Curriculum links and activities: VCE Media Unit 2
Outcome 1: Narrative Style and Genre
Suggested activities:
These activities could be completed as a class, and/or documented in an individual folio for submission.
Before watching the documentary
Read the Synopsis and How the Film Came About chapters. Answer the questions related to each chapter and share with classmates.
Read about the filmmakers Claudia Sangiorgi Dalimore and Michelle Grace Hunder and answer the stimulus questions.
Make a list with the class, (using a digital collaborative space such as a google doc, or a piece of paper), of a typical documentary structure, and the codes and conventions that you expect to see.
Watch the documentary
Expand on the Media codes and conventions you guessed you would see, adding how they were used to engage audiences and communicate meaning.
Explain an example of how the manipulation of these codes and conventions could be considered “distinctive”
After watching the documentary
Director Claudia Sangiorgi Dalimore and Producer Michelle Hunder identified that the main narrative of the story: “the power of women coming together to support one another”. Explain your thoughts on how this narrative was communicated to audiences. One way to do this is using the question starts routine.
Considering audiences and their taste and interest in music, analyse and reflect on the way audiences’ personal values and individual interests would impact their engagement in the narrative. Share viewpoints through a class discussion.
During the Behind the scenes interview Sangiorgi Dalimore discusses how she considered audiences while constructing the narrative – especially with the “tone”. She explains 4 types of audiences she considered. Can you identify these? Pick a way you think the documentary was constructed to engage them.
Read the Documentary Style and Genre chapter and answer the stimulus questions.
Read the Production Process chapter and answer the stimulus questions. Explain the impact of institutional, economic, social constraints on the production and distribution of the documentary.
Read the Chapter on Themes of Gender Equality and answer the stimulus questions. Identify the influences of historical and cultural context on the construction of the documentary.
Referring back to your questions about Claudia Sangiorgi Dalimore and Producer Michelle Grace Hunder make separate lists as a class of Sangiorgi Dalimore’s and Hunder’s individual style. Individually select a code/convention specific to one creator, and find screen shots and specific examples to justify.
Inspired by the style of either Claudia Sangiorgi Dalimore or Michelle Grace Hunder plan either a photography series or a music video for a musician you find on Triple J unearthed.
Complete the Development stage of this plan. Development stage refers to initial brainstorming about style, genre, codes and conventions and an investigation into and experimentation with equipment.
Complete the Pre-production stage of this plan. Pre-production requires considering the specified audience, intention and narrative. Plans for how it will engage, be consumed and read by the specified audience. Media codes and conventions, genre and style, are considered in the construction of the narrative. Documentation and the planning of the production are carried out in visual and written form using tools such as storyboards for music video or composition layouts for photography. The way the product will be distributed to the audience and the context in which it will be distributed and consumed is also planned.
Reflect on the Development and Pre-production stages of a media production. Share with a friend and complete a Ladder of Feedback for each other about your intended narratives. Read about the Production Process here