Final Class Meeting!

Hello, all.

This is it. The final class meeting of the semester. We meet tomorrow in B18 for a screening of "Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy Working With Time," a very inspiring documentary on Goldsworthy and his process. I love this film, and it changed how I thought about my work and life as an artist, particularly how failure (and patience!) should be considered a natural part of the creative process.

Tomorrow is a potluck, as well, so bring something yummy to eat or drink. We'll start the film right at 3, so we should be done by 4:30.

See everyone tomorrow.

Drift 3 Screenings, Course Evals, Drift Maps Due

Hello, all.

I can't believe we are now at the final week of instruction! We meet tomorrow in B91 for the last of our Drift 3 screenings. Attendance is mandatory, even if you've already screened your work.

We have also been asked by the Film Department to make sure that as many of you complete the course evaluations as possible, so, please, please, please, if you didn't fill out a course eval last week, show up tomorrow and help us out with that. It's really important.

Drift Maps are due tomorrow at 3 PM, so make sure you've documented all three of your Drifts.

On Wednesday in B91 we will have our final class meeting, a potluck and screening of Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy Working With Time. This should be a fun and relaxing way to end the semester, so think of something yummy to eat and share.

See you tomorrow.

Drift 3 Screenings, Round 2

Hello, all.

We meet tomorrow in B91 for the second round of final screenings. Attendance is mandatory, even for those whose videos were shown on Monday.

Tomorrow is also the deadline to turn in your production kits. Do so by 3 PM.

We'll see you all tomorrow.

Drift 3 Screenings, Production Kits due

Hello, all.

We meet tomorrow in MUS 180 for the first round of Drift 3 screenings. We will be selecting sound videos at random, so make sure your Drift 3 blogs are posted and finished by 3 PM. Attendance is mandatory.

Check the grading criteria for Drift 3 here:
http://www.glennbach.com/film_116/drift_3_grading_criteria.pdf

You must turn in your Production Kits by this Wednesday, April 30, 3 PM, to the Equipment Room. Please don't be late on this. You will be docked 10 points from your Participation grade for every day the kit is late. If the Equipment Room does not receive your kit by the end of the semester, you will receive a 0 on your Drift 3 grade, the Film Department will put a hold on your records, you will be billed for the cost of replacing the kit, and you will be forbidden from checking out equipment in the future.

Looking forward to screening your work!

Individual Critiques, Drift Maps

Hello, all.

We continue today with Individual Critiques. If you haven't signed up for an appointment with your Lab Instructor, do so right away. The sign-up sheets are on my door, B60. These sessions are critical for you to receive feedback on your work-in-progress before we begin officially screening your final sound videos on Monday, April 28th. Please check the Drift 3 grading criteria to make sure you are hitting all the necessary marks.
http://www.glennbach.com/film_116/drift_3_grading_criteria.pdf

A reminder that the Drift Maps are a graded feature of this course (50 points), and that your GoogleMap must include documentation of all three of your Drifts. I've been going through the Drift Maps throughout the semester, and I thought I'd point out some things to look for when fine-tuning your Drift Maps:

Jonathan L. and Dave M. color coded their Drifts.
http://tinyurl.com/yvk3q2
http://tinyurl.com/32b2oy

Jordan S. included descriptive Drift experiences on various placemarks, and included links to the MP3s.
http://tinyurl.com/yssnbg

Justin T. used looser, thicker lines that look hand-drawn and give his Drift Map a lighter feel; his description of steps he had to take to faithfully execute his Drift Strategy made me think that I should remind you all not to risk your lives for your Drifts!
http://tinyurl.com/2ofhkd

Andy S. included his Drift Strategy in the placemark description for his Starting Point.
http://tinyurl.com/yqpbxc

William O. and Michael C. both inscribed shapes on the map according to their Drift Strategies (although I wish Michael had chosen larger areas to explore!).
http://tinyurl.com/yupdw6
http://tinyurl.com/2ubr9s

The Drift Maps are due Monday, May 5, so you still have some time to fill in some blanks. You can review the Drift Map grading criteria here:
http://www.glennbach.com/film_116/drift_map_criteria.pdf

Okay, we'll hopefully see you soon.

