Film Study - Film Aspects - English Year 11 Activity (Slidedeck 4)

How does tone in film work?

-What else can we call tone in film? It can also be called brightness.

-What are the 3 main elements of tone? Lighting, Exposure and Art Direction.

-How and why does Coppola use tone in the classic film "The Godfather"? They used exposure and turned the scenes darker to show us that don and his family are not the best of people.

-How can directors control the feelings of the scene? They can control the scene by changing the lighting too dark or bright and creating a happy or sad tone to the film.

How does over-the-shoulder shot work?

-What is the effect of an over-the-shoulder shot? The shot is used to show a connection between characters.

-What film aspect shows a disconnection between characters? When a single shot is used it disconnects a character.

-How does the director of this scene show the disconnect of the characters? He could have used a single shot but did a dolly shot and pushed in so it is not an over-the-shoulder shot anymore.

-What eventually totally isolates the female character? They completely isolated here by removing any other actors in her shots. Unlike the male character who still had someone on his shot.


How does film blocking work in film?
-What are the 3 ways directors use blocking in film? Space, Shapes, Lines.
-What are the 3 basic shapes for film blocking? Circles, Squares, Triangles.
-What are the emotions associated with these shapes? Circles mean safer and inclusive, Squares creates limited space, blocking someone in, trapping them and Triangles are sharp so they are aggressive.
-What 2 things can blocking help with? Blocking helps with filling in space and the use of subtext.


How does camera movement work in film?
-What is the purpose of the whip and the slow pan? what fast whip pan creates a jolt of energy while the slow one is used so we can take in the scenery/background.
-What is the purpose of the tilt shot? To reveal something.
-What does the reverse dolly zoom help show? To show that a character is having an intense external experience.
-What the difference between Steadicam and dolly shot? Unlike the dolly shot the use of Steadicam shot lets the camera glide gracefully through the scene.
-What can hand help shot help create for the viewer? Creates anxiety for the viewer.
-What should directors ask themselves with their camera movement? How it supports the story and does it fit with the scene your doing.
-Camera movement should be doing what? It should be getting the audience to look at something.


How is contrast used in film?
-What are the ways a director can contrast in film? They can contrast in tone, art direction, blocking, camera movement and colour.
-What is contrasted in Spike Jonze's ad? The dark world outside where most of the colours are desaturated and there is minimal lighting whereas inside the house there is a lot of colours and more lighting to see her face better.
-Why did he contrast these things? To tell a story. 

How is the Dutch angle used in film?
-The Dutch angle does what? The Dutch angle signals the viewers that something is unsettling. It used to create an uneasy feeling inside the viewer.
-What is a Dutch angle? A Dutch angle is a camera technique that has a tilt on its x-axis.
-Who created the Dutch angle and when was it created? It was used by German expressionist and was used in the early 1900s.
-What 3 things do directors need to consider for the Dutch angle? Identifying the moment, Consider the moment then Enhance the moment.
-What 4 things can enhance a Dutch angle? The degree of tilt, the camera height, lens choice and the depth of field.


How do visual motifs work in film?
-What is a motif? A recurring idea in a film that has a symbolic meaning to it.
-Why are they important? To put a deeper meaning to the story.
-What makes a great work of art? Being able to come back to a film or story and find more meaning.


How does a POV or POT shot work?
-What is a POV shot? A 'POV' shot is a shot where we get to see from the eyes of a character. POV is also called Point of View shot.
-What is a 'point of thought' shot? A point of thought shot is a shot that is used for us, the audience, to see the characters mind.
-Why are they important? To make the audience relate more to the story you are telling in the film.


How does the insert shot work in film?
-Wha is an insert shot? It's a shot that focuses on specific detail within a scene.
-What is the purpose of an insert shot? It is used to show us a narrative point.
-What are the 3 main aspects of an insert shot? Composition, colour and timing.
-What 3 things help the audience feel about the insert shot?  Composition, colour and timing.
-Composition of the insert shot helps with what in film? The shot size, shot angle and camera movement helps the viewer feel about a scene.
-Colour in insert shot helps with what in film? The colour helps draw attention to a specific point in an insert shot.
-How long you dwell on the insert shot helps show what? How long you dwell on shots and how you change shots will change the shots meaning.


