Lesson 7
In preparation for writing a synopsis for the Section Diagnostic, we will review our Understanding a Movie Tools with our peers, then team up to analyze and discuss how each movie tells a story.
Lesson Goals
Can I explain the key elements and storytelling choices of the movie I chose for independent viewing to my peers and teacher?
Can I apply the process of analyzing a movie to every movie I watch?
Texts
Core
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- Blackfish, Gabriella Cowperthwaite, Magnolia Pictures, 2013
Materials
Tools
Question Sets
Editable Google Docs
Activity 1: Read – Discuss
In pairs, we will review the Understanding a Movie Tools that we completed for the movie we chose and viewed independently.
In pairs, review your partner’s Understanding a Movie Tool.
Discuss how the movies you have viewed are similar and different, and note connections in the Understanding a Movie Tools you have developed.
Use the following questions from the Section 1 Question Set to provide constructive feedback to each other about what you wrote down on the tools:
Plot and Storyline: How clearly has your partner summarized the storyline of the movie? From the summary, do you have a good idea of what the movie is about?
Theme: Has your partner identified and explained what the theme of the movie seems to be?
Logline: From the logline, does your partner have a clear sense of the movie’s essential story?
Visual Techniques: Has your partner noted and explained examples of how camerawork and other visual techniques are used to style the movie?
Audio Techniques: Has your partner noted and explained examples of how sound, music, and other audio techniques are used to style the movie?
Style: How clear and well supported is your partner’s claim about the movie’s overall style and the filmmakers’ choices to develop that style?
Filmmakers’ Message: How clear and well supported is your partner’s claim about the movie’s message and the filmmakers’ choices to communicate that message?
Activity 2: Write
In our Learning Logs, we will reflect on how to improve our Understanding a Movie Tools and summarize what we have learned about the filmmakers’ choices.
Based on your partner’s feedback and your own reflection, make notes about how you can improve the key sections of your Understanding a Movie Tool before you use it and submit it as part of the Section Diagnostic. Use the review questions to guide your reflection and revision:
Plot and Storyline: How clearly have you summarized the storyline of the movie?
From the summary, do you have a good idea of what the movie is about?
Theme: Have you identified and explained what the theme of the movie seems to be?
Logline: From the logline, do you have a clear sense of the movie’s essential story?
Visual Techniques: Have you noted and explained examples of how camerawork and other visual techniques are used to style the movie?
Audio Techniques: Have you noted and explained examples of how sound, music, and other audio techniques are used to style the movie?
Style: How clear and well-supported is your claim about the movie’s overall style and the filmmakers’ choices to develop that style?
Filmmakers’ Message: How clear and well-supported is your claim about the movie’s message and the filmmakers’ choices to communicate that message?
Thinking about your movie overall, respond to these questions based on both your partner’s Understanding a Movie Tool and your own. You and your partner can work together on the following prompts:
List three storytelling choices of the filmmakers of each movie.
Explain why you think the filmmakers made each choice.
Activity 3: Read – Discuss
We will learn more about the concept of a movie synopsis and prepare to write a synopsis of the movie we viewed for the Section Diagnostic.
Step 1
Review the entry for synopsis in your Vocabulary Journal and then in the Filmmaking Glossary. Pay particular attention to the third paragraph in the glossary entry, and consider the following question:
What are the key things we learn from a short and clear synopsis?
As a class, discuss what a movie synopsis is and the role it has in the development and marketing of a movie. Distinguish the concept of a synopsis from a summary or treatment.
Step 2
Review the Section 1 Diagnostic Checklist, noting that your task will be to write a synopsis for the movie you watched independently, using your Understanding a Movie Tool to inform your writing. Discuss the ways in which this synopsis will be similar to and different from a synopsis you might write for a movie you are proposing.
Use key sections of your Understanding a Movie Tool to organize the synopsis you will write:
About the Movie
What key background information about the movie will you present as an introduction to your synopsis?
First Impressions of the Movie
What will you explain about the movie’s introduction of its setting, characters, and concept?
Summarizing the Movie
How will you briefly but completely summarize the movie’s plot and storyline? What will you say about its central conflicts and themes?
Analyzing the Movie
How will you summarize the character arcs for the movie’s central characters?
What visual techniques will you identify as important in creating the movie’s style and atmosphere?
What uses of sound, music, and audio techniques will you identify as important in creating the movie’s style and atmosphere?
How will you present and support a concluding claim about the movie’s overall style?
How will you present and support a concluding claim about the movie’s overall message?
You can also find these planning questions on your Section 1 Question Set.
Activity 4: Read – Write
We will revise our Understanding a Movie Tools in preparation for submitting them as part of the Section Diagnostic. We will then use the tools to plan for writing a movie synopsis in class.
Review your partner’s constructive feedback and your own reflections about your Understanding a Movie Tool. If needed, on a new tool, revise any sections that seem to need improvement.
Use your tool to identify ideas and evidence you can use to write a synopsis of the movie you viewed. Prepare a plan for the synopsis that addresses the planning questions you discussed in class.
About the Movie
What key background information about the movie will you present as an introduction to your synopsis?
First Impressions of the Movie
What will you explain about the movie’s introduction of its setting, characters, and concept?
Summarizing the Movie
How will you briefly but completely summarize the movie’s plot and storyline? What will you say about its central conflicts and themes?
Analyzing the Movie
How will you summarize the character arcs for the movie’s central characters?
What visual techniques will you identify as important in creating the movie’s style and atmosphere?
What uses of sound, music, and audio techniques will you identify as important in creating the movie’s style and atmosphere?
How will you present and support a concluding claim about the movie’s overall style?
How will you present and support a concluding claim about the movie’s overall message?
Be sure to use at least three terms from your Vocabulary Journal in your synopsis.