It's been a while...

It's been over a month since I have updated my blog about my artboard. Since then we have had holidays and have entered the final term of the school year, this week is the last week left for the term before study leave. During the holidays I was able to come in 3 of 4 days so I could begin a new series with a new art style as well. I have created more than eight pieces that are all connected with the subject of the Black-eyed Susan flower, fractures, and eyes. I used sketchy and untidy lines (no matter how much it annoyed me in the beginning) because of the rough sketch that I originally used when I sketched the ideas out during class and did not have access to the actual application I use. From this sketch, my teacher gave me the advice to use this as my art style and continue to build off of that with my given subject matter. The next few pictures are a few of the pieces from this that will be going onto my board. 

This was the first piece I sketched and coloured with the new art style. You can see later how I have changed the colouration of the flowers to better suit the actual flower and how I've changed how I highlight the eyes.

This is the second piece done in the art style I changed to for the series. It lacks the fracture, which is one of my board's subject matters, but it shows the development of the flower with highlights and shadows. Additionally, there is a rough sketch line then a thicker baseline with all parts of the piece unlike before.

This piece was done much later on as I moved onto shifting from one set of art pieces to another. Again, this does not include the fracture subject. For this piece, I wanted to focus on the asymmetrical face with two matching eyes. As well, I wanted to experiment with a new form of background which I would use later on to make a singular eye based piece. I found that the purple contrasted well with yellow in the petals and eyes.

These next two pieces were ones I worked on for my first board that were not part of the subject matters including the Black-eyed Susan flower, fractures and eyes. These were made to continue with the subject matter of the feathers used in earlier pieces. I like working on these two since I was able to experiment with how to create the texture of the feather. The idea of white ink near the end of the quill was a result of me experimenting with the invert filter on the background.

Art Board Update

In the last week, we have continued to work on the artboards and developing the pieces. While I have not done much physical art, I have come up with ideas on what my next pieces may be. The first idea I had in mind was something I sketched earlier in the year and recently looked over again. It was a sketch of a pear, and while it was not detailed the description showed that the pear had a wedge cut out of it and laid beside it. The wedge is clean and fresh, it looks like a normal cut of a pear. However, inside of the pear, it has been cut out of it is rotted and brown in comparison. This is the idea that something can still be taken out of perspective as positive when it comes from something negative and rotted.

The second idea was given to me by my teacher, this was to expand upon the linocuts I previously did with the cameras and pastel colours. The idea is that I will cut more from the lino piece and reprint over these pieces so that the pieces each contain more colours in their composition. 

The third piece I had the idea of doing was parallel to the piece I had previously created of the girl with the feather behind her ear. This would be somewhat inverse as the colouration of the piece will be held inside the black line and the monotone colouration will be outside. So far, this piece is more of a cartoon-like style and shows no colour at this point. The piece shows a younger person with a short haircut that sweeps over. It shows a side view of the person's face, it faces the opposite direction to the previous piece that it somewhat alludes to. The picture shows the original sketch. 

Logos, Pathos, Ethos,

Logos

Logos references the usage of logicality when writing or/and speaking to persuade someone or a group. This can include making an appeal to the logical applications through stating facts, quotes or statistics. These assist with writing and speaking by giving an explanation or reasoning that appeals to less emotionally inclined situations such as business and political involvements. 

Pathos

Pathos references to the usage of an emotional standpoint. This can include using emotionally provocative language, stories or hypothetical situations to appeal to those who are more motivated or convinced by the emotional standpoint rather than the logical or ethical points. This can be seen with many charities and how they use an emotional standpoint in order to convince the watchers to donate.

Ethos

Ethos is particularly set apart from Logos and Pathos due to its principal and usage. The idea of Ethos is to use one's credibility, trust, or status to convince someone or argue against them. This can be seen in many advertisements through celebrities giving the product status by being involved with it. 

Art Board and Art Technique Progress

Since the last blog post, I have worked on one piece in particular. This is the charcoal sketch that I have since updated to show a black outline and a colourful background. The progress shown below is what I had done before the beginning of this term. The feather was incomplete and the picture had no background.

The picture has since been improved upon and shows a completed feather, a colourful background, and a solid black outline that separates the charcoal sketch from the coloured rainbow background. This finished piece relates quite well to the kaupapa I have of hidden or obscured truth. This piece shows a girl completely separated from the colour and brightness of the world around her. The quill she wears behind her ear represents old fashioned ways and how they keep her from this colour and the beautiful surrounding world. These old-fashioned ways and this knowledge obscures her from the truth and colour and keeps her in a bubble with only this old and unreliable knowledge. 

This set of pencil drawings was a piece I recently rediscovered. I worked on it before quarantine while still considering my kaupapa and subject matter. While the camera drawing doesn't fit into my kaupapa as I originally thought it would, it started a good process for me to eventually develop my kaupapa. The apple doesn't hold much meaning as a drawing in relevance to my kaupapa, but it did make for some good work to look into toning and shading with real objects. 

This is another pencil drawing that I recently rediscovered. It was a still-life that I worked on during the quarantine period. This helped me with drawing realistically with proportions. 

This recordation shows my progress with art technique. The internal contains the task of creating media (wet and dry) that shows still life subject matters. The progress I have made so far is to begin the process with mainly dry media drawings. This can include everything I have worked on that shows tonal differences throughout the piece. I have started the wet media, but at this point have less subject material for it. 

The second internal which is to demonstrate an understanding of artworks from a Māori and another cultural context using art terminology. This internal is one that I have already completed with Excellence.

Artwork Progress

 

Since my last update, I have mainly worked on the professional of my physical artwork. Since quarantine has ended, I have worked on basic forms in different forms of mediums, including charcoal, pencil and watercolour, I have printed four separate pieces as a series through lino printing, I've completed a sketch and am currently working with charcoal to produce a portrait.

The basic forms were done to teach us how to create different shapes with different media. When drawing, we can apply these shapes to the image and have a proper idea of size and shading.

The next piece was lino work that had three separate drafts before I printed. The idea behind the initial drawing was to depict a broken camera. In the pictures, we can see how I changed where I put the colour due to stylistic preference. The idea of different colours based on the broken piece was a result of wanting to have more variety and interesting points to the art. I believe that had I printed based on my first draft it would not look as good. 

The next part of lino printing, besides cutting, was the printing part. This managed to confuse me very much as lino printing does not require a press, but wood printing does. The last time I did any form of printing, it was wood printing where we used the press. At first, I only planned to use one colour but have multiple prints to choose from to find the best one. However, my teacher instead suggested that I use multiple colours which resulted in the next three variants being yellow, blue and pink. I chose these colours after it was suggested I use pastel colours.

This helped me find out what I wanted to do with my artboard. This piece (series?) is focussed around broken cameras and impaired vision. This leads me to what I believe my Kaupapa will be. Lying in media. Now more than ever, we see journalists, news industries and photographers taking the situation in front of them and twisting it to their companies beliefs or what will gain them profit. Their businesses profit from the extremities in the lives of celebrities and the accentuation of the worldly situations surrounding us. The media lies and lies again for the entertainment of viewers and the profit of their watchings.

The next piece I did, my sketch, used a camera as its subject. Cameras is something I wanted to incorporate into my artboard before I even knew what my Kaupapa would really be. This shows us woman using a camera, but whos finger is slightly covering the lens. I made one main draft before moving onto the resulting piece as seen. The piece isn't heavily realistic compared to how I would like it to be, however, I'm happy with the outcome as it was one of the first pieces I have done for art and was done before learning about basic form and such. 

One of the most recent pieces I have been working on is one using charcoal. This will be my first solely charcoal piece. This occurred due to the random drawing of a face with long hair and a feather over their ear. I drew this while experimenting as I had no idea what to draw. After my teacher saw it she gave me the idea of expanding upon the premise of the drawing and using one of my own friends as the main subject. From this, I took photographs to base the pictures from and I created a rough draft based on them. I did this in basic pencil in order to not smudge it. The final piece, which I am working on now, is drawn completely in willow charcoal and charcoal pencil. 

The meaning behind the artwork is that the feather represents the past. The feathers references to a quill of sorts. The meaning is that the past clouds the hearing of people in modern times. The ink that I will add soon shows the words of the past leaking onto the face beside the ear. The effects and words of the past cloud what people hear in modern times as they focus too much on the past to see the future.

The Meth PSA - Jessica

Within the PSA Jessica, we witness the narrator tell us about how the harmful effects of drugs have affected the girl Jessica he discusses. He tells us the story of a girl named Jessica who does meth and the negative impact that it has upon her life and the lives of others. For instance, her actions affected her own younger brother when she forces him to smoke meth with her. This is an obvious example of how meth altered her mind severely. Enough that she would force her own brother into drugs. This might affect him later in his life as he develops a powerful addiction. This may be catastrophic as he could influence his friends to do meth with him and cause a never-ending cycle. The purpose of mentioning the brother is to emphasise how her choices affect others, not just her own health. We see this aspect similarly in Walk the Line. This movie displays how Johnny Cash’s actions affect his family and his friend’s mental health as his declines. This is where we recognise the correlation between the characters Jessica and Johnny Cash. Their health and state of their lives worsen as they expose themselves to drugs.

1.1 Visual Arts Assesment

Due to lockdown, a lot of work has gone off track. So have assessments. I do hope we'll be back soon, but I know that it's only a matter of time until the lockdown is extended.

In the meantime, I've been attempting to complete my work to the best of my ability. This includes the art assessment that we've been working on for some time. Recently, I have been able to complete this, and while I cannot share the final product so I don't get copied, I can share some pieces that I am particularly proud of within the work.

Part of this assessment was describing the artworks of one of the artists we looked into. This is my description of Sofia Minson's 'The Other Sister,' this was the first of the four to be completed.

The painting is displayed as landscape, longer than the typical size, and without colour. The background is shades of gray, white and black, the white shines as if it is light in the upper right corner and it fades into gray and then into black as if it is shadows. A woman’s face is the focal point of the painting, showing from the very top of her eyebrows to the bottom of her chin, she is likely standing sideways and having to turn her head towards the focal point considering the angling of her face. The mentioned light before is shining onto her left cheek and creates shadows across her face, particularly on the opposite side of her face due to her nose and her eyelashes, despite this, light shines onto the left side of her nose, upper lip, bottom lip, her chin and most of the left cheek. She has short hair, that even with the gray scale would likely be graying or a light colour if she was to be shown in colour. The roots of her hair are dark as the light isn’t shining onto them. She has a set of defining wrinkles on her face, a pair that stretches from the bottom of the outside of her nose down towards her mouth, but not connecting, the lines are curved and display the right of her face more prominently as it makes the skin near her cheek where the wrinkle is shown puff out slightly. The woman has a traditional moko on her chin, two images reflecting over the centerline of her face to create a symmetrical image. The reflected image shows two swirls, one stretching from the bottom of her lip and the other stretching from the bottom of her chin, they connect at the center of her chin before splitting off and becoming smaller and smaller. The ink is dark, defining and makes an outstanding image.

In the third Artists picture description, one of the questions we answered for each artwork was 'What particular information can you pick out and explain further to show you understand the meaning of this artwork.' This was my answer about Roy Lichtenstein's Crying Girl (1963 version).

The artwork was created to represent the female identification in the 1950s and 1960s where they were fighting for their rights and against the stereotypical confirmations they were forced into, including how they appeared and spoke and who they were in a relationship with. The crying girl is stressed as seen in her face, she appears to be running from something or someone. This shows us how she can be running from the entrapment of the female identity during those times. She has broken this perfect idealisation of a woman through the outward showing of her emotions, and now is running.






Another question that we answered, for only two of the four artworks, was 'How does the context (time and place) the artwork was made affect your understanding of its meaning?' I answered this question in alignment with the artwork of Lisa Reihana's Mahuika.

The idea behind this artwork and the series it belongs to is to paint the Māori legends in an accurate way while the method creates a way of communicating this across the world. The time in which we do this will always affect the depictions of the people and the legends as time goes by. Years ago, Mori were painted as a dying race and their culture was used as a tourist attraction, but not something they could indulge in otherwise. Now, we see Māori legends and people depicted accurately and without bias, by people who respect the culture and it's ideas.

SEXXXY Analysis about The Albatross

Recently, we've been trapped. So, I'm doing English work so I can do something useful with myself. The following paragraphs are centred around varied film aspects shown in the short film 'The Albatross'. This is the final work before I look at introductions and conclusions and then begin my essay. I will show a slideshow and then have the text written below in order to assure myself that there is proof and yes, yes, I did do my work regardless of whether or not technology wants to work with me.



