Film Study Worksheet - Language Arts Questions PDF

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Film studies of 3 short films: A Geek Takes a Date, Jadao and Meowt....

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Film Study Worksheet Links to Youtube short films 1. A Geek Takes a Date 2. Jadao 3. Meowt A Geek Takes a Date 1. What genre of film does this short fall under? What specific characteristics does this genre encompass? This short falls under the category of comedy. Usually, films are designed to make the audience laugh by exaggerating a situation, language, action and characters, which is what A Geek Takes a Date does. 2. What is the topic of this film? What lessons from this film can viewers apply to their own lives? How does the film create a universal meaning from a personal aspect? The topic of this film is that Pavan, a teacher, takes his coworker Chloe out on a date. He plans to wow Chloe with a genuine Indian experience, taking her to the most authentic Indian restaurants in their city. To Pavan’s horror, his plan goes astray when he learns that Chloe has a greater knowledge of the Indian culture than Pavan does himself. Some lessons that can be learned from this short is to just be yourself and not present yourself in a way that isn’t genuine in order to impress another person. Pavan’s character is an insight into what it’s like to be a second-generation Brit. Pavan’s Indian heritage mixes with that of the British culture, creating an interesting combination of the two. 3. Identify two devices of fiction, such as motif, symbol, foreshadowing, flashback, foil, opposition, irony, or language choice (diction) that are used in the story and describe how they affect plot progression, assist in character development, or convey meaning. The first device of fiction present in this short film is flashback. Flashback is used for the majority of the short and is used for plot progression, as the short is about Pavan’s retelling of his date with Chloe to his co-workers. The second device is situational irony. As a viewer, you would expect Pavan to be more “knowledgeable” about his culture and for Chloe to not know as much. The opposite outcome occurs, causing a turn of events, aiding with plot progression for the rest of the short. 4. Give two specific examples of how other elements of the cinematic art, such as shot framing, camera angles, camera movement, editing choices and length of takes helped tell the story of this film. When do you notice shifts? Why are some angles or shots used vs others? I’ve noticed shifts with editing choices. The first editing choice was the way that interactions between characters were cut. When Chloe or Pavan are speaking, the camera cuts to them with either a medium shot or a close-up with the lighting showing a clear contrast between the characters. This can show the emotions or thoughts of the characters better. Another editing choice is how Pavan’s co-workers are integrated into the date. They are usually in the background, with Chloe and Pavan being the focus of the frame. This editing choice was most likely made to add more humour into the short, as the co-workers would add some jokes over Pavan’s voiceover. 5. Think about how lighting works to convey meaning in the film. When do you see a lighting shift? What is the purpose of the shift? There is a lighting shift when Pavan and Chloe enter Secret India. The lighting changes the red and the camera angles help to convey the mood as well. The colour shift indicates danger and uncertainty, which shows through Pavan’s hesitance to keep on following Chloe down the stairs. 1

6. Identify different moments where sound stands out more than just simple dialogue. When does music, sound effects add to the telling of the story in the film? How does it affect your viewing? What does the director want to gain from adding sound in those particular instances? On the first location of their date in the Indian restaurant, a song began to play near the end of Chloe and Pavan’s time there. It affects my viewing because it introduces me to Bollywood music, which is something I don’t listen to, so it’s like I’m there on the date as well having the “authentic Indian experience.” For Chloe and Pavan, it’s something the both of them can enjoy together as they both know the song. Prior to it playing, the viewer could see the obvious divide and awkwardness between the two characters, but once the song started playing, the two of them relaxed and were at ease. The director’s purpose by adding that scene may have been to show the bonding moment between the two characters. Jada 1. What genre of film does this short fall under? What specific characteristics does this genre encompass? Jada falls under the category of drama. It follows a defined plot, each character that is shown in the film help drive the story forward, and it portrays an extreme situation featuring emotionally-driven characters. 2. What is the topic of this film? What lessons from this film can viewers apply to their own lives? How does the film create a universal meaning from a personal aspect? The topic of this film is a homeless seven-year-old girl who makes a living selling stick people on Venice Beach. Throughout the short, the viewer follows a day in the life of Jada. A lesson that can be learned is to not take anything for granted, along with how strangers you see may be going through their own struggles and may need help. 3. Identify two devices of fiction, such as motif, symbol, foreshadowing, flashback, foil, opposition, irony, or language choice (diction) that are used in the story and describe how they affect plot progression, assist in character development, or convey meaning. The first device is symbol present with the stick people. We see that at the beginning of the short, Jada drops two stick people and immediately goes to pick them up. She also refuses to sell a man the stick figure he wants, and when Jada drops those stick figures when Jerome is chasing her, she angrily calls herself “stupid” and buries newly made stick people before going to retrieve the two she lost. As we uncover more about Jada’s story as the short goes on, we learn that her parents are deceased. This may explain Jada’s attachment to the two stick figures, as they symbolize her parents. Another device is foreshadowing. As Jada showers at the beach, she wears a bathing suit where her back is exposed. As she turns towards the camera, the viewer is met with scars on her back, which foreshadows that something isn’t right. Once again, as the story progresses, we learn that Jada has no parents and was living with her aunt. Something obviously wasn’t right there, maybe explaining why Jada is homeless at such a young age. The scars may hint towards something deeper going on with her family life. 4. Give two specific examples of how other elements of the cinematic art, such as shot framing, camera angles, camera movement, editing choices and length of takes helped tell the story of this film. When do you notice shifts? Why are some angles or shots used vs others? 2

