Film Adaptation of a Novel: Creating the Movie Poster

Grade Eight Language Arts

UNIT: Novel Study
Language Arts Strand:  Media Literacy

LESSON TOPIC:
Film Adaptation of a Novel: Creating the Movie Poster and Analysing its Effects

Content: The Giver (or the novel currently being studied)
Think Literacy: Media, Grades 7-10LESSON OUTLINE:

LESSON ONE

• Outline the following media concepts with the students, demonstrating an example of each: all media are constructions, which represent versions of reality; every media text has its own codes and conventions; messages and values are contained in every media text; audiences negotiate meaning.  (Please see handout on “Key Concepts of Media Literacy” on page 4 of Think Literacy, Media, Grades 7-10).
• To help develop these concepts, work through the examples provided in Cable in the Classroom: www.media-awareness.ca, www.aml.ca, or other media literacy resources.

LESSON TWO

• Using, “A Guide to Reading Visual Texts” (Think Literacy, Media, Grades 7-10, p.8) model an analysis of the movie poster from The Matrix (posters can be printed or purchased from the website: (http://www.allposters.com), looking at the key elements of production (design), text (message), and audience.
• To help students frame their responses, review the handout “Film Camera Technology” (Think Literacy, Media, Grades 7-10, p.16) to outline types of shots, camera angles, and film terms.
• Once the codes and conventions are explored, guide students in a critical discussion of the media text, using the “Questions for Exploring the Key Concepts” (Think Literacy, Media, Grades 7-10, p.9) below.

Questions for Exploring the Key Concepts

1. All media are constructions.  How is this media text constructed? (Consider the key ingredients used – technical and symbolic.)  How effectively does it represent reality?

2. Media contain belief and value messages.  What lifestyles, values, and points of view are represented in this media text? Who or what is missing?

3. Each person interprets messages differently.  What meaning do you get from the media text?  Why might some people take a different meaning from this text?

4. Media have commercial, ideological or political interests.  Who do you think created this and for what purpose?  Who might benefit from the message?  Who might be disadvantaged?

5. Each medium has its own language, style, form, techniques, conventions, and aesthetics.  What techniques are used to construct this text and its message? How effective are they?

• Divide the class into groups of four and have them deconstruct different versions of the movie poster for the film, Smallville (which can also be downloaded from www.allposters.com)

• Turn the small group discussion to a large group discussion regarding how the form shapes the content

LESSON THREE

• Using, “A Guide to Reading Visual Texts” (Think Literacy, Media, Grades 7-10, p.8) model an analysis of the book cover for the novel The Giver, using the following questions (which mirror the questions that will guide their creation and analysis of their movie poster in the culminating activity):

• Divide students into groups of four and hand out four different version of book cover art for The Giver.
• Each group is required to deconstruct the book cover using the questions above.
• Each group will present their deconstruction of the artist’s intent to the entire class
• In a large group discussion, have students compare their reactions to the movie posters from The Matrix and Pleasantville to the book covers from the novel The Giver, with a focus on the thematic links between the movie posters and the book covers.  Discuss how the “form” of the text can shape the “content or message”.

LESSON FOUR

• Introduce the culminating activity: “Movie Poster Creation, Analysis, and Reflection”  (please see attached handout and rubric). The culminating activity will require students to create a movie poster for the upcoming film version of the novel The Giver for an intended target audience.  They will also be required to analyse and reflect on the reasons for their choices in producing the media text, with a focus on the technical and symbolic codes, and the effect of these chosen conventions to convey a message to their chosen audience.  Explain the expectations, assessment and evaluation components of the assignment.

• Technology in the Classroom: If a computer lab is available (and the software), have students create their movie poster for The Giver, using Photoshop.  Otherwise, they may cut and paste images of celebrities (to represent the characters) onto poster size paper.

LESSON FIVE

• Provide students with in-class time to write the outline (answering the questions that pertain to the assignment) of the analysis.
• Conference with students to ensure they are considering all aspects of the relationship between content and form.
• Assign students to complete the analysis (“Notes from the Advertiser”) at home.

LESSON SIX

• Have students peer-edit their written analysis.
• Once peer-editing is complete, students may start the reflection portion of their written piece, which is due next day.

