STEM-ing from Hollywood Film Project

Lesson Summary:
Students will discover some the digital design / digital technology principles that Hollywood uses to create motion pictures. Students will study a particular film and recreate a scene from that movie that incorporates prior knowledge learned in digital media and camera / film techniques. Students will apply the design problem solving process to design, build and test various camera tracks, mounts, movie props, blue and green screens and use
CGI( Computer Generated Imagery) special effects to produce a finished scene from Pirates of the Caribbean At Worlds End. Digital Design II Students will use the Abode CS4 products and FLIP Video Cameras to film and edit the movie scene

Science Connection
Physics– Laws of Motion-Simple Machines / Chemistry– Material Properties - Reactions / General Science– Student will plan and apply real or hypothetical models and constructions to facilitate investigation and learning and the solution of practical problems.

Technology Connection
Student use of the Adobe CS4 software; Premiere Pro, After Effects and Photoshop . Use computers and other technologies to access, retrieve, organize, process, maintain, interpret and evaluate data.

Student use of FLIP Video Cameras to capture and transfer the video footage for the scene being filmed.

Engineering Connection
Chemical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering / Structural Engineering
Engineering Design Process and Problem Solving

Math Connection
Geometry and Spatial Sense
Units of Measurements
Solve real world and mathematical problems involving estimates of measurements, including length, time, weight/mass, temperature, perimeter, area, volume and estimates the effects of measurement errors on calculation.

Day 1: Teacher to introduce topic by having students work in groups of 2. Have them discuss their favorite movie or a movie they’ve recently seen. Have them discuss and note a particular scene that they thought was cool and wondered how did they do that. * Teacher to inform students that the movie and contents discussed need to be school appropriate. Once students have gathered their notes have groups discuss with the class the scenes and make a note of the movies and questions on the board.
Teacher to introduce the film the students will use for class: For 2011– Pirates of the Caribbean At Worlds End is the movie the students will study and recreate a scene. Teacher to play portions of the movie in class for students to grasp the scope and nature of the project. Once students have viewed the portions required, teacher to breakdown the film and discuss further the process involved.

Day 2-15: Establish Student work groups and assign roles as teacher continues to breakdown the film.
Use of Green / Blue Screens, Camera Tracking / Mounts / Filming Models and or Miniatures / Props / CGI special FX. Student groups will research their area of responsibility from the items listed above.

Teacher resources: Book “ Special Effects An Introduction to Move Magic” by Ron Miller. www.youtube.com search “movie special effects”. There are countless videos that describe the process. For the movie selected Pirates of the Caribbean YouTube has behind the scenes footage.
Vancouver Film School / George Lucas / Visual Effects Inside ILM Models & Miniatures / Use of FiberOptics / Movie Magic Episode 7-Action Miniatures / Rear Screen Projection / Making of Pirates 3 At World’s End

Day 16-30: Students apply design problem solving principles as they develop storyboards of the scene and map out camera shots / angels, lighting and overall scope and sequence of the shoot. Students to develop time-line and create a Gantt graph identifying target dates and goals for project.

Assessment
Individual Student kept Digital Design Journal
Written quiz on Digital Technologies used in Hollywood.
Quiz on key terms and principles from Special Effects An Introduction to Movie Magic.
2 page paper that summarizes Unit Lesson
Completion of actual project