“Can
you tell me what was ever really special about me all this time?”
~Matchbox Twenty © 2007
8th Grade “How
Far We’ve Come” Music Video Project
Directions: Each team will create a music video for the Matchbox
Twenty song, “How Far We’ve Come”. The music will be the soundtrack for the
video and your task is to combine meaningful and relevant audio, images, and text that will amplify
the songs hopeful message and pay tribute to heroic people and
triumphant events that have made a
difference and changed our country
and world in a positive way.
Read the paragraphs below for specific techniques and
content that are required for this assignment and they serve as the criteria for your project grade. (100 points)
Meaningful and Effective Use of
Text:
At least three statements highlighting historic and
heroic events, movements or people must
appear somewhere in the video including specific
terms, dates and/or statistics. These statements can be written as complete
sentences or they may be phrases. Example:
Rosa Parks refused to move from her seat on a bus in 1955 sparking the
Montgomery Bus Boycott which furthered the Civil Rights Movement. Or Civil Rights Movement – Rosa Parks –
1955
At least three meaningful concept sentences must appear in the video. You must use three different concept words.
You may choose to use a quote that includes a concept word. Example: “We must be the change we wish
to see in the world.” Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948)
The text of at least two meaningful literary / historic
documents (speech, essay, declaration, quotes, literature, poetry, song…)
should appear in the video. You do not have to include text of the entire
document but the excerpt should be meaningfully connected to the events, issues
and people referenced in your video. You may also want to overlay the text on
an image of the person who wrote or spoke those words. Excerpt could also refer
to underlying causes or it may provide possible remedies or solutions to a
societal issue or problem referenced in your video.
The specific individuals, places and events referenced
in your video provide additional opportunities for the use of audio and text,
but use good judgment to avoid information overload. Do not try to fill the
entire video with content or it will become too “busy” and less effective. You
don’t want the viewer to be reading the entire time. You must leave “space” for
the viewer to interject their own thoughts and feelings while listening and
reacting to your video.
Important lyrics from the song should also appear in
the video. To emphasize their meaning and importance the words should
appear in your video at the same point as the listener hears them in your song.
Remember to be creative in your selection of text font, size and style. Again
use your discretion, a good rule to follow when selecting any content for your
video is “less is more”.
Meaningful and Effective Use of
Images:
At least two meaningful visual art or symbols should appear in the video. The
visual may be an original abstract work or it may be a well known painting,
sculpture, drawing or symbol of cultural and historic significance. The image should be meaningfully connected to
the events, issues and people referenced in your video. Image could also refer
to underlying causes or it may provide possible remedies or solutions to a
societal issue or problem referenced in your video.
The specific individuals, places and events
referenced in your video provide excellent opportunities for the use of still
images and video. Consider the placement and amount of time an image appears.
Use this technique to emphasize certain images more than others. As with text
don’t try to fill the video with endless images, be purposeful and selective
for the greatest impact. (Less is more) You must leave “space” for the viewer
to interject their own thoughts and feelings while watching and reacting to the
video.
“Now
I wonder what my life is going to mean if it's gone”
Resources:
“How Far We’ve
Come” Music Video
AOL’s
“How Far We’ve Come” (Behind the scenes) Video
Matchbox Twenty Official Web Site