iamdan's blog
| Submitted by iamdan on Thursday, March 23, 2006 - 15:53 |
Here is the assignment to be completed by April 11th. Enjoy the films and writing.
Paper Assignment
Due Tuesday April 11th
Compose a four or more page paper exploring two films by either the Coen brothers or by Alfred Hitchcock. Discuss technical aspects of the films as well as themes and controversies the films take up. Concentrate on explaining how the films represent the style of the directors and also on how each conveys a unique message.
Choose two films by either Hitchcock or the Coen brothers and explore the relationships between them. Are there distinct qualities present in both of the films? What might be their significance? What might account for any differences between the films? What can you say about the filmmaker’s style and how does it help us understand the films you are discussing. What thematic elements occur in both films and what can you say about them.
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| Submitted by iamdan on Thursday, March 23, 2006 - 15:50 |
Here is the online assignment for April 6th. Follow the instructions below:
Online Assignment for April 6th
This assignment asks you to explore amateur videos online and identify two videos that tell us something about current communication practices and contemporary culture and then to take a position on the value of these videos. You will explore the videos online. Some sites you might use are,
Youtube (http://www.youtube.com/)
IFilm (http://www.ifilm.com/)
Ourmedia (http://www.ourmedia.org/)
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| Submitted by iamdan on Thursday, March 23, 2006 - 15:48 |
Here is the assignment for April 4th. You will work online and follow the instructions below:
Online Assignment for April 4th
This assignment asks you to learn more about a filmmaking technique that plays a large part in one or both of the films you are discussing in your paper. You can begin in either two ways:
1.) If you already have a sense of one of the techniques you want to discuss in your film, you can research online to learn more about the term. For instance, you might know you want to talk about the soundtrack in O’ Brother Where Art Thou? You can research more about soundtracks to get started. Be sure to find out more about soundtracks (or another technique) in general rather than looking for information related to that particular film.
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| Submitted by iamdan on Tuesday, April 11, 2006 - 10:55 |
Computers and English Studies Final Assignment: Video Collage
In this assignment you will bring many of the skills you have developed together to create a music video collage that addresses an issue of national or local importance. The video collage will feature an audio track, which will most likely be a piece of music but which also can contain your own recorded comments. While this audio track plays, you will sequence images and text to deliver a message about your issue. Your collage should be at least two minutes in length.
There will be three major concerns related to this assignment:
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| Submitted by iamdan on Thursday, March 23, 2006 - 16:06 |
THis ios the group podcast
and here is my playlist
| Submitted by iamdan on Tuesday, February 21, 2006 - 15:47 |
After you have recieved feedback on your collage, I would like you to begin the process of revising it. For this assignment, you will need to revise based on the notion of versions.
I would like you to make three versions of your collage. In the first version, you should rework the collage to emphasize repetition and white space. You can use some other aspects of design, but the focus should be on arrangement and white space.
In the second version, I'd like you to concentrate on integrating text more thouroughly into the collage. This should not be paragraphs and paragraphs, but some deliberate effort to make words work with the images.
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| Submitted by iamdan on Tuesday, February 21, 2006 - 12:55 |
Our task for today is to submit a draft of your collage, and then to offer reviews of the collages submitted by the other members of your group.
Before we get started, I'd like to discuss some aspects of interpreting images that might be helpful. We will use some sample images:
Black and White
The Waiting Room
Train Station
Next, you will need to export your image to your H drive or to your own computer as a JPEG file. Go to the File menu and select Export. Once you have exported it, use the Image option under the Create Content link to upload your image to our blog. Be sure to tag it with the Collage Drafts option.
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| Submitted by iamdan on Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - 15:09 |
I'm posting links to our podcasts. At this point, I'm calling these drafts because we may or may not want to redo them. On two of them, the sound quality did not turn out--there is a strong hiss--and that is my fault. I think they will be better if we record them again.
On others you may decide that the delivery will be better a second time or that there are things you want to change; in which case we will record them over. For now, listen to them to either decide if you are satisfied with the performance and quality or to think about changes you want to make on the second recording. The podcasts are linked below:
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| Submitted by iamdan on Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - 13:41 |
Identity Collage Assignment Compose a collage that represents an aspect of your identity. The project will revolve around two major activities: 1.) identifying images and words that make a concrete statement about your identity, and 2.) integrating those elements into a composition created using an image editor. To get started with the first part of the assignment, you will need to reflect on your identity. Think about social groups you participate in. Consider your interests--are you a bird watcher, basketball junkie, cyclist? How do you mark yourself politically or where do you come down on social issues? How might thinking about age, gender, race, or other markers of identity shape who you are? Weigh as many dimensions of yourself and your social world as you can to develop a list of at least four characteristics you would want to emphasize in the collage.
