14023 video worksheet the commuter short film

The Commuter (short film) – Lesson Plan
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BEFORE WATCHING
A. Class discussion:
1. What do you need to shoot a movie? (a camera)
2. Could you do it with a camera phone? (this movie was)
3. Elicit the following or pre-teach:
a. commute (what do you call travel to and from work)
b. traffic warden (who check if you park correctly)
c. clamp a car (what happens when you park illegally)
B. Start movie and stop at 1min. Ask where students think the movie was shot and why
they think so. (London)
4. A short discussion follows.
5. Landmarks e.g. Tower Bridge, Thames, Gherkin.

WHILE WATCHING
A. Play until 2 min 15sec and ask Ss:
1. If traffic wardens would use machine guns in real life;
2. What they would do in this situation;
B. Play and stop at 3 min 33sec and ask Ss what bankers are like and what they are portrayed
like here (predators).
C. Play and stop at 4 min 20sec and ask Ss to speculate why there are so many bags in the
room (it’s a hotel and Pamela Anderson is a movie star).
D. Play and stop at 5 min 17sec and ask Ss to speculate what will happen next (he will steal the
car and race to work).
E. Stop one last time at 6 min 07sec. Students speculate on how the woman might feel (they
may think angry, but in fact she’s impressed, delighted, smitten)
F. The trailer is then watched to the end. Ss will see it was a daydream/the man was imagining
things.

AFTER WATCHING

A. Ask Ss how they or their parents commute/how they get to work.
B. Ask Ss what happens in their country when you park illegally. What are the fines? Is your
car clamped? Towed away?
C. Ask Ss if they ever daydream and what about.

FOLLOW UP ACTIVITY

A. Students write a summary of the plot of the film.
B. Students write an essay, discussing traffic violations, inner city violence, ways to solve
conflicts – or their own movie script.