Amp Commercial “Walk of No Shame

Man wakes up in a bedroom with a faceless woman lying next to him. He is singing	There is natural lighting. No lights in the room, but light shines in from a window in the background. Close-up shot of male. This shows that it’s morning and that the male is going to be a main character in the commercial. Piano music plays throughout the commercial, while the actors sing. The music is light-hearted, while the lyrics are humorous. Having the actors sing makes their experience more real, rather than having someone sing off-camera
A different man wakes up in a bed, sitting up, with a woman lying face-down next to him	Medium shot of man and woman lying in bed. Lighting is still only coming from window, giving the sense that this commercial is going to be about mornings. This woman is also faceless, which hints that this is going to be about waking up after a one-night stand.
A woman is looking for her shoe under a bed wearing only a bra and skirt; she’s kneeling on the floor and there’s a man lying on the bed.	Long shot: can see bed with a man passed out. Lighting is still only coming from the window.
The man from the first shot is at an outside vendor purchasing an AMP energy drink	Lighting is natural. Wide-angle lens, medium shot. This allows audiences to focus on the man, but realize he’s outside and other people are going about, doing their everyday thing
Same man from previous shot drinks AMP	Close-up of man drinking AMP. This allows viewers to SEE the AMP label on the can.
Actor sings to camera, while another woman comes in behind him and purchase an AMP drink from vendor.	Change to telephoto lens. This allows the actor to appear farther away while he walks towards the camera.
Mob of actors all dressed in tatterdemalion clothing from the day before singing while walking down the street	Telephoto lens, natural lighting. Medium shot, which allows viewers to see actors expressions, as well as their clothing quite vividly. The natural makes the scene more natural and morning-like. Having the telephoto lens allows the actors to appear to be walking a distance towards the camera. Piano is heard throughout the video, while the actors sing. Maintains a light, humorous mood.

"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.

We're watching/reading/listening to WHAT today?

I am currently student teaching English to 10^th, 11^th, and 12^th graders at St. Paul Central High School. One class I teach is IB World Literature (10^th graders). It is a very rigorous course, which attempts to focus on an equal amount of breadth and depth. Some of the things we are studying include: Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, and Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus. Prior to student teaching, I observed two different classes taught by two different teachers, and it was rare that media was used in the lesson. However, my teachers are not opposed to media. I have met with other teachers, as well as other student teachers, and they have said that they integrate media within their lesson whenever they have time.

As mentioned in the video, children and adolescents feed off media about 8 hours each day on average, which is equivalent to a full-time job. The Media Literacy: State Teaching Standards for Minnesota ask that students critically analyze the messages and points of view found within the media, as well as “analyz[ing] and evaluat[ing] the strategies employed in news broadcasts….and websites related to clarify, accuracy, effectiveness, bias, and relevance of facts.” These literacies are very similar to those needed to explore and examine literature. For example, students need to be able to analyze the message and points of view found within a text. Students appear to be more familiar with media than classic and modern literature. Because some works or authors may be difficult and daunting to students, it may help to begin by examining stuff they already know and by identifying which literacies they will be procuring. For example, when focusing on the message and point of view, students could look at an article in one of their favorite magazines. After they understand and are able to dissect an article that interests them, one could then move into The Importance of Being Earnest.

On that same note, this past week I was attempting to teach a lesson on satire, which is observable in Oscar Wilde’s play. After going over multiple definitions and identifying examples within our discussion, my students were still completely lost as to what it means. I then brought in two clips from Saturday Night Live which focus on Tina Fey impersonating Sarah Palin and Will Ferrell impersonating George Bush. Fortunately, my students understood satire in its entirety after observing those two clips. When it is not relatable to them, the students may not understand it; and one of the main ways to relate to them is through media.

Media Attraction

The section in the reading that quickly grabbed and held my attention is titled, “Building Upon Students’ Active Use in the Media.” Within this topic, it addresses the idea that media is invading children and adolescents’ lives from multiple angles. It has become an easy and efficient way for peers to communicate with one another and form new identities; it also provides them with the access to a plethora of things that attract their interest such as music, videos, and articles. “Through this engagement, they acquire a range of digital literacies required for successful participation in the online, networked social world of the mediasphere” (Beach, 2). Lets face it, almost everyone has willingly submerged themselves head-first into this world due to the amenities it has to offer.

After reading this, I can’t help but reflect on my own experience in high school and the licensure program at the U of M, Twin Cities. Throughout the licensure program, our professors and guest speakers constantly informed us that we (the future teachers) MUST find ways to integrate technology and media into our lesson plans and assignments. I kept thinking to myself, “I’m not familiar with the media and technology that adolescents are interested in today. It’s going to be too hard for me to find ways to implement them into the classroom. I enjoyed reading canonical texts and being talked at by my teacher. If I enjoyed it, I can make my students enjoy it.” Come March, after I had been in the program for ten months, I realized that my way of thinking was definitely NOT an option. Media is everywhere, whether we like it or not. But more importantly, adolescents are absolutely addicted to it!

Looking back at my classrooms in high school proves to be a complete 180 from the classrooms today. Often times, my experience was filled with mundane lectures, note taking, group discussions, and presentations. Occasionally I witnessed the film adaptation of a play or novel we were reading in class in order to help us better understand the language, plot, and characters. Rarely was there research or lessons that integrated or focused on websites, television, magazines, or other forms of media. However, now that I think about it, the media did not pervade my world the way it does today. Of course analyzing and interpreting the text in the “archaic” form of ordinary text was appealing to me; I didn’t know anything different! This was what we, as students, needed to do to succeed. During that time, teachers did not worry about finding ways new ways to engage the students with technologies. They were probably wondering what fancy questions they could ask in the next day’s discussion or how they could develop a summative assessment in the form of a presentation.

Now, as I am currently in the process of becoming a teacher and, hopefully in the near future, obtaining my own classroom, I am constantly searching for ways to integrate media into my lessons plans. Reading straight from the textbook and creating group discussion often causes my students to stare blankly at the wall, daydream, and sleep until I tell them to sit up. Unfortunately, the class that I am teaching has an itinerary and I was FORCED to have the students read from the textbook in class. This was even boring for ME! With that, my classroom does not have the necessary equipment for me to integrate media into my lessons. More often than not, I think of an awesome lesson while I am driving to school and do not have the necessary tools to implement it. Knowing that you have the chance to engage your students and realizing you are unable to do it is incredibly unfortunate and disheartening. I completely understand that in this day in age, education needs to be updated in order to flow with the current times. As mentioned previously, adolescents are willingly exposing themselves to various forms of media everywhere they go; even their bedroom! Therefore, schools need to roll with the times and accept the fact that the integration of media within the classroom will not only benefit the students, but the teacher as well; less of one’s energy will then be spent on waking students up and attempting to keep them engaged with the “archaic” tools and methods of teaching.