Our last week have explored early film. For this report, I would like you to construct a Nickelodeon Show. The standard nickelodeon program ran 45 minutes to an hour, but yours can run as little as 20 minutes total. You can do an historically accurate show, or update it for today’s audiences. Please make sure you understand what a Nickelodeon show is by reading your textbook and examining the appropriate module page.

A typical show might look something like: slapstick comedy (6-7 minutes), illustrated song (3 minutes), drama-short film (12-14 minutes), illustrated song (3 minutes), and light comedy (6-7 minutes). Again, yours can be a little shorter – and you can modify the format to fit your creative goals – updating the content for today, or relying on historical material from the past.

If you decide to “update,” your show must include a short film as its centerpiece! You can find many short films on YouTube. To surround that film, you could incorporate any kinds of music and media via YouTube:

• Clips of your Favorite Comedian (A short stand-up skit; short skit from SNL, Dave Chapelle Show, Comedy Central Shows, etc.)
• Live music performances or clips from concerts of any kind
• Additional short films
• Music videos (update on the “illustrated song”!)

For an historically accurate show, you can find examples of illustrated songs can be found at the following links:

• http://docsouth.unc.edu/gtts/learn/IllustratedSong.html (Links to an external site.)
• Take Me Out to the Ball Game (Links to an external site.)
• Feel free to find more examples on your own – especially if you are “updating” for today’s time. Be creative!

You can then choose three one-reelers from around 1910, trying for a variety of genres. You can reduce the runtime of your show by selecting shorter films. You can find a variety of short, early films here:

• Library of Congress (Links to an external site.)
• Feel free to seek out short videos of your own. Again, be creative!