End of the Semester Extra Credit Opportunity

There is an EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITY - if you received below an A on Project #1 or #2 and you want to revise it to get extra credit you can.  Please email me and let me know what project you want to revise and how you will do it.  It must be upload to your Vimeo by no later than May 23rd at 5pm if and you must email me to let me know so I can look out for it. If you are revising Project #1, you can chose to revise it with your partner or on your own. 

Screen Direction and Maintaining Continuity

What is screen direction?

Screen direction is the direction that actors or objects appear to be moving on the screen from the point of view of the camera or audience. A rule of film production is that movement from one edited shot to another must maintain the consistency of screen direction in order to avoid audience confusion.

"Camera left" or "frame left" indicates movement towards the left side of the screen, while "camera right" or "frame right" refers to movement towards the right side of the screen. "Foreground" refers to the apparent space close to the camera (and thus to the audience), and "background" refers to the apparent space in the distance away from the camera and the audience.

As an example of screen direction in use, if an actor is shown in one shot walking from screen left to screen right and then is shown in the next shot to be moving in the opposite direction (screen right to screen left), the audience will assume that the actor has changed direction and is walking back to where he started (in the absence of obvious contextual or environmental cues).

If the shot shows him again moving from screen left to screen right (as in the first shot), the audience will assume that the actor is continuing his previous movement and extending it to apparently cover a greater distance even if that is purely a fabrication of editing.

Another example would be if two characters are shown in a medium shot, say from the waist up, looking at each other, it is generally established that one is on the left of screen and the other on the right. The one on the left looks right to the other character and vice versa. When the editor cuts to a close shot of a person, it would be disorienting if the character looked the other way. The audience would assume that the character is looking at something else.

In the coverage of the scene, it is customary in film technique to be sure that screen direction is maintained. In a close up, the environmental cues are at a minimum.

It is the responsibility of the director, cameraman, and script supervisor on the set to maintain consistency of screen direction so that later during editing, the myriad short pieces of film can be properly assembled by the editor into a coherent film that tells the story intended.

Blog #4: Field Trip / Museum of the Moving Image

At the museum you will find exhibits and demonstrations relating to many aspects of media production. Your assignment is to go to the museum and, with your group, experience at least one of those demos, and report on your blog about that participation. In this blog you should make an effort to explain what you discovered about a specific aspect of media production, what you learned that you didn’t know before, in a way that might communicate to the non-initiated. How have the changes in moving image technology changed the way moving images are created, how they look, and how we experience them? 

This blog is 250 words in length. NOTE: Attendance is required. 

DUE - Lab 11 - Monday, May 2nd

******

Directions:

The Museum of the Moving Image is in Queens, on 35th Avenue at the corner of 36th Street in Astoria. 

See www.movingimage.us for more information. 

You are welcome to stay afterwards. Please give your lab instructors $6.50 cash ahead of time. 

From Hunter, you take the 6 train to 59th Street(or walk down). Then take the M or R train to Steinway Street (do NOT take the N train). Use the 34th Avenue exit near the back end of train. Walk south along Steinway Street; turn right on 35 Avenue. Proceed three blocks to the Museum entrance just past 37th Street. Check www.movingimage.us for other options. 

Continuity Scene -Project #3/ Final Project for Media 160

MEDP/FILMP 160 Final Project Spring 2016

Continuity Scene

Storyboard due: Lab 10 
Filming: Lab 11
Editing: Labs 12 and 13
Completed video due: End of Lab 13

Download Storyboard here

Create a scene with a clear beginning, middle and end, using one actor. Your storyboard will have no more than 6-8 panels. Remember, each panel equals one shot only.

You MUST include a change of screen direction. You can fit a POV in the sequence, it's optional. You will base this on the shooting and editing principles you have learned for continuity editing.

There will be no dialogue. You may add music or sound effects in Premiere.

You will work with a partner, each person will submit his/her own idea. You will storyboard, shoot and edit your own video. Your partner will act in your scene. Both you and your partner will shoot both your videos in the same location on the Hunter campus, during one lab period. The editing will be completed in one lab session, and uploaded to vimeo or youtube.

Before shooting, you will workshop your storyboard with your lab instructor the week before.

