Our Big Picture High School intern, Bryan Charles, has created another Flash-animated movie trailer in his ongoing “3 Frog Bros.” series.
As we mentioned before, Bryan is a budding young artist/animator, has a passion for comics, cartoons and humor, and his storytelling and Flash skills are coming along quite well.
Here’s what he has to say about this week’s “3 Frog Bros. Movie Trailer 3,” for which he does all the writing, animation and editing, in, as he says, “over 43,000 frames of animation”:
“This is the second to final trailer for my fantastic Flash movie, which has been 95% scripted and planned out.
I hope this trailer will tide my fans over…”
- Bryan Charles
Writer/Animator/Actor
To see more of Bryan’s work, click here.
Our intern, Bryan Charles, of Big Picture High School, has created another Flash-animated cartoon in his “3 Frog Bros.” series.
As we mentioned before, Bryan is a budding young artist, has a passion for comics, cartoons and humor, and his Flash skills are growing quite rapidly.
Here’s what he has to say about this week’s “3 Frog Bros.,“:
“Good news from the Frog Brothers universe!!
After a recent hard drive failure, lots of animation is being redone, this however does mean quality is at a minimal compared to the originals, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be as awesomely funny and epic, so to show you what I’ve recently achieved, here is a preview of the 3 Frog Brothers Movie in high definition!!”
- Bryan Charles
Writer/Animator/Actor
To see more of Bryan’s work, click here.
We’re proud of our latest Intern, Bryan Charles of Big Picture High School, who’s not only learning new things about storytelling, but has been teaching himself Flash and making numerous animations, all based around his original “3 Frog Bros” cartoon.
Here’s his latest creation, “3 Frog Bros Episode 5” in which the Frog Bros have a close encounter of the strange, and oftentimes funny, kind (keep in mind that he drew and animated this entire thing himself, with the only help coming from friends doing voices):
Have a cartoon idea for Bryan? Email him here!
Our intern, Bryan Charles, of Big Picture High School has created a cartoon just for today – “Black Friday”!
As we mentioned before, Bryan is a budding young artist, and has a passion for comics, cartoons and even creating his own Flash animations (some of which you’ll be seeing here very soon).
He also has a twisted sense of humor and a sharp observational eye, and here’s this week’s “3 Frog Bros.,“:
Have a cartoon idea for Bryan? Email him here!
Please welcome the latest addition to The B-Town Blog – our newest intern, Bryan Charles, of Big Picture High School!
Bryan is a budding artist, and has a passion for comics, cartoons and even creating his own Flash animations.
We’re very happy to have him on board, so be sure to look for more of his work soon.
In the meantime, here’s his debut comic “3 Frog Bros.,“, perfect for this Election Day:
This is our second year serving as mentors to a student from Big Picture High School, part of the Highline School District, and described as such on their website:
At Big Picture, we believe we are doing our best work when each student is an active participant in his or her education, when his or her course of study is personalized by teachers, parents and mentors who know him or her well, and when school-based learning is blended with outside experiences that heighten the student’s interest.
By these means we help students take responsibility for their own learning and prepare for success in college and beyond.
| May ’09 |
| 29 |
| 6:30 pm |
by Josh Hart
A few Big Picture High School students, which includes myself, are putting on an Auction. All proceeds will be donated to The First Place School, which is a school in Seattle that helps homeless and abused children get their education along with finding homes for them.
YOU are invited to attend the auction.
It is May 15th 29th starting at 6:30pm at Big Picture High School, which is located at 2450 South 142nd Street in SeaTac (map below).
It is open to the public and FREE to attend. There will be snacks available and it will be a fun night.
This is our second year running an auction and we have learned a lot from the last one, so this auction is going to be great!
Some of the items being auctioned are six hours of tutoring from Sylvan Learning Center, Photographs on canvas, and much much more. So come on out and enjoy yourselves, support your community, and you may walk out with a great item.
