Congratulation guys on your experimental! i found it truly interesting and entertainging. Fear was one of the topics my group considered in the beginning of the experimental process, so it was really interesting to me to see how you guys took that topic in directions totally different from what we had originally thought of doing. It really shows that all of these topics can be broken down into many different areas and that each one of us looks at the topics from a different perspective. The Cold War was something that I did not at first connect with fear, but when Eugene explained it I realized what a great connection that was. I think the music you had playing when we first walked in set the mood for the presentation nicely. You were also able to incorporate lots of video clips throughout the presentation, which kept the audience engaged. I expecially liked the nightmare video that you guys played, with the paintings going in the background. It was an effective way to add art and music at the same time. Eugene, I thought your personal connection was really cool. I've never even heard of parkour and it was amazing the things you could do after just 2 months learning on the internet. Overall, it was funny and engaging, good job guys!
Matt and Eugene:
Congratulations on an excellent experimental!!! The start of your presentation itself was very funny and a good wake-up call so early in the morning! I loved that not only did you put a few similar funny fearful clips together, but you also played a clip of a similar instance in our school! The Scream was a very smart choice for a painting relating to Fear--I used that painting in my experimental for Raison d'Etre, but to see it in a whole new context with a different take on it was so interesting! One of my favorite parts of the presentation, like Maria, were both of your personals. Matt, your playing was obviously incredible and the tone you set, along with the 2 pictures, really filled the air with Fear. Eugene, I had never known what parkour was before, but your personal was unique and different, yet intriguing all the same.
I also really liked all of the movie clips you incorporated--they all showed fear in different scenarios and in different ways. Additionally, I love that you ended your presentation by talking about fear from a whole new perspective and looked at it from the other side.
The movie foods really enhanced your presentation and definitely added a lot to the overall feeling in the room.
Congratulations again on a great experimental!!
You two did really well! Congratulations on a great experimental! Both the music played throughout the presentation and the background of your slides really set the tone for the presentation and instilled a sense of fear. I liked how you explained where fear comes from in the brain. It adds to the presentation. You two really explained your books, movies, songs, and art really well. "The Scream" was a good painting to include, and it was nice how you included the phobia that Edvard Munch experienced. The movie clips really connected directly with your topic, and it was good that you included them in your presentation. You explained "Gilgamesh" and "The Grapes of Wrath" well. (It won't let me italicize or underline those titles.) Your sections on the Cold War and the Reign of Terror also fit in nicely. Both were explained and connected well. The Ku Klux Klan and the other racist groups that you mentioned were another good addition. Your personals were also interesting. As I am in band class with Matt, I know he plays the saxophone really well. He sounded really good, and the horror music worked well with the presentation. I had not known that Eugene practiced Parkour; in fact, I had never heard of Parkour. It was interesting to hear its background and to see clips of Eugene practicing Parkour. Both personals were very interesting and different than ones that had been used before. Your website is also very good. You have a lot of research, and you really explain it. Your website is organized and easy to navigate. Fear is a great topic, and you researched it well.
Congrats!!! Your experimental was really great and the way you guys used a ton of movies as well as music and books, caused your audience to stay focused on your intriguing topic. The way you started off with a scary tune, caused us to be instantly captivated. I really enjoyed the music that you guys placed throughout the experimental, as well as the short movie clips. Although the scary movies were definitely scary, they were perfect to portray your theme of fear and show us how a movie can really scare us and make us "jump." Matt, you are so talented on the saxophone and the songs that you played perfectly represented what a fearful tune sounds like. Eugene, your talent for parkour represents how to overcome fear, and do things that most people would never imagine doing. All of your connections to history such as the Cold War was very interesting, along with your connections to novels that we have read throughout the year. The Gilgamesh connection was one of my favorite parts, because it displayed perfectly the fear of grief, which most of us fear everyday. To end your experimental with the display of movie theater treats, helped us feel as though we were at a concession stand at a real theater. Your experimental was great along with all of your ideas presented, congrats again!
