final project

Assignment

Description:

  • Ovid used the transformative power of art to achieve his own immortality, and artists ever since have become part of this tradition. Through your blogs, you've joined them in words, but this project is your opportunity to achieve immortality through multimedia expression. For your final project, you will create a short video presenting an original myth or a remix of a traditional myth. Remix = tweak it in some way (ex. modernize it, reverse the genders, change the setting) to make it your own.

  • This project is worth 10% of your final grade.

Process:

  • Singly or in groups of up to 4 people, come up with an original myth or a remix of a traditional myth featuring a transformation and centering on one or more of the themes Ovid engages with.

  • Make a short video (2-4 minutes) narrating the myth using visuals (clip art, original art, live video etc.), upload it to YouTube or your Google Drive, and post the link to the Moodle forum by 6 PM (Central) on 5/26 (see this link for information on how to post a video to Moodle). Then check out everyone else's videos so we can discuss them on Thursday 5/28.

  • Groups will turn in a document detailing how the work was divided.

  • Please be considerate around sensitive topics like sexual assault and suicide in your creative work. If you feel that you need to include such topics in your myth, provide a content warning at the beginning of your video.

Purpose:

  • Successful completion of this assignment demonstrates your ability to use the topics and themes covered in class to extrapolate and create new material.

  • In college as well as in the workforce after college, you may be asked to use video editing technology. If you aren't already familiar with using free, readily available software on your phone or computer to create videos, this assignment helps you build these skills. See below for some how-to videos.

  • This is a great opportunity to collaborate with other students: if you're good at art, and your classmate is good at coming up with stories, and another classmate is good at editing video, you have a perfect team.

Criteria:

Before you turn in the final version of your video, ask yourself these questions:

  • Does the myth feature a transformation?

  • Does it center on one or more of the themes discussed in this class?

  • Is the video creative and engaging?

  • Is the video between 2-4 minutes?

  • For groups: was the work divided equitably?

Links

How tos:

Some fun examples (not original myths, though):

Header: Manuscript of Ovid's Metamorphoses with a picture of Cadmus. Image via Livius.org.