Take composer Hans Zimmer for example. Zimmer has composed scores for more than 150 films, working with dozens of filmmakers. And he understands how music can support and enhance a narrative theme, creating a cohesive whole. In his work with Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight (2008), Inception (2010), Interstellar (2014), his compositions explore the recurring theme of time:

It’s just for us in the audience. If the kids in the water could hear the theme from JAWS they’d get out of the damn water and we wouldn’t have a movie to watch. It is also always recorded after the final edit of the picture is complete.

If the music is not a part of the world of the film or tv series, and only the audience can hear it, then it is non-diegetic music. Too abstract? Okay, if a song is playing on a radio in a scene, and the characters are dancing to it, then it is diegetic. But if scary, high-pitched violins start playing as the Final Girl considers going down into the basement to see if the killer is down there (and we all know the killer is down there because those damn violins are playing even though she can’t hear them!), then it is non-diegetic.

As the use of sound in cinema has become more and more sophisticated over the last century, music has remained central to how filmmakers communicate effectively (and sometimes not so effectively) with an audience. At its best, music can draw us into a cinematic experience, immersing us in a series of authentic, emotional moments

Silence can punctuate an emotional moment or put us in the headspace of a character in a way that visuals alone simply cannot.

Now sound can appear to be coming from in front, behind, below or above audiences, creating a 3-D aural experience.

As the century rolled on, newer, hi-fidelity sound reproduction found its way into theaters allowing for more sophisticated surround sound systems, and consequently, more work for sound mixers to create an immersive experience for audiences.

sound mix can be objectively calibrated according to a precise decibel level, or degree of loudness, for each layer of sound. Dialogue within a certain acceptable range of loudness, music in its range, sound effects in theirs. Basic math. On the other hand, the mix can and should be a subjective process, actual humans in a room making adjustments based on the feel of each shot and scene

, known as a J-cut, or by continuing the audio of the previous shot into the first few seconds of the next, known as an L-cut. This technique is most noticeable in transitions between radically different scenes

. Many of these sounds already exist in extensive sound libraries, pre-recorded by sound technicians and made available for editors. But many of them must be created to match exactly what the audience will see on screen. That’s where foley artists come in.

It involves creating all of the sounds that weren’t recorded on set to make up the rich soundscape of the finished motion picture. In that sense, it is literally more “creative” than picture editing!

And then everyone stops in their tracks and holds still, remaining completely silent for at least 60 seconds. It’s awkward:

Room tone recordings can be used to fill in those gaps and match the sound floor of the recorded dialogue. It’s just another example of how sound editors control every aspect of the sound in the cinematic experience.

Everything else, background sounds, birds chirping, music on a radio, even footsteps, are almost always recorded after production. The main job of location sound recordists is to isolate dialogue and shut out every other sound.

But wait… sound speed? That’s another of those little anachronisms of cinema. For much of cinema sound history, sound was recorded onto magnetic tape on a clunky reel-to-reel recorder. It would take a moment for the recorder to get up to “speed” once the recordist hit record,

dual-systemrecording, that is, recording sound separate from image during production.

Microphones can be omni-directional or directional, cardioid or super-cardioid, mono or stereo, and each one will pick up sounds in a distinctly different way. You can use a shotgun mic on a boom pole to target a sound source

efore we get to how that soundscape is shaped in the post-production process, let’s look at how (and what) sound is recorded during production. The production sound department is made up of several specialists dedicated to recording clean sound on set as the camera rolls. They include the on-set location sound recordist or location sound mixer,

Unless you’re reading this in a sensory deprivation chamber, you are surrounded by sound. The soundscape around us shapes our understanding of the world, becoming its own meaningful context for every other sense perception. Most of the time, it barely registers, we don’t attend to it unless we are listening for something in particular. But take it away and we feel lost, vulnerable, disoriented.

Instead, he tells the story through the main character’s fractured memory. And his editor, Sarah Flack, uses discontinuity editing to dramatize that narrative idea

In this case, the jump cut is used for comedic effect to show the passage of time. But it can also be used to dramatize a chaotic or disoriented situation or state of mind.

