Instructions for Students

Xtranormal in the Classroom Instructions

Your assignment is to create a short film using the text-to-movie software on the website xtranormal.com. 

I.                   Using xtranormal.com

You will need to create an account on xtranormal.com.

You will need to create a film.
You will need points to publish your film.

You will receive 300 points when you sign up. 300 points is enough points to publish a movie, but if you want to use more than 300 points, you can either purchase them or refer friends to the xtranormal.com website. I prefer that you work in groups (4 or fewer members) but you do not have to. If you plan to work in a group, initially, only one member should sign up for xtranormal.com. The first person that signs up can then invite the other group members. When the other group members sign up, the initial membership will gain points. The link to invite friends is on the bottom of the My Movies page.

II.                Content of the Film

You are to write, direct and produce a film. You can make this film about anything you desire. Please be as creative as you can be. Your film can be of any genre, e.g. horror, comedy, romance, suspense etc...I want you to be creative as possible, but please keep your Movie to a PG-13 rating. The only content requirement beyond rating is that you must incorporate the economic way of thinking into your film. This means that economic analysis and logic must enter into the dialogue of the film. Your film must reference at least 6 of the 8 economic guideposts we covered in class (Packet 1). 

III.             Run Time of the Film

Your film must be at least 4 minutes. Please don’t get carried away and make it more than 7 minutes. So, 4 minutes – 7 minutes is an acceptable run time.

IV.             Credit/Acknowledgement

At the end of the film, either have the characters state who the film was created by or run credits (running credits costs points, so I think only groups will be able to do this (unless you feel like paying).
Once you publish your movie, you will be given a link; email this link to me.
I also want a printed version of your script with the guideposts you used in the film italicized in the script that you hand in to me. Hand this in as a hard copy with all group member names included.

V.                Tips

You can play with the dialogue to make it sound better. You can add pauses or dots (…) to have the character slow down his/her speech. You should also put in pauses between music and gestures for full effect. Also, make use of the “look at camera” command; it will add a lot to your overall product.
Here are some examples of assignments that have received 80-100 points in my past classes:
What you will see is that a good amount of effort went into these and they come close to fulfilling the guidelines (though not necessarily perfect)

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