The motif of the bird shown in the short film ‘The Albatross’ has an extremely important role to the plotline. We see the bird on five separate occasions. At the very beginning when the elderly man takes the alcohol, when the man is sailing out into the water, after he has lost his fishing rod, when it appears on the shoulder of the creature and close to the end when it flies onto his shoulder. This makes the audience understand that the bird is important. It often appears when the man drinks or is close to alcohol. The bird is what the audience sees as the other option. The creators did this to represent a choice for the man. He can choose the option that the creature reflects is horribly affecting him, or he can choose the bird. When he chooses the bird we see the empty bottle of alcohol dropping to the bottom of the ocean. Coinciding with this is the sound we hear when the bird is shown. There is only the tweeting of the bird and soft music. Contrasting this was the sound when the creature was seen with the bottle of alcohol. It is deep and the creatures harsh voice was terrifying. This aspect can be contrasted to a motif shown in James Mangold’s ‘Walk The Line’ where the phone is a motif representing the character missing out on something or someone.

In the short film ‘The Albatross’ the use of symbolism through the colour orange was used expertly. This is demonstrated through the two objects that we see the colour orange in. These objects are the bottle of alcohol and the feathers of the bird. This makes the audience feel that these are the most important features of the film as they are recurring throughout the film from start to end. The purpose of the colour orange to highlight the aspects that are considered his options. The man has the choice between the bird and the alcohol. Coinciding with this was the contrasts made between the objects. The bird is small and round, while the alcohol has a rigid and rectangular shape. However, the shape of the alcohol bottle can be contrasted to the features of the body of the creature. The alcohol bottle and the creature have ridged edges, but by the end, they are both empty. This reminds me of how the colour orange was used in the film ‘The Godfather’. It allures people through romantic shades but slowly turns red throughout. As the red becomes more prominent, more is revealed in the criminal underworld.

Camera movement is used effectively in the short film “The Albatross’. We see this during the climax of the film. The camera ceases to simply be slowly tracking the subjects and begins to move at a quicker pace and tilting. This shows the audience how drunk the man and the creature are becoming. They are losing their grip on what reality is. This was done in order to show the creature and how the alcohol just passed through him, but he still got drunk. This contrasts to how we see the man take in the alcohol and he still becomes drunk as well. This worked well with the angles we get to see them both from. The angles become more and more tilted as the climax progresses. The creators also used sound well. They distorted different sounds heard throughout the scene and allowed others to be more prominent. An example being the cracking of the creature’s body. This aspect can be compared to the camera movement shown in ‘Limitless’ wherein a scene where Eddie and Melissa discuss her side effects the camera is never still. The camera is always focussed on the two of them, but shaking and it is representative of their drug-affected states.

Music is used amazingly in the short film ‘The Albatross’. Similarly to camera movement, music is seen particularly in the climax of the film where the audience gets to see the creature and the man drinking the alcohol. The music is deep at first, before becoming eerie and high pitched. The high-pitched tones heard in the music are comparable to the sounds heard when the creatures body cracks and we hear the alcohol sloshing. The music is becoming prominent compared to the other features during this portion of the film. This makes the audience think that horrible things are approaching. The purpose of this music was to contrast against the music we hear when the bird is shown on screen. While the music is still high-pitched, it is now a quiet, soft piano tune rather than the harsh, loud and scary music associated with the creature. Coinciding with this is the camera angles shown when focussed on the varied subjects. When on the bird, the audience is looking down onto the bird. It is small and non-threatening. When on the creature, the audience is scared and sees how large the creature is from the low camera angle. This aspect can be compared to one found in video games such as ‘Undertale’. When approaching a threatening creature, the music changes in order to accommodate the creature encountered. It becomes quick-paced, similar to the music we hear during the climax of the film.



That honestly looked like a lot fewer words in the slideshow and I'm sorry if you really did read that. It would not be set out in this format when properly used in an essay. It would instead seem like it is a continuation, rather than every paragraph seemingly being a stand-alone product.

English Group Work and Critical Literacy Questions

These Critical Literacy questions are focussed around this film named 'The Albatross'. The goal of this task is to learn about film aspects and how they contribute to the creation and the visual and sound effects of the film.

What is the text about? How do we know?

This text is a short animated film titled 'The Albatross' that is just under seven minutes long. It is about a lonely, elderly man and his struggles with alcohol. The man is never seen talking or communicating with anyone besides the creature featured within the film. Even then, communication is simply a bond shared through their desire to drink. He is seen to finish an entire bottle, leading to my conclusion about him struggling with alcohol. The creature featured in the short film is meant to represent a reflection of the elderly man and his only desire to drink himself away. The film has a sweet ending though. The bird that represents the man's other choice is eventually chosen and the creature has left him to die alone. 

Whose allowed to speak? Who is quoted?

The only one who is seen talking is the creature while he communicates with the man, but receives no response. This is seen as a representation of the man's inability to say no to the struggles he has or the insistence of others. 

What does the author of the text want us to know?

The creators of the film want us to know that there are other options. In the end, the man chose to overcome the creature and what he was forcing him to do by choosing the bird instead. The bird is that other option. While he does not know what may come of him by choosing the bird, he has left the demonic creature behind and is shown to defeat him. The ending credits show the empty bottle being dropped to the ocean floor, *COUGH COUGH* LITTERING *COUGH COUGH* representing how he has dropped everything the demon wanted him to do for something as small as the bird. 

How do the different aspects of film affect it?

Since our Creative Writing had been finished we have moved on to studying film. We have been working through google slides to understand different aspects. In the most recent set, we have been tasked to answer questions with certain points given for us to discuss based on a video also provided. 

How does tone work in film?

Tone, otherwise known as brightness, refers to the lighting used within the film to provide or create emotions based on its use. By turning the brightness down on a subject you see the subject in a more serious or sad light based on the varying context provided. This differs with being provided with brighter lighting which creates a happier or humorous scene. This allows directors to control the feelings that the audience experiences. 

There are three ways to control the toning within a film, exposure, lighting and art direction. Lighting is how you light the scene to provide a darker setting or a lighter setting. Exposure is how much light you allow the camera to see. Art direction is how many colourations or lighting difference you have between people, props, clothing and setting.

