Criterion A- Investigation: Shakespeare

Criterion A

This unit that will last until May 12th, 2010, is about modern Shakespeare. In English class we just finished Much Ado About Nothing by Shakespeare, so our final project is to create a video presentation of this Shakespeare play that will appeal to modern day viewers.
Before we start planning our video, we have to write our scripts about a scandal that takes place in the book, which will be written in English class. This will then be used to help us create a humorous and exciting video presentation based on the book. Over this long unit, we will be working hard on accomplishing our goal of creating a video presentation of a Shakespeare play that will appeal to modern viewers.

Materials that will be used include a video camera, costumes, tiny props, actors and actresses, and backdrops. The costumes should resemble the time period of the book, but still be able to appeal to the modern day viewers.

Unit Question:
How can we create a video presentation of a Shakespeare play that will appeal to modern day viewers?

This unit question relates to the project because the English and Design Technology (DT) classes are working together to produce the video presentation. In English class we just finished Much Ado About Nothing, so we are trying to produce a quality video presentation that appeals to modern day viewers. We will do this by creating a TV show that talks about the different scandals that take place in the book. We have noticed that modern day people enjoy the thrill of hearing about scandal and thought that it would help to accomplish our goal by talking about the scandals in Much Ado About Nothing.

AOI: Approaches to Learning
Learner Profile: Communicators

The Area of Interaction (AOI) fits into this unit because we are trying to learn more about Shakespeare’s writings by learning different aspects and the different meanings behind his writings. The Learner Profile, which is communicators, fits into this unit too because we are trying to communicate to modern day viewers of what Shakespeare means and how there is always scandal. We are trying to relate the book to modern times.

I think the study of Shakespeare is important to help us understand what a great writer he is and what his thoughts were like at that time. It shows us different ways of writing and explains how they used to talk during that time period. I expect to learn how to relate old writings into modern times and how to be able to create a video presentation of a Shakespeare play that will appeal to modern day viewers.

This is the first time I have read a book of Shakespeare. I actually thought it was quite hard at first to understand what was going on and the vocabulary use, but in the end I managed to comprehend the book. Other than reading Much Ado About Nothing by Shakespeare, I have not had any experience with him, but I have heard about his great works from people that enjoy his books.

Going back to the unit question, I think that if we relate something from the time of the play to the modern times, such as scandal, we can accomplish a video presentation of a Shakespeare play that will appeal to modern day viewers. Of course everyone enjoys the thrill of hearing about scandal and how people have messed up nowadays, so I think the answer is that you have to relate something from modern times to the time frame when the play was taken place.

Design Specifications
1. The stories must be filmed and all students must play a significant part in the making of the video (script-writing, costumes, background, filming, editing, etc.)

2. The video must be based on the play, using the names and events in the play exactly as they happen.

3. The scripts must be written in modern day English in the format of a news show (interviews, documentaries, news reports, talk shows, etc.)

List of what I need to know before researching
· How to make a quality video presentation
· Camera angles, framing, length, movement
· Filming tips
· Editing tips
How to make a quality video presentation
- have a quality script accepted by the producers
- then create a story board that will mimic the step by step movements of how the video will be filmed
- afterwards find the locations where the video will be set
- then the casting crew will be chosen
- after hiring different works, you start shooting the scenes
- after all the shots have been made, the editor goes through the scenes and edits parts out or put the scenes together
Camera Angles, framing, length, movement
- extreme long shot/ establishing shot: this shot is normally used to set the setting and place. it is a wide shot that shows a lot of the landscape
- long shot: is like establishing shot, but a bit more specific than the broad setting
- full shot: shows the all of the cast and helps us to get an idea of their relationships and what their costumes are like
- medium shot: presents the characters from the waist up, to get a more specific idea than the full shot
- close-up/ personal shot: this shot is even more specific than the full shot and medium shot. It just displays one character close-up
- extreme close up: this shot can either be a close up of the personal shot or an object. this can cause a different attitude and mood for the viewer or audience
- the bird’s eye view: this name comes from the view a bird sees looking down, so this is an angle that shows the viewers what is going on from the top
- high angle: this angle is not as extreme as the bird’s eye view, but still shows a scene from above
- eye level: this is the most commonly used angle in movie production because it allows the audience to feel comfortable viewing the movie at a level they see everything at in real life.
- low angle: low angle is the opposite of high angle, so instead of viewing the characters from above, they are viewing them from an angle looking up at them
- Dutch angle: also known as a canted angle, which is when the camera is title to create the feeling of instability or disorientation to the viewers
- canted angle: this angle is used to normally show instability or a different point of view. The camera is usually tilted for this angle
- panning: this can be used to follow a moving object and capture a scene in a horizontal movement
- tilts: this is like the panning shot, except it moves vertically
- dolly shots/ tracking shot: this shot can be used for movement. It involves a trolley or track that helps move the camera around the scene to view everything in detail
- hand held shots: these shots aren’t made on tripods but as if a person is holding the camera and moving around.
- crane shots: this shot is mostly seen at the end of a video presentation when a crane is used to move the camera upwards
- zoom lenses: this is capable of changing the magnification of the shot either in a quick or slow movement
- aerial shot: this can be even higher than a crane shot, such as been taken in a helicopter displaying a large scene to the viewers.
Filming Tips
- use a tripod to create steady shots that are clear and visible to the viewer
- before choosing locations pay attention to the background noise, such as cars
- if you mess up while filming, don’t say you will fix it later, do it over
- use the white balance setting on the cameras (helps with the lighting)
Editing Tips
- Cut: one scene or image is replaced by another one. One of the most common editing used.
- Cross-dissolve: dissolves and image or scene to another
- Fade-up: this involves when one image or scene fades into another
- Add sound or music effects
- There are many more!
Materials needed
- A camera
- Computer
- Microphone
- Props
- Costumes

