This sub-organizer contains the following sections:

It is expected that students will:

• analyse how the artistic components of film and television affect meaning
• critique their own and others' performances and products
• collaborate to solve acting, scriptwriting, and technical production problems
• use appropriate vocabulary when discussing or producing film and television
  

• Provide students with guidelines for constructive, effective criticism. As new processes and skills are introduced in class, work with students to develop a set of criteria to critique film and television performances and productions.
• As a class, brainstorm types of research required for films such as The Color Purple, Black Orpheus, Under the Red Lantern, and Amadeus. Form pairs and ask each pair to research a historic period, the culture of another country, and military protocol in order to develop a short scene involving these elements. Have students describe how they conducted their research and identify what they would do differently next time.
• Have students in pairs develop and produce two short scripts that promote opposing sides of the same issue (e.g., dress codes for school). Ask students to include in their scripts details about how to arrange artistic components to support each point of view. As a class, analyse each production's effectiveness in presenting the issues.
• Invite students to compare music scores and lighting effects from various genres. For example, have them compare the music scores of Dracula (horror) and Frantic (drama), or the lighting in The Maltese Falcon (film noir) and Annie (musical). Discuss the meaning created by these effects.
• Suggest that each student select a photograph to videotape for 15 seconds, then choose or create two contrasting soundtracks for the image that elicit different moods, meanings, or feelings. Ask students to show their videos to the class, justify their selections, and discuss the effectiveness of their choices.
  

• Post guidelines for effective criticism. As students critique their own and others' products and performances, look for evidence that they:
  • follow established guidelines
  • refer to specific criteria
  • provide specific examples to support their views
  • use increasingly precise vocabulary
  • make connections among different performances and products they have developed
  • develop a sense of the overall direction and potential of their own work
• In students' research for short scenes, look for evidence of features such as:
  • use of a variety of sources, including people and electronic resources
  • focus on useful information
  • accuracy and thoroughness
  • attention to subtle and complex details as well as more obvious features
• When students work in pairs to develop two scripts that support opposing sides of an issue, look for evidence of:
  • use of appropriate conventions for their written formats
  • clarity of points of view
  • effective use of artistic components to support their points of view and develop meaning
• Have students include self-analyses with their scripts. Look for evidence of:
  • identification of the artistic components
  • assessment of effects of the components
  • specific examples to support their analyses
  • precise use of vocabulary
• When students create contrasting soundtracks, invite the class to describe their moods, meanings, or feelings. Ask the originators of each soundtrack to compare the analysis of the class with the intended effect. Look for evidence that:
  • members of the class are increasingly insightful in their analyses and precise in their vocabulary
  • students who developed the soundtracks are able to explain how the choices they made contributed to the success of their interpretations

Print Materials

• Calling the Shots
• On Cue 2
• Screenplay
• Successful Scriptwriting
• Understanding Movies, Seventh Edition
  

Video

• Against the Grain
• And Nothing But the Truth
• Changing Voices
• Constructing Reality
• The Hold Up
• In Her Own Image
• The Video Tool Box
• Watching TV
  

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