1. Daniel McQuillan d.mcquillan@takapuna.school.nz
Deconstructing Film
Daniel McQuillan

2. Format of the workshop Introductions How are you working now?
Text Selection
Genre as a tool
Close reading - Beyond the CU
The Techniques
Scaffolding analysis
Break

3. Format of the workshop Example scene 1 Example scene 2
Technology that can help
Reviewing the main points
Discussion and feedback
Alcoholic beverages

4. Introductions Who are you? Where are you from? Why are you here?
What films are you currently teaching?
Do you think you are doing a good job?
What is your weakness?
What do you hope to get from this workshop?

5. How are you working now? What is your process for text selection?
Quality of your student work?
How much time do you give to film study?

6. Text Selection
Familiarity
Personal preference
Available resources

7. My Criteria Task & student suitability Technical merit
Opportunity for expanded learning

8. Genre No film is an island! Films are not stand-alone pieces of work
Genre is expectation
In order to fully appreciate, understand and maximise your selected text you must utilise the wider genre

9. Genre in Media Studies Taught at all 3 levels
Meaning beyond merely being a story
Family resemblance
Connections made easier and hopefully critique/analysis more robust
Support core text and show common techniques

10. The ‘Open Door’ Pathways to the extended abstract
Opportunity for excellence
Historical context
Social relevance, impact and influence
Student generated knowledge

11. Media Studies 2.4 Genre External assessment
4 options for 600 word essay
Commercial considerations
Audience Expectation
Development of genre
Common shared features

12. Women in Science Fiction
Barbarella (1968)
Planet of the Apes (1968)
Alien (1979)
Blade Runner (1982)
Aliens (1986)
Terminator 2 (1991)
The Fifth Element (1997)
Gender Roles
Women’s Lib
Contraception
Abortion
Women in power

13. Common Shared Features
Frankenstein (1931)(1994)
Planet of the Apes (1968)
2001 (1968)
Blade Runner (1982)
Aliens (1986)
Terminator 2 (1991)
The Island (2005)
Nature vs Technology
Human rights
Pollution
Globalisation
Medical ethics

14. How do I choose a text?
Certain genres lend themselves to analysis in a more comprehensive way than others. Horror, Science Fiction, Film Noir and Documentaries are all genres that utilize the technical aspects of filmmaking in combination with the thematic and narrative conventions that English requires.
Other genres such as Romance, Biopic and Drama are just as strong in terms of narrative/thematic content but perhaps lack in the technical area, yet often these often seem to be the texts of choice. This is simply shooting yourself in the foot.

15. Close Reading Move past the CU
Complimentary and collaborative techniques
Apparatus rather than Art
Directorial intention v Audience response

16. Camera Movement & Angles
Tracking - The use of and creation of space and depth
Zooming - Similar but also very different in terms of image produced
Steadicam - Unobtrusive voyeurism
Handheld - First person perspective
Tilts, Dutch Tilts - Power and balance
Low and High Angles - Status, scale and perspective

17. Montage/Editing
Cut - Connection, rhythm, pace, juxtaposition & contrast
Transitions - The invisible but manipulative, cutting on the move
Sound - atmospheric and narrative partnership

18. Scaffolding analysis
Just like a literature essay there should always be a structure to written film analysis
Try to overcome the ’obviousness’of the film
Seeing is NOT believing
The forms, apparatus and structure are designed to be invisible to the audience
The visual image, narrative structure and editing are all subservient to the story and character lives, but meaning and emotion cannot exist in the text without the techniques that deliver them
This is why technical merit is such an important criteria in text selection

19. T.U.M.E. Technique – correctly name and identify a technique
Use – The specific and detailed example of the technique
Meaning – What is the job of this technique?
Effect – The result, the impact on audience

20. T is for Technique
This is plainly and simply about practice. If you test your class at the beginning of your unit and find they are either unable to identify the techniques that you present to them (as I have found) then practice, practice and practice again. There is no other way.

21. U is for Use
Avoid vague and lazy answers that are lacking in specificity. Details are key and show concentration and commitment to the assessment. They must be exact and to be so you must make sure you give them the opportunity to be so.

22. M is for Meaning
The student must give reasons why this technique is the one the director has chosen and what is the desired result of it’s use? Once this is clear then how does this technique interact/collaborate with other techniques in the scene and the wider film. The focus here is on the creator of the text.

23. Effect / Affect
The student must now look at the impact of the technique and it’s collaborators on the audience. Supporting evidence becomes key at this point.
That evidence should come from the wider text and genre. To be able to connect your example to those in other texts in the same ‘family’ is great, as it will often be used for similar purposes and has similar results.
Seemingly unrelated genres can still provide good examples to back up analysis. Sci-fi and Film Noir or Horror are the best examples.
Your students cannot fulfill this without having been taught around the text. The contextual and supporting materials of frontloading and pre-teaching a genre cannot be underestimated.

24. The Extended Abstract
It is at this point that the true test of your text comes to be. If your text has ‘open doors’ the students should find themselves able to connect their conclusions to wider ideas, historical events, sociological issues.
The ‘extended abstract’ becomes accessible and allows the student to display the knowledge, understanding and responses that prove their learning in the process.

25. The Island

26. 26

27. Same as previous 27

28. Same as previous 28

29. Same as previous 29

30. Same as previous 30

31. Same as previous 31

32. Same as previous 32

33. Same as previous 33

34. Same as previous 34

35. Same as previous 35

41. The Matrix
Pill Scene

69. Technology that can help you
VLC – video player of all formats and has various features including ‘snapshot’
MPEG Streamclip – allows you to surgically remove scenes or shotsand convert file types
Google Scholar – Academic articles and other writing for extension
Prelinger Archives – Copyright free videos

70. Main Points Choose your text wisely Practice your close reading skills
T.U.M.E & Extended Abstract
Use the available technology
Teach Media Studies instead