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Film it! Screenwriting

Screenwriting is the act of writing what's known as a script or screenplay for film, television and web series. It involves a special set of rules that makes it different from a book or play. This module of Film It covers formatting, scene writing, script structure, themes, and character. Writing the script is part of ...

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Hologram poetry lesson

In this lesson, students are asked to present a poem as a visual illusion. They explore holograms and visual illusions, and then delve into the mechanics of poetry construction by exploring the poetry of Banjo Paterson. They write their own poem or recite a poem and create a hologram illusion of themselves reciting a poem. ...

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Heywire: It's all in the tone

Feel the effect of David Martyr's skilful use of tone in this Heywire audio story of life in a mining camp. How does he create it, and what is its effect on how we respond to his subject matter? Could you write or record a similar story about yourself and/or your community? The ABC's Heywire competition calls for stories ...

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First Tuesday Book Club: The lost and the missing at Hanging Rock

Joan Lindsay's 'Picnic at Hanging Rock' is often considered a classic of Australian literature. But what makes it so well-regarded? And does everyone agree? Join in this panel discussion and explore why one person's literary masterpiece is another's turgid pot-boiler.

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BTN: Reporting from a war zone

Imagine what it would be like to report from an active war zone. How do reporters get access to these war zones and what rules do they follow to avoid becoming casualties? Find out how war zone reporters get their story.

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Writing from experiences

Where do you find inspiration for your writing? Watch this clip and learn where student writers Noa and Francis found the ideas for their stories. Why can writing from your own experiences make for powerful stories? Is there an event or experience from your life that you could use for the basis of your next story?

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Representing Sydney's suburbs, 1965

In this clip from the mid-60s, explore how words and images can be combined to encourage particular interpretations and influence audience response. Explore how some of the inner suburbs of Sydney have been represented in history.

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Modernism and Woolf's 'Mrs Dalloway'

Mrs Dalloway' by Virginia Woolf is a modernist novel. What makes it so? Think of how it contrasts with Edwardian and even 19th century novels. How does consciousness, or internal reality, as well as multiple perspectives play a part in modernist literature like 'Mrs Dalloway'?

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Characters in Woolf's 'Mrs Dalloway'

Virginia Woolf's 'Mrs Dalloway' is set in London over a period of a single day in June 1923. What other novel, mentioned in this video, is set over a period of a single day? What might be the consequences of setting a novel over such a short period of time? Other than Mrs Dalloway, name an important character in the novel. ...

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Jane Eyre: Who is Bertha Mason?

What do Jane Eyre and Bertha Mason have in common? In what ways are they different? How do you react to Bertha's character? Listen carefully as Professor John Bowen shares his thoughts about the significance of Bertha in Charlotte Bronte's classic novel. This clip is one in a series of four.

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Wuthering Heights: Who is Heathcliff?

Heathcliff is one of the main characters in Emily Bronte's classic novel, Wuthering Heights. As Professor John Bowen from the University of York notes, we know very little about this mysterious character and his apparent contradictions. Ms Bronte offers suggestions about Heathcliff's background but provides few details ...

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Jane Eyre: Fairytale and realism

Do you detect a hint of the supernatural in Jane Eyre? Professor John Bowen, Professor of Nineteeth-century Literature at the University of York, says, 'It is a novel with a lot of haunting in it.' Listen as Professor Bowen discusses the fairytale and gothic elements in Charlotte Bronte's classic novel. This clip from The ...

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Jane Austen: Marriage and inheritance

How important is the wealth of a potential marriage partner to you? Why was the estate of a potential husband important in Jane Austen's novels? Consider the significance of marriage in middle and upper class England, as explained by the University of Oxford's Professor Kathryn Sutherland. This clip from the British Library ...

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Powerful words: Gough Whitlam's dismissal

Gough Whitlam is the only Australian prime minister to have been sacked from office - along with his entire government. After learning of his dismissal, Mr Whitlam addressed the Australian public and uttered a line that has resonated throughout Australian politics since 1975. Words can be immensely powerful and, as you ...

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This Day Tonight: Understanding satire: the 'ocker' Australian

What do 'Borat', 'The Simpsons', 'Gulliver's Travels' and political cartoons have in common? They are all forms of satire: a particularly tricky genre of text. In this clip, explore the concept of satire and how it is constructed.

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David Malouf on short story writing

Some writers can write a short story in one sitting, whereas for others – like David Malouf – it can sometimes take a bit longer to figure out where a story is going. Watch as David explains that although writing is about an "enthusiastic rush", it is also about patience.  Have you ever written a story that you didn't know ...

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David Malouf on violence in literature

Do you think we live in a violent world? Do you agree with David Malouf when he says that violence is everywhere? Should stories reflect what is happening in the world? How do you feel about violence as a theme in literature?

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Why is it useful to have a big bad wolf character in stories?

Watch this clip to hear Andy Griffiths explain why it's good to have villains in stories. How can the "big bad wolf" character help to move the story along? Think about some of the stories you've read lately. Which characters were the "big bad wolf" characters and what did they add to the stories? 

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Jane Eyre: Tapping into childhood

How was childhood depicted in English literature in the mid-nineteenth century? In this clip from The British Library, two experts in the works of the Bronte sisters discuss the manner in which children were regarded in the 1800s and consider the significance of Charlotte Bronte's accounts of childhood in Jane Eyre. This ...

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Wuthering Heights: Landscape

The moorland near the West Yorkshire town of Haworth in northern England shapes the characters, settings and events in Emily Bronte's novel, Wuthering Heights. Professor John Bowen reflects on the significance of the moor and the importance of setting to Emily Bronte and her sisters, Charlotte and Anne. This clip is one ...