For example, within the beginning of The Godfather, the family is gathered in one room discussing a dark matter. This room is heavily underlit and has a large contrast with the white on the suits of the men within the room. The only light comes through dim lamps and bright light filtering through the blinds on the windows. This changes when they change scenes to show one of the men's daughters getting married right outside. This shows us the varied lighting techniques and the director likely used it to provide different emotions for the varying settings and scene.

How is contrast used in the film?

Contrast is the state of two largely opposing objects, colours or states. This is largely used with colourations within a film with props, wardrobe and lighting. Directors use contrast to provide feeling to a shot or scene. 

For example, within Spike Jonze's ad for Apple's Homepod, it begins with little contrast. The lighting is minimal and the clothing worn by everyone is dark and inexpressive. This changes when the woman shown throughout the ad arrives home. After this point, the contrast to the beginning of the ad begins and she begins to interact with the Homepod. She takes her jacket off to reveal a bright white shirt and the lighting soon becomes brighter as well. This lighting provides a better view of her face and allows us to see a much nicer looking setting than earlier on. Contrast to the beginning becomes even greater as the woman's world delves into this fantastical reality with bright colours as the room stretches and expands. The lighting becomes sporadic and bright. 

What Spike Jonze was likely wanting us to see through the contrast of the dull and dreary beginning and this fantastical bright ending was how your life would likely change with this product. It also shows us how happy she is with the Homepod there at home and when she is out and without it.

How does the insert shot work in film?

The insert shot is one that is used to focus on a certain point of the shot. It is most often used on an object or a set of objects when there is something the director wants us to notice about the current happenings.
Three main aspects are addressed when creating an insert shot. Composition, colour, and timing. Composition in an insert shot has to do with shot size, shot angle, and camera movement. Within the Coen Brothers The Big Lebowski they use the insert shots near the beginning of the to foreshadow something bad happening to a character. This is shown when a character is bowling and gets a strike and later on bowls and leaves only one pin standing. The foreshadowing leads to the character becoming injured later in the film. The brothers use colour as a detail later on in the film as a piece of the insert shot. Bright colour and dark colour contrast are used to highlight certain aspects that the directors want us to pay attention to. For example, there is a scene within The Big Lebowski, that shows the Dude being thrown in a car and shown a cut toe inside gauze wrapping through an insert shot. This toe's toenail is painted bright green. This relates back to an earlier point in the film where the owner of the toe is seen painting their toenails. They use green because of the colour contrast compared to the dark blood staining the gauze. The final aspect of timing has to do with the length of the insert shot. For example, in another scene, the Dude is seen attempting to throw a cigarette butt of some kind out of the closed window. It instead falls into his lap. An insert shot is then used to focus on his crotch where the butt has fallen for half a second. This is used to give the viewer the same amount of processing time as the character within the story.

How does the over-the-shoulder shot work?

An over-the-shoulder shot (or OTS) is one that is taken over the shoulder of a character to connect them or show that connection. 

Within the series West World, one scene shows the characters Dr Ford and Teresa having a meeting. At the beginning of this scene, the two characters begin on the same page. They talk about a concept which they appear to have agreeable views on. During the portion of this particular scene, here are many intentional OTS shots. This shows the connection that the two characters are having over the conversation. As the conversation continues, Teresa begins to doubt Dr Ford's creation and the shots begin to change from the OTS shots shown earlier on. At first, it is a small zoom-in on the character Dr Ford with the use of the Dolly, then it progresses. This shot style is constantly used, the OTS and dolly, as the conversation changes. Soon the Dolly presses so far forward that both the characters cannot be seen at once from the interchanging points of view. This is used to represent the characters disconnection as they soon begin to disagree over the conversation. The zooming-in with the use of the Dolly eventually stops on both characters and shows them both completely isolated from one another. This shows their complete disconnection since the conversation has reached its near end. 

How is the Dutch angle used?

The Dutch angle shot is one that is tilted along the x-axis and is used during an unsettling or an unbalanced scene to represent that it is as said. This shot was created by German expressionists in the early 1900s. 

Three steps need to be taken to create this shot and use it effectively. First, directors need to identify a point within the script that is unsettling or unbalanced. Secondly, they need to consider their choice on the angle. Thirdly, they need to identify ways that they can enhance the dutch angle. Four main varied aspects can enhance the shot and scene.

1. The degree of the tilt of the dutch angle. The more off-balance, the more unbalanced the scene feels.
2. The camera height of the dutch angle. The lower the angle is, the more power it gives the subject. The higher, the less power it gives them.
3. The lens choice when filming the dutch angle. Using a wide-angle lens will show a different view compared to a standard lens.
4. The depth of field when filming the dutch angle. The focus of the subject can dramatically change the scene.

This is all to make sure that the director does not use the angle in such a way to confuse the viewer of what they are seeing or meant to be realising about the shot.

How does production design work in a film?

Production design can be defined as the overall finished look of the production, with the placements of props, set design, lighting and use of wardrobe.

Production design helps us to see certain aspects of the film and/or shot, these are:

The mood of the scene. The set design, props, lighting, and use of wardrobe are used to provide the context of how the viewer should see the scene. When shown an empty room with a character with plain clothing and dull lighting and don't take much from the scene intentionally. However, when we do take a closer look at it, we can see that empty space does not make space for feeling about this character seen. If we were to contrast this to a different circumstance where the character is seen in a cluttered apartment with bright clothing, bright lighting, and unique props, we would take different feelings away from this. The set is full and bustling with unique objects. You take away a different feeling from this scene.
The state of a character can be reflected through the listed aspects by giving us a view of how that person lives. If we were to see a dirty room with dull clothing askew across the floor and little lighting, we would likely assume that this person is not in a good or healthy state. What we could gather about this person is that they are not bothered by the state of this room and that can reflect many different quality's about the person. These qualities can be laziness, depression, or even loneliness. In contrast, if we were to look at a perfectly clean room with bright lighting, little clutter and no seen wardrobe we could likely presume other qualities. These qualities could be cleanliness, perfectionism, or even being rich.
The story's theme is used to provide a deeper meaning or subtext throughout the scene. Taking Jurassic Park as an example, in one scene of the movie, letters are projected onto the dinosaur. What many people don't know is that that writing is dinosaur DNA, this is an example of the subtext. This movie from a simpler point of view shows that dinosaurs are monsters, however, by delving deeper it shows that the real monsters are humans as they manipulate DNA. The theme of the movie is humanity's attempt to control nature and project onto living beings.

