through
Lenses by
Bianca Dabu Katt Dimaculangan and Jewel manalo
contents Introduction:
Juxtaposed: How constants screamed creativity
Pre-Exposure:
What was Math for you?
Math Beyond Math:
Going communication arts (CommArts)
Post-Exposure:
What is Math for you now?
Crafted and Resonated:
Mathematics through and through
MATAPRE A51
DABU, Bianca Rose Dimaculangan, katrina manalo, jewel
jux
ta posed
how constants screamed creativity
he field of Mathematics has not been entirely friendly to every living being on the planet, or most. Ask a classroom full of students, and only 10%, or less, would probably be able to say they actually love Math, or like it, at the very least, wholeheartedly. Some might have doubts, or some may just, oh, you know, be thisclose to forsaking Math for all its problems that it cannot solve by itself, thus, making it our problem. But thinking about it, while breathing deeply and getting out of the classroom, away from the numbers and the lines and the the x’s and the y’s, Mathematics is a cane we almost always hold on
to, if not entirely always. What, with all the talks of distance, time, space and excess changes from your suking tindahan, no one can deny the prevalence of Math in our lives. We are surrounded by Mathematics, and we should be thankful. But as we go on with our lives realizing our dreams and doing our best to fulfill it, we start to wonder: Will Math still make a difference in our chosen field? Or do we ask it to leave us alone? We start to think: How will Math make our lives easier when we choose to be a Science teacher, a photographer, or a diplomat? What if we want to be a librarian, or a zookeeper, or a filmmaker? Will Math be just as helpful? How could Math help us in fulfilling our dreams? Can it? And when it does, when, finally, we were able to be what we want to be, what is the role it’s going to play? Is there one? We have so many questions, we’re starting to sound like Math. But we tried to look into our own dreams by looking into our course-- Com-
munication Arts. Vast as the field might be, we basically want the same thing: To make art. A very liberal art. We kept on thinking, how in the world could something so rigid, so sure and so constant could make way to something free and creative? Does every stroke of your digital paintbrush, or every click of your shutter, amount to something mathematical? That thought is actually scary, you know. We have always thought art is just about beauty. Not that producing something beautiful is easy. But all it takes is the correct moment, the right amount of inspiration and emotion, true emotion. Food for the eyes and the heart. Why would Math come into the picture? You may not believe us, but Math creates beauty. We know! We thought it was just about splitting headaches and extreme frustration, too. But looking beyond what the eyes can see, and what the eyes enjoy, we see that that there will be nothing for our eyes to marvel upon without the
works of Mathematics. We can not enjoy Shrek and Donkey’s friendship, or laugh and fight with Rapunzel, go on in many adventures with Buzz and Woody, or help Marlin find Nemo, without the Math that helped their creators. Neither can we watch our favorite telenovelas, nor make our mornings good with amusing DJs. And to top it all off, we won’t be able to capture life’s greatest moments. Everyone knows the brain can only remember so much, and we can probably agree on one thing, too: It’s one of life’s greatest past times to look into an album and reminisce, laugh at your past mistakes and marvel on how time passed by, how people came and went, how some stayed and how life changed. Now before you try and Google everything we said, come with us as we take you to a little journey towards the beauty that Math creates.
MATH + Art it can happen
PRE-EXPOSURE
what was
math
for you?
