May 21, 2011
Today, we did our Relay for Life event. Things ran smoothly and I saw Allison and finished up my hours with her. Matt and I took photos of the survivors and we sold T-shirts at the event. I am very proud of how everything turned out. Since I have never been to Relay for Life before, I was amazed by how many people there were at the event. I am so glad to have been part of this event
Showing posts with label Senior Project. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Senior Project. Show all posts
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Senior Project #29
May 18, 2011
We interviewed Dina a few days ago. Today, we also interviewed Mr. Jordan. The interviews went smoothly, but we could not take pictures of Dina because she is having a hard time meeting up with people. Mr. Jordan was very helpful and we will wrap up our work by writing their bios and finishing up the website. We will sell t-shirts and the event is this Saturday.
We interviewed Dina a few days ago. Today, we also interviewed Mr. Jordan. The interviews went smoothly, but we could not take pictures of Dina because she is having a hard time meeting up with people. Mr. Jordan was very helpful and we will wrap up our work by writing their bios and finishing up the website. We will sell t-shirts and the event is this Saturday.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Senior Project #28
May 15, 2011
Time spent: 1 hour
Total time: 39.5 Hours
Today, Matt, Nick, Brendan, Emily, and I met up to finish our photo shoot and to work on our website. We ordered our shirts already, but still have to wait for them to arrive before we sell them. Matt and I will do our interview with Mr. Jordan tomorrow. We will also do an interview with Dina.
Time spent: 1 hour
Total time: 39.5 Hours
Today, Matt, Nick, Brendan, Emily, and I met up to finish our photo shoot and to work on our website. We ordered our shirts already, but still have to wait for them to arrive before we sell them. Matt and I will do our interview with Mr. Jordan tomorrow. We will also do an interview with Dina.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Senior Project #27
May 1, 2011
Things I need to do still:
- Order and sell shirts
- Finish website
- Do Relay for Life
I need to meet up with Matt, Nick, and Brendan as a group to discuss these things. I also need to finish editing pictures for my mentoring.
Senior Project #26
April 27, 2011 5:00-7:00 PM
Time spent: 2 hours
Total time: 38.5 hours
Matt and I went to Stanford after to meet Andy again. This time, we focused on photo-editing. Andy explained to us about the organization of Lightroom and what the Library and Develop settings are used for.
I learned that Recovery is for highlights and fill lights are for shadows. Exposure affects the exposure range, so highlights go with it. For clarity, you can use a high pass filter, which is related to contrast. Vibrance and saturation only applies to color images. Vibrance increases color where there isn't any, so it is good for preserving skin tones. Saturation increases color across the entire image.
Split tones are used to apply a uniform color. You can add age to the photo. Black and white is always converted from color photos. Skin tones are usually orange under black and white adjustments.
For detail, the radius is how many pixels from each individual pixel the program uses. Using the alt key shows you what is being blown out. Masking is used to keep sharpness away from stuff you don't want it to be used on.
He also explained many other things, but after the Lightroom stuff, Andy went over some skin retouching and explained how layers work in Photoshop. Basically, each layer is like a painting with clear sheets on top and making changes to those clear sheets. That way, it is easy to revert back to different stages of the editing. So, I learned how to edit skin with a surface blur and a high pass layer. I also learned how to burn and dodge using curves.
Time spent: 2 hours
Total time: 38.5 hours
Matt and I went to Stanford after to meet Andy again. This time, we focused on photo-editing. Andy explained to us about the organization of Lightroom and what the Library and Develop settings are used for.
I learned that Recovery is for highlights and fill lights are for shadows. Exposure affects the exposure range, so highlights go with it. For clarity, you can use a high pass filter, which is related to contrast. Vibrance and saturation only applies to color images. Vibrance increases color where there isn't any, so it is good for preserving skin tones. Saturation increases color across the entire image.
Split tones are used to apply a uniform color. You can add age to the photo. Black and white is always converted from color photos. Skin tones are usually orange under black and white adjustments.
For detail, the radius is how many pixels from each individual pixel the program uses. Using the alt key shows you what is being blown out. Masking is used to keep sharpness away from stuff you don't want it to be used on.
