Teacher Preparation

Overarching learning goal: Students will understand the codes and conventions of a documentary text, and be able to track them through a documentary in order to explain their effect on the viewer. They will be able to describe film techniques used in the documentary film Paul Kelly - Stories of Me, and compare the use of the techniques in two scenes in order to explain how the filmmaker uses them to influence the audience.

Teacher content information: This lesson is based on the film Paul Kelly - Stories of Me, which charts the many lives, loves and losses of Paul Kelly, one of Australia’s most gifted singer-songwriters. His songs have been marking out the Australian landscape and its people through words and music for almost 40 years. The stories and the music of Paul Kelly explore and reflect the Australian experience, life and culture.

The film is a contemporary music documentary that allows students to explore popular culture, storytelling and how people are represented in texts. It highlights different aspects of the Australian experience and showcases how art reflects and celebrates life. The film's portrayal of Kelly's life and music covers themes such as relationships, family, culture, love, identity, death and friendship. Throughout the unit, all are peeled back, examined and applied to students' English studies.

Through Paul Kelly - Stories of Me, students consider how Kelly has lived through failure and triumph, and will experience the songs that show it. Although a very private person in a public career, Paul Kelly - Stories of Me digs deeply into what makes Paul Kelly tick, revealing more about the man and his music than ever before. The study of Paul Kelly - Stories of Me provides students with opportunities to reflect upon the human condition and critically examine their own experiences in order to creatively depict their own story.

For more information, view the following:

Paul Kelly - Stories of Me - About the Film - Factsheet
Paul Kelly - Stories of Me - Director's Statement - Factsheet
Telling a Musical Story - Factsheet
Making Up Stories Of Me - Factsheet

This lesson links to the Paul Kelly - Stories of Me - Taking Action lesson, which details how to facilitate student-led social action while integrating the themes and values explored in the film Paul Kelly - Stories of Me.

Teaching sequence:

30 minutes	Part A: Exploring the Codes of a Documentary Text - What are the Ingredients?
30 minutes	Part B: Tracking the Ingredients of Documentaries
30 minutes	Part C: The Effect of Composition and Editing
30 minutes	Reflection/Homework

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

Part A: Exploring the Codes of a Documentary Text - What are the Ingredients?

Documentary, like all texts, tends to follow certain codes and conventions which shape our responses. We respond in particular ways to the way information is relayed through sight and sound. Information is not accidentally collected, but often orchestrated. This idea is particularly important to remember when considering reality documentaries, and this is what this part of the lesson will explore.

Before starting the lesson, cut up enough sets of this Documentary Ingredients categorisation activity so that there are enough for one set between two or three students.

Step 1.

Ask students to form pairs or groups of three and hand a set of the Documentary Ingredients to each pair/group. Invite students to read through each of the ingredients and assign them to either 'sound' or 'picture' as they see fit.

Step 2.

Review the matches created by groups in a quick class discussion.

Step 3.

Ask pairs to identify one or more of the ingredients that they would like more information on (they must choose one). Invite students to attach the ingredient to the whiteboard. Then, the class should view the ingredients that have been attached to the whiteboard and choose one that they will explain for their peers. Students are are prompted to complete the table in the Student Worksheet to record:

what they know
what they want to find out and;
what they discover

If students require it, they could conduct an online search to expand their understanding of what the ingredient is and how it contributes to creating meaning in a documentary film. They could take notes of their research on the "discover" section of the table on Student Worksheet.

Step 4.

Encourage students to share their findings about the documentary ingredient. This could be conducted as a small topic-based group discussion or a larger round-table style discussion.

Part B: Tracking the Ingredients of Documentaries

Step 1.

Invite students to choose the documentary ingredient that they are most intrigued by. They could pair up with students who have chosen the same ingredient.

You could suggest to the class that they try to cover as many of the different ingredients as possible in order to diversify the information that will be shared at the conclusion of this activity.

Step 2.

Viewing the documentary in pairs, ask students to identify sections of Paul Kelly - Stories of Me where the ingredient they've chosen is used by the filmmaker. While they are viewing the sections of the film, students should identify five specific scenes that feature the ingredient, take screenshots of those scenes and create a digital presentation using PowerPoint, Prezi or similar that details how the documentary ingredient is used, as well as its effect. They could record their initial planning-stage ideas on the Student Worksheet.

Step 3.

Once complete, invite students to present their findings by sharing their work in small groups.

Part C: The Effect of Composition and Editing

The most crafted part of the film is its opening. Beginning with a shot of barbed wire decorated by red-ribbon, it moves to the cane cutting scene and opera being performed in the fields. The expectation that the audience may have of the documentary film are instantly challenged by a scene that appears less like reality, and more as a dream sequence or idealised memory.

This activity will guide students in noting their response to each scene, then naming what they see in that scene that elicited that response. In doing so students will identify how the filmmaker uses cinematic techniques to influence the audience.

Step 1.

Print (in colour) the Effect of Composition Pictures and stick them up around the walls of the classroom.

Step 2.

Hand students a small pile of sticky notes (around 10 each) and invite them to circulate around the room, looking closely at each of the pictures. Ask students to record their reaction to each picture on a sticky note, and attach it to the space around where the picture is stuck to the wall. They could record observations and reactions in terms of what the scene makes them feel (for example: happy, sad, excited, bored, warm, welcome, etc.)

Step 3.

Students then connect the reactions listed on the sticky notes with the part of the scene (i.e. set design/sound/lighting/shot composition/colour/costume/point of view, etc.) that they think elicited those responses. Students should attempt to link what they see in the picture with the reaction described on the sticky notes. Invite students to complete the table on the Student Worksheet for this activity.

Step 4.

Encourage students to apply their understanding of how audience response is elicited by the filmmaker in a comparative written piece. They could suggest a theory of how the 'dream like' feel of the opening scene is achieved and contrast it with the scene in which Paul Kelly sings "Dumb Things". How does the filmmaker create a strong contrast between the two scenes? and why is this done? Students could include and add to these details in their written piece:

The opening scene uses two cameras with boom arm rig and jib plus dolly (similar to a feature film - the shot does not necessarily reflect the perspective of the person who features in the scene - thus the audiences aren't being invited to imagine being there or to connect with the scene, they are watching from afar).
The pub scene uses seven cameras, some stationary and others hand held. All cameras are on Paul Kelly and the band on stage (this style of filming reflects what it would be like to be in the audience experiencing Paul Kelly's performance. It is much more raw, gritty, and the blue light and rock and roll sound contrasts with the warm operatic 'feeling' of the opening scene).

Reflection/Homework

Students complete the comparative piece they began drafting in Step 4 of Part C. They could share their first drafts with a trusted classmate for feedback before they submit for assessment.

Students could engage in self-assessment in order to reflect on this task, focusing specifically on the change in the level of understanding of the concepts they compare in the written piece. They could write a short paragraph that explains the challenges they experienced while planning, drafting, improving and publishing their comparative piece.

Differentiated Learning

Extension: Students could create their own factsheet about the film techniques referred to in Part C.

Provisional Learning Support: Students could create a website that compares the opening scene with Paul Kelly's performance of "Dumb Things". They could use screenshots of the film and the Adobe Slate app/website to create an annotated visual comparison for the two film sequences.

PAUL KELLY - STORIES OF ME - Making the Documentary

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