assignment

1. “The​ ​Pitch”​ ​-​ ​due​ ​Wed,​ ​Dec​ ​6
One​ ​to​ ​two​ ​minute​ ​presentations​ ​-​ ​trying​ ​to​ ​“sell​ ​us”​ ​on​ ​reading​ ​​your​​ ​paper
10​ ​pts​ ​-​ ​uploaded​ ​to​ ​BbLearn
10​ ​​bonus​​ ​pts​ ​-​ ​presented​ ​in​ ​class
5​ ​​bonus​ ​​pts​ ​-​ ​responding​ ​to​ ​presentations​ ​in​ ​class
Includes:
- 1​ ​image​:​ ​photograph​ ​(perhaps​ ​chosen​ ​from​ ​visual​ ​analysis)
- Explanation​ ​of​ ​what​ ​image​ ​is/​ ​what​ ​it’s​ ​doing​ ​for​ ​your​ ​argument
- A​ ​“set-up​”:​ ​facts​ ​and​ ​knowledge​ ​audience​ ​​already​ ​​has
(pulled​ ​from​ ​introduction​ ​or​ ​background)
- A​ ​closer​ ​look​:​ ​something​ ​new​ ​revealed​ ​in​ ​research​ ​that​ ​audience​ ​wouldn’t
assume
(pulled​ ​from​ ​a​ ​source​ ​from​ ​the​ ​body​ ​section)
- Why​ ​it​ ​matters​:​ ​What​ ​would​ ​we​ ​be​ ​at​ ​risk​ ​of​ ​misunderstanding,​ ​if​ ​we​ ​didn’t
investigate​ ​this​ ​topic?
(the​ ​“So​ ​What?”/​ ​look​ ​into​ ​the​ ​future)
Transitions​:
Tie​ ​each​ ​shared​ ​piece​ ​of​ ​info​ ​together.​ ​Examples:
- How​ ​did​ ​you​ ​come​ ​to​ ​this​ ​topic?​ ​(image​ ​explanation​ ​→​ ​set-up)
- “However,”​ ​“When​ ​I​ ​looked​ ​closer,”​ ​“What​ ​I​ ​discovered​ ​was”​ ​(set-up​ ​to​ ​closer
look)
- How​ ​does​ ​the​ ​new​ ​info​ ​you’ve​ ​introduced​ ​change​ ​our​ ​thinking?​ ​(closer​ ​look​ ​→
why​ ​it​ ​matters)
_____________________________________________________________________
My​ ​example:

2. [Set-up]
“These​ ​images​ ​are​ ​a​ ​selection​ ​of​ ​scenes​ ​from​ ​recent​ ​Indie​ ​films.​ ​Have​ ​you​ ​seen​ ​them?
The​ ​chance​ ​is,​ ​most​ ​likely​ ​not.​ ​​We​ ​all​ ​know​ ​when​ ​the​ ​new​ ​​Thor​​ ​movie​ ​comes​ ​out​,
because​ ​of​ ​advertising.​ ​In​ ​fact,​ ​​the​ ​average​ ​production​ ​​budget​​ ​of​ ​a​ ​major​ ​studio​ ​film​ ​in
2007​ ​was​ ​$106​ ​million​ ​(this​ ​data​ ​from​ ​the​ ​Motion​ ​Picture​ ​Association​ ​of​ ​America).​ ​​I
didn’t​ ​even​ ​really​ ​know​ ​“Indie”​ ​films,​ ​what’s​ ​known​ ​as​ ​“independent”​ ​films​ ​-​ ​aka,​ ​made
outside​ ​of​ ​a​ ​major​ ​production​ ​studio​ ​-​ ​​existed​,​ ​until​ ​I​ ​moved​ ​to​ ​a​ ​college​ ​town​ ​with​ ​an​ ​art
scene​.
[Closer​ ​look]
That’s​ ​because​​ ​Indie​ ​films​ ​can​ ​only​ ​spend​ ​a​ ​fraction​ ​of​ ​the​ ​amount​ ​on​ ​advertising:​ ​the
general​ ​rule​ ​being,​ ​however​ ​much​ ​the​ ​film​ ​cost​ ​to​ ​make,​ ​is​ ​what​ ​you​ ​can​ ​spend​ ​to
market​ ​it​ ​-​ ​most​ ​of​ ​these​ ​budgets​ ​falling​ ​under​ ​$1​ ​million​ ​(filmindependent.org).
Yet,​ ​these​ ​films​ ​often​ ​have​ ​plots​ ​and​ ​storylines​ ​that​ ​have​ ​more​ ​women,​ ​minority,​ ​and
other​ ​represented​ ​characters​ ​in​ ​them​ ​-​ ​up​ ​to​ ​twice​ ​as​ ​many​ ​as​ ​blockbusters,​ ​according
to​ ​a​ ​study​ ​done​ ​by​ ​the​ ​National​ ​Endowment​ ​for​ ​the​ ​Arts.
[Why​ ​it​ ​matters]
So​ ​if​ ​we​ ​don’t​ ​investigate​ ​Indie​ ​films,​ ​the​ ​appeal​ ​of​ ​them,​ ​and​ ​why,​ ​we​ ​are​ ​missing​ ​out
on​ ​important​ ​voices,​ ​of​ ​people​ ​that​ ​make​ ​up​ ​our​ ​country.
(Transitions​ ​in​ ​grey)