Film Commentary Blogs (Spring 2023)

Due:

1) Three informal written commentaries on films (sign up week one) due Fridays after film is screened, 8 pm, posted to your personal Moodle Blog forum. Feel free to do more for extra credit!

2) Comments on your blog partner's posts are due the following Sundays, 8 pm, posted as a 'reply' in your partner's Moodle Blog forums.

3) Blog partners should also find ways to bring their own and their partners' film commentaries into class discussion and Moodle discussion forums.

Length and Format: 300-400 words, optionally including/integrated with images, audio and/or video clips). If you include media from the film or other sources (eg., stills from the film, Youtube, a news source), please carefully caption them, citing the creator/producer and date created or uploaded if possible (NOT just the URL). Be attentive to the Ethical Use of Images.

These should be informal commentaries on the film screened for that week of the course, with specific reference to ideas and debates in the week's readings. No outside research is necessary! Just the course materials. Each commentary post should include at the end complete citations of any news sources used, and at least TWO complete citations of materials from the course, including films. Be sure to use timestamps when you reference specific scenes.

The writing is less structured than a formal academic analysis (no need for formal essay structure, thesis statement, conclusion, etc), but tone should still be informative, humble, and not overly colloquial/slangy or flippant/sarcastic, claims should be evidence-based.

You will be writing for your fellow class members (as practice for writing for larger audiences), so write for relevance, interest, and readability, relate your discussion to issues or key terms raised in our readings and films, explain terms clearly and briefly, rather than assume your readers know, and be careful to portray events and people respectfully. Please avoid using images or video for shock value and provide any content notes necessary.

Class members will be able to see and comment on your posts. Please be respectful and relevant in your comments on others' posts.

Comments can be in many forms, for example:

  • Follow up with a peer's comment by bringing in a relevant moment from the film that illustrates the dynamic they're discussing. Use timestamps to refer to scenes!
  • Start a conversation by describing a particular scene that struck you in relation to the readings (this week or previous weeks).
  • Respond to comments about course text authors' goals and voices with a thought about the film director's goals and voices (see below).
  • Compare and contrast narrative techniques in the readings to filmic techniques used in the film.

Critically Engaging with Films:

This is not a "film review," (eg., just what you liked or not about the film), but the idea is to critically comment on course films with reference to ideas and debates from the relevant week's readings. In this, pay attention NOT just to the "content" of the film (what it seems to be about, the story it tells), but think multi-modally: HOW is it filmed and framed for you by the director? and WHY? with what goals or effects?

Editing is where the art and politics of films happen. Consider in this:

  • Scene composition
  • camera angle: whose 'eyes' does the camera represent? how does the film address its viewers?
  • music soundtrack
  • the sound environments created
  • use of slow motion or other filmic techniques
  • the juxtposition or 'cuts' between scenes
  • how voices are handled aurally,
  • who/what figures or subjects are centered or marginalized.

Evaluation: Even though this is informal writing, it is still a serious assignment, only here you get to experiment with a different voice and a less formal genre of writing. I will evaluate based on (in order of priority):

1) The creativity and originality of your ideas;
2) Extent to which you refer to course films and readings, and demonstrate clear understanding of basic terms presented in the course;
3) The clarity of your organization and writing, and the care with which you cite credible sources;
4) The creativity of your use of non-text media and its integration with your     writing.

Writing for Moodle Forums

ALWAYS write outside of the forums, and then cut and paste into them. Unlike Google Docs, Moodle forums do NOT automatically save what you’ve written. Students can lose lots of work this way!

Using the Atto text editor in Moodle

One option to easily include audio and video in Moodle forums is to change your Moodle text editor. Please note that this change applies to you as a user, and therefore you’ll see the same text editor across all your Moodle course pages. 

To change your text editor, access the user menu in Moodle by clicking on the arrow near your user name in the upper right of the screen, and select preferences.

Select editor preferences from the user account block, and choose Atto HTML editor. Click Save changes.

The Atto editor will now appear anywhere you see the text editor in Moodle. Use the microphone button to make an audio recording or the video button to make a video. Note that each option is limited to two minutes.

Tips

  • You will need a wifi or data connection to make recordings in Moodle.
  • Forum replies use a simple text box by default. Click on “advanced” to get the full text editor.
  • Audio and video recordings made using Atto are not designed to be edited. If you would like to create edited content, choose another method of recording on your phone.
  • Using the Atto text editor, you can also drag and drop images into your forum post. Images automatically appear in Moodle in their original size; click on the picture icon to change the dimensions.
  • As always, make sure to caption all media that is not your own creation: cite the creator/producer and date created (best) or uploaded if possible (NOT just the URL).
  • Be attentive to the Ethical Use of Images.
  • All video or audio clips posted on Moodle should be 5 min or less.