Acapella

In the first unit of the course Argument, we studied the Declaration of Independence, we broke it down to understand, we made mini arguments and we discuss what happens in the republican and democratic debates. We also looked at photographs with no people for the reason that the space has a historical moment, whereas there was a protest, gun shot, etc. For our action project we were assigned to make a declaration of our choosing. I decided to make a declaration about having an Acapella third period class because I like acapella and I like many acapella groups. During this action project I had difficulty coming up with an idea to pursue and structuring the declaration to make it flow. I learned that making a third period is harder than I thought because there are many details that go into it and making the structure of the third period is crucial so there is guidance.

We should have an Acapella third period class because it will let students explore their tones of voices and what their voice can do. They will discover new ways of singing, their true voices and will learn how to harmonize with other groups. Working together is the key to a successful acapella group.
The purpose of school is to learn new things and to expand our knowledge of previous things. To explore new things and find out what you are good and what might possibly be you career. In our new space at GCE Lab School, there will be a recording studio and we will have the chance to experience how to record. School also helps us grow, find our voice and help us be independent. Some of the rights that we have is the Right to explore different things, Right to express your ideas, Right to experience something new, Right to network with professionals and many more.

The guiding question I will pursue Is Acapella part of Music or separate? Why? I think that student should have a chance to explore something new. We have a club after school, but I think that many students are shy to participate so having them take a class will push them to discover something about himself and something different than doing kareoke because in Acapella everything is done by one's voice. My desire outcome of this third period is for students to feel that they learned something new about themself, make new friends, find something in common with other people they didn’t think they had and over all they appreciate acapella and music.In order to make this possible I will need a teacher who is passionate about music and that will help students find a voice. I will need students who are interested in it or are willing to give it a chance. I will need people who think or can beatbox. People who have some kind of knowledge in music to help out others and help with arrangements. I will need some speakers to play some examples of song from acapella groups. Maybe we can do a partnership with an acapella teacher, and acapella academy or a local/ any acapella group.

KIS. Triple Diagram. 2016.

We should have an acapella third period class that allows students to explore different sides of music and different genres. Having this class will will give them a different point of view of music and they will see music differently in general.

My Homemade Camera!

For the first unit for the course Light, Sound & Time, we studied refraction, Snell’s law, Trigonometry, lab reports and light. We learned about the speed of light and how fast it goes. We also learned about frequencies, waves, electromagnetic spectrum, prism, colors, particles and how a camera is similar to the human eyeball. For our action project, we were assigned to create a pinhole camera. The camera's body can be a box, cardboard, metal, cylinder, etc. as long as you can open it and put (special) paper inside. At the end we will have created our own camera and have a picture from it developed in a dark room. During this project it was difficult to find a way to close the box so no light could come in but at the same time I needed a way to open it so I could put the film paper in and take it out. I also had difficulty finding a shutter speed that would create a good image. I learned how film is made, the process of it and how time consuming it is (9 minutes). I am proud of my calculations.

KIS. Camera. 2016.

The way my camera works is by capturing the light by opening a pinhole in the middle of my camera. The light then goes through the camera and shines on a special paper inside that will capture the image upside down. I leave it open for about two minutes to let the image develop then I close it. I put my hand over the hole to make sure no light enter as I make my way to the dark room. In the dark room there is no light allowed, only low yellow lights. In there I take out the film and put it in a process of four trays with chemicals that allows you to see the photo. Unfortunately my camera does not illustrate the idea of refraction because refraction only occurs when light goes from one medium to another, such as air to water or glass. It is super important to paint my camera black inside because when the light goes in it won’t reflect whereas if it were white it would reflect and the image wouldn’t come out as wanted.

My camera demonstrates wave vs. particle when the light hits the paper which will record the image. The light hits the paper as a particle and leaves photons behind which take part in the developing process. It demonstrates the electromagnetic spectrum, specifically the visible spectrum in terms of colors because it uses black to absorb the light and energy from the sun. The object I chose to photograph is a mini Eiffel Tower because I had it and because I like the Eiffel Tower. The distance from my lens to the photo paper is 8cm, the height of pinhole is 12cm, the height of the Eiffel Tower is 26cm and the distance from the camera to Eiffel Tower is 15cm.

 KIS. Similar Triangle. 2016.

                                           

                                                            KIS. Calculations. 2016.

For my first picture I used a shutter speed of 3 minutes and when I developed it, it came out black because it had been exposed to too much light. Then I tried again with a shutter speed of 1 minute, but it still came out dark when I developed it. That’s when I realized that my box wasn't covered well because light was getting in and that is what ruined my picture. If I could do it all over again I would choose a different box or a cylinder so that no light could come in and the opening would be different. I would also like to use less tape because after taping and untaping the same tape it loses the stickiness and that’s what probably happened to my camera.

KIS. Black Photo. 2016

Quinceaños

The celebration of a quinceañera is a latin tradition for many year. This is a celebration where families celebrate their daughter maturity. In some religion, reaching the age 15 meant that they are able to get married of, but this isn't the case now. The special day start with going to church, take pictures and lastly party. To make this special day perfect every little detail counts. The recommendation is to plan your 15 day a year before because it's stressful, but at the end it's worth it. In this tradition there are many traditions inside it. For example, crowning the girl as a symbol that she is the queen of the party, change of shoes as a symbol of little girl to a teenager, dance with her dad as a symbol of him presenting her to the society and giving permission for boys to dance with her, and many more.

Mendez, Alfredo.  Analise Quinceañera. December 12, 2015. Photograph. Flicker.