LESSON SEVEN

• Movie Poster Premiere:  students will present their creations to their target audience (peers and the “Movie Director”, or teacher) to test the effectiveness and the selling power their creation has, given their intended audience.
Assessment and Evaluation:

Formative: class discussion of media concepts; student- teacher conferencing; peer-editing; presentation (movie poster premiere); teacher observation checklist for daily class work (learning skills); completion of work in restrictive time frame (independent and group work); listening, writing, editing and reading skills; roving conferences

Summative: Movie Poster, Analysis, and Reflection

Key Concepts of Media Literacy

1. All media are constructions
Media present carefully crafted constructions that reflect many decisions and result from many determining factors. Much of our view of reality is based on media messages that have been pre-constructed and have attitudes, interpretations and conclusions already built in. The media, to a great extent, give us our sense of reality. When analyzing a media text consider the following questions: What message is it proposing? How well does it represent reality? How is the message constructed?

2. The media contain beliefs and value messages
Producers of media texts have their own beliefs, values, opinions and biases. These can influence what gets told and how it is told. Producers must choose what will and will not be included in media texts, so there are no neutral or value-free media messages. As these messages are often viewed by great numbers of viewers, they can have great social and political influence. When analyzing a media text consider the following questions: What lifestyles, values, and points of view are represented in this text? Who or what is omitted?

3. Each person interprets messages differently
People who watch the same TV show or visit the same Web site often do not have the same experience or come away with the same impression. Each person can interpret a message differently based on age, culture, life experiences, values and beliefs. When analyzing a media text consider: What meaning do you get from the text? How might others understand it differently? Why?

4. The media have special interests (commercial, ideological, political)
Most media is created for profit. Advertising is generally the biggest source of revenue. Commercials are the most obvious means of generating revenue, although advertising messages take many forms, including product placement, (e.g., paying to have a product prominently displaying in programs or movies), sponsorships, prizes, pop-up ads, and surveys on the Internet, celebrity endorsements or naming a stadium or theatre. Some media are created for specific ideological or political purposes, When analyzing a media text, consider: Who created this and why? Who benefits if the message is accepted? Who may be disadvantaged?

5. Each medium has its own language, style, form, techniques, conventions, and aesthetics
Each medium creates meaning differently using certain vocabulary, techniques and styles. In a movie or TV show, when the picture dissolves, it indicates a passage of time. Hot links and navigation buttons indicate that you can find what is needed on a Web site. A novelist must use certain words to create the setting and characters, while other media use images, text and sound. Over time, we understand what each technique means. We become fluent in the “languages” of different media and can appreciate their aesthetic qualities. When analyzing a media text, consider: What techniques are used and why? How effective are the techniques in supporting the messages or themes of the text?

Questions for Exploring the Key Concepts

1. All media are constructions.  How is this media text constructed? (Consider the key ingredients used – technical and symbolic.)  How effectively does it represent reality?

2. Media contain belief and value messages.  What lifestyles, values, and points of view are represented in this media text? Who or what is missing?

3. Each person interprets messages differently.  What meaning do you get from the media text?  Why might some people take a different meaning from this text?

4. Media have commercial, ideological or political interests.  Who do you think created this and for what purpose?  Who might benefit from the message?  Who might be disadvantaged?

5. Each medium has its own language, style, form, techniques, conventions, and aesthetics.  What techniques are used to construct this text and its message? How effective are they?

T H I N K L I T E R A C Y : Cross – Curricular Approaches , Grades 7 – 1 2, pp. 4-5

Teacher and Student Resource

A GUIDE TO READING VISUAL TEXTS

A photographer, graphic designer or ad director carefully composes a text, such as a photograph, poster or ad, to convey a message to his or her intended audience. The text is constructed in a particular way and is the result of many conscious decisions. The creator of the text decides what technical elements to use and what content to focus on to create a text that will convey a particular message to the audience that he or she is trying to influence in a certain way.

