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Fellowship PaperMacbeth Director’s Cut: Using Essential Questions and Video to Enhance Student Understanding
By John M. Cronin Marblehead Community Charter Public School
Massachusetts Charter School Association 2005
Four years ago, I became the seventh grade language arts teacher at the Marblehead Community Charter Public School (MCCPS). Before taking this position, I considered the study of Shakespeare’s works to be the province of high school and college students. I thought it was unlikely that seventh grade students had the motivation, let alone the skills, to examine the works of Shakespeare. Some four years later, I am happy to say my preconception has changed. Some people may doubt the wisdom of tackling the works of Shakespeare with middle school students. Certainly Elizabethan English is like a foreign language to pre-adolescents. So why bring this study of Shakespeare to middle school? It’s because I want my students to reach beyond the familiar; I want them to learn how to navigate complex texts. Many young adult books present simpler language and characters closer to the students’ experience. While these books offer pleasurable reading, often they do not require the student to penetrate below the surface of the text. Students are well versed in the language and experiences exhibited in a typical young adult novel; the authors design these books to reflect the lives of their teenage audience. They are meant to be accessible. But with Shakespeare, I have the opportunity to help my students grow as readers. We have to practice reading slowly and rereading. Students learn how to incorporate new vocabulary and locate words in the text that are important to the passage. It is difficult at first because they are used to reading quickly and with high comprehension; they are used to reading with little effort. But after practicing with short passages, they begin to realize that complex literature is comprehensible, if they devote the time to understanding it. It gives me an opportunity to show students how to navigate complex texts. What’s more, classic literature gives them insight into new worlds. The Failed First Attempt at Macbeth During that first year, in the spring of 2002, my 7th grade students read and performed Macbeth. Please note that I am using the word “performed” in the loosest sense. For them, it was an exercise in memorization of words and movements. Students had pained expressions on their faces as they tried to recall words that had little meaning to them. Their voices were flat and emotionless. I slapped my forehead in frustration, as a group of students tried to portray the sinister witches, but giggled through their entire performance. Other students swayed and delivered their lines with machine gun rapidity. I tried prodding them along, but their motivation waned; it was an agonizing experience. But it was not only the lackluster performances that troubled me; I worried my students did not grasp the deeper meaning of the play, and many of the assessments I gave confirmed my fears. Students explained events and characters in the play plainly enough, but they knew little of the imagery and themes that fueled these characters’ actions; their understanding was superficial. I needed to meet the requirement set forth in the Massachusetts Curriculum Language Arts Frameworks Dramatic Literature Standard (2001). More importantly, I wanted the students to appreciate the rich language and ideas set forth in Macbeth. The thought of doing the play for a second year, however, made me shutter. I recognized that in order for my students to truly understand the play, something needed to change. Reflecting on the Work, Integrating Learning The school year prior to attempting Macbeth, I had been introduced to Understanding by Design, by Wiggins and McTighe (1998). The authors advocate for teaching through integrated projects, as well as the use of essential questions, questions that:
That spring I also borrowed the Wiggins’ book, Educative Assessment, from my teammate, Kay O’Dwyer. Fresh off my study of Understanding by Design, this book was a natural continuation, as it advocated too for teaching through authentic projects, projects with real world application, and for assessing student understanding. Educative Assessment was an important resource; it helped me create a project that truly assessed students’ understanding of Macbeth. At MCCPS the work of Wiggins and McTighe is invaluable. We believe that utilizing projects, integrating subjects, and providing students with real world tasks gives more meaning to learning. We enter our unit plans into a computer database, and the database is designed to integrate benchmarks or learning objectives from any subject. We are given planning time to collaborate with our colleagues. We try to impress upon the students, regardless of where their interests lie, that the world demands that they be adept in many different areas, and we try to design projects that meet this real world integration. During that 2001-2002 school year, I was able to work with and learn from teachers who were already skilled at creating integrated units with authentic tasks, as well as developing rubrics to assess student learning. When it came time to plan my Macbeth unit again, there were