When I was a kid, I thought that movies were made in an hour and a half and that they were

shot in sequence. I was vaguely aware that there had to be a camera, but I imagined that it could change setups instantaneously. . . . It took a long time for me to realize that movies are made. I had to step back even further to notice that they are made of shots, that each shot is a unit in itself as well as part of the whole, and that it is possible for the way a film is shot to convey its meaning. Bruce F . Kawin, How Movies Work

FILM LANGUAGE AND ELEMENTS OF STYLE

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CHAPTER
Scope & Sequence
A fundamental principle of The Story of Movies is that film is more than an industry, more than a showcase for stars. Film is a language. In this chapter, students understand that visual images can be read like other texts. They learn that the composition of a shot as well as camera distance, angle, lighting, and the placement of a shot in a sequence all affect how a person interprets the moving image. Because a film is a whole made up of many parts, lesson 1 begins with the smallest part the frame. Students tap prior knowledge and gain new knowledge of key principles of art composition, which they then apply to reading visual texts from To Kill a Mockingbird. In subsequent lessons, students study basic science principles of lighting and apply that to understand how a cinematographer creates various visual effects. By the end of the chapter, students will have acquired a vocabulary of film terms, including types of shots and editing techniques, and will be prepared to analyze multiple shots within a single scene.

THREE

Lesson 1
Activity A Activity B

Understanding Composition
The Frame Camera Distances and Angles

Lesson 2
Activity A Activity B Activity C

Capturing Light and Movement on the Screen

Properties of Light Creating Contrast, Depth, and Texture Camera Mounts and Movements

Lesson 3
Activity A Activity B Activity C Activity D

Editing To Kill a Mockingbird

Making a Scene Understanding Continuity How Music Communicates Sound Effects

Lesson 4
Activity A Activity B Activity C

Putting It All Together Analyzing a Scene

Cinematic Points of View Explicit and Implicit Information Mise-en-Scne

Film Study Standards

1.0 Film Language. Students learn to read and interpret visual text by developing a film vocabulary, identifying editing techniques, and analyzing film elements within selected scenes. 5.0 Cross-Curricular Connections. Students first tap their knowledge of other disciplines to study a film. They then apply what they have learned about film to other disciplines, making connections between film and literature/language arts, film and history/social studies, film and other arts, and film and sciences. 53

Lesson 1 Understanding Composition

Teacher Overview
A filmmaker is more than a good technician who understands how to operate a camera and control lights. A filmmaker must also have an artistic understanding of what makes a good composition. In this lesson, students learn basic principles of art composition, specifically the content and thoughtful arrangement of elements within a frame to suggest meaning. Activity A begins with a discussion of Watson and the Shark, a famous work of art from the 18th century by American painter John Singleton Copley. Through a guided discussion by the teacher, students discuss the paintings narrative elements and then identify visual symbols the artist used to suggest this narrative. They then complete a similar interpretation of a frame from the trial scene of To Kill a Mockingbird, again identifying elements of composition that communicate meaning. Activity B presents six different types of shots, each dependent on the position of the camera in relation to the subject within the frame. Camera distances and angles are among the filmmakers communication tools, and the use of these tools determines how the audience will interpret the visual text.

Learning Outcomes
Students will: define composition; understand that every frame, or movie still, has a point of emphasis or center of interest; explain how the arrangement of objects or people within the frame creates meaning; identify four camera distance shots long shot, medium, close-up, and extreme close-up; define perspective and explain how high-angle and low-angle shots change perspective.

Key Terms
(Note: Most terms are defined within the activity text that follows. You may also refer to the glossary.) frame, composition, point of emphasis, close-up, extreme close-up, medium shot, long shot, establishing shot, high-angle shot, low-angle shot

Lesson 1 Materials

Activity
Activity A The Frame

Print
Visual-Thinking Activity 3-1: Watson and the Shark Visual-Thinking Activity 3-2: Whats in a Frame?

DVD
Still 3-1: Watson and the Shark Still 3-2: Mayella on the Witness Stand

Activity B Camera Distances and Angles

Graphic Organizer 3-1: Camera-to-Subject Distances Graphic Organizer 3-2: Camera-to-Subject Angles Graphic Organizer 3-3: Multiple Cameras = One Shot Visual-Thinking Activity 3-3: Shots and Significance Stills 3-3, AF: Shots and Significance

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Concept
The composition, or arrangement of elements, of a single frame of lm communicates meaning.
1

Engage
Display Still 3-1: Watson and the Shark, a painting completed in 1778 by American artist John Singleton Copley, which is on permanent exhibit in the National Gallery in Washington, D.C. Watson and the Shark is based on a true story. Students can learn more about this story and the painting by logging on to The Story of Movies Web site. The painting is narrative because it suggests conict as well as action that has occurred and is yet to occur. First, ask students to provide single words that describe the painting. Record these words on the chalkboard or overhead projector. These may include but are not limited to danger, death, shark, heroes, suspense. Distribute Visual-Thinking Activity 3-1: Watson and the Shark. Discuss students observations as recorded on their activity sheets. Recommended answers are below.

1.

What is the rst thing that catches your attention in this painting? Answers will vary; some may say the gure with the boat hook, but most are likely to say the young man in the water and the men reaching for him. This is not accidental. Explain that this area is the foreground of the painting. It has more brightness than the area just to the right or left. As a result, more details are visible. Emphasize that the two men reaching down also draws the eye to what they are reaching for. Identify three different actions captured in this single image. The rescuers reaching for the young man in the water, the man thrusting the boat hook, the shark swimming with open jaws toward the young man. Did you have difculty at rst seeing the shark in the foreground (or lower half) of the painting? If so, why do you think this was the case? The lower right corner is dark compared to the left side of the frame. Why didnt the painter show the whole shark in bright light? Answers will vary. One interpretation may be that the shark is mysterious and a creature of the deep. Others may respond that the painter wanted the people viewing the painting to wonder at rst what is happening before they actually saw and then understood the situation, thereby creating suspense. Also, by putting the sharks back part in darkness, its front end is more visible by contrast and appears more menacing. What is in the background (or upper portion) of the frame? A harbor scene. Point out that the background is placid or calm compared to the turbulent action in the foreground. What has happened in the moments prior to this one captured on canvas? Answers will vary. The young man somehow fell into the water and lost his clothes. There may be a larger boat somewhere outside the frame from which these rescuers have come. It is unlikely that they were on shore and responded to the youths cries for help. What will happen next? We cannot know just by looking at the painting, but students may discover the fate of the young man by participating in the Take 2 Web activity, Who Was Watson?

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Explain & Explore

Dene composition and share this information about composition with students: Composition is the arrangement of all the elements that contribute to the appearance of a picture. The elements work together to create meaning. 55

Watson and the Shark is a painting, and so its composition is static. That means no matter how long you stare at it, nothing is going to change. In this one picture, the young man will never be rescued. Composition in motion pictures works along the same principles of design as composition in a painting. However, a motion picture image is not static. It is dynamic. That means it is always changing. Emphasize the importance of composition in telling a story visually. Scenes are made up of shots, and shots are made up of single images called frames. Composition is part of how the lmmaker tells the story. Learning to identify elements of composition, therefore, is an important visual-literacy skill. Display Still 3-2: Mayella on the Witness Stand. While this image is displayed, dene frame and point of emphasis. A frame is a single photograph on a strip of motion-picture lm. Identifying elements within a single frame is the rst step in learning how to read moving images. The point of emphasis is the object or person that is most important. It is the thing the photographer/cinematographer wants the audience to notice. Distribute Visual-Thinking Activity 3-2: Whats in a Frame? The questions on this worksheet relate to Mayella on the Witness Stand. Discuss the questions. Recommended answers are below. Still 3-2:

Answer Key for Visual-Thinking Activity 3-2: Whats in a Frame?

Identifying Details 1. What do you see in this frame? List all people, objects or props, and other details. The courtroom scene shows the judge behind Mayella, who is on the witness stand. Atticus and Tom Robinson are at the defense table to the left. Behind them are the people who have come to see the trial. To the left is the jury box with members of the jury. To the right is the prosecutor and his table, and behind the bar is Bob Ewell. Objects include an American ag, Atticuss briefcase and papers, a calendar on the wall. To the judges left is another ag, which some students might correctly guess is the ag of Alabama. Analyzing Details 2. Where has the director placed the camera in order to get this shot? The camera is above the people and to the rear, slightly angled, so most likely it is in the rear of the balcony. 3. Who, if anyone, is the point of emphasis in this shot? The judge and Mayella are the only characters facing forward. Everyone else is looking at them, or more specically, at Mayella. This emphasizes her and the importance of her testimony, which is about to begin. What is the purpose of this shot? To provide an overview of the courtroom. Emphasize, however, that those sitting in the balcony would be African Americans and the children, and so the camera is showing the courtroom from their point of view.

