My first project dealt with the struggles of the LGBTQ+ community. Slowly, people are accepting this group, but members and supporters still have to deal with negative remarks. I was inspired by some of my family members who are part of the community. I have looked up to them and have honored them for years. I felt that I had to find a way to show that I care for them and this was the perfect opportunity.
ART
For my art piece of the project, I made a short animatic of a girl who got bullied for supporting LGBTQ+ group. Each scene I drew, I kept in mind the use of color. If a scene did not have color, then the girl felt lost, lonely, or sad. If the scene did have color, the girl is feeling proud, or happy. In the beginning, she posts a picture of going to a gay pride rally. Within minutes, people from her school comment hateful remarks. At first, the girl doesn't care, but as she goes to school, the people around her start to exclude her and stare. When she gets to her locker, spray paint and sticky notes greet her with offensive content. With hundreds of students laughing at her, one person stands out of the crowd. He comforts her and she realizes that someone is there for her.
My process of the animatic:
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I used an iPad Pro to create each picture in the animatic. I would sketch what I want in the scene, then I would make a layer and put an improved version of the sketch (hair, eyes, facial features, etc) on that layer. Next, I colored the scene, based on the feelings of the main character. To get the picture into iMovie, I screen shot the picture and cropped out the things I didn't want. Finally, I placed the edited photos into iMovie and arranged them as I saw fit.
Co—Producers: Monica for advice on anatomy and tech work. Peyton for coloring scenes and reference.
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History
I blended my history and english portions together in one story. My story is focused on the first night of the Stonewall riots. The Stonewall riots were a huge impact on creating groups to spread awareness. The Stonewall Inn was a gay bar and was located on Christopher Street, New York. The first event happened on June 28th, 1969.
ENGLISH
I decided to make a historical fiction short story of a man who was at the Stonewall riot on the first night. The character watches the violent fights of police and citizens. He eventually joins the crowd of people and fights against the police. Towards the end, he notices that everyone, even the people who weren't gay or crossdresses themselves, stood up and fought.
maliyah_benson—cool_summer_night__1_.pdf | |
File Size: | 43 kb |
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I had two drafts to choose from. The first draft (on the left) is the one I was planning to use, but it didn't give the emotional affect I was hoping for. The main character was going to be someone who was in the bar and gay, but they wouldn't be able to focus on the people in the crowd. The second one (right photo) was the one I chose. This story, I could have the character focus on the citizens, police, and victims and little about himself.
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Works Cited:
maliyah_benson_apollo_project_1_works_cited.pdf | |
File Size: | 85 kb |
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