Streets, Art, SAFE Educator's Guide
Setting the Scene

Lesson 9: Lesson Plan

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Present each part of the lesson in the following order:

KEY VOCABULARY (10 min.):

Grip: a member of a camera crew responsible for moving and setting up equipment. [New Oxford American Dictionary]

Rehearse: practice (a play, piece of music, or other work) for later public performance; supervise (a performer or group) that is practicing in this way. [New Oxford American Dictionary]

Background: the part of a scene or picture that is farthest from the viewer; the part of a scene that is behind a main figure in a painting, photograph, etc. [Merriam-Webster Dictionary] 

Camera: a device for recording visual images in the form of photographs, film, or video signals. [New Oxford American Dictionary] 

Microphone: an instrument for converting sound waves into electrical energy variations, which may then be amplified, transmitted, or recorded. [New Oxford American Dictionary] 

Boom: a pole, usually extensible, carrying an overhead microphone and projected over a film or television set. [The Free Dictionary] 

Attention-getter (15 min.):

Tell students to imagine that they’re going to shoot a short scene in which the following occurs:

  1. A student defines the word “camera” (from Key Vocabulary, above) for another student.

  2. The other student uses the word “camera” in a sentence. 

Students must select a director and actors for the scene, dress the set with props, costume actors appropriately, ensure the background is aesthetic, arrange sound, lighting, and camera equipment, and rehearse the scene so that it is ready to be shot.

Discussion (15 min.):

  1. Ask students how the attention-getter exercise went overall. 

  2. Ask them what was most challenging and most fun about setting up a scene. 

  3. Ask them what they might have done differently if they were going to set up another scene. 

  4. Encourage students to share their insights, tips, and advice with other students to create a list of “do’s” and “don’ts” for setting up a scene.

Activity (15 min.):

Using their script, storyboard, shot list, and logistics checklist, have students begin mapping out how they will set up the scene(s) in their PSA. 

  1. Have them pair up with another student to trade ideas and get advice for their respective PSAs. 

  2. If students are already working in teams on PSAs, encourage them to assign responsibilities for direction, set dressing, props, costuming, sound equipment, cameras, lighting, etc.

Assignment (5 min. in class, TBD. at home):

Instruct students to actually rehearse their PSA scenes and set them up (as much as is logically feasible, given when they plan to actually film).

∞ End of Lesson ∞