Building Learning Motivation through Film Theory

An important aspect of learning is building motivation. In today’s digital world a learner’s attention is a valuable commodity. One in which educators must constantly battle for a place at the table. So how can an educator compete with the myriad of things vying for their students’ attentions. Enter film theory.

By using film theory, educators can capture the attention of students and build motivation and interest. Brenda Perna, a learning designer and instructional technology specialist mentions in a post she made on IDOL Academy the concept of “mise-en-scene”. (Perna, 2023) Mise-en-scene translates to “put into scene”. In film this is the idea that anything within the frame of the shot has a purpose in the design. Directors on film projects understand that everything within the frame of the shot has a purpose for being there. This is a skill that can be very beneficial to instructional designers. Reiser and Dempsey state in their chapter “Motivation, Volition and Performance” that “Instructional designers and teachers can predictably influence motivation and volition in a positive way by applying a systematic process of design”. (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018) In film theory the process begins with the script. From the script comes storyboards to begin to understand what the actions in the shots will be. This is referred to as pre-production. This allows the director to figure out exactly how they want things to play out and what they might need to complete their film. Instructional designers can do something very similar. By developing a script of not just dialogue but actions as well. They can craft lessons in a way that can be concise and predictable to the learner. They are able to act as director and plan everything that will happen with the lesson. This can include gamification, motion graphics, moments for classroom group projects, whatever they imagine the lesson to be. It gives them a breakdown of how the lesson will flow. By building in a predictable fashion and thinking about the items designers include, instructional designers can create their own “mise-en-scene” or dare I say “mise-en-cours”.

Using film theory can be especially helpful when dealing with adult learners. This is because unlike child students they come with many of their own experiences. The instructional designer using the methods of the director can use filmmaking techniques to capitalize on that experience and help meet adult learners in a way that will captivate them and motivate them to learn. Directors have found that through storytelling you can build emotion by relating their audiences to shared experiences. During the script phase the designer has the opportunity to “pique the students’ interest to grab their attention and draw them in.” (Di Paolo, Wakefield, Mills, & Baker, 2017) Studies have found a “link between interest and learning.” (Wijnker, Tan, Bakker, M. van Gog, & Drijvers, 2021) By building relatable items into the storytelling during the script phase, the designer is able to capture the attention of the learning audience. Once that connection is achieved, the student is then emotionally invested in the subject matter. Finally, now that the student is engaged in the material it will promote learning of the subject being discussed.

Another use of film theory in this fight for attention is the use of movement. This pertains mainly to online learning. By keeping things within the frame moving, you reinforce audience interest and attention. This psychological aspect has been known by filmmakers and animators for a very long time. Filmmakers use this concept to focus attention on the important subject matter. Thereby holding the audience’s attention but directing them to what is important and switching that importance on an as needed basis. This can be accomplished by tracking (or following) a subject or building emphasis on something by moving the camera closer (pushing in) and isolating a particular element of a scene. Animators do this by having something move when it is important then using movement elsewhere to draw the audience’s attention to something else in the shot or scene. By using movement, you create not only interest but importance and value in what is being shown. This is known as “Attention-from-Motion.” (Hu, Rajan, & Liang-tian, 2009) This can be a very powerful tool for instructional designers building online courses because it allows the designer to focus the attention of learners on information that is of importance. Examples are video content that keeps the camera moving slightly or motion graphics that are animated. This method allows the learner to focus on the most important information quickly and know what is meaningful to their studies.

Conclusion

By employing techniques developed in the filmmaking industry, instructional designers help better engage their learners and capture their students’ attentions. When creating lessons, the designers can use storytelling and script writing techniques to build in a concise and predictable fashion that helps the students easily follow lessons and incorporate elements to help maintain their engagement. As the designer is formulating their lesson structure, they can include relatable elements that the students can reflect upon and relate to their own past experiences either in previous lessons or general life experience. Also, by creating elements that are moving, students consistently understand what is of importance among the information being given to them. This removes guess work and keeps their understanding concise and on task.

Works Cited

Di Paolo, T., Wakefield, J. S., Mills, L. A., & Baker, L. (2017). Lights, camera, action: Facilitating the design and production of effective instructional videos. TechTrends, 61(5), 452–460. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-017-0206-0

Hu, Y., Rajan, D., & Chia, L.-T. (2009). Attention-from-motion: A factorization approach for detecting attention objects in Motion. Computer Vision and Image Understanding, 113(3), 319–331. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cviu.2008.08.010

Perna, B. (2023, February 17). Applying film theory to Elearning. IDOL courses. Retrieved March 18, 2023, from https://www.idolcourses.com/blog/filmtheory

Reiser, R. A., & Dempsey, J. V. (2018). Trends and issues in Instructional Design and Technology. Pearson.

Wijnker, W., Tan, E. S., Bakker, A., van Gog, T. A., & Drijvers, P. H. (2021). Film as the engine for learning. Projections, 15(2), 56–90. https://doi.org/10.3167/proj.2021.150203