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What Is Cinema? Chapter2
What Is Cinema? Chapter2
What Is Cinema? Chapter2
Concept
A movies visual design is the look of the nal lm. In planning this look, or design, the director considers many different
factors, including elements of lighting, set design, and costuming and makeup.
Engage
Write the following equation on the chalkboard:
Directors vision = storys content + narrative structure + the lms visual design
In chapter 1, students learned what is meant by the storys content and the narrative structure. Explain that in this activity,
they will learn the nal element in the equation, the lms look. Review, if necessary, story content (basic story elements of
characters, setting, plot, conict, theme) and narrative structure (how the story is told). Then ask students to suggest an ex-
planation for the last element in the equation, the lms visual design. Encourage thoughtful responses by prompting:
Do actors all look and dress alike in lms? How do their looks differ?
Have you ever paid attention to the lighting in the lm or to the soundtrack? Do light and sound have colors or shades of
meaning?
Name some movies youve seen recently that have had bright and colorful images or some movies that have had darker
colors and shading.
Explain & Explore
Introduce the screening activity by sharing this information with students:
Making a lm is sometimes compared to piecing together a jigsaw puzzle. The puzzle has many parts. In the rst stage of
putting the puzzle together, the person often refers to the picture on the puzzle box in order to gure out how all the pieces t
together. A lm also has many different pieces. The director has the mental picture of what the nal lm will look like once
all the pieces are tted together.
Distribute Screening Sheet 2-1: The Directors Vision. Review the Word Builder terms and the activity, which has
two parts. Part 1 is a pre-screening discussion of statements made by directors. These statements are taken from the lm
clip that they will watch later. To help students comprehend the lm clip, they should rst discuss the statements. Explain
that they will have an opportunity to revise their responses on the chart after screening the lm.
Answer Key for Screening Sheet 2-1:
The Directors Vision, Part 1 Pre-Screening Discussion
Quotation What You Think the Director Means
Unfamiliar words include shrink, a psychologist, or someone who
understands how other people think and behave. Interpretations will
vary but should focus on the main idea that a director has to know all
the stages of lmmaking, as well as how to communicate with others
and how to motivate people.
The words are familiar but the concept of the eye of the camera may
be unfamiliar to most students. The cameras lens is its eye and the
person who controls what the cinematographer photographs is the
director. The director works with the cinematographer in selecting not
only what to shoot but how. The resulting images, when edited together,
tell a story.
Milo Forman: You have to be a
little bit of a writer, a little bit of an
actor, a little bit of a cameraman, a
little bit of a dictator, a little bit of
a shrink.
Rouben Mamoulian: The eye of
the camera must be the eye of the
director. It is absolutely inevitable
because you are telling a story in
images.
(Note: Student responses made before viewing the clip may differ somewhat from those made after viewing.)
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Again, most words are familiar and yet the concept of lm language
may be new to most students. The director is saying that lm has its own
language through shots, movement, cuts, and composition. Explain
that placing people in the frame (the area the camera sees) and moving
them from one place to another within the frame is called composition.
They will learn more about composition and mise-en-scne in chapter 3.
Unfamiliar words include by-product, something that occurs as a
result of doing something else. Interpretations should focus on technology
as a tool for bringing the directors vision to life. Telling a good story is
what the directors vision is ultimately about.
Martin Scorsese: Film has its own
language, its own grammar
camera shots...movement...the
editing of scenes...the mise-en-scne,
the actual placing people in the
frame and moving them around.
George Lucas: Technology is used
to tell a story, and thats the whole
point. It is really the lmmaker and
the storyteller and how well they are
able to tell a story that counts in the
end. The techniques they use are
really a by-product of that process.
Close
Return to the equation that began the activity and ask students to explain in their own words what is meant by the lms
visual design: Directors vision = storys content + narrative structure + the lms visual design. Emphasize that a directors vision
will vary from one lm to another. Movies have different looks, but this is not by accident. It is by design.
View Film Clip 2-1: The Directors Vision. After viewing, discuss student observations. Answers will vary.
Recommended answers are below.
Answer Key for Screening Sheet 2-1:
The Directors Vision, Part 2 The Screening Activity
1. Name some of the people with whom the director collaborates in making a lm. The screenwriter, the cinema-
tographer, and the lm editor. In addition, the actors, the costume and set designers, the sound editor, and the music
composer all collaborate with the director.
2. How is making a movie like piecing together a jigsaw puzzle? Answers will vary. When tted together, a jigsaw puzzle
makes a whole picture. The individual puzzle pieces like individual shots and scenes by themselves may have color
and shape and line, but they do not present the whole picture. The part they play in completing the image is fully realized
when the entire puzzle or lm is assembled.
3. A lms look is the overall visual design, determined by the director. To explain this concept, the lm clip uses
shots from two classic lms, Citizen Kane and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Explain how the look of these two lms
differs. Students may readily note that one lm is in black-and-white and the other is in color. Beyond color, however, the lms
differ signicantly. Citizen Kane uses light and shadow in a dramatic way as well as unusual camera angles. For example,
the director uses an extreme close-up of a mans mustached mouth as he whispers Rosebud. The shot of the house in the
snow fools the audience into thinking they are looking at a snow scene, when in fact, as the camera pulls back, we see that
they are looking at a miniature house in a snow globe which the man is holding. 2001: A Space Odyssey has a futuristic
design. A dominant visual element is movement, the rotation of people and objects and the feel of weightlessness.
4. The narrator says, The directors vision spans from conception to completion. What does this mean? The conception
is the idea for the movie before anything is written or planned. Completion is the nal movie released in theaters and on
video. So the directors vision covers every step of the lmmaking process.
Think More About It
Return to part 1 of this screening sheet. Now that youve seen the lm clip, do you have a better understanding of
what each quotation means? Read what you wrote in column 2, then change or add new information to your answers.
Answers will vary. Emphasize the key points, that a director is the one person who has the most complete understanding of
how the nal lm will look, and that this vision determines how all the members of the cast and crew complete their jobs.
