Dvds and DVD Extras That Help Teach the Language of Film,To Kill

DVDs and DVD Extras That Help Teach The Language of Film

Copyright 2010, by Frank W. Baker – Media Literacy Clearinghouse This page is not intended to be an exhaustive, all-inclusive list, but rather a list of some DVDs that I am aware of and have watched that I think could be used in classes where “film literacy” and “film fluency” is being taught. There’s nothing like reading a book about film, but viewing, analyzing and deconstructing are best when you have access to films, and extras, that will help your students better understand the languages of film. NOTE: many of these “extras” can now be founded streamed on YouTube.

General

Film, Form and Culture (CD How to Read A Film: Looking At Movies Rom) Multimedia Edition The Art of Watching Films A Movie Lover’s Guide to Making Movies Make Sense (CD Rom) Film Language American Cinema: 100 Years Moving Images Making Movies, Moguls & Movie Stars: A of Filmmaking Understanding Media History of Hollywood Filmmakers on Film Acting/Casting

Matching Identities: Casting Widescreen, The Bourne Supremacy Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Building A Bad Actor (Title 2, Chapter 1) Events A Collaboration of Spirits: Casting and The Color Purple, Two Disc Special Edition Acting Animation

Peering Through The Veil Paranorman (Blu-ray DVD) Miniatures in Motion: Bringing Frankenweenie Frankenweenie (2 Disc Combo Pack, Blu- to Life ray-DVD) Tim Burton’s The Corpse Bride, Blu-Ray The Animators: The Breadth of Life Edition Peering Through the Veil: Stop Motion Behind Paranorman, Blu Ray Disc The Scenes Art Direction: Set Design

Behind Hogwarts: Dumbledore’s Office- Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets Build a Scene (Widescreen Ed. 2 Disc) Inside Elizabeth’s World Elizabeth: The Golden Age Image Gallery: Production Design Tristan + Isolde Set Design/Exploring The Sets Gangs of New York (2 Disc Edition) The Lord of the Rings Extras, The Designing Middle Earth Fellowship of the Ring Art Direction: Storyboards

Storyboard Comparisons A Beautiful Mind, Two Disc Awards Ed. Storyboards and Pre-viz: Making Words The Lord of the Rings, New Line Platinum & Images Series LOTR: Storyboard to Film Comparison The Lord of the Rings, Fellowship of the Ring Storyboard Comparisons Story Of Movies, To Kill a Mockingbird Introduction to Animatrics Star Wars: The Phantom Menace State of the Art: Pre-visualization Star Wars: Attack of the Clones of Episode II Storyboard Pitch Deleted Scenes Shrek Previsualization War of the Worlds, Two Disc Limited Edition Storyboard To Film Comparison West Side Story, Special Ed Collector’s Set Audio (see also Score listed below)

Breaking Barriers: The Sound of Hitchcock Rear Window: Special Edition Through the Ears of Forrest Gump: Sound Forrest Gump, Special Collector’s Edition Design Animation Sound Design: Building Worlds Wall E 3 Disc Special Edition From The Sound Up The Sound & Music of A.I. (Sound Design; A.I. Artificial Intelligence Two Disc Music) Special Edition The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Third Trimester; Sound Design The Criterion Collection Voices from the Underworld; The Voices Tim Burton’s The Corpse Bride, Blu-Ray Behind the Voice Edition The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, Full Designing the Sounds of Middle Earth Screen, -Two Disc The Science of Sound Spiderman 3, 2 Disc Special Edition Cinematography Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography

James Wong Howe: Cinematographer Sweet Smell of Success (Criterion Collection) Costumes Memoirs of a Geisha, 2 Disc Full Screen Special The Look of a Geisha Edition The Costumes Are The Sets: The Design Bram Stoker’s Dracula Collectors Edition, Blu of Eiko Ishioka Ray Costumes featurette Gangs of New York (2 Disc Edition) Costuming The Aviator: The Work of The Aviator: 2-Disc Widescreen Edition Sandy Powell The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Second Trimester; Costume Design The Criterion Collection Costume Design The Lord of the Rings, Fellowship of the Rings Directing

Century of Cinema: A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies The Eastwood Factor Spielberg on Spielberg Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures A Talk With Hitchcock (1964) Directors: Life Behind The Cameras (pt 3Hollywood’s Best Directors Choose Their Best Movies)

Design (The World is Watching Making 2 Disc DVD + Digital Copy The Hunger Games The Hunger Games) The Chronicles of Narnia The Lion, The Witch Chronicle of a Director and the Wardrobe- Special 2 Disc Collector’s Ed. Making of The Godfather The Godfather Supplements: Behind The The Godfather – The Coppola Restoration Scenes Noah Baumbach Interviews Brian De Palma Blow Out: The Criterion Collection The Master’s Touch: Hitchcock’s North By Northwest, 50th Anniversary Edition, Signature Style Disc 2 In The Master’s Shadow: Hitchcock’s Pyscho Special Edition: Universal Legacy Legacy Series Editing

The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie included in Bullitt, the Two Disc Special Editing Edition Harry Potter And The Order of the Phoenix, Two The Magic of Editing Disc Special Edition 3 Scene Editing Workshops MIB, Men in Black, Limited Edition Film Editing Demonstration Traffic The Criterion Edition

Makeup

Blue-Ray Disc, Harry Potter & The Deathly Gringotts & Goblins Hallows, Pt 2 Kate Winslet on The Art of Aging Hanna Blue-Ray Disc, The Reader Schmitz The Magic of Makeup Forrest Gump, Special Collector’s Edition The Age of Glamour: The Hair & Makeup The Aviator: 2-Disc Widescreen Edition of The Aviator Marketing

