For my Public Service Announcement, I decided to recite a poem that I recently discovered. This poem, “Famous” by Naomi Shihab Nye, is a poem that basically says that being famous does not require a significant action. Personally, I wanted to do this PSA [along with Vivian's] because I thought that it was important to get the message through to many people. A lot of people go through life thinking that there has to be a significant action that leads to fame, but this poem says otherwise.

All credits go to Naomi Shihab Nye

For the past three years in high school, I have noticed something. There are phases that a typical high school goes through each year, no matter what year and no matter who. Although this may not be the case for all students, it IS the case for MOST students. In this video are clips of several high school students. The segments of video are broken up into phases and grouped together to show the different types of motivation, procrastination and success. The music is “Streamline” and it goes from a normal speed [to display the fact that it is the beginning og the school year and everything is going "fine" for all students], then it slows down [due to the fact that students are in the stages of procrastination and school is "slow" to them], then the music speeds up drastically [to display the mind of a high schooler that is going through stress and has to do things last minute and all at once], and finally, the music goes back to its normal tempo [because in the end, students are back to the feeling of "fine" when things are over].

Unfortunately, I will not be able to do the segment on my twin brothers due to my brothers actually having more of a life than I do. Go figure.

I have reluctantly changed my topic to that of the phases of a high school student. We all know how students start out; hard working, motivated and up to anything. We all know the annoying fact that this all goes away little by little. In the next shots, students will start to procrastinate more and get distracted because of other things. Watch this video to find out what happens in the end. =]

I wanted to do a segment on leadership because I think that leadership in one’s life is very important whether one experiences it or is the leader. After having several years of experience as a leader, I’ve come to realize that anyone can be a leader and this video was made in hopes of that.

For my third assignment, I wanted to take the opportunity to spend some time with my brothers. This year in high school, I have been busy for the most part doing school, homework, extracurricular activities, and many more obligations. The point is, I have not been able to spend a lot of time with my brothers. This weekend, I will not be attending White Water Rafting with the rest of SMASH, and even though that is a sad event, I have turned it into a positive because I see that it is a chance to spend time with my brothers before I enter my hectic senior year in high school and go off to college.

My silent film will be about the daily lives of my brothers and how they are so alike. Through this video I hope to portray the lives of twins because sometimes [even though I live with them] it’s scary how in sync they are.

For my documentary, I plan to do a segment on Leadership. My main focus will be on my school, The Oakland Military Institute. Because I have had many opportunities of leadership at my school, I’ve found that leadership is found everywhere in the world and I would like to implement that. 

I will be visiting my school this Saturday (July 5th, 2008) for a leadership training. This is the perfect opportunity for me to film. Having already both participated and planned these events, I am sure that I will be able to obtain footage of leadership being taught verbally and physically. To me, these types of events and my school are both great examples of how leadership is both taught and displayed. On Saturday, I will interview the adults that are teaching the course, the cadets (students) that are teaching the course, and also the cadets that are receiving this information for the first time.

I believe that everyone is a leader but some do not realize it. In making this documentary, I hope to motivate everyone to let their leader side shine through, in any way possible. 

Jose Bernal, Lydia Portillo, Tommy Mark, and I all collaborated on a video about the impact of movies, especially on teenagers. The questions that are asked and answered are:
1. Describe a video that has had a profound impact on socitey.
2. What topic would you like to create awareness about through video?
3. How could SMASH Video hlep to impace other teens? 

This video was made using a FlipVideo camera and Final Cut Express. 
After filming, recording, editing, and uploading, I’ve come to the conclusion that the whole process of making a video is more difficult than it looks. Having came late to class, I was behind on the information and technology, but after a few hours, I was up to date. Although my video is not as fancy as everyone else’s, but I’m sure that I can do better.