A series of audiovisual assignments have been created to help you develop your thesis film. If you are preparing an alternative audiovisual output, please consult with your supervisor on how to best adapt the assignment. Students within a Supervisory group should preview their peers’ assignments in advance of the class session, but will provide feedback in person during the session. Assignments will also be assigned peer reviewers randomly from the entire cohort. For full credit assigned peer reviews should be completed within 3 days.
Students should prepare two edited Key Scenes (2-5m/ea.), each consisting of an extended composition of shots that intend to make an argument, tell a story, or otherwise elaborate a core concept, theme, or topic. A scene may also be more descriptive in nature, in which case it should represent (an) event(s) or interaction(s) that you deem essential to convey the essence of what your research is about in your film or multimodal output.
You may choose either to make one Key Scene and a Relational Scene, or two Key Scenes that each represent a different/separate topic. A Relational Scene would be any scene that either contextualizes, follows up on, or even juxtaposes the Key Scene. An example of a Relational Scene would be a short conversation or piece of interview that explains or refers to an event you have shown in the key scene; establishing series of shots that introduce a setting; the travel and arrival to a certain location; the introduction of a character, etc.
Try to experiment with what style of editing best suits your intentions for your film and/or your mode of engagement/collaboration with your subjects.
Metacommentary: All assignments must be accompanied by a brief written reflection (200-300 words max) that provides a ‘meta-commentary’ about the student’s intentions with the assignment’s selection.
Prepare two additional scenes (2-5m/ea.) that you feel will be crucial to understand your research and to the structure of your film. When reflecting on these scenes consider how they make an argument, tell a story, or otherwise elaborate a core concept, theme, or topic. This may include interview footage, but should then include material from additional sequences, including ones not previously shared in class.
Metacommentary: All assignments must be accompanied by a brief written reflection (200-300 words max) that provides a ‘meta-commentary’ about the student’s intentions with the assignment’s selection.
Students should prepare two edited scenes (2-5m/ea.) which in some way expose, reflect upon, or otherwise thematize their own presence in the field site and/or their subject’s reaction to them as the ethnographer-filmmaker. This may include interview footage, but should then include material from additional sequences, including ones not previously shared in class.
Metacommentary: All assignments must be accompanied by a brief written reflection (200-300 words max) that provides a ‘metacommentary’ about the student’s intentions with the assignment’s selection.
Prepare two edited scenes (up to 5m/ea.) that comprise the first and last scenes in the film. Consider the role that these play in drawing your audience in, making them curious and engaged, and then leaving them with a concluding sentiment that will frame how they make sense of what they’ve seen till then.
Metacommentary: All assignments must be accompanied by a brief written reflection (200-300 words max) that provides a ‘metacommentary’ about the student’s intentions with the assignment’s selection.
Prepare a trailer (around 90 seconds long) that briefly encompasses your work. This is important for two reasons: First, we want to have trailers to put on our Vimeo channel to feature your work. Second, we expect that this will help students as they apply for festivals and with other sorts of self-promotion. Include a Title.
Metacommentary: All assignments must be accompanied by a brief written reflection (200-300 words max) that provides a ‘meta-commentary’ about the student’s intentions with the assignment’s selection.
