Workshop : Essay Planning - English

Shooting the apple - Hope & Rebellion

Techniques: Music lighting colour, Angles/Shots/Movements, Costume

- Diegetic sound
- Katniss - dark, dim, artificial, grey, black, blues - matches peers
- Senica - vibrant, bright, colour variety - pink, more privileged/individuals
- Costume - Katniss - training suit, tributes all look the same
- Capitol - individuals - all different, over the top, extravagant
- Close-ups - see the reactions, Katniss-pensive, shocked
- High angle - once Katniss shoots the apple, makes her look weak and vulnerable.
- Atmosphere - tension, Katniss comes out as the standout, someone to watch out for.

Change of Rules - Struggle for power

Music - minor, slow, dramatic - building tension, emotional intensity as music gets louder

Lighting/Colour - bright, natural, warm, green, black, greys, shadowed, - rising of the sun - new day, new victor.

Costume - not important

Angles/Shots/Movement - High shot - Senica has power according to the camera but the dialogue “stop!” contradicts that.

Close-ups - emphasize emotions - defiance, the stubbornness of Katniss - Struggle for Power

- Katniss won’t let them have one victor
- Peeta won’t let them change him.

Atmosphere - happy because Katniss and Peeta took back control, if they died, then they died on their own terms, didn’t lose their humanity.

Aspects = Techniques 

- Camera shots/angles/movement

- Colour/Lighting

- Costume

- Music

- Atmosphere

- Dialogue

- Symbols

- Props

Reaping scene - Close-ups, Costume, music, lighting

Task 2: 1-2 sentences explain what happened in the scene

T - Title

A - Author/director

K - Key ideas/aspects

O - Outline

In the film ‘ The Hunger Games’ directed by Gary Ross...

Techniques are used to engage the viewer and tell the story. In the scene (insert your scene) film aspects such as (technique #1), (technique #2), (technique #3), and (technique #4), are impactful in creating the mood and atmosphere. 

Workshop : SEXXXY Paragraphs

Brainstorm -

Diegetic Sound - Close ups-shows the emotions of the two - nervous, anxious, mostly Peeta.

Lighting / Colour - mood - sad, gloomy - greys, dark, blacks, dim lighting - works with close-ups to highlight emotions on faces.

Character / Dialogue - "I don't want them to change me" "I don't wanna be another piece in their game" "If I'm gonna die, I still wanna be me"

The atmosphere the scene is creating - Foreboding, Hesitant, Nervous, Reluctant

Theme - Rich vs Poor, Hope & Rebellion, Struggle for Power

What happened - Peeta & Katniss are having a conversation about how the games might affect them.

Scene - 'They don't own me'

In the scene, 'They don't own me; dialogue is used to create a foreboding atmosphere. Katniss and Peeta are having a conversation about how the upcoming games might affect them. This is demonstrated by the quotes "I don't want them to change me; and "If I'm gonna die, I still wanna be me" spoken by Peeta. This shows that Peeta has a sense that he is going to have to do things that he doesn't want to do like killing others. 

This makes the audience feel mournful for Peeta because he is likely going to die, or to kill others to stay alive. The director did this to make us believe Peeta will die early and that being a tribute isn't something to celebrate but a loss of personal autonomy. This worked well with the dark colours of black and greys which add to the foreboding atmosphere. This aspect can be contrasted to when Peeta joins the Career Pack once in the games because they are cold-hearted killers which is what Peeta didn't want to be.

Workshop 5: Music - English

 Tempo - speed of the music - fast/slow/moderate

Dynamics - volume - how bad or quiet it is

Key - Major - happy sound, Minor - sad sound

Rues Death - How is music used to create atmosphere: Depressing / Mournful / Sad 

minor, tempo-slow, dynamics-quiet, gets louder as Katniss raises her salutte + District 11 riots

What happened - Rue is killed, Katniss tries to give her body the closest to a burial that she can.

Colour / Lighting - natural lighting, greens, white flowers stand out - a symbol of innocence and purity - rue never killed anyone, kind, compassionate, a victim.

