Peep Inside My Pinhole Camera

This unit is about light, sound and time, discovering what each means and how they all work together on earth. We explored our eyes,and looked into what parts make up a camera and eye..This was one of my favorite units this school year because I got to learn so much about light. I learned about why we see colors the way we do, which is because the colors of the spectrum are being absorbed and the color you are seeing in that object is the only color reflecting off of it.

This action project, we had to create a pinhole camera and take pictures with it in a darkroom. I had to use a cardboard box, then had to paint it black inside then create a pinhole to create the camera effect. 

I am most proud of myself for learning such interesting things and understanding all of it in such a little time frame.The pinhole camera captures light through the tiny hole that I created with a tac. It allows the light to pass through, working like a lens and projecting an object on the other side. The pinhole doesn't use refraction, the bending of light or reflection, the reflection of light. Reflection is light bouncing objects, and refraction is light slowing down and changing angle from one medium to another. The inside of the camera is black because the color black absorbs light while white reflects. If it were white the light would reflect the image making the light bounce around consistently, not creating an image. The black is perfect because it absorbs light while keeping the light in. A Pinhole camera works like any camera and functions like an eye: the image is flipped so it comes out the right side up,it absorbs the light then the pupil gets bigger or smaller depending on how much light there is, then light is focused by lens then directed onto the retina that sends signals to optic nerve. The pinhole camera is similar but is a simpler version of that.

The image didn't come out that well, it shows the background but not the elements of the objects.This could've been because of my own errors, such as: letting light in beforehand, not thoroughly painting the entire box black and having the shutter speed be too short or too long.

Height of object: 10 in

Height of pinhole to ground: 7.5 in

Pinhole to paper: 5 in

Shutter speed: 1 minute

My pinhole camera 

LD(2017)Box

Pinhole that allows light in

LD(2017)Inside pinhole

Final image

LD(2017)Photograph

To create my pinhole camera I had to select a box and paint the inside black. After i painted the entire box black, I got a piece of metal and created a tiny hole so light could pass through. After that I created a shutter that wouldn't allow light to go through to ruin my picture. Actually taking the image with the camera was pretty easy, I set up my picture by putting objects together,then placing my pinhole camera a few inches away. The shutter speed (how long the pinhole let light through without the shutter) was around 1 minute. Then I closed the pinhole and got the film processed and developed. My class visited the Latin School and talked to a photography teacher, there, she taught us how to use a darkroom. First, we set up the picture with some of the objects she had in a box. Then, I sat down my pinhole camera next to the object for a minute,after that I went into the darkroom to process the photo.

If I could redo this action project,I would make sure I painted the entire box black and had more time to take more pictures with my pinhole camera.

Math portion explaining similar triangles in relation to the pinhole

LD(2017)Math

The Lens of Independence

This term in Argument, my class learned about how to form an effective argument. We learned about premises, which is evidence that will lead up to the final conclusion. I compared two arguments from Phyllis Wheatley in her poem a Hymn to Humanity, and the Framers that wrote the Declaration of Independence. I had to decided what were the premises and conclusion, then decide based on the premises which argument was best executed. My class also went on a Field Experience to a federal law office, where we spoke to attorney’s. They helped us know our rights,if a police officer would detain us. For this Action Project, I have to declare independence by stating an argument of either a inductive or deductive argument. A inductive argument states a broad generalization into specific cases, a deductive argument is the opposite- specific cases into a broad generalization. 

I declare that there be an independence study on learning how to make films, the name of the class would be, The Empowerment of Filmmaking.Learning how to make films should be accessible for any student in school.Film is a form of art and a way to express oneself in a creative way, every person is an individual and can bring something new into the film industry.

The purpose of school is to learn new information from teachers and your peers and apply that into life. The things you learn in school will shape what career you want to pursue. My unalienable rights as a human being in America is that"...all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." If I am allowed to express myself in anyway(which film will allow me to do), I am pursuing my own happiness. That pursuit of happiness will not only turn into a career of my choice but will allow me to contribute to society.

Content
- In Empowerment of Filmmaking, students will learn how the elements of film and apply it by creating their own short film.

- The course will begin with the history of film and how it has empowered people throughout history.

- We will learn about how lighting, camera angles, script and story can be best represented in film.

- We will learn how to empower ourselves through film.

Logistics
- Deliverables more of history and watching short films.