What an unforgettable experimental. Your experimental was definitely unique. You both researched fear in many disciples which were presented throughout the short period. I learned so much about fear. I never new Scream by Edvard Munch was supposed to be him and his internal fear of open spaces. This was some great outside information and throughout your presentation, both of you demonstrated how much you knew about fear by saying these fun to hear facts. I would have liked to hear Not Afraid and your personal interpretations of this Eminem song, but I realize how short forty minutes are so it’s no big deal. Your website covers a lot about fear and the disciples you both choose to research were very interesting. Eeuuuugg your personal was so clever and such a great relation too. You have just begun free running and have already mastered so many small techniques. I can’t wait to see you show me some live demonstrations as you learn more about this activity that causes a lot of internal fear to build up. I loved the food at the end. Free food first period always wakes me up and maybe all of this early sugar is what got me and the other euro kids like Halps so pumped for the kick ball match third period against the global kids. By the way, great job Eugene, personally I believe our team had a great deal of success because of our team work. Both of your teamwork throughout the experimental assignment was also quite clear to the viewers by the way you two broke up the speaking. As a whole your experimental was well done. Your website is easy to navigate through and informative. Congratulations on completing the experimental assignment.
Eugene and Matt,
First off, congratulations on finishing the experimental! The movie food was a great tie in, and your slide background was instilling fear from the moment I sat down. The clips you played were a great way to awake everybody. After looking at your research, I am amazed at all of the connections you made. Also, your commentary on your artwork was insightful. I had no idea that the painter of the Scream was afraid of open spaces. Both personals were interesting and unique.
Great job guys. How great does it feel to finally be finished? I loved how you guys started with a slide with a scary background and scary music. This really set the tone for your experimental. This was carried out through the entire presentation with the use of the trailers from scary movies. People sitting around me began jumping out of their seats throughout your presentation. After reading through your website, I learned many knew things about fear in our lives today. I didn't realize that fear could connect to so many topics. You guys did an excellent job connecting fear to several pieces of art as well as books we have read throughout the year, like Gilgamesh. My favoirite part of your experimental was Eugene's parkour video. You said you have only been doing parkour for a few months, but you still were able to complete some amazing tricks. I hope you stay with parkour and can't wait to watch one of your videos in a few years. Once again, great job guys!
Matt and Eugene,
Great job, and congrats on being dopne with your experimentals! I loved your background on your slides and thought you had a lot of information. The horror movies were a great add-in, as were the movie snacks. I especially liked how you tied in all the discplines and explained to us hwo fear works in the brain. I also really liked your interview of Mr. Orlovsky about the fears within the USSR and the USA during the Cold War. I wish you guys had more time to finish the whole thing! It's really tough cramming in all of that information into such a short period. Luckily you have the website, so we can still learn about all the information we missed. I loved Eugene's Parkour video! It was such a great personal and kept us on our feet! I loved that Matt played his music while we looked at a picture. What pieces did you play? I also liked how you got in the music and the art in that montage. Very creative! I hope you guys feel relieved on having completed a memorable experimental!
Thank you everyone for all the positive responses. I am a little dissapointed at the fact that I couldn't get to everything, but even so, I think that Matt and I left the impression that we wanted to. However, there were some things that I didn't expect to happen. I didn't expect so many people to be actually scared, nor did I expect some of things to be funny. In all, the audience reactions really enhanced the experimental experience in my opinion.
Although the video for my personal was only about a minute 30 seconds long, it still took hours to put together. Gathering the clips and coming up with ideas definetly took a while because the "sandbox" that I to film eveything was limited. Parkour was better suited towards metropolitan areas, but since the police are usually suspicious of lone free-runners, I couldn't do it in NYC. I think that it could have been longer if I had more places accesible and able to work with. The editing itself took 4 hours. When I was putting the montage together the day I got home,time really flew by when I was editting the clips. It was actaully a lot of fun both getting the clips and editting them.
Thank you for the feedback everyone.
Matt and Eugene,
Walking into your Experimental, the first object in the room that caught my eye was the "Caution" tape along the wall. After seeing that, I knew I was in for a fearful and exciting Experimental, especially coming from two of the most fearless friends that I have.
Eugene: Coming from a friend, your personal definitely fit you; someone who loves to take risks and look awesome while doing it! Great camerawork and editing to make it look even more realistic. The changing of camera angles definitely helped in that department.
