Video Extra Credit Assignment
To get you through the rough weather, here is an extra credit assignment! It will be due Tuesday February 19th. It is worth up to 20 formative points. This is for all three video classes.
Watch one of the movies listed below (all are available on Netflix) and answer the question associated with it. Write at least two paragraphs. Your ability to cite specific details will affect your score.
The Third Man (1949), Not Rated – Pulp novelist Holly Martins travels to shadowy, postwar Vienna, only to find himself investigating the mysterious death of an old friend, Harry Lime.
The introduction of Orson Welles’ character is often called the greatest character introduction ever. What techniques does the movie use before he appears and when he appears to make this so?
Schindler’s List (1993), R – In German-occupied Poland during World War II, Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazi Germans.
Critics praise Steven Spielberg and Janusz Kaminski’s use of color. How do their color choices underline the story, themes, and questions of the film?
Quiz Show (1994), PG-13 – A young lawyer, Richard Goodwin, investigates a potentially fixed game show. Charles Van Doren, a big time show winner, is under Goodwin’s investigation.
This is the film that put television on trial. How does the film try to emulate techniques of television (acting, cinematography, editing, music, set design)?
Pulp Fiction (1994), R – The lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster’s wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.
Pulp Fiction uses a MacGuffin, an object that has no meaning beyond being a plot point. Why did the filmmakers choose to never actually say what the MacGuffin is? How does this affect the movie?
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), PG – King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table embark on a surreal, low-budget search for the Holy Grail, encountering many, very silly obstacles.
Great satire isn’t just references. It is critical of its source material. What does this film say about the Arthurian legend? How else does it criticize movies, stories and legends?
The Graduate (1967) – A disillusioned college graduate finds himself torn between his older lover and her daughter.
The Graduate made superstars of musicians Simon and Garfunkel. How does the movie’s use of music affect its mood, tone, and story? How does the music affect its place in history?
Ghostbusters (1984), PG – Three former parapsychology professors set up shop as a unique ghost removal service.
Dan Akroyd (star and co-writer) is obsessive about the paranormal. How does the movie walk the fine line between seriously exploring supernatural events and mocking those who believe in them at the same time?
East of Eden (1955), PG – A willful young man contends against his brother for the attention of their religious father while reconnecting with his estranged mother and falling for his brother’s girlfriend.
James Dean represented a departure from the strong silent types that starred in movies before. What types of choices in acting mark him as different?
Clerks (1994), R – A day in the lives of two convenience clerks named Dante and Randal as they annoy customers, discuss movies, and play hockey on the store roof.
How does the low budget aesthetic (artistic style) of Clerks work with its story and characters?
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), PG – Roy Neary, an electric lineman, watches how his quiet and ordinary daily life turns upside down after a close encounter with a UFO.
Close Encounters is very concerned with different languages. What languages and forms of communication are depicted? How do the themes and story relate to language?
Posted in Blogs, Movie and Video, Movie Making, Studio, Video Production and tagged acting, aesthetic, character, cinematography, Clerks, Close Encounters, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Dan Akroyd, direction, East of Eden, editing, Extra Credit, film critique, Ghostbusters, introduction, James Dean, Janusz Kaminski, MacGuffin, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, music, Orson Welles, satire, Schindler's List, screenwriting, Shot Selection, Simon and Garfunkel, Steven Spielberg, television, The Graduate, The Third Man by Adam Rauscher with no comments yet.
Advanced Video and Movie Making Screenplays
As we explore screenwriting, you may want to read entire screenplays rather than just the excerpts we’re exploring in class. At these links, you can find the full scripts for Hot Fuzz and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
If you’re interested in other amazing scripts, try Chinatown, The Usual Suspects, and Casablanca. I’d also recommend The Breakfast Club, Goodfellas, and Fargo if you’re thinking about movies we studied this year.
Posted in Movie and Video, Movie Making, Video Production and tagged Casablanca, Chinatown, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Fargo, Goodfellas, hot fuzz, screenplays, screenwriting, The Breakfast Club, The Usual Suspects, writing by Adam Rauscher with no comments yet.
Advanced Video Homework: Group Assessment
It’s that time! Fill out a group assessment for your “archetype introduction” project. This is due Friday 11/16.
https://goo.gl/forms/9RmsB8E7qII1t8aF2
Posted in Movie and Video, Video Production and tagged archetypes, assessment, group project, Homework, introductions by Adam Rauscher with no comments yet.