Poster & Cover Art Mirror Mask Music (see also Score)

Lights, Action, Music Introduction (via YouTube) (a documentary directed by Dan Lieberstein ) On Location

Spotlight on: Location (Title 4,Chapter 1 ) October Sky The Water Horse Legend of The Deep. 2 Disc Featurette: Setting The Scene Sp Ed Post Production

Twilight, Disc 2, Three Disc Edition Putting It All Together: The Magic of Post Twilight, Disc 2, Two Disc Special Production Edition Pre Production

The Partnership: A Look at Pre- Twilight, Disc 2, Three Disc Edition Twilight, Production Disc 2, Two Disc Special Edition Charting the Return: A Preproduction Pirates of the Caribbean, Dead Man’s Chest Diary Two Disc, Special Edition Videomatics (pre-production) Titanic, Three Disc, Special Collector’s Ed Within a Minute: The Making of Episode Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the III Sith(Widescreen Edition) Production Elements

Anatomy of a Scene: The Explosive The Bourne Supremacy Bridge Chase Scene The Making of Mirror Mask Day 16 Mirror Mask Production Flight of the Monkeybirds Production Stories (Chapter 1, Title 3 :includes cinematography, The Untouchables, Special Collector’s Ed locations, set design, props, wardrobe) Seeing Is Believing Forrest Gump, Special Collector’s Edition Fx On The Universe Across the Universe, 2 Disc Deluxe Ed. Capturing The Action: A Look at Twilight, Disc 2, Three Disc Edition Production The Curious Case of Benjamin Button First Trimester; Tech Scouts The Criterion Collection Double Indemnity, Universal Legacy Series (2 Shadows of Suspense (Film Noir) Disc Ed) Score (aka Soundtrack)

Scoring Wonderland Alice in Wonderland, Disc 2, Blu Ray Scoring the Film: Interview, Hans Gladiator, Signature Selection Zimmer Scoring the Film A Beautiful Mind: Two Disc Awards Edition Scoring The Aviator: The Work of The Aviator: 2-Disc Widescreen Edition Howard Shore Danny Elfman Interprets the Two Tim Burton’s The Corpse Bride, Blu-Ray Edition Worlds Scriptwriting

From Script to Screen (entire Pleasantville, New Line Platinum Series screenplay) Script-to-Scene Back To The Future, The Complete Trilogy Script to Screen Comparisons Crash, Two Disc Director’s Cut Edition Inside A Scene: Location Scout Notes Notes to Actors; Read the Script; The Insider View the Scene Reflections on Writing: Batman Begins Batman Begins, Blue-Ray DVD Screenplay; Original Screenplay Notes Hellboy, 2 Disc Special Edition Special Visual Effects

Visual Effects Flags of Our Fathers 2 Disc Special Ed, Blu Ray Visual Effects (Blue Screen) The Others Collector’s Edition, 2 Disc DVD Effects (The World is Watching Making 2 Disc DVD + Digital Copy The Hunger Games The Hunger Games) Effecting Wonderland Alice in Wonderland, Disc 2, Blu Ray Special Effects: High Speed Contact, Special Edition Compositing Reel Visual Effects (green screen and Titanic, Three Disc, Special Collector’s Ed more) Pan and the Fairies (prosthetic & Pan’s Labyrinth, 2 Disc Platinum Series visual effects) ILM and Minority Report Minority Report Widescreen Featurette: Water Work: Creating the The Water Horse Legend of The Deep, 2 Disc Sp Water Horse Ed Visual Effects Die Hard With A Vengeance, Special Edition Stuntwork

Double Dare various clips available via YouTube Stunts of Wonderland (Alice In Wonderland)

To Kill A Mockingbird: Film Language

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD: SEEING THE FILM THROUGH THE LENS OF MEDIA LITERACY

”When we ask students about films they have seen and films they like, they almost invariably talk about the narrative or action, with little sense of how the visual composition conveyed the story. In teaching them to ‘read’ film, we have to draw their attention to the various elements of film language” 1

It is essential that students understand how a film director uses thecamera, lighting, and sound to create a mood and to communicate his vision. Once students understand these elements, it will be easier for them to understand and appreciate how director Robert Mulligan approached each scene and how he made certain decisions about how to portray it. Language of Film: To Kill A Mockingbird: pages 7 -11 http://www.filmeducation.org/printpacks/secdocs/classics.pdf Consider this published 1963 movie review: “…director Robert Mulligan has paced his picture so that it can affect us. He has perceived that the relationship of the children to their widower father is the central theme of the film, not the more volatile ingredients of an attempted lynching, the trial for rape, nor a red-necked farmer’s foul revenge against Atticus for defending the Negro he had accused. Each of these would lend themselves to the kind of excitement that pleases audiences easily, but which would have been completely inappropriate- if not indeed antagonistic- to the mood andpurpose of his picture. Instead, Mulligan permits us to look with a child’s lingering curiosity at a broken swing on the porch of a ramshackle house, at the galleries of a courthouse where Negroes rise in silent homage to a white man who had defended one of theirs, at faces filled with gentleness, or hatred, or love.” 2

Read the complete original NEW YORK TIMES movie review. Questions to consider:

– What is pace or pacing?

– How does a director achieve pace in a film?

– What elements can he use? (Consider: camera movement, lighting, editing, selection of music, etc.)

– What is mood?

