Take 150 words or so and introduce yourself in a comment below. Use my example here as a guide.
Greetings Everyone,
My name is Patrick Corbett and I am your professor for ENG 2400. You can find my official college bio here. Most of my teaching is around writing and technology. Most of research is about the effectiveness of institutional research and programs. So, obviously, the reason I teach this course isn’t that I am a film scholar or intellectual. I teach it because I worked in the film industry for six years after college in some very interesting roles and well-known places. While we won’t screen any films that I personally worked on this semester, I have chosen films that I believe are relevant to understanding how the film industry develops stories from many, many sources (including “literature”) and turns them into visual products to be consumed by a different audience. Because I approach the study of film from a professional rather than academic point-of-view, I think you will find that my perspective is quite different, but complementary, to what you might experience in other film courses.
Hello everyone,
My name is Ashley Montesinos. I am currently a senior majoring in Entertainment Technology. I chose this major because most of my life has revolved around the music scene and I believed it was something that I would genuinely enjoy. Now that I am in my last year I can say that even though it has been challenging at times I have been enjoying it. Although, I do not know how well the experience will translate through online classes as some of my classes required hands on work. Apart from the end of the last semester, I have taken various online classes before but never for an entire semester with so many classes.However, I hope that I will be able to adapt quickly. I have never taken any type of film class but I thought I would give it a try. The class seems interesting and I hope that I will enjoy it.
Hi Ashley — Glad to have you with us! I don’t know about the NYC music scene because I’m old, but once upon a time I worked for Virgin Records (the label, not the store). I met a lot of really, really interesting people and might have even made a career in music, but the pay was really low because everyone wanted to work for a major record label. Memorable times, though.
Hello everyone,
My name is Leonardo Harrison and My major is environmental control technology. I like this field because it as a variety of different areas to work in. If you are a person that like change this field is for you. To name a few positions you can work as are Sales Engineer, Service Engineer and installation Engineer. This is a field that helps You to stay fit. You can look at it like you get payed to go to the Gym. It also stimulates the mind because in other to do an effective job you have to be a good thinker and a problem solver. I currently work for a company as and Instalation Engineer even though I am still in school for this major. I applied to a company and lucky enough I got the job despite not finishing college yet. I look at life as a road you can’t get any where without movement. There will be corners, bumps and traffic but with patients and endurance that will get you wherever you want to go. I decided to take this class for it’s intensive writing purpose and for my love of Films. I hope this will be a wonderful experience.
Hello everyone,
My name is Lisette Lindao and I am currently a student aspiring to be in the nursing program. I want to be a nurse because I enjoy helping people when they are at their most vulnerable times. Nurses have more one on one with patient care and I think that will give me a lot of new experiences. I enjoy traveling and hope to travel a lot more once I am finished with college. I have never taken a film class before, but I have high hopes that I will really enjoy this class. I am very creative and hope I can incorporate that with this class. Although I would prefer in person classes instead of online, I will make the best out of this learning experience due to the circumstances we are in. I am excited for what will come out of this class as the semester goes on.
My name is Woudeline Brun, I’m a transfer student from College of Staten Island. I am currently majoring in Law/Paralegal and one day hope to go to law school. At first, I wanted to become a nurse then I realize that I didn’t have any passion for it. I decide to follow my grandparents’ footsteps in the legal field. So far I am loving it. My dream is to become an immigration lawyer. One interesting thing about me is I speak 3 languages and I’m currently learning Spanish on my free time. I also like to travel. My expectation for this class to be gain a better understanding of films and literature. I took communication class before where we watched movies and analyze them but never a literature class. I am excited to learn more and ready to learn more about this class.
Hi Woudeline — I think your expectations will be well met if that are that low! My expectations are that we will all come together and learn something profound about ourselves, each other, and the world through the lens of cinema and its connection to the myriad stories that each film consumes in its production and that we bring to it as an audience!
Hello, my name is Asfakul Haque. I am studying liberal arts in this collage. This is going to be my last semester in city tech because I am transferring to another cuny collager john jay to study Criminal justice. Right now my goal is to get better grades in all my class so I can complete my BA in Criminal Justice with a good GPA. I am from Bangladesh English is my second language. in the last six years in America, I try my best to learn and improve my English language skill. other than English and my own language Bangla I understand Hindi and Urdu and other Indian subcontinent languages. Right now I am also talking Arabic language class. I still fully didn’t understand what type of class this is hopefully something I can do well and understand every single lesson.
