# GENED1049 East Asian Cinema - Creative assignment support plan
https://canvas.harvard.edu/courses/93282/pages/resources-for-making?module_item_id=904975
* Weekly office hours?
* Film making resource?
* “Step instructions on how to approach some of the assignments”? - so you're making a supercut, here's how I'd go about making a supercut.
* Link to weekly prompts:
Thanks so much for taking the time to meet with me and Yedong about supporting East Asian Cinema with the wonderful resources at the learning lab. It would be amazing to have your support in the following areas:
1) workshops on lighting/camera, audio, special effects, and video essay editing. We also talked about having someone come to lecture on Feb 2 to give a 5-10 minute presentation about these workshops to encourage students to sign up.
2) an FAQ on technical resources and links to tutorials (for example, students asked where they can get editing programs)
3) Friday office hours for technical consultation and potential equipment loan.
A few notes about what workshops might cover:
1) Lighting/Camera
* The lighting workshop 2 years ago with a focus on Rashomon was perfect if that can be repeated (i believe that was chiaroscuro lighting on faces for dramatic effect); a variation would be three-key lighting. Other than studio lighting of a facial close-up, if there are any tips on shooting outdoors at night but keeping the characters visible or even highlighted it would be fantastic, as in many of Wong Kar-wai’s films, though we only cover those before spring break:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJOndT7pgRk
2) VIdeo essay editing - video essays are increasingly popular among students who are not as comfortable acting in their own films, so if they can learn how to make supercuts with split screens, put voiceover narration over an existing clip, separating audio from visual tracks, and possibly changing the colors and speed of clips that would be great. Other really useful skills are downloading videos from Youtube and screen-recording from streaming websites for video essay editing. Here are some video essays I would probably be showing in class within the first 4 weeks:
Supercut of Ozu’s films
https://vimeo.com/55956937
Putting Ozu’s Tokyo Story on Zoom
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv0uVQ4o0_0
Every Frame a Painting about Kurosawa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doaQC-S8de8
This is a student project from some years ago about Zhang Yimou’s colors that got a lot of views
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1A2b2ZcXFI
3) Audio - this may or may not work well as a workshop, but often students have a lot of trouble recording dialogues that are perfectly understandable, especially if the recording takes place outdoors. If they didn’t check out special equipment, can we still give them some tips on more effective audio capture with phone cameras? Apart from audio capture, there is also audio editing. An early creative assignment option is to add a benshi (voiceover) narration to a silent film—is there an easy program for them to do that? Adding sound (be it narration, music, or sound effects) to a silent film would also work well. For the creation of film trailers, students often download the same two or three pieces of film trailer music, so if there is an audio archive that they can use of various film music and sound effects (such as kungfu punching sounds) that would be very useful.
4) Visual Effects / Animation - these might be two different things or they can be combined. When students had to be sent home in spring 2020, several had themselves play several different characters, such as this one:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/33duvsmz8kyv1n7/Angela%20Kim%20Rashomange.mp4?dl=0
Another team made very cool use of greenscreen to tell a fairy tale:
https://vimeo.com/416924803/b96585f503
There was also a Zoombombing horror film:
https://vimeo.com/416963407/7eb1c7ae0e
And a 1-min animation
https://vimeo.com/416976113
Once a student also applied some kind of special effect to a documentary film to make it look as if it’s animated. I forgot to ask her what program she used, but it certainly created a very interesting final product.
So just wanted to send along some ideas for now and hope there’ll be a way to incorporate them into the class!
Many thanks!
Jie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1A2b2ZcXFI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doaQC-S8de8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv0uVQ4o0_0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJOndT7pgRk
https://canvas.harvard.edu/courses/93282/assignments/473791
https://canvas.harvard.edu/courses/93282/pages/film-terminology-glossary?module_item_id=904969
---
tags: course support
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# GENED1049 Weekly Assignments
[Class Resources](https://canvas.harvard.edu/courses/93282/modules) on writing about film, filming, and cameras.
## Week 1 - Postings on Film Analysis Terms and To Live
[Film Terminology Glossary](https://canvas.harvard.edu/courses/93282/pages/film-terminology-glossary?module_item_id=904969)
### Analytical Posting Options:
1) Illustrate 5 film terms from 3 categories (mise-en-scene, cinematography editing, sound). You may take frames/screen-shots from [To Live ](https://vimeo.com/315367317/631a41b894) and/or write down the starting and ending times. For each of the 5 terms you’re illustrating, briefly speculate on what that specific technique/element is contributing to the scene (e.g. Does it give information about a character, situation, or space? Does it produce a certain mood, etc.?).