4.

Emphasize this important detail about composition: Every composition has a point of emphasis, or center of interest. In Watson and the Shark, the point of emphasis is the attempted rescue, that is, the young man in the water and the two men reaching for him. In the frame of Mayella on the witness stand, as discussed above, the point of emphasis is Mayella. Even though she appears small, her testimony will determine Tom Robinsons fate. View Still 3-1: Watson and the Shark again. This time ask students to identify some of the lines within the painting. These include the diagonal line of the boat hook in the upper right of the frame, the diagonal line of what appears to be the boat oar in the middle left of the frame, and the vertical lines of the ships masts in the background. Note also the black mans arm, which leads the eye down to the body.

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Share this information with students: Lines are elements of composition. The human eye tends to follow lines. A painter or photographer uses lines to guide the viewers eye around a composition. In Watson and the Shark, for example, the boat hook draws our attention down to the water, where we see the shark that we may not at rst have noticed. The line that is the oar directs us to the rescuers reaching for the boy. Even the boys arm, reaching upward, is a type of line. The arm directs our attention to the man with the boat hook. In this way the painter controls what the person viewing the painting sees. The same is true in moving-image composition. The cinematographer uses lines to control what the audience sees. Display Still 3-2: Mayella on the Witness Stand again. Ask students to identify the lines at work in this composition. These include the horizontal lines of the bench rails and the diagonal rail in front of the jury that directs our eye toward Mayella and the judge behind her.

Close
Share this statement from director Douglas Trumbull with students and ask them to explain, either through class discussion or through a short freewriting activity, what he means: A movie is a series of still photographs shown in rapid succession. When you understand what you can do with one photograph, you can then understand what you can do with the rest of the lm.

Who Was Watson?

The painting Watson and the Shark is based on a true story. Learn whether the young man survived his ordeal at sea, as well as more about the composition of the painting by going to The Story of Movies Web site at www.storyofmovies.org.

Concept
Filmmakers use camera distances and angles to direct the viewers attention to the object of greatest signicance within the frame or shot and to suggest meaning.

Engage
Remind students that the title of this chapter includes the term lm language. Ask them to respond to this question: How do you communicate different ideas using a camera? Teachers need not explore the question in detail, but should touch upon the main idea that the camera selects what the audience sees and how. That includes angles and distances.

Explain & Explore

Distribute and display Graphic Organizer 3-1: Camera-to-Subject Distances. Ask students to explain why the word subject on the graphic organizer appears larger as the camera moves closer. Dene distance as the size and closeness of the subject. Distances range from extreme close-up to long shot. Review three kinds of shots on the graphic organizer as suggested below. Close-Up Shot A close-up allows the cinematographer to focus the audiences attention on a specic detail. This detail lls the entire frame. Faces, hands, or individual objects are often shown in close-up or extreme close-up. Filmmakers use a closeup or extreme close-up shot for a reason and not just to play with the zoom lens! The close-up provides what the lmmaker believes is necessary or meaningful information for the audience.

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Medium Shot A medium shot reveals more of the subject. If the subject is a person, a medium shot usually shows that person from the waist up. Long Shot A long shot is often called an establishing shot because it shows the subject in its surroundings and establishes the setting. In long shots, the subject generally appears small in relation to the surroundings. Distribute and display Graphic Organizer 3-2: Camera-to-Subject Angles. Dene angle as the way the camera views the subject. Angles range from high to low. Filmmakers use angles to create interest but also to suggest meaning or relationships. Review the types of angles on the graphic organizer as suggested below. High-Angle Shot In a high-angle shot, the camera is above the subject and looks down. This can make the subject appear small, weak, or unimportant. Low-Angle Shot A low-angle shot looks up at the subject and can make the subject seem large or impressive. Eye-Level Shot This shot looks at the subject on approximately the same level as the subject. Ask: How are camera angles different from camera distances? Explain that both angles (high to low) and distances (near to far) create different types of visual effects. The placement of the camera is critical in creating these effects. Distribute and display Graphic Organizer 3-3: Multiple Cameras = One Shot. Review the graphic organizer to emphasize the following important point about lmmaking during production: Often the director lms a scene from multiple angles and distances and then later, in post-production, decides which shots are the best. Explain that the left side of the graphic, On the Set, illustrates the different placements of three cameras in relationship to the subject. The right side of the graphic, In the Studio, illustrates the editing process. Share this information with students: A single camera captures a single image. Shooting a lm, however, involves more than placing actors on a stage and recording their performance. When lming a movie, the director generally uses multiple cameras to capture the same action from different distances and angles. The editor selects the best shots from one or more of the cameras. The decision of which footage from which camera to use depends in part on the quality of the camerawork and lighting, the quality of the acting performance, and the overall meaning of the shot. Distribute Visual-Thinking Activity 3-3: Shots and Signicance. Students will use this sheet while analyzing camera distances and angles for movie stills displayed on the DVD. Display Stills 3-3, AF: Shots and Signicance to illustrate camera distances and angles. Explain that distances and angles give lmmakers ways to draw attention to the object of greatest signicance in the frame. Allow students time to record their responses to each still before moving on to the next. Recommended answers follow.

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Answer Key for Visual-Thinking Activity 3-3: Shots and Significance

Still
A

Type of Shot
Medium, low-angle

Object of Greatest Signicance

Tom Robinson, because he is in the foreground; Atticus is smaller, and the people in the balcony are even smaller. Dill and Scout crouching. By photographing them from above, the cinematographer makes them appear somewhat smaller, and this suggests vulnerability. Jem and Scout, because they are in a somewhat vulnerable position in the Radley yard. Bob Ewells hand, which seemingly reaches out toward Atticuss children inside the car. Right in front of the viewer, it seems most menacing. The spelling bee medal in Jems hand is the only thing the viewer sees. The CU is the cinematographers way of saying to the audience, Notice this! Its important. No one thing is emphasized except the emptiness of the street. Jem is alone.

High-angle, medium shot

High-angle

Eye-level, medium

Close-up

Long shot

Close
Ask students to make a connection between the information they learned in this activity and television commercials. How can they apply what they have learned about camera angles and distances to the commercials they may see on television?

59

Lesson 2 Capturing Light and Movement on the Screen

Teacher Overview
In this lesson, students focus on two additional elements of composition light and movement. Both light and movement create meaning and can trigger audience responses. Light draws attention to key, or principal, areas within the frame. The careful control of light can produce shadows that conceal details and create moods, suggest realism, and direct the audiences attention to points of emphasis. Activity A begins with a simple in-class science activity in which students manipulate light from an ordinary table lamp. In this way they begin to understand basic properties of light that all cinematographers know. They then use this knowledge to identify ways cinematographers control light and, thereby, what the audience sees. Activity B presents additional information about visual elements, specifically how cinematographers create contrast and the illusion of depth and texture. Likewise, movement either of the camera or of the subject within the frame is also significant and never accidental. For example, movement toward the camera can create a sense of power and dominance. Movement away from the camera creates emotional distance. Movement of a subject from the light into shadow might suggest a characters shift into a troubled state of mind or a frightening situation. In activity C, students identify types of movements and then practice interpreting the meaning of those movements.

Learning Outcomes
Students will: define three principles of lighting a frame direction, intensity, and quality of light; distinguish between high-key lighting and low-key lighting; distinguish between contrast, depth, and texture in black-and-white images; understand that movement in a shot both conveys information and draws the audiences attention to important details; identify and analyze movement in a shot.

Key Terms
(Note: Most terms are defined within the activity text that follows. You may also refer to the glossary.) light source, key light, high-key lighting, low-key lighting, direction of light, backlighting, under lighting, side lighting, front lighting, intensity of light, quality of light, diffuse light, hard light, soft light, medium light, contrast, depth, texture, fixed camera, pan, tilt, zoom, mobile camera, dolly, tracking shot, crane

Lesson 2 Materials

Activity
Activity A Properties of Light

Print
Group Activity 3-4: Properties of Light Graphic Organizer 3-4: What Is Light Intensity? Graphic Organizer 3-5: Three Ways to Control Light Visual-Thinking Activity 3-5: Light and Shadow

DVD

Stills 3-4, A D: Light and Shadow Still 3-5: Putting Scout to Bed

Activity B Creating Contrast, Depth, and Texture Activity C Camera Mounts and Movements

Graphic Organizer 3-6: What Is Contrast? Graphic Organizer 3-7: What Are Depth and Texture? Graphic Organizer 3-8: Camera Movements Screening Sheet 3-1: Whats in Motion, the Camera or the Subject? Group Activity 3-6, Enrichment: Movement as Language 60

Film Clip 3-1: Whats in Motion, the Camera or the Subject?

Concept
Light draws attention to key, or principal, areas in the frame. Light and shadows are never accidental but are used by the director as conscious decisions to control what the audience sees.

Engage
Ask students to describe the light in their classroom. Ask: From where is the light in this room coming? What is the intensity of the electric lights in this room? Is the light harsh or soft or balanced? Depending on your classroom, the answers will vary. Most likely the light source is overhead uorescent xtures. Next, turn off the lights. Ask students to describe the lighting in the room now. If there is natural lighting, where is its source the windows? The hallway? Ask students to describe the intensity and quality of the natural lighting in the room. Compare it to the electric lights. What is the difference in quality? Emphasize this critical point: The use of light helps us to see. In motion pictures, the use of light controls not only what we see but also how we see people, places, and objects.

Explain & Explore

Distribute Group Activity 3-4: Properties of Light. The three simple activities on this sheet illustrate a few basic principles of light. Students will work with a partner and record their observations on the activity sheet. You may stop after each activity, or allow students to complete all three before discussing their observations. Students descriptions will vary; accept all reasonable responses. Then explain the basic scientic principles provided below. Science Principle in Activity A Light radiates, or spreads out in all directions, from its source. The lampshade controls the way the light radiates. Cinematographers understand this basic principle and know how to control the direction of light from its source. Science Principle in Activity B Light travels in a straight path unless something changes its course. The ball is opaque, and so light cannot travel through it. As a result, the ball blocks some but not all of the light and creates a shadow. As the object moves farther away from the light source, the amount of light radiation increases and the depth of the shadow created by the ball decreases. Cinematographers understand this as well. When photographing a shot for a lm, they plan the layout of the shot so that the light will strike certain objects but not others, creating shadows. Science Principle in Activity C The intensity, or quantity, of light creates different visual effects. The lower-wattage bulb creates a less sharp shadow than the higher-wattage bulb. (Note: Teachers can extend this activity to explore quality of light by repeating the steps in the activity using two different-colored bulbs pink and yellow, each of which will create slightly different visual effects.) Distribute and display Graphic Organizer 3-4: What Is Light Intensity? Explain that key light is the motivating source of light in a shot, meaning it is the major source of light. The sun, a window, or a lamp are each examples. Review additional concepts on the graphic organizer as suggested below. High-Key Lighting High-key lighting is a brightly lit shot in which more visual detail is obvious. The mood is more upbeat, cheerful. Low-Key Lighting Low-key lighting means less light is used, therefore the audience sees less visual detail. The shadows and high contrast create a mysterious or secretive mood or atmosphere. Distribute and display Graphic Organizer 3-5: Three Ways to Control Light. Now that students understand basic principles of light, they can apply this knowledge to moving-picture images. By controlling the direction of the light and its intensity and quality, cinematographers create various visual effects. Discuss the three key points on the graphic organizer as suggested below. Direction of Light The angle of the light creates different effects. Backlighting, for example, can minimize shadows or, if bright enough, can create a silhouette. Under lighting of a subject, from the bottom up, or side lighting creates different types of 61

shadows across the subject, which in turn affects how the audience sees it. Front lighting is placing the light source in front of the subject. Intensity of Light By controlling the amount of light, a cinematographer can control what the audience sees. Light intensity can focus attention on details of most importance while obscuring other, less-signicant details. Sometimes, however, the cinematographer wants to direct the audiences attention to the darkness. A person standing in shadows, for example, may suggest the persons dark or mysterious intentions. Quality of Light A cinematographer can create a soft lighting effect by diffusing the light so that it doesnt strike the subject directly. Hard beams of light, on the other hand, strike the subject directly and result in a harsh, even glaring effect. For clarication, ask students whether candlelight would be hard or soft, whether sunlight at noon on a cloudless day would be hard or soft. Encourage students to provide additional examples. Distribute Visual-Thinking Activity 3-5: Light and Shadow. Explain that by controlling the direction, intensity, and quality of light, the cinematographer tells a story visually. Stills 3-4, A D go with this activity. Display Stills 3-4, A D: Light and Shadow and discuss the questions. Recommended answers are below.

Answer Key for Visual-Thinking Activity 3-5: Light and Shadow

Still
A

Type of Light
Low-key

Light Source and Direction

The light source appears to be front and to the right because the childrens faces are illuminated, not in shadow. The area around the children, however, is in darkness, and less visual detail is seen. The low-key light and the shadows of bushes on their faces underscore the fact that they are spying on Atticus. The light source is to the right. Note the shadow of the lamp, the railing, and Atticuss chair on the jail wall. A light is directly on Atticus and as a result, he is the point of emphasis and the amount of visual detail is greater. Ewells face is half in shadow, indicating side lighting on his face. Scouts face is also illuminated. That means the light source is different for each character, one light coming from the right and the other from the left, allowing us to focus on both of them. Partially shadowing Ewells face controls how the audience sees him. He is not clearly revealed, and that underlines his intentions in this scene unclear. Does he mean to harm the children or not?

Low-key

Low-key

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Still
D

Type of Light
High-key

Light Source and Direction

Since we are inside the courthouse and it would be lit by overhead lamps, the lighting is bright, allowing the audience to see a great deal of visual detail, from the balcony to the ground oor. Foreground and background are equally lit so we can get a full grasp of the setting. There are few shadows.
1

Close
Ask: Why would a lmmaker want to control what the audience sees? Focus discussion on the main idea that by controlling the light, the lmmaker can convey certain meanings, such as a characters state of mind or the danger or mysteriousness of a setting or situation. Controlling light, therefore, is a critical element of composition.

Concept
Contrast, depth, and texture are three design elements a cinematographer may use to communicate with the audience, including creating points of emphasis and realistic detail.

Engage
Hold up two sheets of colored construction paper, one black and the other a different color red or green, or yellow. Ask students which of the two sheets are devoid of color. Most students are likely to say that the black sheet has no color. Challenge their thinking by asking Is black a color? Is white a color? Are there different shades of black? of white? Explain that lming in black and white does not mean the absence of color. A black-and-white palette has its own range of shades that contribute to meaningful and artistic images. That palette is limited to a variety of gray tones. Also, lming in black and white requires the careful use of light and camera angles. The characteristics or qualities associated with both color and black-and-white lm include the following contrast, depth, and texture.

Explain & Explore

Distribute and display Graphic Organizer 3-6: What Is Contrast? to introduce students to this basic principle of art. Review the concept on the graphic organizer as suggested below. Contrast In photography, contrast is the difference between light and dark areas. Illustrate this concept by placing the red, green, or yellow sheet of construction paper at but slightly angled on top of the black sheet. Contrast creates edges and lines. Whether diagonal, horizontal, vertical, or curved, lines focus the eye on points of emphasis. A cinematographer understands contrast and uses it to create points of emphasis within the movie frame. Distribute and display Graphic Organizer 3-7: What Are Depth and Texture? to introduce students to these two additional art concepts. Review the terms as suggested below. Depth In photography, depth is distance, or rather the illusion of distance. Illustrate this by folding the bottom third of the black sheet of paper onto itself. Black against black creates no contrast and no depth. A cinematographer understands principles of depth and creates the illusion of depth in a variety of ways. These include using lines to suggest distance, using lighting that casts shadows, and placing objects or people in the foreground, mid-ground, or background of a frame. Movement of objects within the frame also creates a sense of depth. An object becomes smaller when moving from foreground to background or larger when moving from background to foreground.