– What is purpose?

Mise en scène This French term comes originally from the theatre where it refers to ‘putting the scene together.’ In film language it refers to – setting and props (including architecture and interior design) – costume, hairstyles and make-up – body language and facial expressions of the characters – the use of colour and design 3

After studying the language of film, students may wish to consider these questions: 1. Why do you think the film was shot in black and white and not color? 2. Does the fact that it was shot in B&W have an impact on you? 3. Where is the camera placed during the very first scene, after the credits? Would you agree that this is an effective establishing shot? Why do you think the director chose that perspective? How does this “tell” the audience about the historical time period (Depression)? 4. How does the director introduce us to the main characters? 5. How do camera angles, lighting and music contribute to the overall success of what the director is trying to communicate?

Suggested Links: Film Language (UK produced resource) Cinematographer speaks the language of images Other websites on understanding films and film language Looking Closely at the Film, by William Costanzo Recommended books about motion pictures/films

Recommended Resources: Reading Films Key Concepts for Analysing Film and Television (BFI) How to Read A Film Screen Language: From Film Writing to Film Making A Movie Lover’s Guide to Film Language: Classic Scenes from Timeless Films See bibliography for all source material cited here

Film Foundation Workshop Philadelphia

Click here for a pdf of the Film Foundation Promotional Flyer: som-workshop-flyer_philadelphia

The Film Foundation and The International House/Lightbox presents

Portraits of America: Democracy on Film Professional Development Workshop

A professional development workshop on film and visual literacy for classroom educators across all disciplines, grades 5 – 12

Tuesday & Wednesday

August 14 & 15, 2018

This free, two-day seminar introduces educators to an interdisciplinary curriculum challenging students to think contextually about the role of film as an expression of American democracy. Screening and discussion activities focus on strategies to:

increase civic engagement by developing students’ critical viewing and thinking skills, give students the tools to understand the persuasive and universal language of moving images, a significant component in visual literacy. explore the social issues and diverse points of view represented in films produced in different historical periods.

Morning and afternoon workshops focus on learning how to read a film, principles of cinema literacy, and interpreting film in historical/cultural contexts.

Handout materials include screening activities and primary source documents to support and enhance students’ critical thinking skills. Evening screenings showcase award-winning films, deemed historically and culturally significant by the Library of Congress National Film Registry. Pre- and post- screening discussions included. Register by emailing Julia Wayne atjwayne@film- foundation.org or call (323) 436-5095. Please include the following information: Your name, school, city and state, the subject and grade level(s) you teach, and a contact phone number and email address. Film Analysis Cards

LANGUAGE OF FILM INDEX CARDS

Lighting. What time of day Sound Effects. Close your it is? What are the clues? eyes. You are only to What effect does lighting listen to the scene, after have? Use two or three which you will be asked to adjectives to describe the make a list of everything lighting. you heard, and then share. Camera: Movement. Document Music. Describe the music when the at the beginning, middle, director/cinematographer and end of the scene. What uses a pan (left or right happens and why? How does move), a tile (up or down the music contribute to move), or a crane shot the mood or feel? Is the (high above). What is the music effective? purpose of these actions? Editing. Most of us never Camera: Lens. Document notice editing, but it is when the important. Count the director/cinematographer number of edits in this uses zooms (in or out). scene. What impact does Why are these shots used editing have? when they are? Non-Verbal Language: Actor Mood. What mood does this Expressions. Notice the scene put you in? How do expressions on the faces you feel? Why do you feel of each of the actors. this way? What has the Watch for any changes. Be director done to push your prepared to discuss their emotional buttons? (be expressions and what they specific) might mean. Scenery. Make specific Clothes. What are the notes about what you see. characters wearing? How do For example, where is the their clothes communicate setting? What are the what might be happening to clues? What does the them? How might their director allow you to see? clothes be related to the Is the scene believable or plot or action? not? Color. What colors do you Camera: Position. Document see? Where is color used when the or not used? Why do you director/cinematographer think a specific color was uses a wide shot, a medium used? How does it make you shot, and a close-up. feel?

Videos: Filmmaking

Media Teacher Topic/Source Google Ed PBS Discovery YouTube Other Tube Found Explaining film

photography to today’s

kids (1:56)Making Movies

on the iPad with iMovie

(2:05) Film Analysis

Sound of Cinema The Music (15:24)Moving that Made the Movies Part Pictures as Text 1 Genre: The WesternWhat

How Movie Sound Effects is foley? (5:17) Are Made (5:17)

Movie Magic How Movies Work (links

(Discovery Ch to various clips) series) Look at film AFI (various) elements Film: 21st Century Using Film As a Jumping

LIGHTS, CAMERA, Literacy (8:22) Off Point to Encourage

EDUCATION! Moviemaking Intro to Film Technique Student Writing (15:00)

and Integrating and Terminology

Curriculum (08:08) Filmmaking in the

Discovering the Arts: Making a Scene- The Classroom (36:00) Careers in Film Chronicles of Narnia: Reading Film: The Story

Voyage of the Dawn Trader of Movies (5:00) Featurette (9:17) Storyboarding (Brief

explanation) Paul Haggis on American Cinema: Screenwriting Film Language The Cutting Edge – The Martin Scorsese: Magic of Movie Editing Teaching Visual (28:00) Literacy Making Grimm Movies: Film Industry (various clips)FLIGHT:

Anatomy of a Shot (1:31) Music for Movies (3:20) Discovering the Short

Part I Within A Minute (Stars

Wars Doc, 4 parts)