Matt: The best interpretations of topics almost always come from music. It's one thing to play music from a computer in the background. It's a whole other to be able to see that person play a piece that they must have been practicing for days.
If that was my Experimental, I would have ran out of time with all of the incredible amount of information you had. The fact that you had to skip some slides truly showed the amount of information that you guys put into the presentation.
Also, the interview with Mr. Orlovsky was clever, especially how you had him translate himself from Russian to English. Coming from someone who experienced the Soviet Union for themselves, the fear that they describe speaks incredible volumes.
Great job overall. You guys were fearless!
Eugene and Matt-
Good job guys! You did it!:) First off, your topic was definitely a different one, and I was anxious to see how you would relate it to all of the different discipline areas. You did a good job of this! It was interesting to hear from a science teacher really how we get scared! I liked how you incorporated fear into your background of every second. It really kept your audience feeling that dark, fearful feeling. Also, your music choices related to your topic very well! I liked how you incorporated your information in videos, rather than only slides. For example, I liked how you had your thank yous presented in a short clip instead of just plainly on the screen. That was something I hadn’t seen in any other presentation and I liked it!
Your personals were both very different from one another, but both interesting!
Eugene—Your talent of Parkour was fascinating! I had never heard of it before, and was very entertained by your video! I’m sure it did take a long time to create! I can’t even imagine me even trying to some of the things you did in that little clip! I’m sure a great amount of fear is involved in this activity!
Matt—Along with Eugene’s, your personal was very entertaining as well. I loved how you chose to play a song that gave off a fearful vibe. You did great!
Eugene and Matt-
Congratulations on finally being done with your experimental. You both must be relieved. I really liked the background of your presentation. I think it portrayed the whole idea of being dark and mystical. I also enjoyed watching all of the horror films you put up and the science behind being scared. The music and art work that you connected your topic to well represented fear. I only wish we had more time to hear all that you guys wanted to say. I also really enjoyed your personals. I liked how your personal both resented two different aspects of fear.
Eugene- I have never heard of Parkour though once I saw the video with you jumping over and around things, it was clear that you had a natural talent. After reading your post, I can see how mush time and effort you put into make your video and it was worth it because it was amazing. You did a great job editing it!
Matt- I like how you related music to fear. I can tell music means a lot to you.
Matt and Eugene -
Congrats! The first thing I noticed when I walked into your room was the caution tape in the back. That was a unique tie in that I never thought of.
The videos that you used sent chills up my spine. It had been a while since I last saw a scary movie, and just that little section of "The Ring" reminded me of the feelings I get when I watch a scary movie.
Your science part about the brain and fear was very interesting. My favorite part of your research was the part on superstitions. So many people have different views on them, and I liked seeing your take on it. Like everyone else, I liked your interview with Mr. Orlovsky.
Your personals were both very unique.
Eugene - Parkour is something I had never heard of before. I'm sure you were full of fear when you first began to do Parkour. Watching your video, it seems as if you are comfortable doing Parkour now.
Matt - It is undeniable that you are a very talented saxophone player. Music has a strong impact in movies, as you said. Without music, a scene wouldn't be as intense. The music you played would have made a scary scene even more scary.
Good job guys!
Going into the experimental season, Fear was one topic that I knew would be thrilling to watch. The mood of the presentation was set very well from the start by the dark room, scary music, the decorations, and numerous clips from horror movies. It was truly entertaining to watch the frightening videos and everyone's scared reactions! I was intrigued to learn about how fear is a natural response of the brain, as well as how fear connects to a wide variety of fields. The interview with Mr. Orlovsky was a great connection to the fear that existed during the Cold War.
Both of your personals displayed the special talents that each of you possess. Eugene, you decided to face your fears and perform challenging parkour stunts. I was really impressed by your athletic ability and the entertaining montage. Matt, you once again performed very beautifully on your saxophone. The dark mood of the song matched perfectly with the theme of your experimental.
You two did a fantastic job of overcoming your fears during the presentation! Great job guys!
I liked your presentation, even though it got cut short. I especially like the backgrounds of your slides which added a nice touch to the presentation. My favorite part about your presentation was the decorations. I liked how you showed that theatre industry thrives off of fear. The popcorn in the room really represented this fact. Also, you guys did an amazing job with your personals.
