FILM 101 - INTRODUCTION TO FILM
Acting Week Assignments - Due Date Range: March 15 - March 21
Updated 11 March 2010Acting (Lesson Six). The following assignments will help you learn more about the concept of film acting. Here are the learning activities for this week:
(1) Read Giannetti Chapter Six, "Acting," and the part of Chapter Twelve on acting in "Synthesis: Citizen Kane."
(2) Read Weblecture 6 ("Acting the Part").
(3) Screen The Piano (Australia and New Zealand, Campion, 1993).
(4) Regular Forum: (a) Participate fully in the Acting Discussion Forum (see the "Unit Two Discussions" explanation below). (b) Keep coming into the Acting Forum throughout this week and next to read what your classmates have written and discussed.
(5) Planning Forum #1 - Stage One: You have two weeks to participate. The course design includes three planning drafts to promote excellence and success in the end-of-semester writing assignment (final paper on three films or final project based on a work in Tidepools). Because there is no quiz this week and you have a little more time than usual, it would be a good idea to draft and post your stage-one rough draft this week; however, you are given two weeks to complete your contributions to stage one planning, so you can post next week if that works better for you. Remember that you will also be commenting on other postings (you will be a member of a team working in collaboration) before the forum closes next week.
Note 1: Since you have 2 weeks for planning forum #1, I will move it into next week's area when we get there (for your convenience).
Note 2: Participants in the three planning forums are excused from the Unit Two Writing Quiz. Some time before the deadline for Planning Forum #1 next week, you need to make the decision of whether you will (a) participate in the three planning forums or (b) take the Unit Two Quiz (both are designed to help you demonstrate what you have learned in the class). See below for more information.
UNIT TWO FORUMS: There are two kinds of forums in Unit Two: regular forums (like the ones in Unit One) and planning forums (practice areas for your final presentation work). Total Forum Work for Unit Two: 90-150 points, depending upon whether you opt for Decision "a" or Decision "b" (read on):
REGULAR FORUMS (total possible=90 points): In addition to active and substantive participation in THREE of the six regular forums in Unit Two, you are expected to read all postings of your classmates in all six forums--1) acting, 2) drama: set/costume/makeup design, 3) story, 4) writing, 5) ideology 1, and 6) ideology2/critique. Active and substantive participation in each regular discussion forum is worth 30 points up to a maximum of 90 for the Unit, and includes (a) an initial posting answering all parts of each assignment (worth up to 20 points) and (b) two or more substantive postings responding to your classmates (worth up to 10 points). Post your response to the forum assignment by or before the deadline, Thursday (by 11:30 p.m.); then send at least two substantive replies to two or more classmates' postings by or before the deadline, Sunday (by 11:30 p.m.). Postings submitted after those deadlines, inclusive of the 30-minute editing period, will not receive points and may be deleted.
Notes: (1) Questions on the quizzes in Unit Two as well as in the final assignments the last week of class may be drawn from the postings in these Unit Two discussion forums. (2) By participating in extra discussion forums that relate to the six lessons in Unit Two, you enhance your learning in the class and you help ensure you can earn a very high score; if you end up with a performance better than the perfect 90 for Unit Two, excess points will be added to your Unit One Discussion score (and if that is also perfect, your X-factor will be enhanced). Scores and comments for your work in the Unit Two Regular Forums will be reported at D2.
Writing reminders: (1) Use your own word processor to draft, edit, and save your forum postings; then copy and paste into the forum window. (2) Read what has been posted by classmates before finalizing and before submitting your work; if you see duplication or use something already published or posted, modify your writing so it provides new information and a fresh perspective and full documentation. (3) Use film terms to show you are learning the concepts. (4) Provide details and clear explanations in your postings and replies. (5) Test your writing so you are satisfied that it is informative, detailed, thoughtful, original, and creative as you can make it. (6) Read your own posting before leaving the forum, and check the content first; then, edit where necessary. (Delete unnecessary coding; punctuate all film titles by using italics or underlining; check your format and labels so it's easy to follow your discussion; click on your links to be sure they will send your readers directly to your websites; and, again, be sure to fully document by full name, plus summary or quotation, when you use something that has already been posted by a classmate or something that has already been published in internet, video, or print form or something that has already been articulated in a lecture or other oral discourse format.) (7) Keep in touch with me. (8) Send me a message whenever you are confused or need guidance, encouragement, clarification, or information.