McREL: Film

World History

Era 8 – A Half-Century of Crisis and Achievement, 1900-1945

Standard 40 Understands the search for peace and stability throughout the world in the 1920s and 1930s Level II Grade : 5-6

3. Understands the emergence of a new mass and popular culture between 1900 and 1940 (e.g., how new modes of transportation affected world commerce, international migration, and work and leisure habits; how the new media – newspapers, magazines, commercial advertising, film, and radio – contributed to the rise of mass culture around the world; the new approaches to visual art represented by the works of Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse; the types of leisure activity and sports people enjoyed; changes in clothing fashions for men and women, and how they reflected changes in social attitudes and values)

Language Arts

Reading

Standard 6 Uses reading skills and strategies to understand and interpret a variety of literary texts

Level IV Grade : 9-12

5. Knows archetypes and symbols (e.g., supernatural helpers, banishment from an ideal world, the hero, beneficence of nature, dawn) present in a variety of literary texts (e.g., American literature, world literature, literature based on oral tradition, mythology, film, political speeches) 11. Uses language and perspectives of literary criticism to evaluate literary works (e.g., evaluates aesthetic qualities of style, such as diction, tone, theme, mood; identifies ambiguities, subtleties, and incongruities in the text; compares reviews of literature, film, and performances with own response)

Listening and Speaking

Standard 8 Uses listening and speaking strategies for different purposes Level IV Grade : 9-12

6. Makes multimedia presentations using text, images, and sound (e.g., selects the appropriate medium, such as television broadcast, videos, web pages, films, newspapers, magazines, CD-ROMS, Internet, computer-media-generated images; edits and monitors for quality; organizes, writes, and designs media messages for specific purposes)

Viewing

Standard 9 Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret visual media

Level I Grade : K-2

5. Knows different elements from films, videos, television, and other visual media that appeal to him or her (e.g., scary parts, action segments, particular characters, color, sound effects, animation, layout, music) 6. Understands the similarities and differences between real life and life depicted in visual media (e.g., compares own family to families represented in television cartoons or films; knows that there is a difference between a character in a program and the actor)

Level II Grade : 3-5

3. Knows that film and television have features that identify different genres (e.g., style of dress, setting in a western or a drama)

Level III Grade : 6-8

3. Knows typical genre of different visual media (e.g., in television: sitcoms, talk shows, news broadcasts, interviews, children’s programs; in film: westerns, musicals, horror, gangster) 5. Understands how language choice is used to enhance visual media (e.g., language of particular television or film genres, the use of emotional or logical arguments in commercials) 6. Understands how symbols, images, sound, and other conventions are used in visual media (e.g., time lapse in films; set elements that identify a particular time period or culture; short cuts used to construct meaning, such as the scream of brakes and a thud to imply a car crash; sound and image used together; the use of close-ups to convey drama or intimacy; the use of long camera shots to establish setting; sequences or groups of images that emphasize specific meaning) 8. Knows that people with special interests and expectations are the target audience for particular messages or products in visual media; and knows that design, language, and content reflect this (e.g., in advertising and sales techniques aimed specifically towards teenagers; in products aimed towards different classes, races, ages, genders; in the appeal of popular television shows and films for particular audiences)

Media

Standard 10 Understands the characteristics and components of the media

Level II Grade : 3-5

1. Knows the main formats and characteristics of familiar media (e.g., the format of quiz shows on television: host/hostess, contestants, competition for prizes of commercial value; types of advertising such as billboards, T- shirts, or commercials; characteristics of films and magazines) 2. Understands similarities and differences among a variety of media (e.g., ways in which documentary films, the Internet, and the radio present similar information; similar categories, such as news and feature stories in magazines, tabloid newspapers, and on television; literary elements in film and written stories)

Level III Grade : 6-8 5. Understands aspects of media production and distribution (e.g., different steps and choices involved in planning and producing various media; various professionals who produce media, such as news writers, photographers, camera operators, film directors, graphic artists, political cartoonists)

Level IV Grade : 9-12

6. Understands the influence of different factors (e.g., media owners, sponsors of specific programs, codes governing advertising aimed at children, copyright laws) on media production, distribution, and advertising (e.g., whether a program is scheduled late at night or at peak times, whether a film is released in theaters or only on video) 9. Understands the relationship between media and the production and marketing of related products (e.g., how and why books are reissued in conjunction with film releases; how the target audience for a film determines the range of products marketed and this marketing in turn helps shape the film)

Theatre

Standard 5 Understands how informal and formal theatre, film, television, and electronic media productions create and communicate meaning

Level II Grade : K-4

1. Understands the visual, aural, oral, and kinetic elements of dramatic performances 2. Understands how the wants and needs of characters are similar to and different from one’s own wants and needs 3. Provides rationales for personal preferences about the whole as well as the parts of dramatic performances 4. Knows how alternative ideas can be used to enhance character roles, environments, and situations 5. Knows appropriate terminology used in analyzing dramatizations (e.g., intent, structure, effectiveness, worth) 6. Identifies people, events, time, and place in classroom dramatizations

Level III Grade : 5-8

1. Understands the effect of publicity, study guides, programs, and physical environments on audience response and appreciation of dramatic performances 2. Articulates the meanings constructed from one’s own and others’ dramatic performances 3. Understands the perceived effectiveness of artistic choices found in dramatic performances 4. Understands the perceived effectiveness of contributions (e.g., as playwrights, actors, designers, directors) to the collaborative process of developing improvised and scripted scenes 5. Applies research from print and nonprint sources to script writing, acting, design, and directing choices

