Pop Culture: Debates & Making Movie Magic Happen (Sorta)

This week in Pop Culture . . .

We'll start with our Rated R debates and a quick review of effective listening and speaking as well as note taking.

Remember that you must make two meaningful contributions to the discussion to meet the standard as well as demonstrate effective listening skills through notetaking/sketchnotes.   You may also backchannel https://todaysmeet.com/PopCultureRatedRDebate16  (Wow, I messed up that formatting.  Bah.  Who cares?  The link works.  USE IT.)



After we discuss the debate briefly,  we'll dive into the rest of our work for the week  (due on Friday & Monday -- respectively)

Making the Movie Magic Happen. (Sorta.)

Stage 1. After watching a couple of clips under Mr. Ryder’s tutelage, try your hand at storyboarding, directing and cinematography.

1. In groups of one, two or three, choose a film from the  AFI Top 100 - 10th Anniversary list that you have seen or at least sorta kinda “know.” (This list is due for an update in 2017.  I’m curious to see what happens  . . .)
2. Find a clip of a well-known scene from that film online.  They are out there.
3. Using either people or LEGO minifigs and either digital photography or sketching, recreate that scene shot-by-shot, angle-by-angle
4. As you are producing that recreation, think about the placement of the camera, the framing, the movement.  Do your best to create as honest a reproduction as possible.  The point?  To see if you can see filmmaking from a creator’s point of view and become more aware of how the filmmaker’s convince their audiences to see and think about the subject matter in a particular way.

Which takes us to Stage 2.

After recreating that scene to develop a sense of how it all “works” in a finished product, use your skills to tell the following story.

Choose and recreate the camera angles to the best of your abilities from the following sources:

http://www.empireonline.com/features/film-studies-101-camera-shots-styles/p1

Great tool because it shows you examples from actual films

http://www.lssc.edu/faculty/matthew_w_kennedy/Shared%20Documents/ENC%201101/Film%20Terms.pdf

Fantastic explanation of camera angles

http://www.thestoryboardartist.com/Site/Film.html

Several great examples of storyboarding at work

Stage 3. #ShowYourWork by Creating a Google Presentation, Prezi, or other slide deck to show how your team did.   

Due at the midpoint of next class for sharing and feedback. (I know we are doing a lot of slides lately -- it is because I want you to become supremely confident you can make engaging, effective visuals before you leave this class. It's my way of making the world a better place.) Embed your slide deck on your blog. Place the link or slideshow in your IN folder. Be sure to include all group members.

SHOW YOUR WORK.

BLOG. 2 Posts.
Making Movie Magic Happen Part I.
Making Movie Magic Happen I.
See Above.
DUE. Friday/Monday 11.4/11.7

ALL WORK FOR QUARTER 1.
DUE ASAP. LIKE. PRONTO. POST HASTE.
Send me emails when you update your folder/blog tracker.

Pop Culture: Film Trailers & Rated R Debate Prep & Blogging

FILM TRAILERS

We'll start with this one.  Because I said so.

Resource 1.  9 Short Storytelling Tips.
Fantastic storytelling tips that can be applied well beyond film trailer designing.

Resource 2. The Golden Trailer Awards.
The Awards for Best Film Trailers.   (There are lots. Lots and lots.)

Resource 3.  Trailer Fatigue.
History and Current State of Affairs of Film Trailers.

You'll divide up into teams of 1, 2 or 3 to tackle this work today.  Pick your crew and get to work.

We'll start with the 9 Short Storytelling Tips.  In the space of 10 minutes, do the math for I will be cruising at breakneck keep-it-tight speed, I will give you both a sketchnote and a brief explanation of each tip.

Then!  In your teams, you will get to work looking for examples of those 9 short storytelling tips in either the Golden Trailer Awards nominees and winners OR Trailer Addict.com or a movie trailer source of  your liking.  Avoid the general YouTube search.  It can be cumbersome.  There's better curated sources out there.

DEBATE: RATED-R FILMS
From there will be time for debate prep in your teams: "It should be illegal for children under 17 to see R-rated movies."  (Note that we dropped "in the theater")

OUT OF CLASS WORK

Debate Prep:  Wednesday/Thursday we will have our second debate of the quarter.  You will have twenty minutes next class to prep and then it will be game on.

BEST EVIDENCE on Your Blog.

Visit the Blog Tracker in the Pop Culture OUT folder.

