Blockbuster!

Essential Question:
Where do artists get their ideas?

Objectives:​
1. Connect​ prior knowledge of sounds and movies to the artmaking process.
2. Communicate​ intent through art.
3. Present​ and ​describe​ artistic choices made during creation.

Learning Goals:
1. Stringing: Linking words or concepts to prior knowledge
2. Storytelling: Building a narrative that incorporates character, conflict, and conclusion
3. Post-Rationalizing: Being able to defend or describe after the completion of a thought or idea.

National Art Standards: ​This activity aligns with both theater and visual art standards for grades 6-8.
● Creating TH/VA:CR1 Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.
● Performing: TH/VA:Pr5 Develop and refine artistic techniques and work for presentation.
● Connecting TH/VA: Cn10 Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences

Improv and Art Activity:

Note to Teachers/Facilitators:​ ​It’s your job to help students be successful. Keep positive and encourage students. Don’t allow
negative or counterproductive behavior. Encourage feedback from the group. Always be supportive. Never single a student out about
how​ they did.

Rules and Expectations:

● Laser Focus: Keep your head in the game for the benefit of yourself and the others involved.
● Self-Acceptance: The stakes are low. Trust yourself, your ideas, and your abilities. If you make a mistake, that’s okay, use it
to fuel another idea.
● Grandma: Imagine that your grandma is sitting in our classroom. Do not say or do anything that would offend her.

Terms: ​Introduce these terms as they appear throughout the activity.

● Concept: Another word for an idea

Kelly Nyhagen, 2020

 ● Narrative: Another word for a story
● Conflict: The problem that needs to be solved by the characters in the scene or story.
● Layout: The way objects or elements are organized within a whole; usually referring to composition or graphic design.

Setup:
Create a playlist of five or six 8short movie themes (see Appendix H for suggestions). Try to find a variety of musical styles such as:
action, romance, epic, superhero, sci-fi, etc. Choose themes that are no more than four minutes long and which are unrecognizable to
the students.

5-Minute Intro:
Describe the premise: Explain to the students that you have been contacted by a major motion picture company. Maybe something
such as ​Bisny ​or ​Shunasversal. ​The motion picture company is looking for the summer’s next big blockbuster. As such, they’re
willing to offer 25 million dollars to the person who can conceptualize, write, and direct the film. Right now, they’re only looking
for movie pitches to help them make their choice. They’ll deal with the writing and directing after the contract is signed.

Suggestion:
Ask students for a common problem or frustration that they encounter. This problem will act as the conflict for the narrative
artmaking portion of the activity.

Improvised Artmaking:
1. Each student should have drawing materials in their workspace. Other supplies should be available to them in case they want
to incorporate them into their final.
2. For this activity, students will be listening to each theme song to help inspire their movie pitch. As each song plays, students
will quickly sketch a concept in the form of a movie poster. They can include things such as the environment, the main
characters, the title, slogan, etc. The predetermined conflict suggestion MUST inspire the drawing. Encourage students to
quickly generate a story in their mind which will help guide their drawing.
3. Once students have completed their short sketches, encourage them to go back into their artwork and rework or develop for
their final pitch to the movie studio. Give students 10-15 minutes to accomplish this. If it helps, start a countdown timer so
students can keep track of how much remaining time they have.

Sharing: ​This lesson focuses on independent production of more in-depth work of art. It’s important that students can share their
artwork with each other and receive feedback (positive feedback or questions) from the group.

Kelly Nyhagen, 2020

 1. After the group has reconvened for the final time, have students share their artwork. Explain to the students that they should
try to ​sell ​their movie idea to the class.
2. Once they’ve explained the premise of the movie and their artistic rendering, encourage students to give feedback to
presenting students. It’s important that you keep things positive. This is not a critique. Students are putting themselves in a
vulnerable position when they share, and they should feel supported by their ​team/​peers.

Extensions:
1. Use this activity as a transition into a project about layout and design. Students could develop final movie posters based on
their initial drawings.
2. This could make an excellent cross-curricular ELA, theater, and art activity. Students could visually conceptualize their
movie idea. Then, they could practice scriptwriting. Actors from a drama class could perform portions of the script for each
other.

Kelly Nyhagen, 2020