Film Essay

Taya, a Filipino short film about a boy learning to play traditional Filipino games with his new friends. 

The film was made to show how the traditional Filipino games were connected to their reality. The producers of the short film showed us that these games, that many Filipino kids used to play, reflected our harsh reality. The two brilliant producers of this short film used, Dialogue, Steadicam shot, Cross-cutting and a Close up shot to show the meaning of the film. 

The use of Dialogue was used logically in this brief film. Their use of words and how they easily explained how the traditional Filipino games ties in with the kids’ reality were cleverly established. 

This is demonstrated at the beginning of the film where they foreshadowed that the short film was not going to be a lighthearted movie about a kids life. The used of Dialogue help me understood that there was going to be a deeper meaning to the film.  

The director did this to show us that words and how they are used can have a big impact on the film. 

This worked well with the film aspect, foreshadowing since they were able to hint about something happening. This technique can be juxtaposed with the foreshadowing of Tony Stark (Iron Man) dying. Since his death was foreshadowed before he even fought Thanos.

Another film aspect that was used in this film was a Steadicam shot. The use of this film aspect was smoothly placed. A Steadicam shot was used when the new kid and his group of friends ran out of their house. This shows the audience that the kids are carefree and don’t know much of what’s happening around their country. The purpose of this was to show that the kids are having a fun time being free and doing what they want to do with their friends.

The director did this to show how freedom felt like with these kids. Coinciding with this shot was the music that was used. The music that was used further foreshadowed that the short film was not gonna be a joyful kids film. This aspect can be compared to the shot where the kids were running away from the zombies, making the chase scene more intense.

Additionally, the film aspect of Cross-cutting was also used in this film. Cross-cutting was used to relate how the traditional Filipino games were almost identical to the bad circumstances occurring around them. This helped me realize that the actions that they are doing in the games they played, correlates to the stuff that protestors are doing. The purpose of this was to show that some situations can be similar to other situations. The director intelligently did this by showing the games, the kids are playing then Cross-cutting to protestors throwing rocks at the police. This worked well with the music in the background. It added the effect that what was happening in our society is very saddening and we had to resort to violence. This can be compared to the last scene where the camera cuts to the kids’ feet to show they were all running and were doing the same action at once.

The last film aspect that was utilised was a Close up shot. For example, they used this type of shot when the zombies, which was the kid’s imagination, were trying to break into the house. This makes the audience feel more frightened and grossed out at the zombies. The director did this to make the scene, even more, scarier than what it already is. Coinciding with this shot was a piece of intense music going on in the background. This shot can be compared to when the scene came up of the kids getting near the camera to show their interest using facial expressions.

The two producers of this film did an outstanding job producing the short Filipino film ‘Taya’. With the use of Dialogue, Steadicam, Cross-cutting and Close up shot, they made a wonderful film that showed how similar the games were to reality.

Creative Writing

5th of November 2019
WALT: Identify and recognise ideas for our 'Risk or Challenge' creative writing task, as well as the physical sensation associated with it.

Ideas for R or  C
- Camp activities (The 2 wire, solo, the swamp, blindfolded)
- Doing a shoey
- Sports (Competition, trials, tournament etc)
- Project K (Rock climbing, hiking)
- An abandoned house
- Being in the army
- Getting chased

Physical Sensations
- Sweat (Whole body, palms, feet, back, forehead, armpits, backside, nosed, lips, back of knees)
- Knees weak/shake
- Need to wee
- Heavy breathing
- Looking around a lot
- Walking back and forth
- Leg bounce/shaking
- Pins and needles
- Heart pounding/racing/bursting
- Butterflies in the stomach - blood drop - fluttering


We have finally arrived at our destination. My group and I have been walking for a few minutes to get to a small swamp as the camp councillor would say. It was more like a small lake or a pond to me, the area was surrounded by grass on one side and thick trees and bushes on the other. The chilly wind flew past my face freezing it. A few birds chirped by as they flew overhead us and a few grey clouds blocked the sun. We set our bags on the ground and we were given a simple task by our camp instructor.