Final Drift 3 Help Session

Hello, all.

Tomorrow is the final Open Lab Help Session for Drift 3. Here is the schedule:

B-18, Steve, Lilly, and David
B-56, Seth, Julie, Alex, Glenn

We will be available to help you troubleshoot technical issues or to give you feedback on your work in progress.

Individual Critiques begin on Wednesday, April 16, and the sign-up sheets are on my office door, B60. Sign up by 3 PM on the 16th (first-come, first-served).

Best of luck with your editing, and we'll see you tomorrow.

Foundations Exhibition Participating Artists

Hello, all.

The FILM 116 instructors have made their selections for artists to represent the Film Department in the Foundations Exhibition, April 11-18, 2008, Union Art Gallery (reception April 11, 5-8 PM). While there were many worthy videos to consider, we had to make some tough choices to fit the work into a manageable program.

The list of participating artists:

Bryan Cera
Shane Connolly
Corey Finnigan
Eric Fritz
Joe Gilliland-Lloyd
Quinn Hester
Desten Johnson
Sam Karow
Colleen Kwok
Elly Liebsch
Christopher Mainland
Derrick Markowski
David Ortiz
Andrew Page
Lydell Peterson
Eddie Roberts
Emily Sherman
Brandi Stone
Meg Strobel
James Stukenberg

Congratulations to those selected (a list of specific works selected is posted on my office door, B60). We hope to see some of you at the reception.

Individual Critiques: Sign Up Sheets

Hello, all.

The Individual Critiques are scheduled for April 16, 21, and 23. The sign-up sheets are posted on my office door (B60), and slots are first-come first-served. You must see your Lab Instructor on one of these days at one of the designated times; any alternative arrangement must be made with your Lab Instructor.

Remember that we are having open lab help sessions today and Monday, April 14.

Open Lab Help Sessions, Wednesday, April 9

Hello, all.

The Reflective Responses are trickling in, and I hope to see more come through tomorrow before 3 PM.
http://tinyurl.com/3oomz5

Tomorrow is the first of two open lab help sessions for Drift 3, so we'd love to see you all there for help with troubleshooting or to get some feedback on your work in progress. Here is the schedule:

B-18: Steve, Lilly, and David
B-56: Seth, Julie, and Alex
B-65: Glenn

See you tomorrow.

Research Screenings, April 7, B91

Hello, all.

I hope that you all had a great Spring weekend, and that your Drift 3 walks were productive.

We meet tomorrow, Monday, April 7, in B91 for a series of screenings we hope will further illuminate some of the image and sound strategies we have been discussing in class.

The Reflective Response #4 (Screenings) is due Wednesday, April 9, 3 PM.
http://tinyurl.com/3oomz5

See you all tomorrow.

Reflective Response #4 (Screenings)

Pick one of the following films that we've seen in class:

Baillie, Bruce. Castro Street.
Baillie, Bruce. Valentin de la Sierras.
Brakhage, Stan. Cat's Cradle.
Bush, Paul. Incidents from the Life of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Clarke, Shirley. Bridges-Go-Round.
Connor, Bruce. Breakaway.
Gerhard Holthuis. HKG.
Jennings, Jim. Close Quarters.
King, Joe and Rose Pedlow. Sea Change.
Marcellvs L. Man.Road.River.
Menken, Marie. Glimpse of the Garden.
Pierce, Leighton. Pink Socks.
Richardson, Emily. Aspect.
Riedelsheimer, Thomas. Touch The Sound: A Sound Journey with Evelyn Glennie
Smith, John. Worst Case Scenario.

