Hope: Production Diary

Here are a few more blog updates from last week! Many thanks to our blogger, sound tech and production assistant Diego for the blog posts:

Day 1 (read more about Day 1 here)
Trying on costumes and posing for the camera. Boy, those soldiers look pretty tough!

The soldiers pose with Sarah.

Sarah and Emma.

Day 2 - We're filming for real now!

 The crew started of the day in a cold, freezing house called the grange. we shoot the scenes of Sarah shooting Emma and the general being killed. The crew took breaks and we drank hot chocolate. We were in the Grange the whole day and we also filmed the scenes where the general wants his tech experts to examine a computer that was hidden in the case. The tech expert takes it and finds out it has a problem in it and the general panics. We also filmed the scene where Emma and Sarah are taken to the headquarters and the general and all his soldiers are walking around and talking to each other.

Day 3 - Still going strong!

The day started off with many different things. First the whole crew got together to discuss the plan for the day. Then we got our assignments: some people were assigned to do filming and others were assigned to clean the set and take the props back to the pubs lab. The filming scenes were the kitchen fight and hallway fight. Some people had to clean the grange and carry many props down to the car and bring it back to the pubs lab. Towards the end of the day some of the crew got into a car with a big camera crane and a electronic model airplane. The scene we filmed was the ending and we watched the airplane fly around with a camera attached to it and flew around shooting scenes of Sarah acting. It took many takes but in the end it was worth it.

Day 4 - 5
What happened these days? A rush to audio pick up recording, editing and CGI so we could finish the film in time for the project symposium!

Departure from the Dominican Republic - reflection on service andexperience

To end each day while on our trip, we had group reflection.  Most days, everyone shared a highlight of their day, leading to deeper conversations about our work and purpose here.  Many would mention small interactions with students or other Dominicans which often went overlooked by the group.  This reflection, while not the favorite part of the trip for most students (how can it compete with the beach?) was a key component of the learning to go along with our service.  This trip was not simply a week a and then back to our everyday lives.  All of us will take lessons learned in our own experience with us back home.  

As we wrapped up our experience on the Dominican Republic on Saturday, we asked everyone what lessons they have learned while living for a week on the north coast of the Dominican Republic.  Below are their responses. 

Johanna- The importance of living in the moment.

David- Happiness it not about money, it is something you cannot purchase. Happiness is about enjoying your life, whatever life you have.  Being grateful of what you have.

Derek- life is what you make it.  Many in the DR do not have "much" yet are a lot happier than Americans.

Claudia- I enjoyed learning more about the Dominican culture.  I also really liked talking with the high school students from Abreu and teaching English.

Carley- You can communicate with people no matter what language you speak. 

Siqi- everyone is capable of making a change 

Molly - it is possible to make a significant connection with someone in a short amount of time even without speaking the same language. 

Aurderic- to value all the goods and opportunity that I have in my everyday life. 

Mingyu- it is difficult yet rewarding to live outside of my comfort zone. Also, I need to learn Spanish. 

Connor- things can always be worse than you have.  Putting yourself in someone else's schools is extremely valuable. 

Max- it is fun to be a teacher in the ESL classes.

George- speaking a similar language is not necessary to make a new friend.

Elizabeth- be happy and live with a smile even if I don't have what I want.

Mr. Schwab- it is amazing how quickly we can adapt to our surroundings and feel comfortable in an unfamiliar situation. 

Dempsey- appreciate the little things, like being able to flush toilet paper. 

Dori- we are too materialistic and it is not worth it to stress over material things. 

Hayden- Happiness is a decision. 

We had an incredible experience during Project Week!  

For additional photos follow @jonathan_schwab and @mcolleenbrown

HHAB FOUND!!!  Fay received a call this afternoon from a lobster man saying he had found the balloon. It was still all intact, balloon and all camera's. It was found 20 miles off the coast of Kennebunk, ME. I spoke with the gentleman this evening and have made arrangements to pick up the balloon tomorrow. Stay tuned for more information tomorrow.

Hope - A short film by the Make a Sci Fi Action Movie Group

Here is the final version of the film - enjoy!