a c n Bia
2nd Year on Arts ommunicati
AB-C
as dent who h tu s a g in e ath. B ndered was just... M th a M always wo k e in v a th h I to , d fe e I us s in li And gh problem lems, too. u b o ro n p e s n it a e . more th me solv with Math e to make e v v a li h n t a s c I ju , maybe why Math But w up, yeah ro g I of my life. s a y a d d e y z r li e a v re e Math then I dreams of living with y m m a w I o t. ll c fo and Well, in fa st as se my path o o h c Math be ju l to il n w o r, t e n d e n as I w ia, I wo be in the med .constant, .. g o s in , e b re u d s n gid, so writing a nder. ething so ri m o s n ative? I wo a c re c w d o n H a l l? libera usefu something g n ti a re c a way of
Katt 2nd Year AB-Communication Arts
At first, before taking MATAPRE, I thought that I would be facing another hell term because of the bad experiences I had with Math when I was in high school. I’ll be having two Math-related courses for the 5th term which even made me more scared, one is INTOECO and the other is MATAPRE but I guess that this term wasn’t hell after all. I used to hate numbers, formulas and math problems because no matter how I analyze problems during high school, I always end up getting the wrong answer which made me hopeless and down. I already made a thought inside my head that maybe, Mathematics isn’t really for me.
Jewel 2nd Year nication Art s
AB-Commu
I have a lo ve/hate re lationship understand with math ematics. I math. I kno mean, I w the concep to math. I ts and things just think that relate that my m function an in d is n o d solve ma t program thematical med to brained. I s e q u a ti on. You see ee things a , I’m rights they are. I the other th d o n ’t s o lv e their area ings it hav e. I love cre and all doesn’t req a ti n g beautiful th uired logic ings that al reasonin suit. My cla g. Math is ss standing not my str over the p ong test to that, a s t y e ars of my li but I know fe can atthe importa nce of Math to our lives .
MATH beyo M going
H ond MATH communication arts
photo graphy from the mind...
Law of Reciprocity Use math techniques to calculate shutter speed and aperture openings, or F-stops. To do so, you will need to know the law of reciprocity, which addresses a change in F-stop to compensate for a certain shutter speed. For example, a sunny day could be shot at 1/125 shutter speed at f/5.6, 1/250 at f/4 or 1/60 at f/8, but each will yield different results, depending on the action in the photo. If something is moving quickly, the 1/250 at f/4 will
catch the action, but focus on the foreground and lose the background. Meanwhile, the 1/60 at f/8 will blur the action, but catch the background. The faster the shutter speed, the smaller the aperture number. With each increase in shutter speed, the F-stop needs to be lowered by one stop. See the Resources below for more on shutter speed and aperture working together.
Rule
of
Thirds
When framing a subject, the frame is divided into 9 quadrants. A photographer tries to frame the subject within those 9 quadrants using 1/3 of the frame, whether top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right, or in the middle.
from the heart... We can actually relate the world of photography to Mathematics because in taking photographs, one must be patient enough to shoot and capture “the moment”. Our photography professor said that we should click the clicker button of our camera whenever we feel that our heart skips a beat, this moment cannot be felt anytime and so we should be patient enough to wait for our subject to do the perfect pose in order to show the audience the emotion of the photograph. The subject may already be in front of you but what’s important is how you capture the emotion.
there may also be times wherein we get criticized by our speech professors because of delivering wrong speeches and thoughts. Just like the lines on a graph, we should not just settle on the bottom, we should learn to stand up and aim to be in top again because I believe that one cannot be placed on the bottom forever for as long as he or she strives hard. Straight lines and parabolas may happen in our life. Our life may experience constant happiness or sadness but let us be ready for the curve and shift that will happen in our life. These curves must be a tool for us to stay strong in facing the difficulties of life.
audience and so every detail in the photograph is important.
Mathematics is very similar to this field because Math teaches us the value of patience. The formulas and problems may be given but what’s important is how you solve it. One must be careful while solving because once you become careless, it can affect the whole process and will result to a wrong answer. There is a big chance that you cannot get the wrong answer during your first try but you shouldn’t lose hope, you should try and try until you succeed in attaining the correct answer.
Solving word problems can be related to this major subject because before answer one problem, we should learn how to analyze it well. We should learn how to imagine the problem so that we can understand it well and we can know what to do, we can know what operation should be used and what formula needs to be applied to the situation of the word problem. In photography, one should analyze a certain photo. We should not just be good in taking photos but we should also have the capacity to analyze the photo and see the message that it Sets can also be related to pho- wants to convey to the audience. tography because we should learn to distinguish the difference of the different features of our camera in order to have a good photograph. Each feature has a big contribution in making a photograph good and so we should know each function and we should not mix them up from each other. Our topic in Math which is Sets can be connected to this because it teaches us to divide certain elements from each other and learn how to combine some elements as well.