many shortcomings I wanted to remedy. One, as noted earlier, was that students had a superficial understanding of the play. They had simply memorized the characters’ names, their lines, and what the characters did, but my students could not explain why the characters acted the way they did. Certainly to perform a play, memorization is important, but it should not have been the ending point. Another problem was that the Macbeth project had been carried out in isolation; our work did not integrate with any other academic subjects. It required that the students memorize and deliver their lines. It did not ask students to use skills and content from other areas. Finally, and on a related note, the project had not required students to complete an authentic task; it didn’t have a “real world” component. It was time for me to integrate some of my own learning. Critical Changes to the Project Utilizing Essential Questions With Macbeth, I offered my students a play that had witches, prophesies, ghosts, and murders, yet it failed to hold the attention of my class. Could it be that my students found this wicked tale of murder and betrayal boring? The truth was, my students did not see this as a tale of murder and betrayal; they saw it, as one of my students put it, as “a story about an old dead guy.” The language alone was enough to turn students off, and away, from Shakespeare. Speech peppered with metaphors and allusions made it difficult for students to understand the characters. How could I help my students appreciate not only the story, but the rich language as well? How could I help them move beyond superficial memorization? I knew that in order to understand Macbeth, my students needed to connect with the material on their own level. I wanted them to understand the universal messages in the play, to understand that Macbeth is not just a play about some dead Scottish guy; in the text there are deeper questions--questions of love, loyalty, and faith--that have meaning (that are essential) in the students' lives. I developed essential questions, questions I apply to pieces of literature other than Macbeth, questions that can be explored over a lifetime. I planned to utilize these questions to help guide student learning. Integrating Student Learning, Designing an Authentic Task As noted earlier, in Educative Assessments (1998) Grant Wiggins describes authentic tasks and rubrics used to evaluate them. He defines “authentic tasks” as work a professional might do--something that the community values, not an assignment just for the audience of one teacher. In addition, he points out that these authentic tasks need to reflect student understanding and have products that can reveal that understanding (Wiggins 1998). Engaging in such tasks helps fuel student motivation, as students realize that the work is not just an academic hoop they must jump through; it’s a legitimate task with bearing on the world outside the classroom. With all this in mind, I asked myself: What would a professional do with Macbeth? The answer seemed obvious. My students needed to put on a production of the play. A production would meet one of Wiggins’ criteria for authenticity--creating a real world product that a professional might attempt. But I worried that it might fail a second criterion in that it did not give me something to assess the students’ understanding of the play. What if this production mirrored my previous attempt? The students needed understand the play, apply that understanding in a meaningful way, and demonstrate what they knew. I needed to strip away the acting and speaking skills--valuable yes, but not necessarily indicative of a student’s grasp of the material. After all, I had plenty of students who were capable actors but understood little from the lines they were delivering so eloquently. I returned to the idea of the authentic task. If I were not placing an emphasis on acting, what other tasks could students perform to convey their understanding of the text? The answer came to me as I watching a DVD with the director’s commentary on an episode of West Wing. As the director dissected a scene, I realized that this was exactly what I wanted my students to do. I wanted them to look at Shakespeare’s text through a director’s eyes. I wanted the students to be able to speak about how they assembled a scene and why they made the choices they did. I wanted them to do what any good director, actor, or writer would do--look at the material and make conscious decisions to change, modify, add, and eliminate things in order to communicate the author’s intent. I envisioned students editing the script of a scene from Macbeth, then putting together a performance that showed their understanding of the play. Video taping would allow students to try the scene in multiple ways to determine which take fit best with Shakespeare’s intent, and with multiple takes there would be less need for rote memorizations of lines. Taping, rather than a live stage performance, would allow students to closely examine and critically comment on what they had produced. Such a language arts project would require the integration of technology; technological skills would allow students the flexibility and creativity necessary to mold a scene into what they envisioned. Using technology would also motivate my students, students