“We are the makers and dreamers of dreams...”

                        Willie Wonka in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”

Welcome to Advanced Film Production.  For those of you repeating this class pay attention because I am restructuring things quite a bit this semester!  This is a class open to sophomores through seniors who have varying levels of skill and experience.  It’s a class that can be repeated so I cluster you into groups within this class known as “Advanced Film I, Advanced Film II etc.  This does not mean that you will have to do all of your work with students from your particular level group.  You will be able to choose your own group or work alone on the quarter projects.  What it does mean is that your particular subgroup may be asked to sit through a lecture or quiz while the remainder of the class is off working on a project. 

            Each of us has one thing in common:  we all have some experience in film production and have chosen to continue on our journey in media production--to keep advancing our skills and experience.  This means that each of us is at a different level of expertise and that none of us is an expert in every area.  I include myself in this assessment as I acknowledge that some of you know more about certain aspects of film than I do and that all of you can bring something to the whole group for us to learn from.

            Your time with me is very limited.  We don’t meet all 8 blocks.  I usually have a 10 to 15 minute presentation or activity or discussion before every class, so it is important that you are here on time. You don’t want to miss the appetizers!

            You are expected to complete the following for this class:

                        1. The entry ticket:   test/quiz grades

                        2. The equipment use/behavior contract:  test/quiz grade

                        3. Scavenger hunt or slapstick assignment, project grade

                        4. A 3 to 4 page film review due in the first quarter.

                        5.  The completion of a short film project; either one for each quarter or one for the entire semester.

                        6.  The completion of the EXIT TICKET: = 2 quiz grades.

            There is no such thing as nothing to do in this class.  I expect you to be on time or early and ready to go.  I expect that you will use your time out of the classroom as an opportunity to fully use that time for rehearsing and shooting, not shooting a quickie and then going to the café or senior spot.  On days that members of your group are missing, there are plenty of things to do in the classroom to stay up on the work that is expected of you.

            As a group we will be charting the curriculum and direction of this class.  We will identify areas that we’d like to learn more about and will prepare lessons and lectures on various aspects of the art of moviemaking.  For this reason, this syllabus is incomplete; we have classes planned for the first five meetings only.  We will add more to this outline as we develop lessons after our first few class meetings.

            The first 20 classes should take us roughly up to the time of the end of the first quarter.   The final quarter of the semester will be a repeat of the first quarter cycle.  You are expected to either create your own film and/or make significant contributions towards the creation of your classmate's films.

            You are strongly encouraged to work in a production group.  Sometimes students work in more than one group and sometimes they work alone. Part of my assessment of you is based upon the risks that you take in working alone or with others. In choosing how you are going to work I have some basic expectations...     

            1.  Come to class on time and participate in discussion and activity. 

            2.  Let me know if and when you need help.

            3. Read and sign a contract regarding use of equipment.  Note that we do this every semester, regardless of whether or not we have a contract on file, to refresh everyone’s memory.           

            4. You will show your work to the class twice, first as a (graded) in-progress work and secondly, as a finished piece.  You will participate in a guided critique and discussion of each other’s projects as well as listen to the feedback of your peers when you show your work.

            5.  You will participate in a private, teacher-student conference at least once each quarter.

            6.  You will write a reflection paper at the end of each quarter based upon guidelines that I provide.  The reflection paper counts for up to ten points towards your final grade.

            7. You will work with an advanced editing program, Final Cut Express

Lesson Plans for first two weeks:

Class 1.

1 Visualizing exercise.

2. Introductions and background. 

3. Make a chart of  production roles.

4. Review of some prior student’s reflection papers.

5. Screening of prior student work:  the strong and not-so-strong

4. Reasons we watch films:

            a. entertainment

            b. instruction

            c. drama

            e. technique

            f. art

            g. story

            h. editing

6. The Zone of proximal development.

a. graph our individual zones

b. determining individual areas of strength and weakness

c. creation of teaching clusters: e.g. Advanced I, II etc.

