Weather Vanes My One And Lonely

Okay, this title doesn't make as much sense but it's from Northen Downpour and it will somewhat make sense soon.

Task: Weather With You

Write a descriptive paragraph or poem about a character.
The weather shows how your character is feeling e.g If she is sad, the weather will be grey and cloudy, maybe with some rain.

Here are some quick notes I took before writing this:

Happy - Sunshine

Tired/unfocused - Foggy

Angry - Storm

Sad - Cloudy 

Upset - Rain

(Okay, yeah, the last two were kind of the same but shhh)

In love - Rainbow

Watch. Just watch. Look how the sun's rays brighten as her smile curls upwards. The small creases beside her lips and eyes deepening as the clouds fade away almost as quickly as her frown. It brings a whole new meaning to your smile lights up the world. Watch how her tears fall quicker than the drops of rain landing on her window pane. Listen to how her cries of anger ring louder than the thunder, her wrath more powerful than the bolts of lightning. Check out how a familiar arch of colour appears as her crush walks through the door, her heart pounding in her chest as her rainbow grows brighter. Note how she has to peels her eyelids open in class to stay awake as the fog outside grows thicker. So. If you're ever wondering why the weather acts like a girl on her period... don't be surprised. All you have to do is watch. Just. Watch.

If You Love Me, Let Me Go.

Today's task: A Letter to your Writer’s Block

It’s time for you and Writer’s Block to part ways. 
Write a letter breaking up with Writer’s Block, starting out with, 
“Dear Writer’s Block, it’s not you, it’s me … .”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Writers Block…

It’s not you. It’s me.

Okay, I’m sorry, that’s a very cliche thing to say. I’ll try that again. This, whatever we had, can’t go on any longer. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it wasn’t good for either of us. Through most of this relationship, I couldn’t even do work in class, it was that bad!

Remember that time I was in English, and you just showed up out of the blue? You continued to pester me for the entire lesson and the only work I could actually do was write my name and the date. What about that time I was trying to write for fun at home? You literally wouldn't go away for an entire day! You randomly went away in the middle of the night and I couldn't remember any of my idea the next day!

I hope you don't take this the wrong way, you're incredible, really, just... not for me. You need to understand, this decision is quite hard for me to make but if either of us wants to go anywhere, or be happy in life, it's only best for the both of us. I apologise but from now on, each of us needs to go our separate ways. It's been nice knowing you.

Maybe we could still be friends?

Sincerely,

Sam

When The Light Begins To Fade And The Clock Just Makes The Colours Turn To Grey

Today I chose to take the "free writing" square today and post my creative writing award entry. Enjoy!

Task: Free Writing

This is a chance to write about ANYTHING you want.
It can be a Poem, a Rap, a Song, a Speech, a Story, a Novel… The list is virtually endless!
You can write about whatever sparks your imagination.
Be descriptive!
Be creative!
Use good words!

The Hue Of It All

The little swirls on the ceiling dance around more and more as I stare at them. They wriggle around the roof like little snakes or worms, little creatures, searching, hunting for their daily meal. One thing is bugging me though…. Since when did the school ceilings have swirls on them. I remove my hands from their weaved position on my torso to rub any excess sleep from my eyes. It hardly works, I can tell the dark circles under my eyes are more prominent than ever. That’s obvious, with or without a mirror. I can't remember the last time I slept, properly at least. I don’t know why to be exact. School and life have just stressed me to the point of insomnia, haven't they? It's such... fun... Rolling over, I feel the emptiness of the bed surrounding me. What time is it? 2:52 am. Oh god, classes... My classes tomorrow! And I can’t sleep. Because of one day. I still remember that day. That day that caused all of this.

“If people could just, you know, see life through my eyes, it would be really useful. Make my job a bit easier, would you?” My voice echoes through the almost empty practise room, the dark silhouette sitting by the old grand piano. 
“We get it, Brooke, we get it. Life’s hard being blind. Now, if you would shut up and help me with my science homework, it would be greatly appreciated.”  I roll my eyes and wander over to the dark-haired girl. I sit myself down in the middle of the wood-lined floor. 
“Right, where are we up to?” 
She flips a page, “Chapter 4. Physics. Fun.” Sometimes I wonder about this girl. How is the Mya Branne, top of our year, year eight, in almost every subject, this unenthusiastic about school? 
“All about how colour reaches the eye, huh? Well, I’m sure I can help you with that one,” I scoff as she flips another page. 
“Right. Friends with a blind girl.”

