Arts 1010
Media Studio: Video
Fall 2007 Syllabus
Professor: Andrew Lynn
lynna2 @ rpi.edu
Office hours: by appointment, Rm. G2 in West Hall
Lab Instructor: EE Miller
millee8 @ rpi.edu
MEETINGS
Lecture: Tuesdays 6p-7:50p
Lab Sections:
COURSE WEBSITE: http://breathingplanet.pbwiki.com/MediaStudioVideoFall07
Please check this website at least once per week. It WILL change. Events and assignments will be added and removed as the semester unfolds.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This class (the video portion) is an introduction to moving image media-making. We will discuss and learn why media matters and why people make video, as well as how videos get produced - conceptually and technically. Students will learn basic video recording and editing skills and develop critical thinking andviewing skills by watching and discussing historic and contemporary examples of film/video artwork.
LECTURE:
Weekly presentations will cover production concepts, technical facts and skills, and history. We will watch a lot of great work and talk about it together. Please be present and on time. There will occasionally be a discussion portion of the lecture in which students are asked to form small discussion groups and report back to the larger class. While the architecture of a lecture hall is not conducive to multi-directional conversation, respectful (and topical!) discussion will be encouraged and sometimes required. Notetaking is also encouraged, as facts from lectures will likely appear on the exam. Notetaking on a laptop is allowed, however working on a laptop during lecture will generally be frowned upon, and therefore paper is preferred.
SECTION
Section time is also referred to as Lab. Each Lab will consist of a presentation or workshop, discussion of the reading, and/or work time. This is when you gain hands-on technical skills and work on individual and group projects with the assistance of the TA. Group critiques will also happen during your labs. Please be on time. Making things is fun, and this is time to make things. Enjoy!
TEXTS
There is not a textbook for this class. Readings will be handed out and linked from the online syllabus. For certain readings you will be asked to turn in outlines - the completion of which will count towards your grade. The readings have been carefully selected for their relevance and quality. Not doing readings will result in less knowledge for you and will undoubtedly be reflected in your grade.
ATTENDANCE & PARTICIPATION
... are both required and will be monitored. If you miss any classes, you are expected to make up the missed work on your own - please befriend a kind neighbor and work out some kind of
deal. (see grading below)
REQUIRED MATERIALS
You will need miniDV video tapes. They can be purchased at the RPI bookstore. You will also need HEADPHONES. The speakers on your computer will not cut it, plus, you will want to be able to work in lab time without bothering others in the class. Relatively high-quality headphones can be bought for $25-30. This purchase is highly recommended, however, you will not be penalized for the use of poor equipment (such as iPod headphones). You will also probably want to purchase some CD-Rs and/or DVD-Rs for archiving your projects and files.
SOFTWARE
PC Users: Your RPI-issued laptops should come ready-made with Adobe Premiere Elements. If you are interested in acquiring Sony Vegas at a discount price through the bookstore, that is also available to you. Here's info on Vegas: http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/products/product.asp?pid=446
Mac Users: Final Cut Express is available through the RPI bookstore - http://computerstore.rpi.edu/update.do?artcenterkey=45
Linux Users: There are linux editing programs available. Two examples are Jah or Cinelerra. If you're running Linux, you probably know this already.
Note: The instructions we will give you regarding editing in a 7-week video course will be limited and can be accomplished using any editing program. The interfaces are often slightly different, but they do all the same things.
GEAR
policy TBA
GRADING
You will be graded as follows:
50% production lab (100 pts)
20 points for group project
40 points for individual project
40 points for attendance and participation
50% lecture & exams (100 pts)
20 points for completion of written assignments
80 points for exam
Your Lab projects will be graded on the three major criteria:
40 percent (8pts): Technique: How well you use and employ techniques you learn in lab and lecture.
40 percent (8pts): Effctiveness: Overall strngth of the work; how well it conveys your intent.
20 percent (4pts): Ambition: You will b rewarded for attempting to make things which are interesting, sincere, and unique.
To get an “A” you must do exceptional work. The “B” is given for superior work “B” is given for superior work- more than simply fulfilling the obligations. A “C” grade is considered average, below that is below average or failing.
VIDEO ASSIGNMENTS
#1 Group project: 3-shot maximum (weeks 1 & 2)
- 3 people per group
- 3 static (no camera movement) video compositions which relate to one another
- edited in-camera
- 1-minute maximum length
- concept is brainstormed and storyboarded collectively
- each group member responsible for composing one shot
#2 Media Manifesto Project
As a media-maker, you have got opinions to express and important reasons for creating the pieces that you create. The Media Manifesto is an opportunity to let the world know what they are. This piece will require some thought and probably a bit of research, but the assignment is open to your interpretation.
For this video assignment, you must create a 3-5 minute video manifesto on the broad subject of "media." Your piece can take on a number of forms including (but not limited to): public service announcement, video poem, short documentary, or fictional narrative.
The 'manifesto' may be from your perspective, or from someone else's. It could also be from the perspective of a fictional character. You may use 'found' footage and sound if it is used in a critical context (dont make a music video!). Think outside the box!!
If you have trouble coming up with a topic or need some help brainstorming, feel free to email for an appointment with EE or Andrew - or both.
