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Dr. Carmen Herrero ©2011

JUNK 2010 ·∙ Dir. (Kirk Hendry)

STUDY PACK

www.filta.org.uk

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Dr Carmen Herrero 2011 © ·∙ FILTA ·∙ Junk Study Pack

About this Study Guide

Symbols

reading

writing

listening

speaking

✎

discussion

media skills

• Sociocultural content Students will have ·∙ been encouraged to value their peers’ opinions in order to become more autonomous ·∙ increased their responsibility for the management of their own learning in order to be able to learn how to improve their language skills more autonomously ·∙ developed and appreciation of their peers’ contribution to the language learning process through collaborative activities ·∙ improved their interpersonal skills (e.g. collaborative decision making) by participating in collaborative tasks • New media literacies Students will have ·∙ increased their understanding of film as a medium of communication ·∙ gained the ability to plan and carry out projects using creativity, IT, research and film editing skills ·∙ improved their ability to think and respond creatively to multimedia input

Objectives

• Functional content Students will have ·∙ developed confidence in their ability to communicate in English using both, interactional and transactional language

• Linguistic content Students will have ·∙ developed all four skills (speaking, reading, writing and listening) with the aid of both, visual and audiovisual authentic materials. ·∙ practised their spoken fluency through active participation with their peers. ·∙ become more aware of their listening and speaking skills in general and been encouraged to identify specific areas in which improvement is needed

• Lexical content Students will have expanded their vocabulary on a range of topics (e.g. character analysis, film language, …)

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A tale of an obsession with junk food that may prove hard to swallow!

Synopsis

Media Release Junk is the latest project of Kirk Hendry, an award-‐winning New Zealand born, London based film-‐maker. The British short film Junk has taken a team of twenty artists two years to complete. The film has been supported by the UK Film Council’s New Cinema Fund and includes the involvement of the Royal College of Music. It has won numerous awards including the Most Promising Newcomer at London’s Creative Circle Awards. [Picture and text adapted from http://www.KiRKHENDRY.com] [picture and text adapted from: http://www.callumcooper.com/ LB_PressRelease_Callum_Cooper.pdf]

Running Time: 6:30

Genre: Animation

Completed: 2010

Written and directed by: Kirk Hendry

Produced by: Lydia Russell

Music by: Janine Forrester

Narrator: Barry Clayton

2-‐D Character animation: Michael Burges

3-‐D animation: Florence Richer

Viktor Berg

Llyr Williams

Tim Kirkby

Sam Miller

Shaun Whoriskey

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Activity 1: Prediction task

Focus: warmer, generate interest in topic

Interaction: pairs or small groups

Materials: board, board pens, synopsis of film

Procedure

The teacher writes the short film title Junk on the

board and asks students to guess what this film

might be about. Students work in pairs with a time

limit of two minutes. The teacher writes the

students’ suggestions on the board (one per pair) in

the form of key words.

Students then read the synopsis of the film or watch the film and compare their predictions. Which prediction was the most/least similar to the synopsis?

Pre-‐viewing Activities

Activity 2:

Interpreting the image

Focus: warmer, generate interest in topic

Interaction: pairs or small groups

Materials: board, board pens, poster of film

Procedure

The teacher shows the poster of Junk and ask the

students to consider the importance of the

marketing campaign designed to introduce an

audience to the film

(http://www.kirkhendry.com/junk/index.html). The

teacher asks the students to explore and interpret

the layout of the poster and what information is

conveyed. Students work in pairs with a time limit of

Activity 3: Mind mapping

Focus: generate lexis on the topic ‘junk’

Interaction: small groups (3-‐4 learners)

Materials: sheet of paper per group, pens

Procedure

Each group of learners brainstorms phrases linked to

the topic ‘junk food’. The first question should be

trying to define ‘junk food’ and provide examples of

it. They should be encouraged to use their previous

knowledge of the topic area as well as dictionaries or

mobile phones with internet access to create this.