How does film blocking work in films?

Blocking is the precise staging of actors within films and within the frame of the camera. 

When using blocking three aspects need to be considered, space, shapes, and lines. Space is the distance each subject has from each other and the camera. Someone closer to the camera would be more imposing than the subjects further away from the camera. Those subjects further away would be seen as less significant than the ones closer to the camera. With shapes, three basic ones are used for the arrangement of subjects, circles, squares and triangles. Each of these holds emotional significance. Circles are used to make something feel safer and inclusive. Squares create limited space and close someone in. Triangles are sharp and can make the scene aggressive or point towards a subject. Finally, lines, lines are used to show dynamics within a scene. Within a film, there is a major power difference between the character standing and looking down and the character laying there, vulnerable to what the standing character may do. Blocking particularly helps to show us what the characters are doing and what they mean through their actions and words. 

How do visual motifs work in film?

A motif is any reoccurring element that has symbolic significance within a story. Motifs are used because they show that the story is able to operate on more than one level of significance. Take the Silence of the Lambs for an example, throughout that movie there is the reoccurring symbol of the traditional American colours. Within this film, the Buffalo Bill character shown is a play on the real Buffalo Bill Cody. This person was someone regarded as a traditional American symbol of the Wild West. This was a deliberate idea to idealise that character as a renewed horrible being. This is all used to show the films main statement. America is not innocent. The colours appear again and again, on Buffalo Bill's wall, on Katherine Martin's missing statement over the news Buffalo Bill has the American colours over the image and more throughout the film. Speaking of Katherine Martin, before the incident that resulted in her missing, she was driving and listening to the song American Girl, this is an example of an audio motif that was used to amplify the visual motifs. 

These motifs all lead to an example of a great work of art as they are used. This is because what makes art great is the reoccurring symbolism throughout the works and how each of them is used to amplify the work as a whole. Every moment is an opportunity to amplify your vision and give others the opportunity to see what you can see.

How does colour work in film?

Colour in a film is used to elicit emotions from viewers as they identify the emotions they associate with it. Three things need to be considered. 

1. The hue of the colour. Take the Matrix for example. This particular movie has a green hue throughout the entirety of it. This is due to it being a digital world. Also because people accossiate the colour green with coding. The green is slightly off-putting though. This is so the colour can reflect the state of the world. 
2. The intensity of the colour (saturation). The intensity of the hue of the film effects it by showing us the state of the movie. If high saturation is used, you can clearly see what is happening. Most people would assume that everything is positive and okay. However, if there was low saturation, and the colour was dark, there would be very different assumptions. 
3. The brightness of the colour. The brightness of a colour used in a film should be considered because that pertains to the brightness of the overall scene and how much attention it draws. Using darker colours will not draw attention without the contrast against the brighter colours and vice versa.

How does a POV shot work?

A POV shot is one taken from the perspective of a character in order to show the audience the view of the world as the character sees it. 

A 'point of thought' shot is one where instead of showing us the characters point of view, it shows us the world from the way the characters think it. This shot is frequently used by Steven Spielberg and spawned from an adaption of the POV shot. Within Raiders of the Lost Ark, one particular scene called the basket chase scene has many opportunities to show us a POV shot. However, there is no POV shot. While there is one that appears to be, the eye-line does not match up, instead, Jones runs towards the sound of Marian's voice. In the next shot, we come eye-to-eye with Indiana Jones. But, we still get no POV shot. The audience wants to connect with Indiana and see through his eyes in this time but they cannot because Indiana wants to see with Marian but he cannot. Throughout this, the directors show us how Indiana is thinking and not showing us how he is seeing. This is important because there's a time where we need to see through the character's eyes and there's a time where we need to see what the character is thinking and feeling.

How do establishing shots work in film?

The establishing shot is the opening shot of a scene, usually of landscape or the setting. The shot is used to establish a connection between the character(s) and the setting. When creating an establishing there are three steps that need to be taken.

1. Envision. Part of making the storyboard is the ideas surrounding what you want to create. The setting and the shot will help the audience envision how they will feel about the remainder of the film.
2. Plan. Have a written form reminding you of how you want to proceed with the establishing shot. Mainly reminding you of the aspects such as camera shot, camera angle, tone, etc. Another point about planning is research, every filming location will have its positives and negatives. Needing something like the sun to set on a building will need research to figure out if that is possible. 
3. Efficiency. Creating a shot that will only last for two seconds of the movie is inefficient and not very well-thought-out. A wide shot that is also an establishing shot will always be expensive and having it not do it a job well is stupid. The establishing shot will be expensive because of everything you see. Most have views of the landscapes or time-specific necessities, this is an expensive and inefficient if its underwhelming.

Creative Writing 1.4 Internal Assessment for English 2020

NOTE: This was written in 2020 and was an assessment from 2020 that I forgot to upload or made into a draft, I don't remember.

Recently we have been working towards the first draft of our English Creative Writing Assessment. I have completed the first draft here. Out of the four different kinds of Creative Writing Assessments I chose to do one that lasted over three different time periods, before a murder, during a murder and after a murder. Our word limit was exactly 1000 words, and I did, of course, go over that, however, the first draft has been shortened to 999 words exactly. The dashes symbolise a change in time period.

*STARTING*

The fire would be all her fault, just as the others had been.

A small place, barely enough for one person. But, there it stood. With battered walls and weak hinges on its doors, the house was desolate. Inside, you could smell the dust leaking from every plank of wood. Across from it only a single road, not anything else. The dirt was flattened in one skinny strip, where a motorbike frequently drove. The trees were somehow alive, even in the dry area. It was hard to believe anybody would have ever lived in such a place, let alone two people. However, they did. They were ‘happy’ in such a small place. It was a while from town, but they both enjoyed the distance. Abe especially.

“Hey honey,” his voice was slurred, coming from the couch he sat on while Lee stood in the kitchen, leaning on the counter and scrolling through her phone.

“Yeah?” She only had to act for so long, so she could have her fun in playing with the fear in his head.

“Think ya could chuck me a beer?” Why couldn’t he get him himself? Oh wait, it was because she was a woman.
“Of course, sweetheart,” she dragged it from the fridge and cracked it open. She scrunched her nose at the putrid smell and the white smoke pouring from its lips.

“I was gonna head out to town, you want me to grab anything for ya?” she mentioned, handing him the beer.

