I was very impressed by what I saw during our peer-review activity today. Most of your videos are in great shape, and I can’t wait to watch the finished products next week. Your only homework over the weekend is to put the finishing touches on your video and to begin thinking about what specific topic you would like to pursue for Project #3, the research paper. We’ll spend all three days next week getting started on the research paper. Here’s how we’ll spend our time each day: On Monday, I will introduce the research paper assignment, then we will conduct [ Read More ]
Archive for February, 2011
My goal for Week 5 was to help you develop confidence in working with audio- and video-editing tools, but I fear the result has been the exact opposite. Some of you seem intimidated by the tools we’re using for the Video Essay project, and others seem frustrated with the technological problems you’ve encountered. At this point in the semester, it may be time for a short pep talk. Here, then, are a few things to keep in mind as you work on your video essay: Any time you use a new digital tool, you can expect to encounter technological problems. [ Read More ]
I had a great time meeting with all of you in our one-on-one conferences today, and I hope you left my office with a stronger sense of where your video essay is headed and what you need to do next. This weekend, you should revise your script based on our conference. As you do so, keep in mind issues of timing, delivery, word choice, etc., and don’t forget to spend some time finalizing the list of film clips you want to include in your essay. Once your script is finalized, it’s time for the fun part: turning it into a [ Read More ]
I hope everyone enjoyed the unexpected day off today, and I hope you managed to stay safe and warm. The snow day has thrown a wrench into our plans, but we’ll try to get back on schedule during Week 4. Here’s how we’ll spend our time: On Monday, we will catch up on what we missed today, by focusing on rhetorical analysis and conducting an in-class analysis activity using a short documentary film. Before you come to class, please read pages 221–34 in Convergences. On Wednesday, we will discuss the terminology of rhetorical analysis and practice using rhetorical terms to [ Read More ]