Week 8: Wrap-up
This week we’re basically wrapping up everything and tying a nice little bow on the production elements you’ve been learning about, from the scripting to the storyboarding to the audio work to the video production, but all with a storytelling focus, of course. We’re also taking a look at some new elements, as well as the presence of bias and harassment in media.
Learning Objectives
- Explore bias and harassment in the media.
- Identify ways to meet the needs of a diverse audience.
- Implement the Zeigarnik Effect
- Explore techniques used by TED Talk presenters for increasing presentation effectiveness
- Identify ways to increase persuasion
- Explore camera shots and framing with photography and video
- Demonstrate proficiency with compiling media effectively using video editing software
- Refine the art of the cut-away
- Apply feedback from DPP4 to the final project
Consumables
Each week there will be a number of items for you to consume, be it reading, watching, listening, or a combination thereof. Note that some of these are local pages and some are links outside the site!
- Watch: TED’s secret to great public speaking
+ “There’s no single formula for a great talk, but there is a secret ingredient that all the best ones have in common. TED curator Chris Anderson shares this secret – along with four ways to make it work for you. Do you have what it takes to share an idea worth spreading?”
- Watch: The secret structure of great talks
+ “From the “I have a dream” speech to Steve Jobs' iPhone launch, many great talks have a common structure that helps their message resonate with listeners. In this talk, presentation expert Nancy Duarte shares practical lessons on how to make a powerful call-to-action.”
- Read: To be fair, TED does not have a squeaky clean reputation and history. You may have noticed that a number of TED speakers are “rich and famous” already. Here is some more background and critique on just this topic.
+ The New Inquiry: Against TED
+ TED Talk content
- Watch: Film Studies 101: The 30 Camera Shots Every Film Fan Needs to Know
+ “The cinematographer’s art often seems as much black magic as technique, taking a few actors milling around a set and turning it into something cinematic, evocative and occasionally iconic. Amidst all the voodoo and mystery, however, there is concrete science behind those money shots so we’ve identified thirty of the most important camera shots to help you distinguish your dolly zooms from your Dutch tilts.”
- Watch: Various videos on smartphone filming mounts
+ (NB: there is no end to the methods by which you can film using just your smartphone, so look through this list of videos and watch a couple that you think could actually be of use to you. -Dr S)
- Read: two pieces from Patricia Fripp, “Presentation Skills Expert”
+ Three Ways to Emotionally Connect with Your Audience
+ The Heart of Powerful Presentations - Emotional Connection
- Read: Americans and online harassment: 9 key findings | Pew Research Center
+ “A new Pew Research Center survey finds that harassment is a common feature of online life for many adults. Most Americans say that such harassment is a major problem, and many look to a host of institutions – such as online companies and law enforcement – to curtail online abuse.”
+ (NB: it’s important to remember when presenting digitally–or just being on the internet, period–that harrassment can come easily and quickly. Understanding it and shoring yourself up for its eventuality is important. -Dr S)
Watch: Two videos about the Zeigarnik effect, a technique for being more influential.
+ The Zeigarnik effect - YouTube
+ The Zeigarnik Effect Can Help You Become More Persuasive - YouTube
- Watch: Capturing Reality: The Art of Documentary
+ “From cinema vérité pioneers Albert Maysles and Joan Churchill to maverick directors like Errol Morris and Werner Herzog, this program presents the reflections and experiences of some of the documentary world’s brightest luminaries. Interviews with 38 directors are combined with over 160 clips from such films as Grey Gardens, The Thin Blue Line, Darwin’s Nightmare, Touching the Void, and One Day in September. Each participant describes both the journey of making a film and that of making a life in filmmaking, while addressing a fundamental question: can a documentary capture reality, and what does that look like? Interviewees include those mentioned above as well as Jennifer Baichwal, Alanis Obomsawin, Jennifer Fox, Scott Hicks, Hubert Sauper, Sabiha Sumar, Peter Wintonick, and Jessica Yu. A viewable/printable instructor’s guide is available online. (97 minutes)”
- Watch: Hollywood’s History of Faking It | The Evolution of Greenscreen Compositing - YouTube
+ “Go inside the history of the travelling mattes (now called chromakey) and learn the history of visual trickery used by filmmakers from the earliest filmmakers through to the modern day.”
+ (NB: you probably know it simply as “green screen.” -Dr S)
- Watch: Memories of Murder (2003) - Ensemble Staging - YouTube
+ “How do you emphasize to the audience that something is important? Well, you could always cut to a close-up, but how about something subtler? Today I consider ensemble staging — a style of filmmaking that directs the audience exactly where to look, without ever seeming to do so at all.”
+ (NB: after watching this one, pick a couple of the other videos on the channel, perhaps of films you know and enjoy. It’s enlightening! -Dr S)
- Watch: Catch me (Short film) - YouTube
+ “This short was made for the 2012 Scandinavian Videomarathon contest, where you are to make a film withing 48 hours. You get a theme on a Friday at 12.am, and the finished film has to be delivered at 12.am on a Sunday. It’s really stressful, but you learn a lot! This years theme was ‘punishment.'”
+ (NB: pay attention to the staging, the composition, the lighting, and virtually everything else we’ve talked about this semester. This was shot on a very small budget and just goes to show what you can do with minimal equipment. -Dr S)
Adobe Training
(Some of these are the same for Week 5 but you’re still using the same software, so I’m leaving it here for ease of access.) These will make or break your ability to complete assignments going forward! These are also just the beginning; a foundational skill set, more or less. I encourage you to always jump on YouTube (just as an example) to search for specific instructions for the particular thing you want to accomplish. One of the beneficial aspects of the Adobe software’s design is the multiple methods of accomplishing the same thing, so often times it’s a matter of finding the method that works best with your workflow/nature.
Assignments
Your assignments for this week are as follows:
- Continue working on Project 5