That’s it. We were done for. One of the planks we used to cross the swamp has fallen off the pole and into the water. It was just a simple task to improve our teamwork capability. Get to the other side of the swamp with only two planks. ‘Dang, it’ I thought, I did not want to fall into the murky swamp water. The air was freezing cold that morning and the water was even worse. We were forced to squish in one of the planks, packed in one place like a can of sardines. I was placed on the edge of the plank, left foot hanging off of it barely touching the water.


It was bad enough that the cold wind was freezing my entire feet up but after a few minutes of standing on one foot, my whole leg was starting to shake. I couldn’t move my foot to get it in a more comfortable spot because in doing so I might move the plank. I heard the plank creak and thought that it was about to break and I felt really relieved that I was standing on one of the poles.


After a few seconds of looking like headless chickens, one of our group members finally came up with a good idea. Use the stick that he found on the way to the swamp. After a few tries and an attempt that gave me quite a fright. One of my group members finally succeeded and got the plank back.


After getting the plank back it was only the matter of succeeding to place the piece of wood in one the pole and getting to the other side. ‘Place it slowly and carefully’ a female group member said. A few seconds of lifting the plank up and setting it down we finally succeeded in getting the plank on the pole and were able to make it to the other side. A feeling of relief overtook me as my foot was placed onto the grass and I could hear some of my group members shout out in success.


After successfully making it to the other side our camp instructor told us to get the two plank to him. “You guys can walk around so you don’t have to cross the swamp but if you want you can,” he said. I sighed and picked up one of the planks and stepped into the water.

Movies and Books

Movies are better than books

Do you agree? Disagree? Or have points for both?

Plan

- Movies leave stuff out of the book

- Books give us a better understading of the story.

- Movies are more visually satisfying to watch

- Books gets you to use your imagination

- Books can be read whenever you want

- You don't have to read while watching

_________________________________________________________________________________

Books and movies are both great storytellers. They show us a whole new different world from what we have and it gets us engrossed in their stories. People would argue that movies are unquestionably better than books because it is more visually satisfying to watch but the two subjects have their own good points. For example, movies leave stuff out of the book and book gives us a better understanding of the story.

Movies are more visually satisfying to watch while books get us to use our imagination.

Movies such as the Harry Potter series, has scenes left out or characters removed and even characters personality changed. Sometimes movies are not able to explain the story as good as books. As I said before the Harry Potter book series has some of the characters left out of movies and some characters personality changed. 

 Ginny, Ron Weasley's younger sister, has her character changed a lot. In the movie, you kinda see her as a shy little girl but later on, she gets a little bit of confidence. They could have done a whole lot more with Ginny's character because compared to the book she is actually very capable and is able to handle herself.

Books are less convenient than movies. While watching a film you can basically do whatever you want. Movies are just more comfortable than reading a book and I get why people love watching a movie rather than reading a book. 

 You can eat or drink while watching movies but you can also do that while reading a book but it is slightly harder to do than sitting down and only have a bucket of popcorn in your hand.

 

Team Sports - Persuasive Writing - English

 Team sports are better than individual sports.

Which side I am in: For - Against -  Both 

Plan

- Team sports are more fun 

- It makes the game more competitive

- It tests your ability to work as a group

-Make friends and support each other

-Train with other people 

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We can all agree that sports are much better if you're playing it with other people. The games that you play as a team like basketball is more fun. Also playing as a team makes the game more competitive and it tests your ability to work as a group.

Team sports like basketball, soccer, volleyball and many more is fun to watch or play. Unlike golf or tennis, watching the game is just so bland and boring. While many may disagree with me on that one, team sports are just leagues better. Watching the athletes work together, trying to beat the other team is just so exhilarating. Watching the players performing tricks in the court or them catching a ball from a yard away is just fun to watch.

The other point that makes team sports better than individual sports is that as a team there are many people playing. Watching them play and work together so well just shows us that they trained very hard to play that well. That's not to say that individual sports athletes don't work hard but as a team, it definitely makes the sport harder to execute. Making the sport more competitive is more entertaining to watch than to see two dudes or girls try and get the ball in a hole with a stick.

Sports are much better played with friends. It makes the game less of a competition and see it as a fun game to play.  

Volcano Project

Pick a well-known volcano in the world. where is it, what is its name, is it extinct, dormant or active?

