One of our most recent units for PLP was called Fear Factor. This unit was focused mainly on the Cold War, and the fear surrounding it. However, it also tied in the rise of organized crime in America, and the development of Las Vegas.
We did so much in the span of this unit. From reading the novel Fallout, to watching countless documentaries, we were really given a chance to fully understand the topics. Part way through the unit, we had to create a Blogpost relating past and current nuclear fear. And all this learning was in preparation for one thing, a field study! This time around we would be headed to Tucson, Arizona, and Las Vegas, Nevada.
Now, no field study goes without a project, so of course we would have our work cjut out for us on this trip. Sometimes we write essays, and sometimes we make videos, so of course our big project was to create a video essay. I partnered up with Tom for this one and we set out on an epic journey to create the World’s best video Essay.
We started brainstorming what our video would be about long before we stepped foot on American soil. We spent many hours figuring out and narrowing down our topic. We had charts like these to help us along the way:
Eventually our topic was narrowed down to a simple question: Was America’s nuclear Deterrence worth the cost?
Finally, the time rolled around for us to depart on our journey. First stop: Tucson. Now I’ve been to hot places before like California and Hawaii, but Tucson might just be the hottest place I’ve ever been. I wasn’t prepared for the dry desert sun scorching my skin every moment of the day.
To distract me from this heat, however, was our activities. Our time in Tucson was filled with information filled experiences. We visited the Biosphere, the Pima Air and Space Museum, the Sonora Desert Museum, a county fair (Ok, maybe that one wasn’t so informational), a missile silo, and many other places. Throughout this time, Tom and I collected interviews, photos, and information in general that would be useful in our video. We knew that it would be the on scene footage that could make or break our project.
After many action packed days, it was once again time to depart, this time for Las Vegas! I had never been to Las Vegas before, and there is honestly nothing like it. If I had to compare it to one thing, I would say that the Las Vegas Strip is basically a Disneyland for adults. It is a city of bright lights, good food, and crazy parties. Of course we wouldn’t get to experience the crazy parties. We definitely got the first two though, staying at the iconic Flamingo Hotel, and eating at the best buffets.
The work part of Vegas was quite cool as well. Some of our activities were going to many museums (including a wax museum if that counts), touring all the famous casinos, going to the Hoover Dam, and more. Tom and I got more than enough footage for our project.
Back in Vancouver was when the real work began. We had to start by writing an essay to answer our question. This essay would then be re written into the script for our movie. Three drafts and a couple thousand words later, our essay was finished:
Finally, it was time to start putting our video together. This was difficult but Tom and I were up for the challenge. We submitted our first draft, got critique, submitted our second draft, bit critique, and finally we submitted our final draft.
So, here it is, our Southwest Trip Video Essay:
Well, I think our video is pretty good, especially considering it was made by two students with limited iMovie skills.
In all, I had a blast on our field study this year. It was the perfect combination of work and fun. While it has it’s ups and downs, this trip was definitely one to remember.