The Movie Lesson Plan

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
THE IMAX EXPERIENCE (PG)

The Theatre Experience:
I went to see the Transformers movie with my son and older brother this weekend. To prepare for it we first had to rent the first Transformers on DVD so that we would be up to speed with the characters and storyline. My brother is a huge movie nut, my son and I not so much; he insisted we see the movie in IMAX (a bigger screen, bigger sound, and bigger price of course). We tried to see it a few days before but it was sold out 20 minutes before the movie began. We were told to come at least one hour before the start of the movie to guarantee we got tickets and a good seat. We returned the next day one and a half hour before the start of the film and waited in line. This built up our anticipation and excitement waiting in line with like-minded “transformer” fans. It felt like a community. Having the movie available in IMAX also made seeing this high action film in the theatre much more of a “theatre experience”. Sometimes when I go to see a feel-good movie or a comedy, I come out thinking I could have seen this on DVD at home and saved a ton of money. The IMAX EXPERIENCE was perfect for this movie and made it worth the extra money. Speaking of extra money, we just had to buy the Transformers Combo at the concession stand with more popcorn, coke and candy than we really needed.

The Lesson Plan:

Audience: Grade 8 Media Literacy

Rationale: Students will go and watch Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen with the lens of the commercialization of Hollywood movies. We will have studied the concept of Product Placement and discussed the three ways in which products are integrated into the movies we watch today (Cross Promotions, Merchandising, and Tie-Ins). All three are explained with examples in an excellent documentary "Behind the Screens: Hollywood goes Hypercommercial”. After the movie, students will create new “movie posters”

Curriculum Expectations:

Overall Expectations
demonstrate an understanding of a variety of media texts;
create a variety of media texts for different purposes and audiences, using appropriate forms, conventions and techniques;

Specific Expectations
1.1 explain how a variety of media texts address their intended purpose and audience
1.6 identify who produces various media texts and determine the commercial interests that the text may involve
3.4 produce a variety of media texts of some technical complexity for specific purpose and audiences, using appropriate forms, conventions, and techniques

Before – Activation:
Before going to see the movie, students will complete two tasks. First they need to understand the concept of Product Placement by watching parts of a documentary “Behind the Screens: Hollywood goes Hypercommercial”. Next, students will be asked to bring in DVD’s of favourite movies which have products deliberately placed into the movie. For example, “Wayne’s World” does an excellent job of mocking product placement while placing products in the movie at the same time.

During – Processing:
During the movie, students will be asked to watch the movie and make notes of any commercial products that have been placed deliberately into the movie. Because this movie is about robots that transform into mostly cars, most of the product placement involves North American car companies (for example, Chevrolet, Chevrolet Camaro, Corvette, Ford, GMC, Harley-Davidson, Hummer, and Pontiac). Here are some other examples of products I found in Transformers Revenge of the Fallen: Adidas, Air France, Apple, Audi, Budweiser, CNN, Mountain Dew, Nike, Nintendo Game Boy, OnStar, Southwest Airlines, Sprint, and U-Haul.
Here is a Media Bite that looks at GM product placement in the movie:



After-Consolidation:
After the movie, students will be asked to create a movie poster (this is their Performance Task) which illustrates a number of the products that were placed into the movie. Students will use Photoshop Elements to create this poster from an original Transformer movie poster. The teacher will have to demonstrate how to add other images into the original poster image.

Instructional Strategies:
Mini Lecture, view documentary, view movie clips, field trip, discussion, brainstorming, demonstration, performance task, and presentation

Assessment and Evaluation:
Assessment for learning: ask students what they already know about product placement in movies? Brainstorm some possible examples.
Assessment as learning: have students practice manipulating photos using Photoshop Elements. This will not be part of their final grade but a chance to learn the software.
Assessment of learning: the movie poster (media product) will be evaluated using a rubric. Students will illustrate their understanding of product placement and their technical skills. They will also be asked to include a reflective journal entry about the process and their learning.

Below is an example of a rubric:

Materials:
- documentary “Behind the Screens: Hollywood goes Hypercommercial”
- videos such as “Wayne’s World” which illustrate Product Placement
- Photoshop Elements (software) and Internet Explorer (software)
- computer
Below is an example of a Product Placement Movie Poster created by a student: