STAND BY ME
A Standard Grade Media Studies Unit by Miss
Wood
Learning intention:
We are learning to become familiar with the key
aspects of categories, narrative,
representation and language.
Success criteria:
We will have considered how narrative and
representations are established through
language in a film.
Themes and Issues
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Standing by your friends - belonging
Learning to accept death is part of life
Growing up
Acceptance of those who are different to you
Your ideal gang
 Think about the ideal gang/group of friends you’d
like to belong to.
 who would be the characters in the ‘gang’?
 what are their characteristics and interests?
 are they funny, clever, mad?
 what is it that ties you all together?
 do you all dress in a similar way – describe?
 do you speak in a certain way?
Background Information
 It was directed by Rob Reiner
 Based on a short story called “The
Body” by Stephen King
 Made in 1985
 No ‘big names’
 Is a “rites of passage” film – its about
growing up and learning about life
 Two-tiered narrative structure
Characters and Stars
 Gordy Lachance played by Wil Wheaton
 Chris Chambers played by River Phoenix
 Teddy Duchamp played by Corey
Feldman
 Vern Tessio played by Jerry O’ Connell
 Ace played by Kiefer Sutherland
 Grown-up Gordy/ Narrator played by
Richard Dreyfus
Start Watching – Part 1
Stand by Me: Techniques Questions
Opinions and Views – Let’s go
over
1. Who is your favourite
character so far and
why?
2. How do you know this
film is set in 1958?
3. What is your favourite
scene in the film so far
and why?
4. Where is the strongest
friendship in the film?
5. Where is the greatest
conflict in the film?
 NOW WATCH THE
REST!
First Impressions
 My first impressions of “Stand By Me” are………
Continue Watching – Part 2
End of Viewing 1: Quiz
 Who is the man in the Landrover at the beginning of
the film?
 Can you name the four members of the ‘gang’?
 How do the boys find out about the dead body?
 What has happened to Gordie’s brother Denny?
 Where is Teddy’s Dad and what did he do to him?
 Why are Gordie’s parents so cold towards him?
 Why do the boys decide to set off on their journey to
find the body?
 Why do they decide to go across the bridge?
 What is the name of Milo’s dog?
 Why do you think Gordie has made up the Lard-Ass
story?
What did you think?
Answer in full sentences
 Who changed the most and why?
 E.g. I think Verne changed the most because…..
 Who did have the strongest friendship overall
and why?
 E.g ______ and _______ had the strongest
friendship probably becuase
 What happened to each of the boys?
 What do you think happened to Ace?
 Who learned the most and why?
Task 1
 What are the characters like at the start
of the movie?
 Take a jotter page and divide it into 4 –
put a main character’s name in each
square.
TEDDY
VERNE
Costume/hair/props/friends/way they
speak/move
Costume/hair/props/friends/way they
speak/move
CHRIS
GORDY
Costume/hair/props/friends/way they
speak/move
Costume/hair/props/friends/way they
speak/move
Language
This is similar to techniques in English. It is the
creative way the film is put together; like the
creative ways a poet puts words together to
create a particular image in our minds.
The language of film
Language means the tools the director uses to
create a certain effect:
camera, sound, lighting, mis-en-scene
(everything you see on screen) and montage
(the editing process).
Brainstorm Languages
Types of Sound
Sound
 MUSIC – What do you hear? When? Is it part of
the movie?
 VOICE OVER – What does the voice over
describe? What is the voice like? Why is it
used?
Types of Camera Distance
Camera Distance
 Look to see how close the camera is to each
character in our chosen scene.
 Close Up (CU) = focus on face; reflects
emotion
 Medium Shot (MS) = focus on waist up; reflects
conversation and interaction
 Long Shot (LS) = focus on whole person in their
environment
 Extreme Long Shot (ELS) = focus on
environment; sets the scene and mood
Types of camera angle
Camera Angle
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Straight – camera points straight at subject
High – camera looks down on subject
Low – camera looks up at subject
Point of View (POV) – camera gives a view that
a character sees with his/her eyes
Types of Camera Movement
Camera Movement
 Static – camera doesn't move but people do
 Tracking – camera follows movement of
characters
 Zooming in/out – camera gets closer to or
further from characters and action
Let’s do the opening scene

Demonstrate how the director uses camera,
sound and editing to help him create the
scene.
1. Cammy, Rory, Nathan and Robbie – Music
2. Liam, Glen, Daniel, Ronan – Camera
Shots/Angles
3. William, Aaron, Corey, Ruairidh – Camera
Shots
4. Jordan, Ronan, Scott, Kye – Voice over
Lighting
 Natural?
 Special Effect?
 Coloured lenses? Why? (Blue – surreal and
dreamlike, Yellow/Orange – warm and happy
etc.)
Mise-en-scene
LI:
 To understand the concept of ‘mise en scene’
 Apply the concept to a film extract
Definition: Mise En Scene
A French term meaning what is
put into a scene or frame
 Visual information in front of the camera
 Communicates essential information to the audience
 Made up of 5 elements: Can you guess what they are?
