"Friends" film analysis / Teaching film and editing techniques in class

I chose to describe the opening scene in the sitcom, "Friends." It begins with an extreme shot of a neighborhood. It is a direct shot, as if the view was from someone standing on the street in that neighborhood. The sun is almost completely down, and the lights from the city and street are bright and noticeable; this tells the audience it is dusk. Upbeat music plays for about 5 seconds, then cuts out. It cuts to a long shot of four characters in an apartment. There is high key lighting. Phoebe walks to the window to look at the snow, then says, "Ugly naked Guy is hanging candy canes." Rachel joins her. The view is now from outside their window (telephoto lens) and there is background lighting. The telephoto lens makes it appear as though the characters are far away, but in reality, their not. It then zooms to Rachel and Phoebe to show their expressions/response of Ugly Naked Guy hanging candy canes. Shot cuts to Mediam shot of Ross walking in with a monkey, then a wide angle lens to show the rest of cast and the background (their living room). The shot keeps switching between Ross and the rest of the cast to emphasize Ross' importance. It also creates a divide between them, which will be revealed later in the scene. Chandler makes a joke about Ross having a Monkey while the camera is on Ross, then it switches back to medium view of the rest of cast to show them all laughing together. You can also hear the audience laughing as well, to indicate that this is humorous. The camera then zooms in on Rachel and Monica when Monica asks Ross, "Why don't you get a roommate?" It switches to medium shot of Ross, who states it's pathetic for people their age to still have roommates. Camera cuts to long shot of cast to show their reactions. They all have roommates (Rachel and Monica live together, while Joey and Chandler live together). You hear laughing from the audience, indicating again that this is funny.

As mentioned previously, the show incorporates an audience laughing to indicate which parts the viewers are supposed to find funny. The lighting is high-key throughout majority of the scene, which is commonly found in comedies. Having Ross stand by himself and showing the rest of the cast in one shot sets up a metaphorical divide, which is shown later in the scene when Ross criticizes ALL of them. There are a few close-up shots of characters to show their reactions to comments, which is always comedic.

Teaching film/editing techniques allows students the opportunity to analyze and critique their favorite movies, shows and music videos. Everyone has their favorites (favorite movie, show, or video), but it's important to know WHY they like it so much. This helps them dig beneath the surface and extract aspects and ideas that they often overlook when viewing something. Much like the lesson that was described in the text, I would have them participate in "film circles," which is comparable to "literature circles" that I use today. In literature circles, students are separated into groups of 5, with each student having a "role." These roles include: an artist, the discussion director, the vocabulary enricher, literary luminary, and the checker. Everyone reads the same passage/chapter/section and performs the tasks specific to their role. This exposes all of the participants to different aspects of the reading.

After reading a novel, short story, or poem, I would take the film adaptation and have students write some sort of review on the film, focusing on the film techniques. While viewing the film, each student would have one specific technique to analyze. Because we wouldn't be able to watch the entire film in one sitting, students would switch to a different technique, so that they're familiar with all of them. There would be discussions and presentations on their findings, but the overall goal is to discover how meaning, themes, and other aspects are shown through the use of film techniques, and how this differs from they way they are revealed through novels. Is the film better or worse at conveying a certain quality? You could then relate this breakdown of a film to the breakdown of a novel. It serves as a great bridge/connection.