Tuesday, May 10

We started class by looking at a recent news story concerning Detroit. 47% of people living in Detroit are illiterate! This is the reason that we work so hard in school. Here's a link to article we looked at:

Nearly Half of Detroit's Adults are Functionally Illiterate

Students spent the bulk of today (60 minutes) finishing their EOCT's from yesterday. Students who were absent one or both days will have the opportunity to make up their tests on the designated make-up days.

Finally, we discussed an upcoming project in here: The Film Project. Students are going to imagine that they are the producers of a film version of a story we read in class. They will put together a formal proposal to send off to potential investors. This proposal will include many different documents, such as a cover letter, script excerpt, and a movie poster. Students received a handout on the project's requirements. We will be working on this in class Wednesday and Thursday, and we will go to the computer lab Friday to type or research.

Here are some more details about the project that can be found on the handout:

YOUR MOVIE PROPOSAL

Literature is subjective. This means that literature can mean different things to different people. For example, I might read a story and think a certain way about it, but you may read the same story and feel entirely differently. I think this is one of the great qualities of literature and art.

For example, think about Romeo and Juliet and all the different versions of it. We’ve:
• Read Shakespeare’s version (which wasn’t even the original version!),
• listened to an audio production
• watched two film versions (a 1968 classic version and a 1997 modernized version)
• looked at the modernized No Fear version, and
• read a comic book version of it.

There are so many different versions because different people have their own ideas about what is great about the story.

We are about to start a major project in here. For this project, you will imagine that you are a movie director and that you want to make a movie based upon something we’ve read in class. You don’t have enough money to finance your movie, though. You will create a proposal that you could send to potential investors in your movie. Try to make your proposal as professional looking and interesting as possible. You are not actually making a movie. You are just writing a proposal for a movie.

Here is a list of the things we read in class that I think would make for good movies. You can choose from this list, or pick any other story from our textbook. Try to choose something that has a strong plot that you can make an exciting movie about.

“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”, p.63
“The Cask of Amontillado”, p.95
“My Delicate Heart Condition”, p.104
“The Scarlet Ibis”, p.154
“La Puerta”, p.166
“The Gift of the Magi”, p.173
“The Necklace”, p.190
“A Taste of Snow”, p.284
“Next!”, p.340
“Lord Randal”, p.384
“The Erl-king”, p.395
“A Marriage Proposal”, p.413
“Romeo and Juliet”, p.482
Homer’s “Odyssey”, p.599

Take some time to think of what story you could make into an interesting film.

PROJECT REQUIREMENTS

Your role: Imagine that are producing a film version of one of our stories.

Your task: You want to write a convincing proposal that will attract investors to finance your film. Your film may make artistic changes to the story if you’d like, but it must remain mostly faithful to the major themes and conflicts of the story. Remember, if your proposal is not neat and professional, people will not invest any cash money in your film.

Requirements: (checklist for your convenience)

Cover letter: A letter to the movie company that “sells” your movie. Tell me why your movie will be a success. You need to convince the company that your movie is a smart investment and explain who your target audience is. Must be in proper letter format.
Outline: An outline of what your movie is about. Tell the basic plot. Mention the setting, characters, and conflict. Describe what the major themes of your movie will be.
Production Notes: How much money will you need for this movie? Be realistic. Describe the sets that will need to be built. Describe the costumes that your characters will wear. Include pictures or draw things so your investor will get a clear idea of what you are planning.
Music Notes: What kind of music will you use in your movie? Will you use an instrumental score, or a soundtrack with popular songs? Tell me what type of music your movie will use and what scenes will be enhanced by music.
Screenplay: Write an excerpt from your original screenplay. This excerpt should be from the most important scene. It should include stage and sound directions. This excerpt should be two pages typed, minimum.
Storyboard: A storyboard is a graphic organizer that shows how your movie will play, moment by moment. Your storyboard should be at least six panels long and demonstrate your costuming, setting, and camera choices.
Movie Poster: The movie poster should be visually interesting and have the ability to attract customers to see the movie.
Neatness: Your entire proposal should be neat and professional. It should look good!

The above guidelines are minimum suggestions only. Feel free to get creative and go beyond the requirements. If this were a real life situation, you would use anything you could imagine to help you secure financing for your film. For example, maybe you want to write and record original music for the movie, film a trailer, or use a digital camera and costumes to make a realistic poster advertising your film.

You will be given class time to work on this. You will be instructed on how to create each of the above documents, and I encourage you to ask questions. Please remember, my art supplies are limited, so arrange to bring in anything you may need.