Matt- I liked ho you played the theme music to a scary ominous tune. This showed the literal sense of fear. Also, the live presentation shows another sense of fear. Some people have stage fright and other fears which could have been represented thorough your personal.
Eugene- your personal shows how certain things we do may seem scary. From one persons view, parkour may seem scary, but the person preforming the stunts may see parkour as not scary.
CONGRATS ON A SUCCESSFUL PRESENTATION! I can honestly say that when I found out your topic was fear, I was eager to see what your presentation would turn out to be! All of your connections and actual factual were incredibly interesting and I loved all the clips you used to connect to your topic. The clip from the ring, though I thought wouldn't scare me because it was daytime, actually left me pretty creeped out! Your personals were both great and unique. Eugene- who knew you had such an unknown talent! I had never even heard of free running before your presentation and now I know how awesome it is! It was such a creative way to connect to your topic.
Matt- I was sitting on the floor during the presentation, so I couldn't see much. All of a sudden I started to hear music. I was looking around and said to myself "What's going on? Are they playing a song in a clip?" I looked over and saw you playing and was speechless. I had heard that you're very good at sax, but I didn't expect to hear what sounded like professional music! Great job!!
Your presentation was worth all the work you put in and I loved it!! Great job!
Congrats!!! I loved your topic right from the beginning! I was actually jealous of your topic... I thought there was so much to do with it and you guys obviously showed that. From the second I was walking in I loved it, from the dare to enter sign, to the huge caution tape across the back of the room. I know you guys had some issues with timing but I really think the rest of your presentation made up for it! What I noticed I really enjoyed was your slides. The really connected with the whole theme and gave the room this creepy kinda feeling. One of my favorite parts of your presentation was the interviews with the student, when they really thought they were answering a simple question, they were actually really scared when someone popped out behind them. I thought the whole idea of that was so creative and fun! I also loved all your trailers and videos- even though at times i couldn't watch, I loved it! I was actually literally scared at times during your presentation... which I think gave the whole presentation something different and added it.
Personals:
Matt: Wow. Yours was absolutly amazing. I mean, obviously, from band I knew you were always amazing but hearing you alone in that room, and how your instrument echoed completely blew me away. ( I wish i could play my sax that good...) The sound was so smooth but at the same time creepy and perfectly fit your theme. I loved the pictures that went by as you played also.
Eugene: I really actually liked your personal alot. I really never knew what Parkour (guess its a guy thing...) but i definitely do now! It was really cool to see something like that coming from you, I would have never expected it and I think that was the best part. The video came out great so all your editing really did pay off. (btw- i hate editting too.)
Anyway, you guys did a great job! I think you should be so proud!
btw- also loved your snacks at the end, so creative and so yummy.
Good job on your experimental guys! Your topic was a very exciting one and you guys definitely delivered. Not only was your experimental funny, but it was informative as well. It's hard to find that right balance to make your experimental enjoyable to watch and still teach the audience new things about your topic. Eugene I really enjoyed watching your personal. I've always wanted to do parkour, but never had the physical requirements for it. Matt, like you I play the saxophone, but I'm definitely not as good as you. It takes a lot of courage to play in front of a crowd of people by yourself and that's one fear that I have. You guys used two of my favorite songs during your experimental, Still Alive and Nightmare. Both songs are really good and they helped make your videos more interesting. You guys overall did an awesome job and I want to commend you for it.
Fantastic! I loved how you guys kind of sucked me in to your presentation. You really held my attention and interest with the video clips of frightening films. Every aspect of you presentation was on target and to the point. I like that you guys had popcorn and candy, almost as if we were at the movie theatre and the lights were out the whole time. It was an eerie presentation! Perfect for your theme! Eugene, your parkour video was awesome. I never thought that would become such an interesting and on target personal. The tech and video editing techniques looked like they look hours and it really showed how you can conquer a fear and do something cool. Matt, I have always known you are great at the saxophone, but I had never heard you play an entire song like that unaccompanied. It was amazing. I really felt chills come up my arms as you played the notes and the music really demonstrated with fear is like.
Great job guys!