Reflection Essay

Over Finals Week, you will compose a short (500 word) reflection essay for your blog.  This essay will reflect on your group's work, struggles, and successes during the course of creating this documentary.

The blog entries are due by Friday, May 3rd at noon.

Please answer every question in detail:

• What was your biggest struggle during this project?
• What aspect of the documentary makes you most proud?
• What aspect of the documentary would you have changed?
• If you had 6 months to work on this project, what more could/would you have done?
• What aspects of the project were you personally responsible for? Please be specific as possible.
• We can all agree that group is frustrating. What did you do to try to promote a healthy group atmosphere? What more do you wish you had done to help the group?  Do you feel like you contributed a fair amount to the overall project?

Presentation Guidelines

Next week, you will be presenting your projects to the class. This is meant to feel like a showcase of all the hard work you put into your semester, and should feel relaxing and stress-free. I will bring some snacks, and you are welcome to bring any food or drink.

Here are a few things your group should address before you screen your film:

• What got you interested in your topic initially?
• What was/is your thesis?
• Is there any outside information we need in order to understand the situation of your documentary?

As audience members, this is your last chance to earn some participation credit for the semester. After each video, we will have a quick Q&A session for the directors. Please try to ask thought-provoking questions that relate specifically to each video.

Our schedule for presentations is as follows:

Tuesday, April 23
Section 045
RA Life
CSF Building
BSU Leadership

Thursday, April 25
Section 042
The Solar Car Team (Elliot, Chelsey, Keaton, Grant, Holly)
Starbucks (Austin, Dustin, Trevor, Quiara, Clare)

Section 045 
AcoUstiKats
Haggin Hall 

Schedule for the end of the semester

Hey all,

I wanted to give you all a concrete sense of how the end of our semester will break down. Below is a day-to-day look at our final few weeks.

Tuesday, April 9: First cuts of your documentaries due
Thursday, April 11: No Class

Tuesday, April 16: In-class editing
Thursday, April 18: In-class editing

Tuesday, April 23: Final cuts in class (your group will present your documentary and do a short question-and-answer session)
Thursday, April 25: Final cuts in class

EXAM WEEK: we will not meet, but you will have a short reflection essay due. I wish you luck on all your exams.

Proposal Elements

Each class came up with their own criteria for Proposals.

In no particular order:

8:00am
Project Goals
Plan for meeting Goals
Purpose
Audience
Tone
Specific elements (dialogue, narration, etc.)
Specific shots (introduction, conclusion)
Organization (transitions)
Music and sound choices
Presence (or invisibility) of directors, interviewers, and narrators
Filters and effects
Identification and title cards
Schedule and (shooting) Timetable

9:30am
Purpose
Issue
Timeline or Schedule
Division of Labor (group responsibilities)
Tone or Style
Content, shots, and interviews
Organization (transitions)
Audio
Filters and Effects
Audience

Media Application Tutorials

8:00am Groups

Holly, Chelsey, Elliot, Grant, Keaton: iMovie
Quiara, Trevor, Dustin, Clare, Austin: Audacity

9:30am Groups

Brandon, Tyler, Brooke, Cameron, Whitney: Movie Maker
Chloe, Muhannad, Charles, Jenna, Katie: iMovie
Meredith, Luca, Jen, Kendall, Rachel: Equipment
Shawnee, Evan, Taylor, Kimberlyn, Kristina: YouTube
Jackie, Carlos, Anna, David, Emilee: Audacity

Understanding Film Terms

Below are some key terms and explanations (with examples) of key film concepts and terms.  

The Filmic Image

• Mise-en-scene: the entirety of the image on the screen. More simply: what the viewer sees. 

• Frame: the imaginary border of the film. Think about it like a picture frame. 

• Shot: a single image of film. Can be any length, but must be unedited. 

• Scene: a series of shots which make up part of a narrative.  

Shot Lengths and Sizes

• Establishing shot: The largest shot; establishes an area the size of a town or campus.

• Long shot: A large shot which covers a space like a street or a room.

• Medium shot: A shot which captures characters from the knees or wait up. Most commonly used shot in American cinema. 

• Close shot: A shot which focuses on a character's face or a specific object. 