2) In 350-500 words, identify examples of referential, implicit, explicit and symptomatic meanings you found in To Live?
### Creative Posting Option:
1) As per Analytical Posting Option #1, instead of using frames from [To Live ](https://vimeo.com/315367317/631a41b894), use your camera to illustrate the 5 formal elements/techniques from 3 categories. You can either take still photos or make a short video (no more than 1.5 min) comprised of the 5 elements you’d like to illustrate (if your video actually has a narrative that would be a plus). Also include 2-3 sentences describing what you were trying to accomplish. Upload the link to the course's Vimeo account so we can access it. A collaboration of up to 3 students is possible if you make a video. EACH PERSON FROM THE GROUP SHOULD SUBMIT A LINK TO THE VIDEO. PLEASE INCLUDE GROUP MEMBER NAMES IN YOUR VIDEO AS WELL.
## Week 2 - Kurosawa's Rashomon
### Analytical Options - (choose ONE prompt only and write a 350-500 word essay; due Fri Feb 14, 5pm)
How have [To Live ](https://vimeo.com/315367317/631a41b894) or [Rashomon](https://vimeo.com/316327052/01d35eb118) appropriated or reinvented Chinese or Japanese aesthetic traditions that predate the invention of cinema?
Give a shot-by-shot analysis of a clip (< 2 min) from Rashomon and explain its significance in the film’s narrative.
Discuss Kurosawa’s film adaptation of Akutagawa’s short stories “Rashomon” and “In the Grove”? In what ways is the film “faithful” to its literary sources, and in what ways has it departed from the original stories? Please give concrete examples and speculate on the implications of the film’s difference from the short stories.
### Creative - choose one of the following prompts (due Mon Feb 17, noon)
Remake, shot by shot, a scene from [To Live ](https://vimeo.com/315367317/631a41b894) or [Rashomon](https://vimeo.com/316327052/01d35eb118) (collaboration of up to 4 people, < 1.5 min).
Make an extra scene for Rashomon or To Live. This can be a prequel, a sequel, an added scene, or a scene to replace another scene in either film (collaboration of up to 4 people, < 1.5 min).
TAKE NOTE: When submitting the posting, every student should include an artist’s statement (a paragraph or so) describing his/her contribution to the group, as well as some reflection on what your group was trying to accomplish. Please also include a link to your group’s project (uploaded to our Vimeo site) somewhere within the artist’s statement word document which is also due Mon at noon. Don't forget to include your group members' names!
## Week 3 - Visual Storytelling in Silent Cinema
### Analytical Options (due Friday 5pm unless it takes the form of a video essay, which would be due Monday noon)
Do a shot-by-shot analysis of a clip (<2 min) of your choice from The Goddess or Street Angel. In addition to noting any formal elements/techniques being used in the film, also speculate on how that specific element/technique might be functioning (e.g. contributing information, creating a mood, etc.) within the film. Please also include screen-shots and/or time-codes for our reference.
Illustrate or critique Laura Mulvey’s theory by analyzing a clip from The Goddess or Street Angel. Tip: You might refer to a specific quote in the text to help support your analysis. Please include a time-code (e.g. 23:01 – 30:30) for our reference.
What do the two films this week tell you about the city of Shanghai in the 1930s? Please give specific examples.
### Creative Postings (due Feb 24 Monday noon)
For all options, your artist statement (100-200 words) should explain what you are trying to achieve and the division of labor among group members if it’s a collaborative project. If it’s a collaborative project, please produce only one collective artist statement, but be sure each person submits a copy.
1. lllustrate or critique gaze theory by making a film of your own (<2 min).
2. How do melodramas such as To Live and The Goddess seek to emotionally affect their audiences? Try to create a mini melodrama that aims to move your audience to tears under 2 minutes with as few words as possible. (<2 min)
3. Make a short film that reflects contemporary social issues related to gender, race, or class. Your artist statement should try to relate your film to this week's assigned movies.
