Semester 1 Exam

Your Semester Exam is simply a review of the film and movie terminology you have studied during the first two quarters of this school year. You will retake each of the quizzes listed below and write down your answers on the provided answer sheet. The quizzes are now enabled to allow you to view your score and resubmit until you have all the answers correct.  Feel free to look back at any of the articles but it is not necessary.

Links to 1st Semester Quizzes

Q1 - Quiz 1

Q1 - Quiz 2

Q1 - Quiz 3

Q1 – Quiz 4

Q1 - Quiz 5

Q1 - Quiz 6

Q1 - Quiz 7


Q2 - Quiz 1

Q2 - Quiz 2

Q2 - Quiz 3

Q2 - Quiz 4


Once you have completed filling out your entire answer sheet, you will then submit all 120 answers into the Semester Exam Link Below.

Semester Exam

After submitting you final answers, you can see me to find out your score.

Q2 - Weeks 7 and 8 Assignments

Due 12/20

During these last two weeks of the quarter, you view movie openings from different genres, see the observations and comments made by others, take quizzes on these and your own observations, create two movie opening observations of your own, then finally make a decision about your own movie opener genre and partners.

1) Quizzes - View these four movie openings along with the comments and observations made by an unknown observer on the first two. During these viewings you should open the corresponding quizzes which will help guide you through the information.


Forrest Gump: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMEzKl6tFu4
Q2 Quiz 5 Forrest Gump

Psycho: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLOGM_NyCkk
Q2 Quiz 8 Psycho


Saving Private Ryan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nr8q0WwQ9yU&t=160s
Q2 Quiz 6 Saving Private Ryan

Scream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdKi-FxYscU
Q2 Quiz 7 Scream

2) Blog Posts - Film Opening Research (2) - Now you will choose two movies to observe and write about the opening elements. Each movie should be chosen from two of your favorite genres.
You do not need to write these observations in essay form. You can copy and paste the questions below into your blog and answer them as you observe the opening scene of each movie.

Title each blog entry as “Film Opening Research #1 - Movie Title” and
                                       "Film Opening Research #2 - Movie Title"

How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film?
What images are prioritized in the opening sequence?
What connotations do the images carry?
How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset?
How does the film establish an enigma from the outset?
What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience?
How has technology been used effectively? You might want to consider camera angles, transitions and editing techniques.

3) Blog Post - Finally, you will make a decision about the genre you wish to represent in your own movie opening project. This project will encompass a great deal, but not all, of the work you will complete during the 3rd quarter. You can choose to create this movie opening as an individual, with one partner, or as a group. (limit 4 members) Keep in mind that during the creation of this film, every group member will blog on a weekly basis about the progress of the film, and your individual part in making the film.

Now make your final post for this semester and title it: "My Film Opening Project - Genre & Group Members". In this post list the genre of your future project and all the members of this class that will be working on the film with you. Please spend your Winter Break thinking about your film project.

Q2 - Week 6 Assignments

Due 12/06

1)  This week you will create your 2nd Genre PowerPoint.  This is an individual assignment and each of you will create your own PowerPoint on a genre which is different from your 1st genre PowerPoint assignment.  This PowerPoint should cover the genre thoroughly and should include but not be limited to: An Explanation of the genre on several slides, Examples (classic, modern, award winning) with an explanation of why this example fits the genre, A few of your Favorite movies in this genre and Images from the movies you chose to talk about.  This PowerPoint will not be presented so include any information about the genre on the slides since there will be no script.  The website with the genre information is below:

 Film Genres Origins and Types http://www.filmsite.org/filmgenres.html

4)  Blog - Export your powerpoint to JPEGS and imbed the slides into your blog.  Label this blog post "Genre Research #2 - PowerPoint".  

Q2 - Weeks 4 & 5 Assignments

Media Codes and Conventions

Quizzes and PowerPoint uploaded to Blog due 11/15

Videos completed  and uploaded to Blog due 11/22

Since the beginning of the school year we have been learning about media codes, and in your last assignment you created a graphic organizer and wrote an essay on how media codes create meaning in a film clip.  After a quick review and categorization of media codes you will begin research into media conventions.  Read the articles below and complete the corresponding quizzes to better understand what I mean by media conventions.

1)  Media Codes and Conventions - https://media.codes/media-codes-and-conventions-c03423c06aa8

     Q2 - Quiz 3 Media Codes and Conventions

2)  Film Genres Origins and Types http://www.filmsite.org/filmgenres.html

     Q2 - Quiz 4 Film Genres Origins and Types

3)  Now you will choose your favorite genre and three of your favorites friends in this class (maybe), to create a PowerPoint from the information on one of the genres in the link above.  This PowerPoint should cover the genre thoroughly and should include but not be limited to: An Explanation of the genre on several slides, Examples (classic, modern, award winning) with an explanation of why the example fits this genre, A few of your Favorite movies in this genre, Images from movies, and in the Notes portion of the PowerPoint a script explaining each slide.  Do not fill the slides with the script.  Slides should be limited to a few main topics with the script containing the detailed information.