This technique has become so common, so integral to our shared cinematic language, that editors can use our fluency against us, subverting expectations by playing with the form. Check out this (rather disturbing) clip from Jonathan Demme’s The Silence of the Lambs (1991):

To establish these lines of action and to increase our own sense of dread and anxiety, the editor cuts from the man to the woman to the waterfall in a regular, rhythmic pattern, cross-cutting between them to constantly remind the audience of the impending doom as we cheer on our hero until the lines of action finally converge

. But the fact is, editors can break the rule if they actually want to disorient the viewer, to put them into the psychology of a character or scene.

It’s called the 180 degree rule and it’s related to the master shot and coverage technique. Basically, the 180 degree rule defines an axis of action, an imaginary line that runs through the characters in a scene, that the camera cannot cross:

We see both characters, Andrew and Nicole, in the same frame, sitting at a table in a café. The next shot is from the coverage, over Nicole’s shoulder, on Andrew as he reacts to her first line of dialogue. Then on Nicole, over Andrew’s shoulder as she reacts to his line. The editor, Tom Cross, moves back and forth between these two shots until Andrew asks a question tied to the film’s main theme,

hen, they film coverage, that is, they “cover” that same scene from multiple angles, isolating characters, moving in closer, and almost always filming the entire scene again from start to finish with each new set-up. When they’re done, they have filmed the entire scene many, many times from many different perspectives.

We are entering the main setting for the film, a crowded, somewhat chaotic tavern in Morocco. Notice how the camera moves consistently from right to left, and that the blocking of the actors (that is, how they move in the frame) is also predominantly from right to left,

nd even subject match cuts that cut between two similar ideas or concepts (a flame from a matchstick to the sun rising over the desert in David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia (1962)).

from cutting-on-action to match cuts and transitions, and from maintaining screen direction to the master shot and coverage technique and the 180 degree rule

an editor’s job, first and foremost, is to draw the viewer into the cinematic experience, not remind them they’re watching a movie.

Sometimes an editor lets each shot play out, giving plenty of space between the cuts, creating a slow, even rhythm to a scene. Or they might cut from image to image quickly, letting each flash across the screen for mere moments, creating a fast-paced, edge-of-your seat rhythm.

I mean the pace of the finished film, how the edits speed up or slow down to serve the story, producing a kind of rhythm to the edit.

ther ways cinema manipulates time include sequences like flashbacks and flashforwards. Filmmakers use these when they want to show events from a character’s past, or foreshadow what’s coming in the future.

The most obvious example of this is the ellipsis, an edit that slices out time or events we don’t need to see to follow the story. Imagine a scene where a car pulls up in front of a house, then cuts to a woman at the door ringing the doorbell. We don’t need to spend the screen time watching her shut off the car, climb out, shut and lock the door, and walk all the way up to the house.

He wants you to feel the terror of those peasants being massacred by the troops, even if you don’t completely understand the geography or linear sequence of events. That’s the power of the montage as Eisenstein used it: A collage of moving images designed to create an emotional effect rather than a logical narrative sequence.

he audience was projecting their own emotion and meaning onto the actor’s expression because of the juxtaposition of the other images. This phenomenon – how we derive more meaning from the juxtaposition of two shots than from any single shot in isolation – became known as The Kuleshov Effect.

ilm editing and how it worked on an audience. He had a hunch that the power of cinema was not found in any one shot, but in the juxtaposition of shots. So, he performed an experiment. He cut together a short film and showed it to audiences in 1918. Here’s the film:

but it is the juxtaposition of that word (or shot) in a sentence (or scene) that gives it its full power to communicate. As such, editing is fundamental to how cinema communicates with an audience.

The filmmakers behind Deadpool (2016), for example, shot 555 hours of raw footage for a final film of just 108 minutes. That’s a shooting ratio of 308:1. It would take 40 hours a week for 14 weeks just to watch all of the raw footage, much less select and arrange it all into an edited film![2]

When the screenwriter hands the script off to the director, it is no longer a literary document, it’s a blueprint for a much larger, more complex creation. The production process is essentially an act of translation, taking all of those words on the page and turning them into shots, scenes and sequences.

The special effects make-up for the gory bits of your favorite horror films can sometimes take center stage.

Drawing on setting, character, lighting and composition, mise-en-scène is more than any one technique, it’s the overall look or even feel of a film, and it is far greater than the sum of its parts. Which is why I chose to start here in our exploration of how, exactly, cinema works the way it does.