• Extreme Close-up: A shot which focuses on a small portion of a character's face/body or a specific object.  

Camera Angles

• High Angle: a shot from above the subject which looks down. 

• Low Angle: a shot from below the subject which looks up. 

• Sideways tilts: shots which are off-center.  

Camera Movements

• Pan shot: a shot which moves left-to-right or up-and-down on a stable axis. 

• Tracking shot: a shot which travels forward or backward.

• Zoom: camera zooms in or out on a subject.  

Editing

• Narrative editing: standard storytelling 

• Montage: clips which are meant to stand in for a story  

Cuts

• Cross-cut: standard cut from shot to shot. 

• Fade: shot fades into black or fades from black. 

• Iris: shot fades into or out of a specific object on the screen. 

• Dissolve: shot fades into the next shot; images are transposed or juxtaposed.  

Focus

• Deep: everything in the frame is in focus. 

• Soft: one specific object or subject on the screen is in focus. 

 Sound

• Narration: off-camera speech designed to give context to the images. 

• Dialogue: on or off-camera spoken exchange between characters. 

• Monologue: on or off-camera speech acts performed by a single character. 

• Music: can be diegetic (characters can hear the sound) or non-diegetic (characters can not hear the sound). 

• Effects: any sounds which are not spoken or musical; similar to music, can be diegetic or non-diegetic.

Media Tutorial Topics

These are just basic ideas for your group to explore. I can add more later, or you can pick your own.

iMovie tutorial
Movie Maker tutorial
YouTube editor tutorial
Lighting tutorial
Where to get cameras/equipment tutorial
Tripod, tracking, and stabilization tutorial
Working with multiple audio tracks tutorial
Filtering, effects, and saturation tutorial
Framing and image composition tutorial

Documentary Homework

For Thursday, please watch and respond to these three short films. I am looking for 250 words on the composition of the film and the different stylistic choices the directors made. We will discuss your responses in class on Thursday.

Podcast Submission Guidelines

Project 3 is due on Friday, March 8th by 10pm.

The final project will be submitted to your blog as a link from Soundcloud.

Soundcloud is a free audio hosting service, so one member of your group will need to sign up for an account and upload the .mp3 or .wav file and post the link to his or her blog.

Here is your submission process in a nutshell:
1. Complete editing and compiling of audio file; export as a .wav file
2. Sign in to Soundcloud and upload your file (name it something specific, not WRD 111 Project)
3. Copy the URL from your Soundcloud file and post it to your blog
4. Double-check your link (make sure it leads us correctly to your Soundcloud file)
5. Have a great Spring Break!

Finally, here is a link to the This American Life podcast we listened to on the first day of the project.

Audio Editing Programs

I alternate between using the following two free programs:

Goldwave
Audacity

For uploading and sharing, most of you have already found Dropbox and Google Drive.

For posting your final podcast, you will want to create and use a Soundcloud account. Soundcloud is a podcast/audio streaming website.

Finally, if you're looking for free, legal music to include in your podcast, please browse the Creative Commons website.

Happy editing!

Project 3: Podcast

Audio Essay Podcast
WRD 111
Spring 2013
Overview
Now that you have identified a cultural space or scene and have some experience with it yourself, you will now gain the perspective of those whom these spaces belong. You will interview willing volunteers who identify with this culture and use the audio to compose an audio essay. This essay will be 5-10 minutes. The audio essay format will require you to engage your interviewee in a dialogue about their experiences. You will need to use the audio from your interview, as well as your own narration that will serve as a guide through this cultural experience and offer some translations of your own from your experiences. In other words, you will need to offer some kind of argument for what it is that makes up the cultural identity of this person in relation to these spaces, objects, and practices. This assignment will require you to write an outline and a transcript before you submit the audio file or URL.

Guidelines 
Audio is an important aspect of how meaning is made and communicated. Volume, pitch, rhythm, etc. all function in various ways to give us rich and layered understandings of discourses. In other words, sound, audio, music offer a supplemental reading of rhetorical situations. This is a matter of speaking and listening. The community that you have identified and are working to comprehend in a rhetorical sense serves as a particular network or series of networks. But to really come to a full understanding of these networks you must have those involved tell their own stories. It becomes an ethical imperative to listen carefully to those who belong to these communities.

