Pug Life 2:The Midwest

So, this is my sequel to Pug Life: "Pug Life 2: The Midwest." It's about my pug, Sophie, and her struggles with daily life in the Midwest.

Lesson Plan - Screenwriting and Film Critique

This lesson plan is something that Jake and I have been brainstorming for our Crosswinds Practicum. We are designing a week-long lesson on Screenwriting for 6-7th graders. We were talking about maybe focusing our genre on cartoons so that the kids can create some really fantastical characters and have fun with this project. This would be the first (writing) step in creating a film.

Day One - Show the students clips of "Finding Nemo" and other cartoons and Pixar films. We will introduce film vocabulary and discuss different techniques the animator, screenwriter, cameraman/camerawoman, and director used in order to make their decisions. Even with the cartoon genre, we can talk about the effect of filming techniques like close-ups, character movement, lighting, and panning have on the characters and story. We will attempt to introduce the concept of film having its own language and help the students define it.

Day Two - Have the students create characters using brainstorming activities and character maps to develop their characters. Then, we will have students tell the class about their characters. Then we will assemble the students into groups according to their characters and potential story lines.

Day Three- The students will collaborate in writing a single scene screenplay based on the interaction of their characters (i.e. when the Spaceman who hates Marshmellows meets the Princess who happens to LOVE Marshmellows) and a scene that shows the two-to-five characters interacting. The students will have to further develop their individual characters as well as collaborate in a groups while writing their scene. The students will develop storyboards to direct how their scene is going to play out on a screen or performance.

Day Four - The students will start to rehearse their scene and finalize any changes to their screenplay or acting choices.

Day Five - Students will perform their scene to the class.

If time permitted and/or the students were a little older, we could have the students film their scene, which would allow for more hands-on learning of filming techniques. But, as I stated before, this would be the first stage in the collaborating nature of creating a film.

Pug Life I

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Here's my corny movie I made about pugs on animota called "Pug Life." I will making another movie next week called "Pug Life 2."

Video Annotations on Curb Your Enthusiasm

Here is my video annotation of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Larry David is, of course, was the guy behind (along with Jerry Seinfeild) the TV show, Seinfeild. This is his show after Seinfeild that depicts Larry David as himself. Although the character that plays Sheryl, (his wife) is not his wife in real life, the rest of the show is a supposed to be a true account Larry's daily life with friends and co-workers. The character George on Seinfelid was based on Larry David and this show makes that supposed allegation true. There are many similarities between Larry David himself and Seinfeild's George character.

Search This

I am thinking about doing my final project on Gentrification and Urban Renewal, or using music to study poetry. If I did the Gentrification project, I would use our upcoming Ethnographic project, the play, "Radio Golf" by August Wilson, "House on Mango Street" mentioned in the readings, and perhaps "The Wire," I want to explore how students could do a project on this issue because this issue directly affects students living in urban settings. I could use Diigo as a bookmarking site to save relevant findings. Because I currently attend a University, I have access to a great plethora of databases I explored in My U's portal. I would like to explore other free databases that high school students could use as well. I started utilizing Google Reader and am excited to be able to use it more effectively.

I think finding relevant information on the internet is a huge issue. Given the current state of the US internet, anybody can put their opinion "out there." Honestly, I am still quite surprised that we haven't experienced more censoring. That being said, I do believe that we will see a more government-censored internet, like in China, in our life times. For the time being, our censorship is in the hands of huge corporations that buy spots at the top of search engines like Google. Although Google must disclose this information (in tiny print at the top of the search result), it doesn't seem to affect the discretion of users.

As far as the Enthnography assignment, I think I might want to focus on The Loring Pasta Bar because the restaurant has preserved the antiquity of the building itself.

Music Videos

Since we are supposed to share video posts and other links, I thought I'd share my musical endeavors that I briefly mentioned in my vlog.

 
Here's a music video, directed by Justin Staggs, of my previous band, The Cardinal Sin.




Here's my current band, The Evening Rig, performing on the Current. 

Example vlog

This is my former boss and her vlog.  This was the first vlog that I was ever exposed to.  This is obviously a fun blog.  This "episode" in her series is kind-of an instructional how-to for karaoke.  I like her editing techniques; going back and forth from her narrative to the actual performance of karaoke.  I guess I don't really know who the audience is: probably just her friends.  One question, related to facebook as well, is "Does publishing something like this put you in a vulnerable spot for future employees or employers?  The problems with free publishing is an issue here as well as with many other blogs/vlogs.  Do you want anyone in the public to see your work?   Do you, as a boss, want your employees to see your blog?

VLOG!

So, I made a vlog!  Here it is!

Thoughts on Digital Writing

I have embraced social technology more in the last two years than I have in the previous ten.  I had heard about "Friendster" and thought it was just plain silly. Then, after I reluctantly joined Myspace, I became enthralled. I remember spending numerous nights exploring this new social media. Being in a musical group, I found the site invaluable for getting new music out there.  I have since joined Facebook.  It didn’t have the same impact that I experienced with Myspace but, nevertheless, I have accepted it as the common networking site and use it frequently.  I have yet to join Twitter but I'm sure we will be required to do so for this class.  Maybe I'll run with that too....

I have never blogged before.  Quite honestly, I don’t understand the culture of it.  Probably because I am a pretty passive Facebook user: I don’t post more than one one-sentence “status update” a month.  But I could see how a blog could be central to a high school or middle school classroom.  It reduces the number of times the teacher must repeat him or herself exponentially concerning homework specification, due dates, grades, etc.  More importantly, it creates a culture of sharing and interacting not present in a typical classroom.  

I'm really excited to learn about new ways in which to engage young students.  School doesn't have to an archaic or boring place.  I think we should use technology as a tool that is just as important as literacy itself. Most students live on technology and perhaps it's the only way to engage many young students.  

Although slightly apprehensive, I am truly excited to try and wrap my head around these technologies 

that sometimes only exist in thin air.