[EDITOR'S NOTE: Josh Hart is the B-Town Blog's first Intern! He's a 15-year old student at Highline's “Big Picture High School” in SeaTac who loves to write and play soccer.
You can read more of his writing here...]
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by Josh Hart
This month at Big Picture High School, a fellow student named Tylor Curry was chosen as “Intern of the Month.”
Tylor, a very prolific (and busy) sophomore, won for the following reasons:
- Tylor has two internships:
- The first is at The Nature Consortium where he is working with other students to help restore the Green Belt. They work out by the Duwamish River and they try to rid the area of invasive plants. They also try to protect from the invasive plants coming back. They want to have only native plants in that area. This is helping the community as a whole, because the work he is doing out there is making things like our air quality better and making the area a prettier place.
- His other internship is with The Tobacco Prevention Program. He goes around and tries to buy cigarettes from stores. If they sell to him, King County Public Health comes in and talks to them about selling cigarettes to underage buyers. So he is preventing teens from getting into bad habits and also serving under law enforcement.
- Both nature and law enforcement are Tylor’s passions and he is following his passions and working at his goals to make the world a better place.
- Also, in January, Tylor was awarded a $500 grant from the Washington Foundation for the Environment to implement an internship project involving teaching elementary students about forest restoration.
Let’s give a big hand to Tylor and join him in making the community cleaner and safer for all of us.
[EDITOR'S NOTE: Josh Hart is the B-Town Blog's first Intern! He's also a 15-year old student at Highline's “Big Picture High School” in SeaTac.
You can read more of his writing here...]
by Matt Marble
Everybody has rules.
A common one is that you never mess with a man’s family.
This is what happens in the action thriller “Taken.”
Bryan (Liam Neeson), a former secret agent living in the US, is very skilled in hand-to-hand combat, divorced, and he loves his 17-year-old daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) who lives with his ex-wife and her new husband Stuart (Xander Berkeley).
Kim wants to take a vacation in Europe with her friend Amanda (Katie Cassidy), and together follow U2’s European tour. But when they arrive in Paris, they get kidnapped by some thugs and are forced into the sex trade.
When Bryan finds out, he heads to France and starts knocking down doors…and busting heads. With only 96 hours before she vanishes forever, time is not on his side.
The film demonstrates that a father’s love knows no bounds. From the very beginning, you can feel the connection that Bryan longs to have with his daughter. Giving up his “career” to be closer to her is a sign of this. “Taken” is filled with action and violence, but also has a good feeling of family and love.
Written by Luc Besson (“The Fifth Element”) & Robert Mark Kamen, and Directed by Pierre Morel (“The Transporter”), “Taken” is rated PG-13.
“Taken” was #2 at the box office last weekend, and has brought in over $100 million bucks; it’s playing at several area theaters – click here to see locations and showtimes.
Here are some clips of the movie to whet your appetite:
[EDITOR'S NOTE: "Matt's Movies" is a regular movie-review column written by Matt Marble, a 17-year old student at Highline School District's Big Picture High School.
If you have a movie you'd like for him to review, please email him.
Look for more of his movie reviews and other articles soon on The B-Town Blog!]
by Matt Marble
Most movie buffs think that Clint Eastwood was at his prime playing Dirty Harry or starring in one of his many “spaghetti” westerns.
But I think that Gran Torino proves that Eastwood is still in his prime, as both a leading Actor and Director.
He stars as Walt Kowalski, a retired autoworker and Korean War Vet, who’s not afraid to pronounce his hatred for…well everybody.
When a Hmong teenager tries to steal his mint condition 1972 Gran Torino, his temper flares. After the failed carjacking, the boy’s family insists that he repays Walt by working odd jobs. Over time, Walt gets used to the kid. A series of events lead to a very heartfelt and memorable climax.
In the beginning of the film, I was unsettled by the anger that Eastwood possessed for the Hmong people, but by the end, you can witness the transformation from angry old man to caring neighbor.
