Brit Lit:

Over the next week, we will be working on a full class project. Each of you will need to select a poem that you connect with in some way and film a short in the same style as the samples that we watched in class. The assignment works best if you choose a poem that connects to things that you are feeling right now in your life.

One thing the camera brings to the reading of a poem is the opportunity to watch a person saying a poem. Especially if the poem is something the reader treasures, you can see and hear a distinct change in face, voice, even the mildest gesture, when the person says the poem aloud. It would not be very interesting to watch someone looking at a piece of art or watching a film, dance or play — one reason art viewers and audience members all face the same way and are often in the dark. The same way one can witness pleasure and intensity in the face and movement of a musician singing or playing a song, one can gain things by watching the reader of a poem, whose instrument is the body

This project can also work with you asking an adult to complete the same assignment. Please see me if you would rather have another person and I will outline your specific responsibilities for this assignment.

Once your poem is selected, you will be given a window of time to record three things:



1. A short 3-5 sentence description of who you are. This should also include separate shots of you doing a few things that you do for enjoyment. For example, if might define yourself as a dancer, you might choose to record some footage of your dance class. We will then edit the shots of you talking about yourself with the footage of you doing something that defines a part of who you are.





2. Why you like the poem. You need to speak from the heart during this part. You will record a short part explaining how the poem impacted you.





3. Read the entire poem with feeling. It will be helpful to have a strong familiarity with the poem.





Similar to the short clips that I showed you in class, we will then edit it into a short documentary. My hope is that we will be able to air these on public cable and online.





Due Date:_______________________