Mount Mayon - Philippines - Active

What type of volcano is it? How are these types formed, include a diagram of what they look like?

Strato Volcano. Stratovolcanoes formed through explosive eruptions depositing materials near a central vent.
 

What are the types of rock formation around this volcano?

Igneous Rocks is formed around there like the rhyolite rock.
 

Plan your model. What are you going to make it out of, how will you make it erupt, what landscape will you paint it? 

We will put a bottle in the middle and wrap it in flour and use water to harden it. We will shape it like a stratovolcano. We will make it erupt using elephant's toothpaste. We will need hydrogen peroxide and potassium permanganate and also dish soap.

Build it! Record it erupting and share.

 

The South Island is better than The North Island (English Essay)

Is The South Island better than The North Island?

Which side I am in: For - Against -  Both 

Plan

- Some houses in the North Island cost more.

- More opportunities in the North Island.

- North Island roads are better organised.

- Cheaper houses in the south. 

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Is The South Island of New Zealand better than the North Island? I think that both of the islands have their own good qualities and it honestly just depends on peoples opinions. Peoples lifestyle can affect their opinion on what they think the better place to live in is. If someone was rich they would choose to live in the North Island because there are better opportunities there. Although that is not to say that the South Island isn't as great. 

As I said before peoples lifestyle affects the way they think and live their life. Also, if a person wants to achieve something (maybe they have a dream of opening a shop) it also comes into play. There are many variables on what a person may consider.  If the person had the money to start a small business, of course, they would start somewhere where they can be financially stable first before they move into the big leagues. 

 There are areas in the South Island which are cheaper than the North Island where they can set up a small shop/restaurant. Although if you were to start a bigger business (like a company) you could start it in the North Island. There are many talented people in the North Island looking for work and chances they can grab.

South Island has a much cheaper price on houses. 

Details! Details! Details!

Exercise 1

From each set of words in brackets choose the one word or phrase which most effectively conveys the heat of the scene being pictured:
Beneath the glaring (bright / hot / glaring / frowning) sun the land was brown. Wisp (Leaves / Wisps /  Blades / Pieces) of grass, dried (shrunk / dried / shortened / shrivelled) by the hot (fierce / hot / direct / shining) rays, clung to the crumbling, scorched soil. Even to move was an effort. The slightest motion was enough to cause a sweat, but even perspiration was seared (burned / taken / forced / seared) away almost instantly (straight away / directly / instantly) by the intense (great / merciless / strong / intense) heat.

Exercise 2

Some words have been left out in the following sentences. From each group in brackets, choose the word or phrase that most effectively suggests the idea of noise.
1 Thunder boomed (rang, banged, boomed) off the mountains. The howling (yelping, howling, weeping) of the wind as it flew (blasted, flew, zoomed) through the narrow valleys was almost drowned out by the drumming (beating, drumming, tapping) of huge raindrops on the rocky ground.

2 The clatter (clunk, click, clatter, tinkle) of broken glass woke him. He listened intently and heard the slight creak  (creak, grating, screech) of a hinge as a door slowly opened. There was the faintest tapping (tapping, scrape, crunch) of a shoe on the wooden floor of the hall.

She was startled at first by the harsh cry (cry, squawk, yelp) of a sea gull. The distant murmur (murmur, rumble, clatter) of the sea and the sigh (moan, howl, sigh) of the gentle breeze through the palms lulled her.

Exercise 3

From each set of words in brackets choose the one word or phrase which most effectively conveys the scene being pictured:
Bright lights radiated (radiated/glowed/twinkled/flashed) merrily (merrily / mirthfully / laughingly / amusingly) through the evening darkness. The steady glow (brightness / glow / flickering) of the larger lights was reinforced by the sparkle of an array of grinning (happy / grinning / cheerful) smaller ones chasing (going after / chasing / running behind) each other in a lively, never-ending race. The hum (roar / bellow / hum / whir) of conversation, the clink (clink / crack / clank / clunk) of glasses, and the aroma (stench / odour / whiff / aroma) of steaming food all drifted (rode / drifted / blew / clattered) enticingly across the still night air.

