We’re in the home stretch of the semester, and I know how busy you’ll be over the next few weeks. In this class, you should be focusing your energies on two assignments: (1) revising your Project #3 research paper, and (2) completing your Project #5 digital documentary film. To help you do that, I have eliminated all other readings and homework assignments between now and the end of the semester. Here’s how we’ll spend our time during the next few weeks:
- On Wednesday, April 27, I will hold short conferences with each team during class. Please come to class ready to report on the progress your team has made since we last met. You will have the remainder of the class session to finalize your team’s work schedule and assign tasks to individual group members. If it would be helpful, you can spend part of this class session working on Final Cut Pro in Adrian’s office; however this should NOT be the first time your team opens its Final Cut Pro file. (Translation: Your homework between now and Wednesday is to import your footage and begin arranging clips.)
- On Friday, April 29, we will meet in WOB 137 for a video-editing workshop. You will have the full class period to work on your project, and I will be available to help you address any technical problems you’re having. Your revised research paper is due at the beginning of class. To submit your project, please staple a copy of your revised paper to your previous draft (the one with my comments and grading sheet). [Update: You may find it helpful to re-read the document "Revising Drafts" that we discussed earlier in the semester.]
- On Monday, May 2, we will meet in WOB 137 again. By this point, your team should be completely done shooting video, and your efforts should be focused squarely on editing your footage, recording narration (if necessary), and adding audio. I have added several links to the Resources page that might be useful as you work on these tasks.
- On Wednesday, May 4, we will meet in our regular classroom and conduct a group peer-review exercise. Please come to class ready to show a “rough cut” of your documentary film to your classmates. The further along you are at this point, the better feedback you’ll receive, so it would be wise to treat this as a serious deadline. We don’t have Final Cut Pro in our classroom, so you will need to export your video or burn it to a CD/DVD in order to play it in class. It is your team’s responsibility to make sure that your video is watchable.
- On Friday, May 6, we will meet in WOB 137 for a final video-editing workshop. This will be your last chance to meet with me before before the final, so come to class with a list of questions or problems you want to discuss. I will meet briefly with each team, but you will have the rest of the class session to work on polishing your film.
- Our final will be held on Monday, May 9, at 11:15 a.m. We will meet in our regular room with Dr. Loewe’s class, and we will watch all eight documentary films during the final. Your team should be ready to show your film on the projector,
and you should bring a copy of your film on physical media (e.g., CD or DVD) to submit to meand you should bring your complete project (i.e., the folder containing your Final Cut Pro or Premiere files) on an external hard drive. Finally, you should bring a printed copy of your individual reflection memo, as described in the Project #5 assignment sheet.
I know this looks daunting, but I am confident that all of you can do great work on these last two assignments. I can’t wait to see your documentaries! As always, if you have questions along the way or feel like you need extra help, let me know—and don’t wait until the last minute. I’m happy to meet with your team as often as needed to help you succeed.