DOCUMENTARY FILM PROJECT

After watching the film (Bowling for Columbine), work in groups of 5-6. The goal is to create a 6-8-minute documentary film focusing on a hot topic. Each group should select a hot topic that they feel impacts them on their campus or in their lives. These hot topics can come from the film, from their exercises leading up to the film or can be anything the students want to explore.

BRAINSTORMING

The groups should meet and discuss their hot topic. They should break down the topic and ask each member of the group to be responsible for some research surrounding their topic that they can bring to class the next day. They should decide on a DRIVING QUESTION for their project, and this will guide the outcome of their film. For example, if the students are looking at the issue of drugs on campus, they might decide that the overall question they want to answer is “Why do some students refuse the offer of drugs whereas other students go as far as to carry drug use to school?” They need to decide on this driving question before they start interviewing and build smaller mini-questions related to it to guide their inquiry. (Mini-questions are 4-5 offshoots, more specific questions that help define the driving question.)

INTERVIEWING
Each group should create a list of 6-8 possible people to interview for their documentary and create a list of questions to ask these people. In the final film, they should include at least five interviews with a diverse interviewing group (i.e., don’t just interview other students, but have students, teachers, community members, the principal, etc.)

STORYBOARDING
Each group should make some fingernail sketches of what they want the specific sections of their film to look like, but place each desired scene on a separate sheet of paper, so that they can decide later where they want the scenes to fall in their film. They will have a better understanding of the order in which they want their scenes the closer they get to filming.
Documentary Film Project

SCRIPTWRITING (TREATMENT/OUTLINE)
Students should first write an outline (the Treatment) of each interview. Next the student should write the text (voice-over that will surround each of their interviews as well as the lead-in to the film (like Michael Moore’s first voice-over) and a closing voice-over at the end of the film. The script will be a breathing thing as they move along in the process. They will add to it with each interview they decide to use.

FILMING
(If filming is not available, the students can act their scripts out live using actors to fill in for the people they interviewed; in this case, a script based on the actual interviews is essential.) Unless they have good editing programs to work with at home or at school, the students should film in order as much as possible.

Choice Theory

The term choice theory is the work of Dr. William Glasser, MD, author of the book so named, and is the culmination of some 50 years of theory and practice in psychology and counseling. Choice theory is also a discipline of analyzing the mathematical nature of the choice behavior of economic agents in microeconomics. For choice theory in economics, see rational choice theory.
Choice Theory posits that behavior is central to our existence and is driven by five genetically driven needs, similar to those of Maslow:
Survival (food, clothing, shelter, breathing, personal safety and others)
and four fundamental psychological needs:
Belonging/connecting/love
Power / significance
Freedom / responsibility, and
Fun / learning

Choice Theory posits the existence of a "Quality World" in which, starting at birth and continuing throughout our lives, we place those things that we highly value: primarily the people who are important to us, things we prize, and systems of belief, i.e. religion, cultural values and icons, etc. Glasser also posits a "Comparing Place" in which we compare the world we experience with our Quality World. We behave to achieve as best we can a real world experience consonant with our Quality World.

Behavior ("Total Behavior" in Glasser's terms) is made up of these four components: acting, thinking, feeling and physiology. Glasser suggests that we have considerable control or choice over the first two of these, and little ability to directly choose the latter two. As these four components are closely intertwined, the choices we make in our thinking and acting greatly affect our feeling and physiology.

The source of much unhappiness are the failing or failed relationships with those who are important to us: spouses, parents, children, friends & colleagues. The symptoms of unhappiness are widely variable and are often seen as mental illness. Glasser believes that "pleasure" and "happiness" are related but are far from synonymous. Sex, for example, is a "pleasure" but may well be divorced from a "satisfactory relationship" which is a precondition for lasting "happiness" in life. Hence the intense focus on the improvement of relationships in counselling with Choice Theory-- the "new Reality Therapy".

Choice Theory posits that most mental illness is, in fact, an expression of unhappiness and that we are able to learn how to choose alternate behaviors that will result in greater satisfaction. Reality Therapy is the counseling process focused on helping clients to learn to make those choices.

The Ten Axioms of Choice Theory
1. The only person whose behavior we can control is our own.
2. All we can give another person is information.
3. All long-lasting psychological problems are relationship problems.
4. The problem relationship is always part of our present life.
5. What happened in the past has everything to do with what we are today, but we can only satisfy our basic needs right now and plan to continue satisfying them in the future.
6. We can only satisfy our needs by satisfying the pictures in our Quality World.
7. All we do is behave.
8. All behavior is Total Behavior and is made up of four components: acting, thinking, feeling and physiology
9. All Total Behavior is chosen, but we only have direct control over the acting and thinking components. We can only control our feeling and physiology indirectly through how we choose to act and think.
10. All Total Behavior is designated by verbs and named by the part that is the most recognizable


Group Assignment 1:

A) In group of 3 - 4, have students discuss possible definitions for basic needs.

1) Belonging
2) Power
3) Freedom
4) Fun
5) Survival

B) Discuss as a class each group's definition and develop a definition for each need.