You don’t have to be a fan of Clint Eastwood to enjoy Gran Torino – just a fan of great storytelling…and remember, this film is rated R for a reason.
Gran Torino is playing at many local movie theaters; you can find movietimes here.
Here’s the trailer for the film, which was ranked #1 at the box office last weekend, as well as an AP feature on Eastwood:
[EDITOR'S NOTE: "Matt's Movies" is a regular movie-review column written by Matt Marble, a 17-year old student at Highline School District's Big Picture High School.
If you have a movie you'd like for him to review, please email him.
Look for more of his movie reviews and other articles soon on The B-Town Blog!]
by Josh Hart
Hello people of Burien, this is your city here – I want to talk with you a little about what I want to happen in 2009.
In 2009 there are many resolutions I want – no, need – from you, the people of Burien:
- I want to see my streets clean. If you have walked around my streets you know they are very dirty. There is litter everywhere and it makes me upset that you treat me like that. If you stop littering the return will be great for you. I, as your city, will be healthier for you.
- Another thing I want you to do for me is ride the bus. There are so many cars on my roads, if you take the bus it will pollute my air less and also be better for you. The bus is also cost efficient if you get a yearly pass, it saves you a lot on gas money.
- I also want you to strive to do good for your fellow citizen. Help someone in need. Give to a food bank. Open a door for one of my little old ladies. Smile at each other. Buy some dude a brewski at Elmer’s for cryin’ out loud…
- The last thing I want from you is to help fight crime. There is so much crime around on my streets. Especially around the park and ride. If everyone helps by not just ignoring crime, it will make me a better place.
So please help me become better and you will be better off for it.
[EDITOR'S NOTE: Josh Hart is the B-Town Blog's first Intern! He's also a 15-year old student at Highline's “Big Picture High School” in SeaTac.
You can read more of his writing here...]
[EDITOR'S NOTE: "Matt's Movies" is a new regular movie-review column debuting today on The B-Town Blog. It is written by Matt Marble, a 17-year old student at Highline School District's Big Picture High School.
Matt is the second teen Writer to join our ranks after Josh Hart.
If you have a movie you'd like for him to review, please email him. Look for more of his movie reviews and other articles soon on The B-Town Blog!]
by Matt Marble
Two-time Academy Award nominee Will Smith leads a great dramatic cast in “Seven Pounds,” a film Written by Grant Nieporte and Directed by Gabriele Muccino.
Smith portrays Ben Thomas, a mysterious IRS agent who has many inner demons. From the beginning of the film, the Director creates a deeply emotional tone. I felt that I spent the whole film trying to figure out what exactly he was going to do and why. Thomas’ entire persona changes when he meets Emily Posa (Rosario Dawson), an ailing woman who forms a deep bond with Thomas.
After several other meetings with people who seem to have various problems with their health, relationships etc., you realize that he wants to help them, although you are just not sure to what extent or why.
There are a couple of scenes where he meets with his life-long best friend Dan (Barry Pepper) where you will get a little hint of something, but as quickly as it seems that you will finally find out what is going on – the movie moves on.
By the end of the film though, it all adds up and the message that shines through is amazing.
The one point I hope everyone takes away from this powerfully moving movie is that while the world is a cruel, mean, violent place, there are people around that truly do care about changing the lives of others for the better…
Here’s a trailer for “Seven Pounds,” which is still playing at several local theaters, as well as an interview with Will Smith:
by Josh Hart
Now that America has elected a new president the question gets posed:
What will change under President Barack Obama?
Will the fact that he is an African-American man affect anything?
From what I have heard around my school it seems like many think he will be assassinated. I don’t think this will necessarily happen. There is a chance, just as there is with every other president, but a very low one. The US government is not going to let that happen.
I think that having an African-American president will not affect the government as much as it will affect the people. I think that African-American males will now be more respected and also I believe that they will have more respect for each other.
