Final Project Requirements - 4/29 25 pts

Final Project Requirements - Copy these and sign your name for 25 points

1) Have a very cool animated production company screen (use Keynote)

2) Production company jingle to accompany production screen (produced in Garageband)

3) At least 3 minutes, not including production screen, credits or bloopers. There is no maximum length restriction.

4) Genre must be clear. Project can be any appropriate genre.

5) Must have either a script or storyboard BEFORE going into production (by May 9/10.

6) Production must begin NO LATER THAN MAY 9/10. 10 points per day taken off for not being prepared for production.

7) Must have clear beginning, middle, end. 

8) Must have copyright free incidental music, music, or sound effects in final cut - either from Garageband or rights-free music from our sound library. 

9) Must be internet appropriate (no sexual or drug references). Ask Ms Hawks if you have any questions about this.

10) Students who are clearly not working toward this project, or working on make-up assignments (i.e., goofing off, looking at internet site unrelated to project) will have their computer accts shut down.  If you HAVE ALL WORK CAUGHT UP - check with me and I may allow you some free internet time.

11) Final Project is due NO LATER THAN MAY 20. 

Signature/Date_____________________________

Harold & Maude - Cinema Arts April 28

Harold & Maude:  1971 - Run Time 91 min. - Comedy (black) -  Rated PG

Writer: Collin Higgins

Director: Hal Ashby

Starring: Bud Cort as Harold, Ruth Gordon as Maude

Music by Cat Stevens

Objective: Students will watch the cult classic film, Harold and Maude and answer questions related to the film.

Assignment: We will watch this film over the course of two days, therefore there will be two sets of questions. The second set of questions will be posted later so as to not spoil the story.

Questions: Part One - 10 points each for thoughtful, well-written answers not copied from your classmates' page. Remember, a mind is a terrible thing to waste...

1. Write a 2 or 3 sentence synopsis of the film IN YOUR OWN WORDS.

2.  Name 3 authority figures Harold has issues with. Why do you think he has problems with people in authority?

3. What are 2 major themes this movie deals with and how does the movie deal with them?

4. Writer Collin Higgins and Director Hal Ashby use a lot of  juxtaposition for emotional contrast. Describe 3 scenes that juxtapose contrasting images/characters.

5. Why does Harold pretend to kill himself and not really kill himself, do you think?

Three Point Lighting, April 25

Objective:

Students will watch a demonstration of a 3 point lighting set up, draw their own version of the BEV of a 3 point set up.

Assignment: Once you have seen the demonstration, draw a diagram like the one below to keep in your folder. Turn it in for 35 points. Everything must be clearly labeled, including degrees.

TERMS: Key Light, Fill Light, Back Light, Bounced Light. Geometry of a circle and angles.

Bird's Eye View of 3 pt diagram
click to see larger version

Lighting Instruments and Maintenance - April 21

Objective:
Students will watch 20 minute video; Care and Maintenance of your Lighting Instruments, then answer 7 questions related to the film.

If you are off campus, you can view the video "Care and Maintenance of Lighting Instruments, Part One" on Youtube from this link. (relates to questions 1, 2, 3, 4).  Youtube, as you know, is blocked at school.

or "Care and Maintenance of Lighting Instruments, Part Two" (relates to questions 5, 6, 7)

NOTE, I hope to have this up on Schooltube soon - so far uploading has not gone well, but when it finally gets there, you should be able to view this video from the SHS campus.

If you have time in class and missed this video, or need to see it again, ask Ms Hawks for a copy of the film to watch on your computer.


Questions - 35 points - 5 possible points per question

1. What is the difference between a spot and a flood light?

2. Why do we want to clean lighting instruments?

3. What is a fresnel (fruh-nel) lens?

4. Why do we keep lamps free of oil from hands and fingers?

5. What is a gel?

6. What is the McCandless Method?

7. What is SPUD?

Terms of the Day Part 2: Lighting

We are going to be learning the fundamentals of lighting, so I have compiled our Lighting TOTDs (terms of the day) together, and will include pics of each to help you learn them.  I suggest you take a look at this page about stage lights.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stage_lighting_instrument

#23 Flood/Spot/Lamp  (April 21)(okay, I know, there's three–get used to it).

Flood light: a light that has a wide beam, used to "wash" a large area with light. Examples below

Spot or Profile light: a theatrical light with a narrow beam. Examples below.

Spot with barn doors

Lamp: What we usually call the "light bulb" is usually referred to as the "lamp." Not to be handled with bare hands, as oils from fingers can seriously shorten the life of the lamp, and theatrical lamps are expensive.


#24 Three Point Lighting/Key light/ Fill light/ Back light/ Bounced light (see link for diagram) April 25

Three point lighting is a 3 light set up that uses a key light, fill light and back light. The Key is a strong light set to the front or side of the subject, the Fill is a softer light set on the opposite side of the Key, and the Back light is in the back of the subject. The subject is evenly illuminated without harsh or deep shadows. Fill and back light are often bounced off of a bounce card, screen or light colored object.

#25 Ambient light/ Artificial light/ Practicals - April 29

A) Ambient light is any light not supplied by a cinematographer or lighting crew. Ambient light can be natural (sunlight) or artificial (streetlights).

B) Artificial light is generally considered to be any light that isn't sunlight or moonlight (electric lights, streetlights, etc). There is some argument about whether human made fires are "natural" or "artificial" light, since although fire is a naturally occuring phenomenon, it is usually humans that cause it.

C) Practicals are lights on film and theater sets that are meant to be seen by the audience, such as table lamps, candles, or any lights that are to be seen on the screen.

#26 Sandbag, Stinger, C-stand (May 2)

A) Sandbag - heavy canvas bag filled with sand, gravel or heavy material used to weight down light stands, C-stands, or other objects on set to keep them from falling.

B) Stinger - heavy duty extension cord used on set.

C) C-Stand - short for Century Stand. A multipurpose extendable stand with attachable arms - used in film and photography to hold lights, flags, drapes, and whatever else needs a tall stand.

Final Project, April 2011- PREPRODUCTION

Objective:
Students will work in production teams to create a final video project of their choice.

Some possibilities for this project might be:
-a narrative genre film (drama, comedy, romance, thriller, etc.)
-a documentary
-a commercial
-a PSA (public service announcement)
-a "How To" video
-an animation
-a spoof
-a mini biography of a staff member

Requirements:

-Video will be at least 30 seconds long PER STUDENT TEAM MEMBER. This means; 1 minute for 2 members, 00:01:30 for three, 00:02:00 for four, etc. If you have an issue with this, please see me.

THE FOLLOWING MUST BE SUBMITTED AS A PACKET PRIOR TO PRODUCTION, I.E., BEFORE YOU CAN GET YOUR HANDS ON A CAMERA!

-Teams must submit EITHER a screenplay in Hollywood format, or a storyboard, with camera angles noted.

-The complete cast and crew list must be submitted prior to production. Please have back-ups for each position, in case someone is absent.

-Complete lists for equipment, props, costumes must be submitted. YOU MUST HAVE COSTUMES! If you don't you know that this means continuity issues - nothing weirder than watching a scene in a movie with a jump cut where somebody magically changes clothes. Totally kills suspension of disbelief.

-If your project needs a special location or actors, please note this. Let me know if you will have any special needs associated with this project. I'm happy to help in any way I can.

Good Luck! Do Your Best Work! 

Help! My Keynote Project Looks Wrong in iMovie!!!

If you move your Keynote project to iMovie and discover that suddenly the text or other elements of your animation run off the screen and aren't visible in your project window, DON'T PANIC!

This is a simple fix, caused by a difference in Aspect Ratio (remember that? very important that you do).

Step 1). In iMovie, choose "Project Properties" from the File menu.

The window that allows you to select the aspect ratio and themes will come up. If you're project looks wonky, it's likely set to Widescreen (16:9) aspect ratio, which is iMovie's default setting.

Step 2). Simply change the widescreen setting to "Standard (4:3)" and click ok. Leave the Theme at "None." and  your project will return to it's original size (Keynote uses a Standard aspect ratio) and all will be well.

Turning an iMovie Project into a Quicktime File

Turning an iMovie Project into a Quicktime File

One of the chief reasons for turning iMovie projects into Quicktime files is that your project will play across multimedia platforms - Mac or PC, mobile phone or iPad.

It's very easy to do.

Step 1). Once you've completed your iMovie project, choose "Export using Quicktime" from the Share menu.

A "Save" window will pop up. Give your project a name if it doesn't already have one. Save it to the desktop where it can be easily found.

Your project will then begin the conversion/export process. This can take some time, depending on the length and digital size of your project. Once this is done, you should see your project on your desktop with a Quicktime icon on it.

Putting Garageband Project into iMovie

Objective: Students will put completed Garageband Projects (film scores) onto their iMovie projects.


Step 1. Once your music project is completed in Garageband, click on Share and choose "Send Song to iTunes"

A window will pop up allowing you to change the artist name. If you haven't given your song a name when you created your project, it will be sent as "My Song."  You can rename the song once it goes to iTunes.

After the song is mixed together and converted to a music file, iTunes will open and your song will play.

2) Open iMovie. Click on the Music icon button at the bottom right, and choose iTunes. From here, scroll through your music until you find your song.

3) Drag and drop your song onto any clip in your project (you can push or pull it where you want once it's there). Be sure you drop it so that it becomes a LINEAR TRACK and not a background track. Background tracks give you far less creative flexibility when it comes to adjusting the music.

You're Done! Congrats!

Quarter Four: Projects/Due Dates/Topics

April 11, 2011

Well here we are at almost the end of the year. Now is the time to make the most of what you have learned and the video resources available to you to create your final project.  It is also the time to review what we have learned and brush up on any fuzzy spots so that you pass the final with flying colors.


Projects;

1.) Anthropomorphic Animation - Due Monday, April 18. This must be turned in no matter what stage it is in. If you don't think it's complete to your satisfaction, you'll have to arrange with Ms Hawks to work on it later.

2.) Final Video Project - Due Friday, May 20th.  Your choice, but each project must fulfill the minimum requirements (coming soon).  Choose your project thoughtfully, you should be putting your best effort into this one!

3) Film Festival - I hope to have some sort of film festival around May 23-27. We will talk more about this.

Topics to be Covered this Quarter

•Lighting

•Sound

•Pitching

•Special Effects

Spine Tingler! - The William Castle Story

Objective: Students will watch the historic documentary, "Spine Tingler! - The William Castle Story" and answer questions related to the film.

During the 50's, filmmaker William Castle made a name for himself in Hollywood by creating and marketing films with special gimmicks to bring in audiences. Although his films were low budget "B" movies, he managed to make them blockbusters through his creative use of theatrical devices.

Questions:

1.) What were "A" and "B" movies? (10 pts)

2.) About how many days did William Castle have to film his movies? (production days). (2 pts)

3.) Describe four gimmicks that William Castle used in his movies. (8 pts)

4.) If these gimmicks, or gimmicks like them were used in theaters today, do you think they would have the same success? Why or why not? (10 pts)

Hey Kids! Read the comment! How cool! Thanks Mr. Schwarz!

Garage Band #2 Creating a Song with Loops

Objective: Students will create a short piece of music (30 seconds) using Garageband loops. This piece will have at least four different tracks that relate to each other musically through genre or rhythm.

Instructions:

1) Open a New Project in Garageband using a Loops Template

2) Choose a rhythm track (beats, drums, percussion, bass or guitar)

3) Add more tracks by clicking the Reset button and choosing new instruments of your choice and dragging and dropping the loops. Loops don't need to be placed side by side - you can give your musical passages some "air" which will give your song more definition and sound more composed.

4) If you wish to keep your song and use it in a movie, send the song to iTunes (under "Share" in the navigation bar.

Garage Band #1

Vocabulary/Terms - Incidental Music, Loops, Tracks, Synthesizer


Garageband is a music application for Apple computers. Sadly, it will not work on a Windows based PC, but if you are interested in a PC alternative to Garageband, I understand Acoustica Mixcraft is similar.

Why is Garageband so appealing? Because with just a bit of tutoring, you can create and mix your own music that is copyright free, meaning you can use it for background and incidental music (see Term of the Day for def.) for your video projects, or for anything, really, without fear of being sued for copyright infringement. Plus, you have the added satisfaction of having created something yourself.


Beginning Steps for Garageband:

1) Get a pair of headphones or use your own. Plug them into the RC inlet behind the right side of your computer.

2) Open the Garageband application by clicking on the electric guitar icon on your launcher.

3) A New Project window will open. For your first project, choose Songwriting. Give your project a name and save it to the desktop. Notice that you can change the tempo, key and time signature from here, but leave it as it is for the moment.

4) The Project Window will show 5 tracks, with a drum track filled with  drum loops. Press the space bar to hear the drums. To change the drums, click on the drum loops and hit the delete key. Then, click the Loops button (looks like an eye), choose Drums, and click on different loops to choose a different drum track. Drag and drop your drum track to the project window.

5. Click on the Piano Track. Press th Command plus "K" key to bring up the keyboard. You can change to Musical Typing by pressing the button on the top left.  Click the Track Info button (looks like small "i" inside a circle. You can change the instruments from here.

Play with changing the different instruments and as you listen, think about what sort of genre or scene it would best accompany.

6. Practice recording a track by using the keyboard and pressing the red record button