Video recording is an integral part of the method. Filming what happens in the classroom allows students to review, correct grammar and pronunciation, congratulate themselves and become aware of their use of the foreign language as “social actors”…

… this is the aim of Glottodrama!

INTRODUCTION

Task: a 30 minute video-documentary on Glottodrama trials in English with sub-titles in 8 languages based on your shooting. It has multiple purposes: to reinforce the dissemination of results and information about the project, to show examples of activities from partners’ classes with different languages and beneficiaries, to highlight each partner's experience, to enrich the Glottodrama materials to be exploited for training purposes. The format will be AVI for public showings and broadcasting and MP4 for web circulation.

WHAT TO FILM?

Video recording of the classroom work for educational purposes and for dissemination.

The work documents lessons, interviews with teachers and students’s performance.

Shooting and editing a video of the final performance to show the application of the method.

TEACHERS AS DIRECTORS

The language and drama teachers are both directly involved in filming during the

classroom work. They have to be confident in using a video

camera in order to have good and useful clips.

A simple digital camera

A trypod for interviews A halogen light

AN OUTLINE VIDEO RECORDING FOR DOCUMENTARY

The students enter the classroom, they greet each other, exchanging a few words. The teachers explain the lesson plan. The drama teacher explains the type and the name of the exercises that they are going to do and their use.

The students do the warm-up and the acting exercises . The language teacher introduces the Grammar Corner

phase, clarifying which part of grammar and lexicon will be explained and what skills are going to be developed. The language teacher asks students about their progress and if they have difficulties.The language or drama teacher interviews the students (at least three per class) about their difficulties and their feedback on the method.

THE INTERVIEWS This is a key moment of the video recording

because it summarizes the progress of the project. It is an opportunity to freely express opinions and any concerns. The interview is simulated. There is no interviewer, but it must seem that there is one and that the teachers respond to the questions raised at the time.

HOW TO FILM THE INTERVIEW Provide a good backdrop for the interview.

You can do it easily by placing a black cloth against the classroom wall that covers the whole range of the shot.

The respondent can be standing or sitting.The scene must be properly illuminated by

using a halogen lamp and closing the window so that you have a uniform background.

The answers must begin with a sentence summarizing the question. This facilitates the editing. Answers should be concise and, if seems unsatisfactory, it’s better to repeat the recording.

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR TEACHERS

Of course the teacher can add other questions in the interview that are important for the understanding of the project.

What kind of students attend Glottodrama classes?

What is their level of knowledge of the foreign language?

What is the emotional attitude of the students to the method and how do they react to being part of a trial group?

What questions or concerns do they have about the method? …

… Have they already had experience in theater?What is a Glottodrama lesson like?As a teacher what you did you learn from

Glottodrama?What are the advantages of Glottodrama, if any,

versus traditional methods?Which are the weaknesses and what can you do

to strengthen them?How was the synergy with the language teacher

or drama teacher?

INTERVIEW THE STUDENTS It is very useful to hear comments,

expectations and thoughts about the method directly from the students as well as any doubts or reservations they may have.It is recommended not to ask more than 3-4 students per class. In this case the same teacher can ask the questions without ever appearing in the shot. While it is suggested to use a black background for the interviews with teachers, the students can be interviewed on the board near the counter, near a window or in the hallway. The shot should be a medium shot.

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR STUDENTSWhy did you decide to participate in the trial

Glottodrama?Do you think you would learn more by following a

traditional language course?What do you think are the advantages of the

Glottodrama method and what are its problems?Do you feel more relaxed when using the spoken

language?What about the written language?What suggestions would you give to improve the

method?In your placement test what was your level and what

level have you reached?

BASIC KNOWLEDGE FOR VIDEO RECORDING

The shot This is the basic building block or unit of the film

narrative. It refers to a single, constant shot made by a motion picture camera uninterrupted by editing, interruptions or cuts, in which a length of film is exposed by turning the camera on, recording, and then turning the camera off.

Long shot

This is a camera view of an object or a person from a considerable distance so that it appears relatively small in the frame. In our case, this could be the total image of the classrom with students.

Medium shot

This refers to a conventional camera shot filmed from

a medium distance; although it is difficult to define precisely, it usually refers to a human figure from the knees up; it is between a close-up and a long shot.

A shot taken from a close distance in which the scale of the object is magnified, appears relatively large and fills the entire frame to focus attention and emphasize the physical and emotional status.

It is a shot of a body part of a character (e.g., face, head, hands) to emphasize detail. It is also known as a detail shot. It is better not abuse this type of shot but don’t hesitate when the eye expression is important.

The outline for shooting the final performance

Sort the various steps of filming into numerical sequences.

Use at least 2 video cameras to have a total shot of the scene and medium shot and close up.

The shooting of final performance needs to be edited in a 15 minute video with an editing program such as Adobe Premiere or Free

video editor for Windows.

Technical suggestions The image must be “firm” and clean, absolutely in

focus. For this you need a tripod otherwise place the

camera on a stand (a desk or a stack of books).Avoid pressing the zoom button. It is better to have

one long firm shot instead of a variety of shaky images.

Avoid artistic or strange shots such as upside down, rotations, change of colour etc.

Assure that sound is good, especially during the interview.

Before recording check the shot in the small display window of the camera.

Suggestions for collecting shotsThe shooting (containing material that represents

one or more lessons focusing on all activities) must have a duration of between 60 and 120 minutes to be used for the total duration of the course.

Not all shooting should be sent but only the best clips that will represent the progress of project. It is necessary to edit the material with a selection of the most significant activities.

The DVD containing the material must have a label on it indicating the partner who performed the work, class and CEF level, the filming date (day, month, year).

Sending the material Do not send the material in DVCAM format.

Send material downloaded in a DVD in uncompressed format (NOT dvx - NOT mp4).

The format will be AVI for public showings and broadcasting and MP4 for web circulation.

Attach some papers to the DVD with an indication of the topics, title of the exercises, grammar steps, your name, address and the title of people interviewed.

For the shooting of the final performance, attach a brief synopsis of the script to the DVD.

THANK YOU FOR

YOUR ATTENTION !

Please, don’t hesitate to contact meCarolina Drago Mail: info@novacultur.it