PLANNING FORUMS (total possible=60 points): Planning forums are designed to help you learn that, for serious students and professionals in the field, major projects, papers, and presentations are completed in stages and in collaboration with others in a planning process where the creator is open to ideas and changes, and finds time to develop those ideas and changes in depth. Top students start early on their projects and writings, and they produce many drafts before their deadlines; they add and subtract details and ideas and make corrections and improvements as they collaborate with others working on their own projects or papers. By participating in the planning forums with highly motivated students like yourself, you give yourself opportunities to achieve at a higher level than you might otherwise. You can earn up to 20 points for full participation in each of three planning forums in Unit Two, for a total maximum of 60 points. What do you do if you have some of the topics covered but not all by the deadline for a planning forum? Should you go ahead and post this incomplete draft? Yes, you can post a partially complete planning draft and still get some credit; you can complete the topics either in a reply to your own posting in this week's planning forum or at the beginning of your next planning forum (your next "draft"), before proceeding to topics for the next stage. Plan to contribute fully and remain on top of assignments; don't be afraid to post your plans even if you are still unsure of them because you will have time to make changes (and writing out plans magically helps you think more clearly). Be willing to ask questions and to post early and help other students by example. Feel free to send me a Moodle Message at any time, for consultation and advice and clarification, because I am here for you.
UNIT TWO WRITING QUIZ (total possible=60 points). The Unit Two Writing Quiz is scheduled for Week 15, the week that has been reserved also for putting the finishing touches on the final draft of your paper or project that is due by Thursday of Week 16. Participants in the three planning forums, who will already have demonstrated understanding of Unit Two and course concepts, are excused from the Unit Two Writing Quiz. If you prefer, you can take the Unit Two Writing Quiz rather than post and contribute to the three planning forums. There is no mix-and-match alternative: it's either the Unit Two Quiz or the 3 planning forums. For example, if you participate in Planning Forum #1, and then decide not to participate in Planning Forums 2 and/or 3 but to take the Unit Two Quiz instead, the points you earned for the planning forum will convert to X-factor enhancement, and the score you earn on the Unit Two Writing Quiz will be the one that counts toward your grade points. Why have I complicated the course design by giving you a choice here? Mainly to make the course design accommodate different learning styles. Although most students last semester recommended that I continue offering the planning forums, a few students recommended that I give students a choice to opt out of the planning forums; that's why you have the choice to do either the unit quiz or the planning forums. Note the following thoughts about the alternatives to help guide your decision, and feel free to message me for more guidance:Decision "a": participate in Planning Forums #1, #2, and #3. The advantages of decision "a" are that you get to think about and write your final paper or project in chunks at the same time that you demonstrate your understanding of the course concepts (including the lessons in Unit Two); you learn from writing these rough planning drafts and you learn from the feedback you get from me and from others on the team. Another advantage to participating in the planning forums, rather than opting out and taking the Unit Writing Quiz instead, is that this extended planning and drafting and feedback time makes it easier to excel on the assignment, and adds satisfaction to the creation and composition process. Other advantages? By Week 15, you will have a fairly complete rough draft, and all you need to do is to revise and polish; decision "a" keeps you on task and not only reduces the number of hours you would otherwise need in Weeks 15 and 16 to complete your presentation, but also reduces the stress of presentation week; and this helps a lot, especially if you are taking other classes, which usually pile up the workload at the end of the semester (or you have other work or family responsibilities that will demand your attention in May). The disadvantage of decision "a" is that you will be spending more time during Unit Two to complete your planning forums and will need to carve out that time each week or every other week (rather than have it build up to a major time-consumer in Weeks 15 and 16); some weeks may seem more stressful as a result.
Decision "b": take the Unit Two Writing Quiz. The advantages of decision "b" are that you don't have to plan in so much time during the first 6 or so weeks of Unit Two to prepare your final major writing assignment so that these weeks will be less time-consuming and less stressful than if you participated in the planning forums; and if you decide to take the Unit Quiz, you can plan out your own individual drafting schedule for the final paper or project, you don't have to share anything with others, and you still get to see what others are planning (among those who make decision "a"), whose examples can guide you. The disadvantages of decision "b" are (1) you will not be able benefit from being a true team member on your paper or project, (2) you won't have the benefit of gestating your ideas and sentences over time, (3) you will have put a major stress on yourself at the end of the semester, and (4) you may not perform as well as you could have if you spread out your work over more weeks. Taking the Unit Two Writing Quiz and completing your final paper or project in the same 10-day period, rather than posting planning drafts and commenting on others' throughout Unit Two and not having to take a writing exam the week before the final paper or project is due, will work for you (a) if you are choosing this alternative not to procrastinate, but to plan your time in a different way; and (b) if you perform well in what I call "power-out" activities, where you devote countless hours to work intensely over a short period of time; and (c) if you don't have other big class assignments or work responsibilities due during May.
Gloria Floren, Film in the Letters Department, MiraCosta College
, One Barnard Drive, Oceanside, California 92056. U.S.A.