Exercise 4

Here is a short descriptive passage. From each group in brackets, choose the word or phrase that most effectively fills each gap. Bear in mind the impression the writer is trying to give.
The face, in the brief instant when the lightning flashed (flashed, shone, glowed), was like some badly-done (badly-done, ugly, hideous) carving. The forehead was topped with a tangle (tangle, mass, clump) of hair which gleamed (glared, glittered, gleamed) in the light. The lower part of the face was veiled (covered, masked, veiled) by a/an wild(wild, untidy, messy) bush  (clump, bush, cluster) of wiry beard. The eyes, deep-set under thick brows, sparkled (twinkled, glittered, sparkled) evilly as they caught the light. Mark’s heart trashed (pounded, beat, thrashed) in fear at the sight. Lightning flickered (fluttered, lit up, flickered) again.

History (Persuasive Writing)

Older houses should be demolished and replaced with a more energy-efficient building.

Which side I'm on: For / Against

Planning

For 

- More suited to our ever-changing environment.

- We already have museums and history books to show us what the houses were like.

Against

- We could be missing our part of our history.

-

Organise

- We already have museums and history books to show us what the houses were like.

- We could be missing our part of our history but taking these risk could led us to a better future.

- More suited to our ever-changing environment.

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For the most part of our history, houses have been really important to us. Without buildings, we would not have shelter from the cold wind outside, without houses there would be nothing to keep us getting wet from the rain.

But throughout the years we have advanced on our technology, we are able to build energy-efficient houses now. Although the older houses are still standing today, I think they should be taken down to build better houses.

We already have museums and history books to tell us how those houses were made and what they were like. Sure we could lose part of our history by taking these house down but the new homes are more suited to our environments.

Our journey from the past to today have been recorded through books and museums, and until recently we have been able to record it through the internet because of the internet.

We don't need older houses to learn more about what it was like and how people lived in the past. 

Museums have little buildings to show what buildings were like back in the day, books tell us how it was like back in the days. We are a growing society and I think the extra space we have by demolishing the older building could help us.

Why should we take down these older houses? Well, I know that we could lose a part of our history by taking down these older home but taking these risk could lead us to a better future. People of the past have taken a risk to advanced our species. Without these risks, we probably would not have the stuff we have today. We already our history recorded in museums and history books so it is unlikely we would forget our history.

These newer houses are more suited to our environment. If you think about it buildings, houses and all kind of structures, have been designed to prevent it from getting destroyed. We have designed buildings that can withstand an earthquake. We have made houses that prevents cold air from getting in.

These new houses are really helpful for our community. It decreases the chances of rebuilding broken homes and it also decreases that chances of people getting hurt.

So I think we should demolish the older buildings and replaced them with new ones because our history has already been recorded in museums and history books, they could lead us to a better future and it is more suited to the environment.

Egg Drop

I made my design by using cardboard, newspaper and a type of foam. I made a box using cardboards to keep things together. I also used the newspaper and a type of foam to cushion the egg from inside.

I also used plastic to make a parachute but it didn't work properly so I took it out.

Special FXs

Revision exercises

Exercise 1

Complete these sentences with examples of personification to make them interesting for readers. 

1. The waves felt dreary.
2. Clouds felt heavy.  
3. The train was angrily moving.
4. Fear - Can't think of anything for fear.
5. The bulldozer was energetic.
6. Bells  - Can't think anything for bells.

Exercise 2

Come up with a sound affect word for each of these

eg a racquet hitting a tennis ball = pock

1 an arrow hitting a target = thunk

2 cold water hitting a hot piece of metal = shh shh

3 a startled noise made by a bird. = twit twit

4 the sound made by an unhappy puppy = ngruueeh ngruueeh

5 a piece of paper being screwed up = shrrr

6 a juicy, ripe tomato hitting the floor after being dropped = splat

7 big waves hitting rocks = sloshed

8 tyres on a wet road = shpshpshp - hiss sound

Exercise 3

Sports reports often use alliteration in their headlines for impact. 

Write five sports headlines for a newspaper. Use alliteration to give an impact.

Sport	Headline
Rugby	The rugby player tackled, tripped and threw the ball.
Hockey	The ball slid, slammed and sprang back from the wall.
Soccer	The soccer player slid and smashed the ball.
Golf	The golfer watched while waiting for his turn.

