Reading in the dark

READING IN THE DARK

Using Film as a Tool in the English Classroom

IT’S MOVIE DAY!

Take out a sheet of paper and write down a book

that was made into a movie. Keep that with you for a

short activity during intermission ….

DIRECTORS ARE POETS TOO!

• Like a poet the filmmaker uses various devices and techniques for desired effect.

• One decision a director (like a writer) has to make is how the object will be positioned within the shot and the how it will be framed.

NIHAL’S GIVEAWAY

Surprise! You all get

Cameras!

CAMERA ANGLES

Roll up your piece of paper and use it as a camera “lens”

Long Shot: You see entire body of person, or skyline

(used to establish scene)

Close up Shot: Fills 80% of scene with object – i.e. cheek

with tear drop, person holding object. Intimate and person,

also used to ‘reveal’

Medium shot: from waist up, common in real life.

“neutral shot”. Lacks detail. Reality TV…

LIGHTING

Low-key Lighting: (turn off all lights) with just projector

lighting…see shadows? Darkness? Used in Horror films…

High-Key Lighting: (lights on) no shadows! Used in

comedies, musicals, romantic comedies, characters are

seen with no threat or misunderstanding.

Bottom/lighting: (with flashlight turned up on someone’s

face) used to make someone appear evil, hiding something,

morally ambigious.

SOUND

Often overlooked (no pun intended) it is equally important as visuals.

Violin can make us sad and a gun shot can make us jump.

Diegetic Sound: Any sound that can logically be heard by a

character within movie. If character speaks or dog growls.

Nondiegetic sound: Think of being a character in the movie Jaws.

“Duh duhn – duh- duhn”… you wouldn’t get out of water when audience

hears the sound. Right? Only for audience.

Internal Diegetic Sound: Character is talking to himself. Director

like a writer – wants to give information to audience (Forest Gump

Narration).

EDITING

It all boils down to what the director decides to put

into his or her frame or soundtrack. Common type of

edit is called “cut” (editing two shots together with

no transition). Watch PowerPoint for Example

• The Fade: image on screen slowly fades away and the screen becomes black.

• The Dissolve: The image begins to fade out, but instead of to black it dissolves into a new image.

The Crosscut: a quick cut from a quiet town to a shot of missiles screaming across sky. The audience knows the missile is headed towards town.

Apocolypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLRmVMVP7NQ• 1 - If the director’s aim was to create a sense of

confusion and/or displacement, what elements of the scene helped him achieve this?

• 2 – Trace the sounds throughout this scene. Try to classify them as diegetic, internal, diegetic, or nondiagetic. Have a reason for your response. When does there seem to be more than one sound? What is the effect?

• 3 – How did the lighting and framing choices affect the scene?

PUTTING IT TOGETHER

FILM & LITERATURE

Film and Literature are not enemies. They should

work together because they share so many common

elements.

Film makes leap from text to analysis easier.

Examples of films included with lesson plans in

book:• Citizen Kane (1941), Ghost (1990), Titanic (1997),

Crooklyn (1994), Life is Beautiful (1998), Rocky (1976), Elizabeth (1998), The Lion King (1994).

NOW GRAB SOME POPCORN!

Thanks for watching….