-Shots/Angles - medium close-ups - Rue & Katniss - see their emotions & facial expression, anguish - high angle - weak & vulnerable - Rue is an innocent + blameless victim.

Effect on viewers - the atmosphere of remorse/intense sadness, as the volume increase, it builds the intensity of the emotions - we see emotions are contagious - hope.

Rues Death - Directors Purpose: feel Katniss's emotions at that moment - remorse, anger, helplessness, acceptance, rebellion - a symbol of 3 finger salutte is a sign of defiance & anger towards the game makers - you will no take my humanity, also a symbol of unification with these who have lost loved ones to the games.

Music is used to create an atmosphere of emotions - sorrow and remorse in Rue's death scene. In this scene we see Katniss dealing with the slaughter of her young friend Rue. For example, the tempo is slow, the dynamics are quiet and the key is minor to reflect the emotional rollercoaster that Katniss is feeling. 

Like the music, Katniss moves slowly and methodically to cover Rue's body in white flowers. As she finishes, the music builds in volume, showing the escalating intensity of her anger and despair towards the Capitol. This makes us understand the pain experienced by the families of the tributes when they are killed each year. 

This was done to enable the viewer to feel the emotions of the characters. This worked well with the use of white flowers to symbolise Rue's innocence & purity and the high angle shot making her weak & vulnerable. Combined with the music we are shown that Rue is a victim of the cruelty of the Capitol.

Workshop 4: Lighting & Colour - English

 Atmosphere - feeling/mood set in the scene

Mood - the way we feel/emotional response

Location - area it is set

District 12:

What is happening - Katniss is jogging through the District

Types of colour/lighting - cold colours-more, grey undertones

                                          dull colours - nothing stands out blue-grey shades

                                          natural colours - palette - greens,browns,grey,black

                                          Lighting - cold, dull, natural

Viewer effect(feel) - not welcoming, unpleasant, run-down, dirty, poor

Directors purpose - shows how unpleasant it is to live in the districts, underprivileged, good comparison for Capitol

Other Techniques - setting - dirt roads, houses derelict, transport, old fashioned, wagons, no electricity

The Capitol:

What is happening - The citizens of the Capitol are waiting the arrival of the tributes

Types of colour/lighting - colours - cold- white undertones

                                                         bright/artificial

                                       - lighting - cold (white) artificial, bright

                                       Palette - setting - whites/melatics, bright, vibrant, colourful

Viewer effect (feel) - these people are privileged, they are celebrating, they are more advanced

Directors purpose - Makes us sympathise with the tributes - they have lots and the districts have none, don't like them because they seem over the top of arrogant

Other Techniques - Costume - rich, extravagant, flaunting, over the top

                                Settings rich, modern, technologically advanced, clean new.

The Control Room:

What is happening - People are manipulating the arena via computer

Types of colour/lighting - colour palette - blue/white/dark grey/clinical

                                          colour - cold (blue/white) bright-especially white shirts

                                                        artificial lighting/colour - cyan/holographic

Viewer effect (feel) - makes us feel they are smart but unsafe, scientific

Directors purpose - Makes us feel like they are mindless drones, detached from reality

Other Techniques - Costumes -white lab coats - feels like an experiment

                                Settings - no clutter, lots of techs, only focused on the one job

Workshop 3: Costumes - English

 The Reaping Scene -District 12

• The children of the district have gathered together for the reaping to select the tributes

Costumes used:

• Boys - shirts - buttoned/collars, shorts, pants, white, colourless, faded, dull, overwashed
• Girls - dresses, shirt & skirt
• Best clothes, probably only worn once a year, worn-out, colourless, faded

Affect on Viewer:

• We feel sorry for the people, they seem powerless, they live in poor conditions

Directors Purpose:

• Shows us how bad their conditions are, wants us to see them as the weak, hopeless

Techniques adding effect:

