2014 - 2015 AHS MediaWorks Lesson Plans
Albany High School Discovery Academy - ELA/MediaWorks 9
Teaching Artist: Gaetano Vaccaro | ELA Teacher: Mercedes Austin
Semester 1 Overview - Q1 & Q2
Q1 Lessons
1. “I Am” Poem and Collage
2. Cinematic Terminology
3. Balcony Scene Comparison
4. Video Scavenger Hunt + Review
5. Sequencing + “Show, Don’t Tell” Short 60 Sec Film
Q2 Lessons
1. Narrative Structure​
(Plot Chart)
2. Short Film Pre-Production
a. Short Film Proposal + One-Page Pitch
b. Film Pitches
c. Story Development / Scene Creation
a. Script / Shot List / Production Schedule
​
3.​
Film Style Analysis
​
a. Lighting
b. Sound
c. Editing
4.​
​
Frida Storyboard and Script Analysis
​
Quarter 1 Lesson Plans
____________________________________________
Q1 | Lesson 1 | “I Am” Poem and Collage
____________________________________________
Overview
Students created a small personal collage based on a single line from an “I Am”
poem. All of the smaller personal collages were then pieced together to create
a large multi-class mural collage.
Goals
- Students will write an “I Am” poem based on a poem template.
- Students will demonstrate visualization by finding imagery in magazines to
line up with a chosen line from their “I Am” poem.
Learning Plan
Lesson 1: “I Am” Poem​
– Students are given an “I Am” poem template along with
an example poem and given a class period to write and craft their personal
poems. Students are then given the opportunity to finish their “I Am” poems
for homework to be able to bring in to collage with for the following lesson.
Lesson 2: Personal Collage​
– Students are asked to take out their “I Am”
poems and to read them over in order to choose the most important line to
use in their collage. Students are shown some examples of a mini-collage and
then asked to take their chosen line and create their own collage. Students are
given magazines, markers and other supplies and given the period to create
visuals for their chosen line.
____________________________________________
Q1 | Lesson 2 | Cinematic Terminology
____________________________________________
Overview
Students will take notes on fundamental cinematic terms to lay the foundation
of creating films. Video and still image examples will be given to illustrate the
use of camera framing, angles and movement.
Goals
1. Students will be able to demonstrate the meaning and use of various
camera shots, angles and motion.
Learning Plan
Lesson 1: Camera Notes​
– Students are given a graphic organizer to take
notes on the basics of camera framing (wide, medium close up, etc…), camera
angle (high, low, eye, etc…), and camera motion (tilt, pan, track, etc…).
Students take notes on the definition as well as the purpose of using each
shot in a film. As a visual, students are shown examples from a scene in
director Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 version of Romeo and Juliet.
____________________________________________
Q1 | Lesson 3 | Balcony Scene Comparison
____________________________________________
Overview
By comparing two film representations of the famous balcony scene from
Romeo and Juliet, students learn to identify the importance of set design,
lighting as well as actor’s movement and blocking in creating the tone and
mood of a film.
Goals
1. Students will be able to identify elements of lighting, set design and the
blocking of actors.
2. Students will be able to discuss a director’s choices in the use of those
elements and their impact on the scene’s tone and mood.
Learning Plan
Lesson 1: Mise-En-Scene Notes​
– Students are given notes on Mise-en-scene,
which refers to everything that appears before the camera and its
arrangement—composition, sets, props, actors, costumes, and lighting.
Students are shown examples from movie stills to discuss the overall impact
of the placement of all of those elements. Students are also given the term
‘blocking’ to discuss the placement of actors in a scene.
Lesson 2: Film Comparison​
– Students are given a graphic organizer to take
notes on the mise-en-scene of the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet. After
review of how to take notes while watching the films, students watch Baz
Luhrmann's 1996 version followed by Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 version of the
same scene. Before leaving class, students are asked to write their initial
reaction to the films based on the elements discussed within the
mise-en-scene.
Lesson 3: Comparison Essay​
– Using their initial notes on mise-en-scene along
with their notes from the two film versions taken on the graphic organizer,
students begin an in-class rough draft of a comparison essay between the
two films. Their essay attempts to prove which director was most effective in
capturing the mood of the balcony scene by discussing elements from the
mise-en-scene of both films as evidence.
____________________________________________
Q1 | Lesson 4 | Video Scavenger Hunt & Review
____________________________________________
Overview
In small groups, students will go outside of the classroom on a “video
scavenger hunt”. The groups are given checklists of various scenarios they
must film that include the cinematography terms (framing, camera motion and
angle) they previously took notes on during class. Their goal is to practice
shooting with the cameras while strengthening their understanding of the
practical use of cinematography.
Goals
1. Students will be able to demonstrate the basic operation and safe use
of the cameras and tripods.