Look at the Tabs along the Bottom of the Sheet.

You will find a place to submit your BEST EVIDENCE of Meeting the Writing, Reading, Presentation/Media & Language/MUGS Standards.

This means picking from your blog posts, revising them to be the best they can be, and submitting them.  You can DEFINITELY submit the same blog post as evidence of more than one standard.  

For example, your slideshow depicting your thoughts on music education could be evidence your presentation/media, reading (if you did meaningful research), and Language/MUGS standards all at once.  You just have to put the link under all three standards.    

AP Lit: Poetry Test Prep & Planning for a Dallowinian Party

You'll start today with some test prep via Abraham Cowley's "My Picture."  I've included the answer sheet so make sure you don't look at the answers until after you've done the practice.  (Unless you want to be THAT person . . . )

IMPORTANT. Put yourself on a 10 minute timer to answer those questions.

Take a few minutes to discuss your results and then turn to the matter of planning for the Dallowinian Party.

Here's what you need to do:

1. Create a list of guests inspired by the characters of The Hours and Mrs. Dalloway. These should not be straight from the novels. Developing original characters challenges you to apply your knowledge of the source material.
2. Determine a time period in which you want to set this story. Think about a setting that would add meaning and depth to the event, as well as would be fun to explore.
3. Determine who will serve as the host.  
4. Develop those characters and write brief profiles of those characters including such details as name, age, occupation, religion, a short biography as well as a description of their relationship to the host.
5. Work as a class to build a map, flowchart or family tree of sorts making the extent to which the guests know one another, how they feel about one another, and any history they share.
6. Collaborate on a list of “interruptions,” plot events or twists that may occur randomly during the party itself.  These might be “reveal a secret,”  “accuse someone of spreading a lie,”  “leave the room and discover a dead body,” or “confess your love.”

OUT OF CLASS WORK.

Read.  Mrs. Dalloway.  Finish the Book. 

Due. Friday 10.21.16

Blog.  Two Posts.

Critical Creativity Post.  A  Mrs. Dalloway employs color in meaningful, powerful ways.  Perhaps you have noticed this, perhaps  you have not.  (Pay particular attention to flowers, foods, skies, clothing and faces.)

Use Colourlovers.com  to create a custom palette of at least three colors relating to meaning in Mrs. Dalloway.  You will need to name the palette and each color within it.  Be certain to choose purposeful names and push your self to go beyond the concrete.  (Concrete:  "blue sky" because the sky was blue.)

Share your palette on your blog w/ explanations of your choices.

Eng 9: Writing Assessments, Cardboard Challenge Prototypes & Ready for Roots 3

4G. On Wednesday you have 30 minutes to work on your narrative writing assessment.  It is absolutely due on Friday.

Then you have 30 minutes to work on your low-res prototype.   (You will have 30 minutes to build on Friday)

You also have Roots 3 quiz on Friday.

Your finished hi-res prototype is due next Thursday.  You will have time on Tuesday to build as well.

2B & 4B.  On Thursday, you will have 20 minutes to work on your narrative writing assessment.  It is absolutely due on Thursday.

You will also take your Roots 3 quiz on Thursday.

And you will have the rest of time to build your low-res prototype.



Here's the narrative writing  rubric and suggestions on the format/content again -- also available in your Eng 9 OUT folder on Google Drive.

Personal Narrative Essay

Single Point Rubric

Options.  Any of these may be fictional (made up) OR non-fiction (true stories)

1. Tell a story about a time your “super power” saved the day or your “kryptonite” lost the day.
2. Write a letter in which you advocate for yourself by asking a teacher, friend, parent or someone else for help.  Within the letter, tell a story that shows why you need that help OR Write a letter in which you advocate for someone else by asking a teacher, friend, parent or someone else to help that individual.  Within the letter, tell a story that shows why they need that help.
3. Tell a story about a time you met someone else’s needs OR a time when your needs were met by someone else.

