Scott Johnstone
scott.johnstone@tdsb.on.ca
As programs in Media Studies proliferate at the university level, the Media courses offered at the high school level have become more and more important. Richview’s media courses are ever-evolving under the direction of our media teacher Scott Johnstone, and provide students with access to cutting edge ideas and cutting edge technology. Founded upon a critical thinking pedagogy and providing students with the tools necessary to navigate the ever evolving media landscape, the courses also afford the opportunity for students to express themselves and to contribute to the vast media flow with texts of their own creation.
The grade 10 Media Arts course (ASM) offers students their first opportunity to explore the impact of media on their lives and to participate in a small way, in the production thereof. The course starts with a focus on advertising, both deconstructing and creating, and then shifts its attention to documentary and mockumentary film. The class, create their own mockumentaries on topics of their choosing; a project which sees them filming and editing all of their own work. The course culminates in a study of genre, involving both research and the production of a fictional trailer. The work produced here is featured at Richview’s annual spring Film Festival.
The grade 11 course (EMS 3O1) turns its attention to counterculture, the DIY ethic, and the remix, as well as to the evaluation of the impact of audience driven content on popular culture. The course culminates in two summatives: one where the students create their own remix and consider issues of copyright and intellectual/ creative property ownership, and a second where the students self-publish their own ‘zine. Students also engage in media culture outside of the classroom when they take newfound knowledge and skills learned at TIFF’s “Film in a Day” workshop to a Norseman Public School Grade 5 class to run a similar program for students. It’s an incredible day opportunity for students to give back in the community, and the end products, 5 very short films, are available for screening on You Tube under “Norseman Film Fest”.
The grade 12 (IDC 4U1) students continue their study of media by engaging heavily in the formal filmmaking process generating scripts and storyboards, while also learning how to build a narrative using the latest in digital film and editing technology. Newly added to the curriculum is a project involving font design where the students create their own font using computer software as a part of a unit on semiotics. Traditionally the IDC class collaborates with the Writer’s Craft class in the production of a dialogue driven short film. These films, as well as other student work, are the backbone for the RCI film festival held in early spring.
Media Studies Curriculum Outlines