Making Movies
A Year 8 Webquest
All the links in this Webquest open in new windows -
close them when you have finished with them!
Introduction
The Task
The Process
Evaluation
Other People's
Efforts
Conclusion
Teachers
Charlie Chaplin was an
entertainer extraordinaire! He also wanted to share that gift with as many
people as possible, and thanks to the wonder of a new medium, cinema, he was
able to do that. Nearly a hundred years later, we can still get pleasure from
Charlie Chaplin's movies, and those of his contemporaries.
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Learn about the people who made all this possible - among them Thomas Edison, Eadweard Muybridge, and George Eastman. |
Introduction:
Everyone in your class has