#Ballislife

Making a Mockumentary is proud to present the final product of its week, the film: #Ballislife.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztJdbtZWM3M

As much as we tried to avoid it, the final day was upon us! We started by having a nice breakfast at the hotel 8 in the morning and kept all our carry-on bags in the hotel lobby. Most of the time, we used metro train as a transportation, but covered a lot of territory with our feet as well. Our final metro ride left us crossing a street in between the Capitol and Lincol memorial with our final stop being the Smithsonian American History museum in order to profoundly explore and understand this Country's culture and those that have had a large impact on the United States. We were able to learn that this diverse community and firmly established idea of equality have been achieved by lots of efforts and bloods. Carmilla's purse conveys religious equality, Greensboro Lunch counter illustrates protest against racism, and Woman's cape shows gender inequality and women's struggle to achieve equality. We had lunch around the museum and went to a space museum where the history of people's effort to reach the universe and various equipment that was utilized. Then, we all head back to Holiday inn, and went to the Washington airport with driver Muhamad who had taken care of for the whole trip. We saw many passed out at the airport. Weve been busy and tired but the trip was well worth it.

Recipe links

The Baking group had a busy week. Here are links to some of their favorites:

Strawberry Cream Pie: http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/231938/dandans-strawberry-cream-pie

Lemon Rasberry Cupcakes: http://www.pastryaffair.com/blog/raspberry-lemon-cream-cheese-cupcakes.html

Mini Tarts: http://www.salad-in-a-jar.com/family-recipes/fruit-and-cream-mini-tarts

Lava Cake recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/molten-lava-cakes-recipe.html

(we adapted a bit-- put them in cupcake tins and cut the cook time to 7-9 minutes)

We used the Hoosier Mama Pie cookbook for technique and recipes on Pie Day.

And because it wouldn't have been the same without him, here is Rue our baking mascot in his favorite place.

Pie Fest!

• Today the bakers gathered in the dining hall to share Thursday's pie creations. Among the pies included the savories: Oktoberfest pie, quiche. And the sweets: lemon meringue, strawberry cream, apple turnover, caramel, and individual tarts. The bakers indulged in each others creations, beginning with the savory pies and ending with dense and delicious sweet pies. The difference between the sweet and savory pies was very obvious to the taste. The savory pies were less creamy and thick, while the savory pies were a lighter serving that could be multiplied. It was a great way to spend lunch and definitely enjoyable! However, the bakers found it difficult to get back to work and prepare samples for the symposium, rather than take long naps. 

The Showdown!

After a frantic afternoon, the teams tried to be ready for the 3 p.m. competition. The blue team needed a slight delay to charge the batteries on their robot, which had been depleted during testing. The red team's robot had mechanical issues just before it was supposed to start, and then again after it started. You can see the first run and the attempts at repair here:

And here is the start of the blue team's trial:

The blue team's robot got trapped and did not fully complete the indicated actions during the autonomous phase, but it gets full credit for trying. Including two minutes of penalty time, the blue team had a time of 13:17.

After a bit of time to rebuild, the red team ended up with a faster time for gathering balls under remote control, and a faster and slightly move effective autonomous run, for a total time of 9:47. So with a formal warning for not being ready on time, the red team is declared the winner!

Last Day at Kurn Hattin

The Kids Helping Kids group closed out their week at Kurn Hattin with a great visit to a well run girls cottage and an outstanding dinner out at Diamonds Pizza.

"Shoulda had a Calzone!"
- Elias C.

The group was extremely excited with the experience and equally enthralled with the manner in which this eclectic ensemble came together. We learned as much about each other as we did ourselves and our host school. The night could not come to an end without the Battle of the Never-Beens Part Deux, Air Hockey Death Match, and Cueless pool. Entertainment was provided by The Tapping Husketts, who made the case for increased financial aid for the Dance Team. Cards ensued through the midnight hour and the group waxed old school by just enjoying being in each others company. There lies solid evidence that 3:45 am served as last call. We said our goodbyes over breakfast and during school meeting over promises from Mr. Redman that "this is not a good-bye, but rather an introduction."

