Introduction to the Moving Image

MES 140!!!

WELCOME TO INTRODUCTION TO THE MOVING IMAGE 

About This Class

My goal is to support every one of you as you learn the main objectives associated with this class.  We all have different ways of learning and demonstrating our understanding. I have tried to offer different ways for you to learn the material and demonstrate that learning.  While copying someone else’s work is not acceptable, I do encourage you to help and support one another. I would like to see you all succeed.  So, helping another student understand a concept will benefit you both.

If you haven’t watched this yet, it may help navigating the course.

INTRO VIDEO THE MAIN DIFFERENCE IS THAT NOW YOU POST YOUR INDIVIDUAL SUMMARY TO THE GROUP DISCUSSION BOARD (FOR WEEK 1, SUMMARY 1 DISCUSSION BOARD, AND SO ON… RATHER THAN THE BLOG. OTHERWISE ITS THE UP TO DATE)

The one inexcusable choice is the choice to put off the work.  I’m sure some of you will — and you may have very honorable and valid reasons.  However, if you can’t do the work in a timely manner, you let down the entire class.

First, make sure you are able to get online regularly and get to blackboard.  There are some things in blackboard that don’t work well on a phone. You can do much of the work for this class on your phone, but not all of it.  I have uploaded all of the videos and all of the video lectures to a google drive so that you can download them and watch them on your phone. If you don’t have the VLC Media player (free on iOS, Android, and Windows), consider downloading it.  If you don’t have a computer at home, you will need some access to one. There are tons of free computers at the many BMCC labs. There are also libraries throughout the city.  UPDATE Contact BMCC to see if there is opportunity to borrow electronics — Student Affairs and the Media Arts and Technology Department.

Each week there will be some reading, a film to watch in its entirety, and some activities. You will have a group activity each week. What does all this mean?

You are expected to work on a weekly basis. Online means whenever you want 2am 9am 4pm 10pm etc… Your choice.  But it must be regularly.  It does not mean, “oh online, i can do all the work in the two weeks i have free in early November!  If you cannot or do not want to work on a weekly basis, please drop this class and come back and take it when you can devote the time, you are always welcome  🙂

NOTE: be sure you read the expectations for this class found below and acknowledge that you understand the norms and expectations for this class in your discussion board post.

The expectation from BMCC for this class is that there are 3 hours of class per week.  BMCC guidelines are that you are expected to do a minimum of an equal amount of time outside of class — so that means 3 hours of class time plus three hours of outside work. As this is online, that means you are expected to devote no less than six hours per week reading, watching lectures, watching films and clips, completing activities, doing assignments, etc.

Also BMCC requires that you complete an online orientation  link is on blackboard (go  to this class’s blackboard page and you will see the link on the left hand menu). When you complete this,  you will receive a certificate. Post the info from that certificate as part of your Introductory Post.  This acts as your attendance verification since we will not be regularly meeting in person.

To follow the class, I suggest using

Class Overview (This is currently being updated so for now stick with the Assignments page on blackboard – it lists all items for each unit and contains links to get to any activities that need to be turned in. 

For exact dates for any assignment, please check blackboard — either ‘my grades’ or the calendar link — titled helpfully “calendar with due dates” (both on the left side).

All class materials can be found in a google folder, so that if you are having trouble with blackboard, or this site, you can still keep up.

The Google folder that has it all

EXPECTATIONS:

Reading — There will be weekly reading assignments. This is a Zero Textbook Cost class. The required readings are excerpts or short pieces that are collected on the google drive and accessible there or through the website

If you would like more there is a recommended reading: Film Studies, An Introduction by Ed Sikov.  All students have access to the eBook version free of charge through the BMCC library.

Lecture/Clipature– This includes a series of film clips (verbally annotated) and some mini lectures available for your viewing.  They should work on almost any Android, Apple or Windows device. For live class (and online optional)  attend class.

Films –Each week there will be a film or two that you are expected to watch in its entirety.  Sometimes there will be a required film, sometimes you will have a choice of several films.  On the weeks with a choice, you must watch at least one completely. A few times you will be expected to watch more than one. All foreign films have subtitles. If you are not seeing the subtitles, make sure you are watching on the VLC player and turn subtitles on (subtitles tend not to work on Windows default viewer)

Activities – Each week there will be one or more activities for you to complete.  It is imperative that these be completed in a timely manner. The opportunity to complete them will end the following week.  As life can throw us all some curveballs you will each have one opportunity to complete an activity after the due date.  Unfortunately, many of these activities are group work. If you don’t contribute to the group on time, there is no recourse, as the group has to submit after collaborating. Contributing after the fact doesn’t help the group. So in those cases DO NOT WAIT TIL THE LAST MINUTE TO CONTRIBUTE.

New for this semester there will be mandatory check ins with the professor (me). I will set up zooms. You do not have to attend the zoom, but if you do not, you will schedule a phone call with me at our mutual convenience.

These activities include:

  • Summaries –These will be weekly summaries.
  • Quizzes — there will be weekly quizzes covering previously discussed material.  The final pivots off the material covered on the weekly quiz questions. My goal is to make it very clear what the expectations are for each student in this class.  Hence, no trick questions or final surprises. The quiz questions focus on the essential information for the class. Please not the quizzes are pass/fail. If you take the quiz you get credit and if you do not, you don’t. You should use the quizzes to see whether you are absorbing the key ideas of the class. If you get a question wrong, review your notes and summary to find the right answer. You can also contact the SI. (The quizzes also help me, if I see that no one got a question right, then I need to go back and revisit how I taught that idea. In this way the quizzes give you and me valuable feedback). But doing poorly on a quiz won’t affect your grade. If you don’t do anything about it, it does mean you will struggle on the final.
  • Group Projects – you will all be assigned to a group where you will complete group assignments. This will include weekly summaries and…
    • Clap and Stomp
    • Kuleshov Experiment
  • Individual assignments
    • Introductory Post
    • Background Writing Assignment
    • Scene Analysis multistep project
    • Perhaps other assignments TBA
  • Final Exam– a collection of questions that pivot off the quiz questions — they will expect you to understand the concepts from the quiz and use that information in a meaningful way to develop further ideas.
  • Extra Credit — there will be various extra credit assignments throughout the semester.