As for the government, Barack Obama is just like any other president – he is trying to help America. No matter what you think, every president is trying to improve the country, but they all have different tactics and approaches. Personally, I am a supporter of Barack Obama, but the thing we have to keep in mind is he won’t be able to change things in one day. For the first two to four years George W. Bush’s policies will still be around. I think that once policies get changed Barack Obama will be up for election again. (Maybe against Sarah Palin, as rumor has it). This means that if America doesn’t see enough change he will probably not get re-elected.
In the coming years I will be looking forward to the change that happens. I think some of the things that will happen is a refocusing of troops in the Middle-East. Barack Obama is trying to focus more on Afghanistan than on Iraq. I think also that the economy will start to improve; stocks will go up, gas prices will go down, and small businesses will be flourishing. People will be happy, but I don’t know how long this will take. It can’t happen overnight.
Keep an eye on politics in the next couple years and see what happens with our country.
[EDITOR'S NOTE: Josh Hart is the B-Town Blog's first Intern! He's also a 15-year old student at Highline's “Big Picture High School” in SeaTac. He recently wrote on the economy, about JFK beating Highline 61-0 in football, an opinion piece on the VP debate, a story on Mt. Rainier High's Drill Team playing at the Seahawks' Halftime, a story on a Fight at the Tyee vs Rention Football Game and much more...]
by Josh Hart
Many of you don’t know about this new school in the area and that is Highline’s Big Picture High School.
I would like to inform you about this school for two reasons:
The first being that everyone should know about all the schools in the area and the other being that I am sick and tired of explaining it on the metro.
Big Picture High School is a small school in the Highline School District. This would be its 4th year in the Highline School District. The Big Picture model started with The Met in Rhode Island. They now have schools like Big Picture all over the country and even some in other countries. The model is designed around individual learning plans and real world learning experiences.
Every Tuesday and Thursday we do LTI work (LTI stands for “Learning Through Internships”). Every student goes through the LTI process. They first search for businesses in their field of interest. Then they call them and ask for an informational interview. An informational interview is 15 minutes long and the student asks questions about their field of interest and the business itself.
After the informational interview, the student writes a reflection and also asks for his/her advisor/LTI Coordinator to request a shadow day. A shadow day is where the student follows the adult around for 3-6 hours learning about what they do. After the shadow day, the student once again reflects on it and if he/she likes it will ask their adviser to request an internship setup meeting. This is where the adviser, student, and mentor discuss what the internship consists of and what projects the student can do to benefit him/her self and the business. That is the brief synopsis of the LTI process.
The other cool thing about Big Picture is individualized learning plans. Each student has their own projects. They have to write project proposals for each project to make sure it is in-depth and fits into one of the five learning goals. The learning goals are the following:
- Empirical Reasoning: Thinking like a scientist. This is where you do projects that use science like thinking.
- Quantitative Reasoning: Thinking like a mathematician. This goal consists of all the student’s math work. It’s more than that though its not just doing math and turning it in, its understanding math and the reasoning behind it.
- Social Reasoning: This is all the social studies. It consists of understanding people, history, and the reasoning behind it.
- Communication: This is speaking, writing, drawing. Anything that the student communicates through fits under this goal.
- Personal Qualities: Improving yourself as a person. If you are becoming a better person you are completing this goal. Time management, organization, empathy all fit under this goal.
You must show improvement and understanding in all five of these learning goals in order to pass this class. We don’t have grades but we have a much more in-depth way of grading students than the traditional way.
That is the basic outline of the school. If you have any questions you can go on bigpicture.org for more information.
[EDITOR'S NOTE: Josh Hart is a 15-year old student who attends Highline's “Big Picture High School” in SeaTac. He recently wrote on the economy, about JFK beating Highline 61-0 in football, an opinion piece on the VP debate and a story on Mt. Rainier High's Drill Team playing at the Seahawks' Halftime. You can look forward to reading more of his work on the B-Town Blog, as he will soon be our first Intern!]
| Oct ’08 |
| 12 |
| 3:00 pm |
by Josh Hart
This Sunday the Mt. Rainier High School Drill Team is going to perform live at the Seahawks game at halftime!
