The class is taking turns hosting ‘Aaron’ the class mascot, taking him on adventures. It is Little J’s turn, so Little J, Nanna, Big Cuz, and Old Dog take Aaron on so Country to look for mica rock, and along the way they photograph the expedition. Distracted by the events of the day, Little J loses Aaron and the family enrols the help of Uncle Mick, a Search and Rescue officer, to return him.

Explore - Use media technologies to capture and edit images, sounds and text for a purpose

Theme - FRAMING

After viewing Little J & Big Cuz, Episode 8 ‘Where’s Aaron?’, engage students with the following activities to support their understanding of the conventions of media production, framing and composition. Also, where possible access the Little J & Big Cuz picture book and/or eBook for “Where’s Aaron?”.

Read/view the book, Where the Forest Meets the Sea, by Jeannie Baker. Ask students to identify the different types of framing used in the illustrations:

• close up
• middle ground
• long shot (wide angle)
• panoramic.
•  

Discuss the features of each type of frame to communicate how the audience should view the ‘detail’ in the story. If a close-up is used, what is the detail the director wants the audience to see? For example,

• the face of a character, the expression, the gesture
• elements of the setting, such as the location, weather conditions, time of day, size of the character in comparison to the background, ominous intent, etc.

Have students also notice the angle of the frame. Is the scene shot from?

1. above. looking down on the scene?
2. below, looking up to the scene?
3. front on, looking at the scene as in normal life?

Have students explore the effect that using different camera angles has on how the audience views each scene. Ask students to count how many times Jeannie Baker uses the various frames in the scenes of frame in her story,

• Where the forest meets the sea (Jeannie Baker)
• Where the forest meets the sea  Film Australia

Re-watch Little J & Big Cuz, Episode 8 ‘Where’s Aaron?’, and using a pre-prepared worksheet with the various scenes listed, ask students to nominate the type of framing used and the angle the scene is shot at. Ask the class how the different choices of frames and angles might affect the way the audience relates to the action in the story.

Focus students’ attention on the photographs that Nanna took of Little J and Big Cuz on Country. Ask students to identify the ways Nanna used framing and angles. If available, have students use digital cameras or iPad cameras to take a variety of images applying their understanding of framing and angles. Have students display their different shots and label them for the different framing types.

Invite students to share their images and ideas with the class, and evaluate the success of the photographs to display the correct frames and angles.

Suggested teacher resource: Shot types