Notice the stark realism of the setting, the wardrobe, the way the camera tells us exactly what we need to know. Now check out this analysis of the film’s mise-en-scène:

These films were notable for their consistent use of surreal, exaggerated set design and very low key lighting schemes. The films were full of dark shadows and macabre settings

Another important part of the process of designing a shot is the choreography involved in moving the camera through the scene, whether on wheels, on a crane or strapped to camera person.

As should be obvious, you can’t have cinema without light. Light exposes the image and, of course, allows us to see it. But it’s the creative use of light, or lighting, is what makes it an element design

Putting on the wardrobe, seeing themselves in another era, a different hair style, looking older or younger,

But we can also examine how the physical design of a character, through costume, make-up and hair style, not only contributes to the mise-en-scène, but also helps fully realize the work of both screenwriters and actors.

Those objects could be in the background providing context – framed photos, a trophy, an antique clock – or they could be picked up and handled by characters in a scene – a glass of whisky, a pack of cigarettes, a loaded gun.

In that case, the setting must be augmented with computer generated imagery (CGI). The most common way this is implemented is through the use of green screen technology.

roduction designer. The production designer is the point person for the overall aesthetic design of a film or series. Working closely with the director, they help translate the aesthetic vision for the project – its mise-en-scène – to the various design departments, including set design, art department, costume, hair and make-up. But arguably their most important job

Denis’s films generate an enveloping atmosphere that you can almost taste and feel, and all of that is part of her consistent (and brilliant) use of mise-en-scène.

But if there’s any hope of that final product having a unified aesthetic, and a coherent, underlying theme that ties it all together, it needs a singular vision to give it direction. That, really, is the job of a director. To make sure everyone is moving in the same direction, making the same work of art. And they do that not so much by managing people

But the idea is simple. Borrowed from theater, it refers to every element in the frame that contributes to the overall look of a film. And I mean everything: set design, costume, hair, make-up, color scheme, framing, composition, lighting… Basically, if you can see it, it contributes to the mise-en-scène

Imagine the planning required to choreograph that sequence. Everything had to work like clockwork (pun intended). And yet nothing was sacrificed in terms of cinematic storytelling. Welles is able to move in and out of close-ups, medium shots and long shots, overhead crane shots and smooth tracking shots, directing our attention, revealing information and creating suspense. All without a single cut.

an unmotivated camera move that isn’t serving the story reminds the viewer they are watching a movie. The move becomes visible instead of invisible, and usually, that’s the last thing a filmmaker wants. All of this is supposed to be invisible, remember?

But if you want the camera to actually move through the space, not simply move left to right or up and down, there are a few options. You could just pick it up and move it. That’s called, appropriately enough, a handheld shot. But if you want that movement to be more subtle, or at least a lot smoother, you’ll want more precise control over how the camera moves

But there is also the extreme close-up, medium close-up, medium shot, medium long, long etc. Each term means something specific in terms of composition. A medium long shot, for example, will typically compose a character from the knees up. A medium shot will be from the waist up. Having a specific term for a specific composition saves time (and money) on the set during production.

But just like three-point lighting, the rule of thirds is really just a starting point for understanding how composition can be used to help tell a cinematic story. Framing the shot is really about directing our attention, showing us where to look in the shot or scene, and ultimately how to feel about it. There are lots of ways to do this.

rule of thirds. The idea is to divide the frame into thirds horizontally and vertically and line up areas of visual interest at the intersection of those points. Here’s an example:

But before a cinematographer can start to think about how to properly compose a shot, they have one more decision to make: the shape of their frame. Okay, every frame (for now) is some variation on a rectangle. But the proportions of that rectangle will dictate how people, objects and setting are arranged within it.

Note how the figure of the man lighting his cigarette is isolated from the background, focusing our attention on the spark from the lighter. This is an example of narrow depth of field

Focal length determines both the angle of view and the magnification of the image. The shorter the focal length, the wider the angle of view and the smaller the magnification.

color temperature. Color temperature is measured in degrees Kelvin. The lower the degree Kelvin, the warmer, or more “red” the light. The higher the degree Kelvin, the cooler, more “blue” the light. The orange glow of a tungsten bulb is around 3200 Kelvin. Daylight is around 5600 Kelvin.

