Ω the hoofprint
9
february 12, 2014
Empowered by passion Walnut High School students take their time to show their creativity to others in person and online through Youtube, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. COMPILED BY NIKITA PATEL, BRIAN WU, JACQUELINE SOTOODEH, YOLANDA YU. PHOTOS COURTESY OF MELISSA DOMINGUEZ, TIFFANY LIN, AND MATTHEW HUANG
1. The
2
1
3
Guitarist
Sophomore Ardella Phoa makes instrumental covers of pop songs. Q: What about making covers makes it so enjoyable? A: ”I think playing the guitar is fun; just the learning process of new songs is challenging and makes me a better musician. Making covers ensures precision and helps show other people how I play a certain song and they could possibly learn from it too.” Q: What kind of feedback do you get from your viewers? A: “I usually get positive feedback from people asking me to do tutorials. I enjoy the positive feedback and overall experience of playing for people on Youtube.com. Playing guitar is a hobby and it’s fun just to play songs and see what people think about it.”
2. The
Businesswoman Junior Tiffany Lin works with her mother in an online business selling jewelry. Q: What does it take to run a business? A: “You need to be really organized and then you need to know which direction you’re going to and then you’ll need trustworthy helpers. And also a really good support system.” Q: How did you get into it? A: “I got into it because [my mom] was like, ‘Oh, come and make a heart shaped beads with me,’ and I was like, ‘Okay, sure.’ I tried it and it was actually pretty hard, but I liked it because I got to spend time with my mom.” Q: What’s unique about each product? A: “Each product is unique because we’ll find what we like, like penguins and stuff and then online, when we find the whole outline of it and make it ourselves. Then we also chose the colors of the crystals.”
5
4
6
3. The
4. The
Freshman Matthew Huang recently started making videos on Youtube, using his voice as his instrument.
Senior Christian Garcia works with a computers to electronically create intelligent dance music.
Junior Jamie Chu makes inspirational videos for those who are going through troubled times.
Senior Melissa Dominguez buys her own cloth to fabricate her own designs in her hand made blankets.
Q: Because you’ve just started, what plans do you have for the future?
Q: What got you started with making electronic dance music for others?
Q: Why did you start making videos?
Q: What do you sell and where do you sell them?
A: “So I’ll try to post videos once in a while because I just started and so we’ll see.” Q: What’s been the initial reaction so far?
A: “I used IDM as an outlet for my creativity and self expression, and it’s also a method of distraction for me.”
Vocalist
A: “I haven’t really got a lot of feedback but some say [my singing] is good, and there hasn’t really been any bad [feedback]. But a lot of my friends are really shocked because they never really knew I had this high voice.” Q: When did you start your Youtube channel? What songs do you sing? A: “I started my Youtube channel about one to two weeks ago and I’ve only made one video. I just sing random songs but I prefer ones with high voices since I have a high voice.” Q: Why do you like to sing? Do you add your own spin to the songs? A: “I started singing one to two years ago and I enjoy making videos because it makes me happy and I love it. “
Composer
Q: How do you feel about your music? A: “To be honest, a lot of electro music that are mainstream are really similar, there isn’t much variety to it. I also started making IDM because it was my reaction to modern electronic music, , which usually follows a really simple formula so there isn’t much variation. I wanted to do something different, and it’s helped renewed my faith in music.” Q: What do you enjoy about making the music? A: “The isolationism is the greatest part. In electronic the individual is in control of the entire arrangement, the individual is the composer and the performer, and is given the freedom to experiment with the basic elements of noise, melody, and sound.”
5. The
Vlogger
A: ”Well I started to really like making videos in the summer after 6th grade when I took this computer class at Suzanne. It felt really good to be able to start something and go through the process of finishing and getting it done. I loved working with friends so that was a plus when I had friends in the same class. I joined broadcast in 7th grade and I just kept making videos.” Q: How is it like working with some of these troubled youth? A: ”It’s so hard working with them sometimes because they don’t like to communicate. Most of them forget that they need to show up And they blame us for not getting it done.” Q: What kind of work goes into making a video? A: ” Well, we come up with the idea, and tell them what to do. We film the basic outline of the whole video: beginning, middle, and end.”
6.The
Entrepreneur
A: “I sell blankets where customers can practically choose any of the 2 fabric design. I advertise through social media, I post pictures on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Then people place orders and I go buy the fabric that they want.” I started selling blankets in 8th grade because I wanted to raise money so I could buy my Disneyland pass and I have been doing that every year since.” Q: Looking back, how have you grown? A: “I have become better, more patient, and more careful as I make my blankets. Comparing the blankets I made in middle school to the blankets I made this year, you can tell the weave in my technique is a lot more precise and tight.“ Q: What keeps you interested? A: “It’s fun seeing people get happy when I hand them the finish product. It also makes me feel as if I am giving or selling the gift of comfort.”