C) Review the list of people the class stereotyped the day before and discuss which needs each person is possibly living without.

D) (On your own) Evaluate and write a summary of how each need is satisfied in your own personal life. Be conscious of how you can identify these areas in your behaviour.

Tolerance and Stereotypes Assignment

Assign each a race or nationality:

Chemistry professor__________________
Rap musician__________________
Gang member__________________
Bank president__________________
Hair stylist__________________
Religious fundamentalist__________________
Goth musician__________________
Militia member__________________

-include the following info:
-type of clothing
-how they talk
-where they live
-and what they value most in life

Please complete the following questions:

1) Why is it easy to think in terms of stereotypes?
2) What kind of harm does stereotyping make to an entire group of people?


Stereotypes: A generalized assumption about a whole group of people based on inadequate or oversimplified facts.

Bowling for Columbine

The film explores what Moore suggests are the causes for the Columbine High School massacre and other acts of violence with guns. Moore focuses on the background and environment in which the massacre took place, and some common public opinions and assumptions about related issues. The film looks into the nature of violence in the United States, focusing on guns as a symbol of both American freedom and its self-destruction.

In Moore's discussions with various people, including South Park co-creator Matt Stone, the National Rifle Association's then-president Charlton Heston, and musician Marilyn Manson, he seeks to explain why the Columbine massacre occurred and why the United States has a higher number of violent crimes, especially crimes involving guns and charges that the occurrence of violent crimes in the US is relatively higher than other developed nations.

Weapons of mass destruction
Early in the movie Moore links the violent behavior of the Columbine shooters to the presence in Littleton of a large defense establishment, manufacturing rocket technology. It is implied that the presence of this facility within the community, and the acceptance of institutionalized violence as a solution to conflict - be it real, implied or potential - contributed to the mindset that led to the massacre.

Moore conducts an interview with Evan McCollum, Director of Communications at a Lockheed Martin plant near Columbine, and asked him
"So you don't think our kids say to themselves, 'Dad goes off to the factory every day, he builds missiles of mass destruction. What's the difference between that mass destruction and the mass destruction over at Columbine High School?'"
McCollum responded:

"I guess I don't see that specific connection because the missiles that you're talking about were built and designed to defend us from somebody else who would be aggressors against us."

"What a Wonderful World"
The movie then cuts to a montage of American foreign policy decisions, with the intent to contradict McCollum's statement, and cite examples of how the United States has, in Moore's view, frequently been the aggressor nation (set to the song "What a Wonderful World" performed by Louis Armstrong).

The following is an exact transcript of the onscreen text in the Wonderful World segment:
1953: U.S. overthrows Prime Minister Mohammed Mosaddeq of Iran. U.S. installs Shah as dictator.
1954: U.S. overthrows democratically-elected President Arbenz of Guatemala. 200,000 civilians killed.
1963: U.S. backs assassination of South Vietnamese President Diem.
1963-1975: American military kills 4 million people in Southeast Asia.
September 11, 1973: U.S. stages coup in Chile. Democratically-elected President Salvador Allende assassinated. Dictator Augusto Pinochet installed. 5,000 Chileans murdered.
1977: U.S. backs military rulers of El Salvador. 70,000 Salvadorans and four American nuns killed.
1980s: U.S. trains Osama bin Laden and fellow terrorists to kill Soviets. CIA gives them $3 billion.
1981: Reagan administration trains and funds "contras." 30,000 Nicaraguans die.
1982: U.S. provides billions of dollars in aid to Saddam Hussein for weapons to kill Iranians.
1983: The White House secretly gives Iran weapons to kill Iraqis.
1989: CIA agent Manuel Noriega (also serving as President of Panama) disobeys orders from Washington. U.S. invades Panama and removes Noriega. 3,000 Panamanian civilian casualties.
1990: Iraq invades Kuwait with weapons from U.S.
1991: U.S. enters Iraq. Bush reinstates dictator of Kuwait.
1998: Clinton bombs "weapons factory" in Sudan. Factory turns out to be making aspirin.
1991 to present: American planes bomb Iraq on a weekly basis. U.N. estimates 500,000 Iraqi children die from bombing and sanctions.
2000-2001: U.S. gives Taliban-ruled Afghanistan $245 million in "aid."
Sept. 11, 2001: Osama bin Laden uses his expert CIA training to murder 3,000 people.

On the website accompanying the film, Moore provides additional background information.[4]

Mr. Padilla asks...

What one thing did you learn today?

9/11 Digital Collage

Today is Tuesday Sept 11, 2007 and your Photoshop Digital collage assignment is to create a memorial collage reflecting the events of 9/11. You can use any found images. Be creative! Make your collage reflective and personal.

Your blog writing reflection is on the topic of War. Is War justified? What does our Christian teachings tell us about War? Your written reflection should be 300 to 500 words in length. Please upload your collage to your blogger account.

