Haiku

Dewdrops wet birds' wing

Squirrels walk into forest

They all tell stories.

Hanging tree lyrics

Are you, are you

Coming to the tree?

They strung up a man

They say who murdered three.

Strange things did happen here

No stranger would it be

If we met at midnight

In the hanging tree.

Are you, are you

Coming to the tree?

Where dead man called out

For his love to flee.

Strange things did happen here

No stranger would it be

If we met at midnight

In the hanging tree.

Are you, are you

Coming to the tree?

Where I told you to run,

So we'd both be free.

Strange things did happen here

No stranger would it be

If we met at midnight

In the hanging tree.

Are you, are you

Coming to the tree?

[Original line:] Wear a necklace of rope,

[Line modified for effect:] Wear a necklace of hope,

Side by side with me.

Strange things did happen here

No stranger would it be

If we met at midnight

In the hanging tree.

Are you, are you

Coming to the tree?

Where I told you to run,

So we'd both be free.

Strange things did happen here

No stranger would it be

If we met at midnight

In the hanging tree.

Are you, are you

Coming to the tree?

They strung up a man

They say who murdered three.

Strange things did happen here

No stranger would it be

If we met at midnight

In the hanging tree.

Are you, are you

Coming to the tree?

Where dead man called out

For his love to flee.

Strange things did happen here

No stranger would it be

If we met at midnight

In the hanging tree.

The song Hanging Tree is from the movie The Hunger Games which is my favorite movie ever. I fell in love with this song at the first time I heard Katniss sings it. It is so attractive and so appropriate for the movie when many people were killed and everyone are hopeless. Katniss sang this song when she was making a short video with her friend. They are using the video to tell what President Snow doing is not protect his people but for his own power. They want people to know how violence and selfish Snow is and follow District 13 can give people real freedom.

The song tells a man was hanged to death on this tree. He was a man who murdered 3 people. He attracts his lover to die with him so that they can both be free. In the lyrics, the line: “They say who murdered three” is very important. Because what “they” said is not true. The man is innocent and was killed wrong. For me, I think this song is a metaphor for telling people in Panaem that President Snow is lying, Katniss is a real leader to give people freedom. “They” in the song is Snow. People in District 13 tell people to gather together and revolt, let the inhuman Hunger Games stop. When Katniss sing it, it does not only has commercial influence but also tell the real feeling of Katniss. She was made to be Mocking Jay. The missing for family and lover, the feeling of impotence, the unbending for present situation... She is tired enough and also want to die like the man on the tree but she can't. People around her were all controlled so she can only keep fighting.

This is not only lyrics but also poem. There are repeat sentences and rhyme. Like the last word of the 3rd line for each stanza:  three, flee, free, they all have the same last sound. Every stanza has “ Are you, are you, coming to the tree?” “Strange things did happen here

No stranger would it be” and “ If we met at mid night, in the hanging tree.” This are all symbol for it to be a poetry.

Poem- But You Didn't

1. Because this is a poem that easy to understand. Not as other long poem, this express the emotional directly without using any metaphor. Also there are repeat sentences in the poem which make it have rhythm.

2. I really love the story it is telling. No matter what she does, he didn't blame her and kept loving her. Everything seems happy at the beginning but he passed away and she is waiting for him to back. There are so many things she haven't tell him yet, there are so many things they haven't down yet. The last sentence really expresses the feeling of lonely, despair, and regret.

3. It is about a couple's life. They had happy time and no matter what she does, he still love her and never left her. But this time she didn't do anything wrong but he just left her forever. He went to war and had perished. She is waiting him to come back but he didn't.

Reflection of Love and Bread

In my creative project, Marinda and filmed a short video for 6 minutes long about the time when Annie was in England. We tried to express how Annie was struggling with her new lover and the one she has loved. So we name the video as Love or Bread as Love is the metaphor of Rex and Bread is Peter. This is the first time for us to film together and this experience of make creative project really helped me learned lots of things.

We choose the part of Annie’s life in England is because that scene of Annie secretly staring at Peter and her picture really impressed me. I thought how hard her life is for a woman to think about her ex boyfriend. I understand it until Annie says Peter is rich. So we choose this part is because filming is interesting and this part is attractive. We can say our movie is a subfield of Opal Dream. Although there is nothing about Kellyanne and Ashmol, the main characters, costars which is mom is also very important. In the movie it doesn’t tell much about mom’s life in England so we thought it would be fun.

In our project, I am glad Marinda and I separate jobs equally. She edits the video and I write the script. It is both strength and weakness. Separating equally is not the most important thing, we have to work together and share our ideas together but not do our own jobs. If we can do that, our film can be better. Neither Marinda nor I thought about each other’s job. We listen to what the other says and do it.

We met lots of difficulties when we were filming. The actors, weather, the lack of costumes… First is that there are 3 characters in total and 2 of them are boys. But we only have 2 girls to act so I have to be Rex and Peter at the same time. We thought about filing a part that Rex and Peter have a talk and this might help those who watched the film understand the title better but its so hard to accomplish. The only thing we can do is to use different clothes and make up to represent different people. But when the film finally finish, we found out it was hard to see Peter’s thick mustache. Also I spelled Rex and Peter’s name wrong. This is a mistake that definitely shouldn’t happen. Secondly there wasn’t any rainy day but part in the film need to be happened in a rainy day. So we should have think about it first and change the script.