In this assignment you will combine the ethical practice of listening by performing at least one interview with someone who is part of the community you are studying. The particular mode you appropriate for your interview should follow the methods that work the best for the situation. You can be as formal or informal as you need, as long as you can get someone to speak about themselves, their community, and how they determine or negotiate these terms.

Some guiding questions:

1. Do they see themselves as part of a “community”? If so, how do they define it? If not, do they see something else going on?
2. Who do they consider part of the community? What must one do to become part of it, and is there any way to leave if a need arises?
3. What do the members of the community have in common? How do they differ the most?
4. What are some of the biggest concerns or issues that you believe the community faces, or that the community serves to address?

Requirements
 You must first decide what kinds of questions you would like to ask and how you would like the flow of the interview to go. In other words, you will first write an outline and structure for how you imagine the interview to go. Interviews are organic events; they hardly ever stick to a prescribed plan. Feel free to follow where the interview takes you. But you do need to begin with a plan. Because of the potential challenges of this interview assignment this will be a group assignment. You will all work together to complete one interview and create one podcast.

You will then need to edit your work using an audio editing program. This way you will turn the audio of your interview into a 5-10 minute audio essay that you will post to your blog as a podcast. Again, you will create this essay in a way that focuses on the audio and communicates new kinds of insights that your scene depiction did not reveal.

You will finally record your interview and you will need to transcribe the interview to submit to your blog. This way you will have a written account of your work and your interviewee’s responses. You will use this transcription later, but it is also a good exercise for you to gain a better understanding of what exactly is spoken.

Deadlines
Tuesday February 26 – Interview Outline due
Friday March 1 – Interviews done
Friday March 8 – Audio Essay Podcast Due

Writing Workshop Feedback

Since we are focusing on your responsibility as both an author and a reviewer, I would like you to reflect on your contribution in both areas.

As an author, how did you introduce your paper? Did you just let your peers read and respond? Did you give a brief synopsis of the scene? Why did you choose to do it this way?

As a reviewer, what did you contribute to your peers' essays? I want you to be very specific here ("I told Trevor that his introduction was too detail-focused and that he needed to get us into the action quicker."). Let me know about everything you contributed to your peers' work.

As a whole, was peer review effective? We've all had good and bad peer review sessions. What can I do as the professor to help peer review be more successful next time? What can you and your peers do to make peer review more successful next time?

Homework for Tuesday, February 19

For Tuesday, you will need to complete two tasks:

1. Bring a rough draft of your scene depiction essay to class. We will be discussing these and peer reviewing them during our time together.

2. Write 250+ words on the topic of peer review. Specifically, here's what I'd like you to address:

• What do you think the goal of peer review is or should be?
• Do you think peer review is helpful? Why or why not?
• As a writer, what do you want to know about your work? What kinds of feedback do you find most helpful?
• As a reviewer, what do you need (from both myself and the author) to provide the best feedback possible?
• What group sizes do you prefer (2 people, 5 people, etc.)?
• How long do you prefer to work on peer review projects?
• Would you like to pick your own groups or have me select the pairings?
• Any other peer review feedback/suggestions you deem relevant.

February 12 in-class materials

Hey everyone. Linked below, you'll find the videos and the article we examined for today (February 12). Remember, for homework, I'm asking you to find your own video (does not need to be from a movie or TV show, but must be a "scene") and write a brief depiction using an emphasis on meaningful details.

Chuck Klosterman's essay on Creed and Nickelback

American Beauty dinner scene

Shadow of a Doubt dinner scene

Breathless scene

Pulp Fiction briefcase scene

Weekend Homework

At Evan's request, I am posting some suggestions for your weekend homework.  These are in no specific order.

• Contact people early. Don't wait until later this weekend, only to find out they had their monthly meeting on Friday
• Be courteous and respectful of their time. They are doing you a favor by meeting with you or speaking with you. Respect that they may take some time to respond to emails and that they may not call you back immediately.
• At the same time, be determined. If you don't hear back for a day or two, try to contact another person in the group. Use multiple modes of contact (email, phone, showing up in person). Be dogged.
• Don't just talk to the person in charge. Often, they have a vision of the organization that may not reflect reality. Try to get as many perspectives as possible.
• Stay objective (as possible). Don't play favorites and don't focus on just one person. The whole group is what's important.

