Selecting a Short Film

The following guidelines will help you select a film:

• The film you select to watch must be available in YouTube.

• YouTube films that are marked as having adult content require membership in YouTube. You may choose such films for the class. By their nature these films might contain disturbing language or images. However, for this class, you are not required to watch any films that are designed as having adult content--even if another student chooses such a film to analyze.

• Your selection must be a complete film; not just a scene.

• The intent of the video must be that the individuals involved were creating a complete film.

• Because we are favoring short films, I hope that students will push themselves to watch and analyze films that they might not ordinarily view. For example, I would encourage someone who avoids horror films to analyze a film such as Life and Death of a Pumpkin. Or take the time to watch a gay film such as Daddy's Boy or some other film on a topic that you might avoid.

• You may not select a film that has already been selected for analysis by another student in the class.

I suggest that you begin to identify films by using the search term “short film” in YouTube. Other search terms can be used to limit your search.

If you have a question about whether or not your selection is acceptable, please ask me.