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THE ANALYSIS OF LOVE
creative solutions for teachers
A classroom guide to The Language of Love Consider The Following . . . Why is the piece called The Language of Love? _______________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Use of Shots
Close Up
Mid Shot
At the beginning of the film we cut between a close up and a mid shot of Charlie’s face. How are these two types of shots used to evoke emotion in the viewer? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Identify the turning point in the film. __________________________________________________________________ Discuss the following techniques used to reveal the turning point in Charlie's character: filmic techniques: ___________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ acting techniques ___________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Listen to the text. Identify the line that resonates with you the most? Why did it grab you?
THE ANALYSIS OF LOVE
tailoring
creative solutions for teachers
Isolation The film deals with isolation as a theme. Analyse how this theme is presented through the following: Character ________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Setting____________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Shots ______________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Consider the line “I’m afraid”. Brainstorm all of the reasons why Charlie might be afraid:
Growth Think about the final moments of the film. What do you think happens after they exit the exam hall? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Does Charlie ever tell Sam how he feels? Why? Why not? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Does it matter if Charlie does or does not tell Sam?? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ How has Charlie changed?
THE ANALYSIS OF LOVE
tailoring
creative solutions for teachers
The Object of Love . . . . Sam Delving deeper, take up The Challenge . . . Task: Read the hints from Kim’s mentor, Playwright Tommy Murphy, below and click on the link (to the right) for tips from Caleb Lewis
Writing Monologues An excerpt from Kim, discussing Tommy Murphy’s advice: 1) Be fearless. Follow your instinct. Tell the story you need to tell. 2) Good theatre will come from good characters. 3) Make it authentic. Listen to how people speak and figure out the rhythms of everyday language. 4) Let the audience know the stakes. It’s always good when the audience is aware of what the character or characters have to lose, and what they stand to gain. 5) Theatre is about change. Theatre exists in each performance for a certain amount of time, during which, things happen and circumstances change. 6) Finally, and this applies especially to teenagers: Don’t whine. It is very easy when trying to write a monologue to slip into a mode of complaint. Generally, you want your character to earn your audience’s sympathy, but complaining too much is one of the quickest ways to lose it!
Your Challenge: Write a monologue from Sam's point of view. It can be:
a) before Charlie reveals his feelings (Does Sam suspect? Feel the same way? Is he unaware?) OR b) after Charlie confesses his feelings to Sam Next: Using the script of the screenplay and your monologue, create a scene that is an interaction between Sam and Charlie. Try not to add words from Charlie, the scene is just an interaction of two monologues. You can split the dialogue as frequently or infrequently as you wish. Think about where the characters are placed in the space and in relation to each other. How does the meaning change for the audience when you do this? Take up the challenge, go behind the scenes, get some handy hints, become a writer/actor: Visit our website www.atyp.com.au/education/the-language-love
17 year old Kim Ho was one of the winners of atyp’s 2012 online writing competition Love Bytes, with his 3 minute take on first love, Transcendence. His prize? A mentorship with leading Australian playwright Tommy Murphy, and the opportunity to work with filmmaker Laura Scrivano on developing Transcendence into a longer piece, which became The Language of Love.
The Language of Love: Behind the Scenes “In July last year, I submitted a three-minute monologue for The Voices Project’s Love Bytes competition, with the rather precocious title Transcendence. I’d scribbled ideas and lines on scraps of paper during maths; the filming and editing process took me a couple of hours. And while I was used to acting and liked telling stories, I didn’t really know what I was doing. I didn’t know this would be my first tentative step into theatre writing. It’s been an incredible journey, and completely unanticipated. I thought I might share what I’ve learnt along the way”. Kim Ho
Watch Making The Language of Love Read Kim’s story at http://www.atyp.com.au/education/the-language-love
Performing Monologues An excerpt from Kim, discussing Laura Scrivano ’s advice: Acting may well have been, for me, the hardest part of realising the monologue. I’d only ever acted on stage, and I’m used to being over the top for irreverent roles. Having Laura Scrivano as a director was a godsend. According to Laura, the trick is to internalise your character’s action more. The camera should be able to see ideas flitting around behind your eyes. On film, especially with close-ups, less is more.
Looking for monologue films/scripts? Visit our website http://www.atyp.com.au/education/publications
“I’ll never be able to thank atyp enough for putting their confidence in a schoolboy, and I’ve tried to write something that will resonate with many people. The Language of Love is a piece that’s incredibly special to me. Just as Charlie wants to hold and comfort Sam, I hope my audience will want to step into the film and hug them both”. Kim Ho