So, during this project, we did stuff. And then after that stuff we did more stuff and that is what this blog post is about. Basically, this project was all about the civil rights movement in the U.S and how we can make positive change in our own communities. We learned this by attending lectures, doing a seminar and going on a trip together. However, just a heads up, I did not go on that trip so this blog post will be a lot less interesting than my classmates, instead focusing on my boring life at home.

Lectures

At the start of this project we were given a lot of lectures. Mostly catching us up on why the Civil Rights movement existed, and the key figured involved. Additionally, we also watched some movies and documentaries to enhance our understanding of the time period. In particular, I would recommend “The Murder of Emmet Till” since his death is quite important to the civil rights movement however, is largely unknown. 

The Seminar

After we participated in all this learning, we did a Socratic Seminar as a class. Despite my many literature notes, I did not do well at this Socratic Seminar like the rest of class. This is because we all kind of assumed it would be like previous Socratic seminars, where we had total freedom. However, I think we hopefully all learned from this disappointment, to do better in the future, figures crossed! 

Making the Film

Our final product, the film, had to be about the inspiring actions of one person and include a call to action that the regular person can do, such as having a discussion at the dinner table. 

Research & Writing 

For my person, I chose Nikole Hannah-Jones, the creator of the 1619 Project. A collection of essays, poems and writings claiming 1619 as the birth year of America. For this section, I mainly just read her book, since it gave me everything on why she created the project. I also looked at a few journals and news to find out different perspectives on the project. 

Photo List

Sooo, even though I didn’t go on the trip, I still wanted some beautiful luxurious photos of American artifacts for my video. Thus, I recruited poor teacher, Ms. Maxwell to do my bidding (I deeply apologize for this new invention of torture). With a list of all my wanted shots: the locations, the angle and description of why I need that shot. 

Actually Storyboarding 

After, I made a photo list, I started working on a storyboard, to help guide me into how I want this film to look like. I’m very glad that I decided to do this early on, since it helped quite a lot during the editing process. 

Editing

Editing was in one word… tiring. I forced myself into throwing iMovie into the metaphorical garbage and trying out a brand new and technologically advanced editing program, DaVinci. I must say, even though I spent HOURS of my life trying to figure how to do the zoom in, I’m very glad that I took up the challenge. It is a really awesome programs, and the fact that you can do so much on it really cements it coolness to me. I will definitely use it again in the future. 

I’m also quite grateful for all my awesome classmates , particularly my friends, and Ms. Maxwell who let me use their footage for sections of my video. It would not be possible without all their snazzy shots! 

Here is my final result if you are interested!

Roundtable 

Our films at the end of the project, would be presented in front of a group of parents, in a roundtable discussion. 

Editing the Clips 

My job for my group was to edit all our videos together into one video. I think I did a pretty good jobs in the circumstances, but I could definitely done more for video such as adding more music and making the text more clear. 

The Roundtable Discussion

The roundtable discussion went alright. As in it could gone better, but it also could have gone much worse. I did talk in this discussion, as we all had pre planned scripts for the most part. Except the last section, where we were all called up to the stage to answer parents’ and teachers’ questions. I did not talk at all for this part, since because I did not go on the trip, there wasn’t very much I could say at all. 

So can we make a difference in our communities? Yes, I think so at least. I think people underestimate how big movements are not just one person, there the culmination of the work of hundreds to thousands to million of people, even if the media chooses to centre it around only one person. Our actions do have impact, and taking a stand, even if small, can contribute to larger positive change.