- Field Experiences going to watch short films in theaters, visiting film productions in Chicago,visit Chicago Film clubs,etc.

- Course would be a whole elective term around 5-8weeks.

- Action Project of completing a short film.

Resources

-Teacher to supervise, most likely Brent because he has background of studying filmmaking.

- Cameras or students can supply themselves with their own camera on their phones

-Lights similar to production lights

-Screening room to watch short films and independent films.

-T-room so the entire class can sit around and discuss what type of film they are making and have discussions about everyone's film.

My guiding question is,“how does film empower the youth?" To answer this question,we will discuss everything that is written inside the content section. This course represents GCE's morals that are accountability,autonomy, purpose,gratitude and achievement. The Empowerment of Filmmaking will specifically go with autonomy, having freedom/independence. The class will allow students to explore film while having freedom to make things that empower themselves.Although there was a similar class at GCE called Ollywood, where students learned how to critique a film by watching and reviewing films. The Empowerment of Filmmaking is going to remove that element of focusing on critiquing/reviewing and change that into creating.

The idea of motion pictures began in 1896, a time of social progressivism, a movement during the 19th and 20th century that wanted to bring a positive social change through organizations and government organizations. The Motion Picture Patents Company(MPPC)was one of the major trust of American film companies, many filmmakers declined to join into this trust and decide to make what we now call, independent films. The MPPC was ended because the Supreme Court cancelled the patent on raw film, including MPPC'S,this led to the support of independent filmmakers. In 1941, the Society of Independent Motion Picture Producers(SIMPP) protected the rights of independent filmmakers and allowed any person that was interested in films to create their own without a major film studio. Students of The Empowerment of Filmmaking will create their own independent film, and prove to themselves that you do not need a lot of money or production to create a film.

Similar to the Declaration of Independence of America, it declares independence by expressing that the system needs to be altered because of a tyrant. Writing this declaration to independence through studying film, I am expressing my opinion to alter GCE’s school system. Film can change or challenge the status qou, it can range from documentaries or movies. Film can be historical, for example,"the Boy in the Striped Pajamas", is a movie that depicts two children living during World War 2. The boy in the Striped Pajamas, is one out of many historical movies that can challenge the status qou. Students in this film course will express how they view the world and it will empower them and give them a voice.

The desired outcome for the Empowerment of Filmmaking is to allow students to come together with other students to learn how to make films, collaborate with others,and have then feel empowered by their craft that they will have created by the end of the course. As a child living in modern society, we have the ability to explore filmmaking, but most don’t despite a camera being accessible to them almost anywhere at all times.

Premises 1:GCE is about accountability, autonomy, purpose, gratitude and achievement.

Premises 2: A filmmaking course help students understand what film is, then be able to create an independent film to express themselves in a creative way.

Premises 3: A filmmaking class allows students to achieve independence and feel empowered.

C: A Film course that expands on how to make films should be included in the GCE curriculum.

My syllogism explains that film empowers people especially young adults who are slowly starting to become independent.Teaching students to learn how to make films will allow them to express themselves in a creative way.

Reviewing the Great Gatsby

This 2nd term I took a class called Ollywood, where we learned how to critic a film. I learned about the elements to pre-production,production and post production to properly review a film. Pre-production involves location scouting, casting actors ,storyboard and costume design . Production is the shooting of the film involving camera angles and lighting .Post production is editing the film, sound editor and helping with the aesthetic of the film through CGI. In class, we watched Amelie,Jaws and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, after we  had to review and criticize the film based on its pre,production and post. In Ollywood, we got to get out of the classroom a lot, since film involves getting up and going around the city. One of my favorite FE's(field experience) was location scouting. Our class had to get excerpt from a book,visualize it by turning it into a scene and find a location that would best fit that scene. It was exciting to get out and I felt like a professional location scouter!

For the action project we had to choose a film we either hate or loved and had to give a review on it with a partner. My partner, CG(https://cggcelabschool.blogspot.com) and I chose to review, The Great Gatsby directed by Baz Luhrmann in 2013. I found this project to be enjoyable since I fell in love with The Great Gatsby the first time I saw it and was happy to critic it. One difficulty I had with this AP was the post production, editing videos can be tedious and can take lots of time for a small section. Specifically, my partner and I had trouble getting the blue-screen to work for a background. We had to watch videos and get help from our teacher, but it was an easy problem to fix in  the end.

