Campers

So many great topics in these posts! I’m looking forward to lots of great conversations!

I’m coming to GLTHATCamp primarily as a film/video production instructor, though I also teach critical studies. So, many of my interests combine both the making of film/video and the analysis of it.

As for my proposal for discussions, I’m particularly interested in a critical engagement with media through the production of media (in its various forms), and particularly strategies for improving screen literacy among students (the ability to read and create media works). Much of my work involves the possibility for understanding media grammars more deeply through the use of video remix and mashup, which encourages students to create a new meaning and critique of a work (film, TV show, song, article) by re-editing it, while also carefully analyzing how meaning was created through cinematic techniques in the original work itself. So, it’s a process that combines a reading of media with a making of media.

But, I’m increasingly interested in the trend toward transmedia (to use Henry Jenkins’ term) in mainstream storytelling, that is, the telling of a story across multiple formats (and devices), and how we can prepare students to be able to tell a story, or deconstruct a story, when it’s spread across TV, films, games, webisodes, mobile apps, etc. What does “story” mean in a transmedia environment? How does it change (or not)? What are core principles our students need to know in order to share stories that might span different formats? How are games, in particular, shaping the way we (and especially our students) think of stories, and what can we learn from them in telling stories in more traditional media?

So many questions – looking forward to exploring these and others with all of you!