Quadratic equations is one topic which we discussed in MATAPRE, in making graphs, there will always be a line which is moving upward and one which is moving downward. I realized that Math teaches us on how to accept both the ups and downs of life. There may be times wherein we experience the success and happiness of life whenever we deliver successful speeches which were complimented by our professors but
Exponential function relates to Communication Arts because this topic is more about the cause and effect relationship. In photography, we should learn how to motivate the subject. Motivation is one key in order to capture the mood that we want to show to our audience. As the photographer, we should learn how to set the mood. We should learn how to connect to the subject because every detail can be seen by the
FILM from the mind...
A n i m a t i o n Trigonometry helps rotate and move characters, algebra creates the special effects that make images shine and sparkle and calculus helps light up a scene. The animators begin with drawings of the characters, which they use to build computer puppets, later adding digital “strings” that correspond to various geometric points on the puppet. These strings serve as animation controls, ensuring that as each string is “pulled,” the puppet’s movements reflect what would occur in real life. Color and lighting effects are added last before the puppet is “animated.”
from the heart... Mathematics can be a means of communication as well. Mathematics can promote hard work and eagerness to the people by means of numbers. One must have these traits in order to survive Math. There are lots of times wherein one should trial an error in order to get the right answer. In doing this, Mathematics already made you exercise the virtue of eagerness without you noticing. The messages that Mathematics teaches us are hidden through numbers but still the impact of the content of the message is still clear.
ry and then choose the people who can portray these roles. We should learn how to classify the potentials of each person and then assign them to the right role that would best fit them.
Production design is also an important key to a successful film. The setting, costumes and props are needed in order to let the audience see and feel the story and the mood. Exponential function connects to production because the exponent of a certain variable affects the entire solution and answer and so we should know and memorize all the rules of exponents because if you apply the wrong rule to a Script writing is one important variable with exponents and use step in making a film. The whole the wrong operation, you would film would not be a success if your surely obtain a wrong answer. script is not well polished and well conceptualized. Mathematics also sees the need in making your first step correct especially in solving word problems in topics like exponential function, quadratic equation and etc. The first step in solving word problems is to analyze and recall. We should learn to analyze the problem to be able to understand it well and then we should try to recall the formulas that should be applied. If these steps are wrong, the final answer would surely be wrong as well. We should take time in doing the first step in everything that we do because it can truly affect the whole process and result. Sets can also be related to film especially in choosing the casts for your film. A good script is not the only tool to a good film but choosing the actors is a must as well. We should learn to analyze the characters of your sto-
TV & Radio from the mind...
Amplitude and Frequency Modulation
the modulating signal to vary the frequency of the carrier signal. FM signals are generally more robust and are capable of carrying higher fidelity signals.
Information Theory mathematically predicts the amount of information contained in a signal and the ability of a channel to transmit this information. One of his equations states that the Frequency Modulation (FM) uses capacity of a channel (how much information can be transmitted) Amplitude Modulation (AM) is the earliest form of radio transmission. It applies a simple combination of a carrier wave and a modulating wave (the message).