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Texture Texture is what something feels like when you touch it. Again, use the construction paper to illustrate the concept. Both sheets of construction paper are at and smooth. Smoothness is a texture. In real life, a person could pick up a rock and feel its roughness, slip a hand into water and feel its silkiness. In photography, however, texture must be suggested through visual design or close focus. The reason is that a rock is a three-dimensional object but a photograph or movie screen is, like the construction paper, two-dimensional. In photography, texture is the graininess of an image. Grain creates patterns and shapes that give the illusion of a variety of textures. Emphasize that both depth and texture create realism in composition, so that the audience members forget they are looking at a at movie screen and instead feel as if the image on the screen is three-dimensional. Display Still 3-5: Putting Scout to Bed to illustrate the three key concepts of contrast, depth, and texture. Discuss the photograph as suggested below. Still 3-5 : Putting Scout to Bed Contrast: Light in the left side of the frame is focused on Atticus. He is in the background and smaller than Calpurnia, who is in the foreground, just outside the door. But his dark suit against the light hallway focuses attention on him. Although Cal is mostly in shadow, the way the light falls on her skirt, collar, and hat creates contrast. Depth: The placement of Atticus in the background, making him smaller, and Calpurnia in the foreground, making her larger, creates depth, as does the brightness of the light xture in the hall. Also, the larger door in the foreground framing the smaller door in the background adds depth. Texture: Clapboards and shadows create texture, but so does the fabric of Cals skirt and the wooden grate across the screen door. The screen itself creates a sort of fuzzy graininess that is textural.

Close
Ask students why a director might choose to lm in black and white. Share with students this information: In 1961, when this lm was made, most movies (but not all) were lmed in color. Director Robert Mulligan has said that he could not imagine lming this particular story, To Kill a Mockingbird, in color, in part because the use of black and white worked so well to communicate the dramatic themes of the lm, including the mystery of Boo Radley and the racism of Maycomb. In addition, he felt black and white conveys a sense of realism. Ask students to suggest other reasons that directors would choose to use black and white, such as to portray good versus evil.

Concept
Movement creates the illusion of three dimensions, introduces information to the audience, and often draws attention to important details within the frame.

Engage
Share this information about movement with students: Just as camera angles and distances and lighting are visual elements in composition, so, too, is movement. Movement creates the illusion of three dimensions, allows the director to tell a story from multiple viewpoints, and adds visual interest. Movement introduces information about the subject and allows the cinematographer to show action from multiple points of view. Motion of a gure (either human or object) within the frame can also direct our attention to an important detail and create suspense.

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Explain & Explore

Explain that there are two basic methods of capturing movement on lm: 1. Filming the subject as it moves within the frame while the camera remains in a stationary position 2. Moving the camera itself to follow the subject Distribute and display suggested below. Graphic Organizer 3-8: Camera Movements. Review key points on the graphic organizer as
1

Fixed Camera The camera is stationary, in that it is mounted in one place. The camera itself, however, can pan, meaning it moves from side to side; tilt, meaning it moves up and down; or zoom, meaning it moves forward or backward. Mobile Camera The camera is mounted on a platform that can move around the set. A number of devices enable the camera to move forward, backward, to circle, or to sweep. A dolly is a type of platform with wheels. It allows the camera to move throughout the set. A tracking shot allows the camera to move along with the subject at various speeds. The lm crew actually lays rails to allow the camera to roll smoothly. The camera operator may ride on the platform with the camera, or the crew may operate the camera by means of remote control. A crane shot is one where the camera is mounted on a boom or a mechanical arm and so can move through the air. Cinematographers often use this mechanical means for getting an overhead, or high-angle, shot of a large crowd, such as at concerts or rallies. Distribute Screening Sheet 3-1: Whats in Motion, the Camera or the Subject? Review the directions. Encourage students to jot their observations while viewing the clips. View Film Clip 3-1: Whats in Motion, the Camera or the Subject? Discuss students observations. Answers are below.

Answer Key for Screening Sheet 3-1: Whats in Motion, the Camera or the Subject?

Shot
The staircase from The Cameraman The chariot race from Ben Hur

Describe the movement.

A man runs down many ights of stairs and then partway up again.

Fixed or Mobile Camera?

Mobile and xed. The camera follows the mans actions, slowly moving downward as he descends the stairs, stopping, then moving upward as he climbs back up. Mobile and xed. The mobile camera is one that moves with the chariot drivers, keeping pace with them. The xed camera shots are those where the horses and chariots pass into and out of the frame. Mobile. The camera, positioned overhead, moves slowly in all shots. In the nal shot, the camera is xed but zooms to a close up of the teenage boy who is snapping his ngers. Fixed. In each shot, the camera remains in the same position.

A man is driving a chariot in a race. He is moving within the frame. Then he is lling the frame. At one point, the chariot seems to roll over the camera on the ground.

Shots of the city from West Side Story The shadow from To Kill a Mockingbird

There are two types of movements here overhead movement, as if a plane is ying over the city, and the movements of cars on the bridge and in the streets and of children playing in a playground.

Jem crawls on the porch, and a shadow enters the frame then moves out of the frame

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Emphasize this key point: Movement of a gure within the frame can focus the viewers attention on an important detail. For example, in the scene where Jem, Scout, and Dill are spying on Boo, Jem is staring through the window. He at rst does not see but the audience does the movement of a shadow into the frame. Movement within the frame allows the audience to see what the character does not and so creates suspense. In that same scene, when the shadow moves away and out of the frame, the audience knows that the immediate danger has passed.

Enrichment
Explain the assignment by sharing the information below with students. Now that you understand basic camera movements and have practiced identifying movements in shots, you are ready to search for and identify examples of movement in To Kill a Mockingbird. In this activity you will work in a group to select two shots from the lm to analyze. You will make a presentation to the class, rst explaining the use of movement and then screening the shots. (Note: Some teachers may wish to adapt this assignment by allowing students to select scenes from lms other than To Kill a Mockingbird. In this way, they will apply what they have learned to other viewing experiences.) Distribute Group Activity 3-6, Enrichment: Movement as Language. Teachers may wish to conduct this activity with small groups in class or assign this as independent screening. The activity requires the use of a DVD player and a DVD copy of To Kill a Mockingbird. While examples of movement from this lm will vary with each group, depending on the scenes they select, below are recommended scenes that provide excellent examples of movement. DVD chapter 6 DVD chapter 8 DVD chapter 15 DVD chapter 16 Atticuss Watch (Camera moves through the window into Scouts room.) Boo Radleys House (Subjects move within the frame.) The Best Shot in This County (Subjects move within the frame.) At the Robinsons (Camera moves as the car drives away.)

Close
Emphasize that movement within a frame is never accidental but an intentional decision of the director and the cinematographer as a means of communicating to the audience.

Testing Light Sources and Positions

Conduct an experiment that tests this statement: The intensity of light and the position of the light source create different visual effects. Find out how to proceed by going to The Story of Movies Web site at www.storyofmovies.org.

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Teacher Overview
Just as the cinematographer controls the camera, telling the audience where to look, so too does the film editor shape what and how the audience sees. This lesson presents the final two elements of film composition editing and sound. Editing is all about choice. To create from streams of raw footage a story that progresses logically and maintains the audiences interest, the editor considers three things the intended meaning of the scene, pacing, and continuity. In activities A and B, students learn that pacing involves the duration of a shot or scene, and that continuity is piecing together the shots and scenes so that a logical chronology emerges. Both are necessary not only for a story to make sense but also to create suspense and keep the audience engaged. In activities C and D, students review basic characteristics of sound and use that knowledge to better understand how music and sound contribute to the overall meaning of the film. Music and sound convey information and affect the response of the audience. To achieve this effect requires careful planning or designing of the soundtrack. Too many sounds heard simultaneously will confuse the audience and just revert to noise.

Learning Outcomes
Students will: define basic terms associated with editing techniques, including montage; explain the meaning of continuity in a scene; identify transitional devices the editor uses to move smoothly from one scene to another; define four principles of music: rhythm, pitch, dynamics, and tone; understand that sound, like music, has volume and pitch and must be carefully controlled in order to convey information or affect audience response; distinguish between visible, or on-screen, and invisible, or off-screen, sounds.

Key Terms
(Note: Most terms are defined within the activity text that follows. You may also refer to the glossary.) rough cut, pacing, reel time, real time, transition, montage, continuity, sequence, cut, fade in, fade out, dissolve, rhythm, dynamics, pitch, tone, amplitude, sound editing, sound editor

Lesson 3 Materials

Activity
Activity A Making a Scene Activity B Understanding Continuity Activity C How Music Communicates

Print
Graphic Organizer 3-9: Editing Decisions None

DVD

Group Activity 3-7: Time, Continuity, and Meaning

None

Graphic Organizer 3-10: What Is Music Composition? Screening Sheet 3-2: Musical Options for Lawrence of Arabia Graphic Organizer 3-11: What Is Sound? Graphic Organizer 3-12: Visible and Invisible Sounds Screening Sheet 3-3: Sound Bytes 67 Film Clip 3-3: Sound Bytes Film Clip 3-2: Musical Options for Lawrence of Arabia

Activity D Sound Effects

Concept
The lm editor works with shots. He or she links shots together to form sequences and scenes. A number of factors determine which shots the editor will select and the order in which they will play in the nal lm.

