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Archive for the ‘Chapter 5’ Category

Discovery, Preservation, Celebration: in Jeopardy?

Posted in Chapter 5, Media Literacy, Social Studies, tagged , , , , , , on August 30, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Rio Bravo TCM restoration

Rio Bravo, a 2023 Warner Bros restoration partnered by TCM

With very intense developments on the business side of the media production world through the strikes by, first, the Writers’ Guild, and then the Screen Actors Guild, here is another story that has garnered attention to those interested in the legacy, history, and cultural value of motion pictures: the precarious situation of Turner Classic Movies.  In recent months, there have been significant layoffs at TCM and signs that the channel may be in jeopardy.   This editorial from Maureen Dowd in June highlights the importance and mission of TCM, while this recent update from Entertainment Weekly addresses the question: What’s going on at TCM?

In the article, they describe how some are fighting to protect the network, and it features a quote that ties in closely with a great deal of work in the field of media literacy: “TCM has taken an approach to classic movies in a way that we try to make them relevant to a new audience.  We’re trying to present the films in a way that treats the audience as smart and intelligent. We take very sober and reverential responsibility for these films, no matter what they are. We know that by showing these films, somewhere on a television set, somebody is watching them. That’s what TCM is doing in the long run — we are helping to maintain the cultural memory of the greatest art form of the 20th century.”

Stay tuned, and in the meantime, keep teaching and learning, be informed, and continue making new discoveries across the world of moving images.

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Music Video Creators at the Oscars

Posted in Chapter 5, Directors, Music & Sound Design, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 14, 2023| Leave a Comment »

everything-everywhere-daniels-daniels-at-the-study

Motion pictures set directly to songs or scored music are one of the most essential forms of media creation, from early silent films to the emergence of shorts crafted to pop songs that fed into the rise of MTV .  Music videos remain one of the most popular and accessible modes of creation for young media creators. (And check out earlier posts such as those about Michel Gondry or Stromae or Janelle Monáe.)

Well, in a first for the Academy Awards, the Best Director award has gone to a pair of filmmakers who first emerged as music video directors.  Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert – or The Daniels – won Oscars for screenwriting, directing, and Best Picture for Everything Everywhere All at Once this past Sunday night, and it is very instructive to check out their earlier work to recognize the stylistic approaches in their music videos as they relate to the visual communication, storytelling techniques, and directorial touches in their award-winning feature film.  While a number of their most notable and infamous videos are not typically appropriate for in-school viewing, here are some recommended ones: Houdini and Don’t Stop by Foster the People, Simple Math by Manchester Orchestra, or Simple Song by The Shins.  And as a final note about this pair: viewing their acceptance speeches in media classrooms can provide some nice inspiration for students — and for teachers too, with the heartfelt thanks by Daniel Scheinert.  Certainly very appreciated.

HARRISON FORD, KE HUY QUAN

As was pointed out a number of times during their speeches, these awards were the result of work by many people, and there were a number of other winners for this movie up on that stage, including actors Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Ke Huy Quan and editor Paul Rodgers.  As a final note, Harrison Ford giving the award for Best Picture was quite the touch on a night of many heartfelt moments.

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A.I. and Media Literacy

Posted in Chapter 1, Chapter 5, Media Literacy, Visual Effects, tagged , , , , , on August 25, 2022| 2 Comments »

Capt. Jean-Luc Picard on The Love Boat (DALL-E image from Vincent Casinghino)

Earlier this summer, my youngest son, a high-schooler, shared some images he had generated using recent versions of apps designed to produce images from text descriptions (including DALL-E 2 and Craiyon). He is quite well-versed in developments in the technoverse and described a variety of angles with recent developments in AI, particularly related to these uses.  In the realm of artificial image creation, mediateacher.net has discussed The Uncanny Valley and other topics; meanwhile, the generation of artificial content — from image creation to deepfakes to audio impersonation continues to get slipperier and harder to spot.

DALL·E 2022-08-25 10.53.20 - The skeksis from dark crystal as painted by Gustave MoreauIn our work related to media literacy, we constantly examine questions related to authenticity, truth, origin, authorship, and other factors of media messages. Artificially generated images, sounds, text, and other media creations that continue to emerge in the communicative landscapes of digital media will continue to present moving targets for media literacy. The magazine Wired offers the page The Artificial Intelligence Database to track articles and developments in this arena.  Recently, the article We Need to Talk about How Good A.I. is Getting by Kevin Roose appeared in the New York Times, asking questions like how good is A.I. getting at completing advanced tasks or “will it take my job?” or “what exactly is art (or other creative products) generated by programs and computers?”

I gave the info for the first image, but are there any guesses as to the second image?  Add a comment!  In a little while, I’ll divulge the info for the DALL-E image generated from my son’s prompt.

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New Business and Business as Usual, Part 4

Posted in Chapter 5, Media Literacy, Resources, tagged , , , , , on July 15, 2022| Leave a Comment »

family reunion core ender

Anything being sold here on Family Reunion?

In the ongoing series sharing references and resources to the economically-oriented aspects of media literacy education, here are some recent pieces of interest to share related to advertising and media.  Product placement is a core element of investigation for media literacy coursework, and here is a recent highly interactive article by Sophie Haigney titled How Products Became the New TV Stars.  And for those interested in knowing who is vying to be the current “King of Product Placement” in Hollywood, here is an article by Brian Steinberg for Variety.

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Trick or Treat

Posted in Chapter 5, Directors, Media Literacy, Women Mediamakers, tagged , , , , , on October 31, 2021| Leave a Comment »

The steady, very significant rise of horror films in popularity over the past several years has been striking to observe in the media literacy classroom. The increasingly significant number of students who select horror filmmakers and movies as topics of investigation for reports, analyses, and sources of inspiration — and most notably female students — is reflected in the stunning range of horror creations across motion picture media types today, from feature films to streaming series to interactive games and points in between and beyond.  In fact, currently, for her final project in Advanced Video Production one of my students is working on a documentary called The Evolution of Horror in which she traces the history of horror filmmaking from the first years of cinema to now.   

That said, horror is certainly a genre that can present a variety of issues when addressed in a classroom setting.  One series that can give educators some ideas of current and recent horror media from across the globe (and often off the beaten path) is the series Five Horror Movies to Stream Now from The New York Times.  Here is a recent edition from this series.  It’s your decision whether the pieces are tricks or treats.  Happy Halloween!

P.S.: Check out this informative piece — ‘Being a Woman is Full of Horror’ : Female Directors Discuss Their Craft — published in February of 2022, again from the New York Times, for interviews with current women mediamakers (including Prano Bailey-Bond, Kate Dolan, Charlotte Colbert, and others)  exploring the diverse worlds of horror and suspense motion picture storytelling.

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