Investigation Shakespeare

Criterion A
Our new unit is about Shakespeare and bringing it to modern society in a way that people will understand it easily. The title of our unit is “Modern Shakespeare”, because the majority in our class chose it. We chose ATL (approaches to learning) as our AOI because most of Shakespeare literature is very complicated and to understand it, we have to read it carefully and clearly. To actually be able to understand Shakespeare you really have to study his writing. We also chose it because we are learning obviously about Shakespeare. Then for the learner profile we chose communicators. We decided this because in most of Shakespeare’s literature language is very complicated and mostly has two or more meanings behind it. His work has a lot to do with how we take it and our way of communicating is different to the way Shakespeare communicated. Shakespeare had many different ways in communicating. That’s why we chose it as our Learner Profile. The unit is really about bringing Shakespeare into the modern world and making it easier for others to understand. To do this, our final project is to make a video about a part in the play “Much Ado Nothing” from Shakespeare but into a modern way. It should be interesting, understandable, appealing and funny for others from the modern world. To succeed at this project, I think it is necessary to have all the good equipment, have good lighting, film the scenes from different angles, and try to make it as realistic as possible. Of course the acting should also be good. There are many things we have to do to make a good video of the play. It will have to be edited, realistic, well acted, different camera perspectives, good lighting, good plot, good setting, well filmed, good camera and the required equipment for that, good/creative and realistic costumes, but to have a very well filmed video we need a good studio and very good cameras.
The unit question does apply to this project because the area the project is about creating a video that normal people nowadays will understand Shakespeare. If they understand it, it will be more appealing to them. How would it make sense to have a project that doesn’t relate to the beginning unit question? The unit question is “How can we create a video presentation of a Shakespeare play that will appeal to modern day viewers?” and the project is to make a video that will be appealing to the modern day viewers. As a beginning of this project we should all answer the unit question, that way it will be easier for us to actually create it in the end because we brainstormed.
The study of Shakespeare is important because Shakespeare was a very excellent writer and he is counted as one of the most important writers of history. Studying Shakespeare will teach you more about the use of language and it having two or more meanings behind it. There are either dramatic or comedy plays. To understand the humor of Shakespeare you have to be able to read and understand his language. The dramatic plays also have the old English language. If you can’t read and understand the language, you won’t be able to understand the plays of Shakespeare. Shakespeare’s works are counted as an important part of literature and by not reading them you can miss out on a lot of good writing. By studying Shakespeare the old language also will not get lost in our society. Shakespeare is really important and should always be studied.
From this unit I expect to learn a lot about making videos and being able to edit them. I expect to be able to make a good video, and as in good I mean have good acting, good lighting, good plot, good setting, good equipment for smaller things, good camera in it. Obviously I will also learn about Shakespeare.
I have read a few Shakespeare books and am pretty familiar with the language. This is because I have done it in English class. After a while you kind of get the hang of it.
I think to create a video presentation of a Shakespeare play that will appeal to modern day viewers; we have to make it like the things that come up on TV these days. So that people can develop interest in it. If people are interested in something, they will want to listen better and then they will of course understand it easier. It of course should also be in easy English. I think when we’re are about to film, or produce this video, we will split up into many different groups such as editing, camera and filming, acting, equipment manager, and maybe another group. I think this way it will be easier and more organized and that way the movie will be better, because we are organized. There are many different videos on YouTube and also tips on BBC for us to watch about making a good video. Everybody should watch them before the production of our video.
There hasn’t been any decision made by how we are going to make the video and what is going to be in it. For that we still have to wait until we get have written the scripts in English A class and I think we will decide what person does what depending on how well they are at the certain area.

Mine and Mrs. Wilson’s Design specification:
• The video should be easy to understand, funny, and interesting
• Should be different than other videos…something special
• Everybody should be involved in filming, acting, editing, costumes, background and etc.
• The video must be based on the play, using the names and events in the play exactly as they happen.
• The scripts must be written in modern English in the format of a news show (interview, documentaries, news reports, talk shows, etc)
• The video shouldn’t look cheap. It should look realistic and nice.

I think we should test the video by letting other people watch it and since this is a school, we could just let different classes watch it and do a survey about the video. They should answer questions about the video that the design specification gave. The answers of the survey should tell us exactly if we did a good job or not. Did they understand it and so on. I think if we let 6 graders watch it, they will be able to tell us if they understood it, because they probably don’t understand Shakespeare. It should also be showed to different teachers and staff, because they mostly criticize things very well and will give us exact detail on what should be improved.
it maybe could also be put on YouTube, depending on how many viewers and how many likes and dislikes and also comments, we can decide if people liked it or not. We can then see if it was a success or not. But in the end, a success is clearly shown by the grades given from Mrs. Wilson. =D


I interviews many different people about what we need for the making of the video.
What will be needed for the filming of the video?
person 1: a camera, some actors and actresses, props, costumes, editors, producers, directors, make-up, a computer
person 2: camera, actors, crew, settings, mic, props, costumesmake-up/hair, director, editor
person 3: camera, actors and actresses, script, plot, make-up, props, costumes

List of what I need to know before making the video:
How do I hold the camera, what angles are the best?
It is better to actually get close to the actor, instead of just zooming in and zooming out. The acting should be filmed several times to be able to film it from different sides and angles. This way the viewer will be able to see the actor talking from different angles and it will also make the film quality better and more realistic. By going closer to the actor, not only will it look nicer, but the sound will be better. The sound will then also be heard well.
Lighting, is it important?
Yes, it is. With good lighting from all the sides, the video will seem more realistic. Depending on the lighting, a different mood can be produced. If the lighting for example is all dark, it will seem more depressing and if everything is light and bright, it will seem more happy and exciting. We should have different lighting, depending on what the mood is of the script.
Sound, is it important? Of course it is. Without a good sound, the video wont be good. The actors should speak everything over again and actually record it without filming. Then the recorded sound can just be played as if the characters are talking. Here we have to be careful though. It has to be at the exact time. If this doesn’t work, the actors have to speak into a mic, which will not be visible for the viewers. Then the sound will be better too.
What equipment is needed for the video?
There are many things needed for a good video. You need good lighting and good sound to make it well. And the filming quality of the camera should be good too. The camera should be really good because if it is a cheap camera, it always seems as if it is filmed at home and we don’t want this. Realistic costumes, backdrop and setting are also needed to make the video quality better.