Thursday, June 3, 2010

Screenplay Due! & Final Exam

Complete your screenplay today. Use the lab time effectively to finish your work. Those of you who finish are more than welcome to "shoot" your film using your script, if you'd like. Of course, you will need access to film recording devices and cameras. Students who complete a FILM by June 18 will receive lots of extra credit for this marking period.

Next week, we will complete the 2-parts of our final exam. The portfolio and the content test. Please prepare and study the following film vocabulary & writing tips, Poetry/fiction/playwriting terms for your final exam (this will count as 25% of your grade, so please study):

Camera shot types and angles: extreme close-up, close-up, medium shot (all types), full shot, long shot, extreme long shot, deep-focus shot, pan, tracking, Dolly Shot, Crane Shot, Zoom Shot; high/low, bird's eye, oblique angles.
Styles of film: realistic/formalistic
Film terms: Story, Plot, Narrative film, Diegesis, Diegetic sound, Nondiegetic sound, Frame, Shot, Sequence, Sound Track, Cutting (a.k.a. Editing), Invisible Cutting, Shot/Reverse Shot Technique, Montage, Synchronization, Framing, Distance, Establishing Shot (a.k.a. "Master Shot"), Perspective in film
Lighting: High Key & Low Key
Formatting a film script (see blog posts)
Screenwriting tips (see blog posts)

In addition you should know the areas we studied this year: fiction, poetry, and playwriting key terms:

The writing process: brainstorming, composing the first draft, revision (composing 2nd and subsequent drafts), editing & polishing, publication. (pg. 3-20, blog)
Types of short stories (blog), The hook (pg. 203 & blog), In media res (pg. & blog), White space (pg. 164), Ways to open a story (blog), Ways to end a story (blog), Point of View (POV) 1st person, 2nd person, 3rd person limited, 3rd person omniscient (blog), Character (blog), Characterization (pg. 156 & blog), Honest & Dishonest voice/reliable or unreliable, narrator/speaker (pg. 154 & blog), Setting (pg. 177, blog), Locale (blog), Symbols (pg. 243), Regional writer (blog), Flash forward/Flashback (pg. 234, blog), Stream of consciousness (blog) , Protagonist (blog)/Antagonist (blog)/Foil (blog), Minor, flat, stereotypical characters (blog), Dynamic, round characters (blog), Tone (pg. 216, blog), Mood (blog), Theme (pg. 270, blog), Tense (pg. 233), Conflict (pg. 231, 255, blog), Creating suspense in stories (pg. 205, blog), Dialogue (pg. 156-157, & blog), Dialogue tags: speaker, thought, action tags (pg. 158, blog), Repetition (pg. 168, pg. 189, 258, blog), Show don't tell (pg. 179), Plot (pg. 180, 189, blog entries), Plot elements: exposition, rising action, crisis, climax, denouement, resolution, etc., Short history of Drama (pg. 285), Elements of drama: character, action, conflict, language, theme (pg. 296), play script format (blog).
Poetry: free verse, line length, figurative language, imagery: metaphor, simile, personification, symbol, personification, allusion, internal monologue, found poetry, closed form: villanelle, pantoum, triolet

I suggest you look at your mid-term and review tests and notes, review the Craft of Writing text, review this blog and STUDY. Don't worry too much about terms and concepts you already know, but focus on those you don't know or understand. And, of course, ask.

Final EXAM schedule for Craft of Writing: NOTE DEADLINES & DATES!

Friday, June 4: Coffeehouse @ 7:00, Ensemble Theatre (students attending and reading will gain extra credit for this marking period!)

Monday, June 7: Study, prepare portfolio.

Wednesday, June 9: Term & Concept Test (see the explanation above to review for these)

Friday, June 11: Portfolio due! Students absent from Wednesday's test will have to take their written test on this date. The written test will likely take you about 60 minutes at least to complete. If you are absent on Wednesday, I suggest you come to class on Friday with your portfolio COMPLETED to reduce stress.

Monday, June 14: Late portfolios due. Completed but late portfolios will have a maximum grade of C+ (no B/A). Content and craft, of course, will determine the exact grade. No portfolios will be accepted after this date.

Friday, June 18: Extra Credit film projects due.

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About this course!

This course stresses understanding the characteristics & techniques in the literary genres of fiction, poetry, and dramatic writing. This course will continue to build on students’ reading and writing skills begun in previous creative writing classes. Readings and discussions of works by major writers in the field will be examined as inspiration and models of fine writing. This educational blog is designed for the use of the students at the School of the Arts in Rochester, NY.