Lesson 5

Lesson Goals

Texts

Core

• • “Your Favorite Stories” from “Pixar in a Box: The Art of Storytelling,” Pixar Animation Studios, Khan Academy, 2017

Materials

Tools

• Telling Stories with Film: Culminating Task Checklist

• Culminating Task Progress Tracker

• Telling Stories with Film: Filmmaking Glossary

• Understanding a Movie Tool

• Vocabulary Journal

Editable Google Docs

• Telling Stories with Film: Culminating Task Checklist

• Culminating Task Progress Tracker

• Understanding a Movie Tool

• Vocabulary Journal

Activity 1: View

We will watch a short video featuring interviews with pixar artists about which movie stories have moved or intrigued them, and why.

Watch the video “Your Favorite Stories” from the Pixar in a Box unit, The Art of Storytelling (We Are All Storytellers section, Video 2).

Activity 2: Write

We will complete an activity based on the “Your Favorite Stories” video we viewed to consider the following question: which movies would we take to a desert island?

In your Learning Log, answer the three questions from Pixar in a Box The Art of Storytelling: We Are All Storytellers, Activity 2:

• Part A: Identify the three films that you would take to a deserted island.

• Part B: Why do you think you connected with these stories? Come up with at least one reason for each.

• Part C: What, if anything, do these three films have in common? How are they different?

As you answer these questions, you might find that the movies you love most or find most entertaining are different from the movies that have affected you the most. You might remember a movie you connected with that was sad, shocking, or frightening—a movie that you might never want to see again but that has influenced your thinking and beliefs.

Activity 3: Read – Discuss – Write

Using the Filmmaking Glossary, we will learn about some terms, concepts, and “Tools Of The Trade” that filmmakers use to tell stories.

Step 1

Access the section of the Filmmaking Glossary that presents information about the components of a pitch packet: the overview of a movie used to present its ideas to people who may become involved in making it.

Add new terms from this section of the glossary (title, synopsis) to your Vocabulary Journal, leaving space to write a definition and other notes.

As a class, read, annotate, and discuss the glossary entry for title, considering the following question:

1. What are some of the important things we can learn about a movie from its title?

Step 2

Review the next two entries in the glossary for concepts you have previously studied, logline and concept. Discuss these two elements of a pitch packet in terms of the following guiding question:

1. How are the elements of a movie’s concept and logline important in establishing and communicating the essence of what the movie will be about?

Individually, read and annotate the glossary entry for synopsis, considering the following text-specific questions:

1. What are the purposes and key components of a movie’s synopsis?

2. How is a synopsis different from a treatment?

3. Why might it be important to write a synopsis in the present tense and include visual details about events and characters?

As a class, discuss your responses to these questions, noting specific details from the glossary text that led to and support your answers.

Considering what you now understand about the nature and importance of the elements of a pitch packet (title, logline, concept, character descriptions, and synopsis), discuss the following question:

1. How might developing a pitch packet be an important step in conceiving and promoting a movie idea?

Activity 4: Discuss – Write – Read

We will read and analyze the Culminating Task and identify specific knowledge we are expected to gain throughout the unit, as well as specific skills we will need to succeed on the Culminating Task.

Step 1

Review the Central Question of the unit:

How do we tell stories with films?

Use the following questions to guide a discussion with a partner or small group:

1. What new knowledge have you gained so far in relation to the Central Question?

2. What are you still curious about in relation to the Central Question?

3. What is the relationship between the question and the films you have recently viewed? How do the films shed light on the question? How does the question help you understand the films?

4. How has your thinking about the question evolved, deepened, or changed?

In your Learning Log, write a several-sentence response to Question 3. You will return to this response in later lessons to examine how your understanding of the Central Question has evolved.

Step 2

In a small group, read and discuss the Culminating Task Checklist. Determine what the task expects you to do and the skills and knowledge you need to succeed on the Culminating Task.

Consider and discuss what you have recently learned about the organization and elements of a pitch packet.

Individually, think about and respond to the following questions:

1. What do I need to understand to be successful on the Culminating Task?

2. What do I need to do to be successful on the Culminating Task?

As a group, create a checklist in your Learning Log or use the Culminating Task Progress Tracker to determine what you need to do to succeed on the Culminating Task.

Individually, assess how prepared you are to use the identified knowledge and skills.

Activity 5: Discuss

As a class, we will discuss the storytelling elements and “Tools Of The Trade” for favorite movie stories identified by students in the class.

Your teacher will choose from your responses to the Pixar desert island activity to share with the class.

With each movie that is identified, consider some key questions related to the sections of the Understanding a Movie Tool:

1. What do you know about the movie and the people who made it?

2. What is the movie’s genre?

3. How would you describe the movie’s mood, atmosphere, and style?

4. What is memorable about the movie’s characters and storyline? What is memorable about the movie’s use of visual techniques?

5. What is memorable about the movie’s use of sound, music, and audio techniques?

Activity 6: Write

In our Learning Logs, we will refer to our lists of three desert island movies. We will respond to questions to help us brainstorm ideas about the original movie pitch packet we will develop for the unit’s Culminating Task.

In your Learning Log, read over your list of three movies that you would have with you on a desert island.

Based on what you have thought and said about these movies, respond to the following questions in your Learning Log:

1. In what ways might a movie idea I develop be related to the movies I have identified?

2. How might I want audience members to feel about my movie?

• In what ways might I want them to be entertained?

• In what ways might I want them to feel disturbed or unsettled?

3. What might I want them to think about or learn from my movie?

4. What might be the purpose of my movie? Entertainment, money-making, art, exposing difficult truths, changing the world, or some other purpose?

5. If critics reviewed my movie, what would I want them to say about it and why?

Activity 7: Read

We will submit our choices for the feature film that we will view at home and analyze using the Understanding a Movie Tool, in preparation for the Section Diagnostic.

Submit your choice for the movie you will view or have already viewed at home.

With a partner, review your progress in completing the Understanding a Movie Tool for the film you have chosen to watch.

Ask any clarifying questions about how to complete the tool.

Activity 8: View – Write

In preparation for the Section Diagnostic, we will watch our selected movie and complete the first two sections of an Understanding a Movie Tool for homework.

For homework, watch (or rewatch) the movie you have selected for independent viewing.

Complete the first two sections of your Understanding a Movie Tool for the movie, recording what you have learned about the movie and your first impressions. Begin working on the summarizing and analyzing sections of the tool.