Criteria	Evidence of Exceeding the Standard (clever, insightful, unique, powerful, creative, meaningful, professional)	What Meeting the Standard Looks Like	Evidence of Needs for Improvement (gaps, missing pieces or evidence, incomplete thoughts)
Details (WRITING)		I like how your personal narrative (story) is full of showing details by appealing to the five senses in  your descriptions.  I like how you move beyond just listing what happened and get into describing how it happened, what it looked like, what it felt like.
Narrative Sequence & Organization (WRITING)		I like how your narrative is well organized, with a clear beginning, middle and end.  I like how the order of your story makes sense and seems intentional.
MUGS (MUGS)		I like how any writing included is properly spelled and features proper capitalization
Timeliness (HABITS of WORK)		I like how you turned it in within 24 hours of the agreed upon due date
Perseverance (HABITS of WORK)		I like how you created pre-writing evidence (sketchnote, storyboard) and more than one draft (working draft, submission draft) of your essay to show that you worked through the process.  I like that you took the feedback given and put it to use.

OUTLINE and EXAMPLE

PARAGRAPH ONE.  INTRODUCTION.  

How might you lead your reader into this story?  

How might you hook your reader to be interested in the person, place, or object?  

How might you focus on the big ideas of this story -- the emotions, the learning, the message to get your reader hooked?

BUG LIST..

Have you ever . . .?

Everyone . . .

SInce the beginning of time . . .

Did you know . . .?

Webster’s Dictionary defines . . .

“Are you seriously wearing that?”

It is gross and disgusting to most of my friends.  To me?  It is a symbol, a totem, a remarkable piece of myself in the shape of a Kansas City Royals baseball cap.  This one piece of dilapidated headgear represents not only my growing up, but reminds me of one of the most important experiences of my life:  the spring I pooped my way to popularity.

PARAGRAPH TWO.  DESCRIPTION.  

Describe the person, place, or object.  

How might you include details that help your reader see, feel, experience that place?

TELL. My hat is blue.  It has a dirty spot on it.  It is banged up.  The letters are ratty.

SHOW.  When I put my Kansas City Royals hat on my head, I can hear the brown stains crack around my scalp. I don’t mind it, but the odor of twenty-plus years of canoe races, hikes and 5Ks have taken its toll on the noses of those around me.  

5 Senses.  Sight. Sound. Taste. Touch. Smell.

PARAGRAPHS THREE, FOUR, FIVE, SIX . . ?

Tell a story about that person, place or object.  What happened?  Use as many paragraphs as it takes to tell a good story.

Pay careful attention to the order of your details.

FINAL PARAGRAPH.  CONCLUSION.  

So what?  So you’ve told the story.  

What’s the big takeaway you want people to understand about your story?  

Why does this story stick with you?

I will never get rid of this hat.  It means so much to me as a symbol of who I used to be and who I managed to turn out to be thanks to some fantastic people in my life.  I know it’s gross.  I’m aware.  And yet sometimes it’s the gnarly objects in our life that remind us that the most unpleasant experiences are often the ones that give us the greatest rewards.

Pop Culture: Film & Music: Soundtracking & Scoring

This is an example of a Musical Solution, using music to solve a problem.  In this case, how might we engage an audience in our film through the use of someone else's music?

Apocalypse Now.

Rocky.

Say Anything.

Step 1.  Choose the clip  for which you'd like to create a soundtrack.  (Look in our class OUT folder on Google Drive for these clips as well.)

Step 2. Investigate the music you know to find three songs.

a) One that suits it perfectly and the intention/feeling/mood of the scene.


b) One that transforms the scene into a different intention/feeling/mood scene.

Check out Rocky as a story of a dude working out to deal with his heartbreak.


c) One that just doesn't fit.  At all.  Yet is strangely awesome.

Check out a friendship that never ends, courtesy the Air Calvary.


Step 3.   Document those songs by finding them on YouTube/Vimeo or Spotify and creating a playlist.

Step 4. Post your playlist and explanations of your choices, your intentions behind each choice -- whether written or audio/video recorded -- on your blog.

After completing this blog post, you have the rest of time today to work on your Musical Solutions project (due FRIDAY!), posting your blogs on the blog tracker, and or making sure your Pop Culture Lineage project documentation (pictures, write ups/explanations) are in your Google Drive Pop Culture IN folder.  

Friday, we will be sharing our Musical Solutions (feedback rounds come next week) and gearing right up for our next debate: Rated R movies.

Heads UP!  Next week I will be asking you to revise your blog posts into the best evidence of your writing, MUGS and media skills you can muster.  Think about which posts have been the most successful for you and what you might do to make them that much stronger.  You will be asked to choose three to serve as your best evidence of meeting the standards.  You will be able to revise them and make them BOOM PUNCH THE SKY awesome.

OUT OF CLASSWORK.

Musical Solutions Design Challenge

Due. This Thursday/Friday.