I know, I know, Mya keeps making jokes about me being blind. It’s a little too obvious to say I’m not. However, ask me to define my… disability… and, not to brag but, I could tell you about it perfectly, back to front, even in my sleep. Achromatopsia. A condition characterized by a partial or total absence of colour vision. In English, I’m colourblind. Completely colourblind. My life is completely black and white, literally. I was born this way, I don’t know what yellow actually looks like. All I know is that it’s a different shade of grey to red and blue. At least I got out of those damn tests... While other 5-year-olds learnt how to spell the colour of the sky and the colour of grass, I was learning to remember how to identify and differentiate the different shades of grey, then label them with said words. There’s at least fifty- That was completely unnecessary, I apologise.

“Friends forever, though, right? We stick through our high school years together at this dump of a school,” I nudge Mya’s arm with my elbow, a sly smirk stuck on my face. Totally kidding, by the way, Silver Oak Academy is one of the best intermediate to secondary schools in our area. People say it’s where talent is born. 
With her smile fading, her expression remains stone cold, “Right… About that… Brooke? Please don’t be mad at me…” She closes the book, sitting up, “My parents are expecting a job. In another city… We’re moving in the holidays, Brooke… I’m not coming back to Silver Oak next year.”

A rock drops in my stomach, my eyes glassing over. 
“Oh. Right.” 
Her dark grey eyes widen, the ones that weren’t truly grey, “But! I might be coming back if they don’t get the job! Oh, Brooke, please don’t give me that look, it’s not my fault!” She didn’t understand, did she? Pretty ironic, if you ask me, she was the only person who stuck around long enough because she understood. She understood that it was okay that I was different, that I saw the world differently to everyone else. Nobody else has understood that. Even if they didn’t say it, the way people act about it is so damn obvious these days. And that’s… the light in my pitch black world is... It’s leaving.

Moving on. The hardest challenge you face, ever. God, I’m being so melodramatic. That was three years ago, Brooke! She didn’t come back, you’re starting year twelve this year, and everything is new. Same school, same people, but somehow new. 
“Hel- Oh, I didn’t interrupt, did I?” I close the black diary in my hands and look up, the unfamiliar voice belonging to an unfamiliar face. The girl had light grey hair that lay in waves around her narrow face, fair grey skin, covered in little dark grey freckles, pale grey lips, pale grey eyes who shimmered in the morning light that seeps through my curtains. She was pretty. Like someone out of a film. 

“You’re Brooklyn, right? Brooklyn Motley? Ms Escott said I was meant to meet you at orientation or at dinner but you weren’t at either so she just gave me the dorm number instead, I hope you don’t mind me bursting in,” She smiles, placing her bag on the bed on the opposite side of the small room.  
“Oh no. No, it’s fine, I was just- Don’t worry about it.” Something about her smile was comforting, it made me feel tingly inside. That sounds weird. I didn’t mean it that way…
“I’m Anastasia, by the way. New girl. Like, the only new girl in this year,” her giggle bounces off of the walls. It reminded me of something.

Later that evening, I was having trouble sleeping. Again. 
“Brooklyn? Are you still awake?” 
“Y-Yeah… I-Insomnia… I guess…” I begin to stumble over my words. The springs in the mattress creak with stress as Anastasia sits up in her bed. 
“Right, well, don’t count sheep, that doesn’t help. At all. Best things to do involve relaxing, slowing your breathing, reading, and turning off all electronics at least two hours before sleeping. With the breathing, breathe in for four, hold for seven, breathe out for eight.” Her voice is soothing. Practising the breathing, I already feel a little dazy. 
“Thank you, Anastasia…” 
“Please, call me Ana.”

The next morning, I was feeling a little strange. Things just seemed different. Though, it was quite apparent when I opened my eyes. 
“Brooklyn… Time to wake up…” My eyes flutter open, I gasp at the sight. Above me were two pale eyes, they weren’t grey, however. In fact, they weren’t the only things that weren’t grey. 
“Y-Your- Your eyes… They’re…” I sit up, my chest rising and falling rapidly. 
“Blue? Brooklyn… Are you alright?” She seems concerned, genuinely concerned. 
“Your eyes are… blue? And… I can see that? H-Hold on… I gotta- I gotta go…” I jump up, brushing past Ana on my way. 
“Brooklyn! Brooklyn, wait!” I ignore the distressed voice.
“Leave me alone!” I sprint down the halls, my short legs not carrying me very far. She didn’t understand, she didn’t even know me. Desperate, I stumble my way into the headmaster's office.

