Hockney Style Joiners

O-O-O-K-K-K, So, our next project is a photomontage. Just like the person that invented it, David Hockney, we are piecing together lots of photos into one image. However, there are a few differences. Our photomontage photos are edited, but instead of making it surreal like David Hockney's photomontages, ours are edited to just enhance them a little. I mean, if you look at Hockney's works, they look like paintings! Ours just looks like our subject, pieced together a little abstractly. So, same idea, totally different finished products.

School Photomontage

I don't know if you know this, *Puts on tinfoil hat* but there are some serious subliminal messages in photos. If you look at a photo, it can convey a mood. For example, some photos can make you feel sad, happy, excited, confused, and more. They can do this through lighting and composition techniques, not to mention the subject itself. For example, for a sad mood, there can be a sightly blue tint as it rains and a woman runs away. (Perhaps a bit dramatic, but you get the gist.) For happy, there could be a bright, colorful picture of a little kid's birthday party. For a trapped feeling, there could be a black and white photo of someone yelling while shaking thick metal bars. (Once again, a bit dramatic.) Just thinking about these types of images can give you the "Feels". *Takes off tinfoil hat* (No idea why I was wearing that.) Anyway, the main point is that skilled photographers can make you feel something just by looking at their photos, and we've also been learning how to do that.

Cupcakes are my Final Photomontage!

So. This is it. The final photomontage. *Engage epic music* The subject of this photomontage is... *Drumroll please* Something about us! Yeah, the final photomontage is supposed to represent something about us. So, you may be wondering, seeing the cupcakes over there, "How does this represent HIM?" And I have the answer to that question. First thing, I love to bake. It's one of my favorite hobbies, and I do it very often. Don't believe me? In our kitchen, I have my very own large drawer that is devoted entirely to sugar and flour. The more implicit, but still kinda obvious message both applies to me, and to other people in a different way. Basically, for me, it symbolizes how I'm pretty different from other people. I may try to fit in, but it's impossible. Relating to other people, it is a message that says "Stand Out!" "Be yourself!" etc. You know, motivational mumbo jumbo, blah blah blah.

You can stop the epic music now...
-Linden 

  BILLIE

2016 Aspirations

It's a baby tree.

Ok, new year, so new resolutions. (Resolutions,  goals, whatever.) Here are 5 goals for 2016 that I have: 1. bake two things I have never baked before, (This may be challenging, because I have baked a LOT of things...) Another is to make a pretty good project for this year's science fair. I also want to do really well while making my mom's wedding cake. (I volunteered to do it. I love to bake! :) ) My fourth goal is to travel more, as I have only been to 3 states in the U.S. only... (I may not reach this goal, because I have no plans to travel to other places, but anything can happen.) My final goal is to continue to get straight A's for the rest of 3rd and 4th quarters. This is probably the most important goal, right up there with doing well in 8th grade.

So, I want to do well in 7th grade, and this is very important. (Now this chain

It's a small flower.

may be over-exaggerated, so don't judge it too harshly, but...) If I don't do well in 7th grade, I won't be ready for 8th grade. If i'm not ready for 8th grade, I'll fall behind. If I fall behind, I won't be ready for high school! If that happens, I won't be ready to go through each of the high school years in turn, leading to not being able to go to collage, AND MY WHOLE LIFE WILL BE RUINNEEDDDDDDD!!!!! (Told you. I over-exaggerated...) Anyway, I believe it's important to get good grades in school, so you can be whatever you want. (I may not have the best goals, but whatever.)

God reaches down to shine light on-
just kidding. It's the cloudy sky.

Ok. So, I think, to achieve this absurd goal, (Not very absurd, but whatever.) I will have to do all assignments to the best of my ability, listen in class, self directed learner, blah blah blah, etc. Seriously though, I'm really bad at getting homework done on time, so I need to work on not procrastinating. (It's my number 5 favorite hobby. I'm too lazy to write the other four though.) I think my quality of work currently is pretty good though, but that doesn't mean it can't be improved! (It might though.) Also, I sometimes get distracted in class, so that needs to be improved as well. Other then those things, I already do pretty well in class, so this goal is seemingly easy, but one slip up and it's failed.

Happy new year!
-Linden

P.S: If you're wondering what the photos are for, they're assignments to take thoughtful photos.

Scratch Game Design

So, coding! Finally, something difficult but super fun! Our assignment was to create an epic Scratch game where one thing chases another, and to make a platformer. We, as well, had to make a game where... well... it actually diddn't have much requirements. It was just a freedom game. (Have fun playing the games, they're around here somewhere...) Anyway, our class gave us feedback on the games, (The one that was made FIRST,) so we could make the games better. The chase game, platformer, and freedom games you currently see above is the most updated version. A couple of the suggestions were to make the water in the platformer for level 4 a little slower, (Which I did, by the way.) and to make the background to the chase game a little more interesting.