Cinematographers can control the quality of light by adjusting the size of the light source and its distance from the subject. Typically, the smaller the light source and the closer to the subject, the harder the light:

nd artificial light refers to light generated from any number of different technologies, LED, incandescent, fluorescent, etc. Each source will have its own particular characteristics, exposing a shot in its own particular way. Artificial light allows a cinematographer an incredible amount of freedom to manipulate and shape the light.

Each new scene will require the cinematographer to consider their light source and how they want to shape it. And a big part of that calculation is intensity. How bright is the source and how is that going to affect exposure?

But there are a number of reasons why a filmmaker might choose to film in black and white over color, even today. They may want to evoke a certain period or emulate some of those “old” movies.

Cinematographers can also manipulate the frame rate to render super sharp imagery. For decades, the standard frame rate for cinema has been 24 frames per second. That produces a familiar, cinematic “look” to the finished film in part because of motion blur, the subtle blurring that occurs between still images passing at 24 fps. But film shot and projected at 48 or 96 or even 120 frames per second renders an ultra-sharp image with almost no motion blur as our brains process far more detail between each individual frame

Today, film stock is made from a much sturdier plastic. And on that plastic is a gelatin coating containing thousands of microscopic grains of light-sensitive crystals called silver halide.

But aside from the esoteric lingo on the set, there are a few key terms everyone should know. The first is the shot, the most basic building block of cinematography. As mentioned in Chapter Two, a shot is one continuous capture of a span of action by a motion picture camera. A finished film is made up of a series of these shots, of varying length, that ultimately tell the story. But during production, each shot may need to be repeated several (or dozens or even hundreds of) times until everyone gets it right. Every time they repeat the shot, it’s called a take.

The lighting department is, well, responsible for all the lights required to shoot a scene. As should be obvious, lights require electricity. And electricity can be dangerous. Especially when you have 100 crew people running around trying to get a shot before lunch. So, the head of the lighting department is a skilled electrician, known as the gaffer

There’s also the 1st assistant camera (1st AC), who is responsible for the camera components, swapping out lenses, and most importantly, keeping the camera in focus. Though that last job is sometimes given to another dedicated member of the team, the focus puller. Then you have the 2nd assistant camera (2nd AC) who assists the 1st AC and often operates the slate, or clapper (more on that later).

Not to mention the importance of editing, sound and performance. Put it all together and cinematography becomes the anchor point to a much larger cinematic experience.

Genre distinctions are handy for us as viewers when deciding what kinds of stories we want to engage, but they are even more handy for producers and studios when it comes to meeting the demand of audiences.

theme – what the film is really about. Star Wars (1977) is about a farm boy saving a princess and defeating a planet-destroying weapon wielded by the evil Empire. That’s the plot. But it’s really about believing in oneself and the difference one brave person can make in the face of overwhelming evil. That is its narrative intent.

The next time you are watching a film or series, take a step back and ask yourself: Who or what is telling this story? Not what character are we following or with whom do we most closely identify in the story, but who or what is actually relaying the events. Yes, there’s the screenwriter and the director and ultimately the editor who are all responsible for narrative as we receive it. Just like the author of a novel. But moment to moment, the primary narrator in cinema is always the camera.

a protagonist should at the very least be interesting, and that does not necessarily mean they are inherently good. In fact, often the most interesting protagonists are flawed in some fundamental way

But as cinema has evolved into other forms, including television and streaming series, so too has narrative structure evolved.

e “rule” of how effective the three-act structure has become. Not just because screenwriters find it useful, but because we, as the audience

But the obstacles could also be internal, some part of the protagonist’s own psychology. Either way, there’s usually a midpoint, right around page/minute 55 or 60, where the protagonist has a choice:

cinema, just like novels or short stories or even poetry, come in all shapes and sizes, otherwise known as genres, from thrillers to westerns, comedies to romance.

And as much as a screenplay can and should be a great read, it is, ultimately, a technical document, a plan for something exponentially more complex.

Nor do you notice anything about the music,

hough rarely meant to be read as literature, it is a literary genre unto itself, with its own unique form, conventions, and poetic economy

not to mention new innovations in virtual reality and immersive technologies that will push the boundaries of what is possible in the years to come.