“Ah, Ms Motley. What a pleasant surp-”
“Blue! I- can- Blue! Ana! Eyes.... blue...” Words tumble out of my mouth like broken pieces of glass, confusing the older man with jumbled and unintelligible nonsense. His hair and clothing were the only familiar things to me, short strands of grey hair with a black and white suit to pair.
“Ms Motley, are you okay?” His concerned eyes matched the darker wood of his desk. They were like the earth… Brown…? 
“I’m- I’m fine… Sort of… Not really, actually. I- I woke up and could see… I could see colour, sir! The… the blue of my roommate's eyes! What’s going on… I though achromatopsia couldn’t be cured!?” My chest begins rising and falling rapidly, it felt like I couldn’t breathe. A heavy… weight crushing my chest. I was dizzy, my head throbbing.

“Ms Motley? Ms Motley!?” Everything fades to black, I couldn’t see anything but it was almost as if my hearing had doubled. As light as a feather, I start falling. Not landing. Falling. Into the void, nothing but darkness.
“Oh my god! Brooklyn! Is she okay, sir?” A soothing voice enters my void, the butterflies returning to my once empty stomach.
“She’s breathing, that’s good.”
“What happened? She ran out of the dorm, then came here, I couldn’t catch up with her.”
“That doesn’t matter right now. Here, Ms…?”
“Pixton. Anastasia Pixton, sir.”
“Right, Ms Pixton. If you would please help me transport her to the nurse's office?”

My eyes flutter open, blinking a few times to adjust. Bright lights that will blind you if you stare at them for too long. White walls that make you feel insane after a while. That daydreamy feeling you have after you leave a movie theatre. Where am I? Why am I here? 
“Oh! Brooke! You’re awake!” I sit up as an eager voice echoes around the small room. Ana’s face seemed so concerned. Why is she concerned about me? What happened!? 
“You fainted in my office, Brooklyn, we brought you to the nurse's office,” I swear Mr Haley can read minds… I look around, taking in my surroundings. Nothing was monochrome anymore… What is actually happening?

“Ms Motley? Ana was telling me about why you fainted? Is it true you can see colour?” A nurse appears through the doorway, already asking questions. Her hair was black, the only thing about her that was black… Everything was colourful again. My head throbs as I think of an answer.
“Y-Yes… I think so… I can see things I couldn’t see before… does that make sense? The only problem is… It only happened when I met... Ana...” My gaze falls on the blonde, now hiding in the corner. Right… Right… She’s the missing link here… How much of a coincidence is it that my ability to see colour comes back the day after I met her? It sounds almost… unrealistic. The nurse nods, writing something down on the clipboard in her hands.
“Right… Well… Obviously, your doctor will need to do a few tests but by the sounds of it, you may no longer be colour blind.”
“What?!”


~A few months later~

Right. Where were we? I no longer have Achromatopsia. My parents and I talked to a doctor. Even they said it was strange, unrealistic. In what world does it take a girl to cure being colour blind? It’s taken me a few months to get used to it but with a lot of Anastasia’s help, I’ve figured out most colours perfectly. Girls who would previously make fun of me would now straight up bully me but I dealt with it. I still feel like a baby in art class though, surrounded by people who have known these colours for 15 or 16 years now. Term 3 is starting today, Anastasia and I haven’t seen each other for two weeks and, considering we’ve become basically inseparable these last few terms, that’s too long.

“Brooklyn! Brooke! Over here!” A familiar voice echoes through the courtyard. I wave a quick goodbye to my parents and head over to the owner, clicking up the handles on my suitcases and dragging them lifelessly behind me.
“Ana! It’s so good to see you again!” We drop our bags, desperately wrapping our arms around each other in some sort of bear hug. As I said, two weeks is way too long. “So, how have you been? How were your holidays? What did you do? Did you go anywhere?!” She giggles at my childlike behaviour, clicking up the handles on her own bags.
“Calm it, will you?” The blonde chuckles to herself, the loose curls around her face bouncing as she strides alongside me. “I’ll tell you everything at dinner… But… We kinda have a surprise first.”

