Terrafarmer — Will Adams, 2008
On an unknown planet, an old space farmer is working with his robot partner to move equipment around. From the outset, there is some obvious friction between the two characters, and a feeling of differing priorities. When the farmer makes an interesting discovery, will that clash of priorities push them into conflict with each other? What impact will the conflict have on the newly found object?
Classroom Activities
Print All- Critical
- Cultural
- Creative
- Clip Details
Critical
- Sound On/Vision Off. Before watching the film, listen to the film without visuals. Pupils write or draw what they think is happening on a piece of paper. Share with a partner/class.
- Before watching the film, ask the pupils to focus on two of these questions while watching the film: Where is it set? What clues do we have about the mission of the main characters? Why is there only one plant? Why did the man value the plant so much? Why did the robot not value the plant? Why did the robot see it as a threat? Why is the film called 'Terrafarmer'?
- What type of shot did we see right at the start of the film? Why do you think the director used this type of shot? What information does it give us as a reader?
- Working in pairs, one partner should take a note of all the different shots used for the farmer, and the other partner should take a note of all the shots used where the robot is the focus. Are there differences in the type of shot used? Why do you they think this is? What does it tell us about the character of the farmer or the robot?
- Ask pupils to name the main colours they see when watching the film. They should write these down with detailed descriptions ie. Not “red” or “orange”, but “dusty orange” or “pale red”. Why do they think these colours are used? What do they tell the audience?
Cultural
- What do we value? Ask the pupils to make a list of things they value in three category headings: People, Objects, Values. When they have each list, put the most valuable at the top and least at the bottom. In the case of the People category, they may wish to put some at equal value (e.g. parents and siblings).
- Miscommunication (1): The twist in the film is caused by miscommunication between two characters. Think of all the different ways we communicate in society and collate these on the communal blackboard/whiteboard. What are the pros and cons of some of the methods?
- Miscommunication (2): Pupils should consider a recent time in the playground or at where they were involved in or witnessed a miscommunication. Pupils should approach this analytically and think of things that both sides of the argument could’ve done to have improved the communication.
- Eco-Warriors: Ask pupils to think of the reason(s) that the small seedling would be so special to the man. What has happened to this planet? Where are the rest of the plants? Ask the pupils to consider what we are doing to ensure our planet is green. Design a presentation for assembly about looking after the planet, showing ‘Terrafarmer’ as the initial stimulus for the assembly.
- Conflict Resolution: Give pupils time to think of ways that the conflict between the characters could have been resolved before the plant was destroyed. Pupils should create a poster that helps remind others of the many strategies that can be used to resolve conflicts.
Creative
WRITE
- Write a story about being alone on a planet. You may wish to look at ‘Baboon on the Moon’ to give a different perspective of being on a remote planet.
- Write a diary entry for the day from the point of the robot. Pupils will need to think about what else they think maybe happened that day and how the robot felt immediately after blowing up the plant once he saw the farmer’s reaction. What feelings might the robot have had?
FILMMAKING
- Pupils should consider the role of the Foley Artist in film making. Pupils should design their own soundtrack for the film. This should include some music) and sound effects (using instruments, voices, other objects). This should then be replicated whilst playing the film muted.
DRAMA
- Pupils should act out the conversation between the robot and farmer after the red button has been pressed.
STEM
- Create a moon house. What materials would you use? What would your design need to consider to be successful for human habitation?
- Design a machine that could make lifting heavy objects easier for the farmer now that the robot is no longer useful. The machine should have at least two moving parts and reduce the workload for the farmer.
- Draw and annotate a robot to help with farming. Pupils should think about what it would need to do this: e.g. Would it be humanoid? Would it need extra attachments? Would it need special parts to move around easily? What size would it need to be if it was completing a specific job, for instance planting seeds?
Clip Details
| Year of Production | 2008 |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy, Animation |
| Curriculum Areas | Health and Wellbeing, Modern Languages, Literacy and English, Sciences, Technologies |
| Director | Will Adams |
| Country of Origin | UK |
| Medium / Content | 3D Animation, Fiction, Colour, Sound, No Dialogue |
| Themes | Feelings, Relationships, Culture / Society, Work / Ambition, Food / Environment, Communication |
| Clip Length | 01:30 |
| Clip Length | 01:30 |
| Age Group | P1-P4, P5-P7 |
