CLASS CANCELLED
due to illness

Plan B:

• continue working on projects. be prepared to show a final draft next week, may 07
• for anyone who wants feedback prior to that, two suggestions:
  • you can post a draft via your electronic journal. then email joseph, who will contact the group with a request to view the draft and post comments at your journal
  • if you would like to meet individually with joseph: sometime mon - wed of next week is a possibility. try to email a request for a meeting before monday morning

individual meetings + group show-n-tell of work in progress.  see meeting schedule in 04.16. post

1. screening
   • happy box 13:13 (local food)
   • small town secrets 7:30 (family secrets)
   • good morning yokohama 12:30 (a reprise of the motif exercise)
2. individual meeting schedule for next week (04.23) :: 25 minutes :: i will look to each of you to establish the agenda for these conversations. we can talk about current work-in-progress, we can view/discuss previous work, or whatever else might be on your mind
   • 1:00 :: vanessa
   • 1:25 :: sarah
   • 1:50 :: donna
   • 2:15 :: archana
   • 2:40 :: ashwyn
   • 3:05 :: maggie
3. reminder: in addition to the individual meetings, you all agreed to convene as a group and screen work-in-progress

1. discussion and progress reports on final projects
2. everyone shares one or more example of a video piece that relates to their own professional interests and/or serves as a model for their own aspirations
3. screening?
4. next week:
   • no group meeting
   • joseph will post something for screening online by next thursday
5. in two weeks :: apr 23: group screening of w-i-p + individual mtgs
6. in three weeks :: apr 30 :: everyone shows work-in-progress or rough cut
7. in four weeks :: may 07 :: screening final cuts

1. screen project final cuts
2. discuss proposals for last project
3. timeline for remainder of semester
   • 04.09 :: everyone brings one or more example of a video piece that relates to their own professional interests and/or serves as a model for their own aspirations
   • 04.16 :: joseph out of town, no group meeting (work on your project); joseph will list online content for screening
   • 04.23 :: view/discuss project rough drafts
   • 04.30 :: final meeting; view/discuss final cuts
4. a note on completing final project: formal completion of the final project requires submitting both a finish video AND a written narrative.  the narrative should address the following:
   1. description of creative methodology used (i.e. did you adopt and/or reject any of the creativity tips offered by twyla tharp? did you invent/discover other methods suitable to your temperment? did you follow any parts of the production template from module 02? were there any parts of this model that have proven particularly useful? were there others that simply didn’t work for you?  have you discovered other methods?)
   2. self-assement and -reflection on the strengths and weaknesses of your final cut. what are your pleasures and disappointments? what would you do differently next time? what are your thoughts and/or plans going forward?

1. screen and discuss project rough cuts
2. review ‘presentation/distribution’ component of template
3. homework:
   1. engage some of the writing prompts from the ‘presentation/distribution’ component of the template
   2. for next meeting in two weeks (apr 02):
      1. complete a final version of your project?
      2. develop ideas and possibly a short proposal (1-2 paragraphs) for your final project of the semester

1. checking in: writing/discussion about where everyone is with their project :: questions: have your ideas changed or evolved? have you encountered any obstacles or roadblocks? any exciting new discoveries? have you completed shooting? are you keeping up with the timeline schedule? what are your feelings, thoughts, and plans going forward?
2. a stranger in her own city + live from shiva’s dancefloor :: follow-up thoughts, comments, questions?
3. discussion of next section of production template :: post-production
4. screening:
   1. this week’s nytimes :: tibet vigel (2:15)
   2. how to pole poke a monkey-faced eel (3:43)
   3. happy box, (13:13)
   4. out in the heartland (~19 min)
5. homework:
   1. (re)view screening links above. think systematically about these as reading machines. what are the elements? how are they set up? think about how context is established. consider sequence, narrative arc, conflict, tension, resolution, release. look at pacing, edits, style, lighting, shots, audio, etc.
   2. create at least one paper edit and/or storyboard from a recent screening link
   3. review ‘post-production’ component of template. engage some or all of the writing prompts
   4. START EDITING
   5. at a minimum, everyone should have a rough cut (aka ‘first draft’) to show to the group at next week’s meeting. final versions are, of course, welcome.

1. audacity demo
2. production/journaling template: pre-production :: how did it go? what are your plans? discussion.
3. on to the next stage :: ‘production’ :: review/discuss template
4. video/film/documentary :: terms/vocabulary/background
   1. video production terms
   2. film vocabulary flash cards
   3. filmmaking (wikipedia)
   4. cinematic techniques (wikipedia)
   5. documentary film (wikipedia)
   6. film editing (wikipedia)
   7. film editing terminology
   8. film editing terms (another version)
   9. more film vocabulary
5. storyboards :: examples
   1. storyboard wikipedia page
   2. josh sheppard has a nice site with lots of examples of storyboards
   3. nice description of storyboarding technique
   4. some interesting examples from a hitchcock film
   5. three quicktime movies of shrek creators ‘acting out’ some of their storyboards
   6. simple template
6. screening: a stranger in her own city
7. screening: live from shiva’s dance floor
8. homework:
   1. review the links above for terms, vocabulary, background, and storyboarding
   2. complete a writing/journal exercise that addresses all of the relevant possible topics in the ‘production’ component of the template (there are eight)
   3. START SHOOTING
   4. by our next meeting, everyone should have all (or most) footage shot. at that point you should consider beginning post-production editing, which should also include engaging the writing prompts from that stage of the template. we will discuss those prompts next week as well.
   5. review project timeline from last week’s post

::

1. screening: student work
2. sound:
   
   1. transom
   2. 365 days
   3. ubuWeb
   4. audacity help
3. screening: james zager interview, 3:39
   
4. writing/discussion
   1. imagine that you are writing a television program listing for this piece. write a concise paragraph that summarizes it in 5 sentences or less.
   2. list three of the main elements (structural raw material building blocks) in this piece.
   3. list three questions that you think the interviewer asked this subject.
   4. was this piece interesting to you?  if so, can you list one of more ‘hooks’ that drew you in?
5. discussion: production template
6. module 02 timeline:
   pre-production writing/planning/brainstorming due: mar 05
   production writing/shooting done: mar 12
   post-production writing/editing done: mar 19
   VIEW/DISCUSS PROJECTS (first drafts): MAR 19
   spring break: mar 26
   presentation/distribution: view discuss final versions/new drafts :: self-reflection writing due: apr 02
7. other stuff to screen on your own:
   john minor, 4:49
   vulture fest, 4:51
   john havlik, 5:33
   uncommon heroes: ann cotton, ~7 min
   a thousand words, 8:18
   planting seeds, 8:45
   unhitched, ~12 min
   cameraman, this american life, ~20 min
   WwV youtube channel :: any vid here between 3-5 min is a likely example
8. homework:
   1. come back to this page. (re)screen the the pieces listed above. crawl under these ‘decks’, take them apart, dissect them.  what makes them work?  how are they built?  what are the building materials? how are they crafted?  apply the ‘pre-production’ writing topics.
   2. brainstorm a list of possible topics for your ‘art of the real’ video project
   3. apply some of the questions from the ‘pre-production’ stage of the video production template, using this as a tool to eventually make a final selection of a topic
   4. complete a ‘pre-production’ writing exercise for your final selection, using any of the 14 topics in the template that apply.
   5. recommended reading :: electronic reserves
      1. Making Analogs of Reality, Barry Hampe
      2. Visual Evidence, Hampe
      3. Recording Visual Evidence, Hampe

screening: ‘motif’ exercise + unviewed ‘exercise 1′

discussion: moving into module 02