There was noise coming from our dorm, confusing me. The door slowly creaks open, revealing a dark brown haired girl wearing the light green blouse, dark green socks and skirt that make up our uniform. When she looks towards us, I recognise her face instantly. Those eyes, those dark green eyes that I could now actually see in their true colours.
“Mya?! Oh my god!” Her smile widens, her eyes glistening in the morning light. I drop my bags and race to her side.
“Long time, no see, huh, Motley?” Mya giggles. I practically lunge towards her, pulling her into a bone-crushing hug. When I finally let go, she smirks, “Hey? You wanna help me with my science homework? It’s all about how colour reaches the eye. Physics. Fun!”

Alphabet Story/4 Items, 1 Paragraph

Alphabet Story:

This one was a bit harder... I wasn't really able to get a full story, getting stuck when I got to the letter x.
Task:

• Write a story about sitting in the food court of a busy shopping mall. 
• Each word must start with the consecutive letter of the alphabet
• If you run out of letters, go back to the start of the alphabet.

A blur. Chaos, dismay. Exits forgotten, gaps hypothetical. I’ll just kindly leave, my newest opportunity pending. Queues redundant, starting thin, ultimately, visually, widening. 

4 Items, 1 Paragraph:

• Come up with four things:
• A specific source of a light (a flashing neon light reading: "21 and Over", a flickering fluorescent bulb, moonlight filtering through drawn shades)
• A specific object (a pink hairbrush with blonde hair matted in the bristles, a discarded replica of a Dali painting, a baby robin, poking its wobbly head from a rickety nest)
• A sound using onomatopoeia (the pinging of a glass bottle ricocheting across a cobblestone street, the ching of a handful of coins in a man's pocket, the wet splat of phlegm hitting the sidewalk from the old lady smoking near the laundromat)
• A specific place (the dingy alley between Brooks St. and 6th Ave., the empty science classroom filled with glass beakers, hot plates, and frogs floating in formaldehyde, the darkened, smoky interior of Flannigan's Pub)
• Once you create the list, write a one-paragraph story using each of the four items and a single protagonist of your choosing. The story has to briefly introduce the protagonist, put him or her through a struggle (large or mild) and resolve the struggle in one way or another. It's much more fun to write if you keep the list items as random as possible and to put them all together at the end. Don't plan your story prior to creating the list!

My objects:

- The moonlight through tree leaves

- Black ps4 controller
- The splashing of water
- The back of an abandoned school.


Wallowing in own self-pity and fear, I slowly stumble through the maze of wood, fronds, and leaves. Moonlight seeps through the small gaps in the leaves, guiding my path as I make it towards the opening. Oh, right, I'm River. Why I'm in the forest? I couldn't tell you. How I got here? ...I... also... couldn't... tell.... you... Where I'm going? Can you guess? Furrowing my eyebrows in confusion, a large building comes into sight. There's silver wire fencing. You know, I could very easily just go around the fence. Or maybe just turned around and walked away. What did I do instead? I jumped it. I jumped the goddamn fence. Sometimes I wonder what's going on in my head. A lot, probably, I bet it mainly pandemonium, a mélange of trivial knowledge. Like ...that I know that mélange means a medley or a mixture and that pandemonium means utter chaos. The splash of a water droplet hitting me on the head draws me out of my own head, a daydream in the middle of the night. Is it really a daydream then? I haven't fallen asleep, so it's not a normal dream. What? School. It's a school. An abandoned school. That's where I am. Right. You can tell by the numerous broken desks lining the back wall. I... I think I may be stuck? And I think I may have cut myself on that fence. My queries are answered when a sharp pain creeps up my leg. I look around for something to quench the pain. A few desks... A... black ps4 controller? A bunch of other rubbish? I would just go back over the fence but considering it hurts to lift my leg higher than a metre, that may not be the best idea. Wandering around the building, I search for an exit, an escape. Nothing, nada. Except for a small gap near the front of the building... Maybe if I just squeeze- Boom! I'm out! Freedom! Now... How do I get home?

Don’t Think, Just Write

My task:

• There are eight exercises below and each one comprises 
• a simple set of three questions.
• Each one should be answered as quickly as you can.
• Don’t stop and think just start writing and keep going.
• Once you have completed all 8, pick the one that appeals most to you and turn it into a short- one page- story. 

