loading...

Screen Shot 2013-05-19 at 8.15.05 AM

The following blog entry was written and posted by Rhys Daunic of The Media Spot, which is a phenomenal organization that “promotes media literacy education through collaborative media productions, workshops & curriculum development in K-12, higher ed, and any other place where teaching and learning is happening”. Rhys has been integral in the development of Accountable Talk protocols through Blended Learning in my 8th grade Film Arts class, allowing me to track and measure the emergence of higher order thinking skills through BLOGGING.

________________________

At Soundview Academy (SVA), a middle school in the South Bronx, principal Will Frackelton is leading an effort to leverage students’ digital and media literacy skills acquired in their grade 6-8 filmmaking program to enhance a school-wide initiative of building “accountable talk” into students’ academic interactions. Filmmaking teacher, Kevin Lopez, is piloting a model for a schoolwide network of blogs that will allow students to publish mixed media “posts” and “comments” using content-specific protocols for constructing arguments and critiquing work on the SVA Film Blog, which defines the intiative:

“Accountable Talk is a way of practicing and developing good habits when engaging in discussions. We are combining Accountable Talk with professional film vocabulary in our blog posts and comments to develop the practice of using evidence to support our opinions, ideas, predictions, and inferences.”

Goals
Teachers observe and interact with students as digital citizens in an academic setting
Students demonstrate Common Core Standards-based competencies: asking questions, making inferences, interpreting and explaining research-backed thinking
Students demonstrate media literacy critical thinking within their written and multimedia posts: critiquing effectiveness of each other’s media messages, reflectively tailoring production decisions to reach authentic audiences)
Students reinforce digital literacy and digital citizenship skills by participating in an online learning community according to agreed upon rules for collegial discussions

Student Work Examples
Six Dollar Fifty Man Assignment, Reviews and Student Discussion on the SVA Film Blog
Six Dollar Fifty Man video film review citing examples from the reviewed media text

Long Term Vision
Lopez is hoping that students’ immersion in the language of critique, and use of professional vocabulary will deepen the critical decision making during student film production.
Frackelton would like the schoolwide accountable talk blog network to reinforce a broad set of digital and media literacy competencies that their students are enthusiastic about, while leveraging them to engage core content in a real world environment.

Challenges
SVA’s logistical challenge will be to find time to train the instructional staff beyond Lopez — accommodating a range of digital literacy among them — on the effective use and moderation of these blogs. The approach will be to roll out content area blogs one academic department at a time, trained by experienced staff and students. They will start with the most technically-proficient content teams, and build towards a critical mass of in-house proficiency. The potential of extending middle school student engagement with digital communication to core content areas through this initiative makes it a worthy outlay of PD time towards further modernization of their Common Core-based curriculum.

-The Media Spot

______________

 

PHIL SEDEHI IMAGE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Philip Sedehi is a lifelong film lover who ventured into film-making as an assistant director on the indie film Sublet. He has worked as a grip for NYC-TV, and made several independent hip-hop videos which have generated over 3 million views on youtube. I had the pleasure of learning about Phil back in 2008 when I was just out of film school working with Amilot Films. At that time, we were grinding in the saturated mix of thousands of other young filmmakers who were experimenting with the highly accessible digital cameras such as the Panasonic DVX and HVX200, even before the dslr boom just a couple of years later. What struck me about Phil Sedehi’s work was how incredibly cinematic and polished it was, specially for underground hip hop artists who at the time, and still are, a dime a dozen. Browsing through the web back in 2008, in what I thought at the time was the mind boggling world of youtube and myspace (yes myspace… lol…), I ran into the Phil’s music video for Pacewon and Mr. Green titled “Hip Hop”. The music was incredible, but I would have never known that were it not for Phil’s incredible music video, which immediately gave me a nostalgic feeling. It certainly reminded me of the honest and visually visceral music videos from the 90′s that inspired me as a kid. The “Hip Hop” music video’s lose narrative has what seems to be a million shots, all pieced together in a dynamic way that perfectly complement Pacewon’s intense lyrical flow and Mr. Green’s soulfully gritty beat. 5 years later, the music video and track continues to be one of my favorites…

Check out Phil Sedehi’s “Hip Hop” and “Children Sing” music videos below. Please feel free to contact LPZ Media if you are interested in working with this talented filmmaker. More to come from Phil!