4. Create a mini city symphony (like the credit sequence of Street Angels) or musical montage illustration of a song in the style of *The Song of the Four Seasons* in Street Angels. (<2 min)
5. IF YOU HAVE NOT YET DONE A CREATIVE PROJECT - you may also remake a scene from any film this week.
## Week 4 - Ozu
### Analytical
1) Critique the statement: “Ozu is the most Japanese of all Japanese film directors.” Be sure to use specific examples that contextualize Ozu’s work in his time. Drawing on readings in addition to the lecture would be a plus.
2) Choose a formal element (e.g. composition, camera movement, performance, etc.), characteristic of Ozu’s style and analyze 2-3 examples from the assigned films.
Note: The 2nd analytical prompt can also take the form of a) mini-video essay or, b) “supercut” (both < 2 min) and will be due on Mon 12noon. Please submit the video under "Creative Assignments". Maximum of 2 students per group for the video essay/supercut assignment. For tips on the video essay and supercut, please consult the Modules section of the course website. Please remember to submit a brief artist statement (100-200 words), which you can use to clarify concepts and motivations, and if it’s a collaborative project between two people, the division of labour.
3. Were you able to relate to any of the characters or intergenerational relationships in I Was Born, But... and Tokyo Story. Write a personal reflection on ways you might "recognize" yourself or your family in Ozu's films as well as differences between Ozu's families and your family.
### Creative
Choose a formal element (e.g. composition, camera movement, performance, etc.), characteristic of Ozu’s style and analyze 2-3 examples from the assigned films. This can take the form of a) mini-video essay or, b) “supercut” (both < 2 min). Maximum of 2 students per group for the video essay/supercut assignment. For tips on the video essay and supercut, please consult the Modules section of the course website. Please remember to submit a brief artist statement (100-200 words), which you can use to clarify concepts and motivations, and if it’s a collaborative project between two people, the division of labour.
Make a fictional film (< 2 min) that pays tribute to Ozu’s favourite themes and signature style. Your artist statement (100-200 words) should explain your thematic and formal choices and the division of labour among group members (up to 4 people) if it’s a collaborative project.
Taking inspiration from I Was Born, But… and/or Tokyo Story, make a short silent film (< 2 min) that tries to create a scene from childhood or from old age, preferably portraying some kind of intergenerational relationship. Your artist statement should comment on similarities and/or differences between your creation and the relationships in Ozu's films.
Add a benshi soundtrack to a scene (<2 min) of I Was Born, But... that narrates the film as well as gives voice to all the characters (individual project only).
## Week 5 - War Memories
### Analytical
Do the films this week do justice to the war histories they portray? How do their mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing, and/or sound contribute to what the films seeks to express? Can you conceive of an alternative cinematic approach to the histories they portray? (your analytical posting can answer one or more of the above questions). Length: 350-500 words.
### Creative
Make a trailer for a historical fiction film set in a period that predates your own birth (< 2 min, collaboration with up to 4 students). While we prefer for the film to be related to East Asia, your trailer could also be about a historical event elsewhere, in which case be sure to compare your approach to history with that of Welcome to Dongmakgol or Grave of the Fireflies.
Alternatively, you can present your project in the form of a storyboard, draw it in the form of a short graphic novel, or create a small digital photo book (note: individual project only).
Please also include an artist’s statement of 100-200 words, describing either your concept/motivation for the piece or your process.
## Week 6 - Slow Cinema In An Age Of Speed
### Analytical
1. Read either Lim's or Andrew's recommended reading and write an analysis of, or make a video essay about, The Hole or The City of Sadness as "slow cinema."
2. How might you relate Tsai Ming-liang's Hole to our current coronavirus crisis? You can write an analytical piece or make a video response.
3. This is an option if you had time to watch A City of Sadness: How does the film differ from your expectations of a film about a national trauma? Why do you think Hou Hsiao-hsien chose to represent history the way he did? Do you find Hou’s cinematic techniques appropriate for the history of 228? How would you compare Hou Hsiao-hsien’s treatment of history with that of To Live or Welcome to Dongmakgol? (Please feel free to answer one or more of these questions, and you may find section 1 of the Nornes/Yeh reading especially helpful).
4. Write about the soundtrack of The Hole or A City of Sadness, focusing on either the music or the voiceover.
### Creative
1. How might you relate Tsai Ming-liang's Hole to our current coronavirus crisis? Make a video response inspired by The Hole.
