Cotton: I think we are supposed to do this post, but I'm not sure. Either way, I'm going for it.

My final project shows my need to be honest to the source material I am working with. With this documentary it would be easy to take out-of-context snippets and make them seem like they were said together and thereby make my subject seem crazy. This would debatably be more interesting but not at all honest. Our subject is on his way to getting his PhD in microbiology and is a very well educated person, even if his opinions go against the status quo (as has been the case with almost every revolutionary scientist). So I feel it is my responsibility as a mormon artist to capture what this person is really like, and not try to alter the story in any way as to make it dishonest.

The collaborative process has taught me that I need to be more open to other people’s ideas and trust in their strengths and abilities. I am a controlling person and can be very prideful so it’s easy for me to think that x person will do a bad job or that they might not have anything valuable to offer. This has proven to not be the case, so I need to let go of my anxious tendencies and confide that other people have talents that will better the project as a whole.

As this is my final blog post I would like to say a few final words to my fellow bloggers and bloggettes: I’m sorry if my blog posts have been angry, grouchy, cynical, and even apostate. I usually remember that I have to do these posts late at night when I need to sleep or finish other assignments. So my apologies if these posts have been this way, I’m not usually a terrible person. I love and respect you all. May the Force be with you, always.

Final Reflections

   I think that using the final project to represent my “Mormon artistry” is a bit of an interesting thing to do. On one hand, my subject specifically someone who has moved to a new country and begun a successful business. Similarly, I am from the east coast and have come out here to school. As a result, I am learning things that will make me successful in life. Although adjustment at first was difficult, things have panned out now, and it’s great. On the other hand (referring to this project reflecting my ‘Mormon artistry’)I think that this project shows how I have a genuine interest for real people’s lives and situations. If I were not a member of the Church, I do believe I would be much more like House--not really caring about the little details that actually make life important, meaningful, and valuable...and also being much more cynical. However, I am a member and I truly have come to appreciate the beauty and strong value that hard work, as well as everyday life, has.
    Although I enjoy working as a team, I have never had to do much creative collaboration in my life. It has taught me so much. I never cease to be amazed at the more complex stories groups can come up with as opposed to what one can come up with on their own. Multiple times this semester, I have just been talking about a project idea and someone else says something and I realize ‘Yes! That will make a world of difference and be so much better!’ Then, when the project is finally done, I am so pleased at the results--a conglomerate of ideas fitted together to make a more perfect whole that is even bigger and better than any one person could have done on their own. As a result of this, I am able to see how important it s that I keep this up, if for no other reason that to grow and to hear about ideas that I wouldn’t have thought of myself. Furthermore, I have learned to respect my fellow film-students, they are all so talented and have a lot to offer and I know that I can learn from helping them out with projects or having them help me with my own. By doing this, I hope to become a more well-rounded filmmaker. I have a long way to go, but collaboration will be a great tool to get me closer.

Are we suppose to do this?

          Well, to be truthful, I do not know in which ways my final project does reflects my goals as a "Mormon Artist" because we haven't really done it yet.  (But a rough draft will be done by Tuesday, so don't fret!)  But, I guess I really only have one main goal, and everything else is appendages to that goal.  And said goal is: to make a living doing what I love.  If I wanted job security or something, I would have been an accountant.  But, that sounds lame/I don't want to do that.  So, wether I'm making something uplifting or just something fun, as long as I'm getting paid to do what I love to do, I will be a happy camper.  (Which phrase I use in the literally, not figural, sense because I do like to camp.)


          The collaborative process has taught me several things about my need for growth.  Well, actually it has taught me one thing for two reasons.  One thing - it has taught me the importance of knowing something about everything.  Reason One - if I know something about everything, I will be more useful to my fellow classmates; which, in theory, will allow me more opportunities to work on projects.  Reason Two - if I know something about everything, I don't need to collaborate.  Now, I'm not saying that collaboration is bad, just that sometimes it is hard to find people who can do it.  So, by being a jack-of-all-trades, I can pursue whatever project I want without needing to rely on others.


          I guess it has taught me some other stuff too.  And that is to be reliable.  If you're not reliable, you do not do your part, things do not get done, and no one wants to work with you in the future.  So, you're stuck by yourself.  (Which might be ok if you know something about everything because then you don't need them, right?)

Mason: Final Blog Post EVER...

The final project that Sam, Ryan and I are working to create originally sought to provide a closer look at the situation of the homeless here in Provo. We wanted to investigate how their trying life circumstances influenced their beliefs, as well as how they managed on a day-to-day basis. We felt it would be interesting to learn about a homeless person’s connection to Mormonism, whether through personal history or interactions with members on the street.

Unfortunately, our encounters with the homeless have not gone well during this project. On Tuesday we approached a man on the corner of Center and University and received an earful about how the CIA and Secret Service have been ruining people’s lives for years. The man offered veiled threats about the people he has killed; he was obviously not in a state of mental health to respond to our questions, and explicitly refused to be interviewed, due to the government’s crackdown on him personally.

This experience, combined with our lack of many possible alternates, caused us to reevaluate our project goals, which resulted in a change of topic. Talking with this man on the street corner, however, gave me some personal insight into the conditions in which the homeless have to struggle. I felt compassion for this man, even as he was talking about the latest men he has killed, because he was suffering from mental instability and likely had no other options at the time than to be homeless. Had he consented at that time to let us interview and film him, we would have needed to ensure that we treated him humanely as a subject. Many of the things he said were false, but that would not allow me to discount his belief in them, which was obviously vigorous.