Engage
Share the following quotation from director Elia Kazan with students, then use the guided discussion to test their listening and critical-thinking skills. Climaxes in life go clickety-click and theyre over. When a lm director comes to a crucially important moment, he can stretch it, go from one close-up to another, to the people who are dramatically involved or to the people who are watching the action, back and forth, back and forth. In this way time is stretched for dramatic emphasis. Guided Discussion 1. What do you think the director means when he says climaxes in life go clickety-click and theyre over? They happen quickly. 2. How does a director stretch time, in other words, slow it down, during really important scenes in a lm? By using close-up shots of the people involved in the action or watching the action. 3. Why would a director want to slow down the time? Why not let the dramatic moments on the screen go clickety-click? To build suspense and get the audience wondering what will happen next, and also to emphasize and perhaps to savor the moment.

Explain & Explore

Review, if necessary, the lm editors role. (See chapter 2, lesson 4.) Share with students this information about what an editor does in the studio during post-production: A feature-length lm of approximately 2 hours running time may generate 20 to 40 hours of raw footage. It is from this raw material that the director and lm editor select the shots they think work best to tell the story. Then they assemble them into a rough cut. The rough cut is still not the nal lm. The director and editor may tighten the pace still more or reshoot a shot or scene. It is all part of the process of telling the story visually, using the best images, the best transitions, and best sound possible. Distribute and display Graphic Organizer 3-9: Editing Decisions to illustrate how the editor, working with the director, makes decisions about assembling the nal lm. Review the key concepts on the graphic organizer as suggested below. Meaning Poorly lit or poorly acted shots may be easily discarded on the cutting-room oor. But the editor is not just looking at lm quality or ne acting when deciding which shots to use. Remind students that a director may shoot the same scene multiple times and may use multiple cameras in different positions. Each camera records the action from a different angle. In the editing room, the director selects which shots to use based on his intended meaning. He or she may decide, for example, to show a reaction shot (see glossary or review if necessary denition as presented in chapter 2, lesson 3, activity B) to convey to the audience that a character is frightened. Or the director may decide to show a long shot at the beginning so that the audience understands just where the action is taking place. Continuity Continuity creates the impression that events ow smoothly in sequence, one after the other. Remind students that a director usually does not photograph a movie in sequence. That task of selecting and combining shots in a logical order happens in the studio. (Students will study continuity in more detail in activity B.) Pacing Pacing is the overall rhythm of the scene. If a scene runs too long, the audience will become bored. If the scene runs too quickly, the audience may not take in all the information the director provides. Either way, the directors intended meaning and effect may fail. Two tools the lm editor uses to create a well-paced movie are reel time and transitions. Reel time is the compression or expansion of time. Most movies, though not all, alter time. In some instances, multiple shots and scenes compress time, or shorten it, so that an hour or a month or even years occur on the screen in minutes. 68

In other instances, the shots and scenes may extend time, drawing it out for emphasis and suspense. Filmmakers create reel time in the editing room. They may slow time down by adding shots. They may speed time up by using many images cut together, suggesting the passage of time. Transitions are visual effects that bridge one shot or scene and another. One use of transitions is to compress real time into reel time. A montage, for example, is a series of shots spliced together using transitions. Events that in real time might take weeks can be compressed into seconds or minutes on screen. A second use of transitions is to move smoothly from one shot to another, one scene to another. Transitional devices include cuts, where one shot or scene ends abruptly and another begins; fades, where the image evenly appears fades in from a black screen or disappears fades out to a black screen, and dissolves, where one image slowly fades out while another image gradually fades in, or appears.
1

Close
Share this information with students: The editors job of assembling shots into scenes, and scenes into a well-paced story may take as much as three months. At this point, the lm is called a rough cut, because even then it is not complete. The nal cut may take additional months.

Concept
Continuity is the arrangement of shots to suggest sequential action.

Engage
First, write the word continuity on the chalkboard or overhead projector and ask students to write a denition of the word in their notebooks. Do not provide any prompts. After a minute or so, add this second word to the board or projector screen continuous. Ask students to dene this word as well. Once they have nished, ask which word was more familiar and therefore easier for them to dene. Continuous means uninterrupted in time. Although continuity is related in meaning, in lm it refers to the order in which images are arranged. The activity that follows will help students understand lm continuity.

Explain & Explore

On the chalkboard or overhead projector, write these three shots: Jem tells Scout hes got to go back for his pants. Scout waits for Jem, counting to 10. A shotgun blast shatters the silence.

Ask students if they recall this scene in the lm. It occurs early in act 2, after Jem, Scout, and Dill have been spying on Boo Radley in the Radley backyard. As they escape, Jems pants get snagged on the wire fencing and he wiggles out of them. Ask what happens next. The answer is that Jem joins Scout and then scurries back to get his pants, returns with his pants, and hurriedly puts them on. For a brief moment, however, between the gunshot and Jems reappearance unharmed, neither Scout nor the audience knows what has happened to Jem. Now, rearrange the order of the shots and ask students how ordering the shots in this way would change the meaning of the scene. A shotgun blast shatters the silence. Jem tells Scout hes got to go back for his pants. Scout waits for Jem, counting to 10.

Ask which arrangement is more suspenseful and why. If the shot occurs before Jem goes for his pants, then the audience doesnt worry that he is the one shot. 69

Distribute Group Activity 3-7: Time, Continuity, and Meaning. Allow time for students to complete the activity of arranging shots in two different orders to alter meaning. Then, as a class, discuss their arrangements. Some students may frame the scene with the image of the grandfather clock, for example. The clock images, however, need not open and close the sequence. The long shot of the empty street at night may either open or close the sequence. The man may sit up in bed at the sound of the baby crying, which suggests one meaning; or the man may sit up in bed at the sound of the rock smashing the window, which would suggest a slightly different situation. Students may also discuss whose hand the intruders or the mans is on the doorknob.

Close
Explain that continuity also involves making sure that information dovetails with what was presented previously. A lot of bloopers are errors in continuity. For example, a character is wearing a red hat in one scene and then suddenly it switches to blue.

Concept
A function of lm music is to communicate relationships among the characters and to stimulate emotional response in the audience.

Engage
Write this question on the chalkboard or an overhead projector: What is music? Encourage students to express their ideas, prompting them as needed with additional questions, such as: Are the sounds animals make music? Is humming music? Is the sound of trafc music? Assign students to one of ve groups. Each group will attempt to answer one of the ve questions below. Allow students 10 minutes to brainstorm their questions and formulate answers with other members of their group. What is the purpose of music? Why do people listen to music? What type of music is pleasant? What type of music is unpleasant or upsetting? How is music different from other environmental sounds or noises? Discuss student responses, one group at a time. Most likely, responses will vary not only within the individual groups but also among the groups. For example, not all students will agree on the type of music that is pleasing (or upsetting). Likewise, most students may not agree on a basic denition of what music is. Encourage all reasonable responses.

Explain & Explore

Distribute and display Graphic Organizer 3-10: What Is Music Composition? to introduce students to the four basic principles of music. Review each concept on the graphic organizer as suggested below. Rhythm Rhythm, or beat, is the pattern and duration of sound. Dynamics Dynamics is the strength of sound, the degree of volume, the loudness or softness of sound in relation to the mood being communicated. What moods do you associate with loud music? with soft music? Pitch Pitch is the highness or lowness of sound. A melody, for example, may move upward or downward in pitch or stay the same. 70

Tone Tone is also called timbre. It is the color or quality of sound, the resonance, determined by the type of instrument being played. For example, the sound of a string being plucked resonates differently than the strumming sound of an electric guitar, even though they might be playing the same note. Likewise the ring of a bell makes a different sound than the blare of a trumpet. Tone might be harsh or soft, tinny or clacking, murmurous or trilling, buzzing or dinging. Introduce the screening activity. This lm clip is from a lm released in theaters during the same year as To Kill a Mockingbird. The title is Lawrence of Arabia, and it tells the true story of a British ofcer, T. E. Lawrence, who fought against Turkey in World War I. The lm won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1962. Students may be interested in knowing that To Kill a Mockingbird was also nominated for Best Picture. Distribute Screening Sheet 3-2: Musical Options for Lawrence of Arabia. The lm clip has three segments. Each segment shows the same shot but with different audio effects. First, the shot plays without any soundtrack at all. Next, the shot plays with three different types of music score. Finally, the shot plays with the original soundtrack. The segments are quite short, less than two minutes each. Teachers should pause the DVD after each segment to allow students time to complete the chart. View Film Clip 3-2: Musical Options for Lawrence of Arabia. Discuss student observations after each segment. Answers will vary. Recommended responses are below.