A fellow student at Big Picture High School, Danielle Knake, is on the drill team for Mt.Rainier (for those who don’t know how sports work for schools like Big Picture it goes something like this – any student with an ASB card can play for their home school if their present school doesn’t have sports).
The drill team will perform Sunday when the Seattle Seahawks face the Green Bay Packers (please note though that it’s highly unlikely that this halftime event will be televised, so you’ll just have to get down to Qwest Field in person!).
So go buy the cheapest tickets and show your support your local school – the Mt.Rainier Rams!
This is an amazing opportunity for each and every girl on the squad.
So go Seahawks!!!!
And go Mt. Rainier Drill!!!
[EDITOR'S NOTE: Josh Hart is a 15-year old student at Highline “Big Picture High School” in SeaTac. He recently wrote on the economy, about JFK beating Highline 61-0 in football, and an opinion piece on the VP debate.]
[EDITOR'S NOTE: This story was written by Josh Hart, a 15-year old student at Highline “Big Picture High School” in SeaTac who recently wrote on the economy as well as the JFK vs Highline football game.]
by Josh Hart
Many of you watched the vice presidential debate last Thursday – this was the one and only debate between Senator Joe Biden and Governor Sarah Palin.
The two Vice President candidates debated taxes, global warming, energy independence, gay marriage, foreign policy, health care, nuclear weaponry, their running mates’ policies, education, their duties as VP, and even what they would do if something happened to their running mate.
I thought both of them did better than I thought they would coming into the debate. They both had well-presented attacks on the other party, and both discussed their own opinions and beliefs. Both candidates made mistakes and they both could have represented their running mate better.
I thought Palin got off subject a little too much, but Biden talked more about himself than he should have. Overall they both came out stronger than before and so it doesn’t affect the election as much as many of us thought it would.
It definitely helps Palin’s reputation, because many people thought she was the weak link in McCain’s campaign.
I can’t wait to see how this election comes down in the end.
Josh Hart, 15, can't yet vote but has a pretty strong opinion. He attends Big Picture High School.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Recently we were invited by the Highline School District to visit students and discuss the B-Town Blog at an innovative high school called “Big Picture High School” in SeaTac.
We’re happy to say that our outreach program to showcase diverse area Writers begins with today’s blog featuring a new column we call “From The Big Picture.”
Today’s Guest Columnist is 15-year old Josh Hart, a student who has been writing for five years. Josh plays soccer for Highline Premier Football Club, and is currently working on an adventure novel.
Here are his thoughts on the economy:
The economy right now is on the downhill, if you haven’t noticed.
As we come up to the presidential election I can’t help but thinking that this election will affect everything.
I see more people interested in this election than past ones. They see how the economy is and want a change.
But if more people had cared about the past couple of elections, the economy wouldn’t be where it is now.
If people voted for something other than the President, things would be different.
America is a country run by the people. The President can’t do anything without the approval of the House, Senate, and the people of America.
I am sick and tired of people complaining about ‘this is wrong with America’ and ‘that is wrong with America.’
Well do something about it!
If we cared about our country and did something for it years ago America wouldn’t be in the state it is right now.
So what are you going to do about it?
You need to start by voting for your local bills, and bills that affect your community, start with this presidential election.
This country needs a change and it needs to happen now!
Lets turn this country around!
Big Picture High School is a unique concept in education, whose mission, according to its founding institution’s website is “to catalyze vital changes in American education by generating and sustaining innovative, personalized schools that work in tandem with the real world of their greater community.”
Do you have an opinion on something, or an idea for a story?
Want to get it off your chest?
Email us and let’s talk!
