Grade: A
To kick off Video Production II, I took NYFA’s filmmaking camp. It was super fun and I learned a lot. This wasn’t my first time with NYFA; I took an acting class that was also really high-quality. I’m looking forward to taking more NYFA classes in the future. Even with COVID-19, it was a great experience even though it was done virtually.
After completing NYFA, I had an excellent foundation of knowledge to use the lessons I learned from it to create a total of 21 new vlogs over the course of the semester. This includes an in-depth series dedicated to homeschooling. I expanded my knowledge of graphic design with Canva and Werble. I learned more about how to use iMovie to create vlogs. Perhaps the most unexpected lesson I learned in this course was how to do animation. I taught myself using Canva and can now do basic animations that spice up my videos.
Also, I made a documentary entitled Plastic Crisis: Our Oceans in Peril addressing the problems of plastic pollution. I will use my documentary for my capstone project. I conducted three interviews for this documentary with Bonnie Monteleone, Executive Director of Plastic Ocean Project, Inc.; David Pinsky, Senior Plastics Campaigner of Greenpeace USA; and Amanda Walters, Community Education Programs Manager of Pacific Marine Mammal Center. I worked extremely hard on it and learned more about making graphics, creating a script, filming and storyboarding. I have entered it in several student film contests and festivals and hope to hear positive news by the end of the school year.
Hands down, this was my favorite course for my 12th grade year. NYFA’s filmmaking class was a great starting point, and the self-directed learning I did over the course of the semester resulted in some films I’m extremely proud of.
Nix The Norm 