Juno

JUNOAS90850: Show understanding of specified aspects of visual/oral texts, using supporting evidence.

Thursday: Pre-test on cinematography

Cinematography – visual features in a film text crafted through camerawork and filming.

The test will be short, asking you to describe film still shots in as much detail as possible.

It will also ask you to explain the choice of visual features and the intended effect.

Before We Watch

Write answers to the questions below (on refill):

What would you think if a friend of yours got pregnant?

How do you think her parents would react? How would her friends react?

How do you think NZ society views teen pregnancies?

Before We Watch

Compare your answers with your neighbour.

Add any new ideas to your own answers.

Starter Activity

Do you think the reaction of Juno’s parents is realistic? Why/why not?

Starter Activity: Quick Quiz

1. What is Juno's surname?2. What does her father do for a living?3. Where do they live?4. What is the name of her stepmother's business?5. What is Paulie Bleeker's "only vice"?6. What is Juno doing when she tells Bleeker she is

pregnant?7. What does she have in her mouth?8. What is the topic for their chemistry class?9. Where does Juno go to "procure a hasty

abortion"?10. What is it that makes her change her mind?

Starter Activity: Quick Quiz

1. What sort of adoptive parents does Juno look for?2. What kind of an adoption does she insist on?3. How does she describe it?4. Where do the Lorings live?5. What is Mark's occupation?6. What is Vanessa's?7. What nickname is Juno given at school?8. What is Juno most often seen eating?9. When Juno tells the ultrasound technician that

the adoptive parents might be "evil molesters", what does Leah suggest would be even worse?

10. What video does Juno watch with Mark?

Cinematography Pre-Test

Cinematography – visual features in a film text crafted through camerawork and filming.

If you know technical terms for visual language, please include them.

Please write on named refill, to be handed in. You will have five minutes to analyse each of three

film shots. For each, describe:1. The shot type/angle/movement.2. The effect of the shot/angle.3. The composition of the shot (how objects/ characters

are framed or presented)4. The meaning created by the shot.

Shot 1: Bren and Mac

1. Over the Shoulder/ Point of View Shot.2. Shows the reaction of Bren to Mac’s

words; makes the viewer feel part of the conversation.

3. Bren and Mac are at eye level – they are equals discussing a serious issue. Bren is framed closely, showing this is an intimate conversation.

4. Bren and Mac are involved in an intimate conversation, and the viewer feels part of the conversation.

Shot 2: The Freeway

1. Extreme Long Shot (ELS).2. Gives an overview, showing scenery

and location.3. Juno in the Previa is very small in the

centre of the shot. Also included are the creek, the boat and the train.

4. The long distance shows loneliness; the train and the boat symbolise things ‘getting away’ from Juno or out of control. The high angle gives the idea that there is a lot weighing down on her.

Shot 3: The Loring’s Front Door1. Long Shot (LS); also shot at a Low Angle (LA).2. Makes Mac and Juno appear small (and of lower

status).3. Mac and Juno are small in comparison to the

door, making the Loring’s front door seem large and imposing. The mirrored glass adds to this.

4. Emphasises the differences between the families. The door is a symbol of the fancy house and the rich world of the Lorings, that Mac and Juno are entering from a lower status world.

After the First Viewing

Answer the questions below on refill: Which character(s) did you empathise

with? Which character(s) did you disagree

with? Has your attitude to teen pregnancy

changed?

(Empathise: to experience the thoughts, feelings or attitudes of another.)

After the First Viewing

1. Why is Vanessa so uptight and awkward with Juno?

2. Juno likes Mark rather than Vanessa. What makes her change her mind?

3. Two people suggest to Juno that visiting Mark is not a good idea. Who? What is Juno's response in each case?

4. There are a number of clues that the Loring marriage is not happy before Mark drops his bombshell. How many did you notice?

Narrative Structure in Juno

Starter Activity:1. List the six parts of a narrative

(exposition…)2. For each part, can you describe the

corresponding event in Juno?


1. Exposition

2. Catalyst3. Turning

Point 14. Turning

Point 25. Climax6. Resolutio

n

1. The Front Yard: Juno and the chair. (Also The Chair: Juno and Bleeker).

2. The Store: Juno takes the test and finds she is pregnant.

3. Fingernails: Juno doesn’t go through with the abortion.

4. The Lorings’ House: Mark announces he is divorcing Vanessa.

5. The Freeway: Juno is alone, at a point of crisis.

6. The Steps: Juno and Bleeker are happy together. (Also The Birth showing the note from Juno to Vanessa).


WALT: Explain the narrative structure of the text.

Key topics this week: Describing scenes important to the

narrative. The idea of “cause and effect”. Three narratives in one film? Narrative Point of View (POV).

Extension: The “Hollywood Formula”.

Narrative Structure in Juno: Exposition

Visual Feature: long shot (LS) shows “the chair” as an important symbol – the beginning of Juno’s problems (and the beginning of the narrative).

Visual Feature: voiceover “it started with a chair.”


Visual Feature: flashback to show an event important to the narrative.

Visual Feature: soft lighting to create warmth and intimacy.

Visual Feature: extreme close up (ECU) of lips add to intimacy between the characters.


Visual Feature: Point of View (POV) shot to show Juno’s perspective.

Puts the viewer inside Juno’s mind – so that we can empathise with her, and feel what she must be feeling.(Empathise: to feel or identify with another. Derived from empathy.)