I feel like this final project helps to illustrate my goals as a Mormon artist by portraying the charity we should try to have for other people. Not to say that I’m fantastic at respecting everyone I meet, but this experience helped me self-reflect a lot more about how I would want to portray someone with the issues this man was facing. As a member of the Church, I feel as though I have a duty to highlight the good in the world around me, as well as to strive to change situations for the better. My influence can be positive or negative, depending on the manner in which I portray subjects and the topics I choose to address, and I have to make sure that my work is conducive to the Spirit, which is an important consideration as we move forward with our backup plan.

The collaborative process of this project has helped me further understand the need for interaction with other creative minds and the pooling of talents and abilities; I can imagine few situations in life where my abilities will suffice for entire situations. Everyone has something to contribute in a positive way, and as I move forward with the program, it will be important for me to remember how much I both need the support of my peers and need to support my peers. So that’s gotta be my goal…

Final Post

Describe the ways that your final project reflects your goals as a Mormon Artist. What has the collaborative process has taught you about your own need for growth in the BYU film program?

My final project reflects my goals as a Mormon Artist in many ways, the post important of which being that the subject of my final project is someone who not only believes in being Christlike and living the Gospel fully, but who actually is Christlike and lives the Gospel fully. I feel like through this project, my fellow students will be able to learn from Maddy and see that they can also do something to help humanity, even in a small way. Not everyone has to do as much as she does, but everyone can do much more than they think they can. I hope that will be an important message people take home. As a Mormon artist, this is my goal. I want that which I put out into the world to reflect my beliefs and what I feel is truly good and uplifting, albeit often challenging and sorrowful. There would be no need for progress and development otherwise.

We are a bit behind in our group work for this project, however I have still learned things from all the other group projects we have done in the program so far, and I can foresee how the group work in this project will pan out. I have learned a great deal that filmmaking is an entirely group process. I can't do anything on my own in this field. I have very much attempted to keep my projects and work as absolutely simple as possible, to the point where I feel my projects have been completed as assignments and not pieces of art. This is really unfortunate. However, I am quickly realizing that this doesn't have to be the case. Working with other people, sharing ideas, and sharing the work load vastly improves my own ideas and the projects themselves as a whole. As I continue through the program, I hope to develop better teamwork skills and attitudes as I try to make art and not assignments.

FINAL PROJECT AND THE FILM PROGRAM AND BLOGGING AND KISSES

I don't know if I we even have to do these blog posts! The prompt isn't up, but it is on the syllabus. And no one else has posted. But maybe I am just better than you. In fact, that is probably it. Just in case you haven't seen it, this be the prompt:

Describe the ways that your final project reflects your goals as a Mormon Artist. What has the collaborative process has taught you about your own need for growth in the BYU film program?

 My final project (a documentary about a really nice guy done with the Matthews Dartnell and Nicholas!) reflects my goals as an artist because it attempts to bring the viewer to understand a person and a lifestyle they might otherwise sniff at. Our subject was and is a smart, well-informed individual who has gone through some serious trials, decided to take action instead of dwelling on his misfortune, and who is currently studying to help others who share his affliction. I can't go into too much detail, because you rascals will want to see it for yourselves! Hilarious. In regards to my artistic goals, I want to make stuff/things that will inform and better the audience as well as myself. Sometimes that comes through the presentation of difficult but valuable truths and real-life experiences. Other times it can come through jokes about farts. At least, I think so. Our documentary will have at least one of those things.

I haven't taken 105/185 yet, so the Lovely and Daring Matts did the heavy lifting for the technical side of things. Literally. Because that equipment is heavy. I am an idiot. I worked on a large portion of our treatment and acted as the interviewer, so I'm doing my part, but recognizing how useless I am when it comes to using my body for physically taxing tasks only pushes me farther down the path of Critical Studies. Which is fine! I want to focus on that. Still, I hope to become a little more helpful as my time in the program passes. So I can help on movies sometimes. I like movies.

I am not sure if I even had to do this. But it will act as my last blog post for 112. Maybe this will look really dumb and also stupid.

MUCH LOVE 2012
JACOB TEHRANI

Blog 10-Turek

Perhaps the biggest portion of my final project that reflects my goals as a Mormon artist is my final project. Obviously, I want to be a Mormon filmmaker, hence the reason I'm in the film program.  This being the case, my final goals are to be making films.  I want to be able to create films that will speak to others, or that will at least have some sort of worth to others.  In this sense, this final project reflects my goals as an artist, because it is the art form that I want to create for a living.  There are, however, other less obvious themes found in the film, and in Jordan, that express my own feeling towards my art.  For example, Jordan states that he is frustrated by the stereotypes that others build up about gamers.  I feel this way about filmmakers.  Often, I see people express concern when I tell them that I am majoring in film.  This is generally followed by one or two things. 1) "Really?  Can you get a job with that?" or 2) "You're probably the next Steven Spielberg, I bet!"  Honestly, both of these seem too extreme of stereotypes to be true.  Can I get a job with my film degree?  Most certainly.  Film is an industry that is almost always stable.  Even if the pay isn't too substantial, I will hopefully be able to find a career in film in some aspect.  However, I certainly don't expect to become a world renown director.  Anything that will make a living will do for me.  Much like Jordan, I feel like the stereotypes centered around my career choices are a bit ridiculous.
Being in the program for just a semester has caused me to learn a lot.  True filmmaking is far more work than the simple works I did in high school.  I have learned that a large aspect of filmmaking is being able to work with others.  For me, this has been slightly difficult, as I always hated group projects in high school, and considered myself a "lone wolf".  (Insert snarky hipster comment here).  Yet, on this project, and the others that I've done like it this semester, I've found that group work can be immensely helpful.  I get far too stressed out trying to figure everything out for a shoot.  However, you do have do make some creative concessions when working with others, which is actually helpful sometimes.  There are pros and cons to working with others, but overall, I find it to be generally helpful.