Feeling a Certain Way - Student

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Lesson

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

What You’ll Learn In this lesson, you will learn how to convey emotion through visual storytelling with extremely limited time. You will develop skills in scriptwriting, storyboarding, shooting, and editing while exploring the effects of color and sound on human emotions.

What to Expect

  • Duration: 1-1.5 days
  • Activities: Researching color psychology, scripting, storyboarding, filming, and editing a 7-second film

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Get Inspired

    • Start with the Video of the Day activity: Watch a silent film project. Write one positive and one critical feedback point for each video you view and add them to your journal.

  2. Learn About Color and Emotion

    • Read the case studies on color psychology: 1 and 2.
    • Take notes using the Cornell notes guide.

    • Discuss questions like:

      • What color is traditionally worn to weddings in different cultures? How does this affect storytelling?
      • What color is worn at funerals in parts of Asia? What does this say about cultural perception?
      • How do diverse cultural views influence storytelling and symbolism?

  3. Explore Sound and Emotion

  4. Emotion in 7 Seconds Challenge

    • Group Work: Form groups and receive an assigned emotion (e.g., joy, fear, anger, sadness).

    • Develop your short film concept:

      • Write a script: Plan a story that visually conveys the assigned emotion without text, music, or dialogue.
      • Create a storyboard: Map out key shots and scenes.

    • Have another group peer review your storyboard before filming.

  5. Shoot Your Footage

    • Work efficiently to capture your footage within the remaining class time. Adhere to the following stipulations:

      • No text
      • No music
      • No dialogue

    • Keep your film 7 seconds long.

  6. Edit Your Film

    • Use iPads or other editing tools to refine your footage.
    • Edit efficiently, focusing on clear storytelling and emotion.
    • Export your final film and save it to the shared class archive.

  7. Share and Reflect

    • Review all completed films as a class. Discuss how color, composition, and editing were used to convey each group’s assigned emotion.
    • Combine all clips to create a collective “rainbow” of emotions and visuals.

Why This Matters This project challenges you to use minimal time and resources to tell a compelling visual story. You will learn how to express emotions through images, colors, and pacing while practicing teamwork and time management.

Outcome: What You Will Create

  • A 7-second short film that effectively conveys an assigned emotion
  • A script and storyboard demonstrating pre-production planning
  • A deeper understanding of color, sound, and cultural perspectives in storytelling

Bonus Exploration

  • How do scientists justify the emotional effects of colors when cultures interpret them differently? Reflect on how cultural diversity shapes storytelling.