whose lives seem to revolve around computers. The marriage of language arts and technology was the authentic integration I sought. It mirrored the real-world tasks of directors, writers, and editors. It created a product that had value outside our classroom walls. Moreover, it provided me with evidence I needed to assess my students’ understanding of the play. Action In 2003 I put my plans into action, and each spring I continue to carry out the project. I’ve added some preliminary steps, aimed at improving student understanding of the play, as well as elements that help me better assess that understanding. Key to the project are essential questions and an authentic task--a video/editing component. Getting Ready, Utilizing Essential Questions In order to help students make connections between the text and their lives, I provide time for students to reflect on essential questions connected to the text. I post the following in the classroom and refer to them frequently, both before and during the examination of the play:
To help students relate to these questions, I use scenarios that my students might encounter. Usually these scenarios revolve around friendship and betrayal. For example, I ask my students if they know of situations in which someone got something they did not deserve, or if they can remember their reactions to a friend doing something dishonest. Normally, it’s easy to get about half the class to respond, providing us with rich material to talk about. We discuss the responses as a class, focusing on the subject matter but also on the emotions that such situations bring up for students. Sometimes groups role-play a scenario for the rest of us. The time is well spent. Examination of students’ personal experiences allows them to connect to the text. During appropriate moments in the play, we refer back to the essential questions, and I have the students respond (usually in their journals) to the characters’ actions during a scene. The quality of student responses skyrockets when I use these essential questions and use them repeatedly. Student journal responses include not just factual material, but also connections to their own lives and to other pieces of literature. This reflection continues well beyond the classroom walls. I have lunchtime conversations, discussing with student which characters in Macbeth we resemble. Our work is no longer a matter of some character in play; it is reflective of the students’ lives as well. Essential questions give students access to Macbeth; they allow students to understand it from their own perspective. An Integrated Project: Video-Taping and Editing Macbeth To help students familiarize themselves with the play, to help them understand Shakespeare’s intent, we engage in some preliminary activities. I use an activity from Shakespeare Set Free (O’Brien 1993). Students read an individual scene, and then I ask the class about the various characters in the scene. What are they feeling? Why are they doing certain actions? During the class discussion, students generate a list of responses. We then have two groups of students act out the scene to see which responses fit with the words and actions of the character. For example, when we consider the scene in which Macbeth first meets the witches, several students offer that Macbeth is afraid of these supernatural beings. Other students say these weird creatures fascinate Macbeth. One group acts the scene out as though Macbeth is afraid, the other acts as if he is fascinated. Seeing the words and actions on the “stage,” most students can see that the words in the scene work better if they show that the witches fascinate Macbeth. They realize that if Macbeth were simply afraid, his line, “Stay you imperfect speakers,” wouldn’t make sense. In this way, students construct their own meaning, using the text as a guide, and the process enables them to determine Shakespeare’s intent. After initial discussions, we are ready for students to do their own work with the text. I construct the steps the students need to follow. Essentially, students work in small groups and carry out a variety of steps enabling them to interpret a scene, demonstrate their understanding of the scene, and produce a filmed version of the scene. They:
We review the steps as a class, and I provide students with a hand-out, explaining these steps in detail (see Appendix). Although students act in and film a version of their scene, I emphasize the editing process--the lines students choose to keep, the lines they delete or change, the visual metaphors they include, and the sights and sounds that help communicate the message of the scene. Of course, the students want to test the limits of the project. Once, for example, a student asked if his group could do their scene as a comedy, and I saw several other students’ eyes light up. This request made warning lights in my head start to flash. I want my students to think creatively, but they also need to produce work that demonstrates understanding of the play. I worry that if I give my students too much creative license, understanding will get lost. I told the student that the group needed to produce a scene that communicated their understanding of the text. I asked the group members if a comedic scene would demonstrate the proper mood, and they reluctantly