“Nah,” he slurred with a breath that stunk of the putrid smell, “I’ll be perfectly fine.”

Perfect, she could gather the first of the equipment on the list.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It was hard to believe that watching fire could be so entertaining, even after all the fire she had seen in her time. Lee saw nothing but beauty in the fire as it tore down the house. Cracking, crashes, and the distant thunder of an oncoming storm. The fire licked up the boards and glowed with a burning passion. Even with how far away she stood she could feel the heat against her skin. She gripped leather gloves in her hands tight, almost enough to tear them apart.

Anyone who saw her here would think she was the devil or a witch. Cigarette burns on her wrists in small circles with bright colours, baggy skin across her face, and a patch of hair missing from her head. The patch was replaced by more wrinkled skin that was a slight pink compared to the tan skin across most of her body. She had created more fire in her life and she was decorated with proof of them and ones she hadn’t started.

The fire would cover the tracks. The only clue was the stink of rotting, burning, flesh. That wouldn’t matter though. No one had been out here for a while, besides them of course. She would have to find another place to stay, but that would soon bear her mark too, the stink of ash and burning flesh.

She still had one to go. And she was going to have the most fun with her.

Was it the first fire? No, and it wouldn’t be the last.

Was it the first body? No, and it wouldn’t be the last.

Lee felt nothing now as she swung her leg over the motorcycle and sped off, leaving his bones as dust and her memories with them both meaningless.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“Must be a plain ol’ psycho,’ reasoned the officer. Standing at a pile of ash was definitely different than rounding up the kids who ditched school.

“Can’t be no plain Jane with a fire like tha’, musta had a problem with him.” A thick southern accent surrounded them both.

“Him?”

“The girlie who lived here, saw her once, talked ‘bout a boy who didn’t like the town, much less the city.” The first looked confused. Had she started the fire? And where was the boy if she did?

“Ya really think she did it? Why?” Now it was the second man’s turn to look confused, how couldn’t she? They were the only ones out near these parts, who would burn down a place in the middle of nowhere?

“It’s obvious,” he reasoned, staring at his partner in disbelief, “Can’t ya smell nothin’? Stinks like the ol’ butchers after a smoking, she left ‘em in there and booked it, probably a while ago too,”

“Can’t exactly bring tha’ as evidence though, she’s a suspect, but she ain’t coming back anytime soon if she’s a smart one like ya say,”

“It's’ a shame, seemed like a decent gal.”

The officer couldn’t see the falseness in her wolfish grin, or how she had a resting face that could raise hell. The officer couldn’t hear the falseness when she giggled at him mentioning marriage, or how she had menace in her voice when dismissing the idea. The officer couldn’t feel the warmth that others in the town held when he spoke to them or the chill down his spine that others felt when they saw her.

Unfortunately, it was something that they would never indulge again. Learning of the case, officials took over and sent in forensics. They asked questions, and it felt weird for the two officers to be in the opposite position. But, in their small town, it was the most action they had seen in so long, that they would talk for months. The officials would search the town but she was long gone, tyres racing down the roads towards a small diner.

The diner was silent as she pulled in. The woman clad in black leather looked like something from a movie as she had parked her motorbike. Only the man who dressed in a black tuxedo knew of her purpose here. To gather the information he would provide her with. She strutted in with power in each step, and he waved her over. She sat with hunched shoulders and a dead stare.

“So, where is she?”

*ENDING*

Task One

Our next task is to create the second draft by completing separate tasks such as inserting words or using the senses to evoke a sense of place. We need to complete six of these tasks and improve upon the draft. The changes will be marked by highlighter depending on the change made. The tasks I have chosen to use to change and improve my writing are:

Use time-related specifics
Describe settings to deepen the mood
Use settings to reflect the characters nature
Make characters introductions memorable
Show characters through what they say and omit
Replacing words

The following piece is one that has been altered from the original and uses the seen highlighting to represent the various changes within the writing.

*STARTING*

The fire would be all her fault, just as every other one had been.

A small place, barely enough for one person. But, there it stood. With battered walls and weak hinges on its doors; the house was desolate. Inside, you could smell the dust leaking from every plank of wood. The dirt was flattened in one narrow strip from the road, where a motorbike frequently drove. The trees were orange and brown with age, decaying in the post-summer heat. The paint on the mailbox had begun to peel and crumble under the sun. It was hard to believe anybody would have ever lived in such a place, let alone two people. However, they did. They were ‘happy’ in such a small place. It was a while from town, but they both enjoyed the distance. Abe especially.

“Hey honey,” a slurred voice came from the couch. While Lee stood, leaning on the kitchen counter and scrolling through her phone. Images of missing persons and arson reports flashed onto her screen.

“Yeah?” She only had to act for so long, so she could have her fun in playing with the fear in his head.

“Think ya could chuck me a beer?” 

“Of course, sweetheart,” she dragged it from the fridge and cracked it open aggressively while still outside of his line of sight. She scrunched her nose at the putrid smell and the white smoke pouring from its lips.

“I was gonna head out to town, you want me to grab anything for ya?” she mentioned, flashing a grin and handing him the beer.

“Nah,” he slurred, stinking of the putrid smell, “I’ll be fine.”

Now she could gather the first of the equipment.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Lee saw nothing but beauty in the fire as it tore down the house. Cracks, crashes, and the distant thunder of an oncoming storm sounded from everywhere around her. The fire licked up the boards and glowed with a burning passion. Even with how close she stood she couldn’t feel the heat against her skin. She gripped leather gloves in her hands tight, almost enough to tear them apart. She strutted out the remains of the door.

Any believer who saw her here would think she was the Devil or a witch. Cigarette burns on her wrists in light pink tones, baggy skin lined her face, and a patch of hair was missing from her head. The patch was replaced by more wrinkled skin that was a slight pink compared to the tan skin across her body. She had created more fire and she was decorated with proof of it, as well as ones she hadn’t started.
The fire would cover any tracks. The only clue was the stink of burning flesh. That wouldn’t matter though. No one had been out here for a while, besides them. She would have to find another place to stay; that would soon bear her mark too. The stink of ash and burning flesh.

She still had one to go. And she was going to have the most fun with her.

Was it the first fire? No, and it wouldn’t be the last.

Was it the first body? No, and it wouldn’t be the last.

