Film 4910, Summer 2012
Tuesdays & Thursdays 10:55-1:25, Classroom South 308

Ted Friedman
Office: 738 One Park Place South
Email: ted@tedfriedman.com     
Twitter: http://twitter.com/tedfriedman
Website: https://tedfriedman.com/teaching

Course Description
Media today are converging, as the boundaries that divide movies, TV, games, phones and the web blur. Likewise, the familiar categories of producer and consumer intermingle in Web 2.0 practices such as blogging, vidding, modding and tweeting. This senior seminar will examine the shifting roles of creators and audiences across a range of media practices, culminating in a capstone project that represents your own engagement with the changing media landscape.

Readings
Three books are required for the class:
Marcus Boon, In Praise of Copying (Harvard UP, 2010).
Bill Wasik, And Then There’s This: How Stories Live and Die in Viral Culture (Penguin, 2009).
Laurence Lessig: Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy (Penguin, 2008).
In Praise of Copying can be downloaded for free at http://www.hup.harvard.edu/features/boon/. Remix can be read for free online at http://www.scribd.com/doc/47089238/Remix. And Then There’s This can be purchased from http://amazon.com, http//:bn.com, http://powells.com, and other retailers. Other assigned readings are available online at the URLs listed below. Supplementary links to media news and criticism will be distributed via the class Twitter hashtag #sensem.

Capstone Project
This seminar is structured to support the creation of an individual project (research or creative) addressing some aspect of authorship, audiences, and/or convergence.  This project may either be a research paper (10-15 pages), a website (15-20 pages), a fiction/nonfiction video (5-10 minutes), a comic book (24 pages) or a game (a board game with cards and rules, or a computer game) depending on your preference and previous technical experience. (Students will not receive technical training in the details of video production or multimedia development as part of this class. Support is available through the GSU Digital Aquarium, http://www.gsu.edu/aquarium/.)   The final submitted project will be the culmination of a series of assignments, as described below.

Critical Thinking through Writing
This course is a designated Critical Thinking through Writing (CTW) course. It is designed as the capstone course for students majoring in Film/Media. In film/media studies, “critical thinking” is defined as identifying, analyzing, and evaluating arguments and truth claims, then formulating and presenting convincing reasons in support of conclusions.  “Writing” refers to the skill of writing clear, well-organized, and grammatically correct English prose. The emphasis throughout the process of creating the capstone project will be on ensuring that your project achieves your rhetorical ends. All students, whether they write a paper or do a more “creative” project, must clearly articulate those rhetorical strategies in writing and will revise those strategies based on feedback. In addition, students will demonstrate their ability to think critically in discussing their peers’ work, evaluating each individual project’s structure and its persuasive impact.

Schedule

Introducing Convergence Culture

6/5    Introduction
    In-class screening: Barbie Nation

6/7    Read Henry Jenkins, “Quentin Tarantino’s Star Wars? Digital Cinema,
    Media Convergence, and Participatory Culture”
    http://web.mit.edu/cms/People/henry3/starwars.html
    In-class screening: Star Wars fan films

The Culture of the Copy

6/12    Read Marcus Boon, In Praise of Copying, Introduction, Chapters 1-4
    In-class screening: Rip! A Remix Manifesto
    Project Proposal due

6/14    Read Boon, Chapter 5-7, Conclusion
    In-class screening: PressPausePlay

Memetics

6/19    Read Bill Wasik, And Then There’s This, Introduction, Chapters 1-2
    In-class screening: memes
    Project Structure draft due        

6/22     Read Wasik, Chapters 3-5, Conclusion
    In-class screening: memes
    

Source/Influence Presentations

6/26    Source/Influence Presentations
    Project Structure final draft due

6/28    Source/Influence Presentations

Proposal Workshops

7/3    Proposal Workshops

7/5    Proposal Workshops

Remix Culture

7/10    Read Laurence Lessig, Remix, Parts 1-2.
    In-class screening: Copyright Criminals

7/12    Read Lessig, Part 3.
    In-class screening: Exit through the Gift Shop

Final Project Presentations

7/17    Final Project Presentations

7/19    Final Project Presentations

Final project due July 26

Assignments

The class assignments add up to total of 100 possible points. Your final grade for the class is determined by adding up your grades for each assignment, adjusting for attendance, then applying the final number to the following scale:

A     100-93        B+    89-88        C+    79-78        D    70-65
A-    92-90        B    87-83        C    77-73        F    64-0
            B-    82-80        C-    72-70
                        
Project Proposal – 10 points
Write a 2-3 page proposal.  Students creating research papers, nonfiction videos, or websites will detail the questions to be investigated and the sources they will use (including bibliography).  Those creating fiction videos will present a story synopsis and a statement of their project’s intended meaning/purpose. The proposal is due in class on June 12.

Source/Influence Presentation – 10 points
Pick one or more texts that you expect to engage in your project. These may be sources you plan to write about, clips you plan to sample, or models for your own creative work. Present to the class (10-15 minutes) the background and context for the sources or influences, discussing how you plan to engage them in your own project. Source presentations will be June 26 and 28.

Project Structure – 30 points
Write a 6-10 page document including the following segments:

I. Outline or script: 3-5 pages, form depending on project. An essay project should include an expanded outline. A nonfiction video project should include a detailed segmentation breaking down scenes. A fiction video project or comic book should include a full script. A website project should include a site map.

II. Critical essay about the project: 3-5 pages. This paper should address three topics:
    – The goals for your project and how you plan to achieve them
    – How your project engages the ideas of the class, drawing on at least one of the assigned
        readings.
    – How you plan to engage the text or texts discussed in your source/influence
        presentation

A rough draft of the Project Structure is due in class on June 19. After meetings to discuss revisions, the final version is due in class June 26.

Proposal Workshop – 10 points
Present your work in progress to the class on July 3 or 5.

Final Project Presentation – 10 points
After incorporating the class’s feedback from the Proposal Workshop, you will present a final version to the class at the end of the semester, July 17 or 19.

Final Project – 30 points
After incorporating further class feedback and polishing any rough edges, the final version of the capstone project is due on July 26.

Attendance Adjustment
As Woody Allen put it, “80 percent of success is showing up.” It’s less than that in this formula, but the bottom line is that you can’t contribute to the class if you’re not there. You’re allowed one unexcused absence for the semester. After that, each unexcused absence subtracts one point from your grade total. Excused absences include medical and family emergencies. You will be expected to schedule any employment responsibilities around this class, or accept the consequences of missed classes on your grade. If you do need to miss a class, please contact me ahead of time, and make arrangements to catch up on missed material.

Policies

Late Assignments
Late assignments will be marked off by ½ point for every day overdue unless an extension is agreed upon before the due date. No work can be accepted after the deadline for the final project. Any unsubmitted work will receive a 0.

Withdrawals
Students withdrawing on or before the midsemester point will receive a W provided they are passing the course. Students who withdraw after the midsemester point will not be eligible for a W except in cases of hardship. If you withdraw after the midsemester point, you will be assigned a WF, except in those cases in which (1) hardship status is determined by the Office of the Dean of Students because of emergency, employment, or health reasons, and (2) you are passing the course.

Incompletes
Incompletes may be given only in special hardship cases. Incompletes will not be used merely for extending the time for completion of course requirements.

Changes to the Syllabus
This syllabus provides a general plan for the course. Deviations may be necessary.