He also explained many other things, but after the Lightroom stuff, Andy went over some skin retouching and explained how layers work in Photoshop. Basically, each layer is like a painting with clear sheets on top and making changes to those clear sheets. That way, it is easy to revert back to different stages of the editing. So, I learned how to edit skin with a surface blur and a high pass layer. I also learned how to burn and dodge using curves.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Senior Project #25
April 27,2011 2:20-4:20 PM
Time spent: 2 hours
Time spent editing pictures: 2 hours
Total time: 36.5 hours

Finally, we finished ironing. It was still wrinkled, but better than before.
After the photoshoot, Matt and I went back to his house to wait to meet with Andy at Stanford. We started messing around on lightroom again and tried to achieve a uniform style for the photographs.
Time spent: 2 hours
Time spent editing pictures: 2 hours
Total time: 36.5 hours
After Mr. Arias' photoshoot, we went back to Emily's house to do our own photoshoot. Nick and Brendan weren't there, though, so we will have to do their photos some other time. Emily had white sheets that we could use as a backdrop, but it was wrinkled, so we tried to iron it.

Here is our setup for the shoot.
| Before Editing |
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| After Editing |
| Before Editing |
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| After Editing |
| Before Editing |
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| After Editing |
I edited the photos after we met with Andy at Stanford.
Senior Project #24
April 27,2011 1:30-2:15 PM
Time spent: .75 hours
Total time: 32.5 hours
Matt and I met up with Emily and went to Mr. Arias's room to do his photoshoot. We did the interview first just like last time. I was really interested in his story because he remembers the details so well despite it being 21 years ago. Mr. Arias wants to know when our presentation is so that he can come in and watch.
Anyway, the pictures above are two of the pictures that we are going to edit and use. Matt is going to be in charge of editing those and Mrs. Werner's pictures while I edit Mrs. Yee's and our photoshoot pictures.
Time spent: .75 hours
Total time: 32.5 hours
Matt and I met up with Emily and went to Mr. Arias's room to do his photoshoot. We did the interview first just like last time. I was really interested in his story because he remembers the details so well despite it being 21 years ago. Mr. Arias wants to know when our presentation is so that he can come in and watch.
Anyway, the pictures above are two of the pictures that we are going to edit and use. Matt is going to be in charge of editing those and Mrs. Werner's pictures while I edit Mrs. Yee's and our photoshoot pictures.
Senior Project #23
April 27, 2011 12:30-1:15 PM
Time spent: .75 hours
Total time: 31.75 hours
After the mentoring with Jason, Matt and I decided to try using Lightroom and to practice our skills. It was kind of difficult at first because I wasn't used to the tools and the setup since I used to use Paint.net for quick editing. However, Lightroom is more flexible and easier to use than Paint.net and gave me better results.
We also talked about the shirt design. Matt came up with a design on his own:
Time spent: .75 hours
Total time: 31.75 hours
After the mentoring with Jason, Matt and I decided to try using Lightroom and to practice our skills. It was kind of difficult at first because I wasn't used to the tools and the setup since I used to use Paint.net for quick editing. However, Lightroom is more flexible and easier to use than Paint.net and gave me better results.
We also talked about the shirt design. Matt came up with a design on his own:
On the back, we decided to use a quote from a survivor. We really liked Mrs. Yee's quotes, so we are probably going to use this: "Every step I take is a step against cancer".
Senior Project #22
April 27, 2011 11:00AM-12:30PM
Time spent: 1.5 hours
Total time: 31 hours
Today, I went to Matt's house and had a screenshare session with Jason. We used a program called Teamviewer so Jason could show us how he processes his wedding photos after a job.
Jason showed us using something called Photomechanic. Most of his photos were shot using natural light or one flash. He sends 600-800 of the 1151 photos to his client. Before he does his editing, he chooses his favorite pictures for his blog.
Jason uses Lightroom to catalog his pictures. Unlike photoshop, it is useful for multiple image editing or quick edits. He showed us how to use the gradient tool to recover detail. Lightroom is useful because the histogram has a function that can show warnings of where there is no detail. After Lightroom, Jason uses Photoshop. He made a bunch of droplets, which consist of actions, to make it faster to edit. Then, he uses levels or curves to make the picture brighter or darker. He even showed us how to use the liquify tool to manipulate pictures. Overall, Jason doesn't really do a lot of heavy editing.
