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Investigating the Impact of Music

September 17, 2018 by carlcasinghino

In earlier posts, we have discussed documentaries about film and TV scoring; contemporary composers such as Jeff Beal, Cliff Martinez, and Bear McCreary; current uses of popular music with moving images such as in the work of the performer Stromae; and a wide variety of topics related to sound design.

Composer Ramin Djawadi conducting

Along with editing exercises that one can complete to develop an idea of the impact of music with scenes, here is an related video (by the YouTube channel Every Frame a Painting) that explores the use of music in a variety of Marvel superhero movies.  Many of the observations and questions raised here can be applied to a wide range of recent action movies, and the lessons about contemporary media creation have wide-ranging impacts on viewers and the messages being produced for viewers. And for students, they might want to explore the views of the actual composers of some of the movies referenced here, such as Ramin Djawadi (Iron Man, Westworld, Game of Thrones) or Alan Silvestri (Avengers, Captain America).  

 

And if you find this interesting, check out this response to the Marvel Symphonic Universe video essay by Dan Golding: A Theory of Film Music.  (And it is critical to add that this essay is ripe for a rebuttal by anyone interested in exploring the long history of originality in film scoring — Golding’s approach is undoubtedly to use only lowest common denominator examples from throughout film history.) 

Posted in Chapter 3, Music & Sound Design | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Critical Thinking Through Short Docs

August 29, 2018 by carlcasinghino

Here is a superb resource for media literacy courses: the “Film Club” Learning Network offered by The New York Times. From this site, you can find short documentary films, most under 10 minutes, and related discussion questions.

And here is a Reader Idea resource created by English teacher Michael Kellen that features lessons with the shorts Girl Boxer and Arctic Boyhood. 

Posted in Chapter 6, Media Literacy, Social Studies | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Media Literacy and Social Studies: Portraits of America

July 10, 2018 by carlcasinghino

This year, Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation has added a new initiative to its The Story of Movies educational program: Portraits of America: Democracy on Film.  This eight-section curriculum was developed by the Film Foundation in partnership with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and with support from the Library of Congress.  Its modules include such themes as The Immigrant Experience, The American Laborer, The American Woman, and Politicians and Demagogues. Here are articles on the initiative from Indie Wire and Market Watch.

Posted in Chapter 6, Resources, Social Studies | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment »

Propaganda and Contemporary Media

June 17, 2018 by carlcasinghino

As we wind down the school year, teachers in a variety of disciplines — particularly social studies and media literacy — might be trying to wrestle with the conflicting images of the President of the United States engaging in talks with the Supreme Leader of North Korea. Of particular interest to educators who deal with moviemaking and media messages was the rather unique video created to deliver a message of the American administration’s intentions to Kim Jong-un and his government.  Here are some useful resources and commentary on the sort of trailer/PSA created by the current American administration: a journalistic media-based commentary about “Trump’s Video Pitch to Kim,” the actual video as posted by the Wall Street Journal, and coverage of the event by a reporter for the Washington Post. 

And the question — or challenge — to ask of one’s students is certainly, “do you think you could do better?”

For those interested in other topics related to media literacy and social studies, there are a number of posts on mediateacher.net, including: Language and Literacy: Case 1 – “Fake” News and Language and Literacy: Case 2 – The Troll. 

Posted in Chapter 1, Chapter 5, Social Studies | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Prelinger Archives

May 5, 2018 by carlcasinghino

In the What Exactly is that Movie? post on mediateacher.net, you can read about tricky-to-categorize media messages that have evolved over the past 120 years or so.  Recently, an extensive and very unique archive of very diverse movies was opened to the public: the Prelinger Archives. This incredible media archive is “a collection of over 60,000 ‘ephemeral’ (advertising, educational, industrial, and amateur) films [which holds] approximately 11,000 digitized and videotape titles (all originally derived from film) and a large collection of home movies, amateur and industrial films acquired since 2002” (from Prelinger Archives “About” page). The media material here can provide a wide range of uses for the development of editing or vfx skills and as a treasure-trove of footage for use in original projects of all sorts.  Here is an article about the archive from Open Culture, or you can go directly to the Prelinger Archives.

Posted in Chapter 5, Resources | Tagged , , , | Leave a Comment »

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