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Teacher Overview
A films overall look may exist in the directors imagination, but the screenwriter and the production designer are the people
who actually create the fictional world of the movie. The screenwriter imagines the world through words. The production
designer turns words and the directors ideas into real-life sets. Many movie scripts are original ideas that the screenwriter
develops. To Kill a Mockingbird, however, was an adaptation of a very successful novel. Activity A begins by explaining what a
film adaptation is and then provides a guided discussion on the five-step adaptation process.
In activity B, students learn that the production designer meets with the director to review the script in detail. Research is
often an essential first step in production design. In designing the sets for To Kill a Mockingbird, for example, the production
designer needed a good understanding of history and small-town America, as well as fashions of the 1930s. The next step is
sketching set designs and/or building miniature models of sets. Once the director approves the designs, construction begins.
In short, the production designer is part historian, part artist, and part architect.
Storyboards are a tool that many directors use in communicating his or her ideas to the production designer in the planning
stages of the film. Activity C provides students a rare look at storyboards for a dramatic scene in To Kill a Mockingbird. The
screening activity allows students to compare the drawings with the actual shots in the film.
Learning Outcomes
Students will:
explain the role of the screenwriter in making a film;
identify steps in the process of adapting a previously written/published story into a screenplay;
explain the role of the production designer in making a film;
understand that storyboards are a tool that help the director and the cinematographer plan the shots in the film.
Key Terms
(Note: Most terms are defined within the activity text that follows. You may also refer to the glossary.)
screenwriter, adaptation, production design, production designer, props, scale, storyboard, establishing shot, reaction shot, body double,
stunt double
Activity Print DVD
Lesson 2 Materials
Activity A
The Screen-
writers Role
Activity B
The Production
Designers Role
Activity C
From Script to
Storyboards
Reading Activity 2-1: The Five-Step
Adaptation Process
Classifying Activity 2-2: The Trial
Reading Activity 2-3, Enrichment:
Reinventing a Scene
Graphic Organizer 2-5: What Is
Production Design?
Graphic Organizer 2-6: What Does the
Production Designer Do?
Screening Sheet 2-2: Creating Worlds
Screening Sheet 2-3: From Storyboard
to Screen
None
Film Clip 2-2: Creating Worlds
Part 1 Forrest Gumps House
Part 2 Creating Middle-earth
Still 2-1: Storyboarding To Kill a
Mockingbird
Film Clip 2-3: From Storyboard to
Screen
Lesson 2 Getting Ready Pre-Production
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Teacher Overview
A films overall look may exist in the directors imagination, but the screenwriter and the production designer are the people
who actually create the fictional world of the movie. The screenwriter imagines the world through words. The production
designer turns words and the directors ideas into real-life sets. Many movie scripts are original ideas that the screenwriter
develops. To Kill a Mockingbird, however, was an adaptation of a very successful novel. Activity A begins by explaining what a
film adaptation is and then provides a guided discussion on the five-step adaptation process.
In activity B, students learn that the production designer meets with the director to review the script in detail. Research is
often an essential first step in production design. In designing the sets for To Kill a Mockingbird, for example, the production
designer needed a good understanding of history and small-town America, as well as fashions of the 1930s. The next step is
sketching set designs and/or building miniature models of sets. Once the director approves the designs, construction begins.
In short, the production designer is part historian, part artist, and part architect.
Storyboards are a tool that many directors use in communicating his or her ideas to the production designer in the planning
stages of the film. Activity C provides students a rare look at storyboards for a dramatic scene in To Kill a Mockingbird. The
screening activity allows students to compare the drawings with the actual shots in the film.
Learning Outcomes
Students will:
explain the role of the screenwriter in making a film;
identify steps in the process of adapting a previously written/published story into a screenplay;
explain the role of the production designer in making a film;
understand that storyboards are a tool that help the director and the cinematographer plan the shots in the film.
Key Terms
(Note: Most terms are defined within the activity text that follows. You may also refer to the glossary.)
screenwriter, adaptation, production design, production designer, props, scale, storyboard, establishing shot, reaction shot, body double,
stunt double
Activity Print DVD
Lesson 2 Materials
Activity A
The Screen-
writers Role
Activity B
The Production
Designers Role
Activity C
From Script to
Storyboards
Reading Activity 2-1: The Five-Step
Adaptation Process
Classifying Activity 2-2: The Trial
Reading Activity 2-3, Enrichment:
Reinventing a Scene
Graphic Organizer 2-5: What Is
Production Design?
Graphic Organizer 2-6: What Does the
Production Designer Do?
Screening Sheet 2-2: Creating Worlds
Screening Sheet 2-3: From Storyboard
to Screen
None
Film Clip 2-2: Creating Worlds
Part 1 Forrest Gumps House
Part 2 Creating Middle-earth
Still 2-1: Storyboarding To Kill a
Mockingbird
Film Clip 2-3: From Storyboard to
Screen
Lesson 2 Getting Ready Pre-Production
Concept
An adaptation of a novel into a screenplay involves a step-by-step process that includes compressing the characters and
events of the novel into the uniquely visual narrative structure necessary for a lm.
Engage
Write this sentence on the chalkboard or overhead projector. It comes from chapter 12 of Harper Lees novel.
After one altercation, Jem hollered, Its time you started being
a girl and acting right! I burst into tears and ed to Calpurnia.
Ask students to rewrite this line of prose into a screenplay format. Responses should read something like this:
JEM
(annoyed)
Its time you started being a
girl and acting right.
Scout, crying, runs to Calpurnia.
Explain that a screenplay looks different than a book does. For one thing, in a script, all dialogue is written centered on the
page and is not enclosed in quotation marks. Characters names appear in all capital letters. Emotion or attitude is enclosed
in parentheses. Action is usually briey stated and placed on the left side of the page. You might wish to repeat this brief
warm-up activity with other lines from other stories.
