Brenna
About me
Hi!! I’m Brenna and I’m fourteen, and I’m so excited to be a freshman here at DHS. I love my friends, theatre, school, the planet, swimming, music, film, and my adorable dog Tucker. I’ve always had a passion for the arts, whether it be physical or more experience-oriented. I think that art was really attractive to me because of its way of expression, and how freeing it can be. I love music, whether that be playing music or listening to it, and I love to write poetry and stories in my free time. And film has always been quite intriguing to me because I feel like it captures all these elements, like expression, music, and the performing arts, all in one.
Reflection
At last, fourteen is finished! I am sad to see it go, but am working on a sequel! Hint hint. So, here I sit with my 1975 tour shirt (wish I went!) and a sense of pride and accomplishment. Looking back, there were some considerable 'ups' and 'downs,' but truthfully, I would not have things any other way. This program taught me important skills, and showed me the joys of creating something and letting myself explore. And my film gave me a deeper understanding of myself, how I operate, and what I enjoy. I want to once again thank all who helped me along this journey: parents, teachers, friends, administration, and my mentor Mrs. Rajak for all her support! Here's to another outstanding year (and film!)
My Project
I decided to combine all my passions into my project- a film about life, more specifically, my life, and the life of those around me. My main plot is to try to answer some questions: How can I find a purpose? Do I need a sense of purpose to feel fulfilled? I have one question that I will try to keep in the back of my mind as well, “What purpose does live serve to its recipient?”How will I execute this, you ask? Good question.
I am shadowing myself with a camera for a long period of time, taking brief clips from most days in my life, and editing them together to get a sense of what it’s like to be me. Through all the complexities, like stress, and joy. Also, on top of this, I’ll be interviewing people with various questions, ranging from who they are and what they are doing in the moment, to their aspirations, or to something they might suffer with. And of course, I’ll answer these questions myself along the way. In the end, I want to have a movie, a trailer, and some sort of media for it, whether that be an article, an afterword, or even just a short reflection.
My Mentor
Leora Rajak is a South African who has been living in Connecticut for the past five years. She consults to corporations, foundations and non-profits on integration of social impact intention into programs and investments. This includes advising on building economic inclusivity; integrating the SDGs into programs, and improving impact investments.
Leora is an entrepreneur who founded two successful start-ups, and was the CEO of those businesses. Enterpriseroom, (2008-2016) which grew into a leading advisory in the field of economic inclusion in South Africa. The company designs and implements strategies for transforming corporations’ supply chains and business practices;catalyzing job creation and entrepreneurship. http://www.enterpriseroom.com/ Kagiso TV, (1996-2007) This grew into a media production company focusing on production of content for development and education. They developed and implemented media campaigns for South Africa’s first democratic government under President Nelson Mandela, creating content that translated post-Apartheid policies into accessible material to enable active and participatory citizenship. This included large scale national projects enabling access to health services, basic education, entrepreneurship opportunities and financial literacy. The company has since been rebranded Grounded Media. http://www.groundedmedia.co.za/ UNESCO Consultant, (2006-2008) Leora consulted to UNESCO where she designed the strategy and led a consultative process with African governments to enable economic development opportunities around African World Heritage Sites through branding, tourism and small business growth. She led workshops with 24 African governments’ ministerial teams; developed and presented business plans for relevant sectors; raised and managed funds for program commencement. Reported to UNESCO. Leora has a B.A Honors from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, majoring in Political Science. She is currently studying towards a Masters in Fine Arts in Fiction at the Mountainview MFA.
PRP #1
My first mini goal was definitely an adjustment period. I think this is where I really learned an important message for proceeding onward-I need to be more flexible. Not everything can fit my due dates, after all. I’ve revised my overall plan that I’ll have less of a tight, restrictive schedule with shooting dates, as things change all the time. I know I can do this. And I look forward to the next steps!
Second Mini-Goal
My second mini goal is simply to acquire equipment if I can, and get the permissions to start filming! If, by some miracle, I can get everything ready, then I’ll start filming right away!
PRP #2
I'Il certainly able to achieve this goal, with the exception that I shifted the focus on it a little bit. It was a major decision that will completely change my project-now shot vertically, and occasionally horizontally. I feel like the usage of an iPhone/iPad/digitally acquired videos to shoot and edit my movie is a great decision, because it enables the viewer to have a sense of authenticity and really step into this age of digital media.
Apple devices are not only easier, more familiar technology for me to work with, but they are such a major part of my life now and life in general. It would be almost violating to the culture of 2021 to exclude the widespread usage of advanced technology.
Third Mini-Goal
I do have a vision, but I want to watch some movies and scenes from a bunch of different styles and genres of filming, to get a sense of the aesthetics and feel I want to create. I want to get the filming releases out now, and get in closer contact with my mentor. Also, I want to see how clear and organized I can become through this project, and if I can get a clear plan for dates and times of filming to make my life easier.
PRP #3
I'm proud of where I'm at, and excited for the future. So far, I have about 40 minutes of footage. However, it's all raw and unedited. That being, I want to get chunks of it developed and incoorperate it into my next presentation. I also want to show some of my storyboards. They are quite useful in outlining which clips I need, and how I can fill in the puzzle pieces.
Fourth mini-Goal
Moving forward, I want to get at least 2-3 scenes done and edited. I need some specific footage to complete different storyboards, so that must be done as well.
PRP #4
I'm very greatful for all the opportunities I've had whilst shooting my project, and can't wait for when I can share it. For some reason, the quality of the scene here isn't that great. But I found this excerpt quite fitting, or rather, relevant, to share. There's still some bugs, i.e., the awful quality of it once it's been downloaded. But I'm sure I can fix it, and am excited for the future.
really.really.strange..8484.MP4FIFTH MINI-GOAL
For the next cycle I want to start to wrap up filiming + interviews.
prp #5
Mini-goal #6
All that's left to do is finish filming, and prepare excerpts for acheivers night, along with my thumbnail and promotional media.