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Directed Experience in Visual Anthropology Anthropology 595 Fall 2008

Mondays 9 to 11:45 Wednesdays 9 to 11:45 and 1 to 3:45 (lab)

Undergraduates may take this course with instructor’s permission

Six Units Course Syllabus for the course revision of Directed Experiences in Museology Submitted by Peter Biella, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology Submitted February 15, 2008 Course Objectives This course is the foundation for the Creative Work MA thesis in the Visual Anthropology focus of San Francisco State’s Anthropology Masters Program. It is the first of two linked courses that graduate students will take over the period of one academic year. The second is Visual Anthropology II (Anth 596). In this course, graduate students will identify and form a partnership with a community organization that is focused on some aspect of social change in the Bay Area. The students’ purpose will be the collaborative development of a short anthropological film with an applied focus, promoting the goals of the collaborating organization which relates to an identified target audience. Students will work closely with their collaborators and course instructor in defining appropriate visual messages and intervention strategies for this audience. Assessment will require that the students conduct an ethnographic exploration along two fronts. First, they must conduct field research with different members of the collaborating organization in order to understand their goals from multiple perspectives. Second, they must research members of the intended audience in order to understand their media preferences and they kinds of psychological barriers they have that resist the intended messages of the film. Students will also be required to research published materials that relate to their chosen topic. This will provide a necessary supplement to their discoveries made in fieldwork. Finally, students are also expected to learn the stages and techniques of digital video production. Course work in writing a grant proposal and film treatment will be accompanied by lectures and exercises in video production. Students will learn techniques of proper light exposure, audio acquisition and the grammar of image juxtaposition. Relationship with Other Courses in the Department All Anthropology Department graduate students who follow the Visual track will take this course in the Fall semester of their second year in the program. At that time, they will have completed the three required introductory graduate courses (700, 710, 720).

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They will also have taken one or two of the Visual track electives, Film and Anthropology (Anth 337), in which the theory of applied visual anthropology is taught, and Indigenous Media and Social Change (Anth 420), in which they practice the design and editing of films for social intervention. Anthropology 595 is intended to be the first course in a two-semester sequence. This course and Visual Anthropology II (Anth 596), its sister, are platforms on which Visual-track graduate students construct their MA Creative Works. As such, they will take Anth 596 in conjunction with the culminating graduate class, Anth 770 (Seminar in Problems in Cultural Anthropology), Anth 894 (Creative Work Project) and Anth 899 (Special Study). Instructional Methods Except in unusual circumstances, each graduate student will produce and direct his or her own video project. Each will also be required to work as an assistant on another student’s project. The class meets two days a week. Monday sessions will focus on assigned readings in applied visual anthropology with seminar-like discussions and individual presentations about students’ film, research and fieldwork. Wednesday mornings will focus on media viewing and production. Wednesday afternoon labs will continue the focus on production with in-class assignments to develop technical proficiency. Labs will also include short demonstrations and one-on-one feedback. Required Textbooks A Course Reader is available from Photo Day, 3418 Geary Street at Sansome (415-387-4779). Recommended is Pittsburgh Filmmakers’ Shot by Shot. Evaluation Criteria Summary: Students will be graded on the basis of five criteria: 1) Class participation, 2) Collaborative skills, 3) Ethnographic awareness (based both on fieldwork and library research), 4) Video production proficiency, and 5) Grant Proposal development. (Table 1 gives grading percentage points.) 1) Class participation, attendance and timely arrival - 20%: The quality of life in a class with nine contact hours a week is deeply affected by the members’ esprit de corps, and that in turn is affected by committed participation. Students are expected to have read every assignment and to have contributed 100% in all class exercises. Because the Visual Anthropology sequence unfolds over the period of a year, it becomes almost habitual. A few students each semester begin to take the class for granted, and, after a few months, begin to arrive late or not at all. This is damaging not only from the pedagogical perspective, since so much is to be covered that the class is often pressed for time, but also because tardiness damages class spirit and because it is a habit that would

