First and foremost if any of you have any questions you can reach me at coryt@uni.edu, or find me on facebook. I like many of you check it religiously.
Through a process of trail and error throughout the semester I eventually developed what I found to be the most effective way to get the most out of the movie and have the most content for my paper and post. Though you will not have the exact same requirements I had, these tips will still save you time and effort.
The first thing to keep in mind whether you are doing a blog comment or post is to always do it on a word processing program first and save it. I saved mine with a title and a date to help keep them organized. Many times even though the blog autosaves your work, I fell victim to computer mess-ups and had to re-write my posts. Then when finished simply copy and paste your work into the create entry page.
The next important thing that will save you time is reading the chapter before you watch the movie. You should also write down a short list of the key concepts presented in the chapter, and a brief definition if you are still uncomfortable with the terms. Then while viewing the movie it is very easy to jot down reminders of scenes that illustrate those concepts most effectively. This will save you having to re-view the movie because you can't remember specific examples. It will also help you apply the knowledge you have learned in the chapter making it much easier to recall in the future.
For example after reading about the three types of needs, when I viewed Cast Away it was very easy to write my paper and blog because I had written down examples from many scenes next to each type of need in my notes.
Example:
This movie corresponds exactly to what we talked about in class about the three levels of needs. On his stint on the island he is presented with a lack of all three, and it depicts his struggle to maintain equilibrium on these three aspects.
Physiological: The need for water, food, and sex.
In the beginning he struggled to get even coconut milk, by the end he had leaves and half coconuts set out to catch the rainwater.
He learned to fish, and catch crab, after not being able to stomach it raw, after many tries built a fire to cook the food.
Psychological: The continuing theme was control, how when he went to the island, he had no control, but by the conclusion he had realized he did do things to maintain control. He did not open that last package he built the raft to leave.
Social: After time started passing, he need for affiliation was the most apparent. He created the volleyball with the blood face naming it Wilson, and it nearly crushed him when he lost it after all those years.
So don't be afraid to take the extra couple of minutes to take notes about concepts while reading the chapter because it definitely will save you time and effort in the long run. Obviously the explanations need to be more in depth than the ones above but that should give you a pretty clear idea about how to get started.
Also I always watched movies with a friend and we usually talked about it for a few minutes afterwards and compared notes. With many things going on and so many concepts it is easy to miss something that may be interesting to write about.
Another tip if you sometimes are forgetful or have a friend who didn't quite send the netflix disc back in time, is that most of these movies are also available for purchase on itunes. They are a bit more expensive, but I did use it as a last resort.
Read other peoples posts! Check out the blog, see what people are writing about and how they are doing it. It is an excellent resource.
Finally.. Ask Questions! If your really having trouble understanding something there is a very good chance someone else doesn't get it either. Send myself or Dr. MacLin an email!
That is all I can remember for tips as of now. I will keep adding them as I run into more things.
-Cory
Recent Comments