Explain & Explore
Distribute Reading Activity 2-1: The Five-Step Adaptation Process. Review the Word Builder terms. Assign this
sheet either as silent reading or as homework. Then follow the guided discussion questions below.
Guided Discussion
1. A screenwriter reads a story a number of times before starting to write the screenplay. Each time the writer
reads the story with a different purpose in mind. What are two different purposes identied in step 1? One,
to understand the story and what happened. Two, to understand the storys themes. The screenwriter may also read
additional times to more fully understand the tone and spirit of the story and characters.
2. What specically does the writer summarize in step 2, and what do some writers use to help them organize
their outline? The major events in the story; they sometimes use index cards.
3. How does step 3 differ from step 2? In step 3, the writer identies a purpose for each possible scene in the lm.
The writer is beginning to plan how visually to translate the prose into a script. Step 2 involves simply listing all the
things that happen, not why.
4. What types of scenes or events might a writer place in act 1? in act 2? in act 3? The writer will place exposition, or
scenes that reveal background information, in act 1, as well as the inciting incident. In act 2, the writer will place events
that show rising action and the climax. In act 3, the scenes that resolve the conicts will be placed.
5. Why does a writer usually not include in the screenplay every scene from the book the lm is based on? A lms
narrative structure limits how long a lm can run. Emphasize that J. R. R. Tolkiens popular The Lord of the Rings novels
were adapted into three separate but related movies. Otherwise audiences would have had to sit almost seven hours to see
the entire story. Another reason is that some novel scenes are not visually interesting or dramatic. Too much dialogue or
too little dialogue can slow down the pace of the lm.
Distribute Classifying Activity 2-2: The Trial to more clearly explain step 3 in the adaptation process. Review the
Word Builder box. Some scenes have more than one purpose, and students might wish to debate specically what each
scene contributes to the overall story. Accept all reasonable responses. Suggested answers follow.
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Close
Share this information with students:
Only chapters 17 through 21 in the novel focus on the actual trial of Tom Robinson. By contrast, the lm devotes a signicantly
greater amount of time to the trial (approximately 30 percent of total running time). Ask: Why might the screenwriter have
devoted so much time to the trial when it wasnt the main focus of the novel?
Inform students that the studios felt the novel had no real action, no violence, except off-screen, and no love interest. The trial
allows for courtroom drama. It is the rising action of act 2 that eventually triggers the climax, or turning point, of the lm.
Concept
The production designer works with the director to bring the ctional world of the movie to life on the screen.
Engage
Share this information with students:
To Kill a Mockingbird was not lmed in a small town in Alabama. The lmmakers did indeed travel to the hometown of
Harper Lee, said to be the setting of her novel. However, so much had changed from the 1930s, when the novel is set, to the
1960s, when the lm was made, that the lmmakers could not use much of the town as the setting for their lm. As a result,
the lm was made on acres of land the back lot at Universal Studios in California.
Ask students to suggest what might have changed from the 1930s to the 1960s. Guide discussion to include these areas
transportation, communications, streets, and buildings. While it is easier for students to compare the present day with the
1930s and to note what new inventions today would not have been around in the 1930s, it is more challenging for them to
compare one era of the past with another. Interested students can learn more about the decades of the 1930s and the 1960s
through library and Internet research.
Explain & Explore
Share this information with students:
The production designer for To Kill a Mockingbird learned that a number of houses characteristic of the 1930s, located in
California, were being demolished to make way for a new expressway. The production designer purchased the houses and
moved them to the Universal Studios lot, arranging them to look like a neighborhood.
Guided Discussion
1. What buildings were needed to make this lm? The Finch house, the Radley house, other homes on that street, the
Robinson house, the courthouse, the jail, the schoolhouse
2. What exterior locations were needed? Main street, a downtown section or public square outside the jail, the road
outside the Robinson house, the Radley yard, the Finch yard, the wooded area between the school and the Finch house
Commentary from the Filmmakers:
The Trouble with To Kill a Mockingbird
Learn why most movie studios did not want to make the award-winning novel
into a lm. Visit The Story of Movies Web site at www.storyofmovies.org. This
extension lesson includes a screening activity and handouts.
Teachers note: The lm clip for this extension activity is included on the DVD
for Chapter 2.
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Distribute and display Graphic Organizer 2-5: What Is Production Design? Review the concepts on the graphic
organizer as suggested below.
Set, Scenery, and Locations
The set is the place or site of each scene. A set may be the interior of a building, such as an ofce, a courtroom, a
train station, or even a train car. Or the set may be exterior locations, such as porches. Sets are constructed. Scenery
refers to landscapes and outdoor locations, such as mountains, beaches, elds, and a public park. Scenery can also
be constructed, such as the backdrop seen through a window.
Props, Furnishings, and Trimmings
Prop is short for property. A prop is a movable object that is part of a set. Examples include wall hangings, tableware,
computers, street signs, and weapons. Furnishings are the furniture that comprise the world of the lm, including beds,
couches, and desks. Trimmings are the decorative elements on the set, including draperies, bedspreads, lamps, and such.
Costumes, Makeup, and Hairstyles
Costumes are the clothing each character wears, everything from hats to shoes. Costumes are also called wardrobe
items. Makeup is not only the cosmetics applied to an actors face and/or body but also includes hairstyles and wigs.
Distribute and display Graphic Organizer 2-6: What Does the Production Designer Do? Review each task on
the graphic organizer. Explain that a production designer works with a team of people who each have responsibility for
various aspects of the lms overall look or design.
Introduce the screening activity. Explain that this lm clip has two different segments and explores two different types of
production challenges creating a realistic location for the lm Forrest Gump, and creating the fantasy world of Middle-
earth for the Lord of the Rings lms. By viewing the lm, students will learn more about what production design is and
how the production designer works.
Distribute Screening Sheet 2-2: Creating Worlds. Explain that students will work with a partner to complete the
screening activity. Review the Word Builder terms. Teachers should present one segment at a time, stopping to discuss
student observations. You might need to run each segment more than once. After each segment, allow time for students
to complete the Screening Sheets.
