Final Exam will be Monday at 8 pm!

We will reschedule to Monday. Sorry about the mix-up.

Creative projects and grades for them will also be handed out on Monday.

Let me know if you have any questions.

The Exam

Dear Peg,

We're in the classroom right now waiting for the administrator of our test, who didn't show up. It's been 30 minutes, so we're feeling blue.

Let us know how you want us to take our exams.

Sincerely,

The whole class (everybody was here, but Brian logged in to make this post)

Final

I have been reviewing for the final and have a few questions. I am kinda confused by the question on the study guide that asks "Discuss the way/s in which Derek Jarman approaches writing about color in Chroma, and apply this discussion to the artistic/aesthetic use of color in cinema." 

I guess I really don't understand the Derek Jarman readings as they seem to be all over the place and I don't know what we should be getting out of them. Does anyone have any ideas about how to answer this or what to look for? 

Pink reading

While finding sources for my paper I realized that Bellantoni doesn't really discuss pink in her book, and I had to go elsewhere for reference material. I found an interesting paper on the meaning of pink in the media and society, including some original research, that I thought might to be useful to share.

http://proxy.emerson.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f3h&AN=35134526&site=ehost-live

At the bottom of the entry (next to View Links) there is a "find full text" link to get the PDF.

~Stephen

Essays due Monday!

In case there was any confusion, your essays are due Monday as it says in the syllabus. If anyone has any questions you can email me this weekend. Please bring a printed copy to class with you, and don't wait until the last minute to do this. If it will make you late, come to class and print it out later, but I see no reason why everyone can't plan ahead for printer time.

Also: the Antonioni reading is due this week.

ANTONIONI: readings

Make sure you stop by to get these reading handouts (that I assigned last week) and read at least the section on BLOW UP for class tonight. They are in the box on my desk.

Here are some additional articles and readings for those interested:

Jonathan Dawson's article on Senses of Cinema

Colin Gardner's article on ArtBrain

Notes for a Rather Large Essay on Blowup"

Essay Topics

Your essays are to be standard research essays, 5-7 pages in length, and should comprise an analysis of one film, and a focused discussion of some aspect of its color design and structure. You may choose a film we've already viewed or discussed in class. If you choose something else you need to run it by me first so I have time to see it if I haven't already.

Be creative, original and focused in selecting a topic. If you're stumped for inspiration, re-watch the film and/or do some writing about it. You can focus on technical elements of production design, aesthetics, emotional impact of color, color as a narrative device, or some specific design element such as costumes, sets (art direction), or lighting. Try not to cover too much ground.

Feel free to explore ideas that go against what we've already read or discussed; if you disagree with Bellantoni's take on something, for example, that can be a starting point for formulating your main argument or thesis.

Be creative in use of source material, too. You need to use at least three sources in addition to the film text itself and any DVD extras. You can refer to screenplays, reviews, interviews and scholarly articles or books. The library has a vast assortment of resources. I also have a number of scholarly articles from the Color Film Reader which I can make available to you; I'll list them here this week.

Try to formulate your thesis statement (basically a paragraph that can serve as your opening paragraph) for this week. You can email it to me for feedback. You can also email me if you've having trouble finalizing your topic or have any other questions.