The Reality of Life

In Rhetoric this unit, I learned about rhetorical artwork. I analyzed how a piece of artwork can challenge the status quo and provoke someone to think a certain way. For a homework assignment I analyzed the rhetorical devices of the song, Patience by Nas and Damian Marley. The message of the song is that humans must come together and make a difference in the world despite our differences and beliefs. For my 3rd action project, I had to choose a political topic I cared about and create a piece of artwork that unites people using rhetorical elements such as logos, pathos and ethos. I also started to make a song that depicted the same message, white privilege.

The topic i’ve decided to research about is white privilege. White privilege is having societal advantages that is beneficial to whites systematically,socially and economically. White privilege demeans the lives of blacks and minorities in America, for example black kids are 10 times more likely to be arrested for possession of marijuana than whites, even though white children are more likely to abuse drugs. This data exemplifies white privilege by showing that black males are stereotyped as criminals and will be stopped because of it. I decided to create a collage that depicts how white people benefit from white privilege and yet decide not to acknowledge it. I wanted to do white privilege, specifically white people recognizing their privilege.

The piece I created is called the Reality of Life, inspired by the board game Life,I decided to make a board game layout that displays how white privilege works through advancements. I used the life game title to metaphorically present the reality of how white and blacks live everyday. On the spaces there are spots that benefit the white guy(which would represent white privilege). This allows him to be much further ahead then the black guy in the game. There are more spaces that will negatively affect the black guy, that represents how hard it is for blacks to succeed at life with an oppressive system working against you. The Reality of Life unites people by accepting that white privilege is an issue that only benefits people who are white or look white. Reality of Life is an attempt to unite the black and white community by showing we all have to make it through life, but show that whites have more advantages because of their privileges.

The Reality of Life uses logos, as in facts or statistic. It also uses pathos, an appeal to emotion. There is an appeal to logos because the spaces provide facts that show how white privilege benefits only white people and demeans blacks and minorities. An example of logos in the Reality of Life is that there are higher wages for white males .Whites get paid a median of $21 per hour,while black or minority men make around $14 or $15 . Another example of logos I included was Jim Crow law. Jim crow law were laws that began in 1890, and started with the “separate but equal” way of life for African Americans. There were laws that enforced racial segregation,specifically in public places such as school, public bathrooms, threatres and neighborhoods. There is also a use of pathos in my art piece, by showing the hardships of African Americans and comparing their hardship to someone who is white life. My audience for this piece are white people who don’t recognize their privilege and ignore it because they don’t physically experience it. But this piece challenges that idea by using logos and showing that there are advantages that come with being born white. While someone black is born with years of oppression starting with their ancestors experiencing slavery to them experiencing police brutality.

The Reality of Life:

PRESENTING THE WONDERFUL, THE GREAT.... STORE IT CYCLE

In Design and Engineering this unit I learned about gear ratios, parts of a bicycle , potential energy, kinetic energy and calculating the surface area and volume of circles. The purpose of this action project is to create a bike that will benefit a certain user. I learned that bikes have gear settings that you can change depending on where you are biking. Mountain bikes are for riding on rocky roads and cruiser bikes are for leisure. For a homework assignment, I had to interview someone who biked often, and I chose to interview Kim Campos. I asked her if she could change anything about her bike what would it be, and she responded,"I would change the seat to be wider and cushioned for comfortability.” When designing a bike , I took this idea of making the seat wider into consideration. After finishing this project, I'm proud of how the bike came out. It‘s very sturdy and looks like an innovative design.

My user is a 15 year old girl named Malia, who travels 5 miles from her home to get to school.Malia's parents are going to buy her a bike because she works at the library and is going to have to do grocery shopping. She lives in Logan square and will ride on the 606 to get to school and when she gets home she will park her bike in the garage. Malia will need a bike that is comfortable, safe at night and can carry large books and grocery bags.

The Store It cycle is great and perfect for Malia because it provides comfortability,safety and storage.  I included 2 baskets, one on the back and one on the front. Both have buttons that make it close automatically and lock, which is good because our userneeds to carry books and groceries. I also included taillights and front lights in the middle of the handlebars, the front lights allow Malia to see where she is going at night, the taillights include turn signals allowing people to see her at night. Lastly, I added a wider and cushioned seat because she has to ride for a long time from school to library.She should believe in our design, because I created a design that would help and benefit her circumstances.She will gain potential energy as she is slowly riding up the hill on the 606, and when Malia rides down the hill that potential energy will transfer to kinetic because she is in motion.