So, for each of the games, I think there were clearly some awesome features. (Shameless self-advertising.) The best feature for the chase game, I think, was how the game gets harder the longer you play. After 20 points, it becomes almost impossible to dodge the square's attacks. (Want a hint? Never stop moving.) For the platformer, I think the best feature is the cutsene at the end. The water stops, and then drains. They're pretty cool, and very different. As one increases difficulty, one stops it.

So, the code. I think that the best code I made was on the freedom game, because of the complexity of creating certain formations that would always be carried out provided the correct random number was picked. It was pretty difficult to coordinate the lava and platforms, and took some trial and error. One of the most difficult bug fixes was actually also the best code. I just couldn't figure out how to coordinate the lava and the platforms. When two of the same formations appeared, the platforms would be off by quite a bit, usually making it impossible. But I rewrote the code, so instead of 10 sprites there were 1 that cloned itself, and I made the platforms activate the lava. It was pretty frustrating...

Hope you enjoy playing Chase, Platformer, and Dash!
-Linden<br />

P.S. For the freedom game, use only space. Space makes you jump. Tap space again to double jump. For the platformer, use arrow keys, and same for the chase game.

Invention Commercial

Wazzup! Here we have another G.T. project. This project was to create an invention and advertise it. Currently, the Shirt Shifter (You should know what it's called if you watched the video) is not for sale, because there is only one in existence, but it's still pretty cool. For the assignment, we basically wanted to make a reference to those classic 80's commercials. I think we did pretty well. We also wanted to make it pretty funny and less like a reference to the classic commercials, and more like a rip-off of them. So, that pretty much contradicts my previous statement. Anyway, how did we do? Our only thought was to entertain you. (And sell the product, which isn't for sale >:D )

The best "Team Moment" I think, was the creation of the idea itself. I originally had wanted to do shampertables, (Kinds like convertible pants, but exactly like convertible pants) but it wasn't an original idea. Then, we thought of ANOTHER idea, which was supposed to motivate people, but it wasn't makable, so that had to go to. Finally, I thought of how annoying it was to take off sweaters in the afternoon, and thought of the Shirt Shifter. Supa inspiration genius. It was also a good moment when we finished the editing and saw it on the "Big Screen" and how awesome it was (Although that wasn't really pre-production...). Need more proof? Check out these scores! Left, Up, and Down.


Anyway, DURING the editing, we had split jobs. I was in charge of piecing together the clips, Micah was in charge of music, and Cody was in charge of critical thinking. (I mean critical. Not like complex thinking, more like a critic.) I think we all did a pretty good job on each of our jobs. Everyone did their part, and their part was... did? Basically we divided the work so that everyone had something to do.

Adios!
-Linden  Supa awesome guy w/ hea lol

Composition Scavenger Hunt

Hellllooooooo people that pay attention to a blog like this! We were, this time, supposed to go out (on the school campus... :P) and film 10 examples of composition techniques. Anyway, if you look up ABOVE, you will see the 10 examples WE were supposed to do. I, personally, think that unusual angles are the most important. I mean, sure, you have a movie with rule of thirds or whatever, but no unusual angles, it's just kinda blah. Unusual angles make it more gripping, and draw you in like- WOAH! Did that guy just do an EPIK jump? It looks like it because the camera is under him as he jumps from building to building! When from flat, it's just like- Oh, cool jump brah, meh, this is boring. Just my opinion though. Don't take my word for it.

I think the HARDEST composition technique is ALSO unusual angles. I mean seriously, it's kinda hard to look for the most creative, safe, AND interesting angle at the exact same time. We took about 10 minutes to find ours! Although, when you're making a movie, you have time for that sort of thing... Still, it's hard. I could use it more by taking more time to think about shots before I shoot them, but I'm too lazy. (Jk, Jk. Hold your horses. I'm not THAT lazy.) Anyway, yeah, I could also shoot in more locations that gain the POSSIBILITY to create these strange unusual angles. It'll be hard, but possibly fun. :)

So, on this, my teammates were Cody and Micah. We mainly switched roles every now and then, but mainly, micah and cody were the subjects, I was usually the speaker, (Sometimes it was micah,) Cody, when not talking or holding up the camera, held up the script. He also did most of the text when we were editing. There was a lot of variation on who did what though, so it's kinda hard to explain who did this and that and this-that. Anyway, in the editing board, I cut out the extra footage and pieced it together, Micah was da epik D.J. and did the music, and Cody gave advice and did the texts. Then bing, bang, boom! (I just destroyed a couple vases... >-<) An epic and informative video!

