More specifically, the opening of the show uses the dissolve technique to establish setting as one image slowly fades and is replaced by another.

Shaky camera accentuates the documentary aspect.

David/Neal Meeting

Camera starts behind the window and the blinds for David and Neal’s meeting. The angle is over the shoulder of Neal to show the face of David. The shot is medium, and shows Neal getting comfortable. David and Neal appear to be mic’d but the camera is not allowed into the office. As soon as Neal presses David for specifics on the progress of the merger, the camera zooms in to a single shot of David. This highlights that David is not prepared to answer this question and he is obviously uncomfortable. He fidgets with his tie and dances around the question. He uses hand motions to make up for the lack of words he has.

The Birthday Party

Yet another example of the lack of respect the employees have for David. The scene cuts to a 4 shot of office workers celebrating one worker’s birthday. The camera zooms in to show the leather basque she receives as a present. Quickly it goes to a three shot to show the reactions of her co-workers. Gareth is excited and mumbles that she should try it on. The camera goes back to a single mid-shot of the birthday girl as she holds the basque up for size. Again, the camera pans to co-workers to show their giggling reactions. The camera then goes to a short shot of Gareth leaning in, imploring her to “try it on properly without that stuff underneath.” The camera then goes back to a 4shot angle but Gareth is still mumbling about trying it on. The co-workers try to ignore Gareth’s inappropriate request.

The Office – “Documentary”
Season 2, Espisode 3

Opening – Setting the atmosphere for “The Office”

Establishing/extreme long shot – camera sets the scene of Slough. First shot shows dull, non-descript office buildings and garages. Frames slowly fade out and are replaced by new ones. During this time, the opening theme music is the instrumental version of “Handbags and Gladrags.” The sky and buildings are gray; the overall scenery is bleak. A bus drives by then the camera pans to show a round about filled with cars – commuters seemingly on their way to work. The weather is wet and gloomy. The name of the city is discovered when the camera shows a plain green “Slough Trading Estate” sign, as a truck and car drive past in the background. The camera shots seem to imply that this is a manufacturing town. The introduction comes to an end showing the office building where the series takes place. It is old, ugly, and unappealing. The music also comes to an end at this time while the “The Office” is displayed over the building. The font is dull and seems out of date.

Previously, David Brent’s (David is Slough’s branch manager) branch and been combined with another branch. David now has a new boss, Neal, who is younger and more attractive than he is. In this scene, he is obviously envious of Neal and begins mimicking his dress.

The new boss is personable and popular with the employees. The opening scene shows him joking around with Dawn, the receptionist. It is also subtly implied that David is either late for a meeting with the boss or just starts his day later than most managers. (Frame consists of Dawn and Neal then includes David’s entrance).

Challenging Authority – David Brent Style

David saunters in. He walks in front of Neal and partially turns his back to him. This forces Neal to take a step back.

Neal confronts David in a round-about-way that he is wearing a jacket very similar to his own. (Frame zooms in to include only Neal and David). David is trying to act casual and slouches. (Frame then includes an employee walking past in the background). Neal also comments on the heel of David’s shoe. (Dawn briefly enters the frame again then the focus goes back to David and Neal). David awkwardly taps the desk while asking about the meeting and again turns his back to Neal as he walks towards his office. As he’s walking, Dawn enters the frame again and peers at David sideways. David bites his lower lip while strutting away, trying to give a nonchalant, cool vibe. He awkwardly glances at the camera.

The camera pans back to Neal and Dawn who watch David walk away. While the camera is still on them, David begins talking about being “rock-n-roll.” Neal gives a smirk and looks back to Dawn who is using her hair to cover up her attempt to suppress laughter. The camera then goes to a close-up interview shot of David from the shoulders up. David explains his life philosophy of “live hard, die old” and uses lots of hand gestures to articulate.

The atmosphere of a documentary is created by using rough camera shots. The zooming emphasizes awkward moments and creates an overall feeling of uncomfortableness. The subtle camera shots allow the viewer to discover that David’s receptionist is not fooled by his new clothes and generally does not have respect for him.

McDonough District has consistently scored low on the reading and writing portions of state testing. Thus, they have decided that in order to improve test scores in reading and writing, they are going back to the basics and pulling media studies classes and much of the availability for students to access media tools. The current curriculum has only two media studies classes available. These classes are always full and students are on waiting lists. The community seems to be divided over the importance of continuing the media studies classes. Some feel as though students are not gaining valuable skills and that the classes are taken because students get to play around on computers. Others feel as though these are critical skills that students must learn to be successful in college and in their future career.

It is my opinion that media studies should not be cut but instead expanded and used in more classrooms, when applicable.

Due to modern technology, students’ brains are programmed differently than only a few decades ago. This leads some, myself included, to believe that more and more students are not, in fact, suffering from ADD and ADHD. Rather, students learn differently as they are accustomed to having multiple stimuli presented to them simultaneously. Thus, they need more stimulation in the classroom to keep them engaged. Media forms can easily serve this purpose. Neurologist Richard Restak goes into great depth on this subject in his book, Brainscapes: An Introduction to What Neuroscience Has Learned About the Structure, Function, and Abilities of the Brain. Click on the following link to read excerpts or purchase your own copy: http://www.amazon.com/gp/explorer/0786861134/1/ref=pd_lpo_ase/104-1733677-5804726?ie=UTF8

As a Language Arts teacher, my main goal is getting students to read and write. Why does it matter if reading and writing happens on a computer screen rather than with an actual text and hard copies? Students learn and are motivated to learn when information is relevant and personal to them. What better way to make something relevant and personal to a student then to present information and to allow information to be presented via media forms – something Americans spend 11 hours a day using? My primary goal is to educate and I am prepared to use whatever medium necessary in order to accomplish that goal.

Technology is here to stay and it is becoming more available and more frequently used. This includes colleges, universities, and work places. If teachers’ jobs are to prepare students for the real world, then teaching them to use forms of media is necessary. Students are using the internet and need to know how to critically analyze the information they are viewing so they can separate facts from opinions. Media studies can teach them to think critically and carefully, both when viewing information and when posting it.

In my literature classes I plan to use Blogging in the following ways for the following benefits:

--Students will be able to communicate through blogs with some of the authors of the texts they’re reading.
--Students will be able to communicate with other students from all around the world. This is particularly important for the multi-cultural books we will be studying.
--Students will be able to communicate with students from the same state who are reading the same texts, but who have different backgrounds. This gives urban and suburban students, who otherwise might never encounter each other, a chance to see how opinions vary depending on backgrounds and where they live.
--Blogging will be used as a book club where students can easily communicate in and out of class (this serves to assist shy students who might not otherwise voice their opinions). This also allows students to have the time to better formulate their thoughts prior to posting them.
--Blogging provides an easy way to keep track of students’ assignments and progress, not only for teachers and students but also for parents.