Level IV Grade : 9-12

1. Knows how social meanings (aural, oral, and visual symbols with personal and/or social significance) communicated in informal productions, formal productions, and personal performances of different cultures and historical periods can relate to current personal, national, and international issues 2. Articulates and justifies personal aesthetic criteria for comparing perceived artistic intent with the final aesthetic achievement 3. Understands how the context in which a dramatic performance is set can enhance or hinder its effectiveness 4. Knows how varying collaborative efforts and artistic choices can affect the performance of informal and formal productions 5. Identifies and researches cultural, historical, and symbolic clues in dramatic texts 6. Understands the validity and practicality of cultural, historical, and symbolic information used in making artistic choices for informal and formal productions

Standard 6 Understands the context in which theatre, film, television, and electronic media are performed today as well as in the past

Level II Grade : K-4

1. Identifies and compares similar characters and situations in stories/dramas from and about various cultures 2. Understands the various settings and reasons for creating dramas and attending theatre, film, television, and electronic media productions 3. Knows ways in which theatre reflects life

Level III Grade : 5-8

1. Understands similarities and differences among archetypal characters (e.g., the trickster, the villain, the warrior, the superhero) and situations in dramas from and about various cultures and historical periods 2. Understands the knowledge, skills, and discipline needed to pursue careers and avocational opportunities in theatre, film, television, and electronic media 3. Understands the emotional and social impact of dramatic performances in one’s own life, in the community, and in other cultures 4. Knows ways in which theatre reflects a culture 5. Knows how culture affects the content and production values of dramatic performances 6. Understands how social concepts such as cooperation, communication, collaboration, consensus, self-esteem, risk taking, sympathy, and empathy apply in theatre

Level IV Grade : 9-12

1. Understands how similar themes are treated in drama from various cultures and historical periods 2. Understands ways in which theatre can reveal universal concepts 3. Understands similarities and differences among the lives, works, and influence of representative theatre artists in various cultures and historical periods 4. Knows cultural and historical influences on American theatre and musical theatre 5. Understands ways in which personal and cultural experiences can affect an artist’s dramatic work

Civics

What is the Relationship of the United States to Other nations and to World Affairs?

Standard 23 Understands the impact of significant political and nonpolitical developments on the United States and other nations

Level IV Grade : 9-12

6. Knows some of the principal economic, technological, and cultural effects the United States has had on the world (assembly line manufacturing, research and development in computer technology, popular music, fashion, film, television)

Foreign Language

Standard 2 Understands and interprets written and spoken language on diverse topics from diverse media

Level III Grade : 5-8

1. Understands the main ideas, themes, and basic details from diverse, authentic, ability-appropriate spoken media (e.g., radio, television, film, live presentation) on topics of personal interest or interest to peers in the target culture Standard 3 Presents information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of listeners or readers on a variety of topics

Level IV Grade : 9-12

5. Presents information orally or in writing on literary and cultural topics that are appropriate at this developmental level (e.g., presents the plot, character descriptions and development, and themes found in authentic literary works; expresses opinions and appreciation for various forms of literature, radio programs, songs, films, visual works)

2009 SCCTE: Film in the Literature Classroom

The 2009 SCCTE Conference theme was “Images, Imagination, Innovation.” I was pleased to have been invited by the SCCTE conference planners to present a half-day post-conference workshop Saturday January 31 on using film in the literature classroom. My aim was to help English teachers (and their students) better appreciate the “languages of film.”

Most of our students view movies (and other media) uncritically: they only know what they see on the screen. They don’t have a clue how it got to the screen: the process. Teaching film literacy, or film fluency, is a way of “pulling back the curtain” on how movies are made. So helping them to understand the languages of film is a perfect way to encourage both critical thinking and critical viewing.

At the start of the presentation, we shared our favorite films and what made the film, or the scene from the film, memorable. The films, and techniques, were posted on the walls.

I referenced the upcoming Academy Awards (February 22) and asked participants to brainstorm the award categories. Those categories and awards recognize the people who use and understand the “languages of film.”

To get teachers accustomed to viewing a film critically, I started with this activity. We started with a (passive) viewing of the opening scene from Steven Spielberg’s “ET-The Extra Terrestrial.” You can find this clip here. (We viewed up to the point where the “mother ship” departs— stranding ET on Earth.) After this initial viewing, I distributed index cards to groups of teachers. Each card listed a different “language of film.” The card was read by each teacher in the group.

We watched the clip a second time, incorporating active viewing–with teachers concentrating on their specific assignment, listed on the card. At the end of the activity, participants compared notes and then a representative from each group shared what they saw/heard with the entire room. We looked closely at opening credits, symbolism, point-of- view, and lighting in several clips from “To Kill A Mockingbird;” the role of music in “Tuck Everlasting;” the use of images, sounds and symbols in “The Great Gatsby;” and visualizing and storyboarding in “Because of Winn-Dixie.”

Handouts from this workshop:

Frank Baker’s Media Literacy Clearinghouse homepage Frank Baker’s Website Motion Picture/Film Resources Linking film to national and state teaching standards National Film Study Standards for Middle School The( Story of Movies) Film Glossary Frank Baker’s Web Site/Film Study Guide “To Kill A Mockingbird” TKAM Symbolism Activity Discovery United Streaming video “Images, Sounds & Symbols” (from The Great Gatsby) The Nuts & Bolts of a Screenplay (Writing Magazine, Feb/Mar 2007) Page 1 from the screenplay “To Kill A Mockingbird” Blank Storyboard Form Media Smart DVD series (McDougal-Littell) includes film clips for analysis Focus questions to help students read/write about films more effectively Page promoting Summer Media Literacy Conference: Bridging Literacies Recommended books on film for school library media centers Subscription form to Australian SCREEN EDUCATION magazine

Read what participating teachers said about this workshop.