In other words, you don’t have to necessarily like a movie to analyze its use of a unifying theme or the way the filmmaker employs mise-en-scene, narrative structure, cinematography, sound and editing to effectively communicate that theme.

cinema reflects the dominant cultural norms of a given period, or the way it sometimes rides the leading edge of change in those same norms

However, just as we can analyze technique, the formal properties of cinema, to better understand how a story is communicated, we can also analyze content, that is, what stories are communicating to better understand how they fit into the wider cultural context. Cinema, again like literature, can represent valuable cultural documents, reflecting our own ideas, values and morals back to us as filmmakers and audiences.

his increases the compositional possibilities exponentially for cinema, allowing filmmakers to layer in even more patterns that serve the story and help us connect to their thematic intent.

composing a shot is a powerful way we tell stories about ourselves every day. Filmmakers, the really good ones, are masters of this technique. And once you understand this principle, you can start to analyze how a filmmaker uses composition to serve their underlying thematic intent, to help tell their story.

We can say the same about the relationship between cinema and theater. Both use a carefully planned mise-en-scene – the overall look of the production including set design, costume, make-up –

theme, an idea that unifies every element of the work, gives it coherence and communicates what the work is really about. And really great cinema manages to suggest and express that theme through every shot, scene and sequence.

implicit meaning, the deeper, essential meaning, suggested but not necessarily directly expressed by any one element. Moby Dick is explicitly about a man trying to catch a whale, but as any literature professor will tell you, it was never really about the whale.

It’s called cutting on action and it’s a critical part of our visual lexicon, enabling filmmakers to join shots, often from radically different angles and positions, while remaining largely invisible to the viewer.

Cinema can’t communicate without it, but if we pay too much attention to it, we’ll miss what it all means. A nifty little paradox. But not so strange or unfamiliar when you think about it. It’s precisely the same with any other language.

The same applies to cinematic language. The way cinema communicates is the product of many different tools and techniques, from production design to narrative structure to lighting, camera movement, sound design, performance and editing. But all of these are employed to manipulate the viewer

Don’t talk during the movie. That’s super annoying

. Mise-en-scene, narrative, cinematography, editing, sound and acting will all still matter. And our understanding of how those tools and techniques not only shape the medium, but also shape our culture will also still matter. Maybe more than ever.

That independent spirit in American cinema also created space for women and people of color to have a voice in the art form. A quick scan of the history above and you’ll notice there are not a lot of women’s names. And almost all of the men are white. But filmmakers like Shirley Clarke, Julie Dash and Allison Anders didn’t wait around for Hollywood to give them permission to make great cinema. Nor did the filmmakers of the early so-called Blaxploitation movement (though their success was eventually and sadly co-opted by white filmmakers)

If all of that makes your head spin, you’re not alone. In short, back in 1983, 90% of all American media was controlled by more than 50 distinct companies. By 2012, that same percentage was controlled by just 5. By 2019, it was down to 4: Comcast, Disney, AT&T and National Amusements

AWS (1975) cost $9 million to make (three times more than Universal budgeted) and took 159 days to shoot (three times longer the Universal had hoped), but it grossed more than $120 million in its first theatrical run. It hit Hollywood like a tidal wave.

he Exorcist (1973) broke every accepted norm of cinematography, sound design, narrative structure, editing, performance and even distribution models. And in the process broke every box office record.

Whatever the reason, Warner Bros. bankrolled Bonnie and Clyde (1967), tried to bury it on release, but ultimately had to admit they had a huge hit on their hands. It was as bold, unpredictable, and transgressive (for its time) as Beatty had hoped. And audiences, especially younger audiences, loved it.

The result was a dramatic contraction in output as studios made fewer and fewer movies with increasingly expensive, freelance talent hoping to hit the moving target of audience interest.

, Olivia de Havilland, a young actress known for her role as Melanie in Gone with the Wind (1939), sued Warner Bros. for adding six months to her contract, the amount of time she had been suspended by the studio for refusing to take roles she didn’t want. She wasn’t the first Hollywood actor to sue a studio over their stifling contracts. But she was the first to win her case.

Despite all of the restrictions imposed by vertical integration, central producers, and talent contracts, the house style of a given studio meant that all of their resources went into making the very best version of certain kind of film.

By owning and controlling every aspect of the business, production, distribution and exhibition, those companies could minimize risk and maximize profit by monopolizing the screens in local theaters

Warner Bros. was a family-owned studio run by five brothers and smaller than some of the other larger companies like Universal and MGM. But one of those brothers, Sam, had a vision. Or rather, an ear. Up to that point, cinema was still a silent medium. But Sam was convinced that sound, and more specifically, sound that was synchronized to the image, was the future. And almost everyone thought he was crazy.