View Film Clip 2-2: Creating Worlds, Part 1 Forrest Gumps House. After viewing, discuss students
observations. Answers will vary. Recommended answers include those listed on the chart below.
Answer Key for Screening Sheet 2-2:
Creating Worlds, Part 1 Forrest Gumps House
1. Rick Carter says that a lm begins as a blank canvas. What does he mean? In the rst stages of making a
lm, there are no visuals or sets. The production designer, working with the director, must imagine what the sets will
look like and then begin to design them.
2. Rick Carter says that the production designers role is to create a visual lmscape. You probably know
what a landscape is, but what is a lmscape? A lmscape is everything the audience sees on the screen
from set designs like the Gump house to exterior locations. You may wish to emphasize also that a lmscape
involves more than just physical locations or buildings. It includes costumes and props, or as Rick Carter says,
everything that is not literally the characters and the narrative.
3. Identify three stages involved in designing the Gump house, as shown on this lm clip. First, the designer created
an illustration or drawing of the house. Next, the illustration was altered on a computer program called Photoshop
so that the designer could see how the house might t into a physical setting with trees and grass. Third, the designer
built a faade, or fake front, of the house and placed it in a physical location.
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Close
Now that students have a better idea of what production design is, ask them to discuss what important historical considerations
the production designer needed to make when planning the To Kill a Mockingbird movie set. Emphasize that buildings are just
one aspect of production design. The type of car Atticus would drive, the items in his kitchen, the type of phone Calpurnia
uses, lamps, furniture, even the type of rie Atticus uses all these props needed to dovetail historically with the period in
which the story was set (1930s), not the one in which it was made (1962).
Build a Model Set, c. 1930s
Research your hometown, a local landmark, or some well-known public place.
Then build a miniature model of this place. Visit The Story of Movies Web site at
www.storyofmovies.org to learn more, including step-by-step instructions on how
to conduct your production-design research.
Concept
A director may use storyboards to plan shots for the lm and to communicate his or her vision to actors and production staff.
Engage
Write this phrase on the chalkboard or overhead projector: The woman looked old. Ask students: How do you know when
someone looks old? Encourage students to provide specic, vivid details by asking additional questions, such as, What do
her face or hands look like? How might her clothing reveal her age? What behavior might suggest that she is old? Students should
have no difculty providing details to esh out the image.
Next, ask students how a director might communicate to a production designer how a set should look. For example, in To
Kill a Mockingbird, the Radley house looks mysterious. Mysterious could mean many things a dark building in the middle
of a eld, a brightly lit home surrounded by a high fence, a building on a city block with windows and doors boarded over.
Very often a director will use a type of visual shorthand to communicate how a character or a set should appear. Instead of
writing a description, the director uses drawings, called storyboards. Although storyboards may look like simple cartoons,
the drawings provide information beyond what a character or a set might look like.
Explain & Explore
Dene storyboard. A storyboard is a shot-by-shot layout, drawn on paper or on a computer, for a lm. Share this
information with students:
A storyboard includes information to help the lmmakers understand how to photo-
graph a shot, including who and what may be in the shot, the placement of those people
or objects, camera angles, camera movement, and sometimes a little dialogue.
Display Still 2-1: Storyboarding To Kill a Mockingbird. These 12 slides are from
the opening shots of the lm. As you move through the sequences, pause to ask one or
more of the following questions:
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Guided Discussion
Storyboards 1, 2, and 3
1. Describe what is shown in each panel or sketch. First, the leaves and branches
of a tree; second, birds sitting on a tree limb; third, a street with houses
2. Which drawing rst, second, or third provides a closer look at a subject? Second image
3. Which drawing rst, second, or third helps the audience to visualize the setting of the lm? Third image
4. Note the arrows outside drawings 1 and 2. Arrows suggest movement. What type of movement is suggested by
the arrows drawn outside the frame? Draw students attention to the caption for each drawing and the phrase pan
down to. This means the camera will slowly move from the treetops down to the street. Note that students will learn
more about camera movement in chapter 3.
5. What does the arrow that is mostly inside drawing (or frame) 2 suggest? Movement of an object or objects within
the frame, suggesting that the bird or birds will y away
Storyboards 4, 5, and 6
6. What information do these three drawings provide the lmmakers? The camera will show the audience the wagon
approaching and passing. In the third drawing on this page, the camera will move in closer on the wagon as it moves away.
Storyboards 7, 8, and 9
7. How do these three drawings differ? Answers will vary but should include the following points: Distance the middle
image is a close-up, the third image is the farthest, and the rst image puts the audience about midway. Detail each image
presents different information to help the audience understand what is happening. In the rst image, Mr. Cunningham is
unloading his wagon; in the second image, he is reaching for a sack; in the third image, he walks toward a house.
Storyboards 10, 11 and 12
8. Which of the three drawings might be called a close-up shot of a character? Give a reason for your answer. Second
image of Scout. The drawing focuses only on the tire and her face. In the other images, we see more details in the distance.
9. In which image is Scout moving within the drawing, or frame? First image, indicated by the arrow
Introduce the screening activity. First, they will see storyboard images for a suspenseful scene in the lm the children
spying on the Radley house at night. Second, they will see a split screen. On the top of the screen will be the storyboard
images. On the bottom of the screen, playing simultaneously, will be the lmed shots of that scene. In this way, students
will be able to compare and contrast the storyboard images to the nal shots used in the lm.
Distribute Screening Sheet 2-3: From Storyboard to Screen. Review the Word Builder terms and the chart to
ensure that students know what to observe and record.
View Film Clip 2-3: From Storyboard to Screen. Teachers can pause the DVD at any point to emphasize
differences in the storyboard and the nal lm. Discuss students observations. Recommended answers include those
listed on the chart on the following page.
Close
Ask students to freewrite for two to four minutes on ways they can apply what they have just learned about storyboarding to
other school subjects or activities.
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Concept
Cinematography is a lm language that communicates ideas, emotions, and relationships to the audience by photographing
light and shadows, movement, objects, and people.
Engage
Read or write on the chalkboard or overhead projector this quotation from cinematographer Conrad Hall. Ask students to
freewrite for two to four minutes what they believe the statement means.
The yin and yang of cinematography is about where to put the camera, should it stay still or move, what to light and what
not to light, is it better to go in or is it better to pull back to get the emotion you want?. . . We are storytellers and we dont
do it just with words.
Explain & Explore
Distribute and display Graphic Organizer 2-7: What Is Cinematography? Emphasize that cinematography is a
language using visual images. Students will learn specic techniques in chapter 3. However, a basic introduction to
cinematography is necessary in order to understand how the cinematographer collaborates with the director in creating
the lms look. Discuss each concept on the graphic organizer as suggested below.
Use of Light and Shadow
The use of light helps create reality or guide the audience toward where to look or what to notice. Sometimes light
and shadow are clues to what may happen or what a person is thinking or feeling.
Use of Color Palette
A palette is a range of colors. A red palette, for example, may have purples or oranges or browns as well as various
shades of red. In a lm, the director and the cinematographer often work closely with the people who design the
sets and even the costumes to decide what colors they want to emphasize and why.
Use of Movement
There are two types of movement in a lm one in which the camera remains stationary (xed) while the
people or objects move; and another in which the people and objects are stationary while the camera moves. A
cinematographer can also combine these two types of movement by having the camera and the people and objects
moving at the same time.
Distribute and display Graphic Organizer 2-8: What Does the Cinematographer Do? Explain that the primary
responsibility of the cinematographer is to translate the directors vision to the screen through moving photographic
images. As a result, the cinematographer works closely with the director in both the pre-production and production
stages. Review each of the cinematographers tasks on the graphic organizer.
Introduce the screening activity. All the people interviewed in this lm clip are cinematographers. In describing how
they work, they also touch upon the history of cinematography. The segment spotlights scenes from many classic lms,
as well as more contemporary lms with which students may be familiar.
Distribute Screening Sheet 2-4: Visions of Light. Review the Word Builder terms and the activity, which has two
parts. Part 1 is a pre-screening discussion of statements made by cinematographers. These statements are taken from the
lm clip, which they will watch later. To help students comprehend the lm clip, they should rst discuss the statements.
Explain that they will have an opportunity to revise their responses on the chart after screening the lm.
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Close
Ask students to suggest how they might use what they learned about cinematography in other school subjects. Answers will
vary. Some students might suggest using images to illustrate science concepts or historical events.
Concept
The way an actor interprets and then plays a character affects the audiences understanding of the story. Often, the actors
interpretation comes from personal experiences and values.
Engage
Divide the class into two or three groups. Each group will be a casting agency. Their job is to suggest possible actors for a new
lm. The lm will be a remake of the classic motion picture To Kill a Mockingbird. The agency must recommend two different
actors to portray each of the following roles:
Atticus Finch, Bob Ewell, Scout, Jem, Tom Robinson
Allow time for the agency to discuss which popular actors today might best t each role. They should consider not only
physical appearance but other attributes, or characteristics. These include the following: age, the sound or tone of their
voice, their gestures or mannerisms, and their previous acting experience. For example, would Leonardo DiCaprio be a
good suggestion for the role of Tom Ewell? Why or why not?
Ask each agency to present their recommendations, then discuss the recommendations in general as a class. Conclude the
warm-up activity by asking: Why is an actor even a famous actor sometimes not right for a role?
Think More About It
When the cinematographer does his or her job well, says Allen Daviau, the audience will carry away images as
well as the words. What movie images do you recall carrying away with you? Think of current movies you have
seen as well as movies you remember seeing as a younger child. Discuss how these images affected not only what
you thought but also what you felt while watching the movie. Answers will vary. Accept all reasonable responses. If
students have difculty recalling specic images from their favorite lms, ask them to comment on specic images in this
lm clip.
3. The rst movies were made using black-and-white lm. Color technology developed in the 1930s. Allen
Daviau admires the early cinematographers because, he says, having to learn to see in black-and-white
was difcult. What does he mean by learning to see in black-and-white? The real world has color. Earlier
cinematographers, however, captured the real world in shades of black and white. Color is one tool a cinematographer
may use to communicate, but without color, a cinematographer must rely on light and shadow, contrast and depth,
lines and angles.
4. What did you learn about cinematography that you did not know before you saw this lm? Answers will vary
but should focus on the main idea that cinematography is not just camerawork, but also the use of light.
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View Film Clip 2-5: Actors Choices, Part 2 Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch. Discuss student observations.
Recommended answers are below.
Introduce the third segment by sharing this information with students:
Playing Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird was Robert Duvall in his rst lm appearance. Although his time on screen is
very short, his performance caught the attention of lmmakers, who liked very much what they saw. His acting career took
off. He has starred in more than 80 lms. In 1984 he won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Tender Mercies.
View Film Clip 2-5: Actors Choices, Part 3 Robert Duvall as Boo Radley. Discuss student observations.
Recommended answers follow.
Answer Key for Screening Sheet 2-5:
Actors Choices, Part 1 Brock Peters as Tom Robinson
Answer Key for Screening Sheet 2-5:
Actors Choices, Part 2Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch
1. What does producer Alan Pakula mean when he says Peters has . . . a nobility about him? Answers will vary.
Some students might suggest that he has dignity, integrity. Others might suggest he appears gentle, well-mannered,
like the good guy or a hero. Still others might suggest these adjectives honest, sincere. Pakula does not mean by
nobility, however, that Brock looks like an aristocrat.
2. In the shots of Brock Peters playing Tom Robinson, what actors tools does he use? Facial expressions, voice,
mannerisms, emotions, body language
3. Years later, Brock Peters talks about his performance as Tom Robinson. What information does he share
about himself? He had experienced racism and real moments of horror, including being kicked and beaten. He
tapped the anger, frustration, and isolation he had felt earlier and used it in his acting.
