“A Teacher's Hand” reflects on the relationship between teachers and students at school, academically and personally.
Mental health has become one of the most prevalent social issues, especially in a post-COVID world where kids might struggle with a return to normalcy. There is a stigma around mental health, often seen in a negative view, there is a stereotype created around those struggling with mental health illnesses. However, this is far from the truth. Mental health is an issue that is important to every person, and in the United States, it is becoming especially prevalent among teenagers.
A large portion of Generation Z has spent important developmental years doing school online and away from their friends. This distance from what life used to be like has left many alone and struggling. Now as students return to school, they spend most of their time in an environment they have to get used to again. They see their teachers more than they see their parents, making the transition more difficult.
Teachers have recognized the importance of helping students. The role they play in students' lives makes them feel more comfortable and helps them develop academically and personally. The film provides deep insight into the dynamic between students and teachers through interviews and background footage in real time.
The elements of my production are included in all aspects of the portfolio: blog, film, social media page, magazine article. When I began to develop the name of my production company for the film, I created a stop-motion title card that displayed the production name “KP Films”.
The design used for the title card is similar to the one used for the production company logo. Both of these are featured in my film and on my social media page to promote the production company and create a sense of unity. The stop-motion title card is featured in the beginning of my film and after the credits roll at the end, the production logo appears. I positioned each of them both apart to remind the audience where the film is coming from.
On the weblink for my blog, the color palette that I have used throughout my different production elements is also used to keep the project coherent and connected. By creating a sense of unity, the brand I have made is portrayed at a higher level.
The level of thought used in each step in the project can be seen through a level of creativity, from pre production to production, and post production.
During production, in order to accurately portray the impact teachers have on students, I conducted two interviews from teachers at my school and two students that have impactful relationships with those same teachers. The interviews were conducted on the spot to provide more thoughtful responses from each interviewee rather than pre planned responses given by questions already known. By obtaining interviews that provide essential support to my story, my audience becomes more engaged in the film because they can see themselves in it.
In hand with my social media page, these interviews will be posted, offering an inside view into the film and portraying how insightful the film is because it captures real time footage between teachers and students portraying their relationship in the school environment. Throughout the recording process, other people from my school would notice me recording inside and outside of classrooms and often asked me what it was for. These questions led me to the idea of posting small clips of footage on social media as another layer to my products' engagement with my audience. Once on the social media page, the audience would be able to explore my production company and the upcoming film, analyzing its design and building up support towards the film's release.
My vision for the documentary did not come in an instant, but rather after researching different aspects of film, it became clearer.
Deciding between a short film or documentary required research into what each project would entail. Entering the class, I knew I wanted to tell a story that people could relate to, and a documentary was the way to go. I had started with a list of topics of meaningful stories to both my peers and I and eventually landed on “A Teacher’s Hand” because the first hand experience from myself and those around me made it something important for me to document.
As I have been watching different films, both in and out of class, I have taken note of the different techniques directors and editors use through production and post production. When filming my documentary, I took into account different camera angles that would be more intriguing to view, but also challenging to capture. The more intricate the shot taken, the more real emotion is caught.
For a topic like mine to work, I had to gather footage that portrayed a relationship in depth, rather than simply at surface value. The footage I obtained is a combination of a real classroom experience and interviews from teachers and students in those same environments. The footage captured in the same environment that my audience resides in each day adds another layer of meaning to the story.
The research and development that went into the documentary is detailed throughout my blog posts and can be seen through the film itself. The audience is able to see the level of intricacy and creativity that went into the film through the unique camera shots and footage I took.
While watching different documentaries from AICE Media A Level, I caught on to unconventional pieces in different films. Some films had behind the scenes footage included, or something that was different from the rest of their film. As I was planning my documentary, I wanted to do something similar. I decided to take pictures of students and teachers that students around my school had saved that portrays my story. I put the photos together into a reel at the end of the film coupled with the same sound in the beginning and end of the film. The sequence provides a satisfying closing to the film and leaves the audience with the visibility of the impact teachers have on students' lives.
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