Eisenstein, his friend and colleague, applied Kuleshov’s theories to his own cinematic creations, including the concept of montage: a collage of moving images designed to create an emotional effect rather than a logical narrative sequence.

His most famous film, A Trip to the Moon, produced in 1902, transported audiences to surface of the moon on a rocket ship and sometimes even included hand-tinted images to approximate color cinematography.

One of the first films they produced was a 5 second “scene” of a man sneezing.

Muybridge pocketed the $25,000 and became famous for the invention of series photography, a critical first step toward motion pictures.

Leaving yourself enough time to follow the twists and turns of the research and writing process goes a long way toward getting your work in when it’s expected.

Whichever end of the spectrum you most closely identify with, here are a few ideas about the ever-important skill of knowing when to stop.

Notice that each source has a different purpose and provides a different type of information. By using all these sources in your research paper, you’re able to discuss history, bring in credible evidence, and show the personal side of this issue. The paper will be well-rounded and thorough.

Data can be a powerful tool to back up claims, persuade, or illustrate a point. Writers often include statistics, charts, graphs, and other forms of evidence to support their arguments or findings.

professionals and experts also research, read, and cite from others. When a source includes citations, it’s a clue that the source you are reading is based on more than just one person’s knowledge or opinions.

hey help you determine whether a source is relevant (meets your information need) and credible (provides reliable, accurate information)

Evaluating the sources you use for quality, accuracy, relevance, bias, and credibility is a good first step in making sure this doesn’t happen

Knowing that some types of sources, such as scholarly journals, are generally considered more credible than others, such as self-published websites, may also help.

Digging a little deeper to find out what you can about the reputation of both the author and the publication can go a long way toward deciding whether a source is valuable.

If the research topic you are using has ever been the cause of heated debate, you will need to be especially watchful for any bias in the sources you find.

Don’t pick something that’s not really related just because it’s on the first page or two of results or because it sounds good.

To determine whether a source is accurate, you need to look more deeply at the content of the source,

Information on the Internet can also be of a high quality but there is less of a quality assurance process in place for much of that information.

topic can be covered in more depth in a book than in most other types of sources.

it undergoes a review process in order to confirm that the information is accurate and the research it discusses is valid. This process adds a level of credibility to the article that you would not find in a magazine or news articl

Fact-checking in magazine articles tends to be more accurate because magazines publish less frequently than news outlets and have more time to get facts right.

News articles are written by journalists who either report on an event they have witnessed firsthand, or after making contact with those more directly involved.

Anyone can create or contribute to social media and nothing that’s said is checked for accuracy before it’s posted for the world to see.

The information and data landscape of their learning/research context Issues of quality, accuracy, relevance, bias, reputation and credibility relating to information and data sources How information is evaluated and published, to help inform their personal evaluation process

Using inaccurate, irrelevant, or poorly researched sources can affect the quality of your own work

The best thing to do is to use the key concepts involved with your topic.

Good research questions often make you look for causes/effects of an issue, relationships between events and ideas, and/or solutions to a problem.

Gale Ebooks: Find the library’s research databases page, and select Gale Ebooks from the General section (at the top)

pay attention to issues that interest you, and take note of concepts, organizations, people, studies, or events that you might want to research further.

If you ask a librarian for help, they may also show you some tips about searching in the resources.

Choosing the wrong search tool may just waste your time and provide only mediocre information, whereas other sources might provide really spot-on information

You may disagree with some of what you read. If you do, follow through and test both methods to see which provides better results.

Did you spend enough time finding the best tools to search? What is going really well, so well that you’ll want to remember to do it in the future?

Wikipedia Easy access; list of references Professor doesn't seem to like it; maybe misinformation?

Alisha thinks that maybe Sarah shouldn’t have entered the entire thesis statement as the search, and maybe she should have tried databases to find articles.

Understanding a range of searching techniques Understanding the various tools and how they differ Knowing how to create effective search strategies Being open to searching out the most appropriate tools

Most videos include closed captioning or subtitles so they are accessible to a wide range of viewers.