4. Gregory Peck says Brock gave me a problem. What was the problem? Brocks performance was so moving, Peck
had trouble staying focused. When Brock began to cry, Peck also felt tears and had to look past him instead of at him.
1. During the interview, Gregory Peck shares a story about a letter he received from a schoolchild. What pleased
him about this letter? The child got the point that Atticus did not retaliate when Bob Ewell spat at him even though
Atticus could have clobbered Bob.
2. What explanation does Gregory Peck give for not striking Bob Ewell during the scene outside Tom Robinsons
house? Atticus knew he was doing the right thing in defending Tom Robinson, but he also knew it would be unpopular
and even dangerous to do so. He had to summon his own courage, but he also had to set an example of courage and
dignity for his children.
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Close
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences each year presents awards, called Oscars, to lmmakers who have made
outstanding achievements. Award categories include directing, screenwriting, production design, cinematography, and acting,
among others. In 1962, the academy nominated Gregory Peck for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance as Atticus
Finch. The academy also nominated Mary Badham for her performance as Scout. The academy did not nominate Brock Peters
or Philip Alford, who played Jem. Ask the class what criteria the academy might use in deciding to nominate a performance.
Incidentally, share with students that Gregory Peck won his only Oscar for this performance.
Answer Key for Screening Sheet 2-5:
Actors Choices, Part 3 Robert Duvall as Boo Radley
Think More About It
The three segments provide a number of different shots from the lm. Describe one that is an example of a
reaction shot. Answers might include Atticus recoiling when Bob Ewell spits at him, or Jems silent reaction to his fathers
courage in staring Bob Ewell down. Other reaction shots are Scout realizing who Boo is and Atticus in court hearing
Toms testimony.
1. When director Robert Mulligan rst saw actor Robert Duvall in costume as Boo Radley, what was his
reaction? He was stunned by his paleness. He thought he was perfect for the part of this village recluse.
2. Gregory Peck says watching Duvall portray Boo Radley is a lesson in screen acting. Duvall is on screen
only a few minutes and has no lines at all. In what way is his performance outstanding? Emphasize that
acting is much more than tone of voice and delivery of lines. Duvall became Boo with a simple glance and subtle
expressions showing his shyness, awkwardness, and affection.
3. Even before he saw himself on screen, Duvall knew his performance was good. What suggested this to him?
He says he got goose pimples while performing the role.
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Teacher Overview
In post-production, the director works first with the film editor to assemble the fragments of filmed shots into scenes and
then scenes into a rough cut of the film. A single camera, however, cannot capture all the necessary shots to tell the story.
Therefore, multiple cameras film the same shot but from different angles, focusing on different characters or points of view.
In the editing studio, the director and film editor view all the raw footage, then select which shots and which sequence works
best. Activity A's screening activity provides a rare look at raw footage from multiple cameras, taken from the filming of The
Lord of the Rings trilogy. Students can see which shots the film editor selected from the raw footage. Activity B explains a
second task of the film editor, sequencing the shots so that the timing, or pacing, maintains an audience's interest and
heightens their anticipation.
Once a rough cut of the film is assembled, the music composer goes to work. Together, the composer and the director discuss
the type of music that will best enhance the scenes. In some instances, the music communicates information that the visuals
alone do not provide, such as building anticipation of what may come. In other instances, the music score suggests the
emotions the characters are feeling or suggests relationships between characters. In short, the composer hears what the
director sees. In activity C, students understand that music on a movie soundtrack can affect the audiences response to a
character or a situation. They learn that there is a process involved in creating a music score for a film. Students view a video
segment featuring music composer Elmer Bernstein explaining how he developed two different music passages for the film,
one to convey a childs innocence and another to convey a childs fascination with the unknown and the frightening.
Learning Outcomes
Students will:
explain what the film editors role is in the collaborative process of making a film;
define pacing in relationship to editing a film;
identify two functions of music in communicating to an audience;
explain the composers role in the collaborative process of making a film.
Key Terms
(Note: Most terms are defined within the activity text that follows. You may also refer to the glossary.)
film editing, film editor, raw footage, cut, splice, rough cut, final cut, continuity, pacing, frame, music composer, music score,
texture, dynamics
Lesson 4 Materials
Activity A
The Film Editors
Role
Activity B
What Stays, What
Goes, and Why
Activity C
The Music
Composers Role
Graphic Organizer 2-9: What Is Film
Editing?
Graphic Organizer 2-10: What Does the
Film Editor Do?
Screening Sheet 2-6: Editing Shot-by-Shot
Reading Activity 2-5: What to Include,
What to Exclude
Graphic Organizer 2-11: What Does the
Music Composer Do?
Screening Sheet 2-7: Music and Meaning
Film Clip 2-6: Editing Shot-by-Shot
Still 2-2: The Missing Scenes
Film Clip 2-7: Music and Meaning
Part 1 Interview with the Composer
Part 2 Ears and Eyes
Activity Print DVD
Lesson 4 In The Studio Post-Production
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Concept
The lm editors job is to select the best shots from the raw footage of lm and to assemble those shots into a nal cut.
Engage
Remind students that a lm is not usually shot in sequence. A director doesnt always begin shooting with page one of the
script. The rst scene shot in To Kill a Mockingbird, for example, was the breakfast scene on Scouts rst day of school. That
scene, however, occurs in act 2 of the lm. One aspect of the lm editors job, therefore, is piecing together the raw footage
or unedited rolls of lm into logical sequences, from beginning to end. But the lm editors job involves much more.
Explain & Explore
Distribute and display Graphic Organizer 2-9: What Is Film Editing? to introduce students to the work completed
in the studio after the shooting ends. Working with the director, the editor determines not only which shots will be
included and excluded but also how the shots selected will be arranged. Discuss the key concepts on the illustration as
suggested below.