Write a three-paragraph statement answering the following three questions (one paragraph per question), as a comment to this post:

Please state your name (First and Last)

1. Identify the film you have selected and why you chose it.

2. What are the some of the key characteristics, images, scenes, transitions, events, edits, ideas, connections, etc., in this film?

3. How has this film inspired you (or frustrated you) in your practice as a media artist?

The deadline is Wednesday, April 9, 3 PM.

Environmental Short Film Festival

Environmental Short Film Festival

In conjunction with the Share the Earth Environmental Film Series and Earth Week 2008, the Union Theatre invites UWM film students to submit shorts (under 40 minutes) related to the environment. Films may be narrative, documentary, experimental, or animation. Awards ($150, $100, $75) will be given for Best Student Environmental Short, Second Place and Third Place, will be juried, and based on a combination of or strength in the following areas: outstanding topics, entertainment value, technical merit, inspirational or spiritual impact, superior filmmaking and/or artistic expression. Films will be screened in the Union Theatre at an environmental shorts program on Thursday, April 24 at 7pm, during Earth Week 2008. Winners will be announced at that event.

Entries can be dropped off at the 3rd floor, UWM Union, Room 321 or call 229-3111 for more information.

Foundations Exhibition

Hello, all.

This year, Film majors (and potential Film majors) are eligible to participate in the Visual Arts Foundations Exhibition, opening Friday, April 11, 5-8 PM, Student Union Art Gallery. As students enrolled in FILM 116, you are automatically eligible to have work submitted for consideration. You don't have to apply . . . the FILM 116 instructors will jury the work to be included in the show and compile the selected clips onto a DVD that will loop on a monitor in the gallery.

We will review your Drift blogs (primarily Drift 2 silent videos, although we may include some field recordings from Drift 1) and download the selected work from your PantherFile accounts, so make sure your clips are up to date.

I will announce the results of the jury selection sometime next week.

Image/Sound Lecture, Wednesday, April 2, B91

Hello, all.

We could not get the VCR to work in MUS 180, so we will meet tomorrow in B91 instead. Lilly will demo and lecture on various image/sound relationships to consider when you are editing your Drift 3 sound videos, and she will also show examples of interesting image/sound solutions. This is a key lecture, and not one to be missed.

Also, it looks as if we may (finally!) have some spring-like weather this weekend, so it's a good idea to get out on your Drift 3 walks sooner rather than later. You never know if/when a glitch or two will pop up, so it's better to have plenty of material early in the game than to scramble at the last minute.

See you all tomorrow.

Drift 2 Critique, Wednesday, March 26

Hello, all.

We meet tomorrow, Wednesday, March 26, for the second round of Drift 2 Critique Sessions, this time looking at your final silent videos. Again, attendance is mandatory.

We had quite a number of blogs that weren't posted on Monday, so I hope that more will be up and running now that Spring Break is a distant memory. For those who were able to show work Monday, hopefully you will have had an opportunity to follow up on some of the constructive criticism and suggestions you received. The same goes for any feedback you will get tomorrow.

Here is the schedule again:

Lab 1, B-91, David Witzling
Lab 2, B-65, Seth Warren-Crow
Lab 3, B-61, Steve Wetzel
Lab 4, B-68, Julie Murray
Lab 5, B-18, Lilly Czarnecki

Please note that we won't start grading Drift 2 until Friday, March 28, at 5 PM. After that, the Late Policy will go into effect.

We'll see you all tomorrow.

Mandatory Drift 2 Crit, Monday, March 24

Hello, all.

I hope that you had a great Spring Break and that you're all rested for a return to your studies.

We meet tomorrow, Monday, March 24, in the Lab Sections for MANDATORY critique sessions. We will be going over the five rough-cut sketches on your Drift 2 blog (as well as any finished silent videos if there is extra time), so make sure your Drift 2 blog is up and running by 3 PM tomorrow. Make sure your blog is fully public by going to a different computer and accessing your blog (without being signed in to PantherFile or Blogger). This is one surefire method of ensuring that others can see your materials online, not just you.