If you wish to shoot in the library, you’ll need clearance beforehand.

You’ll use the school’s video cameras and editing stations. Using outside equipment is not permitted. Each group of two people will hand in two separate projects and edit separately.

Slides from lecture showing change of screen direction

Here are also some video clips you can review:

1) Change of screen direction tutorial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RogoUz_pk4Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XOn5uxdSJc

2) Student Media 160 Film from last semester that demonstrates change of screen direction
https://vimeo.com/149199705 (right at 1:23 the screen direction change happens)

3) "Run Lola Run" (film shown in lecture):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tIuD5aqc4o

BLOG POST #3: Relationships Between Shots

BLOG POST #3: Relationships Between Shots

For this assignment, you will pick a section of linear media (any genre) and examine the way it is constructed. Pick an example where you think the editing has made a significant contribution to
the storytelling and the feel of the piece. What is the relationship of the sounds to the images? Of the images to one another? How are the shots organized in terms of their content, composition, color, movement, etc.? What determines how long the shots are and what order they are placed in? It there a “right” place to cut or not to cut? Are the cuts seamless or obvious? Why?

You should choose a short piece of media (2-3 minutes) you can watch several times, so preferably it will be available online or on DVD. Providing a link within your blog to the media, or embedding a clip (if you are able to - analyzing a piece of media allows you to reproduce it under the Fair Use aspects of Copyright Law) would be great but is not required.

250 Words Due in Lab #10

A useful lists of free music internet resources

**** A useful lists of free music internet resources:

Freesound http://www.freesound.org/

Audiosocket https://www.audiosocket.com/

CC Mixter http://ccmixter.org/

Chicago Music Library https://www.chicagomusiclibrary.com/

Derek Audette http://derekaudette.ottawaarts.com/music.php

Free Music Archive http://freemusicarchive.org/

Incompetech http://incompetech.com/music/

Internet Archive Audio Archive https://archive.org/details/audio

Jamendo http://www.jamendo.com/en/

Open Music Archive http://www.openmusicarchive.org/

Opsound http://opsound.org/

Petrucci Music Library http://imslp.org/wiki/Main_Page

Public Domain 4U http://publicdomain4u.com/

Royalty Free Music http://www.royaltyfreemusic.com/

Stock Music http://www.stockmusic.net/index.cfm

The Music Bed http://themusicbed.com

Vimeo Music Store https://vimeo.com/musicstore

With Etiquette http://withetiquette.com

Project #2 Audio Project Examples

http://tejadamedia160.blogspot.com/2011/10/project-1-audio-interview.html

Preparing for your Audio Portrait Interview for Project #2

Preparation for Interviewing:

• Know what you hope to get and develop questions to draw out what you need.
• Write down questions (but don’t look at them while the person is talking to you)
• Start with less challenging questions
• Try and get a beginning, middle and end
• Personal experience, the story of what happened, is often more resonant than opinions (though they can be important too)

More tips for Preparing Questions:

• Be prepared - know your subject
• Ask questions that require a good answer: No yes/no questions
• Open, not Leading, Questions.

Example of Great Questions (from StoryCorps):
https://storycorps.org/great-questions/

Great Questions for Anyone (not an exhaustive list):

• Who has been the most important person in your life? Can you tell me about him or her?
• What was the happiest moment of your life? The saddest?
• Who has been the biggest influence on your life? What lessons did that person teach you?
• Who has been the kindest to you in your life?
• What are the most important lessons you’ve learned in life?
• What is your earliest memory?
• What is your favorite memory of me?
• Are there any funny stories your family tells about you that come to mind?
• Are there any funny stories or memories or characters from your life that you want to tell me about?
• What are you proudest of?
• When in life have you felt most alone?
• If you could hold on to one memory from your life forever, what would that be?
• How has your life been different than what you’d imagined?
• How would you like to be remembered?
• Do you have any regrets?
• What does your future hold?
• What are your hopes for what the future holds for me? For my children?
• If this was to be our very last conversation, is there anything you’d want to say to me
• For your great great grandchildren listening to this years from now: is there any wisdom you’d want to pass on to them? What would you want them to know?
• Is there anything that you’ve never told me but want to tell me now?
• Is there something about me that you’ve always wanted to know but have never asked?