Hi Asfakul — Sometimes the most important lessons we learn are ones that first appear to be impenetrable and then slowly reveal themselves over time. I will say this — if you keep up with the work, you can do very well in this class. And if you invest your time and intellectual energy into it, the lessons will eventually come to fruition. P.S. we almost screened this film — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matir_Moina. And I think I will next year.
Hi everyone,
I am Azriel Rodriguez this is my second year here at city tech and its been quite an interesting experience. I am currently majoring in chemistry. I choose this major because I originally had plans of becoming a dermatologist and helping those who have acne or any other skin conditions, but as I became more invested in my studies I’ve outgrown my career choice and currently seeking other careers options for the future. I am currently finding my place and what I want to do as of right now with my life. In my free time, I love to paint and draw. I’m willing to combine this hobby into this class as well to help me learn more. I am extremely interested to learn quite a lot about the display between film and literature and maybe even learn something from the rest of you. I wish you all the best of luck this semester.
Hi Azriel — I’m delighted that you are using your education to grow broadly and deeply, to pursue new interests, find what matters the most to you as a young person, and explore latent, maybe even hidden, talents. I’m sure you will bring a lot to this class and I hope it offers you a lot in return!
My name is Sergio I Garcia and I’ve been in city tech for almost 2 years now. This is my last semester in CityTech and I have to tell you that I have had great professors, class mates, and experiences here. My major is Health Science and some of my favorite classes so far were Organic Chemistry, and Microbiology, I just love all of the science stuff. However, I enjoyed English because it kind of pushes my boundaries to find that perfect word that fits in the paragraph, or to just express my self in an understanding way, better say than done, but writen or oral communication can be challenging specially to get your point understood in the way you want it, and I think we have to practice to master this skill, similar to learn to how drive a car, thats how I see it practice makes it perfect. I choose this class because I only read sporadically, but I like movies, so this can be a good combination. I also have to mention that English is my second language I speak Spanish, but I try my best to express my self in English or Spanish. Finally I like to wish everybody the best of luck in your studies.
Hi Sergio — I often describe learning to write better as learning how to sculpt a piece of raw marble into a Pietà . It’s both creative, but intellectual. You must work in layers, with excellent craft, materials, vision, but also you don’t get there on your first attempt, or your 100th. You keep working and your labors eventually reveal their rewards, which are creating something that can reach inside someone else’s mind and shape their thoughts in exquisite ways. Since you are a science guy, I’ll leave you with this — https://www.ted.com/talks/uri_hasson_this_is_your_brain_on_communication/transcript?language=en
Wow such of interesting video. A speaker brain signals patterns are similar to the listener who is understanding the speaker. Both brains sync in a special way. Thank you for sharing.
My name is Jeoffrey Forde, I’m a senior and my major is Media Entertainment. My two tracks are film and scenery. Years ago while working as a security guard I watched a film crew set up for hours to plan a car chase scene. I told a guy who worked in the building who was also watching the film crew that I will go to school to learn how to work on films. Every time that the guy saw me he would ask me if I enrolled in school yet until I finally did and years later here I am. I have taken film classes before and I have co directed on a indie film titled “Maneuver” created by Demetrius Charles and made it into 6 film festivals including the Newark film festival last year. I hope that I will enjoy this class and further my education and love for film.
Hi Jeoffrey — It’s nice to have a film-maker in class with us! Much like if you want to be a good writer, you must read a lot of good writing, if you want to be a filmmaker, you have to fill your intellectual repertoire with a lot of good films. And maybe a few bad ones. I hope that this class helps you in this regard. If you have any ideas about films for next year, let me know!
Hi, my name is Daniela Tomaino and I’m starting my third year here at City Tech as an Entertainment Technology major. I enjoy the backstage world of film/music/theater, all that stuff. I felt like this would be a cool class to take because I’m definitely one of those people who like to read something then see how someone else decided to make it into a film. Its always interesting to me when people are able to take books with hundreds of pages and condense it down into a 2 hour movie. Comparing what they found important or necessary to the story’s progression versus what I would have choose. Generally, I thinks. seeing someones else interpretation of not only books but anything type of story it fun for me because it really shows how everyone interprets things differently and it can give you a perspective you might not have had before hand.
Hi Daniela — One of my former jobs used to be a story editor for the William Morris Agency, where I would read a LOT of adaptations and also novels/plays that famous people wanted to adapt as their “pet” projects. I can tell you that there is a tremendous amount of craft that goes into adapting something effectively for cinema. There are writers and filmmakers who specialize in it. When I worked on the first Tomb Raider movie (the one with Angelina Jolie), it was a torturous process to watch — because the look, feel, mythology, etc. of the video game had to be adapted, but the story had to be original. I still have PTSD flashhbacks about that year of my life.