Lee felt nothing now as she swung her leg over the motorcycle and sped off, leaving his bones as dust and her memories with them both meaningless.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“Must be a plain ol’ psycho," reasoned the officer, yelling over the storm. Looking at the pile of ash and deteriorating foundations, he realised that it was definitely not in the typical job description.

“Can’t be no plain Jane with a fire like tha’, musta had a problem with him.” A thick southern accent surrounded them.

“Him?”

“The girlie who lived here, saw her once, talked ‘bout a boy who didn’t like the town, much less the city.” The first looked confused. Had she started the fire?

“Ya really think she did it? Why?” Now it was the second officer’s turn to look confused. They were the only ones out near these parts, who would burn down a place in the middle of nowhere?

“It’s obvious,” he reasoned, staring at his partner in disbelief, “Can’t ya smell nothin’? Stinks like the ol’ butchers after a smoking, she left ‘em in there and booked it, probably a while ago too,”

“Can’t exactly bring tha’ as evidence though, but she ain’t coming back anytime soon if she’s a smart one,”

“It's’ a shame, seemed like a decent gal.”

The officer couldn’t see the falseness in her wolfish grin, or how her stone-cold face could raise hell. The officer couldn’t hear the falseness when she giggled at him mentioning relationships, or how she had menace in her voice when she dismissed him. The officer couldn’t feel the warmth that others in the town held when he spoke or the chill down his spine that others felt when they saw her.

Unfortunately, it was something that they would never indulge again. Learning of the case, officials took over and sent in professionals. They searched but she was long gone. Her tyres racing down the dirt roads towards a fancy restaurant.

The restaurant was loud and bustling as she pulled in. The woman clad in ratty leather looked like a scene from a movie as she had parked her motorbike. Only the man who dressed in a tuxedo worth the restaurant itself knew of her purpose here. To gather the information he would provide her with.

Her boots thundered against the costly carpet. Looking through the restaurant, she felt her shoulders go tight. A place like this was his territory, with candles lining the tables, men in tuxedos and women in shiny dresses. Each had a different, more expensive-looking drink than the last. She sat and leaned onto the expensive table cloth, forearms against it and her hands clasped firmly in front of her. After a long silence, she finally asked her question with a dead stare into his eyes.

“So, where is she?”

*ENDING*

This is the first altered version of my first draft. There are two more sets of tasks to complete before it is ready to be submitted. The next is a much simpler task. We need to pick out different types of sentences within the story and show them. Or alternatively, write them into the story. Some of these will likely be shown with other sentences not of their type to give context.

The next sentences will explain the scene they are from, what the sentence type is and whether or not it is was within the story before this task.

Task Two

SENTENCE TYPE ONE

The short sentence is one that is incorporated into a story for something quick. It grabs attention. The rules are that it includes five or fewer words.

“Was it the first fire? No, and it wouldn’t be the last.

Was it the first body? No, and it wouldn’t be the last.”

This is included in the second part of the story. This is where Lee burns the house down with Abe inside, it provides context that she is experienced and gives an air of mystery to Lee. It also uses the language feature of repetition with the pairs of sentences working together. The second sentences on each line are there to provide context. They are not there as short sentences. These two examples were already included within the story and I did not have to write them in.

SENTENCE TYPE TWO

The adverb start is one that uses an adverb to begin the sentence. Quickly, it adds to the interest you already have in the story. The rules are that you begin with an adverb, place a comma, and then continue with the sentence.

“Unfortunately, it was something that they would never indulge again.’’

This is included in the third part of the story. This is near the end of the scene with the officers and is used to explain what happened. It then goes onto explain what the town did about what they thought Lee had done. This particular sentence has not been provided with context as it is easily a stand-alone sentence. This example was already within the story and I did not have to write it in.

SENTENCE TYPE THREE

The -ING start is one that uses a word ending in a -ing form of a verb. Speaking through this form of a sentence requires you to state something beginning with the -ing form of the verb, place a comma and then continue with the rest of the statement.

“Looking at the pile of ash and deteriorating foundations, he realised that it was definitely not in the typical job description.”

This sentence is also included in the third part of the story. It is near the end of the scene with the officers and is used as a part of the introduction as to what the officers are doing as to what happened. This sentence has also not been provided with context as it is easily a stand-alone sentence as well. This example was not already within the story and I did have to write it in, as the original sentence did not include the pause with the comma as required.

SENTENCE TYPE FOUR

The W-start sentence is one that uses words beginning with W, such as who, what, when, where, why, and whereas. When used correctly, this type of sentence makes writing sounds more knowledgeable and thoughtful. The rules of this sentence are simply to begin with a word beginning with W.

“While Lee stood, leaning on the kitchen counter and scrolling through her phone.”

This sentence is included in the first part of the story. It is within the middle of the scene that introduces us to both Lee and Abe. After this sentence it begins to introduce us to both Lee and Abe’s typical character as Abe is a drunk and Lee is foreshadowed to not be the best person. This sentence has also not been provided with context as it is easily a stand-alone sentence as well. This example was already within the story and I did not have to write it in.

SENTENCE TYPE FIVE

The semicolon sentence is one that replaces a conjunction such as and or but with a semicolon inorder to connect two independent sentences. The rules for this sentence are, as stated, to include a semicolon in place of a conjunction when appropriate.

“She would have to find another place to stay; that would soon bear her mark too.”

This sentence is included in the second part of the story. It is the very middle of the scene with Lee standing in the burning house and the paragraph goes onto describe that because they were in the middle of nowhere that it would take time for anyone to even notice the happening. This sentence has also not been provided with context as it is easily a stand-alone sentence as well. This example was not already within the story and I did have to write it in, as the original sentence did not include the semicolon as required.

Task Three

The final task includes changing the punctuation of the sentences so that they fit better into the story. This can include changing conjunctions and separating sentences when necessary. Each sentence will be taken and looked at to see if it needs to be changed so it can have a more interesting effect. This will mostly change some of the longer sentences. When changed you will see the previous sentence or sentences in brackets directly above the changed sentence as they will not be in paragraphs. They will all be put back into format at the very end so that it can complete the final product. I will also be deleting sentences that I find unnecessary. So if there appears to be anything missing, you know where it went.

*STARTING*

(The fire would be all her fault, just as every other one had been.)
The fire would be all her fault. Just as every other one had been.

A small place, barely enough for one person.

But, there it stood.

With battered walls and weak hinges on its doors; the house was desolate.

Inside, you could smell the dust leaking from every plank of wood.

