Judith J. Katz
I believe that the most natural, hence the best way to start students thinking about Narrative Structure is to help them focus on the most basic elements of a story which are the beginning, middle, and end. Most people including high school students when confronted with a story they have never seen, read, or heard before, concentrate naturally on trying to follow the actionthe plot. Clearly without a solid beginning, middle, and end a story falls flat. But what makes for a solid beginning, middle, and end? What words can we use to describe the qualities that make them powerful. Janet Burroway and Susan Weinberg, in their book, Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft, call these key sections of a story the conflict, crisis, and resolution. (page #)
I would hope that students are not hearing this idea for the first time, in ninth grade, but they very well may be. In my classes we refer to Conflict, Crisis, and Resolution as CCR. Why? For two reasons: the first is that students like to have a slangy, catchy, slightly secretive way of remembering key elements. It makes things a bit more fun. The second reason is because it gives students an opportunity to reinforce the three words over and over.
As a teacher/facilitator I make it my business to use the acronym CCR often in conversation, and to frequently throw out the question: What does CCR stand for again? I'll write it on the board and wait until someone or several someone's call out the answer. Writing it on the board is good for the visual learners and hearing it is good for the auditory learners. Some students remember quickly, some slowly, and some not at all. For all three groups having the words and acronym repeated often fortifies their knowledge in a way that makes CCR a part of our communal vocabulary.
Film: Wallace and Gromit: The Wrong Trousers, by Nick Park
I have chosen the short (30 minutes), stop-action (claymation) film, Wallace and Gromit: The Wrong Trousers, by Nick Park as the first film in the series of films to be shown in this unit. Wallace and Gromit: The Wrong Trousers is an excellent choice to begin with because it is short which affords the students an opportunity to view the entire piece in one sitting, regardless of the length of the class period (block or single). Along with its appealing length the film is very compelling to watch for a variety of reasons including the fact that it is made in stop-action animation (claymation) which is a format not widely used at this time and so brings with it a one-of-a-kind cachet that will appeal to students. The animation is consistently impeccable and never seems jerky, or amateurish. The overall continuity of the piece is also consistent so that it is easy to fall into the universe of Wallace and Gromit without being bounced out by visual or audio cues that don't seem to fit the action.
The narrative structure of the The Wrong Trousers is also quite simple and straightforward. Wallace, a gentle, lower middle class fellow, buys a pair of technologically enhanced pants for his dog, Gromit's, birthday. The idea is that the pants will take Gromit on his daily walks. However when economic problems force Wallace to take in a mysterious and shady border (Penguin), Gromit is driven from the house by the Penguin's bizarre behavior. Once Gromit, who does a good bit of the care taking of both the house and Wallace, is out of the picture, the Penguin's nefarious plan to strap Wallace into the trousers, and have him rob the local museum of it's most valuable treasure is enacted without hindrance. Gromit returns in time to save the day and the film climaxes in a wonderfully tongue-in-cheek take off on a speeding-train-genre shoot out, which is enacted on a model train that speeds throughout Wallace and Gromit's home.
The Wrong Trousers is amusing, endearing, and has a very clear major CCR, as well as a number of smaller CCR patterns that take place in individual scenes to create the rising action of the film. The variety of CCRs available in Wallace and Gromit make it a very suitable film for beginning analysis. It is a rare 14 year old who does not find something to like in The Wrong Trousers. That is not to say that some students will not be put off by the idea of a stop-action film initially and may consider it "babyish." Generally once the film is on and the majority of students are laughing, writing, and talking about it (yes, while it's on) the gestalt of the room carries the naysayers.
Projected Length of Lesson
Because this is the first lesson in the unit, and there are a great number of ideas and activities to set up, that will later become second-nature, I project that this lesson will take three to four days, depending on how well students integrate what they need to do and keep track of.
On day one I expect to cover the introductory elements of CCR and Mise-en-Scene, as well as have the students make their film journals. They will decorate the film journals as they see fit. I have observed that personal decoration of any type of writing journal is a major step in the commitment process of owning and using one.
