Schedule may change – please check back often
Week 1 Tues Jan 30
Introductions, Syllabus, Students
Kinds of writing/Tones of writing
At Land by Maya Deren
At Land script sent by email, for next time think how it relates to the film you saw
Assignment 1: self portrait 250 words
Assignment 2: write every day for 10 days on beans or electrons – make a contract with yourself
- everyday for X minutes
- best time/best place/ best equipment
- new everyday
Reading: Start Playing Her Story
Week 2 Tues Feb 6
Experimental work, poetics, épater la bourgeoisie
Discuss At Land
Blast Theory
You the City by Fiona Templeton
- shirtless male extract
- Yoko Ishiguro & Fiona Templeton interview
Generating Ideas – germs of ideas, developing ideas, acting out ideas, planning, background writing, snippets
Writing Exercises – idea dating, brainstorm
DUE: Assignment 1
Assignment 3: script concept
READING: The Cut-Up Method of Brion Gysin by William S. Burroughs
Week 3 Tues Feb 13
DUE: Assignment 2
Random readings from Assignment 2 (groups)
Continue Composition Exercise Two
While you wait:
- Taroko Gorge by Nick Montfort, and variations and how to make your own remix
- The Cut-Up Method of Brion Gysin by William S. Burroughs – make one
- Work on your script concept/materials
Discuss Her Story – interactive narrative, tone, unreliable narrator (?)
Conscious and unconscious
Discuss Criticism/Critiquing
Group Discussions – initial script concepts
Writing Exercise – Pick a character (from your project) and create an Unreliable Narrator
DUE: Assignment 2
Assignment 3: script concept continue
Reading/Viewing:
Roland Barthes, S/Z I will provide extract, + FYI Project Gutenberg Sarrasine pdf
Week 4 Tues Feb 20
DUE: Assignment 3
Present Script Concepts – peer groups
Discussion of Barthes/Creation of Meaning – reference, connotation,signifying strings
Ad Analysis using Barthes’ concepts
Her Story?
Read: A Preliminary Poetics for Interactive Drama and Games, Michael Mateas
Read: Brecht’s ‘Epic Theater’ and ‘Verfremdungseffekt’
View: Introduction to Brechtian Theater
Additional Reading:
Rethinking Agency and Immersion: videogames as a means of consciousness-raising, Gonzalo Frasca
DUE: Assignment 3
Assignment 4: treatment or plan
Week 5 Tues Feb 27
- Useful structures given your own project.
- Useful organization strategies.
Artistotelian and Brechtian notions
Writing Exercise – TBA
Week 6 Tues March 6
DUE: Assignment 4: treatment
WATCH: Sita Sings the Blues
Structural Analysis of Sita
meaning generated by structure
meaning generated by semantic reference/connotation
Peer Group presentation of Treatments
DUE: Assignment 4: treatment
Assignment 5: First Draft
Week 7: Tues Mar 13
WATCH: Philomena
Discuss Philomena –
Andrew Stanton: Ted Talk “The clues to a great story”
Shekhar Kapur: Ted Talk “We are the stories we tell ourselves”
View: Shape of Stories – Kurt Vonnegut
Read: Syd Fields The Paradigm Worksheet
Optional: Under Story Structures Heading View the McKee videos and/or Interactive Story Structures by Ira Nayman
BRING CARDS
RECESS
Week 8 Tues Mar 27
Discussion of Dialog, sub text
Not I – Samuel Becket
Top Dog Under Dog Suzan Lori Parks
Week 9 Tues April 3
Inspirational Material – prepare presentation – powerpoint or similar presentation – 15 mins – practice it
- Description – at most 2 mins of video
- Three Arguments/Points about the structure : how it works
- Close analysis of 10-30 second clip of the material
Week 10 Tues Apr 10
DUE: Assignment 5: First Draft
11-12:30 Read/Present First Draft – peer groups (30 mins per person)
- Group A : Taryn, Annie, Andrea (room 278)
- Group B: Rachel, Togzhan, Elijah (room 278)
- Group C: James, Cass, Jinwei (room 278)
- Group D: Mariana, JP, Casey (room 232)
- Group E: Jerry, Johan, Carly (room 232)
- Group F: Shane, Dylan (room 232)
12:30- 1:00 Short Lunch Presentation – Investment, Fictionalizing and What’s the Point?
1:00 – 2:40 Round One of Inspirational Material
- Student 1 – James Pollard
- Student 2 – Taryn Rutka
- Student 3 – Ann Bielski
- Student 4 – Rachel Doctor
- Student 5 – John Patrick Ayson
Week 11 Tues Apr 17
Round 2 of Inspirational Material
- Student 1 – Mariana de Souza Nicotera
- Student 2 – Jinwei Fan
- Student 3 – Andrea Pagan
- Student 4 – Togzhan Seilkhanova
- Student 5 – Jerry Chen
- Student 6 – Casey King
- Student 7 – Elijah Pike
- Student 8 – Shane Murdock
- Student 9 – Dylan Wong
- Student 10 – Carly Pinter
- Student 11 – Cass McCallister
- Student 12 – Johanan McDowell
Week 12 Tues April 24 Script Readings & Presentations/Critiques
- Student 1 – Cass McCallister
- Student 2 – Yohan McDowell
- Student 3 – Annie Bielski
- Student 4 – Shane Murdock
- Student 5 – Elijah Pike
- Student 6 – Carly Pinter
Week 13 Tues May 1 Script Readings & Presentations/Critiques
- Student 1 – Casey King
- Student 2 – Jinwei Fan
- Student 3 – Dylan Wong
- Student 4 – Togzhan S
- Student 5 – Rachel Doktor
- Student 6 – Jerry Chen
Week 14 Tues May 8 Script Readings & Presentations/Critiques
- Student 1 – Andrea Pagan
- Student 2 – James Pollard
- Student 3 – John Patrick Ayson
- Student 4 – Taryn Rutka
- Student 5 – Mariana Nicotera De Souza
FINAL SCRIPT DUE: FRIDAY MAY 18