Wednesday, May 12
Students checked out films for the second Outside Viewing essay, which is now due Monday, May 24.
Partly as a model for what students should do in those essays, we began to analyze Citizen Kane with regard to the elements of filmcraft listed on the assignment sheet for the essay. (Students need to examine one element in their films, while our analysis of Citizen Kane will examine all five: cinematography, lighting, mise en scene, film editing and sound.)
We looked especially at the motif of blank whiteness (movie screen, blank page, snow) and at the use of mise en scene in the Colorado scene.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Thursday, May 6
We watched a five-minute documentary introduction to City Lights and a seven-minute outtake from it and discussed Chaplin's art.
Afterwards, students received, and we went over, the assignment sheet for the second outside viewing essay, an analysis of a single element of filmcraft in the each student's assigned/chosen film. Some students checked out films for the purpose.
At the end of class students picked up their first outside viewing essays with grades and comments.
Tomorrow: Mr. McCormick will begin showing the class Citizen Kane.
HW due May 20:
The single-element analysis.
We watched a five-minute documentary introduction to City Lights and a seven-minute outtake from it and discussed Chaplin's art.
Afterwards, students received, and we went over, the assignment sheet for the second outside viewing essay, an analysis of a single element of filmcraft in the each student's assigned/chosen film. Some students checked out films for the purpose.
At the end of class students picked up their first outside viewing essays with grades and comments.
Tomorrow: Mr. McCormick will begin showing the class Citizen Kane.
HW due May 20:
The single-element analysis.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Wednesday, May 5
Seniors went to the auditorium for a presentation by Sam Green, Washington State's Poet laureate.
The select few of us who remained behind watched a documentary about City Lights, some outtakes from the film, and a 1915 short, The Prizefighter, with an earlier version of the City Lights boxing routine.
Seniors went to the auditorium for a presentation by Sam Green, Washington State's Poet laureate.
The select few of us who remained behind watched a documentary about City Lights, some outtakes from the film, and a 1915 short, The Prizefighter, with an earlier version of the City Lights boxing routine.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Tuesday, May 4
We watched the final scene of City Lights, then watched it a second time while students took notes preparatory to writing responses to the following two questions:
(1) What happens in the scene? Describe in detail.
(2) What do you think will happen next?
After students finished writing several read their answers to both questions, and discovered strong differences in how people took the final moments of the film, and whether they expected the tramp and the girl to marry and live happily ever etcetera.
Mr. P then handed out copies of Tim Dirks's reading of the scene from filmsite.org and we read parts of it.
To be continued . . .
We watched the final scene of City Lights, then watched it a second time while students took notes preparatory to writing responses to the following two questions:
(1) What happens in the scene? Describe in detail.
(2) What do you think will happen next?
After students finished writing several read their answers to both questions, and discovered strong differences in how people took the final moments of the film, and whether they expected the tramp and the girl to marry and live happily ever etcetera.
Mr. P then handed out copies of Tim Dirks's reading of the scene from filmsite.org and we read parts of it.
To be continued . . .
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