License: A Narrative Film Project

In preparing this project, wanted to do something that I felt that the students at my school could do reasonably well with the resources that we have.  This lesson was to build on some of the other lessons that I have written for this class.  So the students would have experience with script writing, composition, lighting, sound, and editing software.  This assignment would be part of the endgame for the project.  One of the biggest problems with amateur films is continuity.  I wanted to focus the assessment on continuity, particularly the 30 degree rule and the 180 degree rule.  The full assignment can be found here.  As an important part of the assessment they are to do some basic pre-production by bracketing the script with shot/coverage.  A copy of mine for this project is found here and here.  For me it was enormously helpful to have that script while shooting.  Knowing myself I would have screwed up a lot more without it.  This is only a short section of the original script as per assignment.
I chose to not have them do a shot list, but in retrospect that would be a good idea.  Imagining the shot/coverage and executing it are two very different things.  That is why I find it imperative that the shots be edited together so we can really see the continuity.   We do have a video production lab at my school with both Premier and FinalCutPro.  The students would have access to this equipment to finish the project.  In the end I think that this would be a great stepping stone to a final project in the class.  Enjoy.

Dialogue editing exercize

We, as an exercise in both filming and editing dialogue, chose a scene from 10 Things I Hate About You shot and edited it.  This is my version.

Teaching Narrative Film Techniques

As I think about the struggles of teaching Narrative film to high school students I realize that the the main difficulty is that the elements that make film work are intended to be invisible.  Whether the seamlessness of filmmaking is due to our being accustomed or because it is inherent is up to debate.  However, what works for creating continuity in a film works.  Without discussing the nature of the Institutional Mode of Representation, we can agree that certain techniques have become enormously important in maintaining that continuity.  Such concepts as the '180' degree rule, or the 30 degree rule are so commonplace in the industry that we don't even pay attention to their relevance.  So I see teaching such elements of continuity to my students as being a sort of reveal of the man behind the curtain so to speak.  As the apparatus becomes visible, it puts tools in the hands of students to not only interpret the film but also bake film of their own.  They could even reflect on the power of medium that uses a language so surreptitiously.  If they are successful at conceal so common a part of the craft, what else might be hiding in there?

8+2: an Exercise in Composition

For this project we were to create a lesson with an assessment that we could use in our classes that we teach that focussed on the elements of composition.  That lesson with rubric can be found here.  Then we were to do the assignment and post the video which can be found below.  This was an interesting experience.  Often as teachers we make assessments for our students and then give them without any test.  Our first batch of students become guinea pigs for our experiment.  I guess that is why so often it feels like flying into the unknown with these new lessons and assessment plans.  In this case, I have completed the assignment myself.  This has a number of advantages.  First, I was able to work out a lot of bugs in the assignment now before any students look at it.  Second, I was able to create an example of what the finished product is to look like.  With untried assessments we often have nothing to show the students to demonstrate what we are looking for.  This solves that problem.  Third, it is proof that I know what I am doing.  Often in tech heavy classes students and teachers may not have as great a chasm between them, and sometimes the roles are even reversed.  So with this I am able to say, "Look, I can do this, and so can you."
I think that this will be an invaluable asset as I work toward creating a better quality curriculum for my students in my film courses.

Composition and editing exercise

We did this as a scavenger hunt; finding different compositional elements.  Then we edited it together.  It was fun and gave us some experience with the camera and with Adobe Premier which I have never used before.

Composition

While I have had some rudimentary understanding of composition, this week has helped me to solidify my knowledge and give me greater confidence in teaching those elements to students.  For example, I knew that such a thing as high angle and low angle shots existed and that they helped to portray the power relationship of the character, but I was not aware that there was such a thing as above or below eye-line.  Also, the significance of the different framings.  That wide shots help to emphasize the object's place in the environment or that close-up exclude the environment for intimacy, is new knowledge (though, honestly, it is intuitive if you just think about it.
Also invaluable was the instruction on the manual camera controls.  I was aware of the different settings, but I was not familiar with what they did or how to manipulate them.
With this new and more specified knowledge I feel that I could design a unit more effectively on the use of composition elements.

Diversity of Cohort Brings Enlightenment

As I have been thinking about writing and how to show my students the mechanics and methods of writing in media, I have been impressed by the standout ideas shared by my cohort.  I have found that our rather diverse backgrounds have given us the opportunity to see how to teach similar ideas from different perspectives.  All of us had to come up with an assignment for the writing of a story.  I was impressed by the diversity of structures and activities that resulted from that.  Emily designed her lesson for children ages 3-11.  I found the project remarkably cohesive and doable.  The video example of her sons work based on the lesson proved the effectiveness of the plan.  It showed that media literacy is not something that should be limited to high school age kids.  Amy's lesson was particularly useful in showing a very practical and accesible way to assess students knowledge of basis narrative structure.  I was also taken by Mindy's oral history approach.  Oral histories are becoming a fascinating way to introduce people into the lives of others. Podcasts, video diaries, and the like have become modern incarnations of the old stories grandpa used to tell around the fire.  I think that her lesson lent itself to that kind of end production.  Reilly showed that there is value in the short film and that students need to realize that as a form it has much potential.
I look forward to the things that we will continue to share in this class.