Time spent: 1.5 hours
Total time: 31 hours
Today, I went to Matt's house and had a screenshare session with Jason. We used a program called Teamviewer so Jason could show us how he processes his wedding photos after a job.
Jason showed us using something called Photomechanic. Most of his photos were shot using natural light or one flash. He sends 600-800 of the 1151 photos to his client. Before he does his editing, he chooses his favorite pictures for his blog.
Jason uses Lightroom to catalog his pictures. Unlike photoshop, it is useful for multiple image editing or quick edits. He showed us how to use the gradient tool to recover detail. Lightroom is useful because the histogram has a function that can show warnings of where there is no detail. After Lightroom, Jason uses Photoshop. He made a bunch of droplets, which consist of actions, to make it faster to edit. Then, he uses levels or curves to make the picture brighter or darker. He even showed us how to use the liquify tool to manipulate pictures. Overall, Jason doesn't really do a lot of heavy editing.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Senior Project #21
April 22, 2011 8:00-11:00 PM
Time spent: 3 hours
Total time: 29.5 hours
Nick, Matt, Emily, and I went to Nicole Werner's house to interview her mom. This time, we recorded the interview, but the lighting wasn't as good. However, we did the best we could.


Photoshoot time. The lighting was not working out very well. I was already on 1600 ISO and the pictures were still underexposed. The large ISO also made it more grainy.
After the photoshoot, we went back to my house to work on t-shirt designs. We tried different designs such as the phoenix image inside the lettering, just plain blocky letters, slanted letters, etc. But we could not decide on a final product.
Time spent: 3 hours
Total time: 29.5 hours
Nick, Matt, Emily, and I went to Nicole Werner's house to interview her mom. This time, we recorded the interview, but the lighting wasn't as good. However, we did the best we could.
Once again, we tested the lighting to see what the pictures would look like. Then, we did the interview.
Interview:
After the photoshoot, we went back to my house to work on t-shirt designs. We tried different designs such as the phoenix image inside the lettering, just plain blocky letters, slanted letters, etc. But we could not decide on a final product.
Senior Project #20
April 22, 2011 7:30-9:00 AM
Time spent: 1.5 hours
Total time: 26.5 hours
Here are the finished pictures:
Matt typed down what Mrs. Yee was saying during the interview while I asked questions. I was really interested by her story because although I have known her since kindergarten and am close to her and her family, I did not really know the details about her journey.
My favorite thing that she said was the thing about how she doesn't save things for "special occasions" anymore because "every day is a special occasion!"
Time spent: 1.5 hours
Total time: 26.5 hours
I went with Matt to interview Mrs. Yee at Skyline elementary. We brought the lighting and set it up in the classroom. First, we did some test shots to see how the pictures would look.

We decided to use this lighting set up:
Here are the finished pictures:
Matt typed down what Mrs. Yee was saying during the interview while I asked questions. I was really interested by her story because although I have known her since kindergarten and am close to her and her family, I did not really know the details about her journey.
My favorite thing that she said was the thing about how she doesn't save things for "special occasions" anymore because "every day is a special occasion!"
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Senior Project #19
April 21, 2011
Time spent: 1.5 hours
Total time: 25 hours
Today, I picked up the lighting from Adam's mom. His parents helped me set up the light stand and the umbrella, explaining how to put the whole thing together. It was different from what I used with Andy and Jason, but in the end, it is probably easier because it is a continuous light, so we won't have to take so many test shots. Anyway, I messed around with the lighting and took some test shots with Adam. Here are the results:
Time spent: 1.5 hours
Total time: 25 hours
Today, I picked up the lighting from Adam's mom. His parents helped me set up the light stand and the umbrella, explaining how to put the whole thing together. It was different from what I used with Andy and Jason, but in the end, it is probably easier because it is a continuous light, so we won't have to take so many test shots. Anyway, I messed around with the lighting and took some test shots with Adam. Here are the results:
After taking pictures, I went home and edited them using paint.net. I used the curves feature that Andy showed me last time. I still do not know how to do skin retouching, so maybe he can teach me that next time I see him on Wednesday. Tomorrow is our first photoshoot with Mrs. Yee and Mrs. Werner! Hopefully it will be a success. I will be meeting and working with Matt during the photoshoot.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Senior Project #18
April 20, 2011
Time spent: 2 hours
Total time: 23.5 hours
So far...
