I've always thought a 48 hour film festival would be extremely fun to participate in. For a class to be doing it sounded very little like a school assignment, however naturally 6x1 would have to change perspective a bit on something normal. This change didn't make the assignment any more like school, just forces the 'student' to think outside of the box.
No device who's primary use is motion capture. My initial reaction was probably the same as the rest of the class. Everyone always says the fact that in 90% of American's pockets lies a camera has changed culture and everything about it. The YouTube generation can be found guilty of almost anything in low-res and viewed for free. Having spent three years in film school makes one more than a little hesitant to even watch something of such poor resolution.
My second thought on capture was the webcam on my laptop. Certainly a higher-resolution, with the added bonus of automatic transfer onto my hard drive. Still seeking for a high-res solution, I thought of my digital camera. I experimenting with taking a series of stills, but after messing with the settings could still only get 3 or 4 pictures before the camera had to compute everything. Certainly an option, but perhaps not on the scale I had hoped.
I came back to the cellphone, imagining the possibilities that are offered at the cost of clarity. The relative weightlessness of it allows for some acrobatics that would be dangerous or impossible with a more standard camera. I've always loved the opening shot of 'Touch of Evil' when the camera cranes through entire sections of town and finds its way to the main character. A rig like that would be easily achievable with a camera-phone, and something I hope to accomplish.