2. Students will be able to demonstrate practical use of basic
cinematography including framing, camera motion and angle.
3. Students will be able to identify the cinematography of other students
and discuss their intended visual impact.
Learning Plan
Lesson 1: Video Scavenger Hunt​
– In small groups, students will go outside of
the classroom on a “video scavenger hunt”. The groups are given checklists of
various scenarios they must film that include the cinematography terms
(framing, camera motion and angle) they previously took notes on during
class.
Lesson 2: Review and Critique​
– While reviewing the footage taken during the
scavenger hunt, students reflect on their first day of using the equipment.
Students are asked to provide technical critiques to their peers using
constructive criticism while reviewing the footage. Class is ended with a short
quiz given on the cinematic terms and their implied visual meanings in film.
____________________________________________
Q1 | Lesson 5 | Silent Films
____________________________________________
Overview
Through the creation of short silent films, students are given a chance to
practice sequencing together film clips without having to worry about audio.
The process also gives students an opportunity to go through and experience
the whole process of film creation including pre-production, production, and
post-production editing.
Goals
1. Learn, and be able to visually identify, as well as understand the
meaning behind key vocabulary of cinematic language including camera
movement, angles, and shot framing.
2. Demonstrate the concept of sequencing and show how video
compresses time to more effectively deliver a message.
3. Learn the basics of the Non-Linear Editing (NLE) software Final Cut Pro
and demonstrate a basic edit complete with edited video clips,
transitions, sound, music and titles.
Learning Plan
Lesson 1: Sequencing​
– Students are given notes on the concept of
sequencing and shown how time is manipulated through video editing. The
notes are structured using the metaphor of a book using such as examples as
shots being compared to sentences and scenes to paragraphs. Students also
view informational videos on the concept of sequencing.
Lesson 2: Pre-Production​
– Using a planning sheet, students are put into
groups and given instructions for creating a short film. Students are tasked
with creating an approximately one minute long silent film that has three
scenes and tells a story. The overarching idea going into producing the film is
to visually show the story rather than just telling the story through dialogue.
Lesson 3: Production​
– Groups are given three days to film their short films.
This lesson allows students the freedom to begin to get more independent
with the equipment and become more responsible for accomplishing tasks on
their own. As the students film their movies, the teachers move from group to
group checking in to monitor their progress and resolve any difficulties that
may arise.
Lesson 4: Editing (Post-Production)​
– Students are given two additional days
to edit their clips together. All students are given brief instructions on the
basics of editing in Final Cut Pro and then allowed to dive into hands-on
practicing with editing their footage. Because sound isn’t an issue, the goal is
to get a rough edit of all the films together within the two days.
Lesson 5: Reflection and Review​
– After the rough edits are completed,
students view the completed films as a class and provide feedback to other
groups. Criticism during the reflection process is kept positive and focused
around improving both the technical standings of the films and their
storytelling process.
Quarter 2 Lesson Plans
____________________________________________
Q2 | Lesson 1 | Narrative Structure
____________________________________________
Overview
As a component of a unit on short stories, students review the different parts
of a classic narrative structure. To practice the understanding of the narrative
structure students are tasked with filling out plot diagram to go along with
the short stories they read.
Goals
1. Learn about and identify the parts of a story arc.
Learning Plan
Lesson 1: The Cask of Amontillado ​
– After reading the short story “The Cask
of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe students are given a plot diagram to fill in.
Focusing specifically on the more tangible exposition, inciting incident, climax
and resolution - students are then asked to share out loud the plot points they
found thus enabling a class discussion on applying the narrative structure to
“The Cask of Amontillado”.
Lesson 2: The Stolen Party ​
– Repeating the activity of filling out a plot
diagram, but this time with “The Stolen Party” by Liliana Hecker.
Lesson 3: Marigolds ​
– Repeating the activity of filling out a plot diagram for a
final time, but this time with “Marigolds” by Eugenia W. Collier.
____________________________________________
Q2 | Lesson 2 | Short Film Pre-Production
____________________________________________
Overview
Students begin the process of creating a short film.
Goals
1.
Learning Plan
Lesson 1: Short Film Proposal + One-Page Pitch ​
– Students are given a timeline
and overview of the short film project to happen over the course of quarter 2
and into the beginning of quarter 3. Quarter 2 is about pre-production of their
films. The first part of pre-production is idea generation, and to do that
students are given a template to help them think of their ideas and how to
focus their film ideas into a concise one page film pitch. Students are given
approximately 2 weeks time to develop their story ideas and pitches. The best
ten students from each class are given the opportunity to pitch their ideas to
the class to be put up for a vote.
