Final Project
- Due Jul 29, 2020 by 5pm
- Points 50
- Submitting a media recording or a file upload
- Available until Jul 31, 2020 at 11:59pm
The final project entails scoring a short silent film. You must use original or pre-existing (compilation) music AND sound design/effects.
You must pay close attention to the interaction of sound and image.
- You should not have music playing at a steady volume throughout. Rather, you should think in terms of counterpoint and carefully bring the music in and out in at various points sometimes in unity with the images sometimes in tension, etc. Think about what various directors, composers, and sound designers have done with music/sound in film and respond to these approaches in your own way.
You must also write a 3-page (750-word) statement describing how the techniques and ideas presented in class influence your piece.
- The statement must refer to specific concepts, techniques, and films that we have discussed in the course.
Choose a public domain silent film for your project (some good sources for this):
1923-1928 Best of Man Ray
Links to an external site.
Open Culture Free Silent Movies Links to an external site.
Meshes of the Afternoon - Maya Deren
Links to an external site.
Lot in Sodom - Webber and Watson
Links to an external site.
The Fall of the House of Usher - Webber and Watson Links to an external site.
The clip must include c. 3 minutes of mise-en-scène (not credits/title cards/intertitles, etc.); you may score an excerpt from a larger film if you like. You must strip any 3rd-party music/audio from the clip; if the video has a 3rd-party header at the beginning (e.g., Library of Congress, etc.) you should delete it.
When you have completed your video you must upload it to YouTube. You should select 'Unlisted' in the privacy settings. Instructions on how to do so can be found here Links to an external site.. Include the link to your video in the appendix to your write-up.
For reference, here are some example projects from past years:
Project 1
Links to an external site.
Project 2
Links to an external site.
Project 3 Download Project 3 (webm file: download and open in a web browser)
Here is a tutorial for working with video in Reaper
Links to an external site.
The written statement must discuss at least three of the theoretical categories listed below (discuss all concepts in each category). You must demonstrate the ways that you incorporated these ideas into your project or describe the specific things you did that go against these ideas.
(1) Mise-en-scène / Montage theory (incl. audio/visual counterpoint, onscreen / offscreen, empathetic / anempathetic, diegetic / nondiegetic uses of sound / music)
(2) Leitmotif / (style) topics
(3) Elements from film theory (formalism / realism, semiotic film theory)
(4) Schopenhauer's aesthetics
(5) Freudian views on the unconscious, dream theory, death drive, the uncanny
(6) Nietzsche's views on myth / reason
(7) Schaeffer / Chion's listening modes
(8) Use of music / sound in Vertigo, 2001, Elephant, Mulholland Drive, Once Upon a Time in the West
(9) Classical aesthetics (Plato / Aristotle)
(10) Autonomous art / organic unity / Kantian aesthetics and ethics
The rubric for the written component is given here (maximum 20 pts):
|
1 Inadequate |
2 Poor |
3 Good |
4 Very Good |
5 Excellent |
|
|
CONTENT/IDEAS |
Writing is extremely limited in communicating ideas, without central focus or irrelevant. Does not pursue prompt questions at all. |
Writing is limited in communicating knowledge. Does not sufficiently pursue prompt questions |
Writing is relevant and of high quality. Pursues prompt questions, but with few details. |
Writing is purposeful and focused. Piece contains several details. |
Writing is confident and clearly focused. It holds the reader’s attention. Relevant details enrich writing. |
|
ORGANIZATION |
Writing is disorganized and underdeveloped with no transitions or closure. |
Writing is confused and loosely organized. Transitions are weak and closure is ineffective. |
Lucid writing format. Incorporates a coherent opening and closure. |
Writing includes a strong beginning, middle, and end, with some transitions and good closure. |
Writing includes a strong, beginning, middle, and end with clear transitions and a focused closure. |
|
VOCABULARY/ WORD CHOICE |
Careless or inaccurate word choice, which obscures meaning. Language is trite, vague or flat. |
Shows some use of varied word choice. |
Uses a variety of word choice to make writing interesting. |
Purposeful use of word choice. |
Effective and engaging use of word choice. |
|
SENTENCE FLUENCY |
Frequent run-ons or fragments, with no variety in sentence structure. |
Some run-ons or fragments. Limited variety in sentence structure. |
Uses simple compound, and complex, sentences. |
Frequent and varied sentence structure. |
Consistent variety of sentence structure throughout. |
Adapted from http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson782/Rubric.pdf
Rubric
Find Rubric| Criteria | Ratings | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Soundtrack: (complexity of interplay between music/sound design/video. See instructions, above. 20 pts || Strength of concept: do the music/sound fx imitate/play against the visuals? Why/not? Are all the motions combined with sound fx, are there any that are not? Why/not? 10 pts.)
threshold:
pts
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pts
--
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Theoretical Statement (see above)
threshold:
pts
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|
pts
--
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Total Points:
50
out of 50
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