2. Create a scene in one or two long takes (<2 min) that is worthy of our sustained attention. Please explain why and compare your own long take with that of Tsai Ming-liang or Hou Hsiao-hsien’s in your artist statement.
3. Create a "musical number" (<2 min) inspired by the song-and-dance interludes in The Hole.
4. [This is an option if you haven't submitted a creative trailer for last week] Make a trailer for a historical fiction film set in a period that predates your own birth (< 2 min, collaboration with up to 4 students). While we prefer for the film to be related to East Asia, your trailer could also be about a historical event elsewhere, in which case be sure to compare your approach to history with films we covered in this class. Please also include an artist’s statement of 100-200 words, describing either your concept/motivation for the piece or your process.
## Week 7 - Hong Kong Auteur
### Analytical posting options:
1. What are some qualities that might make Wong Kar-wai and/or Ann Hui “auteurs”? How would you characterize the film styles?
2. Compare Wong Kar-wai’s and Ann Hui’s depictions of Hong Kong. What different dimensions of the city and its people do their films reveal?
3. Since Ann Hui is the first female director we are covering this semester, did you find her film to have a special feminine sensibility? Please specify in terms of the film techniques she uses. You might find the recommended reading helpful.
4. If you watched the optional film Tampopo over spring break, you may also write an analytical posting on any topic of your choice, preferably drawing comparisons to other films we have watched so far.
### Creative posting options (<2min; collaboration remains possible if you find a way to make it work):
1. Film a third vignette for Chungking Express. The story should include voiceovers and give us a sense of the film's visuals and music. Include a paragraph that introduces or comments on how your story or film is Wong Kar-wai-esque.
2. Since Ann Hui is the first female director we are covering this semester, did you find her film to have a special feminine sensibility? Try to make a short film with a similar “feminine” sensibility.
3. If you watched the optional film Tampopo over spring break, you could also make a vignette about food and explain in your artist statement how it is inspired by Tampopo.
4. Make a video essay about Tampopo, Chungking Express, or The Song of the Exile. Here are some examples for inspiration:
["In the Mood for Love" (Frames within Frames)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01E5otZCpqw) (Links to an external site.)
[Brian Hu on Wong Kar-wai's KTV Aesthetic](http://www.tft.ucla.edu/mediascape/Winter2011_PopMusic.html) (Links to an external site.)
[Tampopo Video Essay](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7B_QaQOyh0) by Tony Zhou
## Week 8 - Is Ang Lee an Auteur
### Analytical Options (if you turn any of these options into a video essay, then the due time is Mon. at noon)
1. Is Ang Lee an auteur? What do his films have in common? Give specific examples from both of this week's films and any other Ang Lee film you’ve seen.
2. Compare the endings of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and The Wedding Banquet. Are both "happy endings"? How do you interpret the last shots of both films, and what do they suggest about Ang Lee’s concerns as a filmmaker?
3. How do you think Ang Lee's films might address different audiences differently? Give examples from both films this week.
4. Feel free to come up with your own analytical posting topic--just double-check with your TF ahead of time.
## Week 9 - Is Ang Lee an Auteur
### Creative Options (due Mon. at noon, collaboration between enrolled students is definitely welcome if feasible; otherwise, you could also enlist the help of your family or friends wherever you are)
1. Create a scene from a martial arts film (or make a very short martial arts film) that pays tribute to CTHD and/or follows martial arts wuxia genre conventions. You can use your artist statement to elaborate on your concept and/or motivations. (<3 min)
2. Make a short family comedy and/or melodrama with a narrative that resonates somehow with the themes of The Wedding Banquet. In your artist statement, briefly explain your concept and/or motivations (<3 min).
3. Make a video essay about either or both of Ang Lee's films assigned this week.
4. Film one of the two following dialogue scenes in any way you like (< 2 min). You can modify the precise phrasing of the dialogue as long as your lines convey more or less the same ideas. Beyond simply capturing the words spoken, be sure to take creative liberties with visual storytelling between the lines of the dialogue (as well as before and after). This option is in connection to next week’s materials. To get the most out of the assignment (and to have more fun with it), we recommend resisting the urge to search for clips online or doing extra research.
```
SCENE 1,
MAN: What are you doing here?
WOMAN: I was freezing outside in the rain.
MAN: You.
WOMAN: Give me a cigarette. I want to get lucky.
MAN: Let go, even you are up to something.