Consider inviting Frank Baker to your school or district’s next in-service professional development opportunity. For more info, contact him here: Frank Baker

Edward R. Murrow – Film “Good Night and Good Luck

Good Night & Good Luck A film study guide and resources for educators ©2005 Frank Baker, media educator Edward R. Murrow Bio The occasion of the new film “Good Night and Good Luck” is a good time for students to study this period in American History and to learn more about broadcast journalism.

Many state’s Social Studies teaching standards make reference to radio and television broadcasting and its role in American History.

Recommended Resource: RTNDA lesson plans related to the film

Using the table of contents on the left, teachers can access a number of resources.

Teachers may wish to review these first: – the language of film – media literacy’s core concepts – critical thinking/viewing questions

I welcome comments about this site and its usefulness. I can be reached at [email protected]

Motion Pictures: Online Film Lesson Plans

MOTION PICTURES/FILM STUDY

Books to help you teach film CURRICULUM/LESSON PLANS All About Special Effects (PBS/NOVA) AMPAS: Teacher Guide Anatomy Of A Scene; worksheet Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in the Moving Image: Grades K-12 Cinematography 101 (Global Action Project) Comparing a Literary Work to Its Film Interpretation PRODUCTION ELEMENTS IN Director’s Cut CONTEMPORARY/ Exploring Satire with CLASSIC FILMS “Shrek” (behind-the-scenes of Film in the Classroom, filmmaking) Revised(PBS, Masterpiece) STORYBOARDS A Scanner Darkly Film Lesson Plans Acting With A Pencil Avatar; Making of Avatar; Filmmaking Across the Storyboarding Your Movie Making of Avatar; Behind Curriculum Because of Winn-Dixie, the Scenes Film Project for Primary storyboards Benjamin Button (Ireland) Blank Storyboard Beyond Doubt: The Making Film Teaching Guides Making Movie Storyboards of Hitchcock’s Favorite Film Teaching Guides (Univ Media Storyboard Film of Florida) Production: Scriptwriting Design for the Road in Film School Course 01 – & Storyboards ‘Cars 2’ Learning the Basics of Story behind storyboards Citizen Kane; “deep-focus” Filmmaking Storyboarding: Pre-writing scene analysis; Film Study: The Grapes of activity Central ideas, symbols, & Wrath Storyboarding: Video film techniques of Genre & Media Literacy Explanation “Citizen Kane” (teens and films) Storyboards: what are Coraline How to Read Film they? Donnie Darko: Shot Immigrants In Film (PBS Storyboards: Mad Men(AMC) Composition New Americans) Story Shorts: Using Films How to Train Your Dragon Introduction to Film to Teach Literacy (UK) “The Incredibles” Anatomy Appreciation Storyboards: The Matrix of a Scene Lights, Camera, site 1 site 2Storyboard Indiana Jones Action…Music: Critiquing Template King Kong Films Using Sight and Storyboarding: Polar Express Sound process/explanation(pdf) Psycho (shower, storyboard Learning Network (lengthy To Kill A Mockingbird - sequence) list, NYT) storyboards Ratatouille Lights, Cameras, Education Understanding storyboards Sky Captain (AFI) Using Storyboards: Titanic Literature To Film Thinking Through Visual To Kill A Mockingbird Look Again (BFI) Storytelling Toy Story 3; Toy Story – Making Movies (Australia) Watchmen Making Of – 2/3 Making Movies Matter What are storyboards? Twilight Media Literacy: Reading (Scholastic) Up Behind The Scenes #1; Between The Frames (AMPAS) Behind The Scenes #2 Moving Image Education Wall-E Storyboards Novel as Screenplay (see also: Screenwriting 101 Design With A Purpose; The Story of Movies; Shot Tells The Story) background Teach Animation Teaching Film Study Teaching Star Wars Teaching With Movies: A Guide for Parents and Educators(PDF) Understanding Media: Analyzing Media- Movie Posters Using Movies to Improve Visual Literacy Action: An Adventure in Movie Making (exhibit website) AdmitOne (teaching young people the process of film making) After Viewing: Reflections on Responding to Films in the Classroom American Film Institute (see also above: Lights, Cameras, Education) Analyzing a Film Extract (pdf) Analyzing and Evaluating Films as Works of Art Basic Teaching Techniques for Moving Images Basics of How To Read A Film Be Your Own Movie Critic Best Music In Film BFI Checklist for Analyzing Movies Cineliteracy: The Rule of Thirds Cinema: How Are Hollywood Films Made? Cinematters (helping families have fun with film) Create a Soundtrack – Use software to create your own film music Creating book trailers Cultural codes in non-fiction films CyberFilmSchool.com Deconstructing Harry Potter; Activity Director in The Classroom Disney in the Classroom Edison The Invention of The Movies (DVD) Editing and representation Exploring Language Moving Images Film Analysis Guide Film Analysis: Production & Story Elements Film And Audience Film As Text (why teach film? Blade Runner) Film Clips Online (character education) Film Editing Film Education Film Form and Analysis (Sparknotes) includes cinematography; sound/editing; narrative Film Glossary Film Language Booklet Filmmaking and animation teaching resources (UK) Film (media) literacy FilmScriptWriting.com Film Street (Primary, UK) Film Study Guides FILM Film study guides Film Term Glossary Film Terminology Film Trailer as Persuasive Text (activity) Film: Who Does What When In The Film Industry(worksheet) Film Why Does It Matter? (IQ Magazine) Find it in film F.I.R.M. Film Industry Reform Movement Focus