Advanced Video: Archetype Introductions
In our exploration of character, we focused on the archetypes proposed by Carl Jung. These are the character types that everyone in our society knows and has a gut reaction to. You can read about them here: Video_ Jungian Archetypes
We also discussed character introductions and how certain images and iconography helps announce these archetypes.
Your assignment (Rubric: Video Rubric_ Archetype Entrance) is to create a video that introduces one of these archetypes. You should use the iconography to make it clear what your archetype is.
Past projects were not completed on schedule. Therefore, meeting schedules is an important part of this assignment. Each phase has a specific deadline. Each school day you are late on each deadline would lose one point. These deadlines account for about 1/3 of the grade.
The groups were assigned and can be seen below.
Trickster: Jacob, Yara, Samer, Tristan
Explorer: Joze, MeiLing, Nader, Ali
Magician: Andre, Adonis, Will
Everyman: Matt, Joseph, Alex, Eman
Posted in Blogs, Movie and Video, Video Production and tagged archetypes, character, group project, introduction, Jung, project by Adam Rauscher with no comments yet.
Homework: All Video Classes: Group Assessments
After your most recent group project, you are required for homework to complete an assessment of your fellow group members. This must be completed by 11:59pm on Thursday, October 18th. Each class has a different link, so please use the appropriate link.
Studio Production, 3rd hour, Biography
https://goo.gl/forms/EEgiuRGTBeDbqSdF2
Advanced Movie Making, 4th hour, Key Word
https://goo.gl/forms/CMRdnumNAbDAq4tZ2
Advanced Video, 5th hour, Color Palette
https://goo.gl/forms/C9QGapd7bEBN9Ark2
Posted in Movie and Video, Movie Making, Studio, Video Production by Adam Rauscher with no comments yet.
WDHS Promotions Manager
WDHS is adding a Promotions Manager. This student will be responsible for spearheading fundraisers and creating material to promote WDHS events. Any student in any of the classes can apply. The application is attached here.
The application is due on Tuesday, October 2 and interviews will be held after school Thursday, October 4.
Posted in Movie and Video, Movie Making, Studio, Video Production and tagged application, fundraiser, manager, poster, Promotions, WDHS by Adam Rauscher with no comments yet.
Video Extra Credit Assignment Graded
The window for turning in the extra credit assignment has passed. Your grades should reflect any credit you earned.
Posted in Movie and Video, Movie Making, Studio, Video Production and tagged cinefix, cinematography, Extra Credit, Shot Selection by Adam Rauscher with no comments yet.
Video: Critique Terminology Quiz
On Thursday, Studio Productions, Advanced Movie Making, and Advanced Video will have a quiz on the terminology we use to critique movies, videos, and other media productions.
In preparing for Thursday’s quiz, all video classes might find these definitions attached useful. Be prepared to define all the terms and to apply a critique.
Posted in Movie and Video, Movie Making, Studio, Video Production and tagged assessment, film critique, Magneto, quiz by Adam Rauscher with no comments yet.
Advanced Video: Poem Adaptation
The Advanced Video class is creating solo projects adapting a poem into a video. The rubric is displayed to the left. This is an exercise in shooting and editing. You must be the one to do the shooting and editing. Be as creative as you want.
It is due by 11:59pm on Monday, September 24th. Email either a finished file or a link to Mr. Rauscher at rauscha@dearbornschools.org
If you have trouble selecting a poem, feel free to use any of these:
Posted in Movie and Video, Video Production by Adam Rauscher with no comments yet.
Advanced Video and Movie Making: Group Assessment
I would like you to submit an assessment of your fellow team members on the “1 shot, 2 characters project,” . Go to https://goo.gl/forms/YBVyHwlYtKQKbvUG2 and fill out the form to evaluate your team members’ contributions.
These forms won’t directly affect your grade, but they do help me to decide how to score group members differently.
We will do these after every group project. Doing so is an assignment that will be scored. Please complete the form linked above by 11:59pm tomorrow, September 13th.
Posted in Movie and Video, Movie Making, Video Production and tagged group project, Homework by Adam Rauscher with no comments yet.