The music is by Serge Besset apres de Corelli ‘La Follia’

Storytelling techniques

Learning Outcome: To be able to read and interpret film for story telling techniques

Pre tutoring session    

•    Sound and Image (technique 2 Look Again)

•    Dance activity

•    Children listen to the music and interpret without having seen the film

•    Discussion from the music

Music

•    Break down the music

•    Kinaesthetic interpretation of the timbre of the music

•    Timbre – how does the music make you feel and in turn what does this want you to do physically?

•    Tempo -  how does the pace of the music make you want to act

•    This music is a soundtrack from a film you are going to watch: what do you think the type of film might be?

First viewing     

•    Play the film in its entirety

•    Paired and shared talk general discussion and first response    

Music

•    Do you recognise the music?

•    How has the director used the music?

Second and third viewing    

Play the film again this time using a ‘View like a reader’ sheet (see below)    

•    Use graffiti wall as their initial response to the film adapted by children as the unit progresses

Focus on building up vocabulary by introducing ‘new’ words/phrases linked to characters of fish and monk e.g. single minded/frustrated/obsessed/taunting/ ’slippery customer’/agile    

Animation techniques (this animator doesn’t do close up): look at the setting in space tiny figure and big space appearing and disappearing into shot

How does the animator portray

•    setting

•    passage of time and time lapse of frames

•    character and interaction between characters (fish and monk)

•    music

•    mood/colour

•    Choose ‘stills’ to illustrate specific animated portrayals

•    How does the animator use different camera angles (Spot the shot number 3 ‘Look Again’) to support the theme    

Music

•    The music is melismatic (word painting)

•    Pulse of the music – how do you know that the monk is running down the stairs?

•    music (consequent and antecedent (call and response -dialogue)

Development    

•    Looking at character through movement and body language using drama techniques i.e. freeze framing, thought tapping, hot seating, sculpting using evidence from film to support sculptor (fish and monk). Children respond to sculpture.

Looking at other graphic texts how is body movement shown    

•    Character interaction

•    How do the characters interact?

•    How do we know that they are interacting? (children must use evidence from the film)

•    body language - actions

•    Absence of dialogue – link to dialogue features of character interaction in other graphic literature

•    Choose a scene from the animation and draw a graphic representation   i.e. a comic strip using the techniques discussed previously

Music

•    Link to the dialogue in the music – call and response

Fourth viewing     

•    Watch from point of ‘waking up’ after fish candle catching session

•    Discussion to explore interpretation of ending in groups

•    Produce 3/4 frames A1 paper annotated for film features e.g. light/close-up/camera angles

•    Write ending in graphic narrative (pairs/groups)

Other ideas    

•    Make a promotional movie trailer for the film/use of persuasive language

•    Possible merchandise associated with film    

Music    

Allow children to lie on floor.

Play rain music/pan pipe whilst listening sprinkle them with water – elicit questions about water/feelings.

Why have the scene with fountain right at the beginning of the film – introducing the theme of water – which instruments portrayed water and why?

Orchestration    

•    What instruments were used for the different people or feelings in the film e.g. music that describes group of monk’s reaction to the fish – what were the monks ‘saying’?

•    Specific dialogue between the monk and the fish

•    The monk (consequent) the fish (antecedent) on most occasions the dialogue of the monk is shorter in time an certainly lower in pitch than that of the fish

•    Pitch work – emotions associated with higher and lower pitch

•    Texture of music was ‘thicker’ in reading room i.e. more instruments and the pulse was slower

•    Dream sequence began with a faster tempo with a very thick texture and busy cello part

•    Continuo was the backbone to the whole piece of music led by the harpsichord with repeated melodic patterns played at varying tempos dependent on the tempo of the music

•    In the dream sequence the violins were playing using pizzicato

•    In dream sequence the use of timpani when leaving ‘Italy’

•    Dissonance during the book scene violins were purposefully ‘out of tune’ enhancing a feeling of disharmony

Structure

•    Explain to children the form of structure in a simple way e.g. verse/chorus

•    This piece is highly structured in both 2/4, 3/4, 4/4 time.  In each of the last two of these the tempi is highly erratic dependent on the mood of the monk

•    Synchronisation between the music and the movement of the characters e.g. the monk running down the stairs was brought to life via the use of quavers.  Explain to children different note values at this point and the different emotions they could help to portray

•    The use of bridge in music e.g. the singing of the birds to bridge sections of music

•    Sonata form (sic) that of introducing and developing an idea and having a recapitulation of the idea

The Monk and the Fish is one of the films on the BFI compilation/teaching resource Story Shorts 2