Nominations for WRD department awards

Each spring, WRD acknowledges outstanding student work created in our classes during the previous calendar year with an awards ceremony and cash prizes.  We are already accepting nominations of student projects from 2016 (last spring, summer, and this fall semester). I am only allowed to nominate two projects per class but students can also nominate themselves for these awards through the same link.

This only works if you can include a URL on the form - as in, if you post the video to Youtube or other video sharing website. Talk to your group members - you must be unanimous to post online!

Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeOiaK4f1xssf_FN3ni5tzhNoxk-CUKQVB3kXazj_86cP7nFw/viewform?c=0&w=1

As always, just reach out if you have any questions about this contest or the nomination process, and thanks!

Reminders for this week

Fellow writers,

We have no class scheduled for Tuesday; please work on your projects. I am available in office hours from 3:30 to 4:45, or email me to set up an appointment. Especially by this point in the semester you should know (and it's in the syllabus): I do NOT discuss grades by email, under any circumstances. Please come to office hours or make an appointment to discuss your grades.

For Thursday, the 2 PM class does not have a meeting, but the 5 PM class does for our first presentation. Office hours will be held at 3:30 as usual. Next week the remainder of presentations are due, and bonus papers are due the first day of finals.

Please DO NOT FORGET: your presentation requires EACH of you to have your own annotated bibliography and group evaluations. Just in case, every member should also have a copy of the final video file. Email me and let me know if you want to give anyone a score of less than 4!

See you in office hours,
Dr. Hudgens

Bonus Paper Assignment

Fellow writers,

I am offering an opportunity for up to five points of bonus towards your final average in the class. Since this is a writing class, the bonus is a paper. I am asking for an analysis of a new a different ad - perhaps one of the holiday ads you see over break. The requirements for this assignment are the same as for the ad analysis essay. Final drafts are due in my mailbox no later than Monday, December 12th at 4 PM. After 4 PM I will accept no further submissions. Please email me if you have questions, and have a wonderful break.

Due Dates for Final Group Projects

Thursday, Dec 1st
2 PM CANCELED - work on projects
5 PM Dunder Mifflin

Tuesday, Dec 6th
2 PM Rich Homeless Quan; Bro Pharmeceuticals
5 PM Team Name; Sports Porn

Thursday Dec 8th
2 PM Team Free Will; The Gold Team
5 PM #NotAllMen; Disney Group

Thursday Office Hours Canceled

I will be attending a graduate student meeting; please let me know if you would like to schedule an appointment.

Other Examples

Student Carl's Jr. Parody
Student ASPCA Parody

Final Groups

2 PM Class
Group 1: Lane, Matt, Steffi, Elise, Shannon, Cole
Group 2: Bridget, Claire, Noah, Cassidy M, Franklin, Daniel
Group 3: Ivanka, Ronni, Sally, Morgan, Cassidy P, Sydney
Group 4: Conner, Emma, Phillip, Patrick, Jonathan

5 PM Class
Group 1: Cynthia, Kyra, Kelsey, Hunter
Group 2: Jackson, Connor, Evan D, Evan H, Jacob
Group 3: Caroline, Brady, Mitchell, Joel, Amanda
Group 4: Noa, Christina, Allison, Harrison
Group 5: Cody, Max, Alex, John

Introduction to Filmmaking

Here are the absolute basics of film production: the kinds of roles people can take and the five steps of the filmmaking process.

Roles:

Screenwriters - write the script, aka the screenplay

Filmographers or camera people - record the performances on video

Actors - the people who perform the script; includes voiceover actors, stars, as well as extras and supporting roles

Sound technicians - responsible for recording audio, adding in music and sound effects, layering different soundtracks so it blends properly

Editors - put everything together in the right order using video and audio editing equipment

Graphic designers - responsible for the overall "look," including on-screen text, animations, etc.