7. Discussion of ideas that we may have. HOMEWORK:  Write a short treatment on an idea or ideas that you may have for production.  You MAY submit this as part of a group project.  Due at start of class # 3.

8. Review of rules/expectations/syllabus

Class 2:  Review of what we know. POP QUIZ on the following!

1. equipment overview: cameras, microphones, tripods etc.

2. tape care

3. computer use and care

4. equipment sign out

5. Creation of first production teams (random)

6. two groups conduct scavenger hunt or slapstick exercise

7. remainder of class stays for  lecture/screening/discussion on treatment, story , and character development.

Class 3: Preproduction

1. review treatment writing exercise

2. pitch your film idea for group discussion

3. students indicate group choices and if they want to float (distribute ballots)

Class 4:  Story boards, Production design, production planning.

1. Pitch your film idea as it has developed--input from others not in your group.

2. formation of production teams

3. start of production

Grading and assessment:

You will be graded according to the following formula:

up to 25 points participation:  on time? absent? cut? did you help or hinder?  Did you contribute or let others do the heavy lifting?  Did you dominate and not allow for the input of others?

up to 10 points: quarterly reflection essay:  Did you answer all of the questions in a thoughtful and thorough manner?

quiz and test averages expressed in points--up to a maximum of 33 points

            example: quiz and test average =88 divided by 3 =29.33 points

up to 33 points: project score.  GRADED in progress at mid quarter, graded upon completion at end quarter according to provided rubrics.

            example: project average=85 divided by 3=28.33 points

            So in the above example, assuming the student earned 20 points in participation (see below for how we calculate the participation grade) the final grade would be calculated like this:

participation:                            20 points

quiz/tests/assignments:            29.33

projects:                                   28.33

reflection paper:                         8 pts

                        final grade:      85.66

            This would be a B or a B plus--depending upon my final judgment of what I believe you deserve and how far you have traveled along the zone of proximal development.  I will explain the ZPG in class. The participation grade is based upon self evaluation--your telling me what you think you’ve done and deserve.  I factor that in with what I think you deserve.  If you cut a class, you get a zero for participation that day, if you come late an 80 or 70 (depending upon how late etc.).  I’ve worked on this grading method over the past several years, and this method seems to work out to be scientific and fair.

            You will have plenty of advance warning and reminders about upcoming events such as quizzes, tests, and project deadlines.  My job is to check in with each of you and make sure that you are on track.  This usually translates to how hard you work and pushing your own learning and production.   

You may work during off class times when the classroom is available.  We are making our best efforts to make the room available Mondays though Thursday afternoons. If there is a class or meeting then the room is not available.    I will make every effort to be around during your free blocks; but I can’t guarantee this, and if you come in to work and no one is around, you are "on your own" as far as equipment support is concerned. A schedule for both room 207 and 209 is posted on the door for each of the classrooms.

            If you are having trouble IN ANY WAY, you can see me during free time, or try to have a quick word before, during, or after class.  I recognize that things happen and I am open to reasonable discussion on problems you or your group might be having.

            I also recognize that everyone has a different style of learning.  I do my best to try to explain things in various ways to accommodate everyone.  If you have  difficulty with understanding anything, I am here to help, you can speak privately with me about any difficulties.    I need to know if there is one or a few students in your group slacking and having others doing the work.  Part of my job is to watch out for this but I realize that kids can be sometimes tricky.  I respect your confidence and privacy (should you wish this) and will communicate with you with that in mind, just be sure to tell me that.  So if you can’t talk with me in person, I can  be reached via e-mail: Paul_Sarapas@LSRHS.net which I usually check at least once a day.

Finally, I fully expect to learn plenty from you.  The more of yourself you bring to class and express through your discussion and participation, the more you are teaching the class and contributing to everyone’s learning.    I realize that some people are more shy than others, but we want to find outlets where you feel comfortable expressing yourself to the world.

work hard--stay safe--have fun--learn something while doing it!