ABSTRACT
Without doubt, the investigation into film has a place in the classroom as a way of organising analytical thinking and developing a critical response to the art of storytelling. This chapter looks at how, through a detailed interrogation of the way film sequences are constructed, learners can begin to explore how editing techniques affect meaning and how seemingly complex narrative structures can be seen in terms of key moments. It looks at how teachers can offer able students precise vocabulary for the expression and conceptual understanding of elements in the construction of film and to compare these with the same vocabulary used for fiction. Close analysis of film encourages all students to read the written word and the moving image with greater precision. This is because film has a more overt and tangible set of conventions that students are often more familiar with and comfortable talking about. A number of film extracts with fictional equivalents is offered to help students to develop an advanced understanding of film and fiction ‘tricks of the trade.’ Students need to be encouraged to look at how film sequences are structured, while thinking carefully about conventions and audience expectations. What is often overlooked is that writers have a box of tricks that they can use to create this impact. It is important to recognise that how something is written is far more significant than what it is seemingly about. Through close analysis an insight can be gained into the processes of writing and film making, the nuts and bolts, the craft. Only if these skills and techniques are made visible can students learn from them, engage with substantially more complex texts and hopefully begin to create their own as well. A suggested lesson plan is added at the end of the chapter designed to investigate and explore narrative devices through analysing film and fiction and to look at the specific techniques that writers use to get us to cross the first threshold and engage with their story. An analysis of the skills and techniques that writers use across a range of sophisticated texts, such as the use of prologue, framing devices, opening sentences, and titles are then explored and how these are paralleled in film making.
