Rebecca Black: talentless teen or radical visionary?

So by now, you will have seen Rebecca Black's embarrassingly bad, over produced music video of "Friday." I personally can't wait until the time comes when I can say "it's Friday!" without hearing an echo of "Fun fun fun fun!" (or gang fight, gang fight?) Here is Rebecca Black re-imagined as heard by a lip reader:



However, I thought it is worth risking getting that song stuck in your head again to point out this: http://www.theawl.com/2011/03/arms-so-freezy-rebecca-blacks-friday-as-radical-text <------- This is a hilarious close reading of the music video that suggests Rebecca is challenging our materialistic, superficial culture to the core. Try not to overthink your own close reading this way, but appreciate the funny!

Do you feel sorry for Rebecca Black? Will people always remember her? Or is she just going through her fifteen minutes of fame? Is all the negatively towards her deserved? How has the internet enabled this? Why have so so many people watched her?

But, Ms Kazimi, I can't get onto YouTube on the school computers!

I know, that's frustrating. But sometimes in life we need to just accept the things we cannot change and then find ways around them. (That's how that quote goes, right?) So here are some sites that are not blocked by the school that you can look at videos on (some of them don't seem to work on all the computers, and some only work on Firefox because it has more things installed than the school Explorer browser thing). If you can't find it on something else, you can find a youtube link at home, because I can look at youtube clips. OR you can bring the DVD to school and watch it over and over and over again with no waiting to download. Be pro-active: solve the problem.

Art of the Title (especially the ones that have vimeo clips, since Quicktime is not installed on all the school computers)
MetaCafe (um, some of these videos don't load on some computers and some are a bit dodgy, but hey, it's kind of like YouTube!)
Vimeo (not everything is on here, most of this is created by people instead of just copies, so you might have a hard time finding scenes from movies, but give it a shot)
Daily Motion (like YouTube)

And of course, ask the other students. They might just know other good websites or ways to get things working.

Part C of your Close Reading Assessment

This is the crucial bit. This is what you have been studying for. BRING IT.

Comment on the film terminology and how it creates meaning: PART C OF TASK

Choose FOUR film techniques (look at the list, or also choose a different one from your film terminology sheet): LOOK AT THE EXEMPLARS. ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS ABOUT EACH ONE.

These are the sort of questions that you will be answering for EACH one—

1. Describe: What is the definition for the film term? Describe two examples IN DETAIL from the opening scene, including screen shots if possible. What meaning do these examples create? What do they show you about the film / characters?
2. Explain: Why are these examples effective in creating meaning? What position does this technique place the viewer in? How does it show you something about the film/ characters / larger ideas and purposes of the film?
3. Analyse: How do these examples create meaning? Bring in your own outside knowledge or apply it to this film/ scene. Make assumptions about the film maker’s purpose for using elements in combination (e.g. to shape the viewers’ emotional response, to create atmosphere, to show character, to construct a story) and/or Make connections with way elements of media language have been used in the wider film and/or Make connections with the style of this director and/or Make connections with other films of this genre.

-----I might prompt you to add more information to your answer, like this:

Example: The student says “The director uses a close-up here to show the boy’s emotions…”

Teacher response:

• What is that emotion?
• Why is he showing that?
• How does the selection of the close-up work to do this?
• How does it relate to the previous emotional state?
• How is it relevant to the scene?
• How does this shot relate to the one before/after it?
• How does this effect work with other visual/aural elements?
• How is this feature used in other parts of the scene? Is it for the same purpose?

Choosing a film opening?

Are you having difficulty picking an opening? Remember that you are looking at around the first five minutes of a film-- the title sequence or maybe a bit of the first scene, depending on what you think is the most relevant and gives you the most information to analyse. You want an opening that has a strong, effective use of techniques (remember we studied these and even played pictionary with them) so you can achieve Excellence in your analysis. You want to pick a film that you enjoyed, because you will be spending a lot of time thinking about the director and their intentions, so it will be helpful if you are not already bored by it. Chances are, if you like it, there is something you can say about it. You cannot pick one that we discussed together in class (Dawn of the Dead, Catch Me If You Can, Napoleon Dynamite). You should definitely check out the Art of the Title website (http://www.artofthetitle.com/) if you haven't already. And if you're still stuck, here are some more sites with ideas about striking and thoughtful opening sequences:
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20186223,00.html 
http://theroxor.com/2009/03/14/10-awesome-opening-credits/
http://www.nerve.com/archived/blogs/the-twelve-greatest-opening-credits-in-movie-history-part-1
http://www.nerve.com/archived/blogs/the-twelve-greatest-opening-credits-in-movie-history-part-2
http://thefilmstage.com/2010/09/03/the-25-most-memorable-opening-scenes-in-film/2/


Switch that brain on and get thinking!

Stuck on thinking about openings?

 Here is an awesome website with a great collection of opening titles as well as some interviews with the directors/ designers and information! Have a look:


http://www.artofthetitle.com/

Set up your own blog!

Look, I did it. So it can't be that difficult.

1. nGo to www.blogger.com 
2.    Click on get started, and open an account 
3. You can use EITHER your school email (ID number@burnside.school.nz) or your own personal email as your mail account
4. Name your blog your ID number, or if that is taken, bhs-your ID number
5. Also use your ID number as your "name" on your blog so I can tell that it is you, but no one else can.
6. Make it look awesome.

  Play with the settings and complete your first blog post:

Your first blog post:

n1. Your thoughts on your opening scene: these can be tentative or assertive: include links and discuss what you might use for your assessment.

n2. Create an avatar for yourself. Here are some different sites:

http://www.squidoo.com/avatarmakers

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-create-cool-online-avatars-without-any-image-editing/
http://www.amctv.com/originals/madmen/madmenyourself/ 
http://www.squidoo.com/become-an-mm-simpsons-character

And I'm actually sure you can find a better one. There are Simpsons ones and South Park one, M&M ones and animal ones. 

Here's mine:

 

n