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not be tolerated for one minute in the world of professional video production. For those reasons, participation, attendance and timely are treated very seriously and constitute of the course grade. (See items 1 and 2 in Table 1.) Collaboration -15%: Visual anthropologists share much of their training with their cultural and applied colleagues. Among the skills most necessary in the production of applied anthropological films is the capacity to forge long-term collaborative relationships. Not only must media producers collaborate with their community partners and “target” audience; they must also develop working relationships with their production crews. These partnerships entail specific difficulties and the development of emotional maturity. Since the eventual success of anthropological media production depends on successful collaboration, the student’s collaborative skills will be treated as subject matter of the course and assessed as such. In this semester, the quality of collaborative skills will be judged by the quality of their contracts, their cooperation in class assignments, in one-one-one meetings with the teacher and in consultations between teacher and representative of the collaborative organizations. (See in particular items 3 and 9 in Table 1.) Ethnographic awareness developed through fieldwork, fieldnote writing and library research - 25%: Students in this course are asked to perform two kinds of fieldwork as well as library research in the development of their ethnographic sensitivity to the groups they wish to serve. They must spend significant field time with their collaborators in the community organization and with members of their film’s “targeted” audience. Throughout the semester, students must keep detailed fieldnotes about their collaborative and research experiences. Further, they must become familiar with current ethnographic literature that concerns the two groups in question and also be aware of contemporary of media anthropology. General familiarity with these subjects will have been gained in other coursework, but the practical application of the knowledge will be evaluated for the first time here. (See items 11, 13 and 15 in Table 1.) Video production skills - 25%: Students will also be trained to the intermediate-level of digital video production. Exercises produced in and outside of the classroom frequently will be viewed and critiqued. Video work will be evaluated on the basis of technical and aesthetic qualities. All students are expected to attain competence in each aspect of the training, from lighting, to camera movement, exposure, sound acquisition, elements of continuity editing, and basic aspects of Final Cut Pro software. (See items 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12 and 14 in Table 1.) Grant Proposal - 15%: Funding and script development skills will be introduced in the first few weeks of class. Script treatments and proposal styles should be those appropriate to the California and National Endowments for the Humanities. Project goals and objectives will be developed and evaluated early in the semester. Through the process of conducting fieldwork and library research, these will be honed. A mock grant proposal based on the conclusions drawn throughout the semester will be proposed as the final exam for the class. (See items 6 and 15 in Table 1.)

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TABLE 1

Grading scores

A = 96 A- = 92 B+ = 88 B = 84 B- = 80

C+ = 76 C = 72 C- = 68 D+ = 64 D = 60 D- = 56

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Peter Biella Sci 377 (ring doorbell) 415-405-0536 biella@sfsu.edu Course website: http://online.sfsu.edu/~biella/595.htm

Wed Aug 27 Lecture: Course introduction and discussion of proposed films Films: TRANSforming Healthcare Urban Midwifery Sisters Rise Why not Dad?

Lab: An introduction to keeping track of the equipment – checklists for production Getting-to-know-you exercises

This course is Macintosh-based: editing may only be done on Final Cut Pro Each film produced in the class must have its own external hard drive. The drive should have a firewire output and a minimum of 500 gigabytes storage.

Sept. 3 Reading: Elder, “Collaborative Filmmaking” Discussion: Ethics and collaboration: collaborative contracts; project backgrounds and group members’ roles and interests; Biella’s First Law Film: Drums of Winter

Lab: Lecture: Introduction to the camera, tripod and stedicam. Exercises: Making it go: learning the cables, batteries, f/stops and shutter speeds, white balance, menu, stedicam and tripod Packing etiquette and wrongdoing

Sept 8 Reading: Barab et al., “Critical Design Theory” Proposing projects, picking partners and contract basics Films: Buffet, Nothing to Lose, Buyer Be Fair

Sept 10 9:45: meet at The Foundation Center for an introductory workshop on individual grant writing for the arts: 312 Sutter St., #606; 415-397-0902 http://foundationcenter.org/sanfrancisco/

Lab (back at school): Discussion: Clear and steady basics Exercises: Focused, steady and smooth: practice shooting sharp, smooth pans, tilts, dollies and telephoto shots Play back in class

Sept 15 Reading: Course Reader: Biella, “A DV and a Place to Screen” Discussion: Research goals and objectives; qualities of an applied visual anthropology proposal Qualities of fieldnotes

DUE NEXT MONDAY Goals, Objectives and Audience – preliminary draft – three pages

Sept 17 Discussion: Introduction to light and exposure. F/stops, inverse squares and lighting ratios; taking care of the lights

Lab: In-class lighting exercise; keeping careful notes; Play back in class

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Sept 22 Reading: Schrader et al., “Reception Research in Practice” Engelhart, “Media Activism” Discussion: Researching how to evaluate and screen a film Film: The Moment, True Friends, A Red Ribbon Around My House

DUE TODAY “Goals” draft Each group pitches its proposal – 10 minutes – cover all aspects of proposal

Sept 24 Discussion: Zebras and ideal exposures of light

Lab: In groups, using a tripod and taking careful notes, experiment with zebras in situations with various lighting sources. Bracket your exposures and be sure to have good records and sketches of zebra placement that can be checked against how the images look back on a monitor in the lab. Play back in class.

