Capstone Project Proposal Draft

Name of student: Joshua Molina

Teacher: Mr. Harvalias Block: D

The Capstone strand I have chosen is Project Strand

Proposed title for my Project Proposal: (write the proposed title for your Capstone Project in one clear
sentence): PSYCH! and Music

What is your inquiry question that interests you for further research? It should be a question that connects with
a purpose, passion or personalized area of interest for you. This is a question that you cannot just google an
answer for. Please see examples from your Capstone booklet.
My inquiry question is:

How does music affect our psyche and what should we be aware of it?

Rationale/context: Detail your reasons for choosing this inquiry question. Explain WHY you are choosing to
investigate this topic as a major area of focus. How does this area of inquiry connect to your passion(s),
purpose? Why is it of personal interest to you?

I believe music is an important aspect in our lives and one that often goes unnoticed for its effects. It’s what
breaks the dead silence and is often a big motivator and the lifeblood to many of us. I believe it’s important
to know why and what types of music makes you feel the way you feel because not only helps you create
an understanding of your own tastes and preferences in music, but also creates a better understanding
about ourselves, as well as it simply lets us appreciate music just a little more. Music is a passion to me
because I grew up in it. It isn’t really a planned career goal of mine, but rather a part of my life, something
that is the foundation of what I am, and what defines me.

Background: What background knowledge/connections/prior learning do you have in this area of inquiry?

I have many years of knowledge and prior experience on the musical aspect of my Capstone; however, I
barely have a grasp at the knowledge of the psychological aspect of it. Other than that, I have lots of
experience in video editing, music production, and more; planning the creation of the actual project to go a
lot smoother.

Career connections: What is your intended career area at this point in time? What connections does this
inquiry question have to your life, academic and/ or career goals?

This Capstone doesn’t connect to any major career paths I plan to have at the moment; however, it is a
major reflection of my life, my interests, and the skills I have learned from across multiple academics.
Interdisciplinary and core competencies connections: What subject areas and core competencies will
be connected with your project? Outline and explain the connections.

This would cover both Critical & Creative thinking, as well as communication. This is critical thinking
because this project requires a lot of research, especially because I don’t have much personal knowledge
or experience with the psychological half of the topic. I will not only need to research it, but also learn it and
understand why it is the way it is. This project is also creative thinking because there are so many different
creative liberties to take account for. Format, script writing, video editing, making the video
enjoyable/engaging to watch, etc. There will be lots of trial and error especially in the editing phase. Lastly
this is also communication because the way I’m presenting it is a one-on-one conversation through a video.
I will need to be engaging in my recording and not just sound like I’m listing facts and reading off a
textbook. This project would fall under a lot of classes mainly because of the methods of research.

Capstone Presentation medium: select one or more project mediums you wish to use to present your
project. Outline and give details about how you will present your project once completed. You may use a
combination of mediums.
o Electronic portfolio: Prezi or PPT
o Physical portfolio
o Website
o imovie presentation
o YouTube channel

Once the project is done, I will create a YouTube channel and present it via an uploaded video. I will also
transfer the video to my teacher through a USB stick, as well as the script of the video and the research.

Description of my Capstone project. Specific Project Details of the Capstone Project: what will you
research, create, study, produce, solve, investigate? What product will be produced at the end of this
project for evaluation. Write a one-page description outlining your proposal.

For my Capstone, I will be researching the prompt “How does music affect our psyche and what should we
be aware of it?” Within this topic, I will be researching certain sub-topics related to the main topic, it being
the psychology of choosing music, the connection of music and academics, and how music affects
ourselves both physically and mentally. After gathering all the required research, I will then have to write a
script, laying out the information while still being presentable and entertaining. Due to the nature of the
research topic, this part could be the hardest part of the Capstone, as there is lots of creative liberties
required to make the content entertaining and engaging. This is to be further assessed as the Capstone
progresses. After the script is finished, I will present both the script and research to my mentor for
clarifications and editing, after approval, I can begin to record the video.

To present all of this, I will be creating an infographic-type video on this subject, almost in a “top 10” format
of style but instead it’s “top 3”. It will contain the information, presented in a visual method of a video
playing in the background with my commentary being the focus of the video, the visuals just further
emphasizing my points. There will hopefully be other types of shots, such as visual notes via the help of FL
Studio (music production application) and in-person shots. After recording is completed, I will have to edit
all of the footage together through a video editing software, which I am planning to use Adobe Premiere
Pro, as I am proficient at using the software because of prior projects and experiences using it. This may
 be a very tedious step in the capstone due to the number of creative liberties required, as well as
unexpected problems to arise as it has been a while since I last used Adobe Premiere Bro, but after the
video is done editing and refurbished, I will get feedback on the video from my mentor and other peers so I
can fix any mistakes and make any changes. After the video has been approved, I will then have to create
a YouTube channel as my method of presenting the project during the interview. The goal is to have a
minimum of 10 minutes of information (4-5 minutes for topic 1,2, & 3). As a bonus, I will also be adding a
song created by me in a day as to celebrate the capstone, the song hopefully being under two minutes.
This will end up being a total of around 12 minutes of the video, however it may lengthen or shorten
depending on how research is presented and the flow of the recordings, as well as how long the end-
product song will be.

Resources/ Technology/Skills: Make an assessment of the resources, technology and skills you will
need to be able to complete this project. What is your plan to be able to access/learn all of the resources
necessary to achieve completion of this project? Detail your plans.

I will first need access to the internet to do research and note taking, which I already have. I will require a
microphone to record with, as well as an application to edit and process the recording with. I possibly
might need a camera as well if I decide to record myself. I will also need a music production software for
the visuals, as well as creation of music if need be, which I have and have experience with. Lastly, I need
a good video editing software to put the video together, which I will need to buy a subscription for a month
when I start editing it. I already have previous experience with the video editing software I have in mind to
use (Adobe Premiere Pro), so I will just need to do some quick research of anything has changed about it
since I last used it so I can refresh my skills at it.

Mentors/Community Connections: What types of mentor(s)/community connections will you need to

help you complete your capstone project? How will your mentor(s) help you? What is your plan to access
the mentorship/community connections necessary for this project?

I will need a mentor that has vast knowledge of how music works, specifically topics such as chord
progression, composition, etc. They will be able to help me by giving me a deeper look into the musical
aspect of my Capstone whilst I research for the psychological aspect of it. I have many connections to
people with experience in music, such as my music teacher and personal friends of my mom’s so it’s just
the matter of inquiring them to be my mentor.

Project limitations: What are some project limitations and potential obstacles that you foresee that might
affect progress with your Capstone Project?

While I have experience in the musical aspect of this project, I know very little about the psychological
aspect of it, so for this project to be to the best of my ability, I will need to do much research on the topic.
While it isn’t a limitation, it is definitely an obstacle to my other academics, so I will need to learn to
balance these two in order to succeed.