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Example phrases Junk food is high in fat and low in nutrients. To be addicted to junk food means… Junk food is being blamed for the epidemic of childhood obesity. To develop healthy eating habits early…

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Activity 4: Setting

Focus: Writing (note-‐taking)

Interaction: individually, pairs

Materials: film, paper, pen

Procedure Students focus on the scenery of the film. Looking at the scenes showing the centre and the outskirts of London, what impression of each place do they get? Which emblematic buildings do they recognise? Ask students to make note of all the spaces (individually) and in pairs compare their notes and make sentences e.g. London seems like…; The outskirts look like… What are the predominant colours and the style of the film? Why do you think the director decided to film it this way? What effect does this have on the viewer?

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While Viewing Activities

[Still from Junk, © Kirk Hendry 2010; available at http://www.KiRKHENDRY.com]

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Activity 6: Interview

with the director

Focus: developing reading skills

(reading longer texts)

Interaction: individual

Materials: text ‘Festival du Film Merveilleux

Interview with director Kirk Hendry’

Questions

True or False?

1 Junk was borne from Kirk Hendry’s own obsession

and dreams.

2 Tim Burton’s films are a direct influence on Junk.

3 The director admires classical movies from the

1950s.

4 He is not very keen on using 3D animation.

5 People can produce animation in 3D with a small

budget production.

Activity 5: Character analysis

Focus: Writing (note-‐taking) and discussion

Interaction: small groups

Materials: paper, pen and film

Character analysis In small groups try to

create an outline of the

protagonist. Brainstorm

and write down all the

words that you can

think of to describe

Jasper O’Leary’s

personality.

Why do you think that

Jasper O’Leary is eating

all that stuff? Is his addiction genetic or is it

connected to the environment?

Is he a lonely character?

Describe what loneliness means to you. What

makes you feel lonely?

Post-‐viewing Activities

[Still from Junk, © Kirk Hendry 2010;

available at http://www.KiRKHENDRY.com]

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Can you summarize your movie? Well, it’s the story of a boy with an obsession for junk food. But it’s about human progress and adaptability. And about the borderline insanity of chasing your dreams. Why this story? What message do you wish to give? I wrote a bunch of short stories that all featured a single character pursuing their dream, but their dreams were not ones that were approved of by their society. So they lived on the periphery, were essentially friendless, and all had horrible things happen to them. But in spite of this, they stuck with their dream til the end. They were cautionary tales told with black humour and Junk was one of these stories. I guess much of this was borne out of the frustration of pursuing my own dreams, and watching other people I knew give up theirs as the years went by. Can we say Tim Burton is an inspiration? And what are your inspirations in the animation world? Tim has done some great work -‐ Edward Scissorhands in particular -‐ although he is not a direct influence on JUNK. Lotte Reiniger, who made what is considered to be the first animated feature film with ‘The Adventures of Prince Achmed’, was the stylistic starting point. But I think with any project you do, there is never one inspiration. You are always pulling from a lifetime of things that have meant something to you that is forever sloshing around inside you. I love animation, however my inspiration comes from fantastical creations in general, of which animation is one of many. I get inspired by fifties and sixties musicals,

matte paintings from old movies, the things Walt Disney did, beyond the wonderful animation he produced, like the theme parks and music projects he oversaw. Karel Zeman. Star Wars. And of course many things outside of the film and illustration world. Music, sport, whatever. Anytime someone executes something with personality and love, I am very admiring of that. And you need a lot of love for what you are doing to enable you to get to the finish line. I think it is an amazing time for animation because what is considered animation is now wide open. With 3-‐D and photorealism, many live action

films have sequences that are essentially animation. So there is a lot of great character work being done. And with motion capture, we are making ‘animated’ movies that begin with an actor’s performance. Though I think audiences are still uncomfortable with the look of virtual actors. The era of animation being considered ‘cartoons’ seems to be over. What I also like is people doing 3-‐D in an illustrative style, and not just using it in a photo real way. Making the aesthetic hand drawn, but having the depth and dynamics of 3-‐D. And all these tools are

available to people at minimal cost. So the most incredible work is being produced in short films now. The ideas being expressed just blows your mind sometimes. It’s wonderful. Source: ‘Interview’ with Kirk Hendry in French magazine Khimaira, available on http://www.kirkhendry.com/press/ khimaira_interview_france.pdf

Follow up: You can get access to another interview with Kirk Hendry at http://www.computerarts.co.uk/interviews/kirk-‐hendry [Interview with the director by Ed Ricketts on October 19, 2011]

Festival du Film Merveilleux Interview with director Kirk Hendry

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Activity 7: Discussion

Focus: personalised speaking practice (authentic)


Materials: text of Festival du Film Merveilleux

Interview with director Kirk Hendry.