Paving Paradise Spends Last Day at Pearl Harbor

Today, our last day in Hawaii, we went to Pearl Harbor. When we got to Pearl Harbor, we went on the USS Bowfin Submarine. We also saw many of the airplanes that flew and fought during the attack. We also took a ferry to see the sunken USS Arizona, which is now a memorial for the 1,700 soldiers who died on the ship. 

- Emily A.

Pearl Harbor

USS Bowfin

Aviation Museum 

USS Arizona

Take A Listen!

Congratulations to all involved in this special week! We had a fantastic time and really enjoyed the time we spent together. Thanks to all that played a part in making this experience possible. A special thanks to Justin Joslin, Director of Experiential Learning at NHS, for all of his help and leadership.

Here are all of our tracks from Creating Music in a Professional Recording Studio: San Francisco 2014!

Dave Matthews Band- Crash Into Me
Featuring:
Marcel Johnson- Lead Vocal
Jill Adams- Background Vocal
Dylan Sobczyk- Guitar
Jake Murray- Guitar
Conor Soucy- Piano
Innes Miller- Bass and Aux percussion
Matt Cole- Drums
Monti McCoy- Synth



My Body by Young the Giant
Featuring:
Jill Adams- Lead Vocal
Marcel Johnson- Background Vocal
Dylan Sobczyk- Guitar
Conor Soucy- Piano
Innes Miller- Bass and Drums
Monti McCoy- Synth



Mama's Broken Heart by Miranda Lambert
Featuring:
Callie McManus- Lead Vocal
Monti McCoy- Background Vocal
Dylan Sobczyk- Guitar
Jake Murray- Guitar
Innes Miller- Bass and Aux Percussion
Matt Cole- Drums



Heart Shaped Box by Nirvana (One take-Live studio recording)
Featuring:
Conor Soucy- Piano
Dylan Sobczyk- Guitar
Lukas Bjorklund- Bass
Innes Miller- Drums

Day 5: Effort

Today's theme was effort. Effort is something we can always give to our team or to the task at hand. Our group did just that today. We had a great last morning session starting with smoothies and our 3 stations. Groups worked through their program with Radar, worked through foam rollers and functional plank poses with McCabe, and body mechanics and weight room terms with Precious. There was a sense of joy when all groups finished their mornings!

With morning workouts over, it was time for our last afternoon session, ZUMBA! Some of us had tried Zumba before, but many had never tried it or seen what it actually was. We traveled to the Laconia Athletic Club again to meet Trish, the best Zumba teacher ever! Trish told us over and over that we were the best group she has ever taught. Each person stayed moving the entire time, even when we weren't very confident with the dance move being performed. ZUMBA is amazing and each person would like a class added to their workout program.

After Zumba we traveled to Concord to experience Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt. Our diets this week excluded refined sugars and desserts, so this was a treat! It was a great way to end our Friday!

Tomorrow morning we are meeting as a group to hear about our day 6 theme, and then we will head to the caf to make one more smoothie before break! I am very thankful to have been able to spend this week with such awesome, hard working people.

Day 7 - Tourists

With our last full day in the Dominican Republic, we decided to see some sights. In the morning, we drove to Laguna Dudu, a freshwater sinkhole that is gorgeous! We all swam and explored the beautiful property. There was a zip line there, but no one used it because we were not sure how safe it was. Still, everyone had a great time relaxing.

Laguna Dudu

We had a pizza lunch in the shade and then drove back to Playa Grande. David, Derek, and Siqi did their impression of the health and wellness project group by getting beach massages for 500 pesos ($11.65) for thirty minutes.

At Playa Grande we spent time at the beach. Some rented body boards while others swam, walked, and got snacks. Some found out just how strong the Caribbean sun is.

Tomorrow we head back to Santo Domingo to catch our flight home.

Freeze Frame: Day 5, Editing and Printing

Today during Freeze Frame we took on the daunting task of editing and printing. Although being very much so a challenge to bring these pictures to perfection, it was very rewarding to see all of our hard work from the week come alive in the gallery. The presentation of our prints illustrates our technical skills working with our cameras and lights, as well as our technical skills in Photoshop.