Describe what you see.

At rst, it is unclear what is being shown. After a few moments, however, students will recognize that this is a wide expanse of sky and desert and two riders are approaching one another on camels. Each raises their whips. They are riding toward, then passing one another.

Describe the mood or emotion this scene suggests. Provide a reason for your answer.
Identifying the mood is difcult, in part, because there is no soundtrack. Some students may recognize this. Others may attempt to describe the mood as happy or exciting if they interpret the two riders as relieved or anxious to see one another. Others may describe the mood as suspenseful, fearful, or threatening if they perceive the riders to be charging one another.

Musical Option 1: A Waltz

The rst is a 19th-century waltz. It is graceful, even restful. The emotional response might be peaceful or relaxing. You feel as if youre sailing over the sand to the rhythm of the camel.

Musical Option 2: Banjo

The second type of music has a more cheerful tone created by the banjo. Its rhythm is more lively, quicker-paced than the waltz. Again, the emotional responses will vary. Some students may cite humorous, happy, or goofy. The music makes you notice the gawky, bouncing gait of the camel.

Musical Option 3: The Orchestra

The third type of music actually comes from the soundtrack for Jaws. The pitch and tempo suggest suspense or danger. The music swells dramatically as the riders near one another. Emotional responses might include fearful, suspenseful, mysterious. The music drives you forward and makes you anticipate the moment of meeting.

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What emotion does the music suggest?

Identifying the mood is easier when the music underscores the images. In this case, the mood is neither relaxing nor cheerfully bouncy nor mysterious. It is instead inspiring, heroic, sweeping, climactic.

How is this music score different from the other scores you just heard?
The original soundtrack differs from the other types of music in part 2 in that it is more gallant or dramatic. The music has layers of instruments, and the dynamics grow to a climax.

Close
Explain that sometimes a composer creates an original score for a soundtrack. Other times, the composer researches music that has already been composed. This is especially true when a lm is set in a particular historical period. A lm set during World War II, for example, might use music popular during that time to help the audience feel as if they are actually back in the 1940s. If someone were to make a lm about the life of a famous rock-n-roll star, the stars music would likely be featured in the soundtrack.

Concept
The soundtrack of a lm communicates to the audience in one of two ways by conveying information and by creating a mood or an emotional response in the audience.

Engage
Sound effects in a movie soundtrack are not always what they appear to be. Share these two examples with students: In the opening shot of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones is running for his life. No one is chasing him, but something is a huge boulder. The sound that boulder makes on-screen is not from a boulder at all. It was made by the sound editors car, a Honda Civic, rolling down his driveway! In the lm Star Wars, Luke Skywalker travels by land cruiser. Because this is a science ction movie, there were no real land cruisers to record for the lms soundtrack. The sound editor or designer created the unique sound by recording through a vacuum-cleaner pipe the trafc on a Los Angeles freeway!

Explain & Explore

List the following words on the chalkboard or overhead projector and ask students which, if any, are sound effects. Dog barking Breathing Flute melody Wind Car horn Clock ticking Silence Whos there? Cat hissing

Explain that on a lm soundtrack there are three kinds of sounds dialogue, music, and sound effects. Of the items listed above, Whos there? would not be a sound effect but, rather, dialogue. Likewise, the ute melody would be music and not a sound effect. The absence of sound, or silence, is also a carefully planned part of a soundtrack when it occurs.

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Explore with students how sound is both similar to and different from music. Share this information: Both sound and music are vibrations. A vibrating object pulses or moves, and in moving, it creates sound waves that travel through the air. A vibrating object might be a plucked string, as on a guitar, or a hammer plunked against a wire, as in a piano. A vibrating object can also be a bat cracked against a baseball, chalk pressed and dragged across a chalkboard, a st pressing down upon an eggshell, and so on. Like music, sound also has rhythm, dynamics, pitch, and tone. Also like music, sounds purpose in a lm is to convey information and to trigger an emotional response in the audience. Explain that sound can have both literal and gurative meanings. Whether a dog barking is just a dog barking or a warning of danger or of an intruder will depend, in part, on the context of the sound. Ask students to suggest possible gurative meanings for the items listed on the chalkboard or overhead projector. What might wind symbolize, for example? Some students may suggest it depends on the type of wind is it howling, is it gently blowing, is it roaring as a tornado might? Discussion along these lines will introduce students to the complexity of sound and the various visual associations we make with sound. Distribute and display Graphic Organizer 3-11: What Is Sound? Explain that sound is a vibration that travels through the air. Sound can be compared to a wave. Review with students the following characteristics of sound as suggested on the graphic organizer. Wavelength This is the distance between any point on the wave and the same point on the next wave. Wavelength determines the quality or tone of music. A pleasant sound has a regular wave pattern. The pattern is repeated over and over. Noise, however, has an irregular wave pattern. Amplitude This is the strength or power of a wave. The more energy the sound wave has, the louder the sound will be. Intense sound is loud. Lower-energy waves result in softer sounds. Frequency Frequency is the number of times the wavelength occurs in one second. The faster the sound source vibrates, the higher the frequency. Frequency determines pitch. A lions roar has a slower frequency than a birds chirp. As a result, the lions roar is a low-pitched sound. The birds chirp is a high-pitched sound. Emphasize this important point about sound editing: A soundtrack may include many different types of sounds. However, three or four sounds playing at the same amplitude and frequency at the same time is just noise. The sound editor carefully controls or orchestrates all sounds on the soundtrack. Distribute and display Graphic Organizer 3-12: Visible and Invisible Sounds. Discuss the key concepts on the graphic organizer as suggested below. Visible Sounds These are sounds that relate directly to action on the screen. For example, a character slams a door. If the slamming sound is missing from the soundtrack, the audience will notice. Invisible Sounds These are sounds that are heard but not seen. Such sounds add credibility to a scene crickets singing on a summer night, trafc roaring outside an ofce window, wind howling through trees. Invisible sound creates the illusion of a real world beyond the boundaries of the frame. Effects The effect of sound effects are varied to create mood and atmosphere and to create realism so that the audience experiences what the characters experience. Not all lm sound effects are natural or realistic, however. Sound editors at times exaggerate a sound for emphasis or invent a sound to meet a directors particular need. Whatever its source, sound in general adds levels of meaning to a scene and may inuence the audiences attitude or emotional response. Distribute Screening Sheet 3-3: Sound Bytes. Review the key sections on the sheet to ensure students understand what they are to observe during the activity. View Film Clip 3-3: Sound Bytes. Depending on the ability of the class, teachers may play one segment, then stop the DVD to allow students to record and discuss their observations before continuing to the next segment. Recommended answers follow. 73

Answer Key for Screening Sheet 3-3: Sound Bytes

Film Clip
A. Scout and Atticus on the porch swing B. Children in the courthouse C. Children at the fence

Describe the type of sounds, then identify each as visible or invisible.

Footsteps visible; slamming screen door visible; voices visible; birds chirping invisible

Describe the intended effect of these sounds on the audience.

To add realism to the scene

Footsteps and shufing visible; voices visible; Dill bumping against door visible; voices inside courtroom invisible; music invisible Childrens footsteps visible; door opening invisible; clunk or bump invisible; swing creaking invisible, then visible; crickets invisible Train in distance invisible; Jem scufing over the porch rail and brushing against bushes visible; busted fence board swinging visible; crickets invisible; screen door opening and closing invisible; Atticuss voice invisible; shotgun blast invisible; dog barking invisible Music invisible; branches scraping invisible; bird cries invisible; Jems voice visible; footsteps on sidewalk visible; wind invisible; porch swing hitting the house invisible and then visible

To add realism

To build suspense and to trigger audience reaction

D. Jem returning for his pants

To add realism (e.g., screen door opening to suggest Atticus has stepped outside to look for the kids) and to build suspense (e.g., shotgun)

E. Jem alone at night

Branches, wind, and banging of the swing add suspense. The bird cry adds levels of meaning. The call is sudden, startling. Weve not heard it at all throughout the lm until this point. It reects Jems fears. Some students may also suggest it triggers a reaction in the audience.