• High Angle - With the faded colours makes them seem vulnerable, helpless

Capitol - Arriving in the city

• Katniss & Peeta have arrived by Train in the Capitol
• The clothes are extravagant!
• Over the top
• Colourful, vibrant
• Accessories - hats/earrings/make-up/wigs/shoes/bags/dogs
• New - looks like only worn once, Fashionable
• Access to good quality fabrics, patterns

Affect on Viewer:

• Makes them seem of higher ranking, privileged, relaxed, we don't like them - attitude

Directors Purpose:

• Shows them of imbalance of power & rich vs poor

Techniques adding effect:

• The setting is crowded, people are happy, buildings are modern, big, well kept, shows that Capitol is privileged

The Countdown

• The tributes have just arrived in the arena and are waiting to start games

Costumes used:

• Survival gear, brown, black, dark colours, jackets, pants, t-shirts, designed to look good, to be practical, lightweight

Affect on Viewer:

• The tributes look prepared, fit, athletic

Directors Purpose:

• They are going to die(become the "fallen"), the outfits are just for the audience(the Capitols), which makes it seem more pageant like

Techniques adding effect:

• Silence - warned, excited to see what happens, anxious, builds tensions, makes the audience focus

Workshop 2: Angles, Movements & Shots - English

Brainstorm

The Reaping Scene

• Katniss volunteers as tribute when her sister is chosen
• The children/parents of the district give her the 3 finger salute
• Peeta is chosen as the male tribute

Hope & Rebellion - 3 finger salute - it is a sign of respect for katniss

from the people of her district

- Katniss is a symbol of hope for a district victor

- Katniss is a symbol of rebellion because she steps in 

for her sister (a weaker character) when she is reaped

Rich vs Poor

• Effie Trinket(Character) - extreme, make-up, wig, hat, overly colourful, and flashy outfit, proper accent

• Technology - Use of blood readers/scanners, projectors

Poverty-

District 12 - Children's outfits for reaping are the best clothes,

dresses, shirts-collared, Boys - Shafts to pants, colours

of clothes are very faded from washes & reusing.

- The village is falling down around them. 

Camera Angles/Shots Included:

-Close-ups- faces- Primrose when is reaped- terror, fear

- Effie - Joyful, confident, excited - close of lips when reading names

- Katniss- Panic when Prim is reaped, shock when she stands with Effie

- Peeta - fear, panic, shock

-Shallow Focus- the people in the background are in shallow focus(blurred) when Prim & Katniss

hug. This forces the viewer to watch the characters in focus.

Viewer feels - sorry for the tributes - Primrose - it was her first time

- Katniss - she volunteered - a selfless act

- Anger towards the Capitol for the reaping

- We consider Effie is annoying, happy, stuck-up, clueless

Director Purpose - need to be invested in their journey/suffering

- need to be angry at Capitol so that we judge them &

their decisions later

- Effie is depicted as a symbol of people in the District,

they are clueless-don't see the suffering

Music -Starts as we move to picking the bays

Minor key, tempo-slower, dynamic

Starts quiet then gets louder to build intensity - Mood - tension, morose

Lighting- Bright, grey, natural light, cold

Mood - sad, depressed

Colour - Dull, cold, palette - grey, white, blue, faded, washed out

Atmosphere - despair, sorry for the people, poverty, run-down

Facial Expressions are dull, bland & sad matching the lighting & colour

Workshop 1:Themes & Ideas - English

Rich vs Poor - some people have more - Capitol
 - money                - Privileges / respect
 - food -variety      - resources
 - proper housing   - technology
 - medicines           - clothing / make-up
 - transport             - childhoods

Hope & Rebellion - 

hope is the belief that something will get better
- Rebellion - to fight against something, protest, surprise, usually against government
Symbols of Hope - Katniss, Melodic Motive, Mockingjay, 3 finger salute

Struggle for Power - 

Currently, the Capitol has power - President Snow
- Katniss becomes a rival for power - people look up to her for guidance, becomes a threat because Snow sees her as one.
'Hope, it is the only thing stronger than fear. A little hope is effective, a lot of hope is dangerous!
Fear - the people are afraid of rebelling because the last time they tried they failed and they were punished with the Hunger Games.
Little hope - becoming a victor
Dangerous hope - that the districts deserve to be treated better.