How does production design work in film?
-What is production design? It's the overall look of the production.
-What makes up production design? Set design, prompts and wardrobes.
-What are the 3 main things production design can help reveal? Mood, characters and themes.


How does colour work in film?
-How does colour in film affect people? Colours in film help draw out emotions in people.
-What are the 3 factors in determining colour? Hue, Saturation and Brightness.
-Why is hue in "The Matrix" mostly green? Because the movie is about a guy being in a digital Matrix and we correlate green with codes.
-Why do some films desaturate? It makes the scenes gritty and shows us that the world in it is not the best place to be in.
-What can brightness and a lack of brightness show in film? Brightness can show a brighter and better place in the film while the lack of brightness can show a darker side of things. It is used to show two different points of view.


How do establishing shots work in film?
-What is an establishing shot? An establishing shot is a long shot used usually at the start of a scene. You will also notice that it is shot as an aerial shot.
-Why is it used? It is to help identify to the viewers where the characters are in the located and what time it is.
-Why are establishing shot usually the most expensive? Establishing shots are expensive because its a wide shot that shows everything in the area.


What is film theory?
Film theory is a way of breaking down movies or tv shows and getting more finding more in-depth meaning on the film. Basically, it's looking at a movie and digging through the scenes to find meanings and why they did what they did in the film.

What is film criticism?
Film Criticism is kinda like film theory, we analyse the film's story, meaning, performance, technique, purpose and historical importance.

Creative Writing for 11ENG

Creating Writing

In this task, you will produce a piece of creative writing of at least 350 words,

choosing your topic from a variety of starters.

Your teacher will show you examples of the style

of writing you will be aiming to produce.

Starter Four

Choose a picture from the internet and write a story about it.

Please check the picture with your English teacher first. 

Story Title: Stories Upon The Stars

The grassy field danced through the wind under the moonlit sky. The blooming flowers were reflected by the moons silver glow. The smell of sweet fragrance ran through the air.

A girl walked slowly through the dark green field mesmerizing the beauty of it. 

As she went past a lonely oak tree, a pack of daffodils and a few rocks and stones, she made it to her destination. A few faded but cherished memories crossed her mind. She remembered always hanging out on this wide-open field. 

Her grandpa would always bring her to this place whether it be day or night. It was great here, the light breeze would fan out the heat in her body during the summer and the view during the night was the best, you were able to see the stars much more clearly. The dark void of the sky would be painted by the countless shining diamonds at night.

She remembered her grandpa sitting on the grass, telling her stories of his past adventures around the world, it was full of wacky and crazy escapades with his friends, learning about what it had to offer. She remembered her grandfather telling her of the story of how he climbed the side of a mountain, how he learned to catch a fish with his bare hands and how he swam through a frozen lake. She remembers all of it... Well, that’s what she keeps telling herself. 

Two years have passed since her grandfather died. Two long agonizing years of self-loathing.

She hates it how she can’t remember anything her grandfather has told her, she hates it how she can’t recognise her grandfather’s face and she really hates it how she can’t remember anything her grandfather has taught her.

Reality sits in and she remembered where she was at. She was on a field under the bright silver moon. She looks a down, a pained sighed came out of her lips before she sat down on the grass. She looked up into the star and a memory rushed through her head. 

“When you look up at the night sky and see the billions of stars out there, which one do you see?” An old man said. 

“Huh?” The little girl responded, tilting her head in a comical manner.

“Just like the stars, there are billions of story out there. Each one with a different version of itself but when you look at the star which one do you see?” Replying back. “Even if you don’t exactly hear or remember the right story, at least you still remembered that it was there.” The old man finished.

Post Creative Writing Task

What is my learning objective?
I am learning to use writing skills to better my writing.
How am I learning it?
I am learning it by applying the skills to my writing.
Why am I learning it?
I am learning it to improve my writing better.

This is the creative writing that I wrote.

Story Title: Stories Upon The Stars

Complete the six task on the slide and you need to either show where the examples of the task are in your writing, or you are to write them out into your writing.

1.) Show setting via a narrator's personal pov

The grassy field danced through the wind under the moonlit sky. The blooming flowers were reflected by the moons silver glow. The smell of sweet fragrance ran through the air.