Discussion

To what extent has his filmmaking been influenced by different types of art?

How much access did you have to the cinema during your childhood?

What are your favourite movies (films that you remember)?

How enjoyable do you find other types of art (exhibitions, photography, painting, theatre…)?

The director says that Junk is ‘about the borderline insanity of chasing your dreams’. What was Jasper’s ambition? What is your dream and do you think it is important to have a dream?

Activity 8: Discussion

Focus: personalised speaking practice (authentic)


Materials: Music composed by Janine Forrester

Discussion

What contribution did the music make to your enjoyment and understanding of the short film? You can visit the website of the composer Janine Forrester and listen to it again (http://forrestermusic.com/). Reading her biography, answer the following questions: How many instruments can she play? Do you play any instruments or compose music? What is your favourite type of music? Provide some specific examples and discuss your music taste with your colleagues.

Activity 9:

Research

Use the KWL format to do a quick research on a topic related to or mentioned in the film.

Possible topics: overeating, fast food, organic food, healthy diet, addiction, marketing, disease, environmental pollution and the impact on health, … Working individually, present your findings for the rest of the class on one of the specific topics in one of the following modes: PowerPoint, Prezi, or poster presentation.

WHAT I KNOW WHAT I WANT TO KNOW WHAT I LEARNED

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Activity 10: The life of Jasper

O’Leary

Focus: Writing (personalised).

Grammar (present, future and past tenses)

Interaction: individually

Materials: paper, pen

Procedure

In the following chart are listed various forms of biography and autobiography. Think about the advantages and disadvantages of each of them. Choose one to ‘re-‐tell’ the story of Jasper O’Leary. STYLE

ADVANTAGES

DISADVANTAGES

BIOGRAPHY AUTOBIOGRAPHY DIARY LETTERS MEMOIR Variations: Use face time on your phone to record a video diary. Write a status update for Jasper O’Leary on his facebook/twitter profile. Create your own animation film with your ‘adaptation’ using xtranormal (http://www.xtranormal.com/).

[Still from Junk, © Kirk Hendry 2010; available at http://www.KiRKHENDRY.com

Research Variation: Setting

The film is set in part in Brixton, a multiethnic district

in South London. In August 2011, Brixton was in the

national and international news due to the explosion

of violent riots. Read the article from the BBC

(http://www.digitalhen.co.uk/news/uk-‐england-‐

london-‐14445570) and carry out some further

research about the area to find out more about its

history, the setting, culture, etc. Why do you think

Kirk Hendry used this setting for his film?

http://en.wikipedia.org/?title=Brixton%2C_London%2C_England

http://www.urban75.org/brixton/index.html

http://brixtonblog.wordpress.com/

http://audioboo.fm/boos/264231-‐bbc-‐world-‐service-‐brixton-‐intro

Working in small groups, present your findings for the rest of the class in one of the following modes: PowerPoint, Prezi, or poster presentation.

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Activiity 11:

Film review

Focus: personalised speaking

practice (authentic)

Interaction: small groups and

individually

Materials: paper, pen

In small groups brainstorm those aspects that are the best part of the film. Your final task is to write a review or essay about how effective this short film is.

EFFECTIVENESS TOPICS EXAMPLES OR QUOTES Style Visual aspects The film is an animation in

which visual hyperbole… Humour

Black humour Humour exposed the dark side of…

Relevance The value of films to communicate cultural values, attitudes…

Because this short film is based on a topical issue, the audience is also forced to think about…

Ideas The debate on healthy eating habits and junk food. Obsession. Impact of the environment in human habits.

‘it’s about human progress and adaptability’

✎

www.filta.org.uk

Resources written for Alcacine 41 [www.alcacine.org] 2011 by Dr. Carmen Herrero [[email protected]], Manchester Metropolitan University and Film in Language Teaching Association [www.filta.org.uk]. To get further information, or to join our association, please visit our website. The graphic materials of the film belongs to the producers. Images are used for study purposes only without claim of ownership.

in collaboration with

Dr Carmen Herrero ·∙ FILTA ©2011

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