On day two I expect to briefly review the ideas of CCR, Mise-en-scene, and how to use the film journal, after which I expect to show the film, Wallace and Gromit: The Wrong Trousers. Once the film is over, and before anyone can say a word, I will tell students to turn to a fresh page in their film journal and take ten minutes to quick-write about what they've seen. They can write a reflection, reaction, memory, connection, thing that touched them in some way, a like or dislike. I will go around and help students who have trouble getting started.
On day three I expect to begin the class by having students read their ten-minute quick-writes from the prior class. We will use the rest of class to write a simple, three paragraph review of Wallace and Gromit: The Wrong Trousers. I will give students a self assessment rubric/to do list that will outline for them, the elements I expect their review to contain.
Introduction To The Process and Elements to Observe
Narrative Structure: Conflict, Crisis, Resolution (CCR/Plot)
Finding a topic to write about is one of the most difficult parts of the writing process for most students.
In order to both simplify the process while creating an environment in which students will have to choose a topic that requires higher order thinking I will limit the topics students can write about to Formal Topics as described by Timothy Corrigan and Patricia White in their book, The Film Experience. They describe formal topics as topics that,
…concentrate on forms and ideas within a film, [including] character analysis, and
stylistic analysis […] As a formal topic, character analysis concentrates its argument on a single character or on the interactions between more than one character, while narrative analysis chooses a topic that relates to the story and its construction. Stylistic analysis offers a wide variety of topics that engage in formal arrangements of image and sound, such as shot composition, editing, and the use of sound. (486)
Essentially the Formal Topic, in all of its possible permutations, makes up the topics that students will be focusing on throughout the unit and in their Film Essay.
I will write a series of specific, model examples for each type of writing I expect the students to do. I will use the film Finding Nemo, directed and written by Andrew Stanton, as the basis for all model writing. I have chosen Finding Nemo for several reasons including the following: most students have seen it, liked it, remember it, and if they haven't it is readily available in a variety of easily accessed formats for students to watch on their own. In addition the film has the same, clear-cut qualities that we will be examining throughout this unit: strong Narrative Structure, Character Development, and Stylistic elements. The first model writing example and handout will be the analysis of the Formal Topic of Narrative using the CCR of one scene in Finding Nemo. This will be a well developed three paragraph essay and will give students an idea of the way in which I expect them to use supporting evidence in their writing.
Another reason for creating all writing models from Finding Nemo is that it shows students that there are many ways to write about Narrative Structure, Character Development, and Causal Logic within one film. Finally, experience has shown me that when I pull a writing model from the reading/viewing that I want the students to use they feel that I've taken the "best, easiest, smartest" example possible and "what could (they) possibly do that would be as good?" Using Finding Nemo removes that sidetrack and puts the onus on them to find there a "good" topic.
If you are not inclined to write a series of model examples, you may use a variety of handouts and activities to accomplish that task. Two other ideas I have used to give students good writing samples are:
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· Using the internet, have students log onto www.rottentomatoes.com. This website provides a wide variety of reviews of films. Have the students use the search box to find reviews of any movie they have seen (on their own time) and liked. Chances are these might be movies you would never watch. No matter. We're not concerned with the quality of the film we're concerned with the quality of the review. Have the student print out and study the structure of the review. What information does the critic give the reader, and in what order. Students should read these reviews like writers, not like fans.
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· Prior to beginning the unit, you (teacher) can find a well written review in a magazine, newspaper, and or on the internet. You can make copies and study the content and organization with your class.
Mise-En- Scene
Corrigan and White define mise-en-scene as,
A French theatrical term meaning literally "put on stage"; used in film studies to refer to all the elements of a movie scene that are organized, often by the director, to be filmed and that are later visible onscreen. They include the scenic elements of a movie, such as actors, lighting, sets, costumes, make-up, and other features of the image that exist independently of the camera and the processes of filming and editing. (521)
I think it is important to introduce the idea of mise-en-scene very early in the unit. Student writers generally fall into one of two categories when it comes to the kind of story details that, in film, are the mise-en-scene. They either overburden their writing with an enormous amount of detail that is not necessary or they use no detail.
