Assignment Overview

In this assignment we will complete an analysis of a remix movie trailer or literal trailer in terms of the theories on remix introduced in our readings. The remix will be of your own choosing (and are not limited to the sites linked-to above, though remixes deconstructed in class cannot be used) though BW must approve it. Remixes that remix video so the characters are singing songs, such as Star Wars Call Me Maybe, cannot be used because, though fun, they typically are not employing theories and practices that we’re reading about.

The goals of the assignment are to:

• become comfortable applying the main theories and practices relating to remix in our readings (such as, intertextuality, juxtaposition, and montage)
• consider how those practices affect meaning
• consider how the modes of audio and video affect meaning
• consider how the order of clips in a video affects meaning based on where the clips appear
• think critically about how a video remix borrows from or remediates practices previously associated with writing alphabetic text
• become familiar with screen shot software and Prezi presentation software

Assignment Specifics

The analysis will be presented in the form of a timeline. Because videos are measured in increments of TIME we’ll be using the metaphor of the timeline throughout the semester. Each project must include the following:

• A title, your name, and date
• the original movie trailer (not the movie) including the date, director, and URL to it on the web
• the remix trailer that will be analyzed, including the date, creator, and URL to it on the web
• your reflection about the assignment
• a horizontal timeline axis that has the units of time labeled in 10 second increments
• call-outs that contain the following:
  • a screenshot of the moment to be analyzed
  • a brief title of the moment
  • the minute and second of the moment in the remix
  • a 140-word -character description of the moment with the heading “Description”
  • a 250 – 300 word analysis of the moment that is detailed and succinct
• there should be 6 call-outs in total, each of which covers one of the following (in any order):
  • intertextuality
  • juxtaposition
  • montage
  • gesture
  • genre
  • soundtrack
    • please write analysis: intertextuality or analysis: genre at the top of the analysis to help identify it for BW.

Reflection assignment
Compose a 500 – 750 word reflection in which you discuss what you think it means to be screen literate today. Think in terms of the readings and videos we watched on the subject of YouTube, remix, mashup, and comics. What does someone need to know and to understand to call themselves screen literate. You may look at Keven Kelly’s article, but I’d like you to come to your own conclusions, as well.

Compose your reflection in Word or other compose space, save it as a PDF file, and upload it to your Prezi.

Sample Assignment

You may use the below Prezi as a sample for how to put organize the project.

How to Turn in Your Work

Rough Draft
Tweet a link to your rough draft with the hashtags #wrtf12 and #remixrd

Final Draft
Create a blog post on the course blog in which you briefly introduce your remix (around 100 – 150 words) and add a link to your Prezi (Prezis cannot be embedded into WordPress.com blogs). So that the post looks nice in the blog front page, take a screen shot of a meaningful part of your Prezi and set that as the Featured Image for your post.

Assessment and Due Dates

Your project will be assessed in terms of the quality of your theoretical analysis and your reflection statement.

9/20 9/27: tweet a link to the remix you’d like to analyze with the title of the remix and the hashtags #wrtf12 and #remixchoice
9/27 10/4: rough draft due in Prezi by start of class (do not include reflection at this time): tweet a link to your rough draft with the hashtags #wrtf12 and #remixrd
10/4 10/11: final draft (including reflection) due by start of class 11:00pm