Moving Images, Understanding Media

iv

Introduction

Media literacy, collaborative team building, creative problem solving, project

management: these cross-curricular skills are among the most vital for

students today, and they form the core of Moving Images: Making Movies,

Understanding Media.

Moving Images is a comprehensive media studies and motion picture production

textbook designed for eff ective classroom use in secondary schools and

introductory undergraduate courses. Students of the twenty-fi rst century

need to develop skills in understanding, interpreting, and using moving image

media, as has been established by publications of the National Standards for the

English Language Arts, Common Sense Media, National Institutes of Health,

and state guidelines across America. Young people today face a dizzying array

of images and sounds, and it is crucial that they develop abilities to evaluate

and utilize the messages and tools of moving image media.

To address this need, Moving Images is written for all students, just as textbooks

for math, social studies, science, and other subjects are written for a broad

range of learners in order to give them a solid foundation of knowledge and

abilities for further academic study, professional life, and personal enrichment.

Moreover, for students with a strong professional interest in motion picture

communications, Moving Images will provide bountiful opportunities to

develop creative and analytical skills in all key areas of motion picture

communication and literacy.

Background

Why teach motion picture studies and production? In fi lm and video classes,

are educators training all of our students to be fi lmmakers? Of course

not—no more than math teachers are preparing all students in their classes

to become professional mathematicians. Schools are helping learners to

develop cooperative skills, to enhance their problem-solving abilities, and to

participate in cultural and social processes as capable, engaged interpreters.

As schools off er our students opportunities to develop their ideas and

communicate them through characters, images, and stories that play upon

screens, they enable them to negotiate collaborative solutions with peers, to

explore the creative potential of their own voices, and to articulate a deeper

understanding of motion picture media.

As a teacher of motion picture studies and production at the high school

level, I know that it is vital to off er a text that is easily used in the classroom

and adaptable to a wide variety of contexts. Moving Images is formulated as

a core text for courses in media studies that can be designed to function in

communications, technology, English, arts, or cross-curricular departmental

Introduction

Preface

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