Optional Assignments (easy & fun extra credit)
Make Your Own Zine (using an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper)
Start Your Own Videoblog or podcast (using free web 2.0 tools)
WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS
Using the class’ WebCT site, you will be asked to respond to all readings and/or online viewing assignments and to write a review.
#1 Film/Video Event Review - You should attend at least 1 local event which is moving image-related and write a one-page review. This could include the events in the iEAR Presents! series, or at the Sanctuary for Independent Media, or various other venues. Relevant local happenings will be periodically announced during the lecture period and ON THE COURSE WEBSITE. Incompletion of this assignment will count negatively towards your grade.
#2 Additionally, Topics for discussion will be posted each week, and you must make weekly entries. These entries will not be graded individually, but your participation in the online discussions will be counted towards participation grade.
SCHEDULE
Week 1 - August 28 Media, Art, and Critical Thinking
Screening:
Media Burn (Ant Farm, 1975)
The Amateurist (Miranda July, 1998)
A Girl Like Me (Kiri Davis, 2006)
excerpts: Emergency Broadcast Network
excerpts: Alive In Baghdad internet broadcast
excerpts: CulturalFarming.com
Untitled 29.95 (rTMark)
excerpts: Peripheral Produce, General Idea
Weather Diary No. 3 (George Kuchar, 1988)
Reading:
in class reading and discussion
Introduction to Remediation (Bolter & Grusin) [download .pdf]
Lab:
Introductions to one another, assignment #1, and the equipment at your disposal.
basic camera workshop: how to operate a digital video camera properly
shots, angles, and composition
Handouts:
Week 2 - September 4 History of Video 101
plus:
lighting, microphones, process
Screening:
Various work of Ximena Cuevas
Negativland
The News is What We Make It (Nicki Robare, 2004)
Pie Fight '69 (Sam Green)
It Wasn't Love (Sadie Benning 1992)
The Horribly Stupid Stunt
Barbie Liberation Organization
Reading:
excerpt from: Reflections from a Cinematic Cesspool (George & Mike Kuchar, 1997) [download .pdf]
Video Art: Whats TV Got to Do with It? (Kathy Rae Huffman) [download .pdf]
Guerilla Television (Michael Shamberg & Raindance Corporation) [handout in class]
Wikipedia entry for 'Video' (lots of juicy techy details)
Lab:
watching and critiqueing "3-shot" videos
Handouts:
Week 3 - September 11 Lecture TBA
Screening:
excerpts: Man with A Movie Camera (Dziga Vertov)
Eisenstein excerpts
excerpts from film animations of Jan Svankmajer
Paper Rad
Stranger Comes to Town (Jackie Goss, 2006)
Reading:
excerpts from In the Blink of An Eye (Walter Murch) [download .pdf]
Methods of Montage (Sergei Eisenstein) [download .pdf]
optional: excerpts from the Screenwriter's Workbook (Syd Field) [download .pdf]
Lab:
Introduction to and explanation of Video Assignment #2
Handouts:
Week 4 - September 18 Propaganda, Proliferation, & Appropriation
Screening:
Don't Call me Crazy on the 4th of July (Rich Pell, 2005)
Spin (Brian Springer)
G.I. Joe PSAs (FenslerFilm)
excerpts: Barbie Liberation Organization
shorts by Brian Boyce
Reading:
excerpts: Culture Jam (Kalle Lasn) [download .pdf]
Lab:
Handouts:
Week 5 - September 25 Everyone Knows Reality TV Sucks
Screening:
Sans Gravity (Nao Bustamante)
excerpt from The Chain South (Nao Bustamante)
We Are the Littletons (Penny Lane, 2004)
New Kids on the Black Block (Los Agencias)
Perfumed Nightmare ( )
Made In Secret (East Van Porn Collective 2005)
Reading:
"Video and Resistance: Against Documentary," from The Electronic Disturbance (Critical Art Ensemble) [download .pdf]
Lab:
Handouts:
Week 6 - October 2
Participatory Media and the Illusion of Democratic Consumerism
Screening:
Telestreet: The Italian Mediajacking Movement (And_ / Tim Parish, 2005)
Its the End of the World as We Know It ... and I feel fine
The Perfect Artistic Website (Heavy Industries)
Indymedia Online video clips
Drug War (Antonio Lopez)
excerpts: CulturalFarming.com
Wee Dark Hours (Meerkat Media Collective)
clips: fluxrostrum.blogspot.com
clips: iwitnessvideo.info
excerpts: Media the Matters online film festival
Low Power to the People (Prometheus Radio Project, 2005)
excerpts: Molotov 2 (submedia.tv)
Reading:
Free Beer vs. Free Media (Andrew Lownethal) [download .pdf]
The History of Public Access Television (Bill Olson) [online reading]
Lab:
Making a class videoblog on blip.tv
Work-in-progress critique
working on final projects
Handouts:
October 9 - No Lecture (monday schedule)
Week 7 - October 16 Surveillance/Sousveillance & Legal/Illegal
Screening:
excerpt from Still We Ride (Andrew Lynn & Elizabeth Press, 2005)
Subconscious Art of Graffiti Removal (Matt McCormick, 2001)
Fanclub & mydadsstripclub.com Videos
Reading:
work on your videos
Lab:
videos uploaded to blip.tv account
final screening & critique session
Handouts:
October 23
October 30
November 6
November 13
November 20
November 27
December 4
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