Film is an exciting component of the new Junior Cycle English course.

The study of film is a wonderful opportunity for students to deepen their appreciation and enjoyment of something that is so much part of their lives.

There are ten prescribed films and one of these must be studied in detail.

The films set for 2017 range from The Night of the Hunter, a 1955 American film noir directed by Charles Laughton, to Spirited Away, a 2001 Japanese anime film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki.

When students encounter film, they are interested primarily in the story that is being told and therefore setting, characters, plot and theme are key points for discussion.

Many of the films prescribed for Junior Cycle 2017 invite students to enter worlds that are very different from their own, such as Beasts of the Southern Wild, a 2012 film directed by Behn Zeitlin, set in a remote community in Southern Louisiana called the 'Bathtub'.

Once students are familiar with the story of the film, they can explore how films tell their stories. They do this through a system of signs and images which are called codes.

Personal codes are communicated to us by the actors through action, gesture, costume, facial expression and body language.

Technical codes are camera, time, lighting, colour, sound, music, movement, and so on.

A film consists of 24 frames per second. Each frame is carefully constructed so that the audience sees what the director wants them to see. Consider this frame from the end of Beasts of the Southern Wild.

The musical score is upbeat signifying the defiant spirit of the characters, while a voice-over from Hushpuppy reinforces this mood.

Now look at how everything in the frame is carefully arranged so that we see what the director wants us to see:

• Hushpuppy stands tiny on the ledge of the Earth, framed in front of an expanse of endless water. This suggests that individual people are less significant than nature.
• The sign on which Bathtub is written is almost submerged, indicating the destruction of the bayou community.
• The blue colour of both water and sky fill the frame emphasising the power of nature.
• The figure of Hushpuppy, standing tall and straight, is mirrored in the poles in the background of the frame, communicating that she is part of the landscape.
• The sharp focus of the ledge of Earth Hushpuppy stands on contrasts with the blurred landscape in the distance, conveying its dreamlike quality following the flood.

Remember also that in film the close-up shot is of vital importance. It communicates the emotions of the characters. In this shot we can see how deeply thoughtful six-year old Hushpuppy is.