New Assignment: Scene Reenactment

Hello Students,
Your newest project is an exercise in reenacting a scene from one of your favorite movies or TV shows (your choice). If you search online you can find scripts and screenplays for many famous films.

Scene Reenactment Project:

• Work in groups of 3, your choice
• Decide on a movie or TV show to reenact
• Scene should run between 2-4 minutes long
• Watch the scene or read the screenplay and create a storyboard from it or a shot list
• Recreate the scene shot for shot, line for line
• Use the same angles, camera positions and movement
• Accuracy is important in your recreation
• Must be complete with sound effects, music, intro titles, credits
• Each team member must complete their own edit/titles/credits/music/sound effects

Grading:

2 points - Storyboard or shot list completed

2 points - Camera work smooth

2 points - Deadlines met on time

2 points - Dialogue is accurate

2 points - Scene recreation is accurate

Schedule:

Feb 27th - Storyboards due

March 1st - Rough edit due

March 7th - Final edit due

Have fun!

 - Mr.W

New Assignment: Stop Motion Short

Hello Students,
Your next assignment is to create a stop motion animation. You can use a point-and-shoot digital camera, cell phone camera (as long as you can copy off the images) or a video camera on a still-image mode.

Stop Motion Animation Project:

• This is an individual project, no teams. Students may assist each other during the animation process.
• Come up with a simple animation idea, stop motion with people, objects, clay, drawings etc
• Image sequences can be compiled with Final Cut or After Effects and turned into a video. You could turn a sequential series of photographs into an animation by importing the the folder of images into Final Cut, and adjusting the timing afterwards
• Animation should run between 15-30 seconds
• Check out the samples below for some ideas
• Project is due on Thursday the 16th

New Assignment: Produce a 30 Second TV Commercial

Hello Students,

Your new assignment is to write, shoot, edit and produce a 30 second TV commercial. This commercial could be an advertisement for a product or event, or it could be a public service announcement, for instance an anti-drug PSA, or a PSA against underage drinking, or driving under the influence.

Project Specifications:

• Work in teams of 3 of your choosing. Work with people you feel will contribute the most to your project. Your grade may be determined by your teammates dedication (or lack thereof).
• Your team must produce a concept, outline and storyboard/shotlist before shooting.
• Each team member is responsible for editing their own final version of the video. Work as a team to write, produce, film... but work as individuals for editing. A final edit is due from each and every team member.
• Your final video should be exactly 30 seconds long. This doesn't include an introductory title.

Grading Specifications, for a total of 10 points:

• 2 Points - Video Completed on time. Concepts, outlines, storyboards delivered on time
• 2 Points - Camera work is smooth, audio is glitch free and at proper levels. Shows technical proficiency
• 2 Points - Concepts are creative, final video matches original concept
• 2 Points - Editing is smooth. Good timing. Shows technical proficiency
• 2 Points - Titles are generated and are legible, creative and match video concept 

Schedule:

1. Outlines are due end of class wednesday
2. Rough edits due following wednesday
3. Final video due next thursday

- Mr.W

Writing Assignment: Film Appreciation

Students,
Your new assignment is to write a film appreciation essay. Read the guide to critical assessment of a film below. Use them as a guide to take notes on the film you are reviewing. Sometimes it is necessary to watch a film more than once to notice the subtle nuances, themes and devices used to convey mood, emotion, action etc. Collect your notes and write a 1 page essay, follow the review guidelines below. Try to answer all the questions laid out below.

Film Review Guidelines

1: Offer your overall impression of the film while mentioning the movie's title, director, and key actors.
2: Summarize the plot of the film
3: How did the actors portray key character roles? Did they fulfill your expectations given your knowledge of the original novel or play (if one exists)?
4: Were any particular film techniques used in key scenes? How did the film techniques anmd music enhance the setting and themes of the film? You may need two paragraphs to explain this information.
5: Address how well the film represents the novel or play. Offer evidence for your opinion. Remember to mention use of symbols and literary devices. Do they "transfer" from the novel/play into the movie well?
6: Ending paragraph--your last opportunity to guide the reader. Offer a clincher that tells the reader to attend the film or not.

7: Create your essay with 12 Point Text, single spaced, Ariel. You can write it with Word, Pages or Google Docs and email to me, or print and hand in.

Guide to Critical Assessment of Film
The following questions should help you in your critical evaluation of your film choice for your assigned essay. Please keep in mind that sophisticated film, like literature, requires more than one viewing to begin to appreciate its purpose beyond merely the plot. You will need to view your film with this in mind. You should use some of these questions to as a guide for taking notes on your film.

BACKGROUND

• Who is the writer of the film? Has the screenplay been adapted from another work?
• Who is the director?
• When was the film made?

STRUCTURE / FORM

• What does the title mean in relation to the film as a whole?
• How are the opening credits presented? Do they relate to a meaning?
• Why does the film start in the way that it does?
• Are there any motifs (scenes, images) of dialogue which are repeated? What purpose do they serve?
• What three or four scenes or sequences are most important in the film? Why?
• Is sound used in any vivid ways either to enhance the film? (i.e. Enhance drama, heighten tension, disorient the viewer, etc.)
• How does the film use color or light/dark to suggest tone and mood in different scenes?
• Are there any striking uses of perspective (seeing through a character's eyes, camera angle, etc.) How does this relate to the meaning of the scene?
• What specific scene constitutes the film's climax? How does this scene resolve the central issue of the film?
• Does the film leave any disunities (loose ends) at the end? If so, what does it suggest? What might happen next that is left unseen.
• Why does the film conclude on this particular image?

THEME

• What is the definitive or overall theme of the film?
• Does the film present a clear point-of-view on this theme?
• Are there any aspects of the theme which are left ambiguous at the end? Why?
• How does this film relate to the other literary texts or films you have read or seen?

Have fun!
Review's are due on Monday the 23rd...

- Mr.W

Welcome Back!

Hello Students,

Welcome back from your winter break, I hope you had a great time. I am aligning my vacation with SCHS's schedule and will be back in class on Monday. In the meantime:

• Stay Focused
• Work on your current project (due on thursday)
• Work on extra credit projects
• Look up tutorials to work on

See you on monday,

 - Mr.Wilson

New Assignment: Short Interview Video

Hello Students,
If you are finished with your holiday assembly video project than you can begin this short fun interview project. If you are diligent you can shoot and edit your video by the end of today's class.

Short Interview Video Assignment:

• You may work as a team, but each team member is responsible for turning in their own edit
• Use a tripod and camera
• Pick a quiet spot to record, audio is important for this project... wind can drown out your subjects voice
• Walk the school and ask anyone you can find if they are willing to be interviewed on camera
• Try to ask at least 10 to 15 people the same questions, "Who are you", "Where are you from" and "What is your favorite holiday memory?" or a question of your choosing.
• Download and convert your videos
• Create a simple title sequence to introduce your video, great a title that has the question above before showing everyone's responses
• Edit the responses together, the result should be warm, fuzzy and inspiring!
• Keep the quality up, use appropriate music, keep the edits clean and the camera work smooth

Check out the video below for inspiration:

Have fun!

- Mr.W

Mid-Year Survey

Hello Students,
Please follow the link below to complete the ROP mid-year survey. This information is crucial to ROP and is used to determine our course selections for future classes. Make sure to select your ROP class from the drop down list.

Link: Mid-Year Survey

Thanks!

- Mr.W