Wed-Fri        Jan. 6 – 8    Power Point prep

    Seven topics:

    a.  What it was like to go to the movies in the 20s, the 40s, the 60s.

    b.  The Academy Awards — how they came about, major developments, importance

    c.  The Golden Globes — how they came about, major developments, importance /

may wish to include commentary on current nominees

    d.  Types of camera shots:  Camera angle – crosscutting

    e.  Types of camera shots:  Deep focus – Focus

    f.   Types of camera shots:  Frame – Zoom

Mon             Jan. 11       Power Points presented

ASSIGNMENTS TO COME:

• Watching a Hitchcock film twice – once for the film, once hunting camera shots (Camera Bingo).
• Several intro filmmaking projects (lesson plans from the AFI)
• Screening reports of current films
• Reviews of a great film – The Godfather or Casablanca
• If I get the funding to buy the books, reading The Hunger Games and creating multimedia resources for it using our new camera knowledge.

GLOSSARY OF FILM TERMS

Introduction

A consideration of the many disciplines involved in film production gives the motion picture a much larger and more complex dimension. No longer can a film adaptation of a novel or other literary work be considered a mere visual record when so much talent is involved in such a creative effort. Just as the various tasks in film production can be broken down and analyzed individually, so can the individual elements of the film.  Filmmaking, like any other art form, has its own language and vocabulary. Once that language is mastered, films can be understood at a new level.

GLOSSARY OF FILM TERMS                        www.AFI.edu

Camera angle: The position of the camera in relation to the subject it shows: above it, looking down (a high angle); on the same level (a straight-on angle); looking up (a low angle).

Close-up: A framing in which the scale of the object shown is relatively large. Most commonly, a person’s head is seen from the neck up, or an object fills most of the screen to emphasize its importance.

Crane shot: A shot accomplished by having the camera above the ground and moving through the air in any direction.

Crosscutting: Editing that alternates shots of two or more lines of action occurring in different places, usually simultaneously. Crosscutting is often used during a key dramatic sequence to increase tension.

Deep Focus: A use of the camera lens and lighting so that both close and distant planes are shown in sharp focus. This technique allows the filmmaker to emphasize a character or object that appears far away.

Depth of Field: The area or field between the closest and farthest planes captured by the camera, in which everything appears in sharp focus. A depth of field from five to 16 feet, for example, would mean that everything closer than five feet and farther than 16 feet would be out of focus.

Dissolve: A transition between two shots during which the first image gradually disappears while the second image gradually appears. For a moment, the two images blend in superimposition.

Establishing shot: A shot that shows the relationship among important figures, objects, characters and setting at a distance. From the establishing shot, the film then cuts to more detailed shots (often called coverage) that bring the audience closer to the characters.

Flashback: An alteration in the story order in which the plot moves back in time to show events that have taken place earlier than those already shown.

Focus: When light, people, places and objects are captured on film showing sharp outlines and distinct textures through manipulation of the camera lens. There are different types of focus, used to achieve specific effects.

Frame: The rectangular box that contains the image projected on the screen. This perimeter is one of the filmmaker’s most important tools. The frame is the window into the world of a film. Within it, each shot is composed and the edges of the frame allow the filmmaker to create a picture. Movies were first known as moving pictures, and this description is still useful when considering the important role the frame plays as a compositional device. Through the camera’s eye, the viewer is presented with images that convey the story. Within the frame, the filmmaker creates several different types of shots, which are generally characterized by the relationship between the size of the elements in the frame to each other and to the frame itself.

Long shot: A framing in which the scale of the object shown is not distant but relatively small. A standing human figure, for example, generally appears nearly the height of the screen.

Medium shot: A shot that shows human figures from the waist up.

Pan (or panning shot): A camera movement with the camera body turning to the right or left. On the screen, it produces a mobile framing, which scans horizontally. Panning shots can also emphasize movement.

Point of View (POV) shot: A shot taken with the camera placed where the character’s eyes would be to show what the character would actually see. This type of shot is usually cut in before or after a shot of the character looking at whatever the POV shot contains.

Wide angle: The use of a wide-angle lens to create a shot that captures a wide range of elements or objects on a single plane, while at the same time exaggerating the distance between foreground and background planes.

Zoom: A lens which allows the focal length—the distance between the camera and the object being filmed—to change during a single shot. The camera can zoom in by going closer to an object, or it can zoom out by pulling back from an object.

In a new post on your blog, write about two movies.  One should be a favorite movie of yours that you think is truly one of the “great” movies of all time — it’s been well-reviewed, may have won awards, and is generally recognized as a great film.  The other one should be a movie you just really like, even though you admit that it probably is not one that would be considered one of the “great movies of all time.”  For example, I would have to say that SUNSET BOULEVARD is one my favorites of the “great” movies, and I also like “SHE-DEVIL,” a silly little comedy from the 90s with no merit whatsoever but I just find funny.   In addition to your own opinions about your two movies, I want you to find a review about each of the films that matches what you think about the movie and post that too — giving proper credit to the film.  For example, if your film is JAWS, you might find a Roger Ebert review of the film and pull out part of the review, put it in your blog, and give it credit and a link to the full review.