1. Who is coming round the corner?
Brayden

2. What is their secret?
He's only half human

3. What are they carrying?
A remote that controls his physical state

~~~

1. Who has found something at the back of the wardrobe?
Lilly

2. What have they found?
An old music box

3. What will they do next?
find out it's magic

~~~

1. What building can you see Rose leaving?
The library

2. What is she wearing?
black jumper, black heels, red pleated skirt

3. Where is she going?
heading west, in a fluster

~~~

1. Why is Ian finding it difficult to steer the car?
He's tired; he keeps fading in and out of consciousness

2. Where is he going?
into a deep, dark 

3. Who is there?
His family

~~~

1. The view is blocked by?
A large oak tree

2. Whose view is blocked?
A small child named PJ

3. If the view wasn’t blocked what would they see?
A brilliantly vibrant waterfall

~~~

1. Where did the accident happen?
Outside of a schoolyard/campus

2. Who was hurt?
A schoolgirl, Faye.

3. Who helped?
A close-by citizen and the paramedics

~~~

1. Who closes the window?
A teacher

2. Why?
The classroom was getting stuffy

3. How old are they?
Early thirties

~~~

1. Why did Peter lose his temper with Joanna
Joanna was being messy, leaving things around and refused to clean up

2. Where did he go after he stormed out?
His friends' house

3. What happened to him when he got there?
He crashed there for the night.

~~~

Her hair fell around her face in a dark mess as she looks around frantically. I cross my legs under the table from across the street, watching intently as a familiar face stresses. The wind catches her shiny, soft, dark auburn hair, only adding to her layers of stress.

If you hadn’t met Rose, you’d think that she was a nutcase. Or that she’s very well-kept. Or that she had been diagnosed with some form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Or that she was one of those stuck-up rich folks with assistants who do everything for her. Or that- You get the point.

Anyway, you couldn’t be any more wrong. Rose is one of the most stressed, broken, and overworked people I have ever met, top ten at most. She’ll find a way to freak out over anything, - I mean anything - working herself up to the point of falling apart at the seams. I remember one time she freaked out because she was going to be, get this, on time. She doesn’t mean to do it, she tries to get help, she tries to be societies ‘normal,’ she just... can’t. It’s something about her nobody can change. It’s a part of her personality, a perfectionist to the point it overtakes her entire life. Now that I think about it, maybe she has been diagnosed with OCD? I wouldn’t know, we don’t talk that often. I would love to help her but she refuses it, she shuts out anyone who she doesn’t think would meet her over the top, impossible, crazy standards.

Now, here she is, standing outside the public library in her iconic black knitted sweater, dark red pleated skirt, and black stiletto heels, looking as though someone was holding a gun to her head from behind. With her eyes wide and glassed over, her muscles clenched, and her breathing irregular, the sight made my heart sink. As she looks around once more, her eyes catch mine. Before I know it, I can hear the clicking of her heels against the cold ground as she crosses the busy street. Her dark hair flows behind her as she takes long strides towards me, her eyes narrowing in response to the constant honking of passing cars.

“Katelyn? Katelyn, please. You have to help me...”

His Heart Knows Only Virtue, His Blade Defends The Helpless-

Last but not least is symbolism! We were tasked to create another Coggle mindmap of all of the examples of a symbol in the film we could think about. I personally couldn't really think of nor remember many so mine is quite small, sorry. I chose to talk about the old code

The Old Code is important to the storyline as it is something Bowen holds himself to strictly, adding meaning behind why he is so determined to save the kingdom from Einon's rule.

What am I learning?
I am learning to understand how symbols can add meaning to a film.

How does this work show my learning?
It shows I can identify symbols in films as well as their meanings.

What am I wondering as a result of this learning?
What are any other symbols in this movie I didn't think of?

But That's Just A Theory. A ̶G̶a̶m̶e̶ Theme Theory!

The next step is 'themes'! All films have a theme, whether it be justice, vengeance, discovering fate or innocence. I was tasked to take the themes of Dragonheart and make a mind map with examples from the film. 
I used two of the three themes suggested for this film as I didn't think I had enough examples for one



What am I learning?
How to analyse the themes of a film

How does this work show my learning?
This work shows my learning by demonstrating I understand how to identify themes in a film.

What am I wondering?
Are there any examples I missed? Are there any themes I didn't think about?

