Adaptation: Literature, Film and Society

Teaching Strategies

Filmmaker notes

The filmmaker is “an interpreter before becoming a creator.”⁴⁰ This is essential for students to understand when using this strategy, which allows students to start with the text and begin their analysis and interpretation. In “A Director Prepares: A Visual Script Breakdown,” it is claimed that the first read through should not only concentrate on those “initial powerful ideas that instantly came to mind when reading the written words; the most powerful images..., but also on what  the atmosphere is like; the colors, the lighting, the sound.”⁴¹ Considering this and using sticky notes and specific guided questions and topics to focus on to guide their close reading, students should make short, cogent, and organized comments on mood or initial feelings, any songs or music that come to mind, film techniques (shots, angles, lighting, etc.), places, actors. Students could even do quick sketches on their post-it to illustrate a particular shot they see in their heads. The filmmaker notes which will be on sticky notes can be kept in the book or in a notebook, but students should note the page number in both cases.  In classroom activities, I will suggest specific scenes for students for the filmmaker annotations. It is important to note that these annotations will be the catalyst for their adaptation mind maps and the building blocks for their final project.

Adaptation Mind Maps

Seger writes that “setting the style, eliciting a mood, setting the right tone, and shading a scene or action are some of the most difficult aspects of adapting any material to film.  These are the areas where adaptations often reach their highest level of art.”⁴² Because of this, students really should start brainstorming and figuring out their adaptation style as soon as they begin their filmmaker notes. To develop the concept for their modern translation of their chosen bildungsroman, I will have students us an adaptation mind map.  This type of mind map is used for translating a writing style into a filmic style. For example, a student could take the description of Holden’s red hunting hat, draw a picture or print a picture off the internet.  From this image, a line would be drawn to a more modern hat style. What would a modern red hunting hat look like -- a red baseball hat or a red adidas bucket hat? Students could also include characteristics of Holden when he is wearing this hat.  This would be conveyed as another branch from the original red hunting cap and include words or images that describe his attitude when the iconic image is described. This is just one avenue a student could take, but keep in mind that there is not a prescriptive process for this and every students’ map will be different. However, this method is rooted in images and helps connect ideas together. Using this strategy, students will literally create a map of their adaptation ideas.

Persuasive Letter Writing

Due to the lost art of letter writing, this strategy is important. I have students who don’t even know how to address an envelope, let alone write a formal letter, so going over letter writing conventions is a must for my students because writing a formal letter or email will be something they will encounter as an adult. This strategy focuses on teaching the structure of the letter and having students use text-based evidence and the elements of argumentation to ask for the movie rights for their novel and to develop a proposal. Teachers may want to review ethos, pathos, and logos. Students also must consider their audience and must be aware of the author’s (their own) purpose: two rhetorical strategies stressed in an AP Language and Composition classroom. 

Text to Film Translation Multimedia Project

This strategy takes a text and translates it to a film medium, making use of music, text graphics, and lighting.  After developing a plan for their movie clip or trailer, students should use or find technology they are comfortable with. Most will use their smartphones and make use of iMovie, Magisto Video Editor and Maker, Video Mixer Pro, Video Editor AndroMedia or Adobe Premiere clip. Then, students will film and edit a scene from or trailer of their adaptation and share it with other students.

Rationale and Reflective Writing

In connection with their final project, students will be required to write a rationale that explains the choices that were made and to write a reflection that details whether or not they felt those choices were successful in the long run. This strategy provides teachers with insight into the final decisions that were made and allows students to reflect on their process and final product.