Microteaching

The Session– How to Frame an Interview

Todays objective was to understand the rules of framing a shot to achieve the best composition. These skills can be used not only when filming but also when taking a photo or drawing a picture.

I chose this topic as I thought it was fun, interactive and hopefully something the group can use moving forwards.

Good framing is one of the important basics to understand when filming but when students start out it is one of the most common mistakes. When it is done correctly the picture or film is easy on the eye but when it’s done wrong it can be very distracting. I wanted to show a simple “how to” to set out the basic rules for for the group to learn when framing a shot.

Off-center composition is typically where the eyes go first, so its more pleasing to the eye. When the subject or object is off centre, it allowed the viewer to interact with the space between them. This allows for interpretation and conversation between the subject and the background, as opposed to being a fully centered subject.

The exercise I set was to split into two groups and uses the 4 rules discussed. Then to take a screen grab.

1-looking room

2-rule of thirds

3- eye line

4- headroom

We then reviewed the exercise by looking at each groups screen grabs and discussed the following

• How they felt about directing the ‘subject’?
• What did they learn?
• Is it something they would use in the future?

My feedback from my group ‘The framing of object, not just the object itself – clear demonstration of principles – clearly presently on the importance of composition and connection to the viewer – relationship to objects   Nice blend of activities – ‘lecture’ / questioning / exercise applying what has been learnt   Very useful activity, it’s going to make me reconsider how I situate myself via online learning. I might invest in a laptop stand! Fun session, thanks Juliet.’

My thoughts on the feedback.
It felt very good to get this feedback. It’s the first time I’ve heard what ‘students’ think of my teaching. I’m glad that they found it helpful and useful. Hearing this from fellow lecturers means a lot to me.

My thoughts on the session and what I’ve learnt.

I was incredibly nervous about the micro-teaching as I wasn’t quite sure if I was on brief or not. I changed my idea several times and when deciding on ‘composition’ I edited my PowerPoint many times as I felt it was too complicated. I didn’t want to completely control every minute of the lesson, instead I wanted to explain the concepts of ‘how and why’ composition is important and then allow the ‘students’ to learn themselves by doing. I wanted to make a good impression with my peers but also use the opportunity to lean myself. My thoughts and reflections on the session are

• Having both parties being involved in the activity -the play- participation is key.
• Offering the skills to enable personal learning and development. Not to define the learning or scaffold.
• Keeping the relationship balanced, listen to the students thoughts and ideas. Learn from them, it’s a two way relationship.
• Create a learning environment of support and show diversity. This will create a more positive learning space.
• Be open to change in lessons. read the group.

In my group it was interesting to see how we all approached the microteaching in very different ways. For me it was great to see how others taught, what kept me engaged (interaction and questions) but also being given information to consider on topics I knew nothing about. The subjects chosen by my peers gave me insight and provoked thought. I loved one of the workshops on size, that was very interactive and offered a great opportunity for self learning.