Close
What is a sound clich? A clich is a word or phrase repeated so often it becomes boring. Tall, dark, and handsome is a clich, as is this opening sentence for a mystery novel: It was a dark and stormy night. Sounds and images can also be clichs. Share the examples below with your students, then encourage them to provide other examples they might have observed in movies or on television. The dog always snarls at the villain. On a dark night in the woods, a wolf howls. Bombs always have beeping timers.

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Lesson 4 Putting It All TogetherAnalyzing a Scene

We are storytellers, and we dont do it just with words.
Conrad Hall, cinematographer

Teacher Overview
In activities A and B, students learn the meaning of objective and subjective points of view and how the camera captures these points of view. Then they practice distinguishing between explicit and implicit information. In activity C, students apply what they have learned about six elements of film composition by analyzing those elements in a single scene. The final screening activity of the chapter is challenging. Rather than isolate specific elements in shots, students now view an entire scene from beginning to end. Multiple things happen at once on the screen and should be noticeable camera angles and distances, use of light and shadow, movement, cuts from one shot to another, pacing and continuity, point-of-view shots and reaction shots, and sound. As students have progressed through the curriculum chapters, they have become more fluent in film language. Therefore, they should use the film-specific terms in their discussions and written analysis on the Screening Sheets.

Learning Outcomes
Students will: explain the difference between two cinematic points of view objective and subjective; identify explicit information in the scene; make inferences about implicit information, based on film composition; analyze elements of composition in a single scene; use film language to describe and interpret the scene.

Key Terms
(Note: Most terms are defined within the activity text that follows. You may also refer to the glossary.) objective point of view, subjective point of view, juxtaposition of images, mise-en-scne

Lesson 4 Materials

Activity
Activity A Cinematic Points of View

Print
Graphic Organizer 3-13: Point of View (POV) Screening Sheet 3-4: Jem and Bob Ewell Screening Sheet 3-5: The Hole in the Old Tree Trunk

DVD

Film Clip 3-4: Jem and Bob Ewell Film Clip 3-5: The Hole in the Old Tree Trunk

Activity B Explicit and Implicit Information Activity C Mise-en-Scne

Screening Sheet 3-6: The Longest Journey

Film Clip 3-6: The Longest Journey

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Concept
By means of cinematic point of view, the lmmaker not only controls what the viewer sees but how.

Engage
Ask a student to stand up and describe what he or she sees in the classroom. This is likely to include the backs of students heads, the chalkboard, and the teacher looking at the class. Next, invite the student to come to the front of the room and sit at the teachers desk or stand just behind the teacher at the desk. The teacher might ask the student: Do you see what I see? Ask the student how his or her view of the classroom has changed in this new position. Make a link between this simple experiment and the position of a camera when photographing a shot. Students have already learned that camera distances and angles can change how we view a scene. The position of the camera in relationship to the subject also inuences not only what we see but how.

Explain & Explore

Distribute and display Graphic Organizer 3-13: Point of View (POV). Explain that cinematic point of view (POV) differs from literary point of view in a signicant way: In lm, POV refers to the position of the camera. The camera may shift from objective to subjective POV depending on the dramatic situation and the lmmakers creative style and intended meaning. As a result, the viewer at times is an observer and at times a participant, seeing the action through the eyes of one of the characters. Review key concepts, as suggested below. Objective Point of View The position of the camera suggests an emotional distance from the action. The audience views the action as if through a window. Subjective Point of View The position of the camera suggests an emotional link to a character. The audience sees the action through the eyes of a character. Ensure that students understand subjective POV by asking them to explain the difference between a close-up shot and a subjective point-of-view shot. A close-up can be objective. The camera moves close to the subject to focus the audiences attention on a specic detail that the lmmaker believes is important. A subjective POV shot, on the other hand, positions the camera so that the audience sees the action from the perspective of one of the characters. Share these two examples of subjective POV with students: A shot of a pitcher on the mound, as seen from the crouching position of the catcher: The audience doesnt see the catcher, but is subjective POV. A shot of the ball in the pitchers hand, showing the placement of his ngers on the ball, is a close-up. If the camera is in the position of a high-angle, suggesting the pitcher is looking down at the ball in his hand, then that CU would be subjective. Add this nal piece of information: Very often POV cannot be determined by examining a single frame or shot. POV is often communicated through the juxtaposition of images how one shot precedes or follows another. Example: A shot shows the pitcher looking down at his glove (objective). The next shot shows a CU of the ball in the pitchers hand from the angle of the pitchers eyes (subjective). The rst shot suggests the pitcher is looking down. The second shot implies this is what the pitcher is looking at. Distribute Screening Sheet 3-4: Jem and Bob Ewell. Review the Screening Sheet, including the questions, so that students understand what they are to observe and record. Have students work with a partner. View Film Clip 3-4: Jem and Bob Ewell. Discuss students observations. Recommended answers follow.

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Answer Key for Screening Sheet 3-4: Jem and Bob Ewell
1. When the scene begins, the camera shows Scout asleep. Where is the camera, and what is the point of view? The camera is on the audiences side of the car, looking in. We know this because Scout is in the upper portion of the frame and we see the car. This is objective POV. When David and Jem wave at each other, where is the camera, and what is the point of view? The camera is behind David, as if in the Robinsons front yard. This is objective POV because the audience sees both boys interacting. When Bob Ewell appears, the audience sees him from Jems subjective point of view. How do you know this? This happens in part through editing. The camera shows Jem looking at something, then the next shot shows Ewell approaching the car. The audience infers through editing that what Jem was looking at was Ewell. The subjective POV is also evident because it is shot from inside the car. The audience sees what Jem sees through the windows Ewells face and hands pressed against the glass. Identify a shot from Bob Ewells point of view. Who is he looking at? How do you know this is Bob Ewells point of view? Emphasize that although the camera shows Ewell looking at Scout and then Jem, the subjective POV doesnt happen until Atticus comes outside. Then the audience sees Atticus from an angle slightly below and as if through a blurry pinhole. This is Ewells POV. The suggestion here from Ewells staggering behavior is that he is intoxicated, and thus the blurry pinhole is Ewell trying to focus on his enemy, Atticus. When the car pulls away, the audience sees Bob Ewell staggering in the roadway with st raised. What point of view is this objective or subjective? Provide a reason for your answer. Again this occurs in part through editing. First the audience sees the car pulling away, with Jem looking out the back window. The next shot shows the audience what Jem sees from that window Ewell in the road, swearing, growing smaller as the car pulls away. The POV is subjective.

2. 3.

4.

5.

Emphasize an important aspect of point of view and movement: In this last shot, as described in question 5 above, movement helps to communicate the point of view. If Ewell did not grow smaller, then the camera would be xed and simply showing Ewell standing there on the road. By moving the camera back, the audience understands that this is what Jem sees as Atticus drives away. It also conveys information about what Jem is thinking he is frightened by what has happened, and that is why he continues to stare at Ewell.

Close
Ask students to comment on the quote below by producer Alan Pakula. Specically, ask students to explain what is meant by childs point of view. The childs point of view makes it terrifying. If it had been shot with just a great big close-up of Ewell, it would not have had any of the power of seeing it through the windshield from Jems point of view.

Concept
Filmmakers tell stories with both explicit and implicit information. Filmmakers create implicit information through editing, in the juxtaposition or sequence of images and sounds.

Engage
Remind students that all the lessons in this chapter focus on lm language. Film language is all the techniques lmmakers use to tell a story on the screen including camera distance, angle, and movement; editing; and sound. These elements allow lmmakers to tell a story in a variety of ways. How the lmmaker tells the story is called style. In this activity, students will analyze how a lmmaker uses these elements to create both explicit and implicit meaning in a scene from To Kill a Mockingbird.