acquiesced. Through dialogue with students, they come to realize that this project is not just an exercise in acting. They must look at the text very carefully, and they must develop lines, costumes, and sets that convey the emotion of the scene. The choices they make provide the proof that the students understand the scene. I divide the class into groups; each group receives the text of the scene on which they will work, and small group discussions regarding editing begin. Even though all the students have an understanding of the play, many still struggle to understand what the characters are feeling and communicating. Like all good directors, they ponder if certain lines are essential to the play or bog the story down. They might heatedly debate which lines they should alter. They might ask me to decide which lines they should edit (and I have to resist the urge to interfere). I sit with each group of students, discuss lines, and frequently find that our discussions run beyond the time allotted. Students are engaged. They are not simply memorizing lines; they are involved in a genuinely creative and thought-provoking endeavor. There can be the temptation on the part of the students to eliminate lines and characters with reckless abandon. For example, once a student wanted to eliminate Macbeth’s “Out, out brief candle” soliloquy (probably Macbeth’s most famous lines in the play!). He valiantly tried to make his case, protesting that he too many lines to memorize. I asked him if he thought the lines in question were important for the character in the play. He quickly said, “Yes,” but restated his protest. I asked him why he thought the specific lines in question were important. He paused for a moment and then said that throughout the play we see a confident and fearless Macbeth, but in this scene we get a sense that Macbeth’s resolve is starting to crumble. The student then reluctantly agreed to keep the lines in. To allay the student’s fears about memorizing lines, I made sure we would not be filming his group’s scene right away, so he would have extra time to practice. I don’t think I completely won him over, but I know he came to understand the importance of those lines. During the editing process, each group must justify every change and artistic choice they make. Students document their changes in a journal entry, which includes a description of the change and a justification for that change. (When students receive their scripts, we go through a sample scene and journal entry together, so students can use this entry as a template for future entries.) Many students initially bristle at documenting each step. However, once we make the process a part of our regular scene-editing sessions, they adapt to the routine. Documenting the changes helps students in a variety of ways. It can save time; if a scene is not working the way the students intend it to, they can always go back to their script and journal to reevaluate. The journal and edited script also help students later remember what work went into producing a scene. This is important, as students present their work at project’s end, at a school-wide, end of the trimester, community exhibition of student learning. At these exhibitions, students sit at computers, show their videos, and answer questions; referring to their journals and scripts helps them give an informed presentation about their project. After students edit their lines, they decide how to visually express the emotions that need to be conveyed. At this stage, I have students watch parts of professional productions of Macbeth--the Royal Shakespeare Company stage production with Ian McKellan and Judi Dench; the 1948 version acted and directed by Orson Welles; as well as 1971 movie production directed by Roman Polanski (see reference page). Sometimes we are lucky and can attend a live production of Shakespeare (though usually it’s Romeo and Juliet that’s available, rather than Macbeth). Some students have visceral reactions to productions they view. They can develop very concrete visions regarding how “their” scene should look, and they often get upset when directors haven’t created scenes that match that image. With initial editing complete and productions viewed, students begin to plan how their scene is going to look. They determine which shots best convey the emotion of that scene, and they deal with the practicality of shooting that scene. They face challenges; for example, a student may want to use close-ups to show the actor’s emotion, but in order to show actors entering and leaving they must also cut to wide shots. It is at this point I ask my students to pay attention to professional television and movie productions. I ask them to observe how and when the director selects various shots. After watching a few minutes of a professional production, students realize that the camera does not simply remain fixed on the actor that is speaking; it can cut to other actors for their reactions, to props that relate to actor’s lines, or even to background scenery. Students come to realize that to plan shots requires clear under understanding of the script--the range of emotions as well as interactions between characters. To plan a shot, students need to know if a character is angry, afraid, or ashamed. They also need to know why the characters feel this