Augsburg Communication, Film, and New Media department welcomes incoming adjunct instructor James Curry. He is an experienced producer, director, writer and editor with more than 25 years of involvement in the industry. This semester James is teaching Film Sight and Sound as well as Studio Production.
James Curry directed, produced, wrote, and edited the documentary Masterjam. In a press release, Masterjam is described as following “the fallout of a sibling’s suicide on a family, the accelerated deaths of the parents and the investigation into the root cause.”
When asked about his favorite part of teaching so far, Curry said “when student engagement and interest piques via discussion collectively and authentically and when individual responses shed new light on a personal perspective or an insight I’ve never encountered or imagined. Aha moments are always cool too when they resonate beyond one or two students.”
To see an excerpt from Masterjam and learn more, click the link below.
Professor Kristen Chamberlain, who, along with Marceleen Mosher, presented a paper this past week at the Popular Culture Association conference in Washington, D.C. Their topic? “Failing Infrastructures: The Hydrosocial Cycle and Water in the U.S.” Senior communication studies and political science student, Kristian Evans, ’19, also presented at the conference. His topic? “What if Joseph Campbell Could Dunk? A Rhetorical Analysis of the Narrative Constructed Around LeBron James” Chamberlain advised Evans on the project.
“Failing Infrastructures: The Hydrosocial Cycle and Water in the U.S.”
The water crisis in Flint, Michigan illuminated a startling concern across the United States of aging infrastructures and limited public investment. Residents lacked both the financial freedom to invest in their own community and a representative voice in the decisions that impact them. But Flint’s underlying problem is not unique. Our water infrastructure is at risk and buried out of sight in many modern-day, fiscally strapped communities – both literally and figuratively. This hidden landscape lies at the intersection of both the natural and built water supplies we all rely on. Grounded in the hydrosocial cycle, we seek to situate the inherent flaws in solving community water infrastructure challenges with budget forward approaches. It is critical for policymakers and community members to examine water in relation to its role in modern day society and its very stake in humanity’s survival.
“What if Joseph Campbell Could Dunk? A Rhetorical Analysis of the Narrative Constructed Around LeBron James”
Senior Kristian Evans presenting at the PCA conference.
LeBron James sits at the top of the American athletic hierarchy. No other star combines the same amount of talent, celebrity, and notoriety as James has since bursting onto the scene as a high school phenom in 2002 (“ESPN World Fame 100”, 2017). His life, from the blacktops of poverty-stricken Akron to NBA champion, has followed a narrative that aligns closely with Joseph Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey.” LeBron James has come to represent a symbol of the struggles and redemption of the city of Cleveland, the next generation of basketball superstars following Michael Jordan, and the continuation of a rich and complicated narrative of African-American athletes and their relationship social justice. Through this rhetorical analysis of sports media coverage, Nike advertising campaigns and other mediums that combine to perpetuate the myth that is LeBron James, one can both observe how these forces combine to tell a heroic story and better understand the usefulness of Campbell’s Heroic Journey as it pertains to modern day athletes.
Jenna McNallie is our resident expert on family communication, as well as the intersection between relationships and the media. Some of her work on maintaining sibling relationships–based on data collected from 300 siblings from across the U.S.–is highlighted on the following Psychology Today website:
Know the difference between film and video and digital media. At Augsburg University we teach filmmaking with film. If you hold a frame of film up to a light you’ll see an image. If you hold any videocassette up to a light all you’ll see is plastic. And if you try to hold a computer up to a light, may I suggest you use a laptop.
Know that film doesn’t have a R-E-C button. With film, you load a roll into the camera, calculate the f/stop with a light meter, focus, shoot, then unload the film and take it to a laboratory for developing. Once it’s exposed and developed, that’s it. With video and digital media you can press that red R-E-C button again and again to record and reuse it time after time. For those who didn’t know, R-E-C stands for record. Knowing that film can’t be re-recorded forces the novice filmmaker to plan out the project, rehearse the scene, and carefully consider the shot before pressing that shutter button. Oh by the way, film cameras have shutter buttons, not R-E-C buttons.
Know a favorite film inside and out. If you don’t have a favorite film, pick one. Once you have a favorite film watch it until you can quote lines or accurately describe sequences. Study the credits. Get to know who did what. Perhaps even do some research on all those technical jobs? Like what is a key grip anyway? Or what does a best boy do? Not only will this familiarity with a favorite film prepare you for studying film, you’ll have a ready-made answer for all those social gatherings where the typical question is: What’s your major?
Know the importance of sound recording and sound design in filmmaking. After you’ve watched your favorite film often enough that you can easily quote lines, watch it again but turn your back to the picture and just listen. If you can ignore the dialogue, that would be best. When you do this you’ll be amazed by what you’ll hear. A typical film has multiple layers of sounds, elements, and effects that normally go by unnoticed by casual audiences.
Know the three basic camera shots (wide, medium, and close up) and know the four basic camera moves (pan, tilt, truck, and dolly). Get a camera, any camera; still, digital, super 8, anything. You don’t need to shoot anything (though it would help) to practice framing shots and moving the camera. If you can locate a tripod, use it. Too many novice filmmakers don’t have the patience to properly set up their shots. They shoot their stories with a ‘quick and dirty’ hand-held camera and the end result looks it.
