... MUSIC VIDEOS!!!! Read on to find out more.

Now, for those of you GT students who know the inner workings of these blogs, you know that we are given specific questions to answer. Most of the time these are answerable, but this time we have been asked to do the impossible. Mr. Sanderl wants us to choose our favorite song, and share it with you. It is not physically possible for me to choose a single song. I love music. I mean, I can't play music, but I love listening to other people's music. Some of my favorite artists are Queen, Green Day, Fall Out Boy, The Clash, Led Zeppelin, Panic! At the Disco, 5 Seconds of Summer, The Beatles, Ed Sheeren, Hozier, Plain White Ts, AC/DC,... lets just say there are too many to list here. My favorite songs are my favorites because they make me feel things, whether those feelings be happy, sad, inspired, or impowered. If I connect with a song, then it goes on my playlist, where I repeatedly listen to it. I don't really get tired of songs I love.

For our Music Video this year my team, which consists of the wonderful and beautiful Kasiah Vercelli and Julie Castro, will be doing "Shake it Off" by Taylor Swift. Yes, I know, we've been made fun of plenty by our friends already. You have to admit though, it's a pretty encouraging song, and it's fun and easy to dance to. I do love Taylor Swifts music, most of the time, and we wanted a song that would be fun to dance and sing to, so we could be inspired. The video for the song is really fun, with lots of different forms of dance, so we want to express that through our video. We also really like to dance.

We have a very eccentric plan for our video. Our idea is basically to follow the lyrics, and make it one big dance party. For those of you who have seen the video for "Shake it Off", you've seen an example of what our video is going to look like. A lot of dancing, that's for sure. I don't want to reveal too much yet, because there will be another post soon, and I'm pretty sure that it will go a little more in depth, as the second posts usually do. Until then, read the production plan, and enjoy the sneak peak!

That's all for today folks! Thank Y'all so much for reading, and I will see you next time! Bu-bye!

Our Animation Story

Well. Hello everyone. I'm here today to inform you all that our animation is finished. There has been some rough patches, but we pulled it together, and finished it. It's been a hard week, not just for me, but for all the G.T students, so I want to say that I'm really proud of all of us. Today I'm going to explain our story a little better, because I know last time I didn't really go in depth with it. So, I'm going to start writing, and I'll see you at the bottom.

Our focus statement was Julie Overcomes Writer' Block. It was about our teammate Julie, and her struggle to overcome the wall in her head, and finish her essay. We show Julie struggling with her blank paper, which morph into paper soldiers, and the archers that the wall produces to force
her back. Her pencil becomes a sword, and she uses it to fight off the soldiers and the wall, and finally the wall collapses, and Julie is free to finish her essay. Our focus statement tells our story because throughout the project, that was our guiding idea, and we would always come back and look at it to refocus.

Our audience will learn that even though writers block does happen, and can feel like a battle is going on in your head, it always ends. Creative juices aren't frozen forever, and soon you will be back to normal. The best thing you can do is remember this, and just do your best. I know that in GT, our creativity is put to the test, but I think sometimes we get a little too frantic. Sometimes we just need to take a step back, and breath for a little while.

Okay, now I'm going to tell you all about the best and worst moments with my team. The best moment was easily when we got a four out of four on the rough cut, it was like all of our hard work finally paid off. The worst was definitely not making the deadline for the two scene teaser. I'm not going to get into that to much, because why dredge up ickyness? Anyway, we've had our moments, both good and bad, and the important part is that we've grown as a team.

Thank you all so much for reading, and I want to give one last shoutout to all us G.T kids, because you know what? Animations are over, and know it's time to get excited for the music videos! Okay, see you all next time! Bye!

Animation Outakes

Why hello my evil army. Today we will be learning all about animation. I can hear you all saying, "But Maddie, you've already done a post on animation!" My answer is yes, I have, but it's a new year, and a new project. I will link that project down below, so you can enjoy some fetus Maddie. Yay fetus Maddie! Anyway, let's explain this project and my lovely teammates, and I'll see you at the bottom.

 This year, my lovely team consists of Julie Castro, Jayse Matsuyama, and Denae Sacramend. I have worked with Denae before- don't tell Mr. Sanderl- but I have not yet worked with Jayse or Julie, so I got to meet some new people. Which I actually survived, which is surprising seeing as I'm terrified of people. Now, for some interesting facts about my lovely team. Let's start with Miss Julie- she dances hula, and she has two brothers. Now for Mr. Jayse. Jayse is a surfer, which is one of the many perks of living on a small tropical island. He also paddles for Puu'wai, the canoe club that we both belong to, so we're teammates. Finally, let's move on to Denae. Denae loves animals, and she is a very random person. Which is a very, very good thing. 

Now to explain stop-motion animation. Basically, stop-motion is a type of animation that you create by taking pictures, then putting them all into I Movie, or Photoshop. This creates video that can look like your doing the impossible. The next thing I'm going to explain to you is a .GIF. These are small animation files used mainly for the internet. By mainly I mean entirely. You have probably seen a .GIF before if you use social media sites, but I have a couple here anyway, for your viewing pleasure. It stands for Graphic Interchange Format.

We are telling Julie's story, and it is all about writers block. You should all care, because I'm pretty sure most of you reading this are G.T students, and I know that if you are in G.T, creative juices can be a stretched a little thin. In our story, we exaggerate on how it feels like there is a battle going on in your mind. I know when I have writers block, I feel panicked and desperate, as well as frustrated. I hope to convey relatable feelings through this, and also remind everyone, though it may seem like you'll never be able to write again, writers block doesn't last forever, and eventually the ideas will come back to you.

All right loves, that's it for today. I hope I've cleared up some of the mystery about animation, and I hope you'll check out the linksI have posted! bye, and I will see everybody next time... if anyone bothers to read these besides Mr. Sanderl.

Links!
Julie Castro
Jayse Matsuyama
Denae Sacramend
.GIF
Stop-motion
Last Animation