PAUL KELLY - STORIES OF ME - Making the Documentary

Using the documentary Paul Kelly – Stories of Me students will explore the codes of documentary films in a category-matching activity. They extend their understanding by conducting some further thinking and research into the codes, or ‘ingredients’ of a documentary, then apply their understanding by tracking an ingredient through the film. They will then create a presentation that demonstrates their understanding of how the ingredient is used throughout the film. Students then record their reactions to the opening scene of the film and apply the influence of film techniques to their reactions. Students plan, draft, edit and publish a written piece that compares the opening scene of the film with the scene where Paul Kelly performs “Dumb Things”.

This lesson uses sections of Shark Island Production’s Paul Kelly – Stories of Me as learning stimuli. Teachers are required to create an account to view the film and use the supplied code to enable students to access the film.

Key points to explore:

• A documentary text is made up of a number of ‘ingredients’ or codes.
• The codes of documentary texts are used by the filmmaker to construct meaning.
• Filmmakers use a variety of other film techniques to influence the audience.