WOMAN: Getting stingy with cigarettes. You think you can get away with that? You two were having quite a time together.
MAN: You…
WOMAN: Now that you are here, promise me this. Give me piano lessons, and hold me like you held her.
MAN: You are out of your mind.
WOMAN: I don’t want to be second to her.
MAN: Let go!
SCENE 2
WOMAN A: Listen to me. As women we should have a heart to heart talk. If you had a husband, he could have done everything for you. But, you’re not married. That’s why I feel sorry for you. I’ll help you in any way I can. You are like a little sister to me.
WOMAN B: I’ll do anything you say. I don’t want to cause trouble for you.
WOMAN A: Then do as I say.
MAN: What happened?
WOMAN A: Everything will be taken care of soon.
MAN: Thanks.
```
## Week 10 - South Korean Melodrama and Horror
### Analytical
1. Write about your reaction to The Housemaid (and/or Parasite) with respect to Linda Williams' notion of "body genres".
2. What is the role of the framing narrative at the beginning and end of The Housemaid?
3. How does The Housemaid and/or Parasite mix the domestic melodrama with the conventions of a horror film? How does it create a sense of the uncanny in cinematic terms?
4. How would you account for the popular and critical success of Parasite this year?
### Creative
1. Make a domestic drama film or scene inspired by The Housemaid or Parasite (< 2.5min).
2. Try to inspire fear in your audience without using gore or special effects (< 2.5 min). Please include in your artist statement an implicit and symptomatic reading of your own film.
3. Create a mini-video essay (< 3 min) in response to (or inspired) by one of the analytical prompts from this week. While your video essay should have some kind of argument or claim, feel free to experiment with any number of different strategies including voice-over, text, sound/music, split screens, found images, etc., in order to make your point. Please use your artist statement to explain your concept or motivations.
4. You are welcome to come up with your own creative posting prompt--please be sure to check with your TF or Prof. Li ahead of time.
## Week 11 - J-Horror and Uncanny Technologies
### Analytical
1. If you were to take Ringu and adapt it to another medium (e.g. theatre, radio play, video game, television series, novel, theme park attraction, museum exhibit, etc.), what would it be like? What choices would you make (e.g. in plot, characters, formal decisions, etc.) for it to be as effective as possible in the new medium?
2. How is technology (such as video, TV, telephone or photography) portrayed in Ringu and/or Afterlife? How is technology made uncanny?
3. Reflect on "viral contagion" in Ringu. You might find the recommended reading by Rojas particularly helpful.
### Creative
1. Make your own cursed video. (Not just random images--like Ringu, tie them to some kind of backstory, even if it's vague--describe the backstory in your artist statement.) Please provide a symptomatic reading of your own film in the artist statement.
2. Make a Ringu/The Grudge-style J-Horror-esque short film, or a segment of one. Try to use formal techniques used in these films, and make it creepy! You can use your artist statement to describe what you were trying to accomplish. Likewise, you can also reflect on why particular techniques from these films seemed disturbing or scary to you; please also provide a 1-2 sentence symptomatic reading of your own film.
3. Make a short film (<2min) about the happiest moment of your life or a family member's life in the style of Kore-eda's Afterlife. This can take the form of either an interview or a recreation.
4. Create a mini-video essay (<3min) in response to (or inspired by) Analytical Option #1 or #2 from this week. You’re also welcome to come up with your own topic. While your video essay should have some kind of argument or claim, feel free to experiment with any number of different strategies including voice-over, text, sound/music, split screens, found images, etc., in order to make your point. Please use your artist statement to explain your concept or motivations.
## Week 12 - Sci-Fi and Imaginations of the Future
### Analytical
1. Please read Christina Klein’s article on Bong Joon-ho, written a few years before Snowpiercer was released, and reflect on how Snowpiercer supports or challenges her arguments.
2. Compare Snowpiercer to any other sci-fi film you have seen (can be from any country). How might their similarities and differences shed light on the sci-fi film genre?
3. Reflect on the casting and/or representation of different races and/or nationalities in Snowpiercer and/or Crazy Rich Asians. Can you imagine better or worse casting and/or representational choices? How and why? (If you write about Crazy Rich Asians, you can also submit this analytical posting a week later).
### Creative
1. Make a scene from or a trailer for an imaginary science fiction film.
2. Make a trailer for your final creative project (if you haven’t already taken this option).
## Week 13 - Asian Hollywood
### Analytical
Feel free to come up with your own prompts!