Examine an ad or other print media text for the following components:

PRODUCTION/DESIGN
Composition:
• use of blank space
• arrangement of elements in the picture (what is placed where; the connection between items or objects)
• what is excluded or cropped
Camera Angles and Types of Shots:
• use of various camera angles to convey meaning (low camera angle suggests the subject is powerful)
• use of various shots to convey meaning (close up suggests intimacy)
Lighting and Colour:
• the use of lighting and colour to create a certain kind of mood or atmosphere
Copy:
• the use of specific vocabulary and punctuation

TEXT/MESSAGE
• who or what is represented
• choice of models or actors
• use of stereotypes
• body language; facial expression
• relationship of characters – positions of power, inferiority, etc.
• setting
• what ‘story’ is being told
• details

AUDIENCE
• target audience – the audience the creator is trying to reach, based on age, gender, race, class etc.
• active audience – various audiences that respond to the text in different ways

T H I N K L I T E R A C Y : Cross – Curricular Approaches, Grades 7 – 1 2, p.8

Student Handout

Film Camera Technology

TYPES OF SHOTS

Abbreviation     Meaning   Description   Effect
ECU      extreme close up   eye/face   aggression; discomfort

CU      close up    head   reaction/intimacy
head & shoulders  2-3 people

MS      medium shot   to waist   2-3 people

MLS     medium long shot   full body   normal view

LS      long shot    room    normal view

ELS      extreme long shot   house   establishing setting

ES      establishing shot   city    establishing locale

CAMERA ANGLES

LOW ANGLE – camera is looking up – subject looks large – creates the impression of power
NORMAL OR STRAIGHT ANGLE – camera is looking from eye-level at the subject – subject looks even, or
equal to, viewer feels equal to, and may even identify with, subject
HIGH ANGLE – camera is looking down – subject appears small – creates the impression of weakness

FILM TERMS

FRAME – a single still picture or image
SHOT – the images that are filmed from the time the camera starts to the time it stops, with no cuts
SEQUENCE – a series of shots on the same subject
CUT – stop one shot; abruptly start second; create the impression of different places, same time
FADE OUT/IN – go to black; go from black to picture; suggests passage of time, change of place
PAN – camera moves from left-to-right or right-to-left across scene from one subject to another; can be used to create suspense
ZOOM – camera moves in (tight) or out (wide)
TILT – camera moves vertically, up or down

Adapted from Mass Media and Popular Culture Resource Binder. Toronto: Harcourt Brace & Company Canada
T H I N K L I T E R A C Y : Cross – Curricular Approaches, Grades 7 – 1 2, p.16

Student Handout

Movie Poster Creation, Analysis, and Reflection

Create a movie poster for the upcoming film adaptation of the novel The Giver, clearly illustrating and reflecting the author’s intended message.  Your movie poster must incorporate the following from the novel: theme, characters, plot
– You must use original illustrations/graphics, thus, you cannot use the original book cover for your ideas

Analyse:  On the backside of the movie poster you must write a “Note from the Advertiser”, which explains your use of codes and conventions (colour, symbols, images, font and format) in the layout of your poster.  When you explain your use of the codes and conventions, which develops the theme of the novel, you must include at least three specific references (quotations) from The Giver in your explanation of how content and form are closely related.

Reflect:  In addition to the analysis, you must identify your strengths as media interpreters and creators, areas for improvement, and the strategies you found most helpful in understanding and creating the media text.  Then explain how these and other strategies can help you improve as media producers.  Questions to keep in mind: “Was it helpful to think about your audience’s needs or wants before creating your poster?  Does your visual effectively appeal to the author’s original message?”

Student Handout

Movie Poster and Analysis

Criteria Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4
Knowledge/Understanding

• conveys meaningful and relevant characters

• Understanding of visual connection to verbal

• Enhances and develops subtext and mood with well -chosen images
Thinking/Inquiry

• shows creativity and originality (engaging)

• analysis is highly developed and insightful

Communication
• choice of images and words highlights subtext

• Selection and placement of images and words show understanding of elements of design (e.g. line, shape, form, texture, colour, space, mood)

• Material is organized with attention to visual elements (e.g. balance, contrast, emphasis, patterns and uniity)
Application
• poster is executed effectively (visually effective & appealing)

• Applies language and grammar conventions in analysis that does not interfere with understanding
• Reflection is highly developed and insightful

Overall KICA
Final Score
/40