Transcript of Marcos Scores a Documentary Film

Now we’re going to record a student documentary through our English 1312 MinerWriter website. First, we’re going to go ahead and log in. Sign in using our username. Before we get started, we want to make sure we review the rubric, make sure we refresh what we’re going to be taking a look at in the documentary
So we select our rubric, it’s going to be the documentary film project.
Select the student name.
You’ll notice that the rubric is divided into a few sections.
First we have the purpose. The object of the purpose is to look to see if it establishes an effective persuasive purpose and advocacy
We also want make sure that the use of research that is integrated is relevant and of high quality as well.
As far as the rhetorical issues, the ethos, the pathos, the logos, we want to make sure that the doc effectively provides credibility for itself in conjunction with the arguments that are being made, we want to make sure that the documentary uses effective strategies to appeal to the audience’s values and beliefs we also want to make sure that the documentary’s structure, both argumentative and organizational structure, effectively support the advocacy as well.
As far as the multi-media, we want to make sure that the documentary is scripted well, that it is creative; there is a fair use of preexisting film, fair use of images, sounds, etc. We want to make sure that the film doesn’t overuse any one of these aspects.
As far as the editing and timing, we are taking a look to see if the documentary drags at any spots if it speeds by if it meets the time guidelines, if the editing is rather choppy; if it’s abrupt.
And finally the credits we want to make sure that the documentary includes a fair use statement and a complete citation of all contributors and sources.
So let’s go ahead and get the assignment. We are already on the selected rubric and we are already on the selected student. We just go ahead and hit get papers.
And now we will begin the documentary
Narrator: “Lawyers, nurses, firemen, and teachers all got to where they are by receiving a higher education. The United States is currently in a financial crises.”
“Students are eligible to receive $five thousand five hundred in financial aid. If the proposal is approved, students will only be eligible for two thousand five hundred. “ The national average wage in tax is 41673. El Paso’s median income is 37000.
Marcos: Now I just want to pause here briefly to make a quick note I like that the student is providing us with statistical information, factual information but the student is also providing us where the information comes from. This lends to credibility for the film because it leaves a very small window for the audience to question the validity of the facts that are being presented.
Narrator: “Currently there is approximately 22,600 students that attend UTEP. Sixty percent of them receive financial aid.”
Jenny: “If financial aid is cut, I’ll have to drop out of school because I won’t be able to pay for classes.”
Ana: “If financial aid is cut, it will really affect me. I don’t think I can afford to go to college or I will probably have to get a full time job and take less classes.”
Narrator: “Classrooms will go from full to empty.
“As a faculty member, financial aid affects, could affect me greatly. If financial aid is cut it could mean a drop in student population and student admission which could translate to less classes available to teach which means they might not need me on campus anymore.”
President Obama: “…and as we focus on speeding up our economic recovery, we also know that when it comes to jobs, opportunity and prosperity in the 21st century, nothing is more important than the quality of your education. The time when new jobs being created will require some kind of education, when countries that out educate us today will out compete us tomorrow, giving our kids the best education possible is an economic imperative.”
Narrator: “Congress, can we get a chance to be successful? Take a stand for your education.”
Marcos: And now I just want to briefly pause there. That is he section is where the student is providing a call to action as part of the purpose. They are advocating for budget cuts to not affect the education budget. And they are calling the audience to action by telling them to take a stand for education and to write to their congressmen about this issue”
Narrator: “Write to your congressmen and tell them how important this is to you. Together we can make a difference and help the future college students get their higher education.”
Marcos: “Okay so that was the film. Let us go back to the rubric evaluation page and let’s take a look at how the film did. First we start with the purpose. I feel the film did effectively establish a persuasive purpose and advocacy. There was a call to action. The call to action wasn’t quite as strong as I would have liked but they did inform us to take a stand and to go ahead and write to congress about this issue. It was rather vague as far as what specifically can be said to the congress or what specifically can be done. But nonetheless I still feel it was a very nice advocacy for the purpose.
Now as far as the research, I thought the research was very nicely done. There was a lot of statistical information that is given especially when talking about who needs financial aid to go to school and what would happen if they don’t have the financial aid. Yet the primary research as far as the interviews was also nicely done. It provides a nice perspective of the students, of the individuals who are affected by the problem. So for that, I also give it an A.
Now as far as the ethos, I particularly liked that the statistical information being cited, is cited which adds to the credibility of the film. Also we hear the President of the United States talk about the financial crises in conjunction with education and agreeing that education is important especially for the future of the country. So for that I also gave it an A as well.
Now the pathos I thought was very nicely done. The students who cannot pay for school must drop out. Their voices are being heard in this film. And that plays on to the audience’s values and beliefs. They are playing on the belief that children deserve the best education possible. This is really keyed in when the images of young students are shown at the end. I thought it was also a nice touch to include the faculty member that might potentially lose their job if funding is cut because there won’t be as many classes to teach.
The argumentative and organizational structure effectively supports the advocacy as well. There are many levels shown. We have the student level. We have the faculty level. We have the macro level with the country’s problems and also the local level, the micro level, of the local university.
I like the fact that the documentary began with showing professionals who have found success and continuing and showing that in order to reach that level of success budget cuts cannot be occurring in the education budget. So for the logos we also give it an A.
I liked the use of multimedia. I thought there was good scripting and creativity and a fair, generally effective use of pre-existing film, images and sound. There was a – for that we’ll go ahead and give it a B.
What I did notice, however, is that at certain times there would be – especially when there was going to be a transition, it became very abrupt, very choppy. The music would suddenly stop and then start again. So for that we’ll go ahead and give editing and timing a B.
Now as far as the credits, I’m glad that credit was given to all contributors and sources and the fair use statement was also found, so we’ll give that an A.
Now we want to go ahead and make a few notations for the student to go along with the rubric.
We’re stating that there’s a clear position that the film takes. It provides a call to action where the audience is told to write to congress. There’s a nice amount of research done and shown in the film and the fact that it is cited in the film provides an added level of credibility to the project. This causes the audience to more easily believe the claims that were made. There’s a definite appeal to the audience’s beliefs and values with the discussion and images of children and their future. The faculty member is a nice touch. There’s a nice structure in the film that starts with existing successful people and culminating in what needs to be done for emerging students to continue that success. The video gets abrupt at times, especially in the transition but there’s a nice job, including the fair use statement and giving credit.
Overall, good job on the film for this student. The film ends with a 194.4, a very nice grade out of 200 so after that, we’ll go ahead and save for later. What I like to do is double check and make sure it went through and that is done and we’ll go ahead and send to the student, make sure there weren’t any revisions that need to be made.
And now we are done grading a film documentary using our 1312 MinerWriter system.”