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The Discussion Board / Modeled Examples English 225

In any course, the Discussion Board represents an incredibly important area of engagement for students and faculty. At its best, the forum is an engaging and active

space where students offer their views on key course concepts and test those views with

rigorous responses to their peers. It also offers faculty the opportunity to encourage

deeper levels of critical thinking through robust commentary that can sometimes develop

into a sustained dialogue – in the specific forum, and throughout the class!

With these points in mind, we have provided some exemplary model discussion

responses. Note that the annotated student responses are actual responses by students

– we’ve just added specific references to key areas.

Week Three Discussion: The Impact of Cinematography and Editing Options [Student Post]

http://movieclips.com/X9t7P-titanic-movie-titanic-breaks-in-half/ [Student includes link to film clip] Titanic was released in 1997. The movie clip I chose was where the ship breaks in

half. In this scene, it shows what is happening following the aftermath of hitting the

iceberg. The passengers are trying to find a way to safety and the ship starts breaking in

half and eventually takes everyone down when the ship finally sinks. Cinematography

was used a great deal in this clip. [Student addresses the prompt] The lighting was very dark, which of course, showed it happened at night, but it also showed the despair

and fear that the passengers were feeling. Each passenger was trying to find a way to

safety and it was impossible with that many people on the ship because there were not

enough spare boats. [Here, the student could address how cinematography is employed to capture this scene] The water in the movie symbolizes the power of mother nature. When the ship hit the iceberg, water started rushing into the ship. In

several areas of the ship, water was raging through the corridors and into the

rooms. The placement of the props and the movement of the characters helped aid in

Material developed by Nate Pritts, PhD, and James Meetze.

the cinematography. The ship itself served as the major prop and the characters helped

show the despair and set the mood of the movie. The movie also transitions throughout

several areas of the ship. The movie shows what is happening on the outside of the ship

and it also goes through several different rooms (dining room, living quarters-1st class

and 3rd class). Showing the dishes falling off the tables, water filling the floors, items

floating in the water--these are all ways the director helped impact the scenes in the

movie.

Material developed by Nate Pritts, PhD, and James Meetze.