Hello Everyone,
My name is Bibi Bux. I am a student at New York City College of Technology, trying to earn my Bachelor degree in Radiologic Technology and Medical Imaging. As a child there were a lot of things I wanted to be when I grew up. However my focus has been the same, to work in a hospital to help others. I was born and brought up in the country of Guyana, my family and I migrated to the United States when I was ten years old. My parents have always taught me to follow my dreams that is why I want to be a Radiologist. I have never taken a film class before so my expectation for this class is to have a better interpretation about film and learn new techniques and perspectives from my professor and classmates. In my free time I love hanging out with my friend and going to new places.
Hi Bibi — You will definitely have more perspective leaving this class than you will entering it. That is the real value of education. It doesn’t teach you new skills necessarily (that is the role of training), it gives you perspective and insights to make use of that training in ways that advance your own vision for your work and your life. Really great stories can do that too I think. Maybe that’s why I’m so invested in Ron Fricke’s films (Baraka/Samsara) — they showed me techniques and perspectives that at that time of my life were both unique and profound.
Hello everyone, my name is Saadman Saber. This will be my fifth year being an attendant of City Tech and anticipating to graduate Fall 2021. I’m currently studying Communication Design and hoping to use my knowledge and experience to make my way into the field of fashion. I always knew I wanted to be in a creative field but never knew exactly what I’d like to study. Although I always knew I had a lot of interest in the field of fashion, I never gave it a thought because it wasn’t a very “masculine” type of work to be in. However, I’m glad to know that graphic design plays a huge part in fashion, so I’m happy I will have that skill set before jumping in!
I’m very excited to see what ENG 2400 (films from literature) will be teaching me this semester. Although this was just a flexible common core I chose to take, I do love films, so getting to dive into literature that these movies are based off of sounds very exciting. I’m interested to see what work we’ll be reviewing/learning about and whatever else this course will be offering!
Hi Saadman — I love having a fashion expert in my film classes because I am a fashion idiot and there is always so much relevant detail in costuming for cinema. It’s a whole semiotic system of meaning/identifications/symbology in and of itself. Feel free to share your insights and expertise as we go along!
I am no expert ha! But yes I’m really excited to dive into that aspect of film as well! Looking forward to it all!
Hello Everyone,
My name is Christopher Adams, and I’m oringinally from South Africa. I’ve lived and worked in New York for past fifteen years. This is my third year at City Tech, and I’m currently majoring in Entertainment Technology with my focus being lighting and scenery construction. My background is mostly in dance; as I’m currently a semi retired professional dancer. I’ve always enjoyed watching films, and thought this class would help me better understand how books are interpreted into film. So often I hear people use the phrase “The book was better than the movie”. I’m one who enjoys most book to film adaptations. I want to understand what drives a director to take on the enormous challange of making a film based on a book, knowing that not many would view their interpretation favorably.
Hi Chris — I think Peter Jackson talks a lot about this in his work with the Lord of the Rings trilogy. How can you possibly adapt the greatest fantasy story of the English language? I remember talking about this with my fellow studio development people — how can you possibly adapt over 1000 pages of dense text into a brilliant set of films. Let’s face it, The Stand didn’t quite measure up, and Tolkien is waaaay more complex than Stephen King. What would the essential story be? What does the narrative need? What do fans need? What would be left out? These are not trivial questions.
Hello everyone my name is Ali Mkhantar, I am half Moroccan half French. I live in Brooklyn New York. I am currently majoring in liberal arts and science. I enjoy playing soccer, playing video games, working out, watching horror and comedy movies, exploring places I have never been to fulfilling my curiosity and I also enjoy driving and listening to music in my free time. One of my fears is the fear of the unknown. When I grow up I would love to have a job that I actually enjoy going to and becoming financially stable allowing me to explore the world. COVID -19 class is no longer online, which for some is easier. In my case, it is slightly more difficult because I tend to slack off and get off-topic since I am in the leisure of my own home, but I will try my best to manage my focus.
Hi Ali — Just remember the impossibly stilted words of wise and venerable Yoda, “Do or do not, there is no try!” But more seriously, “fear” is an essential topic of discussion in cinema — how many great stories are driven by fear? If we want to essentialize, which I don’t often want to, but let’s do it just for the sake of argument, we may be able to break down narrative drama down into to basic stories–fear (bad biochemistry) and love (good biochemistry).