(The dirt was flattened in one narrow strip from the road, where a motorbike frequently drove.)
The dirt was flattened in one narrow strip from the road where a motorbike frequently drove.

The trees were orange and brown with age, decaying in the post-summer heat.

The paint on the mailbox had begun to peel and crumble under the sun.

It was hard to believe anybody would have ever lived in such a place; let alone two people.

However, they did.

They were ‘happy’ in such a small place.

(It was a while from town, but they both enjoyed the distance.)
It was a while from town. They both enjoyed the distance.

Abe especially.

“Hey honey,” a slurred voice came from the couch.

While Lee stood, leaning on the kitchen counter and scrolling through her phone.

Images of missing persons and arson reports flashed onto her screen.

(“Yeah?” She only had to act for so long, so she could have her fun in playing with the fear in his head.)
“Yeah?” She only had to act for so long. Then she could have her fun in playing with the fear in his head.

“Think ya could chuck me a beer?”

(“Of course, sweetheart,” she dragged it from the fridge and cracked it open aggressively while still outside of his line of sight.)
“Of course, sweetheart,” she dragged it from the fridge. Cracking it open aggressively while she was outside of his sight.

She scrunched her nose at the putrid smell and the white smoke pouring from its lips.

(“I was gonna head out to town, you want me to grab anything for ya?” she mentioned, flashing a grin and handing him the beer.)
“I was gonna head out to town, you want me to grab anything for ya?” she flashed a camera-worthy grin and handed him the beer.

(“Nah,” he slurred, stinking of the putrid smell, “I’ll be fine.”)
“Nah, I’ll be fine,” he slurred. Lee tried to not back away at the putrid smell.

(Now she could gather the first of the equipment.)
At least now she could begin to gather the equipment.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Lee saw nothing but beauty in the fire as it tore down the house.

Cracks, crashes, and the distant thunder of an oncoming storm sounded from everywhere around her.

The fire licked up the boards and glowed with a burning passion.

Even with how close she stood she couldn’t feel the heat against her skin.

(She gripped the leather gloves in her hands tight, enough to tear them apart.)
She gripped leather gloves in her hands tight. Almost enough to tear them apart.

She strutted out the remains of the door.

Any believer who saw her here would think she was the Devil or a witch.

(Cigarette burns on her wrists in light pink tones, baggy skin lined her face, and a patch of hair was missing from her head.)
Cigarette burns lining her wrists in a light pink, baggy skin made her face droop, and hair was missing from parts of her scalp.

The patch was replaced by more wrinkled skin that was a slight pink compared to the tan skin across her body.

(She had created more fire and she was decorated with proof of it; as well as ones she hadn’t started.)
She had created more fire and she was decorated with proof of it; as well as ones she hadn’t started.

The fire would cover any tracks.

She would have to find another place to stay; that would soon bear her mark too.

The stink of ash and burning flesh.

She still had one to go.

And she was going to have the most fun with her.

Was it the first fire?

No, and it wouldn’t be the last.

Was it the first body?

No, and it wouldn’t be the last.

(Lee felt nothing now as she swung her leg over the motorcycle and sped off, leaving his bones as dust and her memories with them both meaningless.)
Lee felt nothing now as she swung her leg over the motorcycle and sped off. Leaving his bones as dust and her memories with them both meaningless.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“Must be a plain ol’ psycho,'' reasoned the officer, yelling over the storm.

Looking at the pile of ash and deteriorating foundations, he realised that it was definitely not in the typical job description.

“Can’t be no plain Jane with a fire like tha’, musta had a problem with him.”

A thick southern accent surrounded them.

“Him?”

“The girlie who lived here, saw her once, talked ‘bout a boy who didn’t like the town, much less the city.”

The first looked confused.

Had she started the fire?

“Ya really think she did it? Why?”

Now it was the second officer’s turn to look confused.

(They were the only ones out near these parts; who would burn down a place in the middle of nowhere?)
They were the only ones out near these parts; who would burn down a place in the middle of nowhere?

(“It’s obvious,” he reasoned, staring at his partner in disbelief, “Can’t ya smell nothin’? Stinks like the ol’ butchers after a smoking, she left ‘em in there and booked it, probably a while ago too,”)
“It’s obvious,” he reasoned, staring at his partner in disbelief. “Can’t ya smell nothin’? Stinks like the ol’ butchers after a smoking, she left ‘em in there and booked it, probably a while ago too,”

“Can’t exactly bring tha’ as evidence though, but she ain’t coming back anytime soon if she’s a smart one,”

“It's’ a shame, seemed like a decent gal.”

(The officer couldn’t see the falseness in her wolfish grin, or how her stone-cold face could raise hell.)
The officer couldn’t see the falseness in her wolfish grin or how her stone-cold face could raise hell.

(The officer couldn’t hear the falseness when she giggled at him mentioning relationships, or how she had menace in her voice when she dismissed him.)
The officer couldn’t hear the falseness when she giggled at him mentioning relationships or the menace in her voice when she dismissed him.

The officer couldn’t feel the warmth that others in the town held when he spoke or the chill down his spine that others felt when they saw her.

Unfortunately, it was something that they would never indulge again.

Learning of the case, officials took over and sent in professionals.

They searched but she was long gone.

Her tyres racing down the dirt roads towards a fancy restaurant.

The restaurant was loud and bustling as she pulled in.

The woman clad in ratty leather looked like a scene from a movie as she had parked her motorbike.

Only the man who dressed in a tuxedo worth the restaurant itself knew of her purpose here.

To gather the information he would provide her with.

Her boots thundered against the costly carpet.

Looking through the restaurant, she felt her shoulders go tight.

A place like this was his territory, with candles lining the tables, men in tuxedos and women in shiny dresses.

Each had a different, more expensive-looking drink than the last.

(She sat and leaned onto the expensive table cloth, forearms against it and her hands clasped firmly in front of her.)
She sat and leaned onto the expensive table cloth. Her forearms against it and her hands clasped firmly in front of her. 

After a long silence, she finally asked her question with a dead stare into his eyes.

“So, where is she?”

*ENDING*

This concludes the chosen alterations of the story and shows how I went from my first draft to the completed edition that I will not be showing. I’m sorry you had to read all of this and not get to read the final completed product that I have shown for my assessment. The final product amounted to 977 words total and was turned in as a part of the then, now, and later assessment.