What is Literature to Film?

We’ll Call It….

FILMLITERATURE

Or…

FILM LIT.

Memories of Film..

• Love film– Renting Top Gun– Checking out from local library for $1.00 each

• Grew up in Chicago• Same high school as John Hughes (Ferris

Bueller, The Breakfast Club, Home Alone)

My Philosophy

It is always better to know more than to know less.

Hard work leads to opportunities and choices, choices that YOU

can make

And…

• I know what you have been learning in other English courses.

• I want / need / hope / desire / crave that you APPLY those skills to THIS course.– Large group discussion skills– Essay writing skills

When Do We Meet?

• Every day

• 1 period a day

• 1 semester long

• EVEN if you’ve “seen the movie before” you need to be here!

Credit?• When you pass the class at the semester…

– Receive .5 of an English credit

• What if I am on track to already get my 4 credits of English?

– This class will drop into the Elective category– You need 6 credits in Electives to graduate!

What Will We Do?

• Study the history and evolution of film.

• Study the techniques used to make films.

• Examine clips of and full feature films.

• Analyze these films for their artistic, literary, and cinematic strengths and weaknesses

What Else Will We Do?

• Take notes

• Learn from podcasts

• Watch a ton of good stuff!

Yes, we will work in this class!

Warning…..Foreshadowing

• You can’t do little to nothing and expect to pass or to pass with an A, B, or C.

• You WILL be doing work in this class.

Potential Summative Assignments

1) Raider of the Lost Ark Power Point2) Film Terms Exam3) Open Note End of Unit 1 Film Exam4) James Bond Mini-Essay5) Fight Scene Mini-Essay6) Final Exam – 2 Clips with Writing

But…

You will get out of the class what you put in to it!

FOCUS

Teaching reading, writing, and thinking through and with the

use of film.

We Won’t…..

• Use this as time to catch up on our sleep (since it will be dark a lot).

• Use this to catch up on texting.

• Just sit around, watch films, and say we like it or not (without analysis!).

WEBSITE

• Class wiki (many people can add to it)

Lhsfilmlit.wikispaces.com

MATERIALS

• Pen and pencil

• Notebook

• Folder

Cell Phones / iPods

You…

Some of the Movies at Our Disposal

Student Choices?

• Teacher choice to student choice– Probably 90% / 10%

• May be units where I give you a choice of 5 movies and you pick.

• Goal: To expose you to films you haven’t already seen.

For example…Hitchcock

Why Some…Not Others

• Thousands to choose from.

• Criteria…..1) Artistic / thematic merit2) Watchability3) Time4) School appropriateness

Yes….Some are Rated R

• Syllabus sign-off

• Be prepared for mature topics and scenes– Will warm up to these…

– I NEED to know if this is going to be an issue with YOU…..and YOUR FAMILY

ABSENT?

1) Access the wiki’s course schedule page.2) Go to the day you were gone.3) Download the handouts / assignments.

How do I make upseeing a clip or a

full film?

Answer…..• The P Drive• P Drive / Student / Lit to Film

• Bring a flash drive to get a digital copy of the clip.

• Consult the class wiki on the day assigned. See the clip’s links.– In a Google Folder!

Thank you!

• Please give me your honest feedback as we go through.

• Let me know what you need more of along the way.