Mise-en-scene is a very sophisticated idea and not an easy one to understand without some effort. However, I do not think it is at all beyond the capability of students to understand that a filmmaker, like a writer, has a myriad of decisions to make in every frame or sentence. Underneath each artistic decision is one of the primary essential questions all artists face during the creative process; what to put in and what to leave out. That is the question at the heart of the idea of mise-en-scene and the sooner, in this unit, students begin to train themselves to notice those things, the sooner they will come to see how much of any art is controlled. Without this essential understanding of the artistic process, students will have a very hard time creating credible, compelling stories of their own.
I will encourage students to keep their eyes and ears open for the elements of mise-en-scene by prompting them with questions like: what makes you look/listen? What do you see/hear? What do you think the director put in especially for you to notice and why? Do you see any recurring patterns? Are there things that don't belongthat are jarring to you?
Keeping A Film Journal
The idea of mise-en-scene leads rather neatly to the activity of keeping a film journal. Where better, after all, is there to keep the kinds of observations that the mise-en-scene demands of the viewer.
Students will create a film journal using a manila file folder, lined filler-paper, and brass clips. Naturally it will take some practice for students to be able to watch a film while taking notes at the same time. But since many students assure me that they can do their homework while watching television, movies, and or listening to music, I imagine this is a skill they can hone rather quickly. At least that is the way I will pose the challenge to them.
I expect the film journal pages to have certain common elements. Every page should have the name of the film and the date in the upper right hand corner. I expect that there will be a series of pages with rough notes that are taken quickly while watching the film. I will give students a double-sided example of a film journal page that I will create based on Finding Nemo. This handout will give them an idea of what rough notes and a quick-write might look like.
I intend to give students at least ten minutes at the end of each viewing period to write a quick reflection on however much of the film they have seen so far. In the case of The Wrong Trousers students should be able to watch the entire film and have time to do a quick-write immediately following the film.
Student Assessment Activity
Students will be expected to write a three paragraph review/essay based on CCR or Mise-en-scene and using information either from their film journal or memory, as long as they can provide film-based supporting evidence. The film will be available in the classroom during the writing of the review/essay and students will be allowed to use the film if they need to.
Because of the brevity of the film, I would consider running the film again, while people are working on t heir writing, if the students request me to.
I will give students a rubric entitled "Working Self Assessment Rubric for The Three-Paragraph Essay: CCR/plot" (see below). The rubric will give the students guidance on the various elements I expect their review/essay to contain. Some of the elements I expect to be included in t he essay are: topic sentences, film based supporting evidence, a conclusion, and various basic grammatical ideals.
Before students begin writing I will read them a sample, model review/essay that I will write, based on Finding Nemo.
Students should expect to use the self-assessment rubric below to discover what they have covered in their review and what they still need to write. I have also developed a graphic organizer that the student and teacher can use to keep track of the progress of the students work. It can be found at the end of the unit. Your review should cover the following points:
Section one is worth 30 points
· I have written three paragraphs
· Each paragraph has a topic sentence
· Each paragraph has supporting evidence related to the topic sentence
· Each paragraph has a conclusion that ties together the topic sentence and the supporting evidence.
· I have written about one plot, either the main plot or a subplot
· Each of the three items in section two is worth 20 points – whole section 60 points
· I have identified and explored, in writing, the conflict of the film
· I have identified and explored, in writing, the crisis (climax) of the conflict
· I have identified and explored, in writing, the resolution (if any) of the conflict in the film
· Section three is worth 10 points
· I ran spell check
· I read the piece out loud to myself to make sure it makes sense.
Students are expected to hand in their review/essay when they believe that they have accrued 100 points. They can ask questions or ask for help at any time.