Mentor hours: 7.75 hours
Community service hours: 15.75 hours
Time spent: 2 hours
Total time: 23.5 hours
So far...
Mentor hours: 7.75 hours
Community service hours: 15.75 hours
- Talked to Mr. Arias. He had testicular cancer, not leukemia. And he is willing to help. Free on this coming Wednesday. I need to get back to him and tell him what time to meet up. Probably 1:30? But I will call him or tell him tomorrow if I know.
- Nicole Werner's mom said okay to Friday. 8:00 PM. I got her address and phone number.
- I asked Ms. Robbins about lighting today. She doesn't have any of her own. However, she said her friend Melissa rented lighting equipment from Keeble and Schucat. I looked online on their rental department and they have a lot of equipment that we could use including pocket wizards, umbrellas, flashes, soft boxes, etc. However, they close at 5:30 and rentals are charged per day, so for Friday, if we rent, we would have to pay two days worth of rental since we need it at 7:30 AM and at 8:00 PM. That will be our last resort lighting.
- Since Mr. Martens does art, I asked him if he had any lighting equipment. He doesn't have the flashes, but has the umbrella and a light that works together to illuminate the subject. But he's not sure because it's his wife's equipment and he doesn't feel comfortable about lending it out. I talked to him after school as well and he doesn't have backdrops either, but he told me how to easily make one our of sheets. I will probably do that.
- Mr. Martens also mentioned that Mr. Jordan had cancer, so I went to talk to him during lunch. I found out that his fiance currently has cancer. He is also willing to help and he says she could be a possible candidate as well. But he's never really talked about his cancer before, so he isn't too comfortable about it. He is busy during the whole spring break, so I should schoolloop email him to set up a date. We can probably put his photoshoot off until after spring break since we already have three photoshoots.
- Adam's mom sent pictures of the lighting. We showed the picture to Ms. Robbins and she confirmed that they are softboxes and we they are best used for portraiture. That works out very well. I think we will be borrowing those lights if she can contact her boss and ask if it is okay to borrow them. That way, we don't have to worry about spending money on borrowing lighting.
Need to do:
- Respond to Mrs. Yee and confirm Friday.
- Call or tell Mr. Arias about Wednesday.
- Email Mr. Jordan.
- Contact Emily Sison and ask about recording.
- Pick up lighting equipment.
- Make interview questions and prepare for photoshoot.
- Finish shirt design.
- Take photos of the group members in order to set up the "About" page of the website.
Senior Project #17
April 19, 2011
Today I talked to Nick about shirt ideas. We were reviewing some inspirational shirt designs. Here are two of them:
Today I talked to Nick about shirt ideas. We were reviewing some inspirational shirt designs. Here are two of them:
Nick and Brendan are going to try to finish a sketch by Thursday (tomorrow). Hopefully then they can get it edited and set up for sale. We need to try to stick to the calendar schedule as much as we can.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Senior Project #16
April 18, 2011
I am still trying to reschedule with Mrs. Yee about the photoshoot. Perhaps we will meet his Friday at 7:30 AM but Matt has a calculus thing. I'll see if it works, though. I don't think it should take that long.
Anyway, we are going to ask Katie Eberle if her mom would like to help us. Jonathan's friend's mom said no because she has to work and doesn't have time. Nick said that Mr. Arias had leukemia, so we are going to ask him and see if he is willing to help and if it is true.
Matt told me that Relay might be moved to June. That is good because we'll have more time, but I don't know how that will affect our project. Nevertheless, we will continue moving forward with our schedule as planned. Hopefully Nick and Brendan finish their sketches by tomorrow because that is when we are going to decide on a final t-shirt design. I might have to look into backup sources for lighting.
Still waiting for Andy Lin and Jason Lee to respond.
