Driving Question: How might I grow my creativity during the COVID-19 crisis through exploring the science of creativity and innovation and experimenting with art?

What were your goals for this module? How did you achieve them?

With this module, I wanted to both teach myself how to play guitar, as well as all of the various pieces needed to become a songwriter. My end goal was to write an acoustic guitar and vocal song heavily influenced by Midwest Emo music and Math Rock (originally simply about the world at large, which later morphed into my own life due to a break up with my long time girlfriend). I started a complete novice in both my playing ability as well as composing, and both due to a substantial amount of inspiration from my chosen genre and my experimentation created my first complete piece of music, “Manic Pixie Dream Girl.” Due to my fresh perspective on learning guitar, I was able to reach my rather lofty goal of this completed track.

What did you learn about yourself or about your creative process or about your medium?

During this project, I became much more in tune with myself by presenting my creations to an outside audience, feeling comfortable enough to use my own experiences as inspiration, and getting feedback based on personal projects. I had only first picked up acoustic guitar two months ago, so I had to work with the limitations of my writing and performing skill levels. The result was all done in one take because I wanted my final recording to be proof of my competency at guitar, not at audio editing software.

Driving Question: How do local people feel about tourism and environmental regulations in Puerto Galera?

Project Description: A couple of months ago, our family went on a trip to an island in the Philippines called Puerto Galera, so my sister and I decided to film a short documentary. It’s our little passion project to spread awareness on unsustainable tourism in the Philippines. We wanted it to highlight the unique perspectives of four local residents we got the opportunity to spend time with. Hopefully, it gives justice to an island that we and our entire family love.

What were your goals for this project? We wanted our documentary to inspire a call to action on unsustainable tourism. The effects of unsustainable tourism can cause an entire island to shut down, resulting in thousands of people losing their livelihoods. By interviewing the residents of Puerto Galera, we want to show our audience the people that are directly affected by this issue, which will hopefully create a sense of urgency to protect our environment.

What were your takeaways from the project? Working on the project reminded me of how unbelievable our world could be. I was reminded of how important it was to make sure that we sustain the beauty of our environment, especially in a small country like the Philippines. This project was a big wake up call for me and I hope that it can be the same to our audience.

Driving Question: How can I acquire deep knowledge on Buddhist philosophies and their perspectives on the self and the world by working with monks and creating an original short film?

Project Description: My film introduces the Korean tradition of Zen Buddhism and its view on how to live a good life.

What were your goals for this project? My goal was to gain deep level of understanding on Buddhism, living it, and sharing it with others. I achieved all of these as I spent significant amount of time studying the text of Buddhism, living as Buddhist at a temple, and filming what I have learned to share with the world.

What were your learning takeaways? I’ve learned that suffering comes from trying to perceive impermanent thing as permanent and unchangeable. This includes my sense of self, my life, values, things I cherish at the moment… etc These are not something solid. They are very much fluid, temporary concepts and consists of myriads of components which forms and alters them. Accepting that, and staying thoroughly present, instead of trying so hard to extend the lifespan of these fleeting concepts, will lead to a more fulfilling life.

What are you most proud of? Experiencing even for a short amount of time, the freedom of not needing anything. Happiness to just be.

Driving Question: How can I use a video format to effectively communicate the many facets of the LGBTQ+ community to someone who knows nothing about it?

Project Description: This project is a 5-part video series explaining the LGBTQ+ community for a beginner audience. The intention of these videos is to be a resource for anybody who would like some more information on the community. You can find all five videos below.

Driving Question: How might I create an uplifting documentary that shows how deafness adds value and diversity to our society?

Project Description: For my second mastery project, I decided to improve my filmmaking skills by making a documentary about deaf artists living in Melbourne. The main objective of this was to tell a story of a group that’s not often talked about and to portray it in a positive, inspiring way. The film sheds light on what it’s like to be a deaf artist in a hearing world and the struggles that come with it. But most importantly, it shows that deafness brings a valuable perspective to our society by showcasing the talent and passion of two Australian artists.

What are the biggest lessons you learned through the process of your mastery project? I think the main thing I’ve learned through this project is the importance of being adaptable and flexible when things don’t go as planned, and knowing that some things are just outside of my control.

Driving Question: How can I use fictional/non-fictional storytelling to create a meaningful experience about Greek society (ancient/ contemporary)?

Project Description: During the online COVID term, our module focused on fictional/non-fictional storytelling to create a meaningful experience about society, and we were given the option to write a script or a podcast. For those of us who chose to write a script, we were given free rein regarding the topic; however, we had to stick to a ten-minute timeline.

The topics that people came up with were quite varied. Some of us chose to write about the current COVID-19 situation, some of us decided to talk about other aspects of society such as poaching or the LGBT+ community. Below you can read scripts by CM2 students Bella and Giulia, who highlight the effects of social media and a young girl’s battle with cystic fibrosis and COVID-19.

Bella

If you’ve ever thought about what Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and TikTok would be like as people, you’ll love reading this. In my own work, I’ve combined elements of fiction with exaggerated reflections of reality by personifying social media apps.

The inspiration for this piece came from the Nosedive episode from Black Mirror. The episode is set in a world where people’s entire lives depend on their “rating” based on social interactions. The setting shapes a tragically social media-obsessed society—no doubt a critique of how people interact with each other online. I wanted to reflect a similar message but in a more light-hearted, comedic way. In my play, I wanted to demonstrate our modern dependence on social media and the negative impacts it can have on our well being and relationships. My hope is that the audience learns to examine their own relationship with social media, and decide for themselves if they could benefit from a break like my main character, Logan.

Giulia

My work shows a young girl’s battle with cystic fibrosis and COVID-19. It is meant to give you a glimpse of what people with pre-existing illnesses are going through at this time.

The inspiration for this came from my own surroundings back at home in Denmark. I was noticing that not all people were sticking to the rules effectively putting those of us who are at risk. I think that some people don’t realise the danger they could be putting someone else in, especially as you don’t know what other people are dealing with at the moment. My hope is that the audience starts looking a little more closely at how careful they are being in these tough times.

Project Overview: Throughout the school year, Arora and I developed our understanding of deaf culture and sign language through using American Sign Language Center classes and the use of ASL University lesson plans, and other resources found on youtube and online. Our consistent efforts allowed me to continuously improve which we hope to continue doing after graduation. The goals at the beginning of the year were focused on vocabulary and conversational skills which were practiced between Arora and myself. It was very helpful to have a partner that was at the same level so we could learn together. We used many sources to aid in our learning but one of the most fun was learning songs. We learned multiple songs to work on our vocabulary and we wanted to share one of them with you!