We have had a very successful week leading to this culminating event. COME SEE OUR WORK ON EXHIBIT IN THE GALLERY DURING THE SYMPOSIUM! We are excited to share our week with you!

- Andrew G. '14

Greenhouse Taking Shape

Today in Project Greenhouse, we put together the bows that will support the structure. We worked in teams to assemble all 13 of them, and when we finished, we each signed and dated them. We then stood them up, put them in their places, arranged the raised beds to see how they would fit in the greenhouse, snapped a picture, and called it a morning!
-Maggie L.

Siberian Husky Lost At Sea

The Siberian Husky Hot Air Balloon still remains lost at sea. The last transmission signal was received at 5:46 am today (Longitude -70.08795 and Latitude 43.444) approximately 10 miles East of Biddeford, ME. Calls were made to the US Coast Guard asking for their help. An email was sent to television station WCSH in Portland ME asking their listeners to be on the lookout for the balloon. We even tried calling the local fisherman's association to help retrieve the lost balloon. We believe the box has taken on water and is perhaps gone forever. We may never know what lies within the cameras and video.

With the group just waiting on a phone call, we all headed down to Concord to visit the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center, New England's premier air and space center. Here the students were able to walk freely around the center and take in the interactive exhibits on aviation and astronomy. The group watched and listened to a presentation entitled "Tonight's Sky" in their 360 degree theater. The narrator, a teacher from St.Pauls School, gave a 45 minute talk on what to expect to see in the sky and how you can identify the different planets, moons and the many constellations.

The HHAB will now prepare for our presentation at Saturday's Symposium. We encourage you to attend and ask questions to the group.

Building Doors and Mixing Soil For The Greenhouse

The Geenhouse group has been busy staining boards, assembling doors, building raised beds, mixing potting soil, and starting seeds! We split up into two groups and tackled all the work.

Staining took a lot of teamwork, and group 2 did a great job working together. Tomi 16’ and Johnny 17’ worked hard on finishing the shingles. Shen Hua 16’, Lily 16’, Jacob 16’, and Mary 17’ stained the sides.

Group 1 worked hard constructing the beds! They look great! Mian 15’ and Maggie 17’ were great leaders. Eric 15’ did an awesome job drilling and cutting the wood. Each group got to construct their own doors as well. With Mr. Shackett's design, we assembled and built four barn-style sliding doors for the ends of the greenhouse. Great job to everyone!

We were lucky to have the Tinker Shop, another New Hampton School Project group, constructing our tables! They look awesome!

We used the planting room in Pilalas to mix potting soil and learn about plant nutrition. We mixed our own soil nutrients to add to the peat moss and vermiculite base for our potting soil. We up-cycled containers that we found at our homes and in our dorms into planters, and we started some flowers in them. They are very creative, and we did a good job on mixing the soil and choosing the seeds. We also spent time looking through all of the seeds that we will start this week and throughout the growing season.

- Shen Hua R., Lily C., Mary H.

Making a Mockumentary Trailer

After a week of hard work, the Making a Mockumentary group is happy to present the trailer for #Ballislife. See the whole film on Saturday at 9:30 am in McEvoy Theater. All quotes in the trailer are 100% authentic.*

*Authentic, in this case, means 100% fabricated. 

Robot Showdown at 3:00 pm Today

The group leaders have set a deadline of 3:00 pm today to have robots prepared for competition. Here are the rules:

1. Each of the six members of the team must take a turn driving the robot while it picks up a ball and places it in the beaker. The total time will be recorded.
2. Each robot will be placed in the center of the horseshoe of desks. It must autonomously drive until it encounters a blue or red piece of paper. When it encounters a red sheet, it must turn around and then move in a small square. When it encounters a blue sheet, it must spin around twice and then play a happy sound. Time will be recorded for this task as well.
3. Each time a member of the team touches or adjusts a robot (or its software) that team will incur a one minute penalty.

May the best team win!
Results will be on the blog in a few hours.

Here are the contenders:

And here is some code and some coders for the other team: