Shell Games

I would like to clear the air on this switch up business that you have been victim to. As much fun as it is to believe your instructor is a sadist I thought I should give some reasons to believe otherwise.

1. My original intension for switching your assignments was to get you used to the idea of doing the job at hand well and not putting off crucial steps until the day you have to roll tape. I knew this would be a challenge to all of you and I think for a number of you the lesson is hitting home…. Especially those of you on the receiving end of unfinished work.
2. The fact that your all working on your original project is strictly a slip of fate. Due to a cold medicine induced haze and/or momentary muddle-headedness I switched your projects in the wrong direction (this is where you extend your sympathies to your overworked professor). This is not such a bad thing given my concerns that some of the storyboards we’re, shall we say,” shaky at best”. Whether this is due to inexperience or lack of effort or some combination of the two remains to be seen.
3. Doing the best you can and then having to hand off your work is something that happens almost always in an industry environment and in many cases this handing off of projects is the reason that industry films have such a high caliber of technical excellence (why the majority of them have no soul is fodder for another discussion).
4. The goal of this project is not for you to produce amazing films. The goal of this project, and the course in general, is for you to have enlightening experiences. Oddly enough, with a little dedication and hard work, it is not unheard of for amazing films to come out of enlightening experiences… either way, given the dedicatation and hard work we will at least meet the goals of the course. Keep in mind that between the blog and this project you will have tallied up to a third of your class grade.
5. Finally I wanted to warn you that there would be one more switch coming your way. Not because I am having a change of heart but because I an concerned that the lesson may not be sinking in. Though you will plan and shoot the piece that is now in your possession you will in no way have control over its post production. That will be for someone else to decide. So for the short while that the project is in your hands it is up to you to make it the best that you can make it, hand it off, and hope for the best. Welcome to the real world.

I have truely enjoyed the enthusiasm that most of you bring to digital media. And while I may have been bounced it around a bit I hope I have not dampened it. Enthusiasm is an essential element to making good media making. I truelly believe it is connected to the "Soul" of filmmaking that I mentioned earlier. But enthusiasim cannot take the place of hard work, craft, and discipline. If you are not willing to take these three seriously then you are not ready to make the kind of media that the world is interested in engaging.... and learning this one simple lesson is really what this project is about.

Happy planning

Prof (AKA Sleeper)

Culture Wars

Well, I'm not so sure the discussion today went how I expected. I specifically chose two films to generate a discussion around that I knew would cause some stir. I guess I didn't expect the students to be so...passionately unvocal. I appreciate the comments by those of you who did speak up but I have a feeling there was a lot unsaid in the room. I guess I need to do a better job of inviting your opinions into my classroom. Maybe it is too early in the semester to start pushing those buttons.

I would like to make a make a couple of points that may not have come through in class...or maybe they did and I'm beating a dead horse (but isn't the what blogs are for).

I think the main thing I want to say to believers about "Got Book" is do better...Way better. My gut reaction when I saw the piece was how ashamed I would be for anyone outside of the Christian ghetto to see this. It's a parody of a misogynist song that never gets past it's own misogyny. Everything from it's production values to it's driving rapp lyrics make me feel that the people who made this don't know what their doing but insist on doing it in your face.

"Boyfriend" strikes a completely different tone. A lot of hard work went into pulling off something that feels very playful. I understand how some might feel offended by the piece but I think that maybe your judging the film by your own political persuations and not by the film itself. This film isn't even about homosexuality. It's about heterosexual guys...and if we use Flannery O'Conner's rule of "penitrating reality" as our criteria for good fiction, this playful little film with cheesy lyrics makes a painfully acurate assessment of male behavior.

"Got Book" is about a guy on the make for a girl with "a big Bible" and regular "devo" habits. He thumps his chest through the entire video telling us what he will and won't tollorate in a woman. While in "Boyfriend" two girls daydream over the phone about what in their mind would be the perfect boyfriend...one that would keep his hands to himself and would spend time doing the things they love most (mainly shopping for cloths). Guys here should be taking note.

All in all their both attempting to have fun with this so let's not let our personal politics (or our personal baggage) blow this out of proportion.

I would love to hear more from you on this...or better yet how about the two other films we screened in class which, quite honesty...

...were way better films anyways.

prof

DMA Journals

Welcome to my Digital Media Journal.

This is mainly a forum for students to comment on the three classes I'm teaching or anything related that comes to mind. Are there films you want to tell me about? Comments you didn't have time for, or didn't think of, in class?

Occationally I may refer you here to get some information for your class assignments of interesting optional material.

I have no idea where this lead but I figured I would set this up and see where it goes.

I welcome your comments.

Prof