Learning card

Making a genre mashup/parody

Description

This activity will help students to understand the differences between genres. It also helps to understand how a genre is formed and how the genre can be shifted. To do so, students will create a mashup or parody video and upload it to YouTube.

Tag
  • Media
  • Video
  • Youtube
Skills

PRODUCTION

  • Create and modify audiovisual productions
  • Use filming and editing tools

CONTENT MANAGEMENT

  • Manage content dissemination and sharing

SOCIAL MANAGEMENT

  • Collaborate
  • Coordinate and lead

PERFORMANCE

  • Act

NARRATIVE AND AESTHETIC

  • Interpret
  • Recognise and describe
  • Evaluate and reflect
  • Apply

IDEOLOGY AND ETHICS

  • Evaluate and reflect
Learning areas
  • Language
Card language
  • Spanish
  • English

Structure

Sessions
2 (Variable)
Duration
60’ (Variable)
Number of participants
10-30
Age
  • 10-13
  • 14-16
  • 17-18
Materials
  • Smartphone or video camera
  • Computer with editing software
  • Internet

Process

Key questions
  • How did the video change the message and meaning of the original product?
  • What elements are needed in a genre?
  • What kinds of things did you pay attention to when you planned the product?
  • Is the possible humour something that everyone can understand?
  • Did the mood of the original video/story change for example from light to dark?
Development

A few days before the class, the teacher asks the students for their favourite Youtube-parodies or mashups to look at in home or at a break.

SESSION 1

At the beginning of the class the teacher discusses the basics of a genre with the class. The concept of a parody is also explained and discussed with the class.

After the discussion, the teacher shows one parody-/mashup-video to the class. The video is then discussed based on what was talked about before.

After watching, the students are divided into groups. (15’).

Each group watches some Youtube-videos and songs. For example, what song would be funny in some other video or how would the song change the original meaning of the other video?

After this, the group produces a video or a manuscript for one, if no technology is available. The video can be anything parodic, meaning that the content is free, as long as the script and characters are taken from other stories.

Encourage your students to look for more examples on YouTube. If a video is produced, encourage the students to upload it onto Youtube. (30’).

If the students choose to upload the video to Youtube, remind them of the privacy settings.

If there’s any time left, discuss briefly with the students about the process of making the video. Talk about the genre and the original stories/videos they chose to parody or mashup. (15’).

End of Session 1

If the video is not finished during the class, ask the students to finish the work at their free time and upload the video so that it can be viewed in the next session.

SESSION 2

The videos are viewed and discussed. Talk about the contents of the videos and ask about the students’ opinion about their main idea of the whole manuscript.

End the session with a discussion about genres, parodies and mashups in general.

(60’ – End of Session 2).

Evaluation

Students can comment on each other’s productions. Let the students also give their ideas about the whole process. Was it hard? Did the end product turn out how they originally thought it would? What could be done better?

References for professors
Author

Tero Kerttula. University of  Jyväskylä (Finland), tero.t.kerttula@student.jyu.fi

  • Media
  • Video
  • Youtube