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| Submitted by iamdan on Saturday, February 11, 2006 - 04:53 |
Something seems to be broken with the images. I will try to see if I can track it down.
| Submitted by iamdan on Tuesday, February 7, 2006 - 13:41 |
We will soon begin working on images, so in preparation, I have some reading and writing assignments. Begin by reading an article by Susan Bordo called The Empire of Images in Our World of Bodies [You will need your UNC Onyen to read the article.]
Once you have read Bordo's article, spend an hour or so looking at these resources related to the piece, and then post a message or a response detailing your thoughts.
Next, we will begin working with images. Based on your reading of the article and your conversations on our blog, go to flickr and search and browse around looking for public images that resonate with the concerns addressed in Bordo's article. Once you locate an image, download it to your computer, and then use the Image option under the Create Content link to upload the image. As you upload the file, write an analysis of the image. The analysis should look at some of the details of the image and explain how they relate to the concerns of the article.
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| Submitted by iamdan on Thursday, January 26, 2006 - 03:53 |
Script and media samples Due Feb 2nd
Podcasts conducted Feb 7th and 9th
For the podcast assignment, you will work together with a group of peers to
produce a 10-15 minute (could be a bit longer) podcast about poetry and music.
The podcast will take the form of a live radio show that blends recorded snippets
of poetry or music with your own commentary or discussion. You can listen to
some samples produced by other classes to get an idea for what the podcast might
sound like, including All Poems Considered, The Fruitbasket, and We Get Lit.
Begin by selecting a topic for the podcast. You might decide to plan a show
around a theme—look on pages 45-6 of our book for theme ideas. Or, you
might decide to focus on a particular poet, providing readings and discussions
of several of the poet’s works. You could do a show around a single poem
as well. Brainstorm about ways you might use recorded readings of poems, song
samples, and other audio tidbits, and then look for a creative topic that can
organize what you want to do.
Next, conduct research to inform your work on the project. You might learn all
you can about the poet, or track down interpretations of songs or poems you
will use. You can locate essays related to the themes you wish to touch on.
Imagine ways the podcast might function as an audio research project; the more
seamlessly you can incorporate engaging information into the podcast, the stronger
it will be.
Next, select roles for the various members of the group—you might choose
a host or co-hosts. You could then identify guests, callers, reporters, or other
ways for everyone to participate. A good goal is to have a part for everyone,
but you can also task one or two people with collecting media files for the
project, engineering the broadcast, or otherwise working behind the scenes.
As you identify roles, you will also be refining your thinking about the overall
shape of the podcast session—how you might sequence the speakers and integrate
audio into the show.
Next, compose a script outlining the podcasting session. Your script should
use speaker tags and stage directions to indicate what will happen during the
podcast—something like:
INTRO MUSIC [Eddy Money—“Two Tickets to Paradise” (just kidding)]
HOST: Give podcast info (date, place, topic, etc. > introduce guests >
topic background and segue way to first poem
PLAY “Marginalia”
HOST: First question to Jennifer—relationship of poem to podcast topic
You can see that the script does not spell out what each participant will say.
Instead, it provides a map that will guide the live session.
Finally, prepare to conduct the broadcast in class on either February 7th or
9th. Post a copy of your script and collect all the media samples you will use
by February 2nd, bringing them to class on a disk or e-mailing them to me. Conduct
research and practice the podcast at least once or twice before your in class
date for the session.
| Submitted by iamdan on Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - 04:45 | playlist |
 Writing along, though turning in the assignment late, I offer up my playlist designed to create a narrative. The songs are canonical, mostly; touchstones of comfortable sounds, recognizable pieces. The prose could probably surely use some polish. I found the exercise a great idea engine. Prompted by the phrase "was dead three days," I wanted to write a story about missing time. Selecting songs helped give the ideas shape. The story is meant just to fill a gap. Some day I hope to flesh it out.
Three Days Dead
"One Tree Hill" U2 (lyrics)
The story begins today, steeped in references to our shared memories. The black center of The Heart of Darkness and the songs of folk found in Jara’s music trick us into thinking these are only our struggles. But the tale leans back, archetypal toward the symbolic scene.
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