Resource+2+(Mary)

= = = Tourism Australia "There's Nothing Like Australia" TVC  =

media type="youtube" key="bvH4vSeGz4I" height="315" width="560" align="center"


 * Explanation of Resource**

This was made as a tourism video with the intention to attract overseas people to our great shores. It does this through the sights that it visits which are a combination of well known sites as well as images that are pleasing to the eye (like a cool billabong). It uses dramatic camera angles from various viewpoints, like underwater and in helicopters. These keep the audience engaged through the video as they are unaware of what comes next. The video also ties all the sights that it shows together through the use of song. The song is uplifting and fun which makes the experience more enjoyable for the viewer. Although the song is basic, it goes onto telling a story so that no text is needed. Using the basic words like 'There's Nothing Like Australia', the audience immediately knows what the video is about and what it is trying to tell us. In the verses of the song it continues with basic and sometimes funny words that give clues to Australia without having to write a big tourist guide. Using this form of media, gives the viewer a glimpse of a large idea in a very short amount of time.


 * Relevance to H.S.I.E outcome ENS2.5**

The video has a strong link to the H.S.I.E outcome (Board of Studies, 2006, p.21) as it describes parts of Australia and explains their significance. It does this through visual aids with the use of basic song use. This basic song works to portray significance through words like 'ancient land'. It show significance mainly through the camera angles and modality of the text. By using helicopter views of mountain ranges, the video is able to give the audience the stature of the areas in a more imposing way which gives a feeling of importance. Also the sequence of the video can give certain sites more significance. For example, the end of the video lead up to what looked like a pilgrimage to the steps of the Opera house with the towering Harbour Bridge in the background. Onto of this it implores the audiences memory well because of the nature of the song. By using one that is basic, it gets stuck in peoples memory and therefore remember the message that it is trying to portray.


 * Aspects of Literacy to be explored**

The resource gives way to many lessons that teachers and students can use to assist them in literacy. It's main focus in the Unit is to provide students with a clear example of visual grammar. The video can be used to show students the different features like angles, colour, modality, placement, lines/vectors, patterns, suggested actions, gaze, offer/demand, layout-balance, elements, salience...etc (Callow, 2011). Having a good knowledge of the different visual grammar is important and using such tools as Droga and Humphrey's text (2003) can help with this as well as giving good explanations that can be used to make poster check points around the room for future use. These activities can go over many lessons using the same text. It is used mainly in the lesson 5 where it provides students with clear examples that are more dramatic and thus, easy to learn as they are just being introduced to some of the above techniques. An example of the how the video shows the techniques in a more dramatic way is through the angles which are constantly changing are are easier to spot as some might of something only a plane could capture. Being a video, the teacher can pause on a certain image and discuss the techniques seen. The text also lends itself to being used for its spoken language with the use of the song. It could be used to show students that sometimes, using this type of song to get a message across can be helpful as it uses less time to get the information across as well as doing it a more enjoyable and memorable way. The text can be used around many outcomes from the English Syllabus (BOS, 2007) as it gets students to discuss the different visual techniques throughout as well as being able to dissect the spoken song and what it can mean.

**References**

Board of Studies NSW (2006). K6 HSIE syllabus. Sydney: Author.

Board of Studies NSW (2007). K6 English syllabus. Sydney: Author.

Callow, J. (2011, August 3). //Interpreting visual language// (Lecture handout).

Droga, L. and Humphrey, S. (2003). //Grammar and meaning: An introduction for primary teachers.// Berry: Target Texts.

//There's nothing like Australia.// (2008). Retrieved September 20th, 2011, from []