Directors - lead production by telling actors where to stand, how to emote, when to do what; casting directors select who act in which roles

Producers - often an honorary title, but strictly refers to the people who manage the production team as a whole and move the project from development to distribution; frequently also the people who provide financial backing or other resources for the film

Gophers - the people who "go for" whatever the crew needs, from food to equipment; the road crew of the production company

Five Stages of Filmmaking 

Not only in this strict order, some stages overlap, and sometimes you have to go back to the drawing board!

1. Development - brainstorming, rough drafts, scriptwriting, storyboards, etc.

2. Pre-production - assigning/hiring cast and crew, designating meeting places and times for production schedule, set building, etc.

3. Production - shooting the raw footage, recording audio & video, animations, etc.

4. Post-production aka post - editing everything into a film

5. Distribution - sharing the final cut (posting online, showing in theaters, presenting in class)

Some other considerations:
- EVERYONE in the group should have a copy of the video file BEFORE the day of the presentation
- We also need to decide presentation order today
- You may either use your phones for video & audio recording or you can check out equipment (incl. cameras) from WRD (13th floor of Patterson Office Tower, go to the big glassed-in office) AND from the AV Services (in the basement of WT Young, incl. tripods for stable video, but NOT video cameras)


Final Project Requirements Handout

This Week and Next

This post is just a reminder that we have conferences all this week, and no class on Tuesday the 8th because of the election. See you all with your Final Drafts of your Ad Analysis Essay on Thursday, November 10th - and please email me if you have questions in the meantime!

Peer Review Groups & Follow-up Survey

These are the groups for peer review. If you are absent Tuesday, it is your responsibility to contact your group and do peer review and then contact me with the evidence that you completed the peer review activity.

2 PM
Group 1: Daniel, Bridget, Morgan, Claire, Cassidy M, Sydney
Group 2: Sally, Jonathan, Ivanka, Matthew, Noah
Group 3: Lane, Phillip, Franklin, Shannon, Steffi, Elise
Group 4: Emma, Patrick, Connor, Cole, Ronni, Cassidy P

5 PM
Group 1: Connor, Jackson, Jacob, Evan D, Evan H
Group 2: Kelsey, John, Allison, Amanda
Group 3: Joel, Hunter, Caroline, Noa, Mitchell
Group 4: Cynthia, Harrison, Alex, Kyra
Group 5: Christina, Maxwell, Cody, Brady


Also: for participation points, complete the follow-up survey on library research located here. This link also now is included in the Schedule of Assignments for Tuesday, October 25.

Office Hours in Basement of WT Young Today, too

I'll be holding my 3:30 to 4:45 office hours down in the center area of the basement of WT Young Library as well, today. Please email me if you have questions, and see you down there for class.

Reminder: Go to WT Young Basement!

This is just a post to remind you that we are meeting in the basement of WT Young Library tomorrow instead of in our normal classroom.

Library Survey

Mandatory: Complete before Oct 13 to receive a pass/fail participation grade. This is the library survey and will help our instructor prepare for our session. Now also linked to in the schedule of assignments on this date.

Oct 4 Office Hours Canceled

Office hours canceled Tuesday for PGSA meeting; please email me if you need to meet outside of class.

Presentation Schedule

Table here.

Example ads

Ads Folder: Here.

Week 6 Links

Body Language Ted Talk by Amy Cuddy
"Mississippi Goddamn" by Nina Simone

Office Hours Canceled

Canceling to attend a philosophy talk - let me know if you need to meet Friday ASAP so I can plan to be on campus.

Week 5 Links

Common Errors from the first essays
Sample Outline for the presentations (Oct 6-13)
Blank Rubric for Peer Review Day (Oct 4)

Webcomic: Identity Shift
Video: Things Guys Say to Lesbians
Video: Things Bisexual People Are Tired of Hearing


Music Video: Girl in a Country Song
Music Video: In for the Kill

For Thursday:
Video: How to Tell Someone They Sound Racist

Next Week:
Start working on your rhetorical analysis if you haven't done so already. Here are some tips:


Watch the ad once. Now watch it again and take notes, allowing the ad to loop. Read your notes, maybe let the ad loop some more if you want. Write one or more (complete, grammatical) sentences in response to each of these questions:
1. Who is the author of this piece/the creator of the message? Do a Google: who is responsible for this particular ad campaign for Hyundai?
2. Who do you think is the intended audience? Do not simply say "people watching the Super Bowl" or "black people" - there is more going on here. Which kind of people is the advertisement targeting and why, in your opinion?
3. What is the message this advertisement conveys, beyond simply "buy Hyundai"? Why do they want you to buy Hyundai? Also: What does this message say about black fatherhood, masculinity, sexuality, etc.? Think about how race intersects with other cultural lenses.
4. Make some claims about design choices: what decisions did the creators make about what you see, what you hear, what you read, what kind of text, etc.? Why do you think they made those choices specifically?
5. Make some claims about design strategies: What kind of impact does the advertisement have in terms of ethos (authority - techniques to make us feel the ad comes from a trustworthy source of information, the sense that the ad is 'legit'), pathos (emotion - techniques to make us feel good or bad in order to convince us to accept their message), and logos (argument - techniques to appeal to our sense of reason and logic to convince us to accept their message)?  Why did the advertisers use those appeals to convince us to buy Hyundai?
6. What constraints or limitations affected their decision making process? Why could they not make certain choices, include different strategies? These can be any number of things: time, resources, what year it is, what politics are in place, all sorts of contextual issues, etc.

This week's links

Oil 4 Blood music video & lyrics by Frank Waln

Gender Unicorn illustration by Landyn Pan and Anna Moore

Jessica's Feminized Atmosphere video from The Daily Show with Jessica Williams

Class Canceled

Fellow writers,

I do apologize but I am going to have to cancel class. I've been battling a bad cold all weekend and cannot seem to kick it.

For today: please watch the TED Talk linked to in the Reading Assignment Schedule. We will incorporate this into our (brief) discussion of the Coontz essay first thing on Thursday, and then attempt to move forward into the section on Gender and Sexuality as a critical lens. We might end up a little behind, but I'm going to try to keep us more or less on schedule if at all possible. Now would also be a good time to start selecting an advertisement for your presentation. I encourage you to research ads pertinent to your critical lens (class, gender, race, ability, etc.) during our scheduled class time, and start taking a few notes. Remember the process of looking for trouble from the Savini essay? That's a great way to begin.

For Thursday: please prepare for the planned lesson on Thursday by reading the Kimmel article in the Reading Assignments folder; if you need to skim back over the Coontz or re-watch the video to prepare for discussion, please do so before class.

Watch this space - if anything changes I will post it here. I do apologize for canceling and I hope you can use the time to be productive.

Best,
Dr. Hudgens

Links from This Week

Satire about Economic Class (webcomic)
Monty Python "Every Sperm Is Sacred" (clip from TV show)
Monty Python "Argument Clinic" (clip from TV show) [did not watch in class, but offers good definition of an argument]

B.B. King "Why I Sing the Blues" (youtube video)
Equality vs. Equity vs. Removing Systemic Barriers (tweeted webcomic)
"Crack baby" Study (article on Philly.com)

Office Hours Canceled

I'm canceling office hours today because it is my birthday - email me if you need to meet outside of office hours on Thursday.

First Syllabus & Schedule of Assignments

Welcome to the Fall 2016 WRD 112 Blog!

Here are a few links to get you started: 

Books
Syllabus
Schedule of Assignments
How to Email Your Professors (Without Being Annoying AF)
Tuesday's Reading: Savini's "Looking for Trouble"
Optional Reading: Shadow Syllabus
Short Essay Prompts
Rubrics

Drive folder includes most reading assignments: “Readings.”

These files may change - usually they both do - so check back daily for new blog posts. I will not be using Canvas or Blackboard during this semester, so this blog and your email address will be our main points of contact.

My email for this class is jenniferlhudgens (at) uky (dot) edu or if you fail to reach me there you can try jenniferphilosophy (at) gmail (dot) com - but I DO NOT discuss grades by email, you must come to office hours or make an appointment. This is to protect your privacy, and is school policy!

I had a fantastic time teaching WRD 110 and 111, and I hope we have another great semester this Fall with WRD 112!