Macbeth Films 2004
Product of
Mr. Seeley's Sophomore English Classes, Cary Academy
Cary, North Carolina
First Period Fifth Period Eighth Period Ninth Period
With your group, recast and redesign a portion of a scene from Macbeth. Your version should offer a distinct, unified interpretation of the play—or, at least, the partial scene you are constructing. You may take a comedic slant or a serious tone, but you must keep the version G rated. Anything inappropriate automatically earns you a failing grade. Your film version must last between 3 and 5 minutes, including the credits but excluding the bloopers segment, if you choose to include one. You will lose points for time under or over the stated limits.
You may edit Shakespeare’s original words. You may add small portions. You should memorize lines or use cue cards. You should use costumes, props, actions, and objects appropriate for your vision of the play.
While this project relies on group work, I will also include an individual component to the grade. If I see you working inconsistently, you will lose points.
I will assign groups. If you want to work with a particular person, let me know, and I will take your request into consideration.
STEPS: We will begin filming on the first day back from break. To prepare yourself and your group, please follow these steps.
Step 1. You and your group should decide upon a partial scene. List possibilities, and then discuss the benefits of each one.
Step 2. Once you’ve decided upon a scene, brainstorm for approaches. Do you want to show the three witches interacting with Macbeth? Is the scene humorous or serious? Are you setting Macbeth in the American West?
Step 3. Choose your approach. List the different costumes, objects, actions, and sounds that are appropriate for your view of the play.
Step 4. Write a detailed description of your view of the play: include all the material that you’ve discussed in Step 3.
Step 5. Now, create a story board. In a series of cartoon panels, sketch the scenes that are absolutely necessary to communicate your vision of the play. Include the important actions, objects, and costumes. Also, consider camera angles.
Step 6. To ensure an effective project, consider assigning roles to certain people. Think about the director, actors, set and costume designers, camera people, and sound people. Begin filming, using the materials from Steps 4 and 5 as your guidelines.
TECHNICAL DETAILS: These videos are going to end up as streaming files on the web and as stand-alone videos that will be placed on tape. Since most of the students have had extensive video and audio training, the technical standards for the videos will be high and special attention should be paid to the placement of mics and the quality of the audio during filming.
GRADE: The grade will be split between content, accounting for 60%, and technical, accounting for 40%.
To earn full content credit, complete the following:
1. Type and hand in a written approach by Friday, November 12th. It is worth 5 points.
2. Draw and hand in a storyboard by Friday, November 12th. It is worth 5 points.
3. During the three weeks of the project, ALWAYS use your time intelligently. If at any point I have to remind you to work, your individual grade will drop. If you force others in your group to do your work, your grade will drop. This section is worth 15 points.
4. While I don’t expect professional acting, I do expect an attempt to learn lines, use appropriate body language, and employ necessary facial expressions. This section is worth 10 points
5. The final product must last between 3 and 5 minutes; it must demonstrate a vision of the scene; and it must include details that work toward that vision. This section is worth 25 points.
To earn full technical credit, you must include the following technical elements in the film:
1. A countdown timing leader at beginning of video—4 points.
2. Five seconds of black before leader and at end of video—4 points.
3. Video will contain a title and credits—4 points.
4. Fade in and fade out of audio/video at beginning and end (if appropriate)—4 points.
5. Motion filter applied to one or more still images or videos—4 points.
6. At least one transition between video clips—4 points.
7. Each group will make both an avi file and a streaming wmv file—4 points.
8. All files used in Premiere must be on local E drive.—4 points.
9. Audio will be easy to understand, without noise, and of constant volume—4 points.
10. Premiere project file will be named Macbeth with the group number (e.g. Macbeth5C.ppj). Likewise the avi file and wmv file will be named Macbeth with the group number.—4 points.
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