Power of Propaganda - 
information especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a political cause or view.
Messages being told - It's not worth rebelling - The Capitol is the strongest.

Peace keeper -

Propaganda - people to keep peace & help you

Reality - soldiers, violent, keep people in line.

Victor - 

Propaganda - glorious, someone who wins, wealthy, respected

Reality - Violent, to win 

Fallen -

Propaganda - people who die in the games, takes away from the reality of the situation

Reality - teenagers who have been killed/murdered, violent

Tribute -

Propaganda -brave young people, an honour

Reality - sacrifice, punishment to the 'districts'

Rich vs Poor - people in the Capitol vs people in the Districts

                      - Compare opening shoot in District 12 vs Peta looking out the window of the Capitol

- District 12 - Poor - houses are run down, wooden

                               - food - very little, see old man picking at bone*

                               - clothing - 1 pair of good clothing, worn out, old, colours are faded, grey/black, easier

                                                to not show coal dust

Capitol - houses -large, concrete, metals, accents of gold/silver

             - food -variety of choices, don't have the same things, more from enough- excess

             - clothing -fancy, suits, extravagant, fashion, extreme, excess

Hope & Rebellion - Convo President Snow & Senica Craine

                              - Convo between Hamich & Senica

                              - Gives them something to root for, young love!

Struggle for Power - Katniss & Peta eat the berries.

                               - Death of Rue = riot in District 11

Power of Propaganda - Subtle 

                                   - Hunger Games film strip

Language of Film | English

Body Language: A way of giving signals a nonverbal way to communicate, can be shown to the

opposing by posture, facial expressions & hand gestures

Costumes: A style of dressing up, used to describe its characteristics, meaning able to tell how old the character is and its various personalities

Hairstyles: Another way of describing and telling the audience the personalities or how old he/she/it can be

Make-Up: Used to match/give the actor similar characteristics as the character being played as

Back Lighting: A lighting technique where light is placed behind or angled from behind an object, scene, person to give out dept and different effects. Commonly used in theatres & photography

Props: An object used for a performance or play, using such objects make the scene look more realistic whether its the item held by the character or used by them

Settings: Use of different types of sceneries, to show the audience the different surroundings and, definitely seen in movies to tell a story or/and the storyline

Dialogue: A conversation between two or more people, verbal communication or discussion to another, used to change the way we watch and observe the movie/film or a play

Ambient Sound: Background noise used such as birds chirping, traffic noise, rain and etc, to show what is happening around the character and the type of setting he/she is at, also lets the viewer know a given location of the space or area of where the scene takes place

Music: To change the mood of the observer/viewer/audience or/and to illustrate the continuous scene & storyline

Silence: To grow suspense or to elevate the tension or change of emotions within the scenery, change of atmosphere or seriousness

Symbols: Often appears within or throughout the film which represents something such as an object, person, animal, specified colour. Used to help give or describe a given concept that usually does not get spoken verbally

Special FX: Used to make the scene or the movie itself more realistic from anyone's point of view and allows to do such things that can't be done within this period or if it's fictional

Cross-cutting: A editing technique used to switch back and forth between scenes, used if multiple actions are happening in different settings or locations from one another

Flashback: Used to take back to what has occurred in the past, can expose the characters more, to take the reader/audience back into the characters life and show the past events the character experienced

High Key Lighting: Reduces the lighting rate in the scene meaning less diversity between the dark and bright tones, makes the scene easier to see and the shadows visible

Threnody: An sentimental poem or song that is used to mourn for someone who has passed on, simple meaning, a song or poem of grief for the dead

What am I learning? Currently learning the different languages used in films and having a full understanding of what the languages mean

How does this work show my learning? Proof of my completed work is shown on my post and published onto my blog for others to view and see-through

What am I wondering as a result of this learning? I have no thoughts or questions on the topic

Hunter Swoop | English

 The dark coal branches coiled above one another blending it as far the eye could see until all is white as snow hiding the branches behind its fog.