Groups –  Blackboard will assign you to a group.  You all will work on weekly summaries and other assignments. Those assignments will ask you to post your response then discuss with your group and come up with a team response..  You access your group on the left hand menu of this class’s blackboard page, the link named ‘Group”. When you post your individual work, it must be in time for your classmates to read react and incorporate it. Last second posts do not cut it here.

*A note about the summaries. You are all required to do them. Work together, help one another but do your own work.

Extra Credit – Hear me Now and Believe me later — EXTRA credit is just that extra. It is in addition to your work, not instead of work that you did not complete.

Online element – A note about Blackboard.  Blackboard, like any platform, has its bugs.  At some point in the class it will let you down.  Stay strong, don’t get frustrated, and keep moving.  If you are writing anything of any length, I would recommend writing it in microsoft word, google sheets, or as an email draft, and then copy and paste it into blackboard.  This gets a little into the weeds, but if you are posting an assignment it should be an attached word or PDF and if you are posting to a discussion board you should paste your writing in (not use an attachment).That way if there is a problem, you have a backup copy. If you have a problem with Blackboard, you will have my sympathy (I certainly have had mine), but it will not be an excuse for missed work.

If you have questions about the class, you are probably NOT alone.  Feel free to post and ask. It’s always better to ask than to guess.

There will also be surveys along the way to find out from you what is working and what could use some adjustment in this online version of class.   The surveys are anonymous.

Professor response and support  – I will respond to questions and posts within 48 hours on weekdays and 72 hours on weekends.  You can email as well.

Please note if have problems with Blackboard or logging on, check out BMCC student  tech support or contact the elearning center

Please Know – Any student who faces challenges securing their food or housing or is feeling emotionally overwhelmed is urged to contact student affairs, room S350 or call 212 220 8130.

Finally – You MUST acknowledge that you read and understand the expectations and requirements of this class (as described above and summarized below) by stating “I understand the expectations and requirements of the class” in your first discussion board post.

What you will produce –

  • Weekly
    • Individual Summary (if you are unsure what should go in the summary refer back to the objectives. )
    • Group Summary
    • Other activity (some weeks)
    • Quiz
  • One time
    • Project
    • Final

Let’s Get Started with how to proceed  for the first week

Unit One.

  • Watch and complete the 1 hour Elearning class on Online Courses.  You will get a certificate when you finish. Save this as you will submit the info as part of your introductory post. (Link to this on left side of blackboard landing page for this class)
  • Watch the Introductory Video on how to navigate this particular class (the video near the top of this page)
  • Complete the introductory post on the open lab.  (be sure to answer the ‘why’ part)
  • Watch the Mise En Scene Lecture. You can follow along with the notes.
  • Watch the Casablanca Lecture
  • Watch Casablanca (1942) – the film
  • Extra Credit Watch Nickelodeon (1976) – the film
  • Read the week 1 reading
  • Complete the summary questions individually
  • Work with your group to create a final group summary
  • Take the first quiz (if necessary review the lectures or the notes) — use your groups summary to help you!

Unit 2

  • Watch the several lecture clips  They are all relatively short watch them all 🙂
  • Watch The Great Train Robbery & A Trip to the Moon & Max Linder compilation
  • Watch The Lonedale Operator (15 min)
  • Watch one of the two Chaplin films (~30 min), The Vagabond or The Immigrant (or choose your own) or one of the two Buster Keaton films (~50 min), Sherlock Jr. or One Week
  • Extra Credit Watch Nanook of the North (~70 min) or Within Our Gates or a bit of Birth of a Nation
  • Read second session reading

  • Summarize week 2 individually
  • Work with your group to create a final group summary
  • Take the second quiz

From here on, I hope you see the pattern.

  • Watch the lecture (s)
  • Watch the film(s)
  • Do the reading
  • Complete the activities *always a summary, always a quiz, and sometimes something else. The something else is often a two part assignment. You post to your group THEN you work with your group to create a final submission

The expectations for class can be summarized as follows:

  • You will work every week towards completing this class
  • You will watch the required films each week
  • You will watch the required lectures each week
  • You will complete the reading each week
  • You will communicate with your group on a regular basis each week
  • You will submit your individual work in a timeframe that allows your group members to give you feedback and discuss the work.
  • You will give your fellow group members feedback
  • You will complete individual assignments 
  • You will ask questions if you are confused or unsure regarding course content or process AND attend zoom section if you fall behind.
  • Extra credit means in addition to not instead of
  • You will enjoy at least a few of the movies!
  • You understand the basic structure of evaluation for class:
    • Complete all of the assignments (Weekly Summaries, Writing Assignments, and Semester Project) C
    • Complete all the assignments with gusto and skill B (and at least one extra credit assignment)
    • Complete all the assignments with gusto and skill and complete at least 2 extra credit assignments with gusto and skill A 
    • Do not complete all assignments D
    • Complete few assignments and poorly F

I COUNT THIS AS 12 KEY EXPECTATIONS… PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ ALL 12 (BY INCLUDING THE NUMBER) IN YOUR STATEMENT ON YOUR INTRODUCTORY POST.

INTORDUCTORY POST HERE

Good Luck, PSS — You are welcome to email me at ssloves@bmcc.cuny.edu