Teaching Film Techniques in the Classroom

There are a few ways I would like to teach film/editing techniques in my classroom in the future. One way would be to have the students read a Shakespearean play and then watch a film version of it, and perhaps a stage version if the timing is right. After reading the play and discussing what the class thought of the stage directions, line delivery, and so on, we would then watch the film version and compare what we thought to how that particular director envisioned it. It would be optimal if I could get a copy of the particular play on DVD with a director’s commentary track. The class would then know for sure why the director made the choices he or she did. If we would also be able to watch a live stage production and do a “chat” with the cast and crew after that would be excellent. By doing this activity students will have a chance to see how director’s interpretations can influence the mood and feel of a play.

Another way I would like to teach these concepts is to have students create their own Reading Rainbow-type programs. Reading Rainbow was a literacy program on PBS in the 1980’s and early 1990’s. LeVar Burton hosted, and each episode featured a children’s book that some famous person read to the audience. Then there was a ten-minute “extra” feature that related to the story; for a book about farming they might tour a farm. For the last two minutes the program had real kids recommending books to other kids. I might need to find a copy to show today’s classes; they might not be familiar with the program. I would have small groups of students each choose a children’s book to read. They would then create a program through which they could present their book to the class. The groups could do this in any way they want: live-action, animation, a mix of the two, whatever. This will give them first-hand experience with the terminology of film production. It will also allow them to act as hosts, directors, producers, animators, and whatever else they would decide to do for their presentation. I could even have the students bring their projects to the elementary schools to do a presentation.

Yet another way to teach this topic would be to have students act as film critics, something every teenager enjoys doing anyway. They would each need to watch a film of their choice and critique it using the terminology that they learned from the unit. They can create a review of the movie for a newspaper. Aspects of the critique should include: lighting, music, dialogue, scene composition and flow, and how easily relatable the storyline is.

Finally, students could create their own programs/commercials for a school news show. They would be in charge of the entire production, including story choice, editorial pieces, production, and anchoring. I would act more as facilitator for this project instead of instructor. This would definitely be an end-of-unit activity, as it would be totally run by students.