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Osborne, EC I CAI Television Learning Community Fall 1999Essay #4: Informative
Required length: 750 words minimum; recommended length is 1000-1200 words.For the informative essay, you have already selected a painter or a painting from the Art Institute (or the video artist Bill Viola) tour we took with Beau last week. Or you may have selected a couple of painters or paintings to discuss in order to illustrate a thesis about a particular aesthetic technique
No matter what particular art work (s) or artist (s) you have chosen, the purpose of your essay will be to inform your reader about techniques the painting seems to employ that are similar to techniques a good television producer would use, and to inform your reader about similarities in the effects of the work of art and in television productions. You will not write lengthy summaries or biographies.
Your reader (audience) is someone who DOES NOT KNOW AS MUCH AS YOU DO about these techniques or effects. Your job is to EXPLAIN IN VERY CLEAR WRITING exactly what these techniques or effects are and how these effects are achieved. I expect to see discussion of lighting, depth of field, aspect ratios, foreground/background, z-axis, or other pertinent concepts. Discuss the concepts that are relevant to your painting; don’t try to discuss every single concept from Beau’s class. Do go into some depth and detail on relevant concepts. You should discuss the effects of the techniques in some detail. What is important to know about these effects? What kinds of television shows (refer to the genres Beau talked about) use such techniques or create such effects today? Give examples of current or recent shows that have used techniques like those in the painting(s).
The occasion for this essay—why readers would want to read about this topic now—is the growing role of television in people lives. Most people watch television, yet few may realize that television is also an art form that uses techniques that have been around a long time, long before television itself was invented.
Your thesis will be particular to your own individual essay. Remember, you must have a debatable proposition, a complete sentence asserting something. For example, your thesis might say that Rembrandt’s use of light, as illustrated by his painting ____, has influenced television professionals, and that any television watcher can see such lighting techniques in ______ shows. Or your thesis might say that Rembrandt’s use of light created _________ (say what kind of) effect in the viewer, and that similar effects are created in the viewers of ________ show(s).
Your essay must include brief quotes from at least 2 print sources (journals, magazines, newspapers, or books). You may use as many additional sources as you wish, including Internet sources. All quotes must use parenthetical citations. All sources must be typed EXACTLY according to the MLA format described in section M of A Writer’s Reference. You will add a Works Cited page at the end of your paper. I will deduct points if your paper does not follow MLA style. The quoted material should take up NO MORE THAN 1/4 or .25 of your essay. The rest should be YOUR OWN WRITING, explaining what you want the reader to see and know.
Partial drafts due Nov. 17. Complete drafts finished by Nov. 24 and posted to the forum. Keep revising and post revisions the week of Dec. 1.