Project #2: Audio Portrait of a Person

Assignment 2: Audio Portrait of a Person

Your second assignment for the semester is based on an interview with one of your classmates. First, you will pre-interview a classmate in order to define a theme for your piece. As you listen to your classmate, try to identify something unique about their story that “grabs” you. The following week, you will interview the person using questions you have written up before the interview, recording the interview with the Zoom recorder. Finally, you will create a multi-track audio piece in Premiere Pro based on the interview. 
When you do your recording, record ample material, but try not to go overboard. 15 minutes worth should work. The final piece should be 3 to 4 minutes in length. Your audio portrait should mix elements including the voice of the interviewee, your voice (if you choose to include it), ambient background sound, music, and other sound effects as you see fit. When you have a finished piece you will upload it so it can be accessed through your blog site. 

Remember to identify a theme that will make your piece say something special about the world, or the “human condition.” A story becomes compelling when it communicates something unique that others can relate to. 

Blog #2 Assignment: “What I Hear”

Blog #2 “What I Hear”

This exercise has 2 parts.

Part 1. The Soundwalk 

Spend an hour doing a “Soundwalk” around a particular neighborhood in NYC.

“Soundwalk” is a term invented by R. Murray Shafer, a musician and professor at Simon Fraser University. Shafer noticed in working with his music students that most of them couldn't remember even five sounds they had heard earlier that day. He created the soundwalk, a kind of walking meditation, as an “ear cleaning exercise,” a way to increase sonic awareness.

In An Introduction to Acoustic Ecology, Kendall Wrightson writes, “In order to listen we must stop, or at least slow down – physically and psychologically. We need to try to be human beings, instead of “human doings.” So – during your sound walk, do not answer your phone, text, browse, read or do anything but be, and listen.

The goal of this exercise is to “open your ears.” New York offers a rich sound environment. Close your eyes and listen.

Part 2: The Blog 

What is the texture of the sound? What are the specific instruments in the city symphony? What sounds are clues to a specific neighborhood? A specific time of day? What are sounds that are unique or meaningful to you? Expected or unexpected?

Some of Shafer's terminology might be useful to you in writing about your experience on the soundwalk:
• Keynotes: background sounds
• Sound Signals: foreground sounds intended to attract attention.
• Soundmarks: sounds particularly regarded by a community or its visitors (analogous to visual “landmarks”)

250 words. Due in Lab 7

Define a Place Examples

Define a Place Examples (past work from students):

https://vimeo.com/141664837

https://vimeo.com/141466911

https://vimeo.com/141466981

https://vimeo.com/141450316

PROJECT #1: DEFINE A PLACE

***THIS IS A GROUP PROJECT. You must both agree on the location and the concept. Each person can design their own shots or you can agree together on each shot. Everyone must handle the camera and shoot.

In this exercise students are required to “define a space or location” through visually controlled and expressive shooting.

Begin by choosing a location either on campus or close by.

Before shooting anything, observe the space for a while. What is happening there? What details exist that can tell a story about the space (signs, activities, objects, etc.)?

Now, make a mental “shopping list” of shots. Think about what camera position, shot size and composition will work best for each shot. Try not to move the camera unless your move has a clear beginning and end. Remember that a still frame with movement going on in the frame can be more powerful than a moving shot.

Each team member will conceive of and shoot 10 shots and then all the shots will be pooled for editing.

Think carefully about what you wish to convey. It could be an emotional tone you feel in the location (claustrophobia, fear, energy); or it could be that you are interested in the quality of light in the space; or perhaps what intrigues you is what goes on there; or maybe you like the architectural details, or the colors; you could also contrast interior with exterior, light and dark, movement and stillness ... it’s up to you! You don’t need to make a huge statement, but you must find some specific angle on the space and reveal that visually.

Also consider how your shots might eventually come together in the editing. Do you want your images to lead us into the space from the outside? Or do you want to create a question as to where we are before you reveal the larger space? There are many different ways to approach this.

Each team will then edit their short film using the team’s material. Although the material should be silent (no natural sound) footage can be cut to an appropriate music track.

