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:

Literature Review: Media Education

Media Education by David Buckingham



Chapter 1 Why Teach the Media?

In chapter one, David Buckingham defines “media” and “media education”, explains why media education is important, and gives a brief history of media education in England. According to Buckingham, media “provide channels through which representations and images of the world can be communicated indirectly. The media intervene: they provide us with selective versions of the world, rather than direct access to it” (pg 3). This definition supports Key Concept #1 All media are constructions. Media is not reality but an interpretation of reality. He defines media education as “the process of teaching and learning about media”, it “aims to develop both critical understanding and active participation” (pg 4). Here he clarifies the idea of teaching through media versus teaching about media. Teaching through media is merely the use of media such as a DVD about Confederation for a history class; whereas, teaching about media uses the Five Key Concepts and the Media Triangle to deconstruct a media text and gain a deeper understanding of it. He goes on to explain the importance of media education and gives a brief history of media education in the UK. While I found the first chapter interesting and informative (especially the definitions), little of the information would be very helpful or applicable in my middle school media classroom. Chapter 11 Digital Literacies, on the other hand, had much more practical information and advice for someone like me who uses more digital technologies in my computer lab/classroom.


Chapter 11 Digital Literacies

Chapter eleven is much more relevant to me as a media literacy teacher in a computer lab. In this chapter Buckingham discusses the importance of these new digital technologies (for example, video games, web sites, simple animation, chat rooms, audio, digital image manipulation, and video editing) to motivate students in the classroom. While he is concerned with the “digital divide” and the fact that “middle-class children have significant advantages” (pg 181); he mostly focuses on the power of multimedia production. He says that if we do not start using digital technologies at school, the way students do at home, what will occur is “a widening gulf between the styles of learning that are cultivated by formal schooling and those that characterize children’s out-of-school experiences” (pg 176). At home children learn through exploration not explicit teaching, which is what is mostly used at school. I was encouraged by this argument because in my computer lab I often give students long periods of time to “explore” new software and simply “play” with it. Finally, and most importantly, Buckingham argues that “digital literacy must involve creative production in new media as well as critical consumption” (pg 177). Children will gain greater understanding by using digital technology to produce multimedia text. This occurs a great deal in my classroom where students learn about media by creating various digital productions (for example, a comic using Comic Life, a poster or an animation using Photoshop, and a video using Moviemaker). Once again in this chapter, Buckingham makes the distinction between education through media and education about media (pg 179). Finally, I found this chapter much more applicable to me as a computer teacher who teaches media literacy. It was encouraging to read that a great deal of what I am doing with my students is relevant and motivates my students.