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Lesson 2

All movies—whether they are purely fictional, fiction based on true stories, or documentary— share certain storytelling elements and filmmaking choices. In every movie, filmmakers use story arcs, narrative structure, settings, characters, visual techniques, and sound to tell a story and affect the film viewer. We will begin by analyzing the documentary Blackfish.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I analyze a movie to understand the filmmakers’ intentions about its level of accuracy and realism?

  • Can I trace the relationship between filmmakers’ storytelling techniques and their movie’s effect on viewers?

Texts

Core

  • Multimedia
    • Blackfish, Gabriella Cowperthwaite, Magnolia Pictures, 2013

Materials

Tools

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: View – Write – Discuss

We will view the beginning of the movie Blackfish, noting our initial impressions.

Watch the first 40 minutes of Blackfish.

While you watch the film, use a copy of the Video Note-Taking Tool to write down key details of how the story is told and how visual techniques and sound are used.

When you are finished viewing, use the Initial Impressions of the Movie section of the Understanding a Movie Tool to discuss what you have observed about the following components:

  • level of realism

  • setting (mood and atmosphere)

  • concept

  • style

  • characters

Discuss what the movie’s story spine appears to be and the beats you have noted in the storyline.

Consult the Filmmaking Glossary to read about the concept of a documentary film, and discuss what that might mean about the filmmakers’ choices when making Blackfish.

Activity 2: Write – Read

For homework, we will reflect on our viewing of Blackfish and research information about the movie online.

For homework, in your Learning Log, write a paragraph about Blackfish that responds to the following questions:

  1. What story do you believe the filmmakers of Blackfish want to tell? What might their concept have been?

  2. Based on the storyline so far, what do you predict will happen in the end?

Go online and research the movie, so you can complete the corresponding section of your Understanding a Movie Tool. Dig deeper into the movie’s history, and learn about the controversy that surrounded it as a documentary.