4)  Blog - Export your powerpoint to JPEG and imbed the slides into your blog.  Label this blog post "My Favorite Genre - PowerPoint".  Make the slides small and place them side by side as best you can, so that they don't stretch the blog post too long.

5)  Next your group of four will create two videos of your powerpoint.  You will do this using the school news tricaster system, teleprompter, and news set.  Two of your group members will act as presenters while the 3rd runs the teleprompter.  Then the student running the teleprompter will take the place of one of the presenters for a second version of the video.  You will copy your PowerPoint script into the teleprompter and your slides will appear in the video along with the presenters.  After this video is complete upload it to youtube.

6)  Blog - Create a post in your blog with a link to the youtube video you created in assignment 5.  Title this post "My Favorite Genre - Video".

Q2 - Weeks 2 & 3 - Assignments

Due 11/01

This week and next you will tie all that you have learned about the codes of film together into one paper which you will post to your blog.  You will actually complete the first part of the AICE Media Studies Exam which was administered in May of 2018.  The only difference is you do not have to write this exam in one classroom sitting, instead you will have all next week to complete it.  The exam is based on viewing the first 5 minutes of the movie "Agent Carter, Marvel One-Shots, 2013, dir. Louis D’Esposito".  Before viewing this film, each of you will create a graphic organizer of your own, which will help you recall all the different elements of film we have studied so far.  I am placing a partial sample below of one type of graphic organizer you might like to make.  You may have another graphic organizer you feel fits your study habits better.  Once you have decided what your graphic organizer will look like, you must make it by hand.  That is, it must be hand written and hand drawn.  Feel free to discuss ideas about this graphic organizer with classmates but you must create one of your own.  Post your graphic organizer to your blog this week and the essay to your blog next week.

1) Blog:  Create a new post and upload a picture of your graphic organizer.   Title this post "Film Elements Graphic Organizer".

Partial Sample:

2)  Blog:  View the film extract and write a complete essay (at least 500 words) following the directions below.  Title this blog:  Film Viewing Practice Essay "Agent Carter"

You can view the film on the school network drive.  "S" Drive, AICE Media Studies Folder,
or you can bring a flash drive and copy it,
or you can watch it online at this link:https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x27z5eg
You should stop stop the video at 5:09

Agent Carter (Marvel One-Shots, 2013, dir. Louis D’Esposito)
Clip duration: 5:09
Start point: 00:00
End Point: 05:09

In essay format, discuss the ways in which the extract constructs meaning through the following:

• camera shots, angles, movement and composition
• editing
• sound
• mise-en-scène.

Q2 Week 1 - Assignments

Due 10/19

Mise-en-scene

What is mise-en-scene?  Well, once you read the article below and take the corresponding quizzes, you will have a better understanding of this film term.

1)  Article - Mise en scene

     Q2 Week 1 Quiz 1 - MISE-EN-SCENE (Part 1)
     Q2 Week 1 Quiz 2 - MISE-EN-SCENE (Part 2)

2)  Blog - Watch one movie or TV episode of your choice and describe the four general mise-en-scene areas: setting, lighting, costume and staging.  Explain in your post how these recognizable attributes helped to tell the story, aided the success of the movie, or contributed to why you like the movie. (300 words)

     I decided to comment on the mise-en-scene of the M. Night Shyamalan movie, “Unbreakable”.  I made this decision primarily because I wanted to show that you can easily write about the sets, costumes, lighting and blocking in a film where these elements appear to be less prevalent, rather than in a show with sets and costumes are obvious period elements with elaborate costumes and sets.  I also chose this film because it was unknowingly the prequel to the movies "Split" and "Glass", two movies which are much more recognized by this director, who is one of my favorites.

     The movie opens to a shallow space setting on a train with the Bruce Willis character quietly sitting and soon to be having a conservation with a woman to which he appears to be attracted.  The shallow blocking gives the viewer a sense of being a passenger in the seat just in front of the conservation.    Soon after this conversation the setting changes to a hospital room with a deep space set, showing Bruce Willis in the background and a dying passenger being worked on by medical staff in the foreground.  This deep space blocking helps the viewer focus on the total scene rather than just the conversation between the main character and the doctor.

     As you move through the first few scenes of the movie you will notice that the lighting is low-key, helping to portray a sense of gloom and depression for all the characters involved.  This darkness aides in the viewers interpretation that this is a low time in the lives of these characters.  The family’s meager home is gloomy, dim and lacking of life, further adding to the sadness of the film.  Inversely, just after the main character and his wife have a conversation about working on their marriage, the lighting changes to a high-key format, giving the feel that things will be looking up for this family.

     During the 1974 scene where the younger version of Samuel L. Jackson’s character is having a conversation with his mom, the set designers chose to represent the 1974, Philadelphia West Side apartment through a reflection of their conversation in a vintage television.  The reflection not only succeeds in showing the 1974 décor of the apartment, but also contributes to the feeling of doom and gloom with the low-key lighting it provides.  The mood changes for this character as well when he chooses to venture outside, despite his frailness, and goes for the present his mother has placed on the park bench.  The color purple is introduced during this scene by the purple present sitting on the park bench. Then as the character moves out into the bright sunny day the camera pivots around to his front revealing his iconic purple shirt which will become prevalent part of his future wardrobe.

     My observations were limited to the first 23 minutes of the film due to the fact that on your AICE media studies exam you will also view just a clip from a film.  You will then write about all the elements in the clip we have studied so far this year; cinematography, editing, sound and mise-en-scene.  As you can see, after completing this assignment you should be ready for the first part of the exam.

Q1 - Weeks 8 & 9 Assignments

Due 10/11

You will now move on to observing and working with sound in film.  Begin by reading the following articles and then taking the corresponding quizzes below each.

1)  Film Sound and Music​
      Week 8 - Quiz 1 - Film Sound & Music

2) The Emotional Realism of Sound
    Week 8 - Quiz 2 - Movies and Film: Sound Effects and Their Functions

2)  Edit - Reopen your "Five Master Edits", in premier pro and add sound to the 5 different scenes.  You should have at least 4 different examples of sound when finished.  This means you can't just add music to all, keep them all direct sound, or voice over all of them.  You can have a combination of sounds on one clip.  You may not have to edit the sound in a clip which you wish to maintain it's current direct sound or if you have already added music to create a leitmotif edit.  If this is the case, these 2 sounds will be part of the four you discuss in your blog.  (Diegetic Direct sound and Non-Diegetic Music)  Choose from these types of sound edits, although you will learn that some items in this list are subcategories of others.

  Diegetic sound, Non-Diegetic sound, Nonsimultaneous sound, Direct sound,  Synchronous
 sound, Postsynchronization dubbing, Offscreen Sound, Sound Bridge, Voice Over, Sonic flashback, or Music,

     After you finish editing the sound, export your new video with a different name, such as "Five Master Edits with Sound" in H.264 format and upload it to Youtube.  Do not take down the previous version of the film since it is linked in your post from two weeks ago and needs to remain there in the original version.  You need to keep both versions in order to show your journey through editing this film.

3)  Post -  Place a link to your new edited version of  "Five Master Edits with Sound Effects" in your blog for this week.  Comment on which types of sound you added and how each affected your film.  Do not limit your comments to just stating and defining the type of sound you used.  State how the sound changed the emotion of your film.

4)  Comment on one other students blog about a sound effect you liked in their video and why you liked it.  You do not need to add this part of the assignment to your blog.

5) Comment on the bottom of this blog post that you are finished along with the name of the student who's blog you commented on.

Here is the link to my sample "Five Master Edits with Sound Effects"

Sound Effects Added Comments:

1) Music:  I added music throughout most of the film to give it an overall theme of a "Circus" environment.  My clips which were already on my phone when I started this project, are mainly taken at school and sometimes I think of school as a circus.  Adding background music is also a form of non-diegetic sound.

2)  Music:  I added Mozart music to the first half of my contrast section to portray the intelligence of the young man as he's scanning through his textbooks studying.  The music helps you fell that this student is very intelligent.

3) Direct Sound: I left the direct sound in the second half of my contrast video because it contained the music that the same student was dancing to at the volleyball game.   The ambient sound of the volleyball game helps to add to the contrast of the video.  Direct sound is also a form of diegetic sound.

4)  Post Synchronization Dubbing:  In my parallelism clip, I added two different sounds of post synchronization dubbing which were not a part of the original videos.  I recorded myself calling my dogs name and added it to the clip of me walking with the empty leash, and then downloaded a file of a doberman whining to add to my dog walking.  This addition of sound helps the viewer see that a person is walking looking for their dog while at the same time a dog is walking, looking for it's person.  This dubbing is also a form of diegetic sound even though it was not a part of the original film.  The sound appears to be coming directly from the characters on the film.

5)  Voice-over:  I lowered the volume of the background music on my symbolism clip and added a voice-over to better explain the transition.  By adding the voice-over the viewer better understands why the camera goes from one set of stars to another.  (This is just a symbolism reference that could appear in a film, I don't really worry that some of the students will end up in a patrol car.)  Voice-over is a form of non-diegetic sound.

6)  Direct Sound:  In my example of simultaneity, I chose to leave all the natural (direct) sound that was in the film clips.  The sounds show what was happening inside the building and outside the building during the hurricane.  The contrast of the two sounds was enough to help the viewer feel the danger that was just outside.

7)  Sound Bridge:  I allowed the circus music to play throughout my Leitmotif film clip because it represents the emotions I wanted to express during the entire film.  This clip shows the craziness that sometimes goes on in the classroom and how a teacher might feel as though they are a hamster running on a wheel.  The circus music helps to impress these feelings onto the viewer.  The same music running throughout the entire edit also serves as a sound bridge for the various clips linking them together as one video.