Raw Footage
Raw footage is all the strips of lm photographed on the set. Very often the director will shoot one scene multiple
times. He might shoot from different angles or shoot the scene using multiple cameras placed in different spots on
the set. The director and editor will later select the best shots or segments from this raw footage to piece together the
rough cut and then the nal lm.
Cuts and Splices
A cut is the point where one shot ends and another begins. A splice is the point where two pieces of lm are joined
together so that they follow smoothly, one into the other.
Continuity and Pacing
Continuity means the coherent way the story ows from one shot or scene to another so that it is smooth and makes
sense. Pacing is the timing of the assembled shots. Too many cuts, and the story may become confusing to the audience.
Too few cuts or too much time spent on one shot may slow the story down and the audience may become bored.
Rough Cut
The rough cut is the rst draft or copy of a lm assembled from raw footage. The rough cut is not the nal lm that
will be released and shown in theaters. Like the rst draft of a written report or novel, a lms rough cut requires ad-
ditional revising and editing to ensure the story ows smoothly and each shot is selected and sequenced just right.
Distribute and display Graphic Organizer 2-10: What Does the Film Editor Do? Review the tasks on the illustration.
Introduce the screening activity. The lm clip shows how the lm editor selects the best shots to use in the nal lm.
Explain that the clip they are about to see, from The Lord of the Rings, has seven frames. The largest frame at the bottom
is the nal cut of the lm. The smaller frames surrounding it comprise the raw, or unedited, footage from six different
cameras, each focusing on a different character or group of characters. The yellow outline that shifts from one camera to
another as the scene plays indicates which cameras footage was used in the nal lm. As students will discover, footage
from all six cameras was used at various points.
Distribute Screening Sheet 2-6: Editing Shot-by-Shot. Although students will study specic types of shots in
chapter 3s lessons on lm language, review the Word Builder terms now to familiarize them with the language used
by the narrator in the lm clip.
For ease in referring to the various shots, and for those students who might not have seen the lm, review the names of
the main characters in The Lord of the Rings. This particular scene, for example, takes place in Rivendell where the Hobbit
Frodo volunteers to carry the ring into the res of Mordor and so destroy it. The other characters shown are those who
volunteer to go with him.
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Close
Ask students to comment on how long it might take to edit an entire lm. Based on their experiences in viewing and
reviewing just one scene, most students will begin to understand that the lm-editing stage of making a movie can
take many months.
Concept
Pacing is a critical factor when selecting which shots to include and which to exclude from a nal cut.
Engage
Dene pacing. Explain that telling a story, even telling a joke, requires timing. If the person telling the story takes too long, the
audience becomes bored. If the person telling the story goes too quickly, the audience may become confused. When editing a
lm, the editor and director not only select the best shots to use but also assemble the shots in such a way that the story unfolds
neither too slowly nor too quickly. In the editing studio, this is called pacing. Timing is equally important when sensing an
audiences reaction a gasp, a scream, a laugh. The editor must anticipate audience reaction and allow time for that reaction
on the edited lm.
Answer Key for Screening Sheet 2-6:
Editing Shot-by-Shot
First Viewing
1. How do the images in the various frames differ? Answers will vary but should focus on the main idea that some
frames show just one character, such as Gandalf or Aragorn, while other frames show multiple characters. Also,
some images within the frames are close-ups of the characters, while other images are shot from farther away.
2. How does this lm clip help you understand what a lm editor does and how? The lm clip shows what
movie audiences generally dont see the raw footage that does not make it into the nal lm. Most students should
understand that a lm editor must carefully review all camera footage in order to select the best shots to communicate
the story.
Think More About It (Second Viewing)
1. What did you notice in the second viewing that you didnt see in the rst viewing? Having discussed the
differences in camera distances, students may recognize in the second viewing close-ups and emphasis on particular
characters.
2. What did you learn about shooting and editing a lm that you did not know before viewing this lm clip?
Answers will vary but likely will focus on the idea that more than one camera in fact, often as many as six lm
the same scene from different angles, focusing on different characters. Others may say that they did not know that
an editor assembles the best shots into a nal lm using cuts from various reels of raw footage.
View Film Clip 2-6: Editing Shot-by-Shot. After the rst viewing, pause the DVD and allow students to complete
the rst two questions on the Screening Sheet. After discussing student observations, replay the segment again so that
students can observe more closely which shots from the raw footage were used in the nal lm. Emphasize that in order
to select the best shots to assemble into the nal lm, an editor may spend hours, even days, in the studio viewing raw
footage for a single scene.
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Display Still 2-2: The Missing Scenes. This includes four storyboard drawings
from the end of the courtroom scene, after Tom Robinson has been found guilty and
is led from the room. As each image appears, ask students to
describe what is happening.
Guided Discussion
1. Identify which image or shot was included in the nal lm and
which was excluded? The second image or shot was the only one
included. The rst, third, and fourth images or shots were excluded.
2. Why, do you think, did the director and the lm editor make the decision to omit these shots from the scene?
Student speculation as to why these shots were excluded will vary. Encourage discussion to focus on the reasons identied
above for deleting a shot: somehow it does not work or is not dramatic; it slows the pacing or slows the storyline.
Emphasize that Atticus walking out of the courthouse is so dramatic that to next show him upstairs in the balcony
would not only slow the storyline but also be anticlimactic.
Close
Share with students this old saying: A lm is written three times once by the writer, once by the director, and a third time by the
editor. Ask students to explain what they think that means. Focus attention on how the director might make multiple shots
of a single scene and then decide in the editing process which version to use and how and even where in the plot sequence
to place it all of which will change the story.
Answer Key for Reading Activity 2-5:
What to Include, What to Exclude
Think More About It
Why did the lm editor omit passage B from the nal lm? Emphasize that the reasons for cutting a scene are
many and may include that the shots werent dramatic or in some way did not work. The acting, for example, might not
have been convincing. Another reason is that the pacing or timing might have been too long and the director wanted to
move sooner into Atticuss summation in order to keep the audience interested.