As far as what I'm looking for in your weekend homework:

• Your plan of action: who you will contact, what relationship they have with the organization (leader, member), and when you will contact them.
• When you can expect to start observing. When is their next meeting? Will they allow you to take pictures?
• What you hope to learn. Why did you chose this group? What about this group is interesting or important (to you, to us)?

Section 042 Speeches

Please enjoy videos of your speeches below. Next week, you will take some time to review and assess your speeches.

Austin Horn
Chelsey Poole
Holly Patterson
Clare Harshey
Dustin Howell
Trevor Howard
Keaton Grubbs
Quiara Corniel
Elliot Kozil
Grant List

Section 045 Speeches

Below, please find videos of your speeches. Next week, you will take some time to review and assess your speech.

Section 045 Speech Schedule

Here is the order of speeches (times will vary):


Tuesday
9:30-- Muhannad
9:35-- Jen
9:40-- Carlos
9:45-- Charles
9:50-- Meredith
9:55-- Shawnee
10:00-- Kendall
10:05-- Katie
10:10-- Whitney
10:15-- Luca
10:20-- Anna
10:25-- Emilee
10:30-- Kristina


Thursday
9:30-- Brooke
9:35-- Taylor
9:40-- Cameron
9:45-- Rachel
9:50-- Jackie
9:55-- David
10:00-- Chloe
10:05-- Evan
10:10-- Jenna
10:15-- Kimberlyn
10:20-- Tyler
10:25-- Brandon

If we get through all our presentations on Tuesday.

Please do not forget to email me a Powerpoint of your three pictures (owen.horton@uky.edu) by Sunday.

Section 042 Speech Schedule

Here is the order of speeches (times will vary):

8:00-- Elliot
8:05-- Quiara
8:10-- Keaton
8:15-- Trevor
8:20-- Dustin
8:25-- Clare
8:30-- Holly
8:35-- Chelsey
8:40-- Austin
8:45-- Grant

If we get through all our presentations on Tuesday, we will not have class on Thursday.

Please do not forget to email me a Powerpoint of your three pictures (owen.horton@uky.edu) by Sunday.

Speech Guide

Please use the following template for your speeches

ETHOS
What is my ethos?  How will I develop my credibility?  What are my weak points (both body language and content)?  How can I overcome these weak points?

PATHOS
What is my pathos?  What emotional responses are appropriate given my speech content?  How can I foster emotional connection?  What emotions do I need to avoid (what emotions are off-limits)?

LOGOS
What is my logical structure?

1. Introduction (what is my hook/attention grabber?  What is my thesis?  How will I transition between my hook and my thesis?)
2. Body (what are my three stories?  What is my IMAGE/METAPHOR?  How will I use repetition to convey my message?  What elements of my speech need repetition?
3. Conclusion (Will I summarize?  Will I expand forward?  What will be my concluding remark/last line?)

Speeches

When I think about great speeches and great public speakers, I think of comedians. Comedians have to be extremely cognisant of their audience (because a bad audience can torpedo any performance), they have to have an affect that integrates well with their show, and they have to consider the links between their different bits in order to make a coherent performance.

One of my favorite comedians is Louis C.K. I think he's one of the smartest, most insightful comedians working today. I'm linking these two videos because I'd like you to consider how he performs (his body language, his tone, his projection, his pauses) and how he articulates his argument (is comedy an argument? OF COURSE!).

Homework 1-17

For Thursday, please read Everything's An Argument, pages 27-31 and 466-475. These sections cover important information regarding rhetoric.

Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder

Also for Thursday, please read Wesley Morris' essay "Rise of the NBA Nerd: Basketball Style and Black Identity" and write a 250+ word response about Morris' argument.  What is Morris' larger point? Why are NBA stars changing the way they dress? Do you agree or disagree? Please formulate your response in a short essay format.

I look forward to our discussion of Morris in class.