Character Development Based Writers Workshop

On Monday the 29th of October, a few of my friends, along with a group of 19 (including me and said friends) year 7 to 10s, and I got the opportunity to attend a two-hour workshop right in our own learning commons, run by the New Zealand author, Bill Nageikerke.

We first began with talking about the basics of a character, such as what characters are, and the difference between stereotypes (they way we expect characters to be) and archetypes (moulds of original things). We then went on to talk about key qualities. Such as qualities we believed to see in the different stereotypes and archetypes. A little bit of advice Bill gave up was to switch up characteristics from expectations, giving characters something unique. 

Thank you to Mrs Richardson for making a digital photo of these

The next topic to be brought up was story patterns. Bill talked to us about the three main types of story patterns, using helpful diagrams to further explain. The first of the three diagrams is the romantic/partner/codependent based pattern, this is where two characters meet and face obstacles together. Bill used Romeo and Juliet as an example and you could practically see my ears perk up. The next is the stranger in a close circle pattern, this is where a foreign person or object is placed in a foreign environment to see what happens. The final is the hero/quest pattern, this one is where a hero/es sets out on a quest and faces obstacles along the way.

Excuse my horrible handwriting, they do say
people with messy handwriting are more
creative ;)

(A few of my notes from that section, if

you'd like to try and figure out what

<-- they actually say)

Afterwards, he talked to us about things such as writing in isolation, as most authors do, before sending us off on our own to complete a short, 5 minute, writing task. The task was to choose a few key qualities about ourselves, about two or three, then write a paragraph or so where you are putting a character into a situation where these qualities are being contradicted, creating tension. For example, I chose the following qualities about myself: Codependent, scared/anxious easily, socially awkward/introverted. I somehow managed to lean towards my more... negative qualities for some odd reason. With this information in mind, I managed to create a short paragraph about a character who ends up being trapped, alone, in an unfamiliar place. 

"Where the hell am I? Have I been here before? How did I get here? Who are these people? Stuck in a sea of unfamiliar faces, no exit in sight. I still need to figure out where I am, for crying out loud! I can feel anxiety bubbling in my chest as I wander these strange streets."

With this paragraph written, we were then tasked to describe said character with one of the following; a t-shirt slogan (which I opted not to do), a headstone sentence, or a few words. I went with the last two, ending up with overthinker, quiet, background, introvert, daydreamer, dork and We always knew she'd rather be in the clouds. I'll be honest, I did not expect the headstone to be as dark as it was...

Hey, look, some actually decent handwriting

After a short break, we were back and revving to go. I will say, during this break, I took the time to take the tight description activity and apply it to a few of my own characters (as seen above). Anyway, back on topic, we then began the topic of writing is creating an illusion, and creating a character is not creating an actual human being but creating an illusion of one. From there we went onto significant objects and how most people have an object that is... well... significant to them. This brings us to our third (and final) task. In pairs, we were each given a card with an item on the front and questions on the back. Our task was to answer the questions using the item and a made up character. Jessica and I got a saddle.
The following is what I wrote:

More terrible handwriting that even I can barely read, yay!

Who is your main character?
Brooke (I have no idea what that says, jeez, my handwriting is that bad...)

Where does it (the story) take place
Rural village

What does your main character have to do with the object?
She's a horse rider from birth, it's one of the things that calms her down/doesn't freak her the f**k out

Who else comes in contact with the object? A rival/antagonist

Finally, Bill went through different writing tips, such as putting a character through a change to keep the readers interested (character development), choosing names with purpose (thematic, names with meaning etc.), the voice the story is written in (First person for a personal feel, third for a more distant approach), the tense it's written in (past, present, future), have empathy with your characters (Believe in them, make sure people like them), having chain reactions in your story (things that happen because of other things, moving the plot), showing rather than telling (show the person, through writing, what a situation is like rather than tell them), and getting rid of any padding in a story (Making sure everything in your story is actually needed to advance the plot, if it isn't, scrap it).

And that brings us to the end of the workshop. It was an amazing experience with a lot of useful information. Though we did have a few activities that I thoroughly enjoyed, I wish it was a little more hands-on in a more writing kind of way. I'd like to quickly thank Bill Nageikerke for coming down to Hornby High and taking time to teach us a few things! I hope you take something from this post, even if it wasn't much!

You Can Tell A Lot About Someone's Character...