I am still trying to reschedule with Mrs. Yee about the photoshoot. Perhaps we will meet his Friday at 7:30 AM but Matt has a calculus thing. I'll see if it works, though. I don't think it should take that long.
Anyway, we are going to ask Katie Eberle if her mom would like to help us. Jonathan's friend's mom said no because she has to work and doesn't have time. Nick said that Mr. Arias had leukemia, so we are going to ask him and see if he is willing to help and if it is true.
Matt told me that Relay might be moved to June. That is good because we'll have more time, but I don't know how that will affect our project. Nevertheless, we will continue moving forward with our schedule as planned. Hopefully Nick and Brendan finish their sketches by tomorrow because that is when we are going to decide on a final t-shirt design. I might have to look into backup sources for lighting.
Still waiting for Andy Lin and Jason Lee to respond.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Senior Project #15
April 17, 2011
Today, I realized that I cannot meet with Andy Lin on the 23rd because of an Easter family party, so I have to reschedule with him. I tried to contact him and we could possibly meet on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday during spring break.
I also emailed Jason Lee and he said that he is free on May 14th and May 21st, but on the 14th, I have PALs, and on the 21st, that's when we have Relay for Life so that wouldn't work. I am going to see if he is free on the weekdays like with Andy. Hopefully my schedule doesn't conflict with Matt's too much.
And I guess all I can do right now is wait until the survivors are contacted and find out when we can have our photoshoot. We'll need to keep up with our set calendar, too.
Today, I realized that I cannot meet with Andy Lin on the 23rd because of an Easter family party, so I have to reschedule with him. I tried to contact him and we could possibly meet on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday during spring break.
I also emailed Jason Lee and he said that he is free on May 14th and May 21st, but on the 14th, I have PALs, and on the 21st, that's when we have Relay for Life so that wouldn't work. I am going to see if he is free on the weekdays like with Andy. Hopefully my schedule doesn't conflict with Matt's too much.
And I guess all I can do right now is wait until the survivors are contacted and find out when we can have our photoshoot. We'll need to keep up with our set calendar, too.
Senior Project #14
April 16, 2011
I asked Adam's mom about borrowing lighting from her company and she said it would be okay, but she has to ask her boss because he uses it for photographing the lumber. So I will probably be able to borrow it for the photoshoots.
I got responses from some of the survivors.
Mrs. Yee is willing to help and I am trying to schedule a day for her photoshoot. We were thinking about the 22nd, but her schedule is conflicting with mine, so I don't think I could do that. I am trying to see if I can fit her in sometime during the week of our spring break. Hopefully other survivors will be free, too and we will be able to do that.
Alice's mom isn't comfortable sharing her story or having her picture taken. I don't know about any of the other survivors.
I asked Adam's mom about borrowing lighting from her company and she said it would be okay, but she has to ask her boss because he uses it for photographing the lumber. So I will probably be able to borrow it for the photoshoots.
I got responses from some of the survivors.
Mrs. Yee is willing to help and I am trying to schedule a day for her photoshoot. We were thinking about the 22nd, but her schedule is conflicting with mine, so I don't think I could do that. I am trying to see if I can fit her in sometime during the week of our spring break. Hopefully other survivors will be free, too and we will be able to do that.
Alice's mom isn't comfortable sharing her story or having her picture taken. I don't know about any of the other survivors.
Senior Project #13
April 15, 2011 10:20-11:20 AM
Time spent: 1 hour
Total time: 21.5 hours
During photos, we made a calendar and assigned due dates for our project. We also wrote and finished the mission statement. Then we emailed it to Nick so he could put it up on the website.
Calendar...
Time spent: 1 hour
Total time: 21.5 hours
During photos, we made a calendar and assigned due dates for our project. We also wrote and finished the mission statement. Then we emailed it to Nick so he could put it up on the website.
Calendar...
Email Jason- April 15- Ask survivors- April 17
- Ask Emily- April 17
- Sketch shirt- April 19
Mission Statement- April 19- Ask Adam's Mom about lighting- April 19
- Shirt design- April 21
- Andy Lin- April 23
- Fundraising- Spring Break and later
- Sell shirts- spring break and later
- Photoshoot- spring break
- Website finished- April 28
- Relay for Life- May 21
We found out that the white shirts cost $6.50 each for 50 or more shirts. Printed on both sides. Up to 4 colors. We are planning on making 125-150 shirts. Not sure yet.