Your college library also owns videos including documentaries, performances, feature films, and more

They can provide ideas to narrow a broad topic down to something more researchable

They sometimes contain visuals like photographs or colorful graphics to keep the reader’s attention.

They can provide powerful evidence to back up claims you’ve made in a research project.

Physical books (and some ebooks too) are often hand-selected by librarians because of the quality of the author and/or content. They often contain a bibliography, footnotes, or endnotes that can be used as jumping-off points to find other relevant sources.

Over time, more in-depth exploration and analysis of the event often comes from government studies and scholarly journal articles.

Persuasive (also known as argumentative): Persuasive assignments ask you to clearly take a stance on an issue and then support that stance with evidence.

Number and types of sources required - examples: journal articles, books, websites, et

In college assignments, it's important to understand what's expected of you. Take some time to critically read through the assignment instructions and look for details

“Know what you don’t know” to identify any information gaps

travelling in circles and retracing your steps. But it’s worth it! This uneasy feeling is necessary in order to get you moving on the road to research victory and finding those perfect pieces of information

The purpose of research should extend beyond your college classes. We as humans are naturally curious and research helps us make sense of our world.

Is it really the best way for your current situation? What other options are there?

It’s rare that you’ll start a search from absolute zero. Most of the time you’ve at least heard something about the topic, even if it is just a brief reference in a news story, lecture, or reading.

What is it that you don’t understand about that thing? What is it that you need to find out so that you can understand it? How can you express what you need to find out?

Information Need Leads to Questions Your lack of knowledge on a topic might reveal itself in lots of different ways.

Because of the widely varying quality of new information, evaluation is also a key element of information literacy, and will be addressed in future weeks.

The scale of information available varies according to topic, but in general it’s safe to say that there is more information accessible now than ever before.

One of the most important things you can do when starting to research a topic is to scan the existing information landscape to find out what is already out there.

something many of us take for granted. We may mistakenly assume that we already know enough to proceed.

One of the first things you need to do when beginning any information-based project is to identify your personal need for that information. This may seem obvious, but it is

Manage time effectively to complete a search

Use background information to underpin the search

That new information and data is constantly being produced and that there is always more to learn

Now, many news outlets openly discuss and tout their political leanings. It has created an environment that makes understanding our confirmation biases even more difficult.

There is a lot of information out there about media bias

These accusations can lead to a general mistrust of all media sources,

the sharing of fake news or using it to support an argument diminishes your standing and credibility among your friends, peers, and colleagues.

We have seen misinformation and fake news threaten democracy (political mistrust) and even threaten public health (COVID-19 crisis).

126,000 rumors were spread by more than 3 million people.

Sources that provide generally credible content, but use exaggerated, misleading, OR questionable headlines, social media descriptions, and/or images. These sources may also use sensational language to generate interest, clickthroughs, and shares, but their content is typically verifiable.

hat I thought were some of the best sources so you can get a well-rounded picture of misinformation and fake news

we must care about these things and we must be armed with the tools to recognize when something seems off.

the Russian tactic of spreading misinformation; it's a different kind of warfare that's happening not only in the United States, but around the world.

Sources that come from a particular point of view and may rely on propaganda, decontextualized information, and opinions distorted as facts.

Rumor: Sources that traffic in rumors, gossip, innuendo, and unverified claims.

Reading two: From the TED-Ed Blog: How to Tell Fake News from Real by Laura McClure

In some cases, fake news has led to physical violence.

you deserve accurate and comprehensive information.

When the intuitionist is feeling scared or anxious,

We can't blame all of this on Social Media.

I have a personal computer and/or smartphone with a data plan and internet access.

I am able to purchase textbooks for all of my courses.

You will find that many of the skills you have learned in this class will serve you well in the workplace

However, there is a lot of good information on professional writing in this chapter that may come in handy in other classes or as you search for employment, so you might want to bookmark it for future use.

Use jokes sparingly since they are often misunderstood.

Use standard wording, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. Do not use any of the abbreviated, casual text that is common in personal online communications and texting.

You should be aware of your voice, audience, and message, and which appeal will work best (ethos, logos, pathos). Avoid fallacies and use solid evidence to back up your arguments.

22% Apple

3% Amazon

2 billion people live without mobile phones

60% of the world's population is offline

he good news is that academics, librarians, and even the government are pushing for more open access to academic material.

University of California system and one of the largest academic publishers,