Summary Activities:1. What do we learn about our characters

in this scene? Write two points for Bleeker and two for Juno.

2. How would you describe the tone of this scene?

3. Why is this scene important to the overall narrative?

(Tone: the feeling or mood created.)

Narrative Structure in Juno: Catalyst

Oral Feature: scratching fingernails sound effects are used to show the discomfort Juno is feeling about her abortion.

Visual Feature: two shot shows Su-Chin and Juno.

Narrative Structure in Juno: Catalyst

Catalyst – a problem or conflict is introduced, that the character must resolve.

What is the problem/conflict?

Is it internal or external?

Narrative Structure in Juno: Climax

Mark tells Juno he is leaving Vanessa. Is this the climax of the film? Discuss

with your neighbour.


Visual Feature: mid-shot (MS) of Juno and Mark to show reaction and emotion.

Visual Feature: rapid cutting between characters to show tension in the conversation.


Visual Feature: extreme long shot (ELS) to show isolation: Juno is dealing with her crisis alone.

Visual Feature: high angle (HA) the weight of Juno’s crisis.

Visual Feature: symbolism – the train symbolises events that are out of Juno’s control.

Narrative Structure in Juno: Resolution

Visual Feature: composition Juno and Bleeker are centred, opposite, to show how they suit each other.

Visual Feature: symbolism both are playing guitars. Also the steps symbolise the future.

Visual Feature: music “I am the church and you are the steeple….” to show how they suit each other.


We have learnt: Key scenes in the narrative structure of

Juno. Visual Features and how they are

used for effect in these key scenes.

What is wrong with this picture?


Today we are learning to: Explain the narrative structure of the

text, by looking at narrative threads. Narrative threads are the different

parts of the story, that weave together in a certain way.


Most of Juno revolves around Juno and her pregnancy. However, there are other important characters and relationships in the film.

Leah and Juno Juno and Bleeker Mark and Vanessa


Different narrative threads in the film have their own structure. For example:

1. Bleeker and Juno fall out after Juno finds she is pregnant.

2. Juno is upset that Bleeker is taking Katrina to the prom.

3. Juno and Bleeker have a big argument in the hallway at school.

4. Juno realises she loves Bleeker, and fills his letterbox with tic-tacs.

5. They end up together.


Another important narrative thread is Vanessa and Mark’s marriage. We see them happy in their first meeting with Juno and Mac:


How does this narrative thread continue? Describe how Mark and Vanessa’s relationship changes.


How is this narrative resolved?


The mid-point of the narrative is an event that turns up the tension or conflict in a text – something happens to kick the action to a higher level.

In Juno, what is this event and when does it occur?

Narrative Structure in Juno: Mid-point


1. VF: soft lighting in the basement.

2. Oral Feature: Dialogue Juno: “is Vanessa here?” Mark: “no, we’re safe.”

3. Oral Feature: Music Mott the Hoople: Juno’s favourite, also the one Mark and Vanessa danced to at prom.

4. Setting the basement: Bleeker and Juno had sex in Bleeker’s basement…

1. Shows intimacy between Mark and Juno.

2. Shows there is something secretive about Mark and Juno being together (is it right?).

3. Shows how Juno has become caught up in Mark and Vanessa’s relationship.

4. Shows how Mark and Juno’s relationship has developed to something serious. Also links Bleeker and Juno’s relationship to Mark and Juno.


We have learnt: How narrative threads are woven together. How the mid-point of the narrative adds

another layer of tension/action to the narrative.

You should have: A close analysis of key scenes in the narrative. A close analysis of the mid-point. A vocabulary of visual and oral features.

Narrative Structure in Juno: Cause and Effect

Starter Activity: The first turning point in the narrative

is when Juno decides she doesn’t want an abortion.

What other events does this cause in the narrative?


Answer these summary questions on refill:1. Does Juno have a happy ending?

Why/not?2. Describe how Juno weaves different

narrative threads together. (2-3 sentences)

3. Briefly describe the mid-point of the narrative. Explain why the mid-point is important to the film. Give examples of visual and oral features to support your explanation. (PE…ER paragraph)


Your choice today: Review the narrative structure of the

film: cut and paste events. Explore the idea of the “Hollywood

Formula”: discuss the idea that all Hollywood films are essentially the same.


Cause and effect is the idea that one event is directly responsible for another.

In Juno, the narrative is driven by a series of linked events.

Choice of Activities:

Narrative Review:1. Starting from Juno

and Bleeker becoming “sexually active”, cut and paste these key events.

2. Complete the event to show how one event causes another.

Hollywood Formula: Read the information

on the 3 Act Model. Sketch the structure

of Juno. Does it fit the 3 Act Model?

Can you fit your favourite film into the model? Compare with a neighbour and discuss.


1. Bleeker and Juno “become sexually active”. Juno must…

2. Juno goes for an abortion but decides not to (the fingernails scene). She decides to…

3. Leah and Juno look for adoption ads. They find….4. Juno tells her parents. Mac wants to…5. Mac and Juno visit the Lorings. As a result, Juno and

Mark…6. Juno sees Vanessa at the mall. Juno realises…7. Juno returns to visit Mark. Because Mark tells Juno…8. Juno decides that Vanessa…9. Juno also decides that Bleeker….10. Therefore in the end…

Documents

Juno