Have you ever had that reminiscent feeling because of a certain smell, sound, or anything that can trigger that emotion? Well, for my capstone, I wanted to base it on that feeling called Nostalgia. Before I started bringing those memories back to individuals, I had to research the benefits and drawbacks of Nostalgia. I learned that when indulging in too much of Nostalgia, it can be tough to appreciate what you have currently. However, Nostalgia could also help with an individual’s self-esteem and promote a more positive mood. You just have to find that balance between how much you can indulge.

Capstone: https://mie248.wixsite.com/project-saudade

Annotated Bibliography: https://docs.google.com/document/d/144j3wSqIILklUf8wOqek8eo1PFNSZTR0RTJLDeYQc84/edit?usp=sharing

ABSTRACT:

For my Capstone I made a documentary. I wanted to know how someone would go about pursuing the arts after highschool excluding the college track. It’s a question that I have personally thought about for my own future and even though I’m not going down that path in the end, I still wanted to understand this experience.

Despite the many forms of media I could have done to explore this question,I chose a documentary to challenge myself for not fully participating in our documentary DigVid unit last year. I wanted to make a documentary of my own…but it didn’t go as planned.

I got in touch with a person taking a gap year and pursuing work in the media through Ms. Ustaris. Since January I have followed Gabby, the person I based my documentary around and collected footage of them at events as well as interviews with them. I would shoot mostly on weekends and Wednesdays and Thursdays. Deviation from the original storyline was inevitable after my initial meeting with them since I had issues with a large amount of my footage being lost.

Although the quality of the documentary was not what I’d envisioned, I am proud of the skills I picked up for shooting outside of SLA. Having shadowed someone involved in the media world in Philly showed me a different side of media creation and outlets for creators not in a DigVid course which I think made up 90% of my media reaction perspective.

As part of my capstone project, I undertook a position in a three-person team to carry out Rocketfest, a film and photography festival. In this project, I was the chair of Submissions & Selections and Media Production. Which meant that I was responsible for handling students’ submissions, selecting the final films to be shown at the festival, and editing the film reel for screening.

Throughout the process, we focused on equity, collaboration, and presentation. Some challenges I came across included refining communication skills and designing certificates for Rocketfest’s’ winners, which I overcame through persistence and teamwork.

The final product was a successful event, made possible by the Philadelphia Free Public Library, that showcased students’ talents and encouraged community engagement. As for my personal growth, I improved my editing skills, improved how to communicate with others, and learned valuable time management effectiveness.

Reflecting on the experience, I realized the importance of successful communication and collaboration when taking part in managing a project. Additionally, I gained a deeper appreciation for media production as a way of bringing people together.

Overall, organizing Rocketfest was not only a fun event to be a part of, but also a meaningful experience that strengthened my skills and improved my understanding of teamwork and community involvement.

LINK to Bibliography: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Cu4GaxE5oVBXLwyB0Kcq5eq4QShzlb_5ZEKEuqxteaQ/edit?usp=sharing

LINK to Rocketfest’24 Films: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rf8JLeTsjd_eppE4TxbVGo44DwTQGo_r/view?usp=sharing

(Screenshot from experimental film “Eyes Wide Open” by Jet Muhammad from CAPA submitted to Rocketfest)

ABSTRACT

For my Capstone, I created a podcast, titled the Rocket Record. The podcast has a total of twelve episodes, constituting a first season. Every two weeks, a new original theme would be announced in the Advisory Memo, after which I would go around during lunch periods to interview students, making sure to have diversity of grade level; each episode would be around three minutes long. On Fridays, I would publish something called the “Friday Spotlight”—where I would interview a single senior on the same topic, in a more conversational manner; these would be around ten to fifteen minutes long.

LINK TO PODCAST: https://www.slamedia.org/?s=Rocket+Record+Podcast

LINK TO BIBLIOGRAPHY: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1q1TQxj8-xBtGqHKBltPIo50Jw9dO5pUwNHTR0tuSnCo/edit

BELOW: Photo of the average format of a podcast episode (top to bottom: title, podcast logo, episode player, podcast summary)