Philosophy of Religion (part 2)

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Philosophy of Religion (part 1)

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Weeks End Update

Brooks and I just finished a full day of editing on what will hopefully be the first installment of 4 shorts films.  We have brought together a collection of clips and infused interviews, class discussion, and outside filming.  We are hoping to have this first portion completed by the middle of next next up and posted on the blog here.  Editing is a very interesting process.  it often times upon first look you have the inclination to keep all of the footage, but in cutting and moving pieces we end up creating something totally different than you initially created.  Often times in the process spontaneous editing and shifting of priorities becomes necessary.  you can set the most structured story board but if you are not willing to compromise with the outside factors chances are that your product will fall short of your expectations.  Brooks and I had started with the idea of having in class footage and cut on action to outside filming, to further along the narrative produced by in class discussions.  Well truth be told what we have come up with to this point is more near a basic instructional on the Socratic method.  This is why I said that we have had to be flexible with our shot selection and how we translate to a cohesive piece.  Not to mention it has been a struggle to really capture a lot of use-able footage from class.  The inability to go back and re shot shoots and being time crunched with outside work are the largest contributing factors to this down fall.  The process is exciting and I am more excited to finish our first installment and present it in its entirety here on the blog.  Your Faithful Producer.


Troy A. Stehlin

Forward Thinking>>>>

Looking into the future it appears that Philosophy of Religion is next on the syllabus.  We will not be filming on Tuesday Feburary 8 th because the students have a paper due.  This will give Brooks and I some time to discuss the upcoming section and edit down some footage.  Feburary 10th will be the first class concerning the new section.  Dr.Schmid will propose some ontological and cosmological arguments for the existence of God.  This is a touchy subject for many people even outside of the educational system.  I am interested in seeing the students react to the readings prescribed.  Here are some links to the supplemental readings Anslem, St. T. Aquinas Summa, Hume and the Ontological Arguments.  Hope all is well.

-Troy A. Stehlin

Hello,

A new clip has been posted featuring the fourth day of class discussions, specifically debate on what constitutes fact and opinion.

http://vimeo.com/19571268

Cheers,

Brooks

Questions Raised From Class on 1/27/2011 to Coninside with Second Clip

Here are some of the questions raised in class today that I think are important:

• What is the nature of the “entitlement” we have to our own opinions? What level of responsibility do we have to ourselves or others for our opinions? How open do we need to be to truth—and therefore to reasons that might lead us toward truth, on matters religious, ethical, political, or philosophical, which are not subject to a scientific or factual method of determination?
• What are the kinds of things we need to form our own opinions on? How do we form “our own” opinions? And as above, are we “entitled” simply not to have ‘our own’ opinions on various subjects (e.g. religion, philosophy, ethics, politics, art, etc.)? 
• Is it  always wrong to break the law? Or is it sometimes “right” to break the law, and might we have a duty to do so? How do we know which is which? (Bonnie’s argument at the end was yes, it is always wrong. Socrates in the Crito suggests there is a set of conditions which make breaking the law wrong.)

First Video Clip

Hello all,

Copy and paste the URL below into your address bar. You will then be able to view the clip of the first day’s discussion. Enjoy!

http://vimeo.com/19448791

First Day of Shooting

Tomorrow marks the first day of shooting for the DIS team.  We will be shooting both classes for now.  we decided that it was better off to go ahead and film both for our sake of learning and also to see the reaction of the student once we start film.  It should be an exciting experience.  There are pros and cons of each class but that is to be expected when dealing with 30 some odd relative strangers in a class together being filmed.  Brooks and I also decided that most of the filming will be done spontaneously and only plan a couple of shots per class.  It seems that in our own studying we have found that documentary style film is best produced when the shots come to them and then only supplemental footage added after the main in class footage is taken.  Again the emphasis is on what happens inside of the classroom more so than the individual stories of the students participating.  Although that would be nice it is hard to say what will unfold in the ensuing 17 weeks of filming and editing.  Thus the intentions of Brooks and I to stay away from planning to many shots and coming away disappointed in the days work.  Hoping you are having a beautiful day.

-Troy A. Stehlin

Welcome from the authors.

On the behalf of Dr. Schmid and Brooks, we want to welcome you the blog that will be the point of contact to check on the progress of the Directed Independent Study that Brooks and I are embarking on. I would like to take this time to indulged in some  goals that we hold for this project.  Firstly, we are hoping to learn from the participants that are involved in the project of ours.  We are more less letting the project come to us with only a lite skeleton to work from.  The skeleton consist of a thesis and some artistic goals.  The thesis is to find out via the medium of film why students choose, or for that matter why not, to think philosophically when exposed to the questions that are asked of them.  This is mostly an aesthetic project, meaning that we want to find the vein from which philosophical thought comes from based on the person and their beliefs no raw data will be collected along the lines at this point.  The skeleton is also crutched by the openness we hope to have with the participants.  The ability for the students to be open with us on camera will be key.  Their opinion one way or another hold the most dire importance to this project.  The third part of the skeleton frame work we have is the narrative.  The narrative is going to be based on the syllabus that Dr. Schmid has produced for his class.  But the real narrative will come from the students and their personalities that come through the camera.  

Equipment being used: A Sony HDR FX 1, Sony Handycam and directional mics.

All that being said stay tuned to the blog for more updates including thoughts from Dr. Schmid, Brooks and myself about the progress and the philosophical underpinnings that occured in class or were captured on film.  We are hoping to have some sneak previews as well.  Have a blessed day.

-Troy A. Stehlin