Peace, to everyone. My name is Parris Woods, this is my first semester at City Tech, which is just the latest stop in my academic journey. I’m majoring in Entertainment Technology, I recently completed two years of film school at Digital Film Academy, and prior to that I graduated from St.Petersburg College in Florida. I spent four years in the Army, which was an experience that allowed me to travel the world. During my service I was stationed in Seoul South Korea for a year, which was amazing, living and learning among such a different culture. Ultimately, I intent to write and direct for film and television. I have written, directed and edited several short films and a web series of my own, while also working on some industry television shows. I love learning and consider myself a student of life, I look forward to what the opportunities City Tech holds for me.
Hello everyone. My name is Gustavo Campos and I am currently a senior at city tech. I am majoring in Mechanical Engineering. The reason why I decided to take this class is because I am someone who is very passionate about watching movies, especially if it’s with other people. I’m someone who also likes to write down pretty much everything that I see in what I watch, so this class should not be a problem for me. Some of my hobbies include soccer, going out with friends, and obviously watching movies. I expect to get a good grade for this class and all my other classes as well, even if it has to be online. Many may say that it can be very difficult to learn online because it has to be in the very comfort of your own home and you will be distracted by many things such as your parents or siblings. However, I plan on succeeding this semester and hopefully I can take in all the knowledge I can acquire in an online environment the same way we would if we were all physically in class together.
Hello everyone, my name is Timothy Coggins but you can call me Tim. I am a transfer student in my junior year at city tech. I am majoring in Entertainment technology. I decided to take this course because I would like to involve myself more in films and movies. I heavily consume other forms of media all the time but movies are one such I feel i have neglected. I am very analytical and I feel I will succeed in the breakdowns and analyses of films we will be watching in the future. Some hobbies of mine include, video games, photography, skateboarding, and reading/watching anime and manga. This semester will be rough for me due to the switch to all online learning but I hope to adjust to the changes and really hope to get something out the semester and come out with A’s and B’s. I wish everybody a great semester, be excellent wash your hands and stay safe.
Hello my name is Yazan Saleh and my major for now is Liberal Arts in Science.This is my second semester at city tech and I plan on staying in this college for a few more semesters. I like to play video games, watch funny or action comedy movies and like going on road trips or long rides in a car and, I also like going on bike rides. I hope when i grow up i can have a nice stable job that i can enjoy doing while working. I also hope that one day i can get my dream car and house if i am successful in life. Because of Covid 19 school is now online which is now more convenient but i would prefer school to be in class since if is online i tend to slack off a little bit more and get behind in my work and i have to control myself and stop procrastinating.
Hello everyone, my name is Michael Militano this is my second year at City Tech and I major in Entertainment Technology. I chose this major because it caught my eye when choosing a major and I liked the idea of behind the scenes for entertainment like Movies and T.V. shows. I didn’t know what I wanted to do as my major, but so far with the classes I took I really like what I am doing. The types of movies I like to watch are Action/Adventure and Sci fi like the Marvel movies. This is my first time having an actual Film class and even though we most likely won’t watch movies like these I still look forward to what’s to come. With this whole online switch it has been pretty difficult for me since i’m not that tech savvy, but I hope that I will get through this and learn some brand new and cool things about movie making and more.
I would like to congratulate every student of this class for making it this far into their educational path. These past couple of months have really changed the atmosphere of education. Working from home, either as a student or as an employee, is not an easy task to achieve. The most important thing that must be done in order to remain controlled during these circumstances, is to find a proper balance between your home, and your work.
My name is Eli Zavlunov, people best know me as Eli Zav for short, I was born in Moscow, moved to New York around 6 years ago, I also lived in Hong Kong, and Tel Aviv. I am currently on the path to receive my Bachelors in Networking & Security, and planning to pursue my career in Cyber Security. I have numerous hobbies that I do, I am a gem cutter, car mechanic, translator, and a computer builder. Growing up, I went to an international school, and I have seen many different careers in person, I also have experienced numerous options myself, some I have favored, some I have not. But I have made my decision to stick with cyber security. I really hope that taking any online classes this semester will not slow down my educational advancement in the long run. But, by the end of this class,I am sure that no matter the skill, with time, everything is a new achievement.
This would be my first ever film class, and I always feel that it does not take much to make a movie, I am a fan of martial art/Horror movies, sometimes action too. I always like plot twists and weird endings for the anticipation of the second part of the movie. I am looking forward to work hard for this class and to be able to understand and explore literature differently.