Finish this project up today.  We’re going to start watching some of the great films soon.

M-W    10/26 – 10/28              View Spellbound as an example/common thread documentary

Th-F    10/29 – 10/30              View Shattered Glass as an example of true-life ethics concerns in Journalism and an example of fictionalized true story on film.

M         11/2                             Response sheet to previous week’s film – complete in class.

T          11/3                             Choose items to do on “To Do” list for DHS website and get to work. 

Due Friday along with a blog response to the article posted on The Man Upstairs.

TO DO LIST

• Get pictures/webpages:  Etherington, Johnson, Conder     STACY
• Get pictures for the directory (coaches):  Morse, Milburn, Selby, Gambrel, Verhoven    DUSTIN
• Perry update page       JOE N
• Joyce Zinner needs a page.   OLIVIA
• Taylor needs to help me update the Beacon site.     TAYLOR
• Ms. McCowan’s has not been updated         BEN
• Ms. Judi Mason’s has not been updated     DUSTIN
• Paul Eversole’s has not been updated
• Someone needs to write up our class – what we do and have done – in bullet list/paragraph form   JOE B
• Kim Hawkins needs a page.           SHANNON
• Brenda Hinkle needs a page.             RACHEL
• Academic Team’s page has not been updated                STACY
• Advanced Communty Based Instruction   OLIVIA
• Drama – create pages based on old plays.             JON
• CHRISTMAS STORY play promotional webpage.             ANNE
• NHS Needs to be updated          BROOKE
• Spanish Club needs information          TYLER
• STLP needs information      OLIVIA
• Student Council needs information         BROOKE
• The Anchor     TAYLOR
• The Log needs more information           TYLER
• YIA needs information
• ½ credit for the Marquee guys               JOE N, BEN

You are to create a PowerPoint presentation of no more than five minutes about the topic you have chosen from our list.  Presentations should follow the outline below.  Your purpose is to inform the class.

INTRODUCTION:

Explain the facet of technology you have chosen.  What is it and how is it used?  Just the basics here.

HISTORY:

Who invented this technology – a person or company, did it evolve somehow?  For what purpose was it originally intended?

APPLICATION:

How do people use this technology?  How does it function?  Who uses it now and for what purposes?

TODAY:

Why is this topic in the news today?  Why is it popular or widely used? 

CONCLUSION:

What are some of the issues this topic raises?  What is controversial about this topic (even the most boring topics have some controversy)?  Do you use the technology – should we?  How?  Why?

Requirements:

You must cite at least three sources in your presentation.  You must cite those sources on the slides in which you talk about them as parenthetical citations and also include a MLA-style Works Cited page at the end of the talk.  Your Works Cited page is due at the beginning of class on Friday – print it out before the tardy bell rings as it’s due then.  WC pages may be turned in late for half credit after that point.

You must present only slides and pictures in your presentation – no videos or websites.  You may use screen captures of websites.  We will use “fancier” technology in our next presentation about technology.

Your slides must contain only bullet points and pictures.  DO NOT write out your text word-for-word on the slides.  You should know your information well enough to talk us through your presentation using your slides as your only guideline.  Try to make your presentation as interesting as you can so it doesn’t seem like we’re reading the encyclopedia or listening to it as we watch the PowerPoint presentation.

Calendar:

M         10/12   to         Th        10/15

After CNN Student News each day, research and work.  Keep track of your research on a running Works Cited page.

 F          10/16  

 Works Cited page due; news quiz.

 M         10/19

 Last day to work in class

 T          10/20   and      W         10/21

 Presentations to class

 100 points possible.

Browse to http://21cif.com/tools/cite/mla/index.html  for an online wizard to assist you with Works Cited/MLA.

TOPICS

 Twitter                                                Digital video                           

World Wide Web                              Online shopping                    

Facebook/social networks          E-mail

Mobile telephones                          Laptop computers          

Text messaging                                Smartphones                        

PowerPoint                                        iPods / digital music

Wikipedia / wiki tech                     Blogging

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090928/ap_on_re_us/us_more_school

2.  I will read it over, correct minor mistakes, and post for you.

3.  If there are major mistakes or missing info, I will send it back to you.

4.  When your teacher’s page is posted, I will e-mail you, and you should e-mail the teacher with a note and a link to the page asking him/her to check it out.

5.  If you have a teacher who has not responded, you must write out a note saying “this student spoke with me about my missing web page materials” and turn it in to Mr. Meadows by Thursday afternoon with the teacher’s signature.

6.  All pages or notes are due to Mr. M by the end of class Thursday.