For this second blog post I am going to cover two different project that have both stemmed from the Circle BC Field Study, The Circle BC Podcast, And the Blue Sky Exhibition Project. Even though I talked about the Circle BC Podcast and my answer to the inquiry question, this blog post will really explain the detail to how I prepared for the podcast, and my creation process.
When we started the trip it was suggested that we should write notes on every day so that when we were writing our script we wold be able to easily include the different parts that relate to our podcast. Instead of writing a script I decided that I would start writing the script to my podcast so that every day I could add a little bit about our trip that retaliated to my thesis. As the trip progressed the whole idea change for the teacher, and with a little persuasion, I realized that the best thing for me to was to write daily notes instead of the script.(The change was more of a transition from a daily diary to a learning journey with a story).
About halfway through the trip we started too generate topics for our podcasts. I had a little bit of an idea of what I wanted to create but it was still pretty cloudy. In the next few days I generated many different ideas, but finally decided that I would focus on
“How might we explain the story’s to the beautiful things we see”
The whole podcast project creation was kind of crammed into the last few days, and the most amount of time we had was on the twenty two hour fairy ride back to Vancouver Island. During this time I was able to finish my script, record my audio, create my music, and edit the podcast so that I could include five different sounds from the trip as well a creating a clean transition between audio clips. I was able to successfully time manage my time, due to this I was able to had in my completed podcast in to my teachers, on the second fairy ride from Nanaimo to Horseshoe Bay. A few days later I completed my critique, finishing the project for good. I think that I really finished this podcast strong, and helped me feel confident in my podcast creation skills. The only speed bump I had was the audio quality on the fairy but that was easily corrected at home.
The second and final part of the project is the spring exhibition/Blue Sky Project. This was very based off of the same Inquiry Question, and our previous research on the Circle BC Field Study. I really had to consider all of my options because when this project started I wasn’t sure which way I should go. I was considering to either pursue my previous idea, or to start anew and pick another topic like some of my peers. I finally decided that I would continue with my research, because the previous podcast project had gone really well and I hadn’t grown tired of the topic yet.
For this project we followed the L>A>U>N>C>H> Cycle, which has somewhat been protocol in these type of projects. If you want to know more about the launch cycle visit one of my previous posts where I go more in-depth in to the topic.
By the time we hit the ‘Create’ stage I had finished all of my research and really felt ready to create. The main project idea was that I would use my photos as evidence that I could use to explain my thesis. I had taken over two thousand different photos on the trip and had an idea of what photos I was going to use.
For the next three days, I spent my lunches in the photo room where I had access to Photoshop and Adobe Camara Raw (ACR), and was able to sorte through my photos, selecting the photos that I wanted to edit. The editing proses was even more time consuming because some of the photos were take with a pre-set White Balance, which ment I needed to adjust more than your basic set of controls.
Finally, I had to go out and buy some supplies, including a canvas, foam core, photo paper, and clear photo sheets. These items were all crucial in my overall design. With my foam core I carefully cut out, and created two photo stands, and with the canvas and a dismantled shelving unit I created the front poster. Then I re-edited the photos on my home computer so that when they were printed, they would look as close to the digital versions as possible. This was one of the steps that I struggled the most on because I didn’t want to waist photo paper and it really was just trial and error.
When I finally finished Printing I slipped the photos into the photo sheets and set up my entire exhibit. This required me to do some last minute tweaking, which lead me to realize I still needed a title. I later realized that the title I should use is my original how might we question which is “How might we explain the story’s to the beautiful things we see”. Yet I knew I still wasn’t done, because I needed to get my presentation organized. I accomplished this by practising with my family members and asking them for critique. When the day of the exhibition came around I knew I was fully prepared to show my learning and maybe convince a few unsuspecting listeners of my new found five step way to convey an experience.
My Exibit at the 2019 Spring Exhibition
The Podcast Listening Station at the 2019 Spring Exibition
Overall I was very happy with my final prototype and presentation. Lots of people would come by my booth and ask about the photos, giving me to let them in on my learning. I think it is so much easier to explain something that you truly believe in, and by the end of this project, I had much more invested in this than just belief. I still remember the times when we were on the Circle BC Field Study and I wasn’t sure if my idea was going to work, and couldn’t explain my idea to the teachers how I wanted to. I am so glad that I was able to end on such a high note this year, and even though I am happy for the two and a half month break, I can’t wait to see what grade eleven brings along.