A Justified Film Lesson Using Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Even though it smiles on truant high school students, I don't think I know one person in education that does not enjoy the classic film, Ferris Bueller's Day Off. I was quite pleased with myself when I was able to bring in a clip last fall to teach tone. Remember the roll call scene? It's a great example of different tones of voice, in which the audience understands each characters' attitude toward being present in a mundane class. My freshmen loved it, and begged to watch more of the movie. (Can you believe that many of them had never heard of it?!)

Looking more closely at the clip from YouTube, I think these scenes could also be used to examine camera shots, lighting, sound, and (lack of) music in film. The first minute of roll call consists of mostly medium shots, and we as the audience feel comfortable with that distance, just as students feel comfortable during roll call; they aren't yet expected to start thinking. Later, during the economics lecture, the audience sees close-up shots of different students in the room. These shots really let us know how each character is feeling; the facial emotions range from frustration, hatred, boredom, and just plain sleepiness. (We're close enough to see the drool, remember?) The audience is able to relate to many of these emotions, and the closeness of the camera helps create that intimacy/connection. 

In both scenes, there is high-key lighting, which gives the sense of the relentless, often headache-inducing fluorescent lights that abound in schools. There could have been a bluish tinted lens used to add to the fluorescent feel, but I'm not sure. 

I really like that there is not a lot of sound, and literally no music in this scene.  The only sound in the second part of this clip is the teacher's monotonous voice, and one incredibly loud SCREECH on the chalkboard. The class is quiet; the audience can feel how badly the students in the film want class to be over. This would be a great opportunity to discuss how effective it can be to NOT have sound or music, if used at the right time.

When I have taught film/editing techniques as a unit, I spend a few days going over definitions of terms, with still image examples. I have students bring in magazines and find different types of shots, angles, and lighting. Then we watch clips from different movies, again identifying film techniques and discussing the directors' decisions. (What effect did the director want to have on the audience? How do these techniques achieve that?) I try to vary the genres of movies that I show, in part to reach all students' interests, but also so they get a sampling of different directors' styles. Finally, we end the unit by watching a full-length movie and writing a film review. In Essentials 9, I show To Kill a Mockingbird, and when I taught General Writing, I showed One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. In both classes, students have to analyze key scenes of the movie, identifying and explaining why certain techniques were used during those specific moments. It goes pretty well, but like Beach advises on page 31, I've found it absolutely necessary for students to view scenes several times before they can write a decent review. Their first viewing is solely for comprehension of narrative elements; it's only the second and third times that they can pick out film techniques and explain their effects. When all is said and done though, my students can never passively watch movies again. Mission accomplished.