Sept 29 Reading: Course reader, Sample contracts, sample release forms Discussion: Contract essentials: what to ask from your colleagues and subjects Fieldnotes in process One liners – describing the project Release forms Film: Compadre

DUE IN ONE WEEK Final contracts signed by team and organizational collaborators

Oct 1 Reading: Course Reader: Pittsburg Filmmakers’ Guide Discussion Shot list components how to’s. The basic shot compositions of a film – CU, MS, LS and rules of continuity editing; the sacred Cut Away Film: Classic film editing: The Maltese Falcon

Lab: Exercises: In groups, draw pictures of 10 shots you can make that will exemplify basic continuity cuts and basic camera set-ups. Use a tripod and edit in the camera. Recreate your sketches with actors and shoot the combinations you have drawn. Play back in class.

Oct 6 Reading: Course reader: AAA, “Code of Ethics” Discussion: Ethics anthropological research; open forum on fieldwork First draft of contracts returned Film: Through These Eyes

DUE TODAY Final Draft Contracts

Oct 8 Discussion Motivated cuts, time, space and scene transitions Films: Primary Pirates of the Caribbean

Lab: Exercises: In groups, using a tripod, stage and film a repetitive process; use match and other motivated cuts. One group may use the light kit. Play back in class.

Oct 13 Reading: Course Reader: Mohanty, “Race, Multiculturalism and Pedagogies of Dissent” and Lewis, Anthropological Essays, selections Discussion: Neo-functionalism and strategies of social change

Oct 15 Discussion: Basics of sound, recording conversation; Biella’s Second Law

Film: Song of Ceylon Number 9 Silent American

Lab: Exercise: In groups, record conversations in different audio environments Play back in class.

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Oct 20 Discussion: Open forum on fieldwork

DUE TODAY Everyone be prepared to discuss fieldwork problems and successes First set of fieldnotes turned in

DUE NEXT MONDAY Viable keywords for your field study

Oct 22 Discussion: Good sound in bad conditions; the shotgun mike, ambience, mike placement, combating audio-recordist fatigue, baffles Film: Lawrence of Arabia The Last Emperor

Lab: Exercise: Seek a difficult sound recording condition, work out and execute a recording solution; some groups may use baffles and the Lavaliere mike Play back in class.

Oct 27 Reading: Course reader: “Using library resources” Discussion: Library resources, keyword choices; Exercise: Library research using keywords

DUE TODAY Viable keywords

Oct 29 Reading: Course reader: Biella “33 Ways Not to Make an Ethnographic Film” and “Crew Tasks”

Discussion Documentary shooting: thinking on your feet; shooting long, crew activity checklist, production schedules

Lab: Exercise: Shooting no more than two minutes of footage, record material for a 20 second synchronous-sound video – you are allowed only two takes of any camera set-up and no more than seven set-ups in all; In your piece, have more than one person speaking, jump ahead in time, use more than one location, and include more than one non-talk action. Keep a shot log with intelligible sketches, shoot each take long, record ambience in each location Turn tape and shot list

Nov 3 Presentations: Library research reports: each group reports on library findings and relevance to current work

Nov 5 Discussion: Introduction to Final Cut Pro: Project hygiene – projects, sequences, bins and folders; User Preferences; the creation of hard drive folders; startup checklist; patching nightmares; Log and Capture, digitizing according to the shot list; bin management

Lab: Exercise: Digitize tapes recorded Oct. 29; begin arranging bin content

Nov 1 Fieldwork one-on-ones: only come to class at the hour assigned

Nov 12 Discussion: Final Cut editing primer. The four windows, uses of the Viewer and Canvas, why multiple time lines are useful. Stages of film editing. Film: Welcome Back Film timeline

Lab: Exercise: Lay out rough cuts for 20 second films

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Nov 17 No class on Monday Meet instead on Tuesday Nov 18, 9 am at the Visual Research Conference, SF Hilton and Towers: 333 O'Farrell, at Mason

Nov 19 Meet at the AAA Meetings, SF Hilton and Towers (see course website for recommended sessions to attend)

Nov 24 Thanksgiving Vacation

No class

Nov 26 Thanksgiving Vacation

No class

Dec 1 Readings: Course reader: Characteristics of successful grant proposals Discussion: Grant proposal outline – Goals, Objectives, Existing Literature and Films, Treatment, Personnel and Consultants, Timeline, Budget

Dec 3 Discussion: Final Cut Basics: moving from assembly to medium cut Exercise: Work on 20 second films

Lab Exercise: Work on 20 second films Show in class

Dec 8 Grant proposal one-on-one discussions – only come to class at the hour assigned

Dec 10 Mock grant proposals; present for judges (drawn from social science and film faculty), first group Include handouts, allow each team member to speak – be sure to have worked together to insure completeness and prevent redundancy

Dec 15 Mock grant proposals, second group Final fieldnotes due – all students