Be Certain to Check the Rubric (Pop Culture OUT Folder on Google Drive)

Blog:  Soundtracking.  See Above.

Due. Friday.

Pop Culture: Music Supervision & Soundtracking (Partial Explanation for the Day)

I'll add more of what we did today/what Wednesday's class will do tomorrow.

This is an example of a Musical Solution, using music to solve a problem.  In this case, how might we engage an audience in our film through the use of someone's music?

Station 1.  Music Supervision and Soundtracking.

Step 1.  Choose the clip from our class folder on Google Drive for which you'd like to create a soundtrack.

Step 2. Investigate that music to find three songs.

a) One that suits it perfectly and the intention/feeling/mood of the scene.

b) One that transforms the scene into a different intention/feeling/mood scene.

c) One that just doesn't fit.  At all. 

Step 3.   Document those songs by finding them on YouTube/Vimeo or Spotify and creating a playlist.

Step 4. Post your playlist and explanations of your choices, your intentions behind each choice -- whether written or audio/video recorded -- on your blog.

Eng 9: Cardboard Challenge. Design Sprints & Next Steps.

Today's class crushed it Cardboard Challenge style.  We ran a version of a design sprint: a way of running through our design process while focusing on user needs, generating ideas, and getting feedback in a hurry.

Remember we are using the DEEPdt design process.
DISCOVER.
EMPATHIZE.
EXPERIMENT.
PRODUCE.

Today we focus on EMPATHIZE & EXPERIMENT.

EMPATHY Phase. We started with Empathy Interviews.  Here's a list of questions that were generated last week and a couple of pictures from the's interviews with Mrs. Howatt's classes.

EMPATHY Phase. From here we came back to the room and unpacked our interviews using Post-It notes to look for trends and insights.

This led to our 8 Box-ing.  8 ideas in 4 minutes.

We then created 3 panel storyboards from the ideas that resonated the most with the design team members.

We laid out our storyboards on a few tables and used LEGO bricks to provide non-verbal feedback.

WHITE/GRAY: Questions.

RED/YELLOW: Concerns.

BLUE/GREEN: Loves.

Video is Available Here

Next Steps . . .

Next class we start making our low-res prototypes out of manila folder material and some other cardboard we have.  These are due Friday.  A low-res prototype MUST BE COMPLETED before I provide your two pieces of official cardboard.   Finished Prototypes for Users: DUE NEXT THURSDAY & FRIDAY, Oct 27 & 28.

OUT OF CLASS WORK.

Roots Quiz 3.  Thursday and Friday.

Remember.  Over Roots 1-3.

Narrative Writing Assessment.

Due. Thursday & Friday. 10.20-21.

Work on Design for Cardboard Challenge.

AP Lit: "Fear No More" & Mrs. Dalloway

Today we tackled Mrs. Dalloway by way of a SCOUT-ing of Shakespeare's "Fear No More the Heat O' the Sun".

These are just some of the ideas that emerged . . .

We brought these ideas around to Mrs. Dalloway and made a number of connections between the poem and the novel, as well as to Cunningham's The Hours.   Most importantly we uncovered some of Woolf's intentions -- her use of allusions, her use of stream of consciousness -- as well as Cunningham's.

We also decided to hold a Dallowinian Party.  You can see the planning notes from an earlier AP Lit class here.  We will hold this roleplay listening/speaking/reading assessment event next Thursday, October 27th, just in time for Halloween.

OUT OF CLASS WORK.

Read.  Mrs. Dalloway.  Finish the Book. 

Due. Friday 10.21.16

Blog.  Two Posts.

Critical Creativity Post.  A  Mrs. Dalloway employs color in meaningful, powerful ways.  Perhaps you have noticed this, perhaps  you have not.  (Pay particular attention to flowers, foods, skies, clothing and faces.)

Use Colourlovers.com  to create a custom palette of at least three colors relating to meaning in Mrs. Dalloway.  You will need to name the palette and each color within it.  Be certain to choose purposeful names and push your self to go beyond the concrete.  (Concrete:  "blue sky" because the sky was blue.)

Share your palette on your blog w/ explanations of your choices.

Analytical Post. The Hours & Mrs. Dalloway. Discuss the evidence of Woolf's influence on Cunningham. Consider not only plot points and characters, but perhaps also structure, language, theme and more.

Reminder.

Indie Book Project.

Due Last Class of the Quarter.