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Individual Assignment:  Personal Introduction
Phase One: If you do not already have one, sign up for a free account at vimeo.com.  Please identify your account with your real name, not an alias.  Customize your Vimeo profile to include a photo and description.   Add "Calvin College Media Production" as a contact.

Phase Two: Make a video which (1) introduces yourself or one of your favorite relatives; (2) does not exceed 30 seconds in length; (3) includes no more than 15 words of spoken dialogue or narration.   Upload the finished video to your Vimeo account.

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Phase Three:  Use Vimeo's "post comments" feature to make specific, positive observations about the videos of at least two classmates in Columbia, M-G-M, or Paramount.  Ideally, look for videos that have not yet been commented upon.

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Phase Four:  Use Vimeo's "post comments" feature to make specific, positive observations about the videos of at least two classmates in R.K.O., Universal, or Warner.  Ideally, look for videos that have not yet been commented upon.

In-Class Group Assignment:   Studio Lighting
Working in teams, students will employ a 3- or 4- point scheme to light a stationary subject in the studio.  Substantiating documentation (a.k.a. a lighting plot) for each image will account for camera exposure settings; controllable properties; light meter readings; relative distances of camera, subject, and lights.

Group Project: Location Lighting
Working in teams, students will shoot six stationary subjects on location.  The most successful of the resulting images (whether still photographs or video footage) will articulate the third dimension with a naturalistic lighting style.  Substantiating documentation (a.k.a. a lighting plot) for each image will account for camera exposure settings; controllable properties; light meter readings; relative distances of camera, subject, and lights.   Multiple images of each subject are expected as evidence of student experimentation with camera exposure settings. 

Consult the grading rubric for this project here.   A successful project from a previous semester demonstrates three-point location lighting in six shots:

Group Assignment:   Compostion (Pre-Production)
On behalf of his/her team, each director will submit sketches for at least four different shots which tell the story of a person who discovers a lost item.  The most successful of these storyboards will employ a classical progression from establishing shot to close-up.  In a brief paragraph to accompany each sketch, the group will articulate its choices of mise-en-scène, apparent distance, angle, and depth of field.   Secure your professor's signature on the sketches before proceeding to the Composition Production group project.

Group Project:   Compostion (Production)
On behalf of his/her team, each producer wiil submit video footage based on the approved storyboard from the previous assignment.  No less than a 10:1 shooting ratio is expected, demonstrating multiple performances, exposure settings, and focal lengths.  Substantiating documentation will (1) include a footage log with the best take of each shot designated by time code, (2) account in writing for any deviations from the storyboard, and (3) include a lighting plot.

Consult the grading rubric for this project here.  A successful project from Fall 2006 demonstrates the classic compositional scene structure from establishing shot to close-up and reverse angle:

Group Assignment:   Movement Pre-Production
On behalf of his/her team, each director will submit sketches for at least eight different moving shots:  (1) a tilt which follows primary movement; (2) a pan which follows primary movement: (3) a shot which showcases x-axis camera movement; (4) a shot which showcases y-axis camera movement; (5) a shot which showecases z-axis camera movement; (6) a shot which combines primary movement with secondary movement in the z-axis; (7) a shot which combines movement of the camera on its mount with movement of the mount itself; (8) a focus pull.

In a brief paragraph to accompany each sketch, the group will articulate its choices of mise-en-scène, apparent distance, angle, and depth of field.  The director will secure the professor's signature on the sketches before proceeding to the Movement Production group project.

Group Project:  Movement Production
On behalf of his/her team, each producer will submit video footage based on the approved storyboard from the previous assignment.  No less than a 15:1 shooting ratio is expected, demonstrating multiple performances of talent & camera operators, exposure settings, and focal lengths.  Though haphazard, hand-held camera movement may be a stylistic possibility in other situations, the most successful camera operators for this project will execute shots smoothly.  Substantiating documentation will (1) include a footage log with the best take of each shot designated by time code, (2) account in writing for any deviations from the storyboard, and (3) include a lighting plot.

Consult the grading rubric for this project here. Successful projects from previous semesters demonstrate primary and secondary movement in all three axes:

Individual Assignment:  Conversation Transcript (Phase One)
As an exercise in listening to and recreating realistic dialogue, transcribe 500-750 words of a conversation between two people.  Remove references to gender, age, appearance, or action.  Though this sample employs a format prescribed by the Writers Guild of America, yours is not required to do so.  Bring hard copies to class for each member of your group and one for the professor.

Group Assignment:   Conversation Transcript (Phase Two)
Choose one conversation from the individual transcripts submitted to your group.  Collaborate, reducing it to no more than 150 words.  On behalf of his/her team, each producer will e-mail an electronic version (.docx or .pdf) of the resulting script to the professor. 

Group Assignment:   Conversation Transcript (Phase Three)
On behalf of his/her team, each producer will submit two hard copies of the script to the professor.

Group Assignment:   Location Dialogue Pre-Production
Based on a script provided by the professor and on behalf of his/her team, each director will submit sketches for at least four different shots which tell the story of a two-person conversation.  At least one of the shots should employ a moving camera (as demonstrated by a Fall 2006 class project below): 

The most successful of these storyboards will employ a classical progression from establishing shot to close-up.  In a brief paragraph to accompany each sketch, the group will articulate its choices of mise-en-scène, apparent distance, angle, and depth of field.  The director will secure the professor's signature on the sketches before proceeding to the Location Dialogue Production project.

Group Project:   Location Dialogue Production
On behalf of his/her team, each producer will submit raw video footage based on the approved storyboard from the previous assignment.  A 10:1 shooting ratio is expected, demonstrating multiple performances of talent & camera operators, exposure settings, and focal lengths.  Dialogue and one minute of ambient roomtone should be recorded with a boom microphone.  Crew members may not double as actors.  Substantiating documentation (1) will include a footage log with the best take of each shot designated by time code, (2) account in writing for any deviations from the storyboard, and (3) include a lighting plot. 

Note:  Each student in the group will need his/her own individual copy of this project's raw footage to complete the next individual project.

Final Exam:  Pre-Production
On behalf of his/her team, each director will submit sketches for an original final project not to exceed three minutes in length. In a brief paragraph to accompany each sketch, the director will articulate choices of mise-en-scène, apparent distance, angle, and depth of field.  Secure the professor's signature on the sketches before proceeding to the Production phase. Consult the grading rubric for this project here.

Final Exam:  Screening
Your film will be screened at the Media Showcase in the CFAC Recital Hall.  The program includes all final projects in all Media Production classes.  A reception follows.  Your attendance is mandatory.

Final Exam:  Assessment
A conversation to debrief the Showcase screening of your films as well as a brief written exam of 20 multiple choice questions from your class notes and the text.
All student work must be removed from the Unity Server.