Reflection on the Advertisement Unit

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What works well in your commercial?

• The editing (the clips syncing with the music)

What needs improvement?

• The order of the clips
• The subtitles
• The speed the clips went at

What would you have done differently to make it better?

• Chosen another song with a more "working to the top" theme
• Filmed all the clips on our own (make sure the other member WORK)
• Shown it to more people to get more feedback to make it better before submitting

GROUP REFLECTIONS (the book and making the advertisement) 

Who did the most work in your group and put forth the most effort? Who was EXCELLENT?

The one who worked the most in our group was myself. I ended up doing almost all the editing (3/4 of the advert) and the entire rationale as the notes left by my group didn't give enough information. During discussions as well, I asked most of the questions about the book to keep them going. 

Who had the best attitude?

Ignacio Gonzales definitively had the best attitude. He always came to class with energy and a smile on his face. He encouraged others to work and had fun doing this project. 

Who was difficult to work with times? Why?

Both Carlos and Ignacio were both difficult to work with when coming up with times to meet up after school to film scenes. I would always stay after school and they wouldn't show up. I also caused them some trouble as I came to class with a more negative mood and caused my other group members trouble by not communicating properly.  

What did you learn from your group members?

I learned that I should be much more strict to make sure that we ALL stick to the schedule that we created. Carlos, even though he's not enthusiastic, will do the work if you keep an eye one him. Ignacio  is willing to work and does so with a good mood.

SELF REFLECTION

What did you learn?

I fully understood the consequences that come with not being harsh on your team members to work when necessary with the ending quality of our advertisement not being our best. No new skills were learned throughout the process of this unit.

If you feel like you did not learn enough, what could YOU have done differently?

I could have been much more engaging and not be afraid to contribute my ideas to the group so that more knowledge could have been gained from this experience. I should have also researched and used my time more wisely to gain knowledge on what good advertisements look like and how to create them.

What is one of your weaknesses when collaborating with others?

One of my biggest weaknesses when collaborating with others is my inability to communicate with the group. I always stay quiet and never give suggestions, even when things don't go the right way. I never force the others to work when they are not and end up doing a lot of the work myself. 

What did you contribute to your group?

I contributed some of my skills in editing the clips in sync with the music and my effort when doing the work with what little that we had concerning photos and video.

Day 9: 21-03-2013

Book:
The "greatest  lesson" the I have learned from Morrie is to definitively live your life. Not just sleepwalk through it and not be motivated about what you are doing; not caring for what you do and how it turns out. We should live our life with passion and do the things we love, pay attention to our surroundings and learn from our mistakes, not just regret them. It is important to reflect on our actions and improve if we need to, with all our strength. To think, 'If I were to die today, would I be happy with the person I've become? Would I not mind leaving the impression I have given to others behind? Or would I be ashamed and die with regret?'. With those thoughts in mind, it has inspired me to try and become a better person, to try my best in everything, to get involved in many community or environmental projects even if they take up all of my energy and make me frustrated and stressed. I want to live my life to the fullest, leave a good impression on the world and be remembered for who I was and what I was able to give for this planet. I want to help others, not just myself, and not go through life with not having a purpose or having not contributed anything to the world when my life is over.

Group:
What motivates me is knowing that I will at the end, help out others. Knowing that in the end I will gain knowledge that will help me for the future. When an activity involves something that I love or have prior knowledge about, then my motivation also increases. However, my motivation goes down when there are either people not playing the game fairly. It takes away the point of hard work and the fun of the game. When others don't do their part and put all the work on one person, it also takes away from my motivation as it, again, has to do with fairness.

Day 8: 18-03-13

Book:
On page 128, Morrie says that "giving to other people is what makes us feel alive." I definitively agree with what he is trying to convey. First of all, it is very important to give to other, to help others. It gives us a feeling of accomplishment giving us a purpose for the day. It makes us feel as though we
helped improve the life of another and even made a difference in the world. The slightest gestures can make anyones or things day. There are a variety of ways you can help someone: by assisting them with their homework, picking up fallen objects, even listening to others, letting them borrow an object, or even just being by their side. These gestures allow us to be active throughout our lives thus making us "feel alive."

Group:

Today we were able to get a big chunk of the pitch done. We do need to cut back on the words and created slides that only consist of a single picture. The denouncing ad had progressed and new ideas were surfacing. All of our slides were drafted and one member even created a short trailer for the promoting Roosevelt pitch. It gave us an outlook on how our commercial could be. For next class, we plan on finalizing our pitch.

