This semester Al Haley and Kyle Dickson taught Introduction to Film for the first time and students were asked to produce a major project that demonstrated their mastery of core concepts of the course. Learning Studio staff spent several class days introducing students to camera movement, audio, and editing before they produced their projects in Camtasia and Adobe Premiere Pro.
Here are a few of the final projects.
Film Analysis Digital Essay – Working individually or with a partner, produce a short 3-5 minute analysis of a film from our semester that accounts for the technical aspects of its production within the context of the director’s work or genre. Your digital essay seeks to highlight an informed point of view with carefully chosen stills/clips from your film(s) synced to your audio commentary. (For examples of this type of video essay, see Tony Zhou’s Every Frame a Painting).
Short Narrative Film – Working individually or with a partner, write, direct, and produce a short film, following ACU FilmFest guidelines, that builds on your working knowledge of story structure, character development, and genre this semester. The short film should demonstrate mastery of the fundamentals of camera movement, shot composition, lighting, audio, and editing, all of which we’ll introduce in workshops in the Learning Studio this semester. (For inspiration, see past projects on the FilmFest Archive).
For several years students in Dr. Kyle Dickson’s Eighteenth-Century British Literature have produced research projects as a way to share key texts from the Enlightenment with a broader audience. It’s easy to complete academic research for an audience of one–the professor–so this assignment has attempted to ask students to communicate research from an upper-level course to general audience.
The wait is almost over. The next chapter in the Star Wars saga opens December 18, and the Learning Studio wants to put you in the movie!
But like Luke Skywalker on the uncertain surface of Dagobah, the title of Jedi master doesn’t come without a test.
Between now and the end of Finals Week, we’ll give a few mega fans tickets to Star Wars: The Force Awakens along with enough tshirts, USB drives, and imperial swag to fill the belly of a Tauntaun.
Join us on Dead Day for your chance to win:
Star Wars Final Exam – We’ve put together a trivia test to separate the geeks from the nerds. Make sure to stop by the main desk in the LS to pick up a scantron and a Yoda pencil. (2-3 minutes)
Jedi Auditions – We’ll also be hosting auditions in the green screen studio where you can challenge a friend or professor to a lightsaber duel. We’ll have prizes for the best delivery of a favorite line or mad Jedi skills. (3-5 minutes)
Follow us on Twitter (@learningstudio) or Facebook (aculearningstudio) to see some of the best of Star Wars at ACU this week.
SNL Star Wars Auditions with Kevin Spacey
Classic Saturday Night Live screen tests for the original Star Wars.
Last fall we had a chance to work with a number of students from the Honors College taking HON 401: Short Film Production. Wanted to make sure we took the opportunity to share the remarkable work, produced in teams within a short 5-week semester. They tackled technical challenges using LS checkout equipment, many of them for the first time. At the same time they kept their eye on the the shape of compelling stories. Really proud of their work.
Over the last two years, students in Dr. Mark Hamilton’s honors sections of BIBL 211: Message of the Old Testament have produced short films in teams. Groups of four develop short 4-5 minute video projects that reflect on themes such as lament, sacrifice, atonement, among others.
Once groups have selected biblical texts they consider how they respond “to the historical background, literary shaping, theological purpose, and interpretive history (i.e., the understanding of the text on the part of later readers) of the given text.”
Here are a few examples of their work.
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Fall 2013
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Fall 2012
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Other Requirements
Here are a few other elements of the assignment:
1. The video should not use footage created by other people. (So, no Lego Bible stories or similar things.)
2. The video should include appropriate voice work by all the team members and should show some measure of creativity.
3. The team should produce a script for the video and submit it along with the video.
4. The video should be well-informed by deep reflection on the biblical texts and themes on which students have been working.
Follow us on Twitter (@learningstudio) or Facebook (aculearningstudio) to see some of the best of Star Wars at ACU this week.