Answer the following questions on lined paper or in a Word document and submit them either by the Online Classroom
(Janison) or by mail.
General questions fictional narratives
1.
What is a narrative?
2.
What are production elements and how do they add to the understanding of an audience?
3.
Name the simple term for each production element and outline in one or two sentences what each element involves.
Camera
4.
What type of shot would best communicate a characters emotional state?
5.
What type of shot would make a character appear vulnerable?
6.
What type of shot is an establishing shot and what would it be used for? Where is it most likely to occur in a film?
7.
What is a point of view shot and why would it be used?
8.
What is depth of field? Find two examples from a magazine or newspaper that show a narrow depth of field and a large depth of field.
Mise-en-scene
9.
What does the shot from American Beauty under the miseen-scene section tell us about the couple at the centre of the movie? What visual elements are most important in conveying this message?
Editing
10.
What is a cut in and how does it differ from a cutaway?
11.
What types of transitions are most commonly used in film texts?
12.
How might an editor show two events happening at the same time but in different locations? Can you give an example of parrallel action happening in any film or TV show that you have seen?
Lighting
13.
Refer to the images of examples of lighting. Choose two images and describe the mood created by the lighting.
Remenber to use the language (hard, expressive, under lighting etc).
14.
Find two images from a magazine or newspaper. One must show naturalistic lighting and the other expressive lighting.
Explain the mood created by the lighting in each image and give a description of the lighting, making sure you use appropriate descriptive terms, such as high-key or low-key lighting, under lighting, three-point lighting, etc.

Sound
15.
What three ingredients does sound include? Explain how each was used in a movie you have watched recently.
ONLINE ACTIVITY
16.
Visit the Online Classroom (Janison) and introduce yourself the other DECV Media Unit 3 students. It’s really important that you maintain contact with your peers throughout this subject. They can be a great support to you.
When introducing yourself, please include: a.
Your name b.
Where you come from (the general area is fine) c.
Why you chose to study media d.
Whether you have studied media before e.
Which medium you intend to work in for your major production (video, animation, photography or print) f.
Also feel free to share your hobbies and your plans for the future g.
Comment on the introduction of at least two of your classmates
Story Element Questions.
Answer the following questions on Word document and submit via the Online
Classroom, or handwrite and mail them to your teacher.
The opening, development and resolution of the narrative
1.
What scene/s do we analyse when looking at the narrative possibilities?
2.
What things may be introduced in this scene or collection of scenes?
3.
What scenes do we analyse when looking at the narrative progression?
4.
What do we expect to occur in this sequence?
Cause and effect
5.
Explain cause and effect in your own words.
Characters
6.
Find an image from your favourite film and use it to analyse what we deduce about one character from this image with reference to costume, make-up, framing, and any other elements you believe are relevant.
7.
Look at the image (in the colour section at the front) of the film poster for Taxi Driver. Outline what you know about each character from the visual composition (setting,

framing, colour, costume etc) and comment on the storyline/s you might expect to see in this film.
Point of view
8.
How could the point of view from which the narrative is presented affect the audience understanding or engagement?
Setting
9.
If our main character was a young, female university student, who likes classical music and lived on campus, what sort of room would you visualise her in? If she had numerous facial piercings and dreadlocks, what sort of room would you visualise her in now?
10.
If our main character was a young boy with no hair and you placed him in a setting of a rough, grungy, poor flat what sort of storylines would you expect from the film? And if our main character was positioned in a hospital what sort of storylines would you expect then?
Storylines
11.
Again think of your favourite film. Outline the film briefly
(explaining what it is about), breaking it down to plot and subplot/s. How do these different storylines crossover or impact upon one another?
Structure of time
12.
What is a flashback?
13.
What are the most common techniques for controlling the structure of time?
14.
What is time expansion? Give an example of what expansion of time would be used for in relation to audience.
15.
Now look at the two images that depict different settings (in the front colour section) and outline possible storylines and types of characters you would expect to see from these settings.
Characters, settings and visual composition task
16.
This task requires that you look at characters, settings and visual composition to decipher the story being communicated. If you can do this with one still frame (a photo) then you will be able to transfer those skills to the moving text. Examine the photo below by Len Berstein, including the positioning and body language of each person, the use of black and white film, the angle taken of their facial expressions, and their ‘costumes’. Then outline a short film that could be made about the two couples.