Summary of class activities April 4, 2008

Activities

1. Workshop of mid-term feature profile on contemporary music
   
2. Discussion on advantages of avoiding the herd and focusing on most recent materials

Objectives

1. For students to gain competitive advantage in publishing articles
2. Appraisal specific to each student given verbally

Comments

1. Students have shown marked improvement in writing and have taken comments and suggestions on how to improve their writing to heart.
2. Quit a few articles show potential for actual publication

Attendance April 8, 2008

1. Arnela Almirez
   
2. Mike Dimaano
   
3. Rem Lucio
   
4. Franco Attento
   
5. Katrina Guevarra
   
6. Alane Chiong - LATE
   
7. John Basco - LATE
   
8. Aileen Tandang - LATE
   
9. Aki Menor – LATE
   
10. Gwen Kangleon – LATE
    
11. Eiroll Manalo - LATE
    

• Yna de Leon - ABSENT
  
• Yuri Aguilar – ABSENT
  
• Tomi Uysingco – ABSENT
  

Mid-Term Feature Writing

Write a 600-400 word profile feature based on an interview of any of the following bands:

• Radioactive Sago project
  
• Sinosikat
  
• Urban Dub
  
• Typecaste
  
• Taken By Cars
  
• Out of Body Specials

The feature should:

• Explain what the musical genre of the band is
  
• Should ask the the musicians what makes their music Filipino
  
• Should provide insights on how the music industry really works
  
• Provide information on their latest and upcoming projects
  

To be posted on your blog on or before April 8, 2008 and printed (with enough copies for everyone) for workshop in class. As with all requirements, the student's grade will be based on:

• Promptness of posting the requirement on their blog 
  
• Attendance and participation in class workshop
  
• The final edited/rewritten article posted on their blog at the end of the semester.

To those who have yet to submit: better late than never.

No class for tomorrow, April 1, 2008

No, this is not a prank for April Fool's Day. There really is no class for tomorrow, April 1.

The deadline for your midterm feature on rock bands has been extended to next week. Please use the time wisely to complete all your requirements. 

We will workshop your midterm features next week. Attendance and participation is crucial to your final grade.

Attendance March 25, 2008

1. Gwen Kangleon
   
2. Aileen Tandang
   
3. Arnela Almirez
   
4. Aki Menor - LATE
   
5. Allane Chiong
   
6. Rem Lucio
   
7. Eiroll Manalo
   
8. Franco Attento
   
9. Mike Dimaano
   
10. Yna de Leon
    
11. John Basco
    

Summary of Class Activities March 18

Activities:
Viewing of the documentary “Murderball.”

1. Discussions on its modern treatment:
   
   
   
   • Non-linear story telling
   
   
   • Pacing of the film between intervals of sports action, hard facts and diagrammatic explanations, quiet intimate moments and humor
   
   
   • Invasive and confessional insights about the subjects with raw language and emotions
   
   
   
   
2. Comparisons between devices utilized in this film (that are more in tune to today’s generation) and their parallels in feature writing:
   
   
   
   • Letting the subjects speak the most controversial assertions (quotes) and explain their condition with no narrator to manipulate viewer’s judgment (objectivity).
   
   
   • Literary approach to non-fiction (ala Truman Capote’s “novelized non-fiction”).
   
   


3. Imagining what goes into making a compelling, thorough and well-crafted non-fictional story such as this:
   
   
   
   • How does one make a compelling documentary about disabled? If you were given just the premise without having watched the film, would consider the subject matter as boring and as something you cannot relate with?
   
   
   • What was edited out to make the story more exciting and to give it a twist?
   
   
   • How different would this documentary be if it were done twenty years ago? Would it be still use a non-linear narrative? Would it pity or glorify them? Or would it still candidly portray the disabled with all their faults as this film does?
   
   
   • How did the documentarians gain the trust of the subjects to candidly go through their daily lives and attain uncontrived vignettes?

Objectives:

• To show the potential for a compelling story in even the most difficult subject matters.


• To illustrate contemporary approaches to journalism.

Attendance March 18, 2008

1. Gwen Kangleon
   
2. Arnela Almirez
   
3. Aileen Tandang
   
4. Aki Menor 
   
5. Mike Dimaano
   
6. Rem Lucio
   
7. Tomi Uysingco 
   
8. Franco Attento 
   
9. Katrina Guevarra

• Yna de Leon - ABSENT
  
• John Basco - ABSENT
  
• Eiroll Manaolo - ABSENT 
  
• Allane Chiong - ABSENT
  
• Yuri Aguilar - ABSENT