Probably my favorite all time movie connection actually comes from the special features of the first Lord of the Rings movies. There is an awesome documentary where they talk about how they use forced perspective to make Frodo look shorter than Gandalf. The clip shows how they use the actors' distance from the cameras as well as the size of sets and props to accomplish the visual illusion. If you click here, it will take you to a link on YouTube. The video is 15 minutes, but the first 5 minutes are the best part.
After watching this clip, we've had some fun projects based on this. One year, I typed up a "script" for a short scene between Frodo and Gandalf. Then I had students in class plan out where each person needed to stand so that they could make Gandalf look taller than Frodo in our scene.
Other times when I've done this project, I've also had the students make easy props (such as teacups) that were normal size for Frodo, but tiny for Gandalf. The props are identical in every other way except the size. This way, when Gandalf picked up his tiny teacup that otherwise looked exactly like Frodo's, it helps sell the illusion that Gandalf is larger. These activities force students to use measurements, scale, as well as reinforcing student understanding of reciprocals.
Forced perspective is also used in the movie Elf (at the beginning when Buddy is a huge Elf at the North Pole) and some in Harry Potter, to make Hagrid look larger than life.
Another fun (and similar) project could be based on the movie Ant-Man. There is a fun scene in the movie where Ant-Man and YellowJacket are fighting in a briefcase. During the course of the fight, you see giant LifeSavers, IPhones and keys flying by our tiny hero. We are finishing our Stretching and Shrinking unit right now....so what better time to make giant versions of classroom objects! Yesterday, I challenged my students to take an object that would fit inside a briefcase and use a scale factor to enlarge it. (Note: I used 10 as my scale factor, and that was REALLY big! I would probaby recommend 5 or 6.) When they finish, I plan to post them on a wall as a backdrop for some fun Ant-Man pictures. Click here to get a clip of this scene. You only really need to show from 2:00-3:00 to see what is needed for this project.
To get a Google Slides presentation to launch this project, click the graphic below.
Mythbusters once did an episode on zombies, and one of the tests that they did was whether it was realistic to be able to outrun a horde of zombies. They tried different population densities and had someone see if they could run a certain distance without being "caught" by a zombie. One of our units, Comparing and Scaling, has a huge focus on unit rates. So I used this clip to introduce the idea of population density. We figured the population density of our classroom, gym, and cafeteria. Then we looked at the population density of several cities. Finally, I took my kids outside to the football field, and we tried it ourselves.....with most of my class playing zombies and the a couple trying to outrun them. The kids LOVED it! This clip is a short version....it just the simulation for one population density. It gives the dimensions of the field and the number of zombies. To find the rest of the episode, here is the clip I found. The quality is not great, but you can see it from 26:30-29:00 where it explains the other populations densities they tried.
To get a copy of an editable lesson to go along with this video clip, click the graphic below.
Click here to find some of the other fun projects I've blogged about!
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