Day Trip 3492 report: the introduction

Introduction checklist:

• title of film
• director of film
• name of main character and the actor playing him
• two sentences describing what the film is about
• identify a significant idea which is developed in the film
• identify four topics which you will discuss which develop the significant idea in the film

Bringing our work together into report form

Learning objective: to create a report on the significant ideas in 'Day Trip,' with discussion of how verbal and visual techniques are used to create and develop ideas.
Success criteria:
1. I can collate my paragraph writing on 'Day Trip' into one place.
2. I can identify two visual and two verbal techniques which I have analysed  - and finish this if I haven't so far.
3. I can create a conclusion showing my understanding of the important messages (significant ideas) in 'Day Trip'.

Checklist:
Have you written about:
1. The hero cycle in 'Day Trip'
2. The opening scene
3. The dairy scene and the power of silence
4. The first tunnel scene
5. The second tunnel scene
6. The pub scene - taking his clothes off
7. The pub scene - making new friends
8. The final scene
9. The overall message (significant idea) in 'Day Trip'

Model paragraph:

• Describe the technique (with specific examples).
• Explain the effect of the technique (again, very specifically).
• Explain how this example and technique develop a significant idea.
• Explain how the audience is invited to respond.

Showing how film techniques are used to develop a significant idea

Learning objective: we are learning to analyse how film techniques are used to develop an idea.
Success criteria:
1. We can identify a significant idea
2. We can describe the film techniques used
3. We can analyse how the techniques develop the idea

We are now getting close to our film analysis assessment.  In the assessment, each student will identify one or more significant ideas in the film, and choose a scene to closely analyse how the idea is developed.

One idea we have agreed on in Day Trip is that in the first tunnel scene, Willy is disconnected and isolated from everyone around him.

We have identified the following techniques from the tunnel scene:

• shot types - close up
• slow motion
• music
• lighting
• acting - facial expression + gesture
• use of silence
• setting
• costume

We are now going to write paragraphs analysing how these techniques develop the idea of Willy's disconnection from the world around him.

Some useful sentence starters include:

(insert technique) is used to emphasise that....

I think the director chose this technique to focus our attention on...

The audience is invited to sympathise with...

The tunnel scenes compared

Early in the film, Willy goes through the tunnel from the train station out into Wellington itself, ready to catch the ferry.  On his way home, he goes back through the tunnel.  When we contrast the two journeys through the tunnel, we can see significant differences.

	Who do we see beside Willy?  How do they react to him?	What sounds are in the scene?  What effect do the sounds have?
Going through the tunnel the first time
Going through the tunnel the second time
Why has the director chosen to show Willy going through a tunnel, rather than outside? What is suggested about Willy’s relationship with the tohunga in the second tunnel scene?

Costume, colour & identity

Describe the way that costume and colour help create a distinct identity for the bowls players in the film 'Day Trip.'

Describe the way that costume and colour help create a distinct identity for the gang members in the film 'Day Trip.'

Each decision in a film is very deliberate.  Every movement, every prop and every piece of clothing is chosen for a specific reason.  This includes the choice to have a group of bowls players wearing their uniforms in the pub which Willy goes to.

Task: explain why you think the director has chosen to have a group of bowls players in the pub when Willy arrives.

Gather your ideas on this padlet.

"Day Trip" & the hero cycle

Hero cycle

Learning Objective: To apply the hero cycle to “Day Trip”

Success Criteria:

• I can describe the hero cycle and teach it to someone else

• I can map the events and ideas in “Day Trip” onto a hero cycle diagram
• I can explain how ”Day Trip” fits into the hero cycle and suggest why it is different in places

Resources which will help:

1. Matthew Winkler's explanation of the hero cycle:

2. The short film Day Trip by Zoe Mcintosh

Showing the development of a character over time

Willy (the main character) changes over time and one way we can see this is in the way he interacts with other people.

Option one: write three SEXY paragraphs.  For each paragraph, choose a location, describe how Willy interacts with people at this location and explain what this shows us about Willy at this moment.  Three suggested locations: dairy, pub, ganghouse

Option two: create a timeline of all the locations in "Day Trip" and underneath each location, describe how Willy interacts (or doesn't interact) with people.

Focus on main character (Willy)

In Day Trip, the main character has no name, and he never speaks.

Instead, he communicates by...

His identity comes from...


The effect of him never talking is....  [when you find evidence of him talking, explain what is going on there and what is important about that]

Day Trip: the dairy scene

Learning objective: We are learning to analyse the effect of the main character on the children and the dairy owner.
Success criteria:
1. We can describe the events in the dairy
2. We can explain the effect of the techniques used in the dairy scene
3. We can identify the director's purpose and evaluate her success

Day Trip & film techniques: building our toolkit

Learning objective: to write extended explanations of the role of lighting, mis-en-scene and symbolism in "Day Trip."

Lighting:

• the use of light and shade in a scene
• used to set the mood of a scene, e.g. bright light for happy scenes, and shade and darkness for scary or sad scenes.
• directional lighting puts a focus on a particular person or object
• can have a filter on the lens - green filter makes the scene unnatural-looking; pink filter makes the scene look gory

Click on to this padlet to write your ideas about the lighting in the opening scene of "Day Trip."