Carolina Shorts Paper Assignment Sheet

The paper provides a forum in which to highlight some area of interest in South Carolina. Using the videos currently archived in the SCETV “Shorts” website, each student will construct an argument for a new topic – point of interest – to be the subject of a video documentary for SCETV “Shorts.” The paper will present a location, event, or historical narrative – like the ones already present in the archive – and argue that their selection should be made into a “short” of the kind featured on the website.

SCETV’s own website describes the series thusly: “ETV Shorts is a weekly web series of stories gathered from around the state. From the mountains to the sea, South Carolina has so much to offer residents and visitors alike. ETV Shorts will spotlight our beautiful state and highlight our amazing people!” And one finds quite a variety of subjects taken up by these short films. Our aim is to present ways in which this archive could be grown.

Assignment

After viewing a selection of videos from the SCETV “Shorts” archives, on the SCETV website, you will develop an argument for a new subject for a video. You must use at least three of the videos already present on the website to provide context for your argument and you must cite these, and any other sources, properly. Using these videos, you will show that your subject is both original and in keeping with the other works in the archive. Consider the following questions as guidelines for constructing your argument (you should not repeat these questions in your paper, though):

How is your subject similar enough to others in the collection to justify its inclusion? Have you chosen something that obviously meets the aims of this series of documentaries?

How is your subject unique enough to suggest its inclusion? Have you made sure that you are not presenting something that simple represents what is already available in the archive?

You will want to first present your subject in enough detail that someone unfamiliar with the subject could understand basic facts about the subject: location, time, significance, etc…, as well as some suggested visuals for the video. You will then go about contextualizing your subject alongside what is already available on the website and defending it as a good addition. Please note length and formatting requirements listed on the syllabus and note that this assignment, like all other papers for the semester, must be properly cited. And remember that the assignment should be written at a college level (well-structured, clearly argued, and free of major grammar errors).

Accessing the Videos

The site containing the videos can be accessed using this link:

http://www.scetv.org/program/etv-shorts

Either follow the hyperlink or copy the address and paste it into the address bar. This will take you to the SCETV website and the archives for the “Shorts” videos. The full archives extend over several pages. Please look through these videos. You need not watch every one of them, but be aware of the number that are required for the assignment and that you will, likely, want to view more to give yourself a grounding in the aims of this video project.

You will also notice, in a column on the right-hand side of the “stories” screen, a link titled “ETV Shorts by Regions.” As an alternative to a general search through the archives, you may want to use the map found through this link to narrow your search to only videos from a certain region of the state.