Shot Scavenger Hunt Camera Exercise for Lab on Feb. 22nd

In your groups, go out (not too far!) and shoot the following:

1. Find a location and pick 3 shots that look “good” or interesting to you. Decide what should be in focus. Film each shot for 10 seconds. Try to stay steady.

2. Find a subject that you can film with three focal lengths to change the angle of view (you will have a wide shot, a medium shot, and a close up). Hint: Once you set your focus for a specific object in the frame, you should not have to change it.

3. A shot where there is movement in the frame but the camera doesn’t move.

4. Film your partner walking (you should be on the widest focal length of your lens). They should walk slowly. Walk alongside them, keeping the distance between you consistent so they remain in focus. Be careful not to bump into anything!

5. Try and create a frame that has a shallow depth of field (hint: use the long end of the lens). Change focus (rack focus) while you are recording.

SOME TIPS:

• Plan your shots before pushing the record button. AVOID recording while figuring out what you want to shoot next, also known as “visual hiccups.”
• Do your best to make sure that any camera movement is intentional - don’t walk around with the camera searching for a shot.
• To steady your camera shots, use your body to brace your arms, bend your knees, use a nearby wall or pillar to steady your shot.

Media 160 Lecture Slides

See this Folder for all Lecture Slides

Artist Statement Examples

How to Write an Artist Statement:

http://www.ebsqart.com/Education/Articles/Business-and-Marketing/14/How-to-Artist-Statement/75/

Artist Statement Examples:

http://traviscantaffordink.blogspot.com/2014_09_01_archive.html

http://andrewkimlermedia160.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2014-10-11T08:03:00-07:00&max-results=7

http://haeselhumrich.blogspot.com/2014_09_01_archive.html

http://sunburstliu.blogspot.com/2014/09/artist-statement.html

http://blogumentary.typepad.com/chuck/2007/03/my_artistss_sta.html

Blog Assignment #1: Artist Statement

Blog Assignment #1: ARTIST STATEMENT FILM/MEDIA 160 FALL 2015 LENGTH: 250 Words

This short statement is to help you and your potential audience get an initial glimpse of the media maker behind the work. It is an important part both of thinking about yourself as a creator, a producer of ideas, images and more, and of getting the word out about your work. 

You should think about your personal motivation, as well as about the medium in which you work (or in which you hope to work!) and your background. 

Where do your curiosities lie? What have you studied that interests you? What experiences have helped shape your worldview? Try to be specific. Questions of memory? Family relationships? Identity? Music? Theater? Politics? 

What about influences? Are there certain artists or filmmakers that you admire or appreciate? TV Shows? Websites? Games? 

Most importantly, think not only about “what you’re interested in,” but about why something interests you, and about what you are trying to say with your work.  What truths about the world or your life are you trying express in your work? What are you truly passionate about? In other words, it's not enough to say, “I’m interested in cartooning.” Rather, dig into what cartoons might express that you identify with: “I’m interested in showing that humor can help people broach the most difficult ideas and feelings.”

DUE: Lab 2

Reference Guide for Media/Film 160

Reference Guide for Media/Film 160

Media 160 Spring 2016 Syllabus

Media 160 Spring 2016 Syllabus

Media 160 Section 4 (3:10-5pm) Blogs

Racquel Balkaran
Omer Beydili
Debra Bree
Jane Chazanoff
Sean Chun
Ava Coploff
Tsering Dolma
Imani Goodlett
Auel  Kanaybekov
Alyssa Maley
Julia  Nguyen
Charlotte Schweiger
Kevin Sookdeo
Joseph Strong
Tori Zhou
Shuyi (Vicky) Zhou

Media 160 Section 3 (1:10-3pm) Blogs

William Bowe
Ekaterina (Katie) Blanco
Nicole Costelloe
David Gantz
Andrew Henry
Amanda Hernandez
Samaya (Maya) Jaafar
Nicolette (Nikki) Maher
David McFarlane
Niamh (Neeve) McDonnell
Brett  McGuinness
Mostafa Mosbah
Emilia Pesantes
Laura Piedrahita
Amanda Rodriguez
Alessandra Vertrees