### Creative
Feel free to come up with your own prompts!
# Major assignments
## Midterm Paper
DUE: March 21, 2020 (SAT) at 23:59, submitted electronically through Canvas
Length: 5-6 pages, double-spaced
Instructions:
Using examples from at least two of the films listed below, please address one of the following essay questions. The questions are only prompts to help you develop your own thesis, so please do not simply answer the questions sequentially as in an in-class midterm exam. You also do not have to address every single question in a given prompt. Instead, make sure that your paper makes a focused and coherent argument. If you wish to write about a topic of your own making (also encouraged), please consult with your TF. Be sure to support your argument with references to specific scenes and a close-analysis of the film's formal elements (mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing, and sound). You should not need outside resources, but feel free to cite the readings, lectures, and section discussions when necessary for context. Any citation format (e.g., MLA or Chicago) is permissible provided it is used consistently throughout the paper. All quotations and paraphrased arguments must be properly cited; plagiarism of any form will not be tolerated.
Films:
* To Live (dir. ZHANG Yimou, 1994)
* Rashomon (dir. KUROSAWA Akira, 1950)
* The Goddess (dir. WU Yongguang, 1934)
* New Woman (dir. CAI Chusheng, 1935)
* I Was Born, But… (dir OZU Yasujiro, 1932)
* Tokyo Story (dir. OZU Yasujiro, 1953)
* Welcome to Dongmakgol (dir. PARK Kwang-Hyun, 2005)
* Graves of the Fireflies (dir. TAKAHATA Isao, 1988)
* A City of Sadness (dir. HOU Hsiao-hsien, 1989)
Questions:
Technique
Choose a single technical approach, and through a close analysis of specific scenes, construct an argument about the various effects and implications of this technique for two or three films. Why might a director, cinematographer, or editor choose to use this particular technique and not another? How does this technique shape the audience’s understanding of the characters, or how life is lived in a particular socio-historical context? For example, you might discuss the distinct uses of tracking shots or frontal staging; different approaches to lighting; the use of color versus black-and-white; how different directors make use of the long take; or, how non-linear or elliptical editing changes the audience’s experience and understanding of a film.
Silence and Sound
Of all the filmic elements, sound and music are especially powerful in terms of their emotional impact on the audience. But what if a film was made in the silent era? What kind of visual/narrative strategies - formal, technical, or performative elements - can you observe in silent films that are not present in sound film? Name specific elements and illustrate your point using examples from two to three films that we have watched in class. Alternatively, you can also focus on sound cinema by comparing and contrasting the uses of sound and/or music, diegetic and/or non-diegetic, in two to three films of your choice. How does the soundtrack, voiceover, and/or musical score underline (or perhaps disrupt) the meaning projected by filmic images? How does its recurrence, repetition with variation, or absence shape the films you have chosen to discuss and our experience of watching them?
Representations of History
How are some of the films we watched for the class related to East Asian history? Pick two or three films and analyze how they draw on and use history for their subject matter. How do they portray bygone historical periods? What makes their narrative structures effective or compelling? How would you describe the perspective of the narration? Objective? Satirical? Humorous? Nostalgic? You may also choose to focus on framing devices, points of view, or flashbacks. What can these representations of history tell us about the historical moment in which the films were made?
Femininities and Masculinities
How do expectations about gender impact the films we’ve seen so far? Pick two or three films and compare how different assumptions about gender manifest themselves at the diegetic, technical and/or formal levels. What do these films suggest about the gender norms of the society for which they were produced, and do these films reinforce or challenge those norms? How do the films structure viewer identification with their male or female characters? Do men/women/boys/girls have subjectivity or agency in these films? When using words like “masculine,” “feminine,” “patriarchal” or “feminist,” be sure to define what you mean.
Food or Clothing
There are many memorable scenes involving food or clothing in many of the films we’ve watched so far. Consider the role that food/meals or clothing play in three of these films--what are the similarities and differences in how they are used? How is food or clothing formally depicted? How does the use of food or clothing express the explicit and/or implicit meaning of each film? More broadly, why is it interesting to think about food or clothing in film, and what does thinking about them in concert reveal? Please choose either food or clothing as the focus of your paper.