This type of analysis was instrumental in improving the quality
of communication systems and even other branches of computer science and engineering, such as image processing, data mining, and pattern recognition.
from the heart... Mathematics can also be connected to TV and radio since both of them use a process in attaining their goal. The goal of TV and radio is to let the audience know the news, to inform them and even entertain them and in order to reach this goal, they should undergo a certain process. One must get factual information from a reliable source, this is very important because this is where people will see how credible you are as a news caster. In Math, you should also memorize the correct formulas. If you’ll apply and memorize a wrong formula, the whole answer will be wrong. You should take down notes from your professor or from a book before applying it in certain Math problems. You should also learn on how to be confident. People will see and hear you from all over the country and so your confidence should really be a must. You should be confident enough to deliver the news and information since you know that what you are delivering is nothing but the truth. You should review your news first before announcing it to public. You should not be scared in telling these to your audience since you just want them to be informed. In Mathematics, you should also be confident in answering the word problems since your emotions and doubt can be a way for you to perform bad during examinations and so you should study well before an exam and learn to review your answers because you’ll never know, one mistake can affect your final answer.
In delivering news and information, you should use a medium which can easily be understood by all the classes. You have audience from class A, B, C, D and E and so you should learn to connect to all of them so that your news can be understood by these classes. The topic binomial expansion can be related to the delivery of news to all the classes. A binomial is a bit complicated to understand compared to the expanded one since the expanded one is more detailed. A complicated news can be difficult to understand by the people who belong to the lower class and as a newscaster whose goal is to reach and inform everyone, you should learn how to explain this news in a way that they can easily understand and relate to. The newscaster can use the tagalog medium and explain the happening or news in a more detailed way.
POST-EXPOSURE
what is
MforA you TH now?
Bianca
Who knew that Math is beyond gruelling and tedious hours of solving? As I look at it now, Math is not just a collection of numbers and letters and confusing signs and long formula. Math can be the picture that you take, the movie that you watch or the radio station you listen to. It is Buzz Lightyear and Shrek and Rapunzel and your favorite cartoon character. And Math is so much more. Math is a vital part of communication and the arts. I guess we won’t be leaving each other any time soon.
Katt
This course is about to end and I can truly say that the name of this course which is Math Appreciation really fits the subject. As I mentioned, Math for me was really my mortal enemy. I hated analyzing and solving numbers and word problems but now, after taking this course, I can say that my impressions and thoughts about Mathematics were wrong. I judged the subject too soon. I can now say that my Math skills were better and polished. I am no longer afraid to face variables, graphs, lines and formulas. I actually enjoyed this subject since it made me see the bright side of the world of Mathematics, it wasn’t as bad as I thought. Maybe I was just too impatient during my younger years in solving and analyzing questions and problems. It is a subject which enhances your imagination, your logic, your patience and eagerness. I actually saw myself enjoying this subject while learning at the same time. I am happy that it shifted my view to a positive way. I would definitely carry all the things that I have learned in this course wherever I go.
Jewel
Now, Math for me is a vital concept of the society. It’s not just an hour’s worth of tedious solving and formulating solutions. For me, it became an important aspect of life that is very beneficial to all of us. Without Math our society would crumble into pieces and I think that it is the society’s solution to satisfy the needs of it. For me, especially in my field, it is a very important tool in developing new technology in communication. I’m expecting more development as our society progress with the use of Mathematics.
and Mathematics through and through
hanks to Math for making life a little bit more beautiful and organized. Thank you for living through the hate of humanity, and improving for us. Thank you for your being constant and sure, those which helped the world create something liberal and feeling. You have been a burden, and we know you know that, but despite all the frustrations you give, you know we cannot possibly live without you. Thank you for making us believe in order, and that there is freedom in it. Most especially, thank you for letting our dreams live as you exist and make good for the world of film, photography, television and radio. Thank you for contributing to the ability of creating something out of nothing. Thank you, so very much, for making art possible.
To all artists in the world, to the students, most especially, Math does not exist to torment you. Believe us. It exists to make your photos look good, to breathe life to your animation and to let the world hear, see, and, hopefully, understand your message, over borders and beyond yourself. You always work with Math, and you do not feel the frustration, the headache and the pressure. Who knew Math can make you happy? Now, you do.
To each and every one of the people who gets to lay their hands and eyes on this: Appreciate Math. Nothing else can make the world a little bit more borderless each day.
{ Bianca, Katt, Jewel }