Lesson 2: Film Pitch ​
– On the day of film pitches students who were chosen
bring in their one-page film pitch and any additional presentation materials to
pitch their films to the class. Each student is given two minutes to present
their idea for a film. At the end of the pitches, all students are given a voting
card to vote for their top three choices. All of those votes are then tallied to
come up with the top four or five films to be produced by the class.
Lesson 3: Story Development / Scene Creation ​
– Before story development
begins on the chosen films, students are given a chance to sort themselves
into groups based on which movie they prefer to make. After the groups are
developed work begins on mapping their story ideas onto a plot diagram.
Groups are given four class periods to move from a story idea to mapping
their story out into individual scenes complete with scene goals and settings.
Lesson 4: Script / Shot List / Production Schedule ​
– Once the groups have a
full outline of their scenes from the previous task, groups move into creating
the final documents of pre-production. Over the course of six class periods
students will first create their script. Once the scenes have been scripted and
the scripts are properly formated on the computers, groups begin to work on
their shot lists detailing the camera work that will be used for the scenes.
Finally, groups create a production schedule which serves as a timeline of
what scenes will be filmed on what days as well as what actors, props, and
costuming the groups will need for the days of production.
____________________________________________
Q2 | Lesson 3 | Film Style Analysis
____________________________________________
Overview
Before the development of a script and shot list students are given final notes
on editing, lighting, and sound in order to round out the students knowledge
of cinematic terms.
Goals
1. Gain an understanding and demonstrate a working knowledge of
editing, lighting, and sound terminology as it relates to filmmaking.
2. Be able to identify director’s choices as relates to editing, lighting,
sound, camera movement, angles and framing and use an analytical
statement to explain the reasoning behind those choices.
3. Develop skills in actively watching a film while taking relevant notes.
Learning Plan
Lesson 1: Lighting, Sound, and Editing ​
– Students are given final notes on
editing, lighting, and sound in order to round out the students knowledge of
cinematic terms.
Lesson 2: 2081 / Harrison Bergeron Day 1​
– Over the winter break students
read and annotate the short story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut.
Having the prior knowledge of the story, students now watch the short film
“2081” by Chandler Tuttle, a film interpretation of the story. While watching
the film students are assigned to take notes on one of the cinematic terms
covered as so far in the year; either lighting, editing, sound, camera
movement, or camera angles and framing. The notes are discussed until the
end of class and students are asked to hold on to their notes for the next day.
Lesson 3: 2081 / Harrison Bergeron Day 2 / Analytical Statement ​
– When
students come into class they are asked to take out their notes from 2081.
Students are then given a graphic organizer to help them translate their notes
into an analytical statement about the film 2081. This exercise allows students
to take a cinematic term and use it to discuss on an analytical level the
director’s choices in their film.
Lesson 4: Lighting (Day 1) ​
– To give students more practice in understanding
their new notes on sound, lighting and editing the film 2081 was played 3 days
in a row. Each day the students all focused their note taking on one of three
aspects. The film showing was followed by a class discussion of everyone’s
notes. Day one focused on lighting.
Lesson 4b: Sound (Day 2) - ​
Day two focused on sound.
Lesson 4c: Editing (Day 3) - ​
Day three focused on editing.
____________________________________________
Q2 | Lesson 4 | Frida Storyboard + Script Analysis
____________________________________________
Overview
Before launching fully into script writing, this activity is meant to allow
students to explore and analyze a professional script to gain a better
understanding of their task at hand.
Goals
1. Demonstrate a knowledge of how scripts are created and be able to
identify various parts of a script.
2. Learn and demonstrate knowledge of proper script formatting.
3. Demonstrate the ability to translate film knowledge into creating a
storyboard to pre-visualize cinematic ideas.
Learning Plan
Lesson 1: Script Analysis ​
– Using a clip from the film “Frida” directed by Julie
Taymor, students watched two thirds of the clip and then as a class looked
over the script for the film. Students were then instructed to read over the
remaining part of the script that was not watched. As the first part of creating
a storyboard students took the script and began to break it down into shots.
Using highlighters, students marked up the script in groups to decide where
they would split the shots up in the remainder of the scene.
Lesson 2: Storyboard ​
– In the beginning of class, students were given
storyboard diagrams to finish their pre-visualization of the script from “Frida”.
Each shot needed to include all decisions a director would make including
sound, editing, lighting, framing, length, description, angle, and camera
motion.
Lesson 3: Compare / Contrast - “Frida” Storyboard ​
– To finish their
storyboarding process, students were each individually given copies of their
storyboards as well as a notes graphic organizer to close watch a film. They
were then told that they would watch the remaining part of the clip from
“Frida” three times in order to take notes to be able to write a fully developed
paragraph comparing and contrasting their storyboarded version against that
of director Julie Taymor. This allowed students to be able to use their
knowledge of cinematic techniques.