Semiotics, also called semiotic studies or semiology, is the study of cultural sign processes ( semiosis), analogy, metaphor, signification and communication, signs and symbols.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semiotics.

Semiotics is the theory of signs - gestures, facial expressions, slogans, graffiti, music, body language, drawings, food, rituals, clothes, paintings, sculpture, poetry, design, and marketing, to name just a few examples.

This lesson is designed to give the students a better understanding of how images are contextual.

"Semiotics is the study of cultural sign processes ( semiosis), analogy, metaphor, signification and communication,  signs and  symbols."  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semiotics

Semiotics is the theory of signs - gestures, facial expressions, slogans, graffiti, music, body language, drawings, painting, poetry, design, and marketing.  But signs are not isolated, they are contextual.  They are related to the culture and social structure they are used within.

This lesson leads into a project where the students will work in pairs to create their own video "Words" video piece.  The video will be shot with a pocket camera, such as a good mobile phone camera or Flip camera, edited, and uploaded to the Web for assessment (and our entertainment!).

This is going to entail 5 full lessons based on a project called "The Door Scene."

This hands on and curriculum rich project is designed to allow student learning to
emerge from creative collaboration and critical review of students’ work, rather
than from more traditional forms of classroom instruction. The process is a
progressive cycle—essentially a series of learning discussions—in which students
work collaboratively to produce a film for critical review and analysis by their
peers, teachers.

In these rich and intense lessons students will work in small groups of 4 through a 5 day period, and come out of it with a greater appreciation of visual story telling as an art form.

These 5 lessons are recommended for second semester students, as the lessons are fast paced and full of multi-tasking roles. Also, you may only want to do this every other year so your students do not know the outcome of the 5 lessons.

**Before staring the following 5 lessons you need to make sure you have enough cameras and tripods for each group. You also have to make sure each group has an "assigned door" somewhere on your campus. This door should be located in an empty space as their filming will be distracting to others in the room if present. Students will have to be able to film on both sides of the door, so some pre-communication and planning on your end will be crucial. Students will have to act in a quick manner in order to get each days lesson finished. They may also have to complete some of the questions at home each night.

Students create a short one shot video in the style of the Lumière Brothers and other turn of the century film pioneers . During the project, students explore early cinema and reflect on how the work of pioneering filmmakers still reverberates today. Students will learn to plan a short narrative film and create a cohesive video product without the benefit of utilizing modern filming technology or video editing. They will, so to speak, walk in the shoes of the very pioneers they study.

This is a companion lesson to TMT Pt.1.  This lesson will continue to give the students a better understanding of how images are contextual.  

Students get hands-on experience with pocket cameras by creating a video, in teams of 2, of an edited version of their slide presentation - "This Means That - part 1".  In the process, they learn more about cinematography, the different ways that shots can be framed, and the purpose and effects of different types of shots.

Also included is a brief review of the elements and principles of design.