Piece out! (Puzzles r fun)
-Linden 

Cracking the Code

Ok, time to defuse a bomb. Let's see... wires... cut blue... wait- HTML?!?! I DON'T KNOW THI-- BOOM!!!!!! And that's why we should learn to code. Not really though. I personally think everyone should learn to code, because- let's face it- Technology is taking over. More and more technological stuff are being created right this second, and eventually, everyone will either know coding and know the stuff, or be hobos. (Not saying being a hobo is bad, but- I think it kinda sucks...)  Anyway, coding, once you learn it, it isn't so hard! And well, it may seem like that people who are like &lt;Lol HAHA&gt;&lt;span style="color: red;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt; are NERDZ, but knowing coding WILL be nececary in the future for EVERYONE. (Don't believe me? Hop in a time machine and go 40 years in the future. OH WAIT- We don't HAVE a time machine because people haven't CODED IT YET!) My point exactly. In the future, people will need to be smart and able to code.

Flappy portal. Link Here

So, recently, we have done some practice coding, and although I had done coding before, it was still really fun. I think the first time I had ever coded anything ever was about 3-4 years ago, and it was pretty bad... Anyway, it wasn't too hard, because it was the simplest code EVAR. Like just When click, switch costume THEN, when click something else, do this and this and it's done! EZ PZ Lemon Slurpee. (I love those things. They're great.) A link of it is here... Don't judge me for it. I personally think it was a pretty bad attempt, but it, when you think about it, is kinda alright for the first thing ever programed ever... So, hate it don't hate it? (Kinda like sorry not sorry, but with not liking the project.)

Simple Game

Anyway... If I could design ANY program or game, I think I would create an EPIC game / AI thing where you get to pick, at first, what type of game you would like to play, (Such as open world, puzzle, adventure, platformer, FPS, etc.) And it would create a game for you where each level, based on how you did for the previous levels/ areas, and refit the game to your standards so it is always challenging, never exactly the same, always fun, and there is NO END! I think that would be extremely cool, and it could double as a teaching experience because every level challenges you at your level so you constantly get better. But be sure to leave your computer for food! Heh heh...

Programing and Inventing and Practice oh my!
-Linden

I did it! :)

My Humorous Monolouge

JohnsL_Comedy from Kapaa Middle School MEDIA on Vimeo.

These are my comedy grade results. Meh...

Well, Well, Well then, what do we have here... Oh, wait- It's NOT Hat Man... I was expecting him in my lair... (I've kidnapped his daughter, if you see him...) ANYWAY- In the comedy project, (Incase you were wondering, even though there is a GIANT COMEDY VIDEO RIGHT THERE! Wathc it if you haven't) I have learned a bundle of stuff. (Bushel? Barrel? Ton? Gallon? Cubic Centimeter? I'm not good at volume measurements.) I have learned how to make something actually funny! Yeah! I was not really able to do this before! I also learned how to trip convincingly, (Practice makes perfect!) fail at opening doors, and how to place some creative angles. (Leading lines, whatever, you know the drill. I think...) Oh, yeah, and do some very fast edits. I also earned how to properly deliver a comedic monologue, and all of the grade requirements. (I don't think I'll be using the latter...) (Wow! A lot of parentheses today!) That's pretty much it, since I already knew how to use IMovie, and how to use a camera better.

No one voted I had the funniest one :(

So, padding. No no no, not what you put on beds to make them fluffier, what you put on VIDEO CLIPS to make THEM fluffier. Wait- did I say fluffier? I meant softer. Softer? Safer? Whatever? Anyway, padding is basically a few seconds after you start and before you begin acting, and after you stop acting before you end. It's used because if you stop filming the second you stop acting, it will get a little cut off at the end/beginning. It also helps when editing, just in case you need ONE MORE SECOND! NRRGH! Uh- um- excuse me- gotta go- turning into hulk- bye now-

ANYWAY... A couple troubles I had with the filming was that I had to film at night, because I didn't have time in the day, so most of the shots were DARK  Well, not SUPER dark, but kinda dark. So I fixed that with a couple edits in IMovie. A couple things I did good were the monologue, except that first fuzzy part, and the trips. I don't know if anyone told you, but I apparently am the MASTER of tripping. Like, it seems real. (I may be over-exaggerating, but I think I did do well on those.) I also forgot to check out a camera several times... I think I could improve by getting a couple desk lamps when it's too dark, and perhaps my acting? I don't know about the acting thing though... Anyway, to discuss the results, Most people thought I did like epically well, a few thought I was good, and 2 people thought my video was bad. I guess I'll have to kidnap their daughters (if they have any) too, and hold them hostage with Hat Man's. No one thought mine was the funniest though. :( It's fine though. The pie chart shows percentile of anonymous percentile of other people's comedy skits, (In other words, blah blah blah, a lot of confusing words, blah blah blah.) 

Anyway, my plan is BELOW...
-Linden