Hello Film Crew,
Welcome to Module 7 of Introduction to Film, I hope you are all well this week.
As you dive into this week’s materials, you’ll explore many aspects of acting (and the evaluation of it), and more writing/evaluation tips. You’ll have the opportunity to hear from industry professionals, and you’ll also be able to apply elements of this week’s lessons into action at the end of the chapter. You will also explore the impact and formulas relating to the comedy genre.
The Module 7 materials you’ll explore this week include:
- Explore Natural vs. Non-Natural acting
- Tips from Films Actors
- How does a Critic tell good acting from Bad Acting? (with more acting tips)
- An Exploration of Comedy
- Health Humor and Leadership
- Math = Comedy Formula
- Comedy and Cinema
You will also have the opportunity to engage in interviews with numerous acting talents and a featured film critic (Matt Brunson).
Coming Attractions:
You will have a dialogue/response post due on March 2 and a podcast/blog/vlog writing assignment due on March 9 . I have posted several different options. You may want to read these options in detail before making your decision.
Module 7 – Feb. 24 – March 2: Should begin working on incorporating notes and research into a draft. All three film should have been viewed.
Module 8 – March 3-9: Begin fine tuning first draft.
Module 9 – March 10-16: Edit, edit, edit project and make sure your project is focused.
As always, reach out to me with any questions, challenges, ideas or comments. I will respond to you.
For this week, that’s a wrap.
Noel T. Manning II
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This week’s assignment details:
DUE MARCH 15 (11:59 pm) – After reading and engaging in the articles, videos and other materials for Chapter 5: Acting & Writing Reviews:
- Explore Natural vs. Non-Natural acting
- Tips from Films Actors
- How does a Critic tell good acting from Bad Acting? (with more acting tips)
- Four Easy Steps to a 600-Word Review
- Creating a Title for your Review
Answer all the following questions in the response section of the assignment page (or email me your comments if you experience technology glitches).
- What did you learn about acting you didn’t know before (or that was reinforced)? How do you feel that will change the way you view, and review films? Why?
- As a rising film critic, what do you find to be the most challenging about evaluating “good acting?” Why? Offer a real-world example.
- After exploring Four Easy Steps to a 600-Word Review & Creating a Title for your Review, what do you feel is the greatest benefit for your film writing and reviewing? Why?
- Based on an interview with one of the actors on this page (on in this chapter), what did you find most intriguing or interesting about their approach to filmmaking/acting. Why? You must identify which actor this post is addressing.
*Alternate formats of the following interviews are available upon request.
Oscar-winning actor Mahershala Ali (Moonlight, Green Book, House of Cards, True Detective)
Actor Michael Kelly (House of Cards, Jack Ryan)
Yvonne Strahovski (‘Chuck,’ ‘Dexter,’ ‘24’ and Hulu’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale.’)
Britt Robertson (Tomorrow Land, Mr. Church, The Longest Ride, The Space between Us)
Gillian Jacobs (Community, Love, Diet Coke)
Melissa Rauch (Big Bang Theory)
Patrick Fabian (over 110 acting credits on his resume)
Oscar Nominee James Cromwell (Over 200 roles on film, TV & stage including – Babe, LA Confidential, American Horror Story, The Green Mile, The Longest Yard, Big Hero 6, Star Trek: First Contact, Marshall)
Character actor Charles Napier (hundreds of film and TV roles including Silence of the Lambs, the Blues Brothers, Star Trek)
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Due March 18 (11:59 pm) For this week’s writing assignment, you have three options (You only need to select one):
Option 1: “Great Acting” – Based on all the engagements within this chapter, write an original post examining who you feel is a great acting talent. Your post should be titled: “A Film Talent Worth Honoring.” You must defend reasons why this person deserves to be recognized. After you examine the videos, interviews and readings from this chapter, you should be able to offer a strong defense of your choice. Remember, it has to be more than “I just like her/him;” you need to back it up. Your writing, in part, should be based on these topics explored within this chapter including: natural vs. non-natural acting, Evaluating Acting and Listening to the Actors, Tips from Actors, and the Interviews on the response page.
This post should be 400-600 words and should also be based on your personal viewing and critical analysis, research you’ve conducted, or a combination of those.
As always, post to your site with tags, photos, and links.
Option 2: “Exploring Music”
Write film review (550-650 words) on a music-driven film (from this list). Load onto your film journal blog & post the link here or email me. Use this rubric as your guide: musical-evaluation-rubric
SPECIAL NOTE: You must also address how music, sound and silence are used in your selected film. Find the examples here.
As always, post to your site with tags, photos, and links.
Option 3: “Best Acting Ever Review”
You may also choose to review a film (550-650 words) from 20 Great Performances Every Actor Should Watch or from this list featuring some of Hollywood’s best ever acting talent (talent and films listed here). Use this 600-word-evaluation-rubric if you select an “Acting-driven” film.
As always, post to your site with tags, photos, and links.
The Film Critic 