There are many thing I have learned form this project. First is about the skill of filming. We should add subtitles. Classmates asked questions that we actually told in the movie. So it is the really necessary for them to understand the movie. We didn’t organize the movie well. As the name of the movie is Love or Bread, we should tell more about why Peter is bread and Rex is love. Also we should film the reason why Annie chose to marry Rex but not Peter at the end. We can either change the name or the script. Also we understand how difficult the situation of Williamsons is. Annie struggled so much to choose her husband and the one she chose doesn’t make a good result. No one would regret until they face a serious situation or made a huge mistake. She made sacrifices for Rex and reality keeps asking her.

Over all, even though there are many mistakes we have made in our film but there are also many thing we can learn from the movie. For the next time filming, we can definitely do a better job and improve our acting skill.

What we have done so far

Before the last weekend, me and Marinda have finish shooting the first part Happy Time in the  movie. Then during last weekend we edit the first part. We made it but using iMovie, we added music, cut down some part that we don't want to use, and linked the whole part together. The problem we are facing now is that we have 5 parts in total but we don't know the best way to link them. So far we learned that we need to write a script before shooting otherwise we don't have much to say. Just like our first part, it is too short.

There is another thing we have down is that we practiced acting the movie by using the script. This practice really helped me. During the first part, we took it many times because we were embarrassed and always laughing. It was the first time for both of us to act a romantic movie, especially for two girls. After the practice we know how to react in front of the camera so we don't need to waste time on shooting useless parts. 

creative project details

Marinda and I are going to record a scene video. The video tells the story when Annie, the mom, was still in England. I play the role of Peter Juvenal Whiteway who is Annie’s ex boyfriend and Annie’s husband Rex Williamson. Peter is a rich man who loves Annie but he moved to New York. Rex is a man who has eyes like opal and have an Opal dream. Marinds plays the role of Annie, a young girl who doesn’t understand what true love is and has no idea for her future.

The whole movie was separate into 4 parts. When we were organizing the movie, we were based on what the book says. In the book, mom was looking at the photo of Peter and her self. The experience of having a relationship with Peter has made Annie conduced if it was a right choice living with a man who has dream but never achieved it. If she chose to marry Peter, then she doesn’t need to live in a place full of desert and has neighbors hate their family. So

 The 1^st part is about Peter and Annie’s happy time. The second part is about Peter goes to New York. The other 2 parts tells Annie and Rex’s story. In the very end of the movie, Peter comes back and Annie has to make a choice between these two men. Even though Rex doesn’t have much money and he can’t give Annie the luxurious life as Peter does. But Rex gives Annie new life, gives Annie the warm that’s was never given from Peter and he helped her understand her future direction. She enjoys spending time with Rex who always give her warmth so she chooses Rex.

            We decide to make video is because it has so much fun. When we are recording this video we are not only actress but also directors. We act what we want and express the emotions that we’ve never felt. Shooting this Video can also help us understand more about the character Annie. Although in our video there is nothing about the Ashmol, the main character in book but sometime those costars are also very important. In the part that Annie was looking at the pictures, it reflect how hard Williamson’s life in Lightening Bridge is. Also, the movie Opal Dream doesn’t tell much about the part when Annie was in England so we thing this is a good idea to shoot a video of Annie’s love history.

Opal In Our Heart

As we all know the lesser a kind of thing is, the more treasure it will be. This sentence is same with both human and things. The reason why people like Opal not only because it is a shinning stone but also because it is not same as common stones that can be seen every where. The relationship between its value and its quantity can’t be separated. Opal is a metaphor for Kellyanne and his family. They are valuable for Ashmol, even more important than opal it self.

The book Pobby and Dingan tells the relationship between a young girl and her imaginary friends. She loves them, treats them like family members, ignores others misunderstand and always believe their existence. Some times children have more important characteristics then adults. Imagine how many times your parents have told you that what you have done is wrong and how many times you changed your mind just because others doesn't believe in you？ Not many people have an attic faith nowadays, it is so easy to be controlled by others. However, Kellyanne, a child has this cherish personality. She is as cherish as Opal. She is special not because how she was produced but because who she is. Just like what her brother Ashmol says: "The secret of an opal's color lies not in its substance but in its absences." 

         Opal has many colors. Only one color can’t make it valuable.  It will just be like a normal stone by the side of road that no one cares. However when colors gather together and start shining, it becomes precious. Each color is a metaphor for a family member. Just like Ashmol’s family, they all gather together to help Kellyanne get rid of the disease. They take care of her, support her small dream, hold funeral for her friend, and desperately find her friends. When others don’t believe Pobby and Dingan are exist, they stand by Kellyanne’s side strongly. At the beginning of this book, Annie and Rex had a fight because Rex does not believe Pobby and Dingan and Annie argued how can Rex say they don’t exist since he also doesn’t find any Opal. Then after they started over to find Opal, the family reunited together and connect again. Another important event is that if there is no opal, there can’t be a funeral for Pobby and Dingan. In this story Opal is not just a metaphor for family and Kellyanne, it is also a connection for the family.

         Every one has a small dream in their heart that only belongs to themselves. Kellyanne has Pobby and Dingan in her heart but others cannot see. Rex aspires to dig the Opal, but he is misunderstood as a ratter. Opal is the essence of this book, which embodies family, membership, metaphor of Kellyanne and Ashmol’s whole family, attitude toward the disbelieves… People in lightening ridge cannot live without Opal, and people in Ashmol’s family cannot live without trust and cares. That is why Opal is important. Everyone needs an opal.