The Last MPOL.

Hey everyone!

I refuse to believe this is my last MPOL post… but it is. So I promise it’ll be a great one 🙂

This year has been particularly special because it’s my last year of high school. Since I’m graduating this year, I’ve been challenging myself to do my best.

 

At the beginning of the year, I expanded off of the TPOL goals I created last June to make my learning plan for this year.

The most prominent goals included, taking more risks with my learning, being more present and working towards improving the depth of my work.

 

Going into this year, I knew that I had a sound system. A specific method that worked well for most projects. This fall, I decided to expand my skills and become a more well-rounded learner. 

While it’s important to have strengths and entirely human to have weaknesses, I wanted to challenge myself to work outside of what I’d grown comfortable with.

For our Dystopia project, we were tasked with representing a current issue and relating it to themes derived from a dystopian novel. I chose to focus on rape culture and examples of victim blaming in our Society compared to the book I chose, “The Handmaid’s Tale.” 

While I had a lot of experience making short films and videos, I had minimal experience editing them. I took my weakness as an opportunity to improve my editing skills while creating a solid and deep video. 

 

My dedication to improving my projects editing and technical aspects improved many other components of my work. Due to being devoted to making interesting transitions or effects, I additionally created a story with a lot of clarity. By spending more time on voiceovers and sound, I was inclined to edit and constantly rebuild my script. Overall, by focusing on something I don’t typically prioritize, I created a better product in every way. I was able to create something I was genuinely proud of.

After taking a risk and seeing the benefits of switching up my routine, I decided to take an interest in habit breaking in my PGP class.

In PGP, we were given the opportunity to pick from a variety of self improvement books, I chose a book called “Rebel Talent.” Which focused on success derived from anti traditional or even rebellious decision making. Reading “Rebel Talent” provided me with some amazing advice and practices that could help improve my success through small risks.

Looking forwards, I want to continue focusing on expanding my skill set and challenging myself to go against tradition or habit. By creating more specific and targeted goals for each project and assignment, I will be able to benefit and truly learn from my work. 

 

 

Within our recent project, “Monster in the Mirror,” my class was challenged to reflect on issues within Society in our very own horror film. For our film, I took on the role of cinematographer and was responsible for lighting and camera operations throughout filming.

“Monster in the Mirror” required much thought and combining various ideas and topics. To create a successful film, I knew I needed to bring a lot of depth to my role, utilizing outside information and drawing from the work of professionals.

To prepare for filming, I watched various films and planned camera angles and lighting designs based on portrait photography I found online.

Making outside connections and seeking inspiration improved my work as a cinematographer, expanding my understanding of what makes a compelling horror film through replication and practice.

By trying to learn and benefit from the work of professionals, I created more profound work. 

For the remainder of this year and outside of high school, I want to continue to take inspiration and guidance from resources outside my projects. In addition, I want to deepen my learning through various fascinating and fun resources.

By mixing my interests and hobbies with my learning, for example, watching films or reading books, I can significantly improve my projects. Likewise, by integrating my assignments into the things I enjoy, I can create meaningful and impactful work.

 

My last and final goal is one that I believe was the least represented in my recent work. While I know I’ve been communicating well with my classmates and collaborating effectively, I think my overall presence in class can definitely be improved.

These past few months I’ve been working hard and researching cool content related to our projects but I haven’t done a great job of demonstrating my thoughts. In future assignments and particularly outside of school, I must work towards being a better advocate for myself and my ideas.

For the following months, I plan to represent myself and my interests in the work I create. At the beginning of this year, adding more effort to make my work specific to me definitely paid off. So looking forwards, I want to make these small changes. 

At this point in my education, I know what to do to engage in my work. I just need to focus on applying these practices to my everyday life. I additionally need to ensure that I can advocate for myself and the work that I complete. Following high school, I’ll have to work alongside a lot of strangers and I must be able to explain and represent my ideas clearly. 

Thanks for reading about my MPOL!!

• Kaia