way. They learn that a well shot scene informs the viewers, while a poorly shot scene bores or confuses them. Throughout Macbeth, Macbeth experiences guilt from the murders he committed, and his guilt emotionally isolates him from many of the characters in the play. In their scene, one group of students chose to show this emotional isolation as physical isolation. They kept Macbeth physically distant from the other characters in the scene, an effect that was visually impressive and informative--Macbeth’s loneliness was evident to everyone who watched the scene. Moreover, when several members of that group explained their creative choices in their journals, their reasoning stood out. One journal entry read like a professional director’s commentary. The student wrote, “We chose to represent Macbeth’s loneliness by separating him from the other characters, even when he is talking to them” (Student, Macbeth Director’s Cut Journal, May 2005). This sort of evidence of student understanding is exactly what I am after. The integration of technology does not stop once the scene is filmed. We are fortunate at MCCPS to have multimedia technology that allows students to flex their imaginations. Students are able to film their scenes, load them on a computer, and edit the scenes using Apple’s iMovie software. This software allows students to add music, backgrounds, and special effects, like fog or rain. These elements are not extras; special effects help students demonstrate their understanding of a scene. Each group must evaluate whether their music or effects are adding to or distracting from the scene. Often, in their first attempt, students are tempted to “pile on” the effects. I’ve viewed scenes completely obliterated by fog, for example, or those with a hail of gunshots echoing in the background. My guidance is usually limited to asking students, “Do these effects help you communicate what is happening in this scene?” One year, a group of students fell in love with special effects. Like kids in a candy store, they were very impulsive. The flashier the effect, the more they wanted it in their scene. They took a subdued scene between Macbeth and his friend Banquo and turned it into something resembling an MTV music video. The scene included quick cuts between each of the characters. A rapid drumbeat in the background gave a sense of impending action. The sound of thunder drowned out some of the dialoge. These students showed me their journals as justification for all the effects they utilized. A student in the group reasoned that these effects foreshadowed the coming conflict between Macbeth and Banquo. I asked the student if he saw any of that foreshadowing in the text of the scene, and the student reluctantly shook his head. Then the group went about the task of finding better effects to match their scene. Later, members of that group adeptly pointed out other scenes that displayed or lacked appropriate foreshadowing. I was confident that they understood foreshadowing and its critical application. The experience, the authentic task in which students were engaged, coupled with the student exhibition and explanation of their work (see “Evidence of Success”) taught them about foreshadowing in such a way that they’ll never forget it. Once students have edited their scenes, I ask them to export their work, so I can compile it on a DVD. Having a DVD of student performances is beneficial for a variety of reasons. First, students show their videos at our school’s exhibitions, providing a clear demonstration of their work and understanding. Second, the work recorded on DVDs is easier to evaluate than live performances; instead of having to immediately grade several students’ performance as a play is performed, the teacher can watch a video and stop as needed; the recording provides a better opportunity to assess each student’s best effort. Finally, having a DVD allows us to archive student work. Live performances are fleeting, but recorded scenes will last as long as the disc does, and archived recordings can then be included in a student’s portfolio. MCCPS has also used the sale of student DVDs to help raise money for more technology. The funding is crucial for the continuation of this project. The first year of this project, I was lucky to have a teaching assistant who borrowed video equipment from the local high school. In order to continue the project we needed a more permanent solution--our own equipment. Through the sales of DVDs and funding from grants, we purchased our own video cameras, microphones, and video editing software. Not only is it great to have our own equipment, our students can see tangible rewards for their efforts. Troubleshooting and Problem Solving One of the challenges I face in this project is assessing individual work. How does a teacher separate the work of one student from that of another, when students are working as a group? Individual student journals help. As noted earlier, students document the decisions they make during the production of a given scene. If a student is a passive participant, that passivity generally reveals itself in limited journal entries and the student’s inability to explain the decisions the group makes. I also utilize various other assessments--a Lady Macbeth Advice Column, for example, in which students dispense advice in the