questions for film viewing From Novel to Film: The Red Badge of Courage From The Earth to the Moon Ivanhoe Little Women Madame Bovary The Fountainhead The Maltese Falcon The Hunchback of Notre Dame Grammar of Film: Type of Shots Grammar of TV & Film see also link Graphic Novels are Hollywood’s Newest Gold Mine Group Questions for Viewing Film Guide to Film Research Guide to Writing About Film Handout: How to Read A Film High school film teachers aim to reel in their students History of The American Cinema Hollywood Science How Film Works (how films get projected onto a screen) How History is Depicted In Film How moviemakers techniques make us believe (Titanic) How to analyze a movie How to analyze a scene in a film How To Design A Movie Poster How to Read a Film (chapters from the book) How to “read” a film How To Read A Movie (Roger Ebert) How To Watch A Movie (Moviemaker) How We (Pixar) Make A Movie Introduction to Animation Introduction to Cinematography Intro to Cinema Literacy 101: Viewing and Watching Films Critically Introduction to Film Editing Journeys Into Film (Educating for Global Understanding) Language of Film (Pacific Cinémathèque) Language of film analysis (cameras, editing) The Language of movies Lighting, Colour, Music: A Study of Film Elements Lights Camera Molly A Behind-The-Scenes Movie Guide Lights, Cameras..Brainstorming: Writing About Film Listen up – The role of music in film Looking At Movies: An Introduction To Film M3 Marketing Movie Madness The Magic of Movies (Making Movies, The Art of Film, Technique of Film) Make Your Own Mark In Film (UK) Making Movies: A Guide for Young Filmmakers Making Movies In The Classroom (Elementary, Scholastic) Making Movies Make Sense (Understanding and using film language) Makingof.com: Your Behind-the-Scenes Look At Entertainment Media Literacy, Movies and Motivating Students Media Study: Studying Feature Films The Mega Movie Making Guide for Kids The Moviegoer’s Guide to Ethics Movie Clips (streaming clips of films online) Movie In The Making: A language arts activity Movie Making for Kids Movie Poster Analysis, webquest Movie sound effects Movies & The Media Movies As the Gateway to History Moving Images The “Grammar” of Film and Television Composition Let There Be Lights! Sound Special Effects Cutting and Editing A Classroom Approach to Exploring the Language of Moving Images in Film and Television Storyboard examples Moving Images In The Classroom (BFI) Moving Image Education (Scotland) Moving Image in the Primary Curriculum (UK) Moving Image Source (Musuem of the Moving Image) Narrative & Ideology in Film A Novel Look at Film: Of Mice and Men Viewing Guide One Film: Teacher Guide “Empire of the Sun” Theme and Scene Analysis Questions Page to Screen (Bravo) Paintings Behind The Films The Philosophy of Film: Introductory Text & Readings Point of view in “Over The Hedge” Point of view in “To Kill A Mockingbird” Reading a film sequence Reading Film: Decoding the Codes Reading Films Critically (handout) Reading Films in the Classroom Reading Meaning in Media Texts: Codes Representation in Film (Lesson Bucket) Rule of Thirds Scanning the Movies (with John Pungente) Scene Analysis Framework (handout) Screenonline (bfi ) ScreenSite Some suggestions on “how to read a film” Sound Effects – Record your own sound effects Stage to Screen (TCM) Teacher Guide Star Wars Myth; Marketing; Religion Strategies for teaching film as text Students Recall More Hollywood Than History Teacher’s Guide to Making Student Movies (Scholastic) Teaching About Film in the English Classroom Teaching Film As Communication Teaching Film Study and Literature to Film Teaching Tolkien Lord of the Rings: A Study in Film & Literature Teaching TV & Film Teaching For Visual Literacy: 50 Great Young Adult Films Teach With Movies Teaching Citizen Kane Teaching With Movies (AwesomeStories.com) Teaching With Movies: A Guide for Parents and Educators (PDF) Technical and Symbolic Codes: The Elements of Film Technical codes in non-fiction films Thinking About Film: cultural codes; technical codes Thinking About Films Tickets, please: plug in the DVD player—watching movies in class can improve kids’ reading and writing skills in some surprising ways Tools of Misc en scene Using film Using Film In the Classroom (Alberta, Canada) Visual Grammar in Film Visual Image Maker: A tool analyzing and creating visual texts Visual language of video and film Visual Literacy: Understanding Film Elements Visual Rhetoric/Visual Literacy: Writing About Film Why Film Matters Teaching Film in the age of YouTube and iMovie Why Teach Film (Film as text) Why Teach Film (blog) Writing About Film Writing about history using motion images Writing About Movies

Motion Pictures / Film Study

Motion Pictures/Film Study

Resources on how to read a film, integrating film studies into instruction

See also: – Language of Film – For Your Consideration: Analyzing Oscar Ads – Teacher’s Guide to the Oscars – Using Film in The Literature Classroom – Film Ed & The Common Core – Movie Trailers As Persuasive Texts – Teaching Critical Thinking w/ Film – Analyzing/Creating Film Posters – Using DVDs to Teach Film Language – Scriptwriting In The Classroom – Documentaries in the Classroom – To Kill A Mockingbird film study guide

INTRODUCTION More than ever, teachers are using film in the classroom. This web site is designed to help educators better integrate film into instruction and help their students learn the “languages of film.”