Dead trees seem to crumble over time and decay as all fallen leaves bright coloured bronze laid on the ground covering the surroundings.

The lifeless aqua water stationary reflecting back its own world like a mirror similar to duplicating its worlds in two.

The bright golden orange trail leading to where the eye can't meet, each step taken leads me away from the horror that slowly follows my footsteps imprinted on the dark barren ground. As the cold approaches, slowly my body consumes the winter that surrounds me. Knowing the end to it is not near or either close, whether it may take hours to days I must reach help.

Alliteration & Personification | English

After finishing off the Similes and Metaphors we continue to the next task which was Alliteration & Personification, this post will show the tasks I completed on this work and hopefully teaching you something new.

Alliteration - Alliteration is when a consonant sound is repeated over and over. 

E.g The time ticked tediously by. The warm wind wafted across the window.

Highlight the Alliterations in the following sentences:

The sun sizzled the swimmers skin.

I accidently ate an awful apple.

Beth borrowed Barry’s books before biology. 

Slipping and sliding, I stumbled in the snow and slush.

Many mysterious men mumbled messages.

The gallant goat gobbled gobs of garbage greedily. 

The rapidly rising river rushed rampantly.

Finishing the sentence with our own alliterations:

Red roses are refulgent within the suns rays and ruby coloured

While wandering around in wet weather wearing wrinkled clothing

The tired traveller took a trip following the trail to his final destination

Personification - when you give qualities to non-human things

E.g The house watched me closely. The trees reached out to me.

The wind whispered through the gloomy forest

What is being personified? The wind

What human trait or quality has it been given? The ability to whisper

The gardener lovingly added the manure to his crops believing he was making happy flowers

What is being personified? The flowers

What human trait or quality has it been given? The flowers feeling happiness

As we walked through the scorching desert, the sun beat down on us

What is being personified? The sun

What human trait or quality has it been given? The sun beating us down

The lumberjack leveled the many trees into a clearing and his chainsaw sang its deadly song

What is being personified? The chainsaw

What human trait or quality has it been given? The chainsaw being able to sing a song

As Alice searched for her missing pencil, she said sarcastically. "Well, I guess it just walked off of my desk." She looked at her classmates accusingly.

What is being personified? The pencil

What human trait or quality has it been given? The function to walk like us

When Monica walked through the shoe store, each shiny pair of high heels called out to her

What is being personified? The shiny pair of high heels

What human trait or quality has it been given? To be able to talk and speak

My own Personification sentences:

My alarm clock yells me out of my bed

Thousands of stars winked at me repeatedly

The wind was whistling at night

What have I learnt?

I learned how to personify and give non-human qualities to no-human things and also figure out what non-human thing was given the qualities that humans have the capability of, also knowing how to use alliterations in my sentences.

How does this work show my learning?

By showing my completed task for the topic and proving my full understanding of Alliteration & Personification through my post which shows the work I have done

What am I wondering?

Don't have any questions about this current topic

Similes & Metaphors | English

 Today I have completed another task from the Figurative Language slideshow, I have moved on to this task and already know the definitions and meaning behind both the Similes and the Metaphors. Here is what work I have done on this topic.

Similes - are where you compare two unlike things using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’
e.g He ran like the wind. She was as strong as a lion.

Metaphors- are where you compare two unlike things using by saying something is something else. 

e.g He is a stonewall, unbreakable by force. The rain is glass shattering against the street.

Highlighting every Simile in each sentence

• My bedroom was as black as a cave in the depths of the earth.
• The classroom after school became as noisy as a gaggle of gabby geese.
• The cat capered along the fence top like a tightrope walker on the hire wire. 
• My anger crashed into me like waves against the shore.

Completing the simile to each sentence

• The cloth was as black as Coal
• The wet ball was as slippery as an Eel
• My little sister is as playful as a Kitten
• The top of this table is as smooth as Silk
• I’ve been as busy as a Bee
• The lamb is as white as Snow

Is it a Simile or Metaphor?