Next up are the characters! What's a film without characters? They're one of the backbones of a movie, without them, what is the film even about?

Before I show you my resume thing, I had to create a list of good characters and a list of bad characters.

Next is a character resume! I chose to do one on Kara

What am I learning?
How to understand how characters are developed in film.

How does this work show my learning?
This work shows my learning by showing I understand certain characteristics behind characters that make up the character.

What am I wondering as a result of this learning?
How long did it take the producers and co to come up with each character? Why did they choose the names they did?

And The Plot Thickens!

Next up is analysing the story plots. For this, I took up the challenge of creating a Freytag Pyramid about the plot of Dragonheart.

What am I learning?

I am learning to understand how plots run in films

How does this work show my learning?

This work shows my learning by showing the reader I understand how to identify the Exposition, Complication/Challenge, Rising Action, Falling Action, Climax, Resolution, and the Denouement of a film.

What am I wondering as a result of this learning?

How long does it take script writers to develop a plot?

A Film is Nothing Without Setting The Scene

This is my (short) research thing on 10th century England. Sorry it's not very detailed but I couldn't really find much relevant information

What am I learning?
I am learning the importance of setting in films.

How does this work show my learning?
It shows I understand how the setting of a film affects the story

What am I wondering as a result of this learning?
Is there any information I missed out/forgot to add?

Take A Screenshot. It'll Last Longer.

Okay, now that we know the different camera techniques, what's the purpose of them? We were tasked to choose 4 screenshots from the film and write one SEXXXY paragraph for each of them using this guideline.


Close ups are used both frequently and effective throughout Dragonheart. This is demonstrated at the beginning of the film when Bowen has caught Einon by the throat with his sword outside of the castle. This scene shows the current relationship between the two characters, a teacher and his student. We can interpret that this was done to introduce us to these characters, who end up being apart of the main story, and their backgrounds together. When combined with an appropriate use of a close up, joking dialogue between the pair, joyful music, and later scenes where one or the other betrays or goes against the other, the audience can begin to get a good sense of betrayal and feeling between these two characters who were seemingly good acquaintances throughout the film.

Appearing quite routinely in film, medium shots are decently common and methodical camera shot in Dragonheart. For instance, after Einon almost had a man’s eyes burnt out, Bowen comes in, frees the man and pins him to the ground and borderline lecturing him, resulting in a close up of Bowen staring almost threateningly into Einon’s eyes. Bowen talks about how no man nor woman is above the ‘Old Code,’ especially the king, rejoicing against Einon’s snarky comment of “The king is above the code!” The scene, paired with dramatic music, switching shots, and great use of dialogue, shows us, as the audience, how much Bowen truly cares about Einon, the code, and his reign as king. Bowen tends to come across as a father figure for Einon in this scene, further strengthening our understanding of their relationship. This concept pairs well with later scenes, bringing out the strength in the feeling of betrayal later in the film.

Close-ups, used frequently in Dragonheart and many other films, are an efficient way to show the emotion of a character in any given scene, whether it be an upsetting or happy moment. An example of this would be a scene at the end of Dragonheart. In this scene, both Einon and Draco have died and Bowen is watching as Draco’s soul becomes a constellation in the night sky. The look on his face is content, perhaps even prideful, truly showing the audience the strong that had formed between Draco and Bowen through the film. This was done to give the film a strong, happy ending, showing us that good has one once again. When combined with a great use of close-ups, serene yet somewhat dramatic music, and little to none dialogue, the scene really draws us in and gives us that full feeling the ending of a film should give you, leaving us as the viewer feeling content ourselves. This reminds me a lot of other films where the endings are similar, ones that leave the viewer wanting more but not so much it ruins the ending.

Throughout Dragonheart, close-ups
are used fairly efficiently.  An example of this is following the act of an older King Einon relentlessly shoots Kara’s father in the chest with an arrow, we watch as Kara says her final goodbyes. The audience is made to feel some sort of sympathy towards Kara,  and a newfound irritation, in some cases, hatred, towards Einon as we watch him turn from this innocent boy who swore to never become like his father to this “king” with a bloodlust instead of empathy. This scene is used to show us how truly corrupt and merciless Einon has become and begins to introduce us to Kara’s feelings towards her new king. When paired with dramatic and saddening music and a great use of a closeup, the scene becomes even more of a feel trip, though we currently barely know the characters. This aspect can be contrasted to an earlier scene between Einon and his father, where when his father dies, he cares more about the crown than his father himself while Kara obviously cares more about her father than the king.

