Ngo & Sons Academic Coaching

Year 9 Term 4: Auteur Study

YEAR 9 TERM 4 WEEK 10

1. Vocabulary Quiz

Instructions
1. For students attending face to face, the quiz will be completed on paper.
2. For students attending the lesson remotely, the vocabulary quiz will be conducted
using Socrative. Please click on the following link to access Socrative:
https://b.socrative.com/login/student/
3. Your teacher will provide you with the ‘Room Name’. You will need to type in the
‘Room Name’ so you can access the quiz.
4. Your teacher will guide you through the questions in the vocabulary quiz so pay
close attention and ask questions if you have any.

Warning: Students caught cheating will receive ZERO on their quiz and parents will be
notified.

2. Narratives & Cinematic Perspective

In this lesson, we will focus on developing your skills in imaginative writing. We will look
at how you can use your knowledge of film to help you construct effective imagery and
narrative points of view.

Your teacher will lead you through the theory and examples, so be sure to take additional
notes as you work through them.

Cinematic Perspective
‘Cinematic perspective’ is a method of imaginative writing that simulates the experience of
watching a film.

When writing imaginatively, think of yourself as the director moving the camera lens to
control what the audience sees. You are translating that visual into words that will provoke
the reader’s imagination.

How should you use cinematic perspective?

● It is best used with third person narrative point of view
● Use it to insert imagery to ‘show’ rather than tell
● Use it to build the ‘physical’ elements of the story such as character actions and
setting

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Year 9 Term 4: Auteur Study

Translating camera techniques to narrative point of view

Let’s take a look at how you can use particular film shots to create a cinematic experience
in your narrative writing.

Establishing shot
● What is an establishing shot used for in film?
● How can we use it in our imaginative writing?

Medium shot/Mid-shot
● What is a medium shot used for in film?
● How can we use it in our imaginative writing?

Close-up shot
● What is a close-up shot used for in film?
● How can we use it in our imaginative writing?

Extreme close-up shot

● What is an extreme close-up shot used for in film?
● How can we use it in our imaginative writing?

Example Narrative
Written by Frank Tarczynski

The grey manor stands alone at the hilltop, mired in its own history of shame and
violence. A wrought-iron fence surrounds it, keeping the ghosts of its past locked in like a
prison. The wind howls through its broken shutters and the dense fog covers the grounds
like a straight-jacket covering the soul of the insane. A faint light glows from a window at
the very top. A gentle reminder to everyone below that the house still awakens from its
gentle slumber.

“Are you sure this is the place?” Mark says to Amy as he looks up at the decrepit manor.
Mark grabs a backpack from the trunk and gently closes it.

“Yes, I’m positive,” Amy says as she steps out of the passenger side, slipping on her
windbreaker. Her face glows brightly in the thick fog.

Mark squints as he looks at the hilltop. “Is there a light on? I thought this place was
abandoned years ago?”

Amy stares at the manor, remembering the tales of horror her grandfather told her as a
child. “Let’s go find out who turned it on,” Amy responds as she walks past Mark.

From inside the manor, excitement drips from the crazed man’s face as he peers from
behind the curtains and looks out over the unkempt grounds. His eyes bulge and sweat
rolls down his cheeks. A few strands of hair hang like nooses against his forehead. A
large smile covers his face, revealing a full mouth of perfectly white teeth. His breathing
hurries as he watches Mark and Amy walk up the long, labyrinthine walkway towards the
manor.

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Year 9 Term 4: Auteur Study

Amy clutches a small, green book in her left hand as she and Mark walk towards the
manor. The edges of the book are bent, and the pages are stained yellow from years of
use. Embroidered in gold trim, the book’s title, Speaking to the Dead, sparkles in the
dense fog. Amy’s grandfather gave it to her before his untimely death at this very house.

Other film techniques to consider...

What we see

Camera angles
Camera shots
- Low angle
- Extreme close-up
- Ground level/Worm’s eye Camera movements
shot
view - Tracking shot
- Close-up shot
- Eye level - Dolly shot
- Medium shot
- High angle - Panning shot
- Long shot
- Dutch angle (Dutch - Zoom in/out
- Extreme long shot
tilt/Oblique angle)
- Establishing shot
- Aerial shot/ Bird’s eye
view
- Overhead shot

What we hear

Diegetic and non-diegetic sound Musical motif (leitmotif)

Voice over/Narration
Sound effects Music – score, soundtrack
Dialogue
- Pleonastic
Asynchronous sound - Interactive

What we infer

Mise-en-scene Focus/defocus

Editing: Setting: Film set/Location

Costume and make-up
- Crosscut
- Shot reverse shot Colour palette – hue, saturation,
Body language and facial
- Cutaway brightness
expression
- Cut-in/Insert shot
- Contrast cut Lighting
Visual motif/symbolism
(Juxtaposition) - Split lighting
- Transition - Chiaroscuro
Text on screen: Titles,
- Dissolve - Natural
Subtitles and Credits
- Fade - Fluorescent
- Montage - Low key/High key
- Soft/Hard

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Year 9 Term 4: Auteur Study

3. Homework

Reminder: Don’t forget to turn in your Review for

Fantastic Mr Fox as instructed by your teacher!

Imaginative Writing - Moving to Sandford

Write a narrative segment inspired by the sequence depicted in this clip from Hot Fuzz.
Your narrative segment should be 300-400 words in length. You may take creative license
with what you portray in your narrative. Aim to translate the film techniques into a strong
narrative point of view.