Chemistry Special Effects:
Lights. Camera. Action! What a great way to start off our third year at STEM Marin. Accumulating all our labs over the past month, we have created a parody off of the movie Sky High. It might look like a normal high school, yet it is far from it. Here kids withhold supernatural powers that allow them to save the world. However, only some will use those powers for good. Our chemistry concepts included an eggplosion, flammable bubbles, Elephant toothpaste, a blue flame, and dry ice effects. Without further ado, I give you the trailer for Sky High!
Lights. Camera. Action! What a great way to start off our third year at STEM Marin. Accumulating all our labs over the past month, we have created a parody off of the movie Sky High. It might look like a normal high school, yet it is far from it. Here kids withhold supernatural powers that allow them to save the world. However, only some will use those powers for good. Our chemistry concepts included an eggplosion, flammable bubbles, Elephant toothpaste, a blue flame, and dry ice effects. Without further ado, I give you the trailer for Sky High!
Hope you enjoyed it! Below is a PowerPoint outlining the chemistry concepts, if they were hard to follow in the video:
This assignment screamed project based learning. Throughout the course of the lab, our group completed six labs that were relevant to this project. The unit was called Chemical and Physical Properties, specifically the structure and arrangement of atoms, ions, and molecules. The six labs were titled Elements and Compounds; States of Matter; Solutions, Suspensions, and Colloids; Properties of Matter; Identifying Matter; and Mass and Volume. These labs inspired the special effects we incorporated in Sky High. Our challenge was to explain these special effects in a behind-the-scenes directors cut addition to the film. Part of the project was creativity and discovering the mystery of a chemistry phenomena. For example, we incorporated elephant toothpaste. We had all seen videos for this foaming mystery so we tried it out and investigated the chemistry behind it. This project gave our class a taste of what this year in Chemistry would look like. Let's just say I think it's going to be a good year.
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Reflection:
A special effects movie sounds exciting yet deceives the eye. Our group brainstormed detailed, intricate chemistry components we could include in the film yet only five of the ten were accomplished. Granted, this is the case with most projects, but at the end, I felt that we could've done better if we managed our time more. If we had a plan and agenda that had to be finished in a day, we might have been more efficient. We certainly lacked a sense of urgency.
I learned that I tend to enjoy labs more than large projects. I loved doing cool labs every day, trying to discover something new. For example, the Identifying Matter activity was the highlight of my day. The different chlorides determined the color of the flaming, which was slightly amazing. I'm a very curious person, so I enjoy focusing on an experiment each day. Also, I learned more about the process of movie making. I wasn't the one editing, but through observations, I developed an eye for where a segment is choppy and what makes a movie flow. Obviously, I need dramatic improvement, but maybe next time I will volunteer to do the editing in the group.
I need to improvement my leadership skills in a group. For starters, I tended to be bossy sometimes because I wanted to be productive, but we would have moved at the same rate without me acting as an authoritarian. Also, I would instruct other members of the group to bring materials, and I was unable to obtain some of the materials myself. I need to practice what I preach (I don't want to end up like Thomas Jefferson). Secondly, I wasn't very innovative with the special effects used. A majority of the class used the blue flame, dry ice, flammable bubbles, and the eggplosion. Those were four out of the five of our special effects! We had so many resources that were wasted because I didn't think outside the box. Quality is always better than quantity, even if quality takes more time and energy. In general, I would have like to be prouder of our finished result.
One of the peaks of our project was the elephant toothpaste. We were one of the few groups that used this overwhelming foam in our movie. People enjoyed the unique aspect, and it grabbed everybody's attention. Colorful chaos is what people associate with the word "chemistry". A second peak was our chemistry concepts. To start, we finished the chemistry concepts early. Also, there was a balance of clear and complex to attract multiple audiences. For example, we explained step by step how dry ice sublimates and included how it became a liquid, even if it wasn't incorporated in our movie. The chemistry side was definitely superior in our movie.
One of the pits in our project was the editing. To start, we were all inexperienced, so it looked sub par to say the least. Our bus seen obviously showed that the people weren't in the toy bus and the egg was clearly the source of the explosion, not the engine. Also, we didn't finish much of the editing in class, putting most of the work on one member of our group. Granted, editing is usually easier with one person, but all the work should be equally distributed. Our second pit was the presentation night. Due to two of the members (including myself) having a volleyball game, only two members could present the movie. Since I wrote the chemistry concepts while they focused on the editing, we were unable to answer questions. In the future, I hope there is not another conflict, but maybe we need to tell our coaches in advance of our school functions. All in all, the project instilled a love of chemistry inside me. Hopefully this will stick.
A special effects movie sounds exciting yet deceives the eye. Our group brainstormed detailed, intricate chemistry components we could include in the film yet only five of the ten were accomplished. Granted, this is the case with most projects, but at the end, I felt that we could've done better if we managed our time more. If we had a plan and agenda that had to be finished in a day, we might have been more efficient. We certainly lacked a sense of urgency.
I learned that I tend to enjoy labs more than large projects. I loved doing cool labs every day, trying to discover something new. For example, the Identifying Matter activity was the highlight of my day. The different chlorides determined the color of the flaming, which was slightly amazing. I'm a very curious person, so I enjoy focusing on an experiment each day. Also, I learned more about the process of movie making. I wasn't the one editing, but through observations, I developed an eye for where a segment is choppy and what makes a movie flow. Obviously, I need dramatic improvement, but maybe next time I will volunteer to do the editing in the group.
I need to improvement my leadership skills in a group. For starters, I tended to be bossy sometimes because I wanted to be productive, but we would have moved at the same rate without me acting as an authoritarian. Also, I would instruct other members of the group to bring materials, and I was unable to obtain some of the materials myself. I need to practice what I preach (I don't want to end up like Thomas Jefferson). Secondly, I wasn't very innovative with the special effects used. A majority of the class used the blue flame, dry ice, flammable bubbles, and the eggplosion. Those were four out of the five of our special effects! We had so many resources that were wasted because I didn't think outside the box. Quality is always better than quantity, even if quality takes more time and energy. In general, I would have like to be prouder of our finished result.
One of the peaks of our project was the elephant toothpaste. We were one of the few groups that used this overwhelming foam in our movie. People enjoyed the unique aspect, and it grabbed everybody's attention. Colorful chaos is what people associate with the word "chemistry". A second peak was our chemistry concepts. To start, we finished the chemistry concepts early. Also, there was a balance of clear and complex to attract multiple audiences. For example, we explained step by step how dry ice sublimates and included how it became a liquid, even if it wasn't incorporated in our movie. The chemistry side was definitely superior in our movie.
One of the pits in our project was the editing. To start, we were all inexperienced, so it looked sub par to say the least. Our bus seen obviously showed that the people weren't in the toy bus and the egg was clearly the source of the explosion, not the engine. Also, we didn't finish much of the editing in class, putting most of the work on one member of our group. Granted, editing is usually easier with one person, but all the work should be equally distributed. Our second pit was the presentation night. Due to two of the members (including myself) having a volleyball game, only two members could present the movie. Since I wrote the chemistry concepts while they focused on the editing, we were unable to answer questions. In the future, I hope there is not another conflict, but maybe we need to tell our coaches in advance of our school functions. All in all, the project instilled a love of chemistry inside me. Hopefully this will stick.