The 5 Elements of Mise en Scene
 Settings & Props
 Costume, Hair & Make Up
Each aspect of mise-enscene has hidden
meanings within a film
and sends signals to the
audience about how we
are supposed to feel at a
certain point
 Facial Expressions & Body Language
 Lighting & Colour
 Positioning of characters/objects within the frame
EDITING
 Cut – instant switches from one frame to the
next
 Fade in/ Fade out – frame appears from a
black screen or disappears into a black screen
 Dissolve – frames cross over and melt together
to reflect time passing
EDITING
EDITING
Monday
LI:
th
14
Nov
Understand the PURPOSE of
media language.
SC: Know our media languages.
Explore purpose in 2 key
scenes.
Language Quiz recap
 Watch first 10 minutes of the film and answer
the questions in front of you.
Purpose
 What is the scene designed to do?
 Common purposes are:
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To build tension and suspense
To further our knowledge of character
To further the storyline
To resolve conflict
To draw the audience further into the
film
Task 3
 We are going to watch 2 key scenes of
the film again – the “Crossing the
Bridge” scene and the “Final
Conflict” scene
 We are going to take notes on what
happens, what we see, what we hear
and what the director was trying to do
in the scene (ie. The purpose!)
To complete Task 3…
 You need to have knowledge of how a
film is put together and made.
 Camera Distance, Angle, Movement
 Sound and Lighting
 Editing
 Purpose and Effect – ALL IMPORTANT!
The Bridge Scene (35:40 - 39:36)
Now individually, answer the following questions (record your answers in your jotter):
What sounds or lack of sound does the director use in the
scene to create the boys’ fear and a sense of
drama/excitement?
What effect do the long shots of the bridge have on the
scene?
What type of shot is used to show Verne’s reaction to losing
the comb?
What is the significance of Verne losing his comb?
What effect does the medium close-up shots of Chris and
Teddy with the train getting ever closer have?
Your jotters will be taken in for marking and returned to you
before the next lesson.
Time to create your own Media
posters/guides for display
The task is to create a poster (in pairs) on ONE aspect
of Media to put up in M10.
Provide images/examples/definitions/notes/colour.
As a class we need to cover:
Camera Angles – 2 pairs
Camera Shot – 2 pairs
Camera Movement – 2 pairs
Sound – 2 pairs
Mise-en-scene – 2 pairs
Editing – 2 pairs
Webistes to help
 BFI
 MediaKnowAll
LI:
To understand how NARRATIVE
works in ‘Stand by Me’
Sc: Understand Enigmas
Plot out a journey
Narrative
What does narrative mean when we talk about
literature?
 Narrative=plot
 The structure of a narrative is how it is
presented or ‘told’ (flashbacks, quest,
classic Hollywood).
ENIGMA
 A puzzle
 Something which raises questions or mysteries
 When there is a mysterious question with no
immediate answer, we call this an enigma.
 Enigma – Something mysterious or puzzling
that acts as a hook for the viewers’ interest
Watch the opening of the film
1/ What do we know about the story so far?
2/ What ENIGMAS are raised in the audience’s minds
at the start of the film?
Write a list of questions you want to know the answers
to at this point in the film.
E.g. Who is this man?
3/ What is the significance of the two boys on the bike
for the story?
4/ When the narrator says, ‘I was 12 going on 13 the
first time I saw a dead body’, what enigma is raised?
Flashback
The director also includes a flashback in this scene.
A flashback is____________________________
What does the director flashback to?
When a film cuts back to a memory as a flashback we call
say that the director introduces the memory narrative in
flashback.
It is here that we get introduced to the narrative proper
(where the story really begins). Copy out the definition.
Quest Narrative
A quest narrative is like the plot of a good
novel.
1. Hero/heroine is happy but then…
2. Encounters some disruption so he/she
must…
3. Go on a quest and face…
4. Some obstacles. A …
5. Helper comes along and we reach a
moment of…
6. Climax before…
7. Total closure and a return to…
8. Happiness!
Now plot the following events in
order on the narrative line:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
The gun
Adult Gordy sees an article about a man named
‘Chris’
The junkyard and ‘Chopper’ incident
The railway bridge
Adult Gordy is seen at home in a family situation
having finished writing his book. We realise the
flashback is the story he’s been writing.
The boys return home. Teddy and Verne remain
the same, but Gordy and Chris have learned
something on their journey.
The older and younger boys ‘face off’ over the
dead body
Verne overhears his brother talking to his friend
about a dead body they found
The younger boys set off to find Ray Brower’s body.
Extension
Write a paragraph on how the director uses enigma to interest the
audience.
The start of the film is puzzling because….
The director raises several questions. These are…
The director also uses sound techniques to add to the mystery at the
start. He …
This adds to the mystery because…
The narrative proper only starts when …
Watch the Gun Scene
 Quest Narrative - boys meet and set off on
their journey to find the dead body and
become heroes.
Icon – a symbol of something.
What does the Gun represent?
Representation

LI: By the end of the lesson we will be able
to identify representations in the tree house
scene.
Representation is how a group, person, place or
idea is shown.