Malia lives 5 miles away from school, she lives in Logan Square and travels on the 606. It takes around 30 minutes for her to get to school. To find how many miles a minute you do d/t, which is 5/30=.17 which is around 10 miles per hour. For our scale, we took the original sketch and converted that to 1inches=4inches. The wheel’s diameter is 26 inches, the radius is 13 inches and the circumference= 81.68 inches. The gear ratio is 26/12.

Rotations= distance/circumference

5/81.68=

614.455 rotations to get to school.

When trying to design a creative and innovative bike, I ran into some trouble. I overcame it by looking up different types of bikes and took the best ideas and tried to create a bike that combined off of those ideas. Sketching the idea was also difficult because it's challenging to draw something out rather than writing ideas down. I overcame this by continuing to draw out my design until the design was perfected. I built the finish product with cardboard and wooden stick by hot glueing the pieces together.


Below is a labeled sketch of the bike design:

LD,Sketch of bike,(2016)

Finished bike design:

LD,Bike Design.(2016)

Tupac Trapped in The Rhetoric of Changes

In Rhetoric, my class learned about brave people who went against the majority and spoke about what they care about. We visited Mike Pfelger for our Field Experience on the South Side of Chicago. We asked questions about how and why he challenged the status qou. An important idea that stuck with me when speaking to Mike Pfleger was that rhetoric without action is nothing, I agree with this statement because you can't make a difference without physically doing something about it. For the second action project, I had to choose a person who challenged the status qou and prove how. The purpose of this action project is to rhetorically analyze how someone challenged the status qou with a speech, a song, or video. This AP made me understand that a song can be as rhetorically effective as a speech because the artist can also convey a message with the same rhetorical techniques and devices.

Solving The World's Issues One Grippy Grabber At a Time

In Design and Engineering , our class learned about simple machines. We learned how to find volume, surface area and area of different shapes.The purpose of this action project is to create an ergonomic gardening tool for senior citizens because most tools aren’t fit for their weaker bodies. My customer in my mind is a senior citizen who needs to grab things when gardening or for everyday life, but cannot because of their weak bones and joints. By creating an ergonomic grabber, it will make their life easier. In class we also learned about empathy, which is putting yourself in someone else's shoes to understand what they’re going through. When creating a tool for senior citizens, I must imagine myself as a senior to create something that I think would be best for them. Before creating our tool, we had to interview a gardener. My interviewee informed me about gardening. Some of the best advice she told me was, your hands are your best tools because it is the most consistent and easiest, that planting takes time and effort, and that before you plant you must plan. My partner's interviewee told him,”if I could make my own tool, I’d make a device that lessens work for the elderly when bending down and getting up. Something that moves and can elevate or descend.” We tried to take both of the gardeners’ advice and create a perfect tool that is easier for senior citizens to use. We also researched examples of other grabbers and noticed the main things that people change were how long it is, the type of lever, and how the claw open and closes. My partner and I took some of these ideas and created our own tool called the Grippy Grabber.

The Grippy Grabber is used to grab things that are far or unreachable. It grabs things with a clamp that opens and closes with a gradual switch. As you slide the switch the clamp closes at the same speed. This helps you choose how wide you want the clamp to open. The parts included are the switch, the extendable arm/pole inside, a button to press so the arm is able to extend, and the changeable slips and blades. We included the switch because senior citizens’ finger joints and muscles are weaker, and it is much easier to slide something instead of exerting force by holding down a lever. The extendable arm is to reach things that are further away and the button makes it easier to extend. The changeable slips and blades are for customers who want to grab all types of things, as only having one material(rubber) is limiting. The changeable blades are to get a better grip onto the object you are trying to pick up. The Grippy Grabber is a great tool because it uses an ergonomic switch that makes grabbing things easier and comfortable for everyone. It’s an example of a lever because when the senior citizen slides the switch the clamp closes. The Grippy Grabber includes using a fulcrum, a fulcrum is the point the lever is supported on. The persons hands are being used as a fulcrum in this case because the customer must support the Grippy Grabber when using.


height=36in

diameter=4in

Volume: v= 3.14(r^2)(h)

3.14(2^2)(36)

Volume = 452.16in^3

Surface Area: 2(3.14)(r)(h) + 2(3.14)(r^2)

452.16+25.12= 476.28in ^2