Astronomy in Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egyptian Astronomy was very sacred to the Ancient Egyptians. The pyramids were built to be in the same position as some of the stars. They knew when the annual flood would occur because they could see the brightest star, Sirius, rose before the sun. Because of this, throughout the decades, we were able to use the stars to point us to directions. For example, people use the north star to point them to directions. In today's time, we are able to locate different stars from very far away using the technologies we have built. One of the technologies we have today can sense star changing, exploding and many other things by sensing the vibrations it sends back to the technology they use.

Natural Environmental (Plants and Animals) (Persuasive Writing) (National Parks)

National Parks are taking up valuable real estate and should be cleared for development.

Which side I'm in: For/Against

For

- Growing population.

- The business makes more money.

Against

- It should stay cause it's as valuable as real estate.

- All those hard work of keeping national parks good is destroyed.

-  It's very important that we have plants for our environment.

Organizing Ideas

- Growing population. / It should stay cause it's as valuable as real estate.

-  All those hard work of keeping national parks good is destroyed.

-  The business makes more money. / It's very important that we have plants for our environment.

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National Parks should not be cleared out just to make space for real estate. Clearing these parks out could further ruin our environment. We shouldn't destroy them because they are just as valuable as real estates. Also, there were people who have been before born some of us that have been cultivating these lands, all there hard work will be all for nothing if we destroy these parks. Plants are also an important part of our environment, we need them now more than ever and if we were to cut down more who knows what will happen.

We can't deny the fact that we need more space to build more buildings because of our growing population, but we also can't deny the fact that nature is also very important to us. We need nature as a whole, without trees, we would not have oxygen to breathe in, without animals we would not have food to eat. The environment is just as valuable to us, as buildings and pieces of equipment are. Taking down national parks would ruin our environment even more. 

(Second Body Paragraph.) (W.I.P)

Business who are part of real estate companies would probably agree to the idea. There is no denying that money means a lot at this point in time. Without them, we would not be able to live properly. Plants play a very huge rule in keeping our planet clean.

Season Semiles

Spring looks like blossoms.

Spring tastes like fruit.

Spring smells like daffodils.

Spring feels like warm sun.

Spring sounds like birds chirping.

Summer looks like volleyball at the beach.

Summer tastes like ice cream.

Summer smells like barbeque.

Summer feels like gentle breeze under the warm sun.

Summer sounds like kids playing outside.

Autumn looks like leaves falling.

Autumn tastes like hot pies.

Autumn smells like crisp air

Autumn feels like chilly air

Autumn sounds like dried leaves crunching

Winter looks like foggy air

Winter tastes like hot chocolate

Winter smells like

Winter feels like wrapping up in warms sweaters/jackets.

Winter sounds like quite evenings.

Old Stone Age and New Stone Age

Palaeolithic 

• Paleo - Old.
• Lith - Stone.
• Palaeolithic means the Old Stone Age.
• Palaeolithic Huts - Caves Mud and Animal Skin.
• Paleolithic Tools - Chipped Stone - Wood Weapons.
• Food - Hunters and Gatherers - Meat, Fish and Berries- Store only what they can carry.
• Discoveries - Fire - Rough Stone Tools.

Palaeolithic is all about the old stone age which is a caveman time. They made houses out of cave muds and animal skin. They used tools like chipped stones and wood weapons, they made it by banging two stones together. They also ate raw meat and fishes and they picked out berries from bushes.

Neolithic 

• Neo - New.
• Lith - Stone.
• Neolithic means the New Stone Age.
• Neolithic Huts - Mudbrick with Timber.
• Neolithic Tools - Polished Stone - Shard Tools from Grinding.
• Food - Grew crops like Corn, Wheat and Beans - Could store extra food.
• Discoveries - Agriculture (Farming) - Polished Tools.

Neolithic is all about the New Stone Age. New discoveries being discovered to help people from that era live better. They discovered farming which helped them out a lot. They made houses out of mudbricks and timber to make it more sturdy. These tools got upgraded and they found new ways to make it better. The food they ate was from the crops they grew and also the meat they hunted.