character of Lady Macbeth, as well as formal assessments, such as tests and quizzes (with both comprehension and inferential questions). These alone are not sufficient to assess student understanding, but they complement the understanding demonstrated in the Macbeth scenes created by students. Another challenge this work presents is determining which decisions to make for students and which they should make themselves. For example, if a class has a firm grasp of the play, I allow them to choose from any scene in the play. But if I have a class that struggles with the play, I isolate a selection of scenes for students to choose from. Likewise, if members of a class work well together, I give them more latitude in selecting group members. But if I have real doubts that groups will function well, I tend to determine group make up. This is an intense project, and with the many decisions that need to be made, tempers can run hot. For this reason, I save this project for the second half of the school year, when I have more familiarity with the students, and can better make decisions regarding group dynamics. I’ve also faced challenges with respect to technology. Students’ enthusiasm, for example, can overwhelm a computer’s resources. Processing graphics, as well as editing digital video, can bring many computers to a crawl. As teenagers are not famous for their patience, many click every button on the screen while a computer processes a video clip; this excessive clicking can cause a computer to crash, corrupting video projects and causing work to be lost. I’ve been known to require some students to sit on their hands while they wait for the computer to do its job! To avoid disasters, it is essential that students know how to operate computers properly. To familiarize my students with the video editing process, I usually do a small video project at the beginning of the year. I work to get students accustomed to the computers and software before launching into the full-blown project. We use Apple computers, and I find their creativity suite, iLife, ideal for getting students’ feet wet with video editing. These computers are sophisticated enough that students can actually engage in video editing, but simple enough that a novice can feel comfortable within a few minutes. Whatever computer or software is used, it is essential that the teacher familiarize him or herself with its advantages and shortcomings before using it with students. In fact, I recommend that the teacher try every technology-related task, before asking students to do it; you just can’t assume things are going to work flawlessly. Finally, the technology component of this project can present financial hurdles. But I believe most teachers can find creative ways to surmount these. High schools or local cable stations may allow educators to borrow their video equipment, as we did the first year. As noted earlier, at MCCPS we finance our video and computer equipment through fundraisers and grants. But even if the funds or equipment are not available for students to edit their scenes on a computer, students can still develop creative sets and insert sound effects during the actual filming. No matter how the equipment is obtained, my advice is to start small. Evidence of Success Student understanding is the major benchmark by which I measure this project. By all internal and external assessments this project facilitates students understanding of Macbeth specifically and literature in general. The student-created scenes by themselves demonstrate that students come away with a firm grasp on the Massachusetts Language Arts Frameworks: Dramatic Literature Standard. The scenes, coupled with student journals and scripts, provide powerful evidence of the evolution in student understanding. At our student exhibitions, the parents of students in my class see how students’ edited scripts progress into a fully realized scene. They read journals that demonstrate how students have negotiated Shakespeare’s written words. On formal tests and quizzes students support their answers with multiple pieces of evidence from the text and their experience; they provide “dense” responses, responses in which they “make connections within and outside the text” (Burke, 1999). Our MCAS scores too show our students performing well above the state proficiency index, as well as above that of many of the surrounding communities (Massachusetts Department of Education, 2004). This project, of course, is not the sole reason for our students’ success, although it does demonstrate the overall effectiveness of using integrated, authentic projects. Another benchmark that I use to measure success is student engagement. During my first attempt at Macbeth, when I asked students to open their Macbeth books, they looked at me as though I had asked them to eat their vegetables or take out the trash. With the addition of essential questions, students have gained access to a play that has meaning for them. Instead of teaching a class that watches the clock, I teach a class that works well into their lunch period. What’s more, students know they were engaged in authentic work. They value the project and are willing to put their heart into it. I counted this project as a success when one student said (June 2005), “Mr. Cronin, I’d could to do this for a living.”