1. Why does Mayella cry? Why does Dill cry? The passage suggests that Atticus has hit Mayella hard with his
questioning. She is upset by being forced to answer questions about what happened, so much so that she glares
with hatred at Atticus. As for Dill, Scout thinks the heat has made him sick. But outside, Dill tells her Mr. Gilmers
meanness toward Tom has made him sick.
2. What information about Atticus does passage A reveal? His gesture head down suggests he is upset by
what he has had to do to try to get the truth from Mayella. He is compassionate, not mean.
3. What information about Scout does passage B reveal? Scout does not want to leave the courtroom and does so
only because Jem tells her she must. But she nevertheless cares for Dill and tries to make him feel better.
Explain & Explore
Distribute Reading Activity 2-5: What to Include, What to Exclude. Have students read both passages,
then discuss the questions. Students must make inferences to answer the questions, and so their answers will vary.
Recommended answers are below.
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Engage
Ask students what part of the United States they associate with country-and-western music, with jazz, with rap, with reggae.
Their responses will vary, depending on their knowledge of music. Typically, people associate country-and-western with rural
areas, the South, or the Old West. Jazz usually conjures a cosmopolitan environment. Accept all reasonable responses.
Next, test students listening skills by reading aloud this quote from Elmer Bernstein. Bernstein was the music composer for
To Kill a Mockingbird. Initially, he was stumped about what music could best express the storys themes.
I had six weeks before I wrote a note of any kind. I didnt know what to do. I sat there like a dummy for six weeks and just
couldnt get into it. I couldnt gure out what the lm was about in a way that was an open door to walk through. Certain
things were obvious it was about racism, the Depression, the South. But the minute you say its about the South you get tied
up with geography. Do you want banjos and the blues? I didnt want to get involved in geography.
Guided Discussion
1. Have you ever felt the way Elmer Bernstein did that you couldnt think of what to write or do for an assignment?
If so, what did it feel like? Students answers will vary.
2. What do you think he means when he says I didnt want to get involved in geography? Hes not talking about
drawing maps. Ensure that students understand his meaning: We associate certain places with certain types of music.
Explain & Explore
Distribute and display Graphic Organizer 2-11: What Does the Music Composer Do? to introduce students to this
stage of the lmmaking process. Review each task on the illustration.
Distribute Screening Sheet 2-7: Music and Meaning. Explain that this screening activity has two parts and that the
DVD will stop between part 1 and part 2. Review the Screening Sheet, including the Word Builder terms, the questions,
and the chart, so that students know what to observe and record.
View Film Clip 2-7: Music and Meaning, Part 1 Interview with the Composer. After viewing, discuss student
observations. Answers will vary. Recommended answers include those listed on the chart below.
Answer Key for Screening Sheet 2-7:
Music and Meaning, Part 1Interview with the Composer
1. What idea inspired Elmer Bernstein in writing the childrens theme? Because the story unfolds through the eyes
of Scout and Jem, the composer developed a musical language for them based on how children play a piano when
experimenting. They poke randomly at the keys, usually with one nger.
2. According to the composer, Boo Radley means two things to the children. First, he is scary. Describe the
type of music the composer created to convey scariness. To communicate the childrens fear, Bernstein composed
frightening music with lots of texture and rising dynamics. He calls it over the top, which means exaggerated.
3. The second thing Boo Radley represents to the children is mystery. Describe the type of music the composer
created to suggest mystery. To communicate mysteriousness, Bernsteins music is soft, tentative, or hesitating. You
hear a few notes, then a pause, then a few more notes. It doesnt say anything, but it asks a question.
Concept
The music composer works with the director to determine where and how music might enhance the visual storytelling.
To do this, the composer keeps two key goals in mind: Music can convey information, and music can trigger an emotional
reaction in the audience.
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Close
In lesson 3, cinematographer Conrad Hall said he thinks visually. He imagines the lm without sound, meaning the images
must convey the story. This lesson, however, shows that music too conveys meaning. To illustrate how images and music
build layers of meaning, play a scene from a lm without the volume. Simply press the mute button on the remote control.
Ask students to describe what is happening. Then play the selection again, this time with the sound, and ask students to
describe how their interpretation of and reaction to the shots have changed. West Side Story has an excellent example for this
type of viewing-and-listening activity. On the DVD format, go to chapter 3, The Sharks.
Answer Key for Screening Sheet 2-7:
Music and Meaning, Part 2Ears and Eyes
Ears Soundtrack Only
How does the music change from beginning to end?
Eyes Soundtrack with Images
How does the music mirror the action in the scene?
In the beginning, the music is quick-paced, light, upbeat,
playful. One could imagine someone dancing. In the
middle, the music becomes ominous, warning; the tone
becomes deeper, and the music is at times loud and
scary. Once danger is past, the music again becomes
playful and quick, as it was in the beginning.
When the children are playing, the music is also playful.
It rolls along quickly, as does the tire. As Scout nears the
mysterious Radley house, the music changes to reect
what the children perceive as danger. As Jem runs onto
the porch and touches the door, then ees, the music
again changes to suggest his adventurous escape. In all
cases, the function of the music is to communicate the
emotions the children are experiencing. The music is
another way for the lmmakers to tell the story from the
childrens point of view.
Scoring Still Photographs
Apply what you have learned about music and meaning in this
activity. Select ve photographs that suggest the same mood or
emotion. Then hunt through music selections until you nd just
the right music to enhance their meaning. Find out more by going to
The Story of Movies Web site at www.storyofmovies.org.
Introduce part 2. Explain that students will rst hear the soundtrack for a short scene from To Kill a Mockingbird. The
screen will be black, and they should try to imagine what is happening. Then the scene will automatically play again,
this time with the images. The goal of the activity is to illustrate how music can suggest meaning but also how a composer
creates a music score that reects the action in the scene.
View Film Clip 2-7: Music and Meaning, Part 2 Ears and Eyes. Discuss student observations. Recommended
answers are on the chart below.
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