NEW: Portraits of America: Democracy on Film Film In The Classroom revised Careers in Film Summit (PBS/Masterpiece) Hitchcock & Truffault (Doc) Children’s Storyboards: Key Tool for Media TCM’s Film Noir Course Literacy Ed Explore Filmmaking: Script to Screen FilmSkills: Film Ed Multimedia Resource 25 Resources for Teaching Film/Movies Cinematic Magic: Using Film in Class Movies: The New Literature Using Film In Schools: A Practical Guide In Defense of Film How Movies Work (streaming video clips) 7 Ways To View Films Critically History of Film (TCM series) Teaching Film & Common Core Australian SCREEN EDUCATION resources Academy Originals Series Debuts ALA’s Knowledge Quest: special Film Ed issue Film Canon Project website seeks Online Animation Project Website teachers input Movie Making Featured in TV Ads 7 Teaching Resources on Film Literacy Blueprint for Teaching The Moving Image Five Minute Film Festival Film Literacy (NYC curriculum) Teacher uses film to teach analytical Media Literacy: Reading Between The Frames, skills curricula Ten Tools for Reading Film Becoming Screen Literate (NY Times) Questions Students Should Ask When Movies no place to learn real history Watching Films Using Movies In The Classroom (NCTE) How Does The Film Industry Actually Make Literature Into Film (English Journal) Money? PBS series: history of Warner Brothers Filmmaking As A Classroom Tool Studios Inside the Script: new ebook series Film: A 21st Century Literacy/ The Meaning of Film: An Art Form That Should Be Taught Movies Designing the perfect movie poster Indiana Jones Film: Production How to incorporate lessons about film Elements /Spielberg Directs Website (filmbuffet.com) for film UK kids to study film as media education educators/students Hollywood’s Version of Archaeology Analyzing Oscar: Deconstructing the Academy Awards

KEY QUOTES

“To read or write the language of media and understand how it creates meaning within particular contexts, one needs some understanding of frame composition, color palette, editing techniques, and sound-image relations as well as the context of signs and images, sound as a conveyor of meaning, and the effects of typography…Such principles as screen direction, the placement of objects in the frame, color choices, morphing, cuts and dissolves all do much more than make a screen communication aesthetically pleasing. They are as critical to the creation of meaning as adverbs, adjectives, paragraphs, periods, analogies and metaphors are to text. Dean Elizabeth Daley, USC School of Cinematic Arts (from, Expanding the Concept of Literacy)

“If video is how we are communicating and persuading in this new century, why aren’t more students writing screenplays as part of their schoolwork?” Heidi Hayes Jacobs, education consultant

“If people aren’t taught the language of sound and images, shouldn’t they be considered as illiterate as if they left college without being able to read or write?” George Lucas, interview for GLEF.org

“Of all art forms, film is the one that gives the greatest illusion of authenticity…of truth…A motion picture takes a viewer inside where real people are supposedly doing real things…We assume there is a certain verisimilitude, a certain authenticity, but there is always some degree of distortion.” Annette Insdorf, film historian (author of Indelible Shadows: Film and the Holocaust) quoted in the documentary “Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust”

“Movies are a door to knowledge–about society, about prejudice, about history, about art –and teachers are eager for someone to help them make the link between education and film.” Margaret Bodde, The Story of Movies/The Film Foundation (Source)

Additional Resources

Read my exclusive interview with Steve Werblun, the storyboard artist from the Walden Media production of “Because of Winn- Dixie;” plus see some of his original storyboard drawings

Weekly Reader’s WRITING magazine (February-March 2007) themed issue Reeling with Words: Screenplays, home movies, and film reviews–we show students what it takes to write for and about the movies. Resources HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD (Jan. 2007)Can you believe that the earliest movies cost only a nickel and that the first movie stars were silent? In the January 2007 issue, discover how the first, soundless motion pictures developed into “talkies” and then full-color films. Learn why the film industry moved from the East Coast to a dry, sparsely populated town in California, and discover what light bulb inventor Thomas Edison had to do with it. Learn how Hollywood remakes old classics, works to preserve original films, and uses computer- generated technology to thrill viewers today. Meet the visionary men behind the earliest studios and movies, like producer Samuel Goldwyn and animator Walt Disney. Join COBBLESTONE ® as we explore America’s love affair with motion pictures by looking back to when it all began. Media Literacy Film Resources: Teacher resources for media literacy films to show in the college classroom

Focus On Film: Learning It Through The Movies, Middle Ground Journal, NMSA, October 2006

*LIGHTS, CAMERA, EDUCATION!, AFI curriculum available via Discovery’s UnitedStreaming (link to press release; release; link to curriculum)

Reading Movies (profile of the Story of Movies Project)

MOVIES AND VIDEOS MIS– USED IN THE CLASSROOM (June 2006) link to full study Viewing the Films: Not Whether or Not, but How? http://www.hhsdrama.com/documents/OrganizingaFilmClass.pdf

Using Film to Increase Literacy Skills English Journal, Vol. 93, No. 3, January 2004 (companion: How to Organize a Film as a Literature Class)

Using Film, Video, TV In The Classroom http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-929/film.htm

Film and the Composition Classroom: Using Visual Media to Motivate First-Year Writershttp://sites.unc.edu/daniel/131spring99/papers/Mazer.ht ml