Author’s Contact Information John Cronin
Appendix: Student Handout Name_________________________ Macbeth-Director’s Cut This project requires that your group go through several steps TOGETHER. These steps are:
Each one of these steps requires care and attention on the part of your group. Your neglect during any one of these steps could be disastrous for your project. Please make sure your group does the necessary planning before filming. You should not try to “wing it” when you are filming. Your lines, movements, props and costumes, should all be prepared in advance of your filming. STEP 1 – EDIT LINES: In your group, discuss if you will do the entire scene or just a section of it. Then you must first decide which characters (if any) will be cut, combined (Malcolmbain or Rangus), or added. After that, look at any long monologues (8-10+ lines) that might be shortened. Remember not to eliminate any important lines (important meaning we discussed them in class or they are vital to understanding the story). There is also the possibility to doing a voiceover, if we are hearing a soliloquy (a character’s inner thoughts). You may also want to consider revising some outdated or awkward language (ex. Malcolm says, “Oh! By whom” when he finds out his father has been murdered). Remember you want to communicate your understanding to your audience, not just make your lines shorter. Remember to justify all alterations in your journal. STEP 2 – MEMORIZE LINES: On your own: It is strongly advised that you retype your scene(s) with the changes that you have made, and print yourself a clean copy. This will make your lines easier to read and memorize. Say your lines aloud and repeat them, paying especially close attention to the parts where you get stuck or you mess up. Remember there is a beat or rhythm to Shakespeare’s words (iambic pentameter). Try to pick up that natural rhythm. Include some emotions and gestures to your character’s lines. Record your performance, so you can hear what you sound like. In your group: Plan when the actors are entering or leaving the stage. Choreograph how your characters interact with each other.Although we are able to do multiple takes, your fellow actors will appreciate you being prepared. STEP 3 – PLAN SHOTS: This step should be done while you are practicing your lines with your group. Everyone in the camera shot should be doing something; nobody should be just standing there waiting for something to happen. Ask yourself: When should we do a close up on a character? Would you want to see a character’s face / reaction even though they are not talking? Would close-ups of hands or feet help tell the story of your scene? Look at films and TV shows. Observe how they use close-up’s, wide shots, how they cut to different characters. You should be able to explain why you select the shots. These shots should help tell the story. Remember the green screen prevents us from zooming or tracking a character’s movements, so plan your shots accordingly. Remember to document all your shots in your journal. STEP 4 – COSTUMES AND PROPS: Your voice is not the only tool you have to tell the story of the scene. When choosing props and costumes remember they help communicate something about the character as well. In the North Shore Music Theater’s Romeo and Juliet performance last year, colors in the costumes helped to identify the Capulets from the Montagues. Remember any green colored props or costumes could fade into the background. STEP 5 – FILM SCENE: Once you have your scene prepared, let me know. I would like to film all your shots during one session, so please make sure you are prepared to perform. We will ask actors who are not in the scene to help film and light the set. Remember to project your voice as much as possible when you are performing. This will help you when you edit the audio later. You can always decrease the volume of a voice that is too loud. It is much more difficult to increase the volume of a voice that is barely audible. STEP 6 – DOWNLOAD AND EDIT FOOTAGE: We will work as quickly as possible to download the footage on the computers. Remember to save your changes frequently because crashes can happen. Try to select the clips that give you the best overall performance. It is difficult to cut out a middle portion of a clip. It makes the movie look like it jumps. For more effective edits cut the beginning or ending of the clip. STEPS 7 AND 8 – ADD TRANSITIONS AND EFFECTS / EXPORT DV FILE: Mr. Ruth and I will review these steps in more detail when we have the footage. Some reminders with the effects; don’t over do it. These effects should add not distract from the viewer’s understanding. The soundtrack or sound effects sound not overwhelm the actors’ voices.
References Burke, Jim. 1999. English Teacher’s Companion. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Macbeth. 1971. Dir. Roman Polanski. Perf. Jon Finch, Francesca Annis, and Nicholas Selby. Columbia, 2002. DVD. Macbeth. 1948. Dir. Orsen Welles. Perf. Orsen Welles, Jeanette Nolan. Republic Studios, 2002. VHS. Macbeth. 1979. Dir . Philip Casson. Perf. Ian McKellan, Judi Dench. A and E Home Video, 2004. DVD. Massachusetts Department of Education. 2001. Massachusetts Curriculum Framework: English Language Arts. Retrieved June 2005 from World Wide Web: www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/current.html Massachusetts Department of Education. 2004. Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System: MCAS Results. Retrieved June 2005 from World Wide Web: http://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/results.html O’Brien, Peggy. 1993. Shakespeare Set Free: Teaching Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. New York: Washington Square Press. Wiggins, Grant. 1998. Educative Assessment: Designing Assessments to Inform and Improve Student Performance. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Wiggins, G., McTighe, J. 1998. Understanding by Design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
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