Video Essay Assignment
Part I: You will edit a film clip/clips to reflect one of four styles of films covered in class thus far: Soviet Montage, French Surrealism/Impressionism, or Found Footage films. Your clip should be approximately a minute long (give or take 15 seconds) and adhere to the major tenets, characteristics, and aesthetics of said movement through particular editing choices. It would be advisable to take notes throughout this process as your reasons for certain editorial decisions will inform the written reflection part of the assignment.
Part II: In a two to three page narrative, explain how your editing choices reflect the film style of the movement you are representing. Furthermore, define what message you are trying to convey through the edits made. How is the dissolve technique in keeping with the style of Surrealism, for example? How does it convey the interiority of the mind? Why is this significant in terms of what you are trying to espouse through the imagery? Finally, what did you ultimately walk away with from doing such a project? Do you find that you now have a greater appreciation for a given film style? For the process of editing? Why or why not? You may use informal language to complete this assignment as it is a reflection of your thought processes and your engagement with various film aesthetics.
Disclaimer: You are not required to research for this assignment. Instead, you should perform a close reading of your work to qualify it as being of a certain film style/movement. If, however, you wish to make claims about, say, Soviet Montage, that have not been discussed in class or that require further clarification through an outside source, please cite them accordingly via MLA format. You will also need to create a “Works Cited” page at the end of your paper as well if incorporating outside sources. For further guidance on what MLA format entails, see the following website:https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/ (Links to an external site.) . Your paper should also include a title, your name, the course heading and instructor’s name at the top – no title page necessary. No space between these items either.
This assignment is due on Friday, November 16th . Please upload your paper to ELMs. I will ask that you post your videos to the discussion board called “Video Essay Assignment” so that all of your peers can appreciate and engage with your work. This assignment will be out of a total of 100 points, where each half of the assignment is worth 50 points. For each day the assignment is late, you will be docked a half-letter grade. Please check for spelling and grammar errors prior to posting. Not that these elements are the main focus of the assignment, but you will lose points for sloppy writing. Also make sure to use the terminology we have worked with this semester, and do so appropriately.
***If you have any questions, feel free to either email me at lalbrigh@umd.edu or visit me during office hours / by appointment. If you have concerns about your writing do not hesitate to make an appointment with the writing center in Tawes Hall. They are trained to help you at any point in the writing process.***