This short uses a lot of long and medium shots. Long shots were mostly used to emphasize Jada’s young age, how small she is, and how vulnerable she is because of it. An example of this was at the beginning of the short, where the camera panned outwards to show Jada standing alone on the beach after the two children she was playing with were called to leave. Medium shots were also used a lot to show Jada’s surroundings and what she was doing at the moment in the short. It also left room for her to express her emotions clearly to the camera while showing the background. Shifts occurred when the director wanted to place an emphasis on a certain scene, like when Jada was with the man she was trying to sell her stick figures to (shown by a medium shot), as well as when Jada ran towards the ocean near the end of the film (shown by a long shot). . 5. Think about how lighting works to convey meaning in the film. When do you see a lighting shift? What is the purpose of the shift? The lightning had changed several times throughout the film. The beginning had bright natural lighting, and as the day progressed, the lighting gradually got darker until nighttime hit. There was also bright light again, signalling a new day, and the sunset of the final shot which indicated that the day had finished once again. The purpose of the lighting shifts was to show the day in the life of Jada, conveying how she lives homeless at such a young age. 6. Identify different moments where sound stands out more than just simple dialogue. When does music, sound effects add to the telling of the story in the film? How does it affect your viewing? What does the director want to gain from adding sound in those particular instances? There are several scenes where there was only instrumental music playing with the camera following Jada, documenting what she was doing. By simply having the instrumental playing, it helps to set the ambience and mood. The composition of the instrumental made the piece sound melancholic, matching with Jada’s actions in the film. She walks around Venice Beach at night, watching tourists take photos and enjoy their time there, unaware of the turmoil that Jada is going through. Meow 1. What genre of film does this short fall under? What specific characteristics does this genre encompass? This film falls under horror. Horror films usually include a killer or a monster who are evil antagonists and usually features ghosts, gore, monster and/or jumpscares. 2. What is the topic of this film? What lessons from this film can viewers apply to their own lives? How does the film create a universal meaning from a personal aspect? Meow is about a woman who adopts a stray cat. Murders begin to occur afterwards but it is revealed that it is the landlord committing these crimes and not the cat as the director wants you to suspect. A lesson that can be taken from this film is to be cautious of other people. 3. Identify two devices of fiction, such as motif, symbol, foreshadowing, flashback, foil, opposition, irony, or language choice (diction) that are used in the story and describe how they affect plot progression, assist in character development, or convey meaning. Foreshadowing affects plot progression because the short was centred around the cat that Sam had adopted, and whether or not it was actually the cat causing those “bloody incidents.” At the beginning of the short, there’s a preview of a cat during the opening. It’s followed by Sam’s mom advising her to not get a cat, and Sam’s landlord mentioning the no-pets rule. Diction is also used to convey meaning. 3

Through the interactions between Sam and her landlord, you can hear the eerie tone and choice of words that he uses, especially at the final confrontation between them. 4. Give two specific examples of how other elements of the cinematic art, such as shot framing, camera angles, camera movement, editing choices and length of takes helped tell the story of this film. When do you notice shifts? Why are some angles or shots used vs others? There was a sequence of short cuts between scenes when Sam was flossing up to the point where she entered the alleyway. This helped to build up suspense to keep the viewer interested and on their toes, helping to further the plot to the point where she finds the cat. There are also longer takes between scenes to build suspense and to maybe make the viewer feel uncomfortable and on alert for something that may happen, like when Sam was speaking to the police officer after the murder of the pizza delivery man. 5. Think about how lighting works to convey meaning in the film. When do you see a lighting shift? What is the purpose of the shift? Lighting shifts in this film usually happen when something bad is about to occur, like when the pizza delivery man was murdered, the shift into the thunderstorm (which is also symbolism), and when Sam confronted the landlord. The lighting in all these scenes is dark with restricted vision, hinting that something ominous may occur. 6. Identify different moments where sound stands out more than just simple dialogue. When does music, sound effects add to the telling of the story in the film? How does it affect your viewing? What does the director want to gain from adding sound in those particular instances? There are several times throughout this short where there is funky, electro music playing, which may help to establish a time and setting where this short takes place. At times, the music is ominous and dark, which helps set the mood of a certain scene. It affects a viewer because darker and more menacing instrumentals are played in a film when there is something bad about to occur.

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