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Explain & Explore

Dene explicit and implicit information. Explicit information Explicit information is directly stated or shown. The composition of a frame can clearly reveal explicit information. For example, rain running down a windowpane is explicit because the audience can see the rain. Implicit information Implicit information is implied through visual or sound details. For example, an image of a person whose clothes are wet and who is holding an umbrella suggests that it is raining, even though the audience does not actually see the rain. A rooster crowing off-screen implies that it is dawn. Implicit information is also suggested through a sequence of shots edited one after the other. For example, in To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem nds a medal in the hollow of the tree trunk. He looks up, and the next shot shows the Radley house. The suggestion is that someone in the Radley house placed the medal in the tree trunk. Distribute Screening Sheet 3-5: The Hole in the Old Tree Trunk. Review the Screening Sheet, including the questions, to ensure students understand what they are to observe and record. You may need to show this clip twice. Give students time after the screening to complete the Think More About It section. View Film Clip 3-5: The Hole in the Old Tree Trunk. Discuss students observations. Recommended answers are below.

Answer Key for Screening Sheet 3-5: The Hole in the Old Tree Trunk

What do you see and hear in this scene?

A long shot of Jem as he walks like an Egyptian past the old tree; Scout trying to imitate her brothers walk; hand reaching into the hole in the tree and retrieving the carved wooden gures; Mr. Radley cementing the hole in the tree.

What do you not see or hear?

You dont see the person who placed the carved gures into the tree hole. You also dont see the cars or birds that you hear.

What is explicit in this scene?

It is daytime. Jem tells Scout what he learned in school that day. Scout discovers something in the tree. The children believe the carved gures look just like themselves. Mr. Radley wishes to ll in the hole.

What is implicit?
Boo has carved the gures and placed them in the tree. Some students may extend this further, suggesting Boo has been watching the children and wants them to nd the carved gures. Also implicit is Mr. Radleys annoyance with the children (he scowls at them) and perhaps even with his son Boo. He probably wishes the children would not interact with Boo, suggested by his actions of lling in the hole. The children are afraid of Mr. Radley.

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Think More About It 1. What do you learn about Mr. Radley that you did not know up to this point? We see what his face looks like for the rst time. He apparently knows someone has been leaving odds and ends in the hole in the tree, and he wishes to stop that from happening. 2. Identify a long shot and a close-up in this scene and explain what information these shots present. The long shot is of Jem walking up the street and again of Jem helping to arrange Scouts feet. The long shot allows the audience to see Scout at the moment she notices something is in the hole. The long shot also includes the Radley house in the background, so Boos presence is suggested by this. There are three close-ups the gures in the tree, Mr. Radleys face, and the hole being plastered. The rst suggests a sense of wonder; the other two, meanness. Why does the lmmaker use both objective and subjective POV in this scene? The objective POV is the long shot of the children. The subjective POVs are the hand reaching into the hole and the close-up of the two carved gures, as well as the hole being plastered and Mr. Radleys face. The subjective POVs suggest we are looking through the eyes of Scout and Jem. Using both POVs conveys necessary information (where we are, what is happening) but also draws the audience closer to the action and the childrens feelings.

3.

Close
Ask students to answer this question: How does a lmmaker control what the audience may think or feel by controlling the camera? Discussion should focus on where the camera is placed in relation to the subject, including angles and distances.

Concept
Mise-en-scne is a type of analysis in which the student identies elements of composition in a single scene, explaining how the elements work together to communicate mood and meaning.

Engage
On the chalkboard or overhead projector, list elements of composition studied earlier in this chapter to serve as a review and guide for your students in this activity. These include: 1. Arrangement of objects or people within the frame 2. Camera-to-subject distances and camera-to-subject angles 3. Elements of lighting, including contrast, depth, texture, direction, intensity, and quality 4. Camera movement in relation to the subject both xed and mobile 5. Editing shots into a scene, including transitions and emphasis on meaning, pacing, continuity, and point of view 6. Sound elements both music and sound effects

Explain & Explore

Explain that in this activity, students may work alone or with a partner to analyze a single scene from To Kill a Mockingbird. In their analysis they will identify as many elements of composition as they can. Tell them that they can use any of their notes and/or the graphic organizers from this chapter. (Note: This is a challenging activity that requires students to identify layers of visual and sound symbols. Teachers may wish to run the lm clip more than once, allowing time between the viewings for students to access their notes. To expect students to complete all answers on the Screening Sheet in one viewing is not recommended.) Distribute Screening Sheet 3-6: The Longest Journey. Review the Word Builder terms and each section of the sheet so that students fully understand what they are to observe and record. Remind them that in identifying and analyzing 79

elements, they should use wherever possible the lm-specic terms they have learned in this chapter. This includes identifying shots by their lm terms, such as close-up, high-angle, high-key lighting, etc. View Film Clip 3-6: The Longest Journey. Allow students sufcient time to review their notes and graphic organizers and to complete the Screening Sheets. Either collect the Screening Sheets and assess their understanding, or review the Screening Sheets as a class. Recommended answers are below.

Answer Key for Screening Sheet 3-6: The Longest Journey

Camera Distances and Angles 1. Identify a long shot and explain what information that shot presents to the audience. Two examples of long shots are: the opening shot of Jem and Scout (in the ham costume) walking into the woods, and the shot (about mid-way through the clip) where Jem and Scout come into view in the background. 2. 3. Describe a close-up shot in this scene. Close-ups include Jems face and Scouts eyes through the ham costume. As Jem begins the walk home, he appears nervous. How does the lmmaker suggest this? By showing Jem picking up a big stick. In addition, a number of shots are close-ups of Jems face, revealing his concentration on the sound he thinks he hears; another CU shows his hand on the top of Scouts costume, guiding her and, some students may suggest, protecting her.

Lighting 4. Describe the lighting in this scene. What is its intended effect on the audience? Overall the lighting is low-key, to represent night and danger. Shadows play across the faces of the children throughout the scene and in part obscure the audience from seeing clearly who the attacker is. 5. Describe the lighting in the shot where Jem has fallen on his stomach and does not move. What does that emphasize? There is low-key lighting overall but a highlight on his body, emphasizing that he isnt moving and might be badly hurt.

Camera Movement 6. Describe the camera movement in the attack scene. Does it pan, tilt, and/or zoom? Or is it xed in one position? Explain your answer. Overall the camera is stationary but does pan and zoom. Emphasize that the sense of movement is created not by the camera circling the attacker and his victims but through the use of quick cuts. Point of View 7. Identify a subjective point of view shot before the attack begins. When Jem thinks he hears something, he stops and turns. The camera then shifts to what Jem sees the woods at night and nothing obviously there. 8. In the shots of Jem being attacked, does the camera use objective or subjective point of view? Explain how you can tell. Mostly objective, because often we can see all the characters. Some shots, however, are subjective, because what we see seems to be limited in the way that Scout would see through her costume.

Sound 9. Identify at least two invisible sounds. What effect do these sounds have on the audience? Wind, rustling leaves, dog barking, bird, grunts. Intended effect is to heighten suspense and suggest meaning the audience must infer from the sounds as well as the montage of images what is happening. 10. Describe how the music changes during this scene. At the beginning, the music is the theme melody and the mysterious music associated with the Radley house. The music stops when Jem stops walking and turns around, suggesting a change in mood and his growing fear. During the attack, the music becomes more melodramatic, urgent, more dynamic, building in volume and intensity as the storyline builds to a climax. Implicit and Explicit Meaning 11. What information is directly stated in the scene? The children are walking home alone, they think they hear something, they are attacked, Jem is hurt, someone saves Scout. 12. What information is implied in this scene? That the children grow fearful; who might be following them; who attacks them; who saves them.

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Think More About It 1. The lmmaker never clearly shows who the attacker is. Instead, the audience sees shadows and close-ups of hands and legs and hears grunts. In your opinion, why did the lmmaker decide to shoot this climactic scene from the lm in this way? Answers will vary. It is in part the directors style and choice of how to tell the story. He has shown all violent action off-screen, including Mr. Radley shooting at the prowler, Tom Robinsons death, and the actual death of Bob Ewell. It also heightens the confusion and fear to not see explicitly what is happening. He withholds information about what actually happened until later and in this way builds suspense. If the camera showed Boo attacking Ewell (as seen from Scouts eyes inside the ham costume) the suspense would not be quite as intense. Also, the audience has never seen Boo, and if he suddenly appeared on the screen, theyd wonder Who is that? 2. At the end of the scene, how does the lmmaker indicate that there are two different people ghting? A close-up in front of Scout in the ham costume shows two hands locked in struggle the arms are dressed differently. Also the action itself implies struggle and, thus, two different people.

Close
Ask students to list the four most interesting things they learned about lm language that they did not know before they began the activities in this chapter. Then ask them to list four additional things about lm language that they would like to study in greater detail.

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