• Creative Writing
• They say life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all, so I chose adventure.My love of American cinema as a child made me desire to leave my small community and meet other people who shared my interests. I didn’t have many friends so I’d always rush home after school to watch my favorite show ad just escape into a different realm, like a comfort zone. I didn’t enjoy socializing much because of my shyness however I also felt something was missing, the need to adventure myself and discover what was out there. One day during a math class this girl sat next to me and we started bonding over a bunch of interests we had in common. Her name was Elly, she was extremely confident unlike me and helped me get out of my comfort zone. We seemed different at first glance but we both wanted something new that made us more excited about life, we wanted adventure. Wanting to be part of this greater world made me adventure myself into a variety of cultures and allowed me to become the open-minded person I am today. Although I’ve grown a lot from previous experiences, my first real memorable trip was when I was 15 years old with Elly. To be perfectly honest, my adolescent era—which you can call the teenage phase—was the most memorable adventure of my life. It was just somewhat worse than the typical ones but extremely worth it. For a very long time Elly and I wanted to travel, but because we were still relatively young, our parents had not given us permission. As a young adolescent, I can tell you that this increased my desire to go even more. My friend had received an invitation to go to Marrakech from some other friends one day, and we enthusiastically accepted it since we were eager to discover something different. We knew both of our parents wouldn’t allow us to leave for the weekend so we decided to not say anything and led them to believe we had a sleepover at another’s friend’s house. Before I start coming across as a little crazy, let me say that my love of travel was sparked by the complete freedom I had on my first home departure with my closest friend. Upon seeing Morocco’s great cultural diversity, I developed a fondness for the civilizations I had never encountered. For the first time in my life I had escaped my comfort zones and it opened my eyes to how big the world really was. I learned the importance of having a sense of independence when I saw the vast change in lifestyles and cultures at 15, and I would now put that feeling above anything else. Even now, the excitement I had on my first solo trip still comes over me every time I land in a new country, and for that, I am thankful. Up to this day my parents still aren’t aware of my trip and hopefully it will stay that way, but I would obviously never recommend doing this for a number of reasons.  My interest in filming suddenly expanded as a result of this trip, and I made the decision to exclusively record the moments that made me feel free and at ease. I hope you can comprehend the moments I had this feeling by watching the short-film I’ve made. One day, I hope to be able to portray emotions through film-making and connect with people all across the globe through the field I am currently practicing. 
• My Travel Film: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bVG8pJ8b0zORR6BSOgGeHFgsw84LrThl/view?usp=sharingFebruary 13, 2024
• My Travel Mood board
• Travel Tales Podcast:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vxKvZO-q_8OYkvvW4WR8kIry_GV2qGhz/view?usp=sharing

Annotations

Commentary on Images

When it came to choosing the pictures for my mood board, I made sure to include a variety of shots that I had taken on my many trips. The unique cultures and stunning scenery of the nations I’ve visited over the past few months—South Korea, Japan, Spain, Greece, France, and Mauritius—are beautifully captured in these photos. During my visit to Japan, I arrived amidst the enchanting cherry blossom season. The photographs showcase Japan’s traditional Sakura flowers, symbolizing the delicate balance between life and death, beauty and violence, given their vibrant colors and brief lifespan. South Korea offered a unique nightlife experience, a departure from my usual routine. The high-energy atmosphere allowed exploration at any hour, presenting opportunities to walk, shop, dance, and savor intriguing local cuisine. The selected pictures capture the diverse landscapes, both day and night. I have a particular spot in my heart for Greece; it’s like a second home. Several images on the mood board capture the timeless charm of its sunsets, which bring back happy memories of my grandfather and my early years. A significant portion of the mood board is dedicated to Mauritius, where I experienced an unforgettable trip in December. The chosen images showcase the island’s stunning daytime views, featuring the azure sea from various locations, as well as the mesmerizing night sky illuminated by stars. These well chosen photos capture my favorite moments and the presence of loved ones, in addition to chronicling my trips. Travelling is more than simply a hobby for me—it’s a core part of who I am and a deep-seated passion.

Creative Writing

For the creative writing piece I chose to discuss a personal story that impacted my decision on the topic of this assignment. I believe passions are very personal therefore I told an untold story in order to captivate the reader. I also enjoyed writing about this personal experience because writing the story out allowed me to picture the filming process in my head which made the second part of the assignment much simpler. On the other hand, creative writing could be a lot more exciting when depicting an idea or thought of a story you’ve come up with. For this reason, I’d like to practice writing freehand in order to follow my own thoughts and let inspiration and ideas come to me without planning them. Let the words on the page come and see give a creative outcome to your story. 

Video Editing

Given that audiences enjoy stories and can recall them with ease, I think I should have paid closer attention to topics. A visually striking video leaves a more lasting impression on viewers than a narrative one. I realized while I was editing that I was creating a sequence of videos that would ultimately come together to form an engaging narrative, not just cutting out the unnecessary scenes. Unquestionably, viewers are left with a lasting impression when the correct emotions are combined with an intended message. In order to convey the idea that the movie was meant to highlight how unforgettable the moment was, I made a conscious choice to use a variety of face expressions.To make my film even more entertaining, I also believe that I could have done a better job of adding natural-sounding voice overs utilizing text to speech software or an AI voice generator as well as natural sound effects to intensify the emotional connection with the audience.

Audio Creation

While I am still very new to podcasts I found it difficult to tell an engaging story that would inspire the audience. I tend to find communication through pictures and films easier therefore it is something I’d like to improve on in the future.Additionally, I believe I could have improved on following my script, at least roughly, to stay on course. Redirect the discussion back to my approach as I found myself veering off track. Not all breaks are harmful, but I watched out that I didn’t constantly detract from the episode’s relevance by adding unrelated material. Fortunately, post-production allows you to easily cut out any scenes that go too far so I made sure to cut out any information that was unnecessary by the end of the podcast.