Day 7: 14-03-13

Book:
In the book around page 118, it talks about finding a meaning in life. I have still not found what I want to do or what I should be doing. It is still early but time is approaching quickly. Choosing whether I will pursue something that matters of gains me money is already decided. I will sadly, probably, go for money. I have reasons though. I want to be able to support a future family. allow my children, if I have any, to get a good education. I want to donate a lot to charity for both people and the environments. But society doesn't give that unless you do certain jobs that most people do not initially dream of doing. Many art students or writers,   poets, or even musicians have it hard in the world. Those jobs that involve a passion that is a hobby won't allow us to gain enough money for our goals in the future. Society should definitively change that but for the time being I need to go with it.

Group:
What we have been struggling the most with in our group is definitively the denouncing-Roosevelt ad. We came up with the idea which littering but making the pitch and all the elements within has proven to be a challenge. The only thing we can do is be more communicative between each other. The other pitch about values is coming along but we need to cut short on words and add more images.

Day 6: 11-03-13

Book:
During today's class, everyone had a discussion about death. Many had different opinions on whether they would be ok with dying now or whether they would still have regrets when doing so. I myself would only regret not being able to say a proper goodbye to my family and friends. Accomplishments are the least of my troubles. Knowing that I won't ever see my family again just leaves me with a terrible gut feeling. We had also discussed if we would be happy die with who we are rather than what we regret and what we think comes after death. I believe, I would not be satisfied with dying now if I am who I am right now. I have so many things I still want to change about myself such as my confidence and how I act towards life. After death, I believe that there is either heaven or hell, since I'm catholic, or even and in between which is earth and those who have unfinished business are doomed to stay until it is resolved or they are put at rest. However, I have a lingering gut feeling that after death, It'll just be a boring-black-pitched room where I'll sit for all eternity, alone. It's quiet a scary feeling not knowing whats after death but its more important to think about living now. 

Group:
Our group improved on discussions but they were more one-sentenced. We had difficulty choosing what we will denounce of Roosevelt but advanced greatly in what we value. We came up with the type of combinations of pictures and videos we might use. Every class I feel that our group is working better with each other.

Day 5: 7-03-13

Book: "Once you know how to die, you learn how to live" (82). Morrie tells Mitch this sentence when he goes for his fourth Tuesday to talk about death. Once something is gone, you start to realize the value it has. For example, we take our phones for granted or the amount of trees that are left on this planet; but once they're gone, we realize how much we depend on calling others when in need or how much we depend on the source of oxygen the trees give. The same goes for living, once we realize we are going to die, we start to reflect on what's really important in our lives and how we have taken it for granted in not doing the things we wanted or had to do. It also makes us look back into wondering if we accomplished what we had wanted to in life. I myself have many moments in which I'm not living my life to the fullest. There are many things I could do with my time but never go around to doing it as I tend to be lazy. Such things as being more with my family or family. Of course its is partly because of my personality but also knowing I will have other days in the future to do it; I never think that my life will end until I am way older.

Group: We have really been improving on our group work. A fairly good discussion about trust was talked among us and Ignacio came up with a good phrase "trust can be gained in years but broken in seconds." We also advanced quiet a lot on the pitch and expect to do the same in the next class. I feel as though we have opened up more to each other. By the next class, I will try to get our group to work on storyboards and on a full-fledged discussion.

Day 4: 6-03-13

Book: On the first Tuesday, Morrie talks about how death had made him much more empathetic and how it can then make "strangers shed a tear for another" (pg. 51). I agree, it does make you empathize with other more. Even though I have been beside a dying relative or close one, I can imagine the pain that must come with it. There are a few far relatives on my moms side who are having issues with cancer. They would get ill from one day to another, it happened so fast and so unexpectedly. There is a saying that my grandma had once told me "once you have cancer, it will always come back," which is true with many cases, Life is so easily taken away and we don't realize it until it is done. Having a fight with a mother and then the next day being gone must be terrible; the bare thought already shaken's me. I've had many friends who've already lost many relatives and the what they feel will never be perceived properly until you've gone through the same thing. People―many of my friends―who go through such harsh moments in life and are able to grow from the experience really have my admiration. I hope, when the time comes―which I don't want to happen any time soon―that I will also be able to grow stronger from the experience.

Group: By the end of the class, one team member and I had a fairly flowing discussion about our pitch for the   advertisement. Today we didn't have a good discussion about the book and its value though but we have decided, with the help of Mr. Topf, to bring several questions and topics we want to talk about. I hope by tomorrow that we will be able to finally have a proper discussion.