## Guidelines and Suggestions for Final Paper OR Creative Project
### Final Paper Option:
1) Pre-Writing Stage: Please submit a paragraph (or an outline, if you prefer) describing a tentative topic, the films you want to discuss, and preferably three secondary sources to consult by April 20.
2) Paper Content Requirements: The paper should discuss at least two East Asian films (at least one of which should not be required viewing for the class) and engage with at least three scholarly works (you can, for example, draw on the recommended readings for the class or find articles on your own). The final paper should ordinarily not discuss the same films as your midterm, but exceptions can be made if you write a longer paper with more films.
3) Criteria for Evaluation:
* Clarity and specificity of thesis statement;
* Cogent structure;
* Effective use of evidence and supporting analysis;
* Proper citation of sources;
* Proofread and error free.
4) Style Requirements: The length should be 10-12 pages, double-spaced, Times New Roman, 1-inch margins on all sides.
5) DUE DATE: May 8
### Final Creative Project Option:
1) Timeline
April 17: 1-page proposal due
April 20: We have a course budget of $20 per student for props/costumes/equipment. If you can find items you need for your final film in stock on Amazon and available for rapid delivery, please provide links to all items as well as the U.S. address to which they can be sent in a separate word document, and we will ask our course coordinator in Gen Ed to order and send them to you. If you already know you won’t be using your allotted budget, we would be grateful if you could let us know so that we can redistribute it to other members of the class.
Before May 4: Upload work-in-progress and get feedback
May 10: Final project and artist statement due
May 15(tentative): Virtual student film festival and Golden Monkey Awards
2) Proposal, which should include the following:
A brief description of the concept behind your final project and (if this is not obvious) its relevance to the class.
If this is a group project, please list the group members and how you plan to divide up the tasks.
The technology you plan to use (cameras and audio equipment, editing software, etc.) and a brief timeline that takes into account each stage (pre- production through post-production). Note that Final Cut Pro and several other professional editing softwares are now available for free for 90 days. https://petapixel.com/2020/03/27/apple-just-made-final-cut-pro-x-free-for-90-days/ (Links to an external site.)
Any questions, concerns, or challenges (technical or conceptual) that you might encounter, and would like to discuss with the teaching staff.
3) Collaboration: You may work individually, or in groups of up to 4 people.
4) Artist Statement + Individual Reflections - Each creative project must be accompanied by an artist statement (approximately 500 words), which contextualizes your project within the framework of the course. For example, you can identify the cinematic influences and borrowings in your project, explain your own aesthetic choices as well as the four levels of meaning in your film. Groups should co-author the artist statement, but each member should also provide a personal statement (approximately 300 words) commenting on the role you played and the choices you made.
5) Evaluation: Projects will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
Idea, Narrative, Characters – Does the film present an original concept with interesting characters? (Please be more imaginative than to make a film about “the life of a Harvard/college student.”) Does it feature lucid and compelling storytelling?
Relevance – How does the project relate to what you learned in the course? If this is not obvious, please explain in your artist statement.
Formal Qualities and Technical Execution – Mise-en-scene (setting, costumes, acting, lighting, staging), cinematography, editing, and sound.
Collaboration – How well are the talents and efforts of the team members integrated into the final product?
6) Suggestions and Ideas
Make a short narrative film (< 7 minutes) with script, actors, editing, music, etc. This can be an original, an adaptation of a work of fiction by an East Asian author, an interpretive remake of an East Asian film, or a prequel or sequel. Your artist statement should explain how the film creatively responds to at least two films we watched for this class.
Make a documentary on any subject related to East Asian cinema, culture or history. Your film can also seek to grapple with our historical moment.
Make an extended trailer (about 3-4 minutes) of a feature-length film, accompanied by a 2-3 page pitch (a concise presentation of your movie to convince a film producer). Collaboration with one other person is possible for this option.
Write a screenplay (3000-5000 words), preferably in shooting script format.
Make a storyboard for a film (at least 20 shots), preferably in video format with a narration (sound effects optional).
Make an animated film (< 5 minutes)
Create a video essay (about 5 min) that compares and offers original insights on at least 2 films (at least 1 of which should not have been required viewing the class). You may work with one or two other classmates, in which case you may add one or two minutes to the final product.
Make a website analyzing the works of a single East Asian director, actor/actress, or production company.
Important Note: This list of suggestions is by no means comprehensive. Your own ideas or variations of the above suggestions are more than welcome.
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