2.) Describe character using action

She looks a down, a pained sighed came out of her lips before she sat down on the grass.

3.)Replace

It was full of wacky and crazy(replaced adventures with escapades)escapades with his friends.

4.)Insert

A girl walked (I added an adverb) slowly through the (I added an adjective) dark green field mesmerizing the beauty of it. 

5.)Show characters through what they say (and omit)

“When you look up at the night sky and see the billions of stars out there, which one do you see?” An old man said. 

“Huh?” The little girl responded, tilting her head in a comical manner.

“Just like the stars, there are billions of story out there. Each one with a different version of itself but when you look at the star which one do you see?” Replying back. “Even if you don’t exactly hear or remember the right story, at least you still remembered that it was there.” The old man finished.

(It shows the old man is wise and full of wisdom and the little girl as someone who hasn't experienced much.)

6.)Make a character introduction memorable

She remembered her grandpa sitting on the grass, telling her stories of his past adventures around the world, it was full of wacky and crazy escapades with his friends, learning about what it had to offer. She remembered her grandfather telling her of the story of how he climbed the side of a mountain, how he learned to catch a fish with his bare hands and how he swam through a frozen lake.

(This paragraph shows that her grandfather is an adventurous man)

Self Directed Learning for Creative Writing

WALT - Complete and write creative writing language features.

Step 1 - I am/am not ready to learn because...
I am ready to learn because I have all the things I need to enable my learning.

Step 2 - My Learning Goals are...
My learning goals are to be able to apply metaphor, hyperbole, pun, anaphora, chiasmus, epanalepsis, listing, antithesis, simile, personification, onomatopoeia, understatement and oxymoron to my writing.

Step 3 -  To engage in the connectivist learning process, I will need...
If I don't understand some of the creative writing languages features, I will ask my teacher to help or ask my classmate. Check the slide decks or search it up on google.

Language Features
Metaphor - Her heart was like cold ice.
Hyperbole - "I've waited for like a million years"
Pun - I am koalafied for running as a president.
Anaphora - Our lives will end. Our lives will come and go. Our lives are done.
Chiasmus - We need to be ready to learn and we need to learn to be ready.
Alliteration - Joshua jumped to the jungle.
Epanalepsis - The king is dead, long live the king.
Listing -  For the party, we needed to buy some chips, beers, juice, fizzy drinks and more snacks.
Antithesis - They went up; I went down
Simile - The kite flew like an eagle.
Personification - The tree was dancing like a ballerina in the wind.
Onomatopoeia - The sound of the rain hitting the roof went tippity tap.
Understatement - Imagine being in a desert. "It's a bit hot out"
Oxymoron - The word written on the green sign said stop.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1IRh05QbAXL-FAj17g5XrSwrhS30A5xv4YAxc73IxN-E/edit?usp=sharing

Film Essay

Taya, a Filipino short film about a boy learning to play traditional Filipino games with his new friends. 

The film was made to show how the traditional Filipino games were connected to their reality. The producers of the short film showed us that these games, that many Filipino kids used to play, reflected our harsh reality. The two brilliant producers of this short film used, Dialogue, Steadicam shot, Cross-cutting and a Close up shot to show the meaning of the film. 

The use of Dialogue was used logically in this brief film. Their use of words and how they easily explained how the traditional Filipino games ties in with the kids’ reality were cleverly established. 

This is demonstrated at the beginning of the film where they foreshadowed that the short film was not going to be a lighthearted movie about a kids life. The used of Dialogue help me understood that there was going to be a deeper meaning to the film.  

The director did this to show us that words and how they are used can have a big impact on the film. 

This worked well with the film aspect, foreshadowing since they were able to hint about something happening. This technique can be juxtaposed with the foreshadowing of Tony Stark (Iron Man) dying. Since his death was foreshadowed before he even fought Thanos.

Another film aspect that was used in this film was a Steadicam shot. The use of this film aspect was smoothly placed. A Steadicam shot was used when the new kid and his group of friends ran out of their house. This shows the audience that the kids are carefree and don’t know much of what’s happening around their country. The purpose of this was to show that the kids are having a fun time being free and doing what they want to do with their friends.

The director did this to show how freedom felt like with these kids. Coinciding with this shot was the music that was used. The music that was used further foreshadowed that the short film was not gonna be a joyful kids film. This aspect can be compared to the shot where the kids were running away from the zombies, making the chase scene more intense.

Additionally, the film aspect of Cross-cutting was also used in this film. Cross-cutting was used to relate how the traditional Filipino games were almost identical to the bad circumstances occurring around them. This helped me realize that the actions that they are doing in the games they played, correlates to the stuff that protestors are doing. The purpose of this was to show that some situations can be similar to other situations. The director intelligently did this by showing the games, the kids are playing then Cross-cutting to protestors throwing rocks at the police. This worked well with the music in the background. It added the effect that what was happening in our society is very saddening and we had to resort to violence. This can be compared to the last scene where the camera cuts to the kids’ feet to show they were all running and were doing the same action at once.

The last film aspect that was utilised was a Close up shot. For example, they used this type of shot when the zombies, which was the kid’s imagination, were trying to break into the house. This makes the audience feel more frightened and grossed out at the zombies. The director did this to make the scene, even more, scarier than what it already is. Coinciding with this shot was a piece of intense music going on in the background. This shot can be compared to when the scene came up of the kids getting near the camera to show their interest using facial expressions.

The two producers of this film did an outstanding job producing the short Filipino film ‘Taya’. With the use of Dialogue, Steadicam, Cross-cutting and Close up shot, they made a wonderful film that showed how similar the games were to reality.

Creative Writing

5th of November 2019
WALT: Identify and recognise ideas for our 'Risk or Challenge' creative writing task, as well as the physical sensation associated with it.

Ideas for R or  C
- Camp activities (The 2 wire, solo, the swamp, blindfolded)
- Doing a shoey
- Sports (Competition, trials, tournament etc)
- Project K (Rock climbing, hiking)
- An abandoned house
- Being in the army
- Getting chased

Physical Sensations
- Sweat (Whole body, palms, feet, back, forehead, armpits, backside, nosed, lips, back of knees)
- Knees weak/shake
- Need to wee
- Heavy breathing
- Looking around a lot
- Walking back and forth
- Leg bounce/shaking
- Pins and needles
- Heart pounding/racing/bursting
- Butterflies in the stomach - blood drop - fluttering


We have finally arrived at our destination. My group and I have been walking for a few minutes to get to a small swamp as the camp councillor would say. It was more like a small lake or a pond to me, the area was surrounded by grass on one side and thick trees and bushes on the other. The chilly wind flew past my face freezing it. A few birds chirped by as they flew overhead us and a few grey clouds blocked the sun. We set our bags on the ground and we were given a simple task by our camp instructor.



That’s it. We were done for. One of the planks we used to cross the swamp has fallen off the pole and into the water. It was just a simple task to improve our teamwork capability. Get to the other side of the swamp with only two planks. ‘Dang, it’ I thought, I did not want to fall into the murky swamp water. The air was freezing cold that morning and the water was even worse. We were forced to squish in one of the planks, packed in one place like a can of sardines. I was placed on the edge of the plank, left foot hanging off of it barely touching the water.


It was bad enough that the cold wind was freezing my entire feet up but after a few minutes of standing on one foot, my whole leg was starting to shake. I couldn’t move my foot to get it in a more comfortable spot because in doing so I might move the plank. I heard the plank creak and thought that it was about to break and I felt really relieved that I was standing on one of the poles.


After a few seconds of looking like headless chickens, one of our group members finally came up with a good idea. Use the stick that he found on the way to the swamp. After a few tries and an attempt that gave me quite a fright. One of my group members finally succeeded and got the plank back.


After getting the plank back it was only the matter of succeeding to place the piece of wood in one the pole and getting to the other side. ‘Place it slowly and carefully’ a female group member said. A few seconds of lifting the plank up and setting it down we finally succeeded in getting the plank on the pole and were able to make it to the other side. A feeling of relief overtook me as my foot was placed onto the grass and I could hear some of my group members shout out in success.


After successfully making it to the other side our camp instructor told us to get the two plank to him. “You guys can walk around so you don’t have to cross the swamp but if you want you can,” he said. I sighed and picked up one of the planks and stepped into the water.