Crit Schedule (attendance will be taken):
Lab 1, B-91, David Witzling
Lab 2, B-65, Seth Warren-Crow
Lab 3, B-61, Steve Wetzel
Lab 4, B-68, Julie Murray
Lab 5, B-18, Lilly Czarnecki


Remember that you are using the following format for your Drift 2 blogs: firstlast0811602. The Directory has been updated, so you can check your URL (as well as check that I got your URL correct):
http://www.glennbach.com/film_116/08116_directory.html

The final deadline for Drift 2 is Friday, March 28, 5 PM.

A reminder to use [08116] in the subject line of your e-mails, and to CC your lab instructor when sending me a note.

Also, please check the Technical Forum as a first step in troubleshooting any hardware/software issues you may be having:
http://www.freeforum101.com/forum/index.php?mforum=06116filmforum

Please note that the Late Policy (25 points per day after the deadline) only applies to Drifts 1, 2, and 3. The Late Policy does not apply to the Reflective Responses, so if you haven't completed one or more of the Reflective Responses so far (Mapping, Sound, or Image), please get those done and posted. (You won't be penalized as part of the Late Policy, but you will be docked a few points on your Participation Grade for not meeting the original deadline.)

We'll see you tomorrow.

Help Session Wednesday, March 12

Hello, all.

We will have another open lab help session tomorrow, Wednesday, March 12. Here is the schedule:

B-18: Steve, Lilly, and David
B-56: Seth, Julie, and Alex
B-65: Glenn (bring your laptops, or we will look at your work online)

Also, tomorrow afternoon at 3 is the deadline to post your third Reflective Response (image).

Hopefully we'll see you tomorrow.

Open Lab Help Sessions, Monday, March 10

Hello, all.

Monday, March 10, is dedicated to open lab Help Sessions, and all of the instructors will be available to help troubleshoot your video issues. We will also be glad to look at your clips (or raw footage) and give you feedback on what you have so far. Bring your laptop or have your work backed up on CD-R or an external drive. If you are looking for feedback, it would help if your rough clips are posted on your blog.

Here is the schedule:

B18: Steve, Lilly, and David
B56: Seth, Julie, and Alex
B65: Glenn (bring your laptops, or we will look at your work online)

Please note that the deadline for the third Reflective Response (image) is this Wednesday, March 12, at 3 PM. Make sure to keep up with your readings: Bachman, GreenCine, MacDonald, Miller, Sontag, Trachtenberg. (Please note that the article, "What is Alternative Cinema," does not count as a possibility for this Reflective Response.)
http://film-116.blogspot.com/2008/03/reflective-response-3-image.html
http://www.glennbach.com/film_116/08116_research.html

Also note that I have changed my office hours to MW 1-2 PM.

We'll see you tomorrow.

More Quicktime Pro demos for Wednesday, March 5

Hello, all.

We meet this afternoon in B91 for some more Quicktime Pro demos. We will cover making movies from still clips, resizing clips, and adjusting parameters such as hue, contrast, color balance, etc. Alex Torinus will also screen a few films and talk a little bit more about editing techniques and approaches.

See you all this afternoon.

Reflective Response #3 (Image)

Read the following articles on image: Bachman, GreenCine, MacDonald, Miller, Sontag, Trachtenberg (please note that the article, "What is Alternative Cinema," does not count as a possibility for your Reflective Response)�. Links to the articles here.

Pick one, and write a three-paragraph statement answering the following three questions (one paragraph per question), as a comment to this post (please state your full name, since some of your Google identities are a bit vague).

1. Identify the article you have selected and why you chose it.

2. What are the main points of the essay?

3. How are the ideas or arguments in this article relevant to your own practice as a media artist?

The deadline is Wednesday, March 12, 3 PM.