English unit on short film

1. IGCSE
Short Film – Making Meaning

2. Objectives
Develop understanding of structure and meaning
Use a range of techniques to convey ideas
Understand how a text works

3. Two Cars, One Night
Summarise the story in one sentence.
Is the film simply the story of the meeting between the
children or does it raise bigger issues about the culture
they are part of?

4. Context
The Director
What does this article tell us about the director and his
film-making career?

5. Maori
Research the Maori culture and look at the meaning of the
tattoos on the face of the warrior.

6. The Maori people are the indigenous people of New
Zealand. They are Polynesian and comprise about 10% of
the country's population. Maoritanga is the native
language which is related to Tahitian and Hawaiian. It is
believed that the Maori migrated from Polynesia in canoes
around the 9th century to 13th century AD.

7. The Maori were ferocious warriors who used psychology
and intimidation in warfare - the peruperu (War dance,
a.k.a. Ha-ka ) was intended to give the opposing force a
preview of things to come - sometimes in the hope that
they would give up and go home - and fierce facial tattoos
were a sign of manhood and accomplishment amongst
the fiercest of warriors.
The Haka
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BoNmpvkavo&feature
=related

8. Application of knowledge
Now that you have read up on Maori culture can you now
look back at the film with better understanding?
What is the significance of the Maori warrior? What
feelings, attitudes, values does he represent?

9. Making Meaning
By and large, audiences like to be led towards
some sort of resolution at the end of a story.
They like things to be worked out.
In the way that things are resolved at the end
of the story, we often see the writer/director
sending us a message of some kind.
In the working out of the conflicts that have
been set up during the course of the narrative
we can perceive meaning.

10. Task
Using your notes from previous sessions focus on Two Cars,
One Night, consider the film’s meaning and how this has
been created
Tie together your ideas about messages and meaning from
previous sessions, including:
• Narrative
• Sound
• Camera
• Lighting and mise-en-scène
• Setting
• Character
• Symbols
• Audience and representation
• You are to create a group presentation in a suitable form
which will allow you to cover all of the required content.