Student Jobs
- Editor
- Filmer
- Costume designer
- Person in charge of props
Question
1. What is important for a video presentation?
Good sound and lighting. Appropriate costumes. Visble. Realistic setting/backdrop. Has to get the right mood.
To have a good video presentation you need a good plot, good setting, good acting, good lighting, good camera, good camera perspective, well filmed, realistic costumes and back drop. It should also be as interesting, funny and understandable as possible.
Design Specifications
- Should be funny or interesting
- Should be not to long but not to short
- entertaining

Citations

- "Film Techniques." SKWIRK. N.p., 2010. Web. Mar 2010. .
- "Camera Angles." MEDIAKNOWALL. N.p., n.d. Web. Mar 2010. .
- "Introduction to Film." SKWIRK. N.p., n.d. Web. Mar 2010. .
- "Basic Tips and Techniques for Filming." Jeffrey Knows. N.p., n.d. Web. Mar 2010. .
- "Basic Filming Techniques and Conventions." Serif MoviePlus. N.p., n.d. Web. Mar 2010. .

Final Plan- including the Changes

Evaluation of Coca Cola Poster

To finish up the unit of Inventions and Inventors I decided to create a poster for presenting a familiar invention known as Coca Cola. My poster describes the invention and inventor, as well as the unit question in a clear and neat manner. I asked both Reeza and Mike on their opinions of my poster and here are the results:

1) Is the poster neat?
Yes.
Yes.

2) Is it colorful and attractive?
Yes.
Yes, but it mainly includes only red.

3) Does my poster include the inventor and invention?
Yes.
Yes.

4) Does my poster answer the unit question? (How do inventors come up with their ideas and create inventions?)
It does answer it but not directly and clearly.
Yes.

5) Does it describe how Dr. John Pemberton created Coca Cola?
Yes.
Yes.

6) Are pictures included?
Yes.
There are a few pictures included.

7) It doesn’t have to much information to make it boring, but has the right amount to keep everybody’s attention?
It has the right amount of information.
Yes, it’s a good amount of information.

8) Does my poster have a title?
Yes.
Yes.



9) Does my poster include important questions and their answers that the audience would like to know?
Some of them are important. There could be important questions.
Yes the poster does include important questions and answers that others would like to know.

10) Is the poster detailed and relevant to the project?
Yes.
Yes.

Overall, I am pleased with people’s reactions of my product because I did spend some time working on it. I also enjoyed researching the topic Coca Cola because I found out things that I never knew about. The process of creating my poster and the improvements are talked about below.

Criteria A: Investigate

At the beginning of this unit we got a few worksheets about our invention, in this case I got Coca Cola. This gave us a lot of the main information to do with our invention. After completing this packet we were required to come up with a list of questions about the invention and the inventor; this is where the investigating comes in. We had to do research in order to find the answers to our well thought out questions. An example of one of my questions was, “Is the same logo used as when Coca Cola was first invented?”. After finding the answers to my questions we had to start thinking about what we wanted our final project to be (an essay, video, audio, artwork, PowerPoint, presentation, etc.). Since we weren’t designing anything, this led us straight to Criteria C, which is planning.

Criteria C: Plan

This criterion expects us to create a plan for working on our final product. It should be described in detail and logical steps. I made mine in a graph with the columns consisting of the dates we could work on it, the steps I will take, the time, the materials I need, resources I would need, and the changes I have made in my plan. My plan can be viewed earlier in my blog. I think my plan is very detailed and well-thought out. As you can see, I made a few changes and I went through my product faster than I expected, but in the end it did take me a while and I added a few things that weren’t on my plan.

Criteria D: Create

After constructing my plan, I started to think about the layout and how I wanted my poster to look. I knew I wanted to include the Coca Cola logo and a picture of the can. First, I wrote out the information in pencil and then went over it in marker. Then I found a picture of the Coca Cola logo and go to work on trying to make my drawing look like the actual logo. I also drew a Coca Cola can and glued on a picture of Dr. John Pemberton, the inventor. My finishing touch was the background, which is a zig-zagged cut out as a border. I spent a lot of time on this poster, especially the background, and am pleased with how it turned out.

Suggested Improvements:

We all know that many things can be improved on, so on my poster I think I could have kept my white poster in better condition and not so crinkled. I also think I could have included a few more facts about Coca Cola, but overall at it presented the important information and was straight to the point.
My presentation of the poster was done very poorly, in my opinion, because I get very nervous and tend to speed through to get it over with. This is the main thing I have to improve on and you may not believe it, but I have improved over the years of presenting in front of people.