Next, we have to meet again. Meet with our mentors. Do our photoshoot stuff. Finish the website. Coordinate with everyone. Figure out everything!
Senior Project #12
April 15, 2011 8:30-9:30 AM
Time spent: 1 hour
Total time: 20.5 hours
Matt, Nick, Brendan and I met at Millbrae Pancake House to discuss our plans for Spring Break.
I got the name of the mentor for our community service portion- Allison Harrer of the American Cancer Society.
We discussed...
Things that will go into our mission statement...
Time spent: 1 hour
Total time: 20.5 hours
Matt, Nick, Brendan and I met at Millbrae Pancake House to discuss our plans for Spring Break.
I got the name of the mentor for our community service portion- Allison Harrer of the American Cancer Society.
We discussed...
- what to put on the main page- survivor picture with a quote.
- Upgrade- $16/6 months. We'll get a shopping cart feature.
- Mission statement with "ignited we stand"
- Ask Danielle for shirt machine
- Merge w/ ASB? Co-captain with Dillon.
- Raised $1400 last year. Might sell candy this year to help?
- Need to get questions for interviewing survivors.
Things we need to get done...
- Shirts/design- Nick and Brendan
- Budget
- Website
- Fundraising
- Photoshoot
- Questions/interview
- Mission statement
- Fliers?
- Email Jason Lee- Matt and I
- Look into someone making the shirt for us. Make shirt. Then sell. Sell at Relay. Put on site. Check the amount during 1st period. How much do shirts cost? What will they look like? How many? 100? Sell for at least $12-$15.
- Ask Emily Sison to record the survivors too.
Money goal: $2,000.
Things that will go into our mission statement...
- Why do we exist?
- Community outreach
- Help support members of our community
- Youth within our community
- Spread hope
- Inspire others
- Stand together and fight
- Giving people a second chance at life-> phoenix
- Raise money?/funds
Potential survivors...
- Ms. Connery
- Esther's mom
- Mrs. Yee and her friends?
- Alice's mom
- Justin Louie's Mom
Questions to ask survivors...
- Who they are
- What cancer
- How long
- ^ Introduction
- Story? Describe experience.
- What keeps them going? What is their support system?
- How did they find out?
Nick had to leave at that point and we had to get back to school, so Matt, Brendan, and I were going to continue working on our project during photos class.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Senior Project #11
April 14th, 2011 9:30-11:00
Time spent: 1.5 hours
Total time: 19.5 hours
Nick, Matt and I discussed our plans for tomorrow's meeting.
Nick is currently working on the website. Our domain name will be something like www.wix.com/sparkhope/relay. We might join Dillon and his team to make fundraising easier because we are running out of time and it is easier to have a bigger group to work with.
Tomorrow, at our meeting, we are going to set up a calendar with our goals and determine our budget, who is going to be on our team, what we have to do and who we need to contact, etc.
I am going to contact the two cancer survivors who I know to see if they are willing to help us out by joining our relay for life team. They are my kindergarten teacher and one of my friend's moms.
For our about page, we are going to take portraits of ourselves. I'm going to see if I can ask Adam's mom to borrow some lighting from her company. We are also considering upgrading to buy the domain for a while. So we can advertise and have more features.
Time spent: 1.5 hours
Total time: 19.5 hours
Nick, Matt and I discussed our plans for tomorrow's meeting.
Nick is currently working on the website. Our domain name will be something like www.wix.com/sparkhope/relay. We might join Dillon and his team to make fundraising easier because we are running out of time and it is easier to have a bigger group to work with.
Tomorrow, at our meeting, we are going to set up a calendar with our goals and determine our budget, who is going to be on our team, what we have to do and who we need to contact, etc.
I am going to contact the two cancer survivors who I know to see if they are willing to help us out by joining our relay for life team. They are my kindergarten teacher and one of my friend's moms.
For our about page, we are going to take portraits of ourselves. I'm going to see if I can ask Adam's mom to borrow some lighting from her company. We are also considering upgrading to buy the domain for a while. So we can advertise and have more features.
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