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.

Pop Culture: Music Education Debate, Blog Post for This Week & Slide Deck Design

This Friday and next Monday we will hold our first debate of the semester.

THE RESOLUTION:  Music education should be eliminated from the public school budgets.

Half of the class will argue in favor of this position (cut music education) a.k.a the affirmative team

Half of the class will argue against this position (keep music education) a.k.a. the negative team

HOW IT WILL ALL GO DOWN.

1. This Wednesday and Thursday, you will have all class to get together with your teammates to come up with your arguments, find support for those arguments in the form of reliable evidence, and design a team slide deck to support your position.

Criteria for Your Team.

a. At least 3 Arguments in Support of Your Position.
Think: What Is the Argument and What Are the Reasons WHY That Argument?

b. At least 3 Pieces of Evidence from Reliable Sources in Support of Your Position.
Need citations of your sources.   Use http://www.easybib.com/ to make sure your get all of the information you need.

c. At least 3 Well Designed Slides to Present Your Position.
Think: How might we use our slide deck presentation to prove our case even before the discussion begins?

d. All Team Members Must Be Prepared to Debate.  Select one to two presenters to deliver the slide deck at the beginning.

e. Taking Purposeful Notes During the Debate May Serve as Evidence of Meeting the Standard.


HERE ARE SOME TIPS ON FINDING RELIABLE INFORMATION.

2. On Friday and Monday, we will start class with each side presenting its slide deck.  We will start with the affirmative team sharing its slide deck and making its case.  This will be followed by the negative sharing team its slide deck and presenting its case.

HERE ARE SOME TIPS ON GREAT SLIDE DECKS.

Visual power point makeovers from Jacqueline Bartram

3. Then we will go into a fishbowl formatted debate, with participants coming and going with arguments and support.  Teammates will be able to support one another, but only four people total -- two from each side, can be present at once in the fishbowl.

HERE'S HOW THE FISHBOWL WILL WORK.

4.  How You Will Be Assessed . . .

There is a rubric on its way.   This will be a Presentation assessment that requires evidence that you can listen well, speak well, and deliver information well.  

Each team member must make two meaningful contributions to the debate to meet the standard.
A meaningful contribution may be presenting new arguments, supporting arguments with new evidence, refuting arguments with logic or evidence.    Taking detailed notes to demonstrate listening may be enough evidence to meet the standard, but not exceed.

OUT OF CLASS WORK.

This week, you also have a blog post to do.  You have three choices -- all surrounding music education and all related to creating a visual that demonstrates evidence of your thinking.

OPTION 1.  Design a slide deck of at least six slides your own that demonstrates your personal position -- whether for or against  music education -- and your reasons why.  Be truthful.  Be reflective.  Be visual.  Use as few words as possible.

OPTION 2.  Design a slide deck of at least six slides that tells the story of your experiences with music education, whether good or bad.  Be truthful.  Be reflective.  Be visual.  Use as few words as possible.

OPTION 3.  Design a slide deck of at least six slides that summarizes an article, video or podcast you watched in preparation for the debate.

DESIGN CHALLENGE: MUSICAL SOLUTIONS.

How might we solve a problem with music OR solve a problem in the music industry?

DUE. Thursday/Friday Oct 20/21.

Rubric in POP CULTURE OUT Folder.

Pop Culture: Musical Solutions Design Challenge & the Business of Music

We'll start class with a little human litmus test to get a sense of our music listening experiences.

From there we'll talk about your blog post for this week.  It's a little research you need to do into the world of being a working musician in 2016.

Music Streaming

• How much do musicians really make from Spotify, iTunes and YouTube? | Technology | The Guardian
• http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/06/30/business/media/music-streaming-guide.html?_r=0
• A Musician's Guide to Streaming: The Pros & Cons of Spotify, Bandcamp, SoundCloud & More :: Music :: Features :: Paste
• Musicians Who Hate Spotify | Flavorwire
• Apple Music hits 10 million subscribers - The Washington Post 

You might take a listen to this podcast about Grooveshark, a now defunct streaming service.  

And this story of Macklemore & "Thrift Shop"

SHOW YOUR THINKING.

Blog.  Imagine you are an aspiring musician.  What path would you take to making a living with your music?  Which streaming service would you use?  Would you stay independent or sign with a label?  Use information from the above articles and any other research you'd like to conduct to support your decision.  Include text evidence and/or links to video/audio that helped you come up with your decision
DUE.  Friday. 10.7.2016

You'll spend just a little time jumping into those articles on your own. Get a sense of what an answer to that question might be.  

And then we're going to dive into your next design challenge and how we might use music to solve problems.

DISCOVERY Phase.

I'll be sharing examples of real world solutions that fit our criteria. (LiveAID and "We Are the World" to "Same Love" and Lemonade, Walkmans and Discmans to iPods and Spotify and more . . .)  And from there we will have time in class to brainstorm and ideate, to identify possible users, and generally get our design process underway.

Here's the rubric that is also available in the Pop Culture Fall 2016 OUT folder.  

Pop Culture Fall 2016: Musical Solutions Single Point Rubric

How might we use music to solve a problem?  Personal? Local? National? Global?

OR

How might we solve a problem in the music industry? Creative? Business? Delivery?

Creative Constraints:  

• Your prototype must be visible and shareable, but it does not need to be physical
• You must document your process (Discovery (Research/Problem Finding), Empathy (User Needs), Experiments (Brainstorming/Ideating/), Products
• You must submit a written or recorded explanation of the intentions behind your prototype.

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)
Musical Solution Prototype (MEDIA)		I like how your prototype presents an effective solution to the identified problem.  I like how every aspect of your prototype seems purposeful. I like how I only have to ask minimal questions to understand your solutions.
Design Process Documentation (MEDIA)		I like how your design documentation shows that you have identified a problem, considered the users needs, explored several solutions, and worked up a prototype. I like how you organized your photos/video/notes/sketches in a way that it is easy to see your thinking.
Written Explanations (WRITING) (OPTION A)		I like how your details are specific and make it clear to me what you intended with your prototype.  I like how well organized your writing appears and how it seems to show your voice.  I like how I get a strong sense of how your prototype will solve the problem.
Vocal Explanations (SPEAKING) (OPTION B)		I like how articulate your explanations come across because your details are specific and you make it clear to me what you intended with your prototype.  I like clearly you speak with a deliberate pace. I like how I get a strong sense of how your prototype will solve the problem.
Mechanics, Usage, Grammar, Spelling (MUGS)		I like how your work is nearly error free in terms of MUGS.  There may be one or two minor errors but you generally show control of your writing.
Timeliness (HABITS of WORK)		The final product is turned in within 24 hours of the agreed upon due date.