- kevin

Screen Shot 2013-05-11 at 2.37.43 PM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NYC DOE Film Arts Educator and LPZ Media co-founder, Kevin Lopez, was recently asked to be one of four NYC DOE arts educators to work as a facilitator on this year’s 2013 Moving Image Blueprint Workshops.  This year, the Arts Office of the NYC Department of Education partnered up with the Tribeca Film Institute and the Museum of the Moving Image to provide NYC educators with outstanding professional development on areas related to DIGITAL STORYTELLING, NEW MEDIA, and GAMING.  Teaching Professionals from a variety of content backgrounds had the opportunity to delve into the art of post-production by editing documentary footage on Final Cut 7, developing digital storyboards on free web-based New Media platforms such as PIXTON, and creating their own interactive games with the online SCRATCH program.  The overall take away for teachers who participated in these three innovative workshops was to have the courage to meet their students in areas of New Media that can potentially enhance the learning process within the classrooms.  Please feel free to visit the following link for your very own digital copy of the Blueprint for the Moving Image.

Blueprint for the Moving Image // PD1 @ The Schomburg Center

Blueprint for the Moving Image // PD2 @ The Museum of the Moving Image

Blueprint for the Moving Image // PD3 @ The New York Historical Society

Screen Shot 2013-05-10 at 12.10.40 AM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CUTSDATFLO is a NYC based film and video company.

http://vimeo.com/cutsdatflo

Contact:
info@cutsdatflo.com

Check out the latest work coming from cutsdatflo and THEBLKHANDS. Once again, these two have collaborated to create some visually stunning moving images that teeter on the surreal. Cutsdatflo knows exactly how to make it flow… Much props!!!

TFI_OCMS_FestivalScreening

Special thanks to Vee, Flonia, Corey, and all of the wonderful people over at Tribeca Film Institute for inviting our film students from the Polo Grounds Community Center to this year’s TFI Student Film Showcase titled “Our City, My Story”. The films presented came from some of the most talented young filmmakers here in New York City, delving into themes and topics that are universally appreciated but oftentimes overlooked. Congratulations to all of the filmmakers that participated in this year’s event! We expect to see the Harlem Cinematic’s taking a prize at next year’s TFI Student Film Screening event. Til then: lights, camera, action!!!

IMG_1842

Special shout out to Senior Graphic Designer Andree Ljutica, who designed the movie poster above. In the coming weeks, we will release a few more posters from Andree, who was kind enough to lend his immense talent to our film. Check out his website to see more Graphic work @ www.andreeljutica.com

Photography by Kenny Rodriguez – a long time collaborator and friend of LPZ. For the past 6 years Kenny’s made a name for himself as a top photographer of the NYC dance scene. With a singular eye, almost exclusively utilizing available light, Kenny’s portfolio has become a living history of NYC nightlife. This is due to his quest to find honest moments before his subjects know he’s there. To see more visit www.kennyrodriguez.com

CLICK HERE TO DONATE ON KICKSTARTER

“The Inquisition of Camilo Sanz” is based on the short film “Butterflies” which was produced by LPZ Media in 2011. As a result of the overwhelming support and positive response to the film, we decided it was only right to expand this into a full length feature film. “Butterflies” was featured during the Colombian Film Festival in NY and has garnered successful reviews from the Indie film community. The Inquisition of Camilo Sanz is a story about the all too familiar struggle of the “Invisible Man” in American society today and one that is greatly debated in current political arenas in response to the recent Dream Act. Camilo Sanz is a character that represents an immense group of law abiding, educated, and progressive individuals who identify themselves as Americans, without ever having undergone the appropriate migratory procedures and protocols, thus labeling them as “Illegal Aliens”. Inspired by many true accounts, The Inquisition of Camilo Sanz tells the story of the desperate lengths men will go in order to preserve their place at home, and what the powerful system will do to “outsource” them.

The Harlem Cinematics traveled from the Polo Grounds Community Center to the world famous MOMI in Astoria this past week to check out some of their wonderful film and television exhibits. Film students also had the opportunity to participate in a Game Production workshop that allowed them to creatively design, construct, and share out their own unique games to other students in attendance. LPZ Media and the Harlem Cinematics will surely return to the MOMI soon!!!