1. As slippery as an eel. - Simile

2. Arnie was a man-mountain. - Metaphor

3. He was a lion in battle. - Metaphor

4. She is as pretty as a picture. - Simile

5. The striker was a goal machine. - Metaphor

6. The torch lit up the room as if the sun had already risen early. - Simile

7. The moon was a misty shadow. - Metaphor

8. My friend has a face like thunder. - Simile

My own Simile & Metaphor:

Simile - He ran as fast as a cheetah

Metaphor - The snow is a white blanket

Simile - The morning temperature was as cold as ice

What have I learnt?

I have learned the difference between both Similes and Metaphors and can easily tell them apart

How does this work show my learning?

I have completed the task and evidence shown that I can tell the differences and tell which is a Smile and which is a Metaphor 

What am I wondering?

Nothing to question about for this topic

My Teacher is the Bomb | English

 Today and for the last 3 days we have been learning about Idioms, this is my second or third task on the figurative slideshow, we had to fill out what each figurative column meant and choose 3 from all 6 to make a drawing of what it would look like in the literal column. 

Idioms - say things that are understood in ordinary English and do not mean what they say. Idioms are not meant to be taken literally; e.g ‘My teacher is the bomb!’.

Literal Colum:

Definition of 'Literal' - Meaning exactly what you say

Here are my 3 creations:

Making our own Idioms:

1. I have Butterflies in my Stomach

  - Feeling nervous

2. It's a Piece of Cake

  - It's easy

3. Hit the deck

  - Drop down on the floor

What have I learnt?

I have learned what idioms are, what it means, how it is used in many different ways and the meanings behind the idioms

How does this work show my learning?

Because I have completed the task given and showed my understanding of what idioms are through the post

What am I wondering?

I'm not questioning anything about the topic

Mix & Match Poetry Terms & Definitions | English

For english today we have moved into a new topic called Figurative language, we were first got to do a mix & match to see how many we already knew or just get to know what the words mean and was the first task given to finish.

 Figurative Language - Saying one thingand meaning something else

Literal Language - Meaning exactly what you say

Simile - Comparing two unlike things using the words like or as

Metaphor - Comparing two unlike things not  using the words like or as

Personification - Giving human qualities to non-human things

Imagery - Writing with detail to arouse one or more of the 5 senses

Idiom - A phrase common to people who speak the same language - saying one thing but meaning another

Hyperbole - An exaggeration of the facts

Alliteration - Repetition of consonant sounds in a piece of writing

Factual or Satirical? | English

 For English, we moved on to looking at sites and throughout that, we also learned the context of Factual and Satirical meanings. We had learned the basic technique to tell the articles apart whether they were fake or real or in other cases, Factual or Satirical. We looked into 8 different articles from 4 different countries: New Zealand, Australia, the US & the UK. We were then given the task to choose 2 articles from the same country and resemble them and how much of a difference they are apart.

I chose 2 articles from the UK(United Kingdom), it was time to compare these to articles from one another and see if there was any evidence of telling which is Factual or Satirical. I put both websites beside each other and started comparing them and what makes them believable or not believable. 

Daily Mail

Daily Mash

Already I could tell that the Daily Mail is a secure website to explore, which goes the same as the Daily Mash. But to tell the difference I looked into more of the content both sites put up, Daily Mail has content that includes good use of words and when searching up the content it occurs within seconds, also noticing that at the very bottom of the Daily Mail it tells who or which company it was published by and by searching that company that it was published by it is easier to tell whether the company is safe.

For the Daily Mash, you can straight away tell that it is Satirical from the content is being posted. The usage of words this site uses is pretty bad, the articles published are very pointless and not relevant to what the site is about. The Daily Mail is Factual while the Daily Mash is Satirical.

Bias/Agenda | English

 Bias - when you unfairly favour one side of an argument

Source - where you got the information from

Credible - factual, truthful, reliable

Authority - the author has good/in depth knowledge of the subject

Reliable - can trust that this information is correct

Perspective - point of view, the way you see it

Agenda - what you are trying to do, e.g convince me of a 'fact

Manipulate - mould something into what you want it to be