What am I learning?
I am learning to understand the purpose of different camera techniques in film.

How does this work show my learning?
This work shows my learning by showing that I can understand purposes through how I write about them

What am I wondering
How could I improve my paragraphs? Did I misread a scene? Do people see these scenes in a different way than I do?

To Glorify Or To Condemn - Romeo And Juliet vs Suicide

Okay, Okay. I know a lot of people have different opinions on this but I wanted to share my own opinion, a rebuttal of sorts to two other opinions, and a conclusion of ones that I've found online. Now, this is a very controversial conversation to have; Does Romeo and Juliet Glorify Suicide?! Especially nowadays where suicide is such a sensitive topic to talk about. I'm going to give a go anyway. And before anyone says something like, "What does this year 9 student know about suicide and Shakespeare?" do not underestimate someone's knowledge because of their age, they may know a little bit more than you'd think.

To begin, let's summarise the story of Romeo and Juliet. Two young teenagers, Romeo (Age somewhat unknown, though he is not much older than Juliet, probably anywhere between 14 to 16?) and Juliet, (Age 13. Yes. Juliet is 13 throughout the story.) as well as the rest of the city of Verona, are living in the middle of a feud between their families, (the Montague and Capulet families.) While Juliet is involved in an arranged marriage, Romeo falls in love with another girl, Rosaline, who does not share his feelings. The Capulet family holds a feast, in which Romeo only attends, or rather, sneaks in, because he sees Rosaline's name on the invite list. At the feast, Romeo and Juliet share their first encounter, where they each experience a strange attraction to each other. They kiss, without knowing who the other is. 

A lot of other stuff goes down, Juliet regrets her arranged marriage and tries to get out of it by pretending to be dead, using a potion of sorts that would render her lifeless for a short amount of time. Romeo only finds out that she is dead and decides that he can not live without her. He buys a vial of poison and heads to her grave where he finds Paris (The guy Juliet was meant to marry) scattering flowers. They fight to the death, in which Romeo wins, killing Paris. Romeo enters Juliet's tomb and sees her "dead" body. He then drinks the poison he bought and dies at her side. Soon, Juliet wakes up and sees Romeo's actually dead body. She figures out he used poison and kisses him in the hopes the poison left on his lips would kill her. When this does not succeed, she proceeds to stab herself in the heart with a dagger.

Okay, now that we know the basic layout of the story, let's weigh out our opinions/choices. Explaining how it condemns suicide is a little trickier and I couldn't find any opinions with information to back them up, so you'll just have to work with me here a little.

To begin, we have the glorified point of view. On this side of the story, people believe the story makes suicide a romantic notion. One that can be taken if it is for the sake of love. People can see this act as one that says, Romeo and Juliet are so in love that when one sees the other dead they can not bear to live without them, therefore they take their own life. This can be seen by some as a last resort, desperate act of love. While this was my thought when first reading and hearing this story, it isn't exactly the... whole picture. To be fair, how the story is focused does certainly encourage this to be the first thought, especially if you bring the movie adaption into it. 

On the other hand, this isn't really how the story was written. Romeo and Juliet is officially a tragedy, not a full-blown love story. Some see Romeo and Juliet as two star-crossed lovers who come to a tragic yet romance-filled end while others see them as two depressed teens with no other way out. I mean, come on, they're both caught in the midsts of a family "war" and Juliet is forced into an arranged marriage at the age of 13... I have read and seen some people say that Shakespeare, in saying this story is a tragedy, was trying to get across the idea of how upsetting the loss of two lives are rather than idolizing their deaths.

In my opinion, it does neither, condemn nor glorify. I believe it puts the action out as a choice that can be taken rather than one that should or shouldn't be. I believe the way people view suicide on it's own can and will affect their views on the story. To clarify, I'm not completely educated on the full subject, so everything here is my opinion and how I've built an understanding 

Don't be afraid to share your opinion or correct me if I've been misinformed! I'd love to hear your opinion and I'm always open to constructive criticism! Remember to respect other people's opinions, though. Not everyone sees things the same way as you do!

Sources/Opinions used throughout this post are - 
Mental Health America
Every Road is an Option
Yahoo Answers
Sparknotes