9/11 resources

Digital Collage Assignment

Using Photoshop create a digital collage that best represent the following words:

1)Joy
2)Pain
3)Love

Your design should have the following characteristics:

-The digital collage fits on a 21.6cm X 27.9cm (8.5in X 11in.) page
-The collage has a theme or introduces a topic.
-The collage could have some text, and a least one photograph
-All of the collage design elements work well together and relate to a theme or topic
-The format is easy to read
-The cover conforms to all school policies regarding printed information

Safety on the Web Lesson

To insure a safe and positive learning environment for everyone make sure that Permission setting on you blogger site is set to Private "Only people I invite". Delete any blogs that have personal information or keep it in Private and not Public viewing. If you are unsure about content you come across please report it to Mr. Padilla immediately. Please report any violators to the following rules.

Please follow these Personal Safety and Privacy rules:

I will not give out any personal information online without my parents’ permission. This includes my name, phone number, address, e-mail, location of my school, my parents’ work address/telephone numbers, credit card number information, and my picture.

I will not arrange to meet a friend I have made on the Internet unless one of my parents has been informed and will be present.

I will not send any annoying messages to anyone.

I will not post or send insulting or rude messages or threats to anyone online.

I will always use a pretend name or nickname that doesn’t reveal anything about me.

I will not respond to any message that makes me uncomfortable. I will show an adult right away.

Please read Blogger Content and Privacy Policy


1. http://www.blogger.com/content.g
2. http://www.blogger.com/privacy
3. http://www.tcdsb.org/policyregister

Memory Game

Take a 5 minute break and play the memory game to sharpen your memory muscles.

The McLuhan Reader Assignment

Follow the link to the article on Marshall McLuhan: http://www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/mcluhan.html. Read the following article and make notes: Answer the following questions:

1) Who was Marshall McLuhan?
2)What were McLuhan's contribution to the "Electronic Age"?
3)What is the "Electronic Age"?
4)What is a McLuhan probe?
5)Give an example of a McLuhan probe and explain what that probe means?
6)What does Technology as Extensions of the Human Body mean?
7)Explain the Global Village? What does McLuhan mean by this phrase.
8)What do you think McLuhan meant by the following aphorism: "the medium is the message"?

Please post all your answers in your blogger website.

For those Media Arts Students who are in my Comtech Class Only

For those who are taking my comtech and in my Media Arts class you must complete an additional reflection entry. The topic of your reflection is on the advantages and dis-advantages of communications technology in our society. Describe and compare the advantages and disadvantages of the following technologies: the internet, mobile phone, digital video camera.

This entry must be between 300 to 500 words. 20marks

Summer Reflection Assignment

Write a reflection about your summer holiday. Your reflection should be thoughtful, accurate and concise. Please include:

1) What you did this summer
2) any discoveries you've made
3)what you want to accomplish this up coming school year
4)1 Image if you have any to share.

P.SMake sure you post your reflection on your blog. I look forward to reading your entries. This assignment is out of 10 and should be 300 -500 words in length.

Course Outline

This course emphasizes the development of the knowledge and skills required for the production of media art works (e.g., robosculpture, photocopy art, computer animation with synthesized sound). Students will develop an appreciation of the history of media arts through analysing specific works, and will create media art works using a variety of technologies (e.g., digital camera, photo-imaging software, computer-modelling software, synthesizer, videotape, multi-track sound recording).

The expectations for the courses in media arts are divided into three distinct yet related strands: Theory, Creation, and Analysis. The Theory strand is focused on understanding of concepts, including elements and principles, as well as techniques, technologies, and processes. The Creation strand deals with various aspects of the creation of media artworks. The Analysis strand is focused on examination of aesthetic issues and the function of media arts in society.
As an Open course, the Grade 11 Media Arts Profile is designed to broaden the student’s knowledge and skills, and provide a solid and practical foundation for the media arts.
The activities in this course of study are designed to prepare students to meet the challenges of a technologically advanced society. A focus on the creative process gives students practical skills, appropriate motivation, and the theoretical knowledge needed to communicate ideas, feelings, and beliefs through the media artwork they create. In addition, students develop an appreciation and awareness of this new and innovative art discipline.

Students are introduced to the technical, historical, theoretical, cultural, moral, and ethical social contexts of media arts in society. An essential component is hands-on exploration and skill development with integration of theoretical content. Progressing through the units in sequence allows students to build on previously acquired knowledge and skills. The course has been designed to integrate and accommodate the experienced student as well as those students who have not previously taken Grade 10 Media Arts.

Reviewing the Grade 10 Media Arts document and familiarizing oneself with the media arts resources would be beneficial to teachers who are new to this subject area.
Self-expression is a fundamental aspect of this course. It is imperative that students have the opportunity to explore and experiment with the tools and techniques available to them as they unfold during the course, in order to become knowledgeable creators. Media Arts is a new, experimental direction in the arts. It is essential that students and educators realize that this hybrid art form is in a constant state of flux.

The culminating unit of the course is an Independent Study Unit (ISU). The final product takes the form of a digital portfolio, which gives students something tangible to take into the world of work or further study.

Full Course Profile available here