The Gun – an ICON
 An ICON is a symbol of something.
 What does the GUN represent for Gordy?
What do these ICONS
REPRESENT?
How are these people
REPRESENTED?
Representation-Character
How a particular person is represented in a film.
These can occasionally be stereotypes.
List at least 5 common stereotypes found in film:
1. Villain…
 Let’s look at how characters are REPRESENTED
on TV…
Hair and Make-up
Spikey quiff eyebrows drawing
Facial Expression looking
down on you and high
powerd
Costume
Gesture serious
Representation
in the Tree house Scene
Using our knowledge of LANGUAGE and NARRATIVE to
better understand REPRESENTATION.
What do you see/hear?
How do you see it?
What does this show?
st
1
Viewing
1.How are the boys’ families
represented?
2.How does the director
represent the boys?
 The construction of the boys’
families is negative.
 The boys are represented as being
immature but trying to be grown
up.
Find the evidence of this.
2nd Viewing
What do you see/hear?
How do you see/hear
it?
e.g We see Teddy
smoking
Close up on the
cigarette in his mouth
we hear about how
Teddy got his bad ear.
What does this show?
He is trying to be
grown up despite
being 12.
Character Study:
 Write a paragraph about a character you
know well.
 Use your notes to get across as much
information as possible about the person
 what they look like
 what they have to cope with and deal with in life
 what happens to them in the end.
 Consider how the director REPRESENTS them –
use examples from the Tree House Scene.
Good or bad?????
 Gordie is a main guy in the film and he is
waring a red top and is very skinny. And he is a
wimp near the starte but then gets a bit
brahver as the flim goes on. And he doesnt
dye.
Languages, Narrative and
Representation (Revision)
 In this lesson, we bring together the 3 main
elements of media study which we have
looked at over the last 4 lessons – Languages,
Narrative and Representation.
The Journey Back
 Watch the clip The Journey Back (do not write
anything down but watch very carefully, using
your new knowledge to analyse what the
director is doing to create each scene)
 Then qn sheet. Write the answers in your jotters.
Please use full sentences.
 The teacher will show the clip again, pausing the
film at relevant points.
Stand By Me
Commenting On Director’s Techniques
To Comment on a
Director’s technique, you
must:
 Identify The Technique
 Describe the Technique
 Explain why the Director used the technique
What is missing from each of
these commentaries?
 At the beginning
we see a close-up
of the newspaper,
so that we can
read what it says
 The music used
each time when
there is a
flashback of Denny
is very sad.
What is missing from each of
these commentaries?
 The narrator’s voiceover tells us that Chris has
to live with his family’s
bad reputation.
 We see Billy Tessio and
Charlie Hogan through
the gap in the porch. This
makes us feel as we, like
Vern, are spying on
them.
What is missing from each of
these commentaries?
 We see a close-up
of Chris and
Gordie’s faces
after they fire the
gun, as this shows
that they didn’t
expect it to be
loaded.
R3 Media Studies Assessment
- Introduction
 Mention title, director, genre
 Give a brief plot summary
 Explain that you are going to look at the
purpose of 2 key scenes and how camera
use and sound make this purpose clear
 Say what the 2 key scenes are
 “Stand By Me” is a rites-of-passage film
directed by Rob Reiner. He was lucky to get
funding for this project as there were no “big
name” stars in it. After the film, Wil Wheaton
who plays main character Gordy Lachance
and River Phoenix who plays Chris Chambers
were both picked out as actors with potential.
The film is about 4 young boys who set out to
find a dead body. 2 key scenes involve trying
to cross a bridge before a train comes and the
final conflict between Gordy’s gang and rival
gang led by horrible Ace. These are the
scenes I will explore further.
Character Study
 Write a paragraph about a character
you know well.
 Use your notes to get across as much
information as possible about the
person – what they look like, what they
have to cope with and deal with in life,
what happens to them in the end.
Good or bad?????
 Gordie is a main guy in the film and he is
waring a red top and is very skinny. And he is a
wimp near the starte but then gets a bit
brahver as the flim goes on. And he doesnt
dye.
Scene Analysis
 Write at least one paragraph about each
scene we have watched.
 Use your notes and write this up into sentences.
 Start each paragraph by saying what purpose
the scene had – “The opening scene was
used to introduce the main characters and to
take us back in time to 1959…” or “The final
conflict scene was very tense and dramatic
and showed us how Gordy assumed
leadership of the group…”
 The “Crossing the Bridge” scene happened
quite early on in the film and the director, Rob
Reiner, clearly wanted us to feel suspense and
tension during this scene. Perhaps he also
hoped that the audience would feel part of
the film as it was such an exciting moment!
Firstly, we see the boys crossing a bridge in a
long shot. This is used so we can see how high
up the bridge is and how big a risk the boys
are taking. As the scene goes on, we start to
hear the very faint sound of a train puffing
along and see Gordy in slow motion from an
extreme close up yelling “TRRRAAAIN!”…
Conclusion
 Give your opinion of the film.
 Tell me about some of the messages sent by
the film.
 Explain what you feel made this film successful
when it was released.