KS4 English Media Assignment

KS4 English Media Assignment

The work you produce in this assignment will result in a piece of coursework for your assessed folder.

TASK

To take a short extract from the novel 'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens and decide how this could be filmed as a scene for a feature length film.

This will include:

a poster/advert to advertise the film
a screenplay for the producer/director, lighting and sound engineers and actors
a storyboard detailing the camera shots and effects needed during the scene
a written report of what you did, the decisions you made and why you made them

AIM

The aim of this unit is to show the coursework moderator that you can comment on the features of a media text, in this case a film. In particular, you will need to:

evaluate how information is presented
understand and evaluate structural and presentational devices and visual images
show an understanding of the characteristics of the medium
express opinions and viewpoints clearly

This sounds a little daunting, but you will soon find yourself doing these things well without even realising it!

Extract from 'A Christmas Carol':

A churchyard. Here, then, the wretched man whose name he had now to learn, lay underneath the ground. It was a worthy place. Walled in by houses; overrun by grass and weeds, the growth of vegetation's death, not life; choked up with too much burying; fat with repleted appetite. A worthy place!

The Spirit stood among the graves, and pointed down to One. He advanced towards it trembling. The Phantom was exactly as it had been, but he dreaded that he saw new meaning in its solemn shape.

'Before I draw nearer to that stone to which you point,' said Scrooge, 'answer me one question. Are these the shadows of the things that Will be, or are they shadows of things that May be, only?'

Still the Ghost pointed downward to the grave by which it stood.

'Men's courses will foreshadow certain ends, to which, if persevered in, they must lead,' said Scrooge. 'But if the courses be departed from, the ends will change. Say it is thus with what you show me!'

The Spirit was immovable as ever.

Scrooge crept towards it, trembling as he went; and following the finger, read upon the stone of the neglected grave his own name, EBENEZER SCROOGE.

'Am I that man who lay upon the bed?' he cried, upon his knees.

The finger pointed from the grave to him, and back again.

'No, Spirit! Oh, no, no!'

The finger still was there.

'Spirit!' he cried, tight clutching at its robe, 'hear me! I am not the man I was. I will not be the man I must have been but for this intercourse. Why show me this, if I am past all hope?'

For the first time the hand appeared to shake.

'Good Spirit,' he pursued, as down upon the ground he fell before it: 'Your nature intercedes for me, and pities me. Assure me that I yet may change these shadows you have shown me, by an altered life!'

The kind hand trembled.

'I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach. Oh, tell me I may sponge away the writing on this stone!'

In his agony, he caught the spectral hand. It sought to free itself, but he was strong in his entreaty, and detained it. The Spirit, stronger yet, repulsed him.

Holding up his hands in a last prayer to have his fate reversed, he saw an alteration in the Phantom's hood and dress. It shrunk, collapsed, and dwindled down into a bedpost.

METHOD

The first thing to do is to reread the extract. We will do this as a group. Now in pairs, discuss the mood of the extract, what might the atmosphere be? Describe the setting, the colours one might expect to see, the sounds, the lighting, the clothing the characters might be wearing (P80-81), the location and so on. Write your notes in the box below:

In order to think clearly about your audience and what would appeal to someone watching the film, at this point we will create our own poster to advertise the film. Look at the sample posters on the handout - what are the characteristics common to both? What does a reader expect to learn from such an advert. Who, indeed, is your audience as this will affect the way in which present your information? (Certification?). Discuss this in your pairs again and write your notes below. Also include any ideas you might have for producing your own advertisement.

THE SCREENPLAY

We are now ready to write our own screenplay for the film. This is rather like a playscript, only you will tend to play particular emphasis to the stage directions. You will need to describe the scene setting and location, the various sight and sounds you would expect to see and hear and the various camera angles used, as well as the dialogue (or monologue in this case). An example of a screenplay can be found below.

Example Screenplay

Night time in the trenches. The only sounds that can be heard are the soldiers moving around and cleaning their weapons with the bare materials remaining. Occasionally the sound of distant shooting far away can be heard.

Misty night sky covers the camp. Bushes and trees form eerie shapes to the untrained night eye on the patrolled ground around the trenches.

(Camera scans the trenches. This shows the audience the poor conditions the soldiers are living in and the few materials and equipment they have. It shows ill and wounded soldiers crying out in pain but no medical help is there.)

SCENE 1

Soldiers in the trench. Several soldiers sitting cleaning their weapons. One is sleeping in the corner and noises of ill and wounded men sound from neighbouring trenches.

Edward (soldier) enters. He breaks the silence.

Edward : "Cheer up chaps, it might never happen!"

Soldier 1 (cleaning weapon looks up) : "So, Eddie when do you think they will attack?"

Soldier 2 (joining in the conversation) : "No, those fascists they have not got the nerve to attack."

Soldier 1: "We're going to die here waiting then." (Silence)

Edward (Trying to rise the other soldiers hopes) : "Come on, lets look on the bright side and think about going home. I know lets play cards."

(Produces a pack of old looking cards from his pocket. Several soldiers gathered round him. One of the soldiers - Frederick joins the conversation. He stands up from where he was seated and moves towards the group of soldiers)

Order of Events in your Screenplay

Setting, sounds, lighting

Storyboard and instructions for camera shots - see the Storyboard and Camera Shots handouts

Specific description of Scrooge and Ghost

Scrooge: (dialogue + stage directions)

Glossary of Terms

Below is a list of useful terms that might be helpful:

Media Language	Comment
Framing	Why has the camera operator composed the images in this way? What is the balance of LS, MS and CU. Are there any BCU's?
Location	What can we tell about the sequence from the place in which it is set?
Camera angle and movement	Why has the camera angle been placed or moved in this way?
Lighting	The effect of the light on the mood or tone of the sequence.
Colour	Is it very bright, or dark and brooding, or even black and white? How does this affect us?
Music	What mood does any music have on our response to the sequence?
Sound effects	What did you hear and why were they present?
Costume and make-up	How does this add to our 'reading' of a character?
Editing	How long is each individual shot held? Why have the shots been arranged in this order?

The final thing you need to do is to write a report of based on what you have done during this unit. You need to show in particular an understanding of the process involved, the technical language used and an appreciation of the audience you are producing the work for.