Indiana Jones Field Trip to the Barrie Film Festival

Yesterday, we went into Barrie to see the fan adaptation of The Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Over the previous two weeks, we had viewed the original. I broke the movie down into 10 sections and we viewed each section and then discussed it.

There was some awesome discussion points!

Here are few that stood out:

At Marion's place in Nepal, how does the use of shadows contribute to the scene?
-to add a feeling of excitement
-to make the people look more threatening
-to make mystery, to keep viewers intrigued
-it makes you guess who it is
-to make Indiana look stronger, bigger and more heroic

Why is the scene in the map room so long? Why does it show every step he has to take to find the Ark's location?
-to show how meticulous he has to be
-to make you wonder
-so you know all the things that could go wrong
-so the viewers can also put the pieces together
-because it makes us feel like we are Indiana Jones

Belloq tell the Nazi officers: You'd use a bulldozer to find a tea cup. What does he mean?
-you use more than you need
-you are too destructive
-you are too rough with things
-you over do it
-you would do anything
-you are impatient
-you are reckless

What is the purpose of the extended chase scene on the truck, why Indy tries to steal back the ark?
-to build tension
-to make Jones more triumphant in the end
-to make the victory harder
-to show the struggle of the protagonist
-to show Indy's dedication


I think viewing the original in such detail made many of the scenes in the adaptation stand out.

After viewing the adaptation, we compared the two, and assessed how effectively the fan film recreated the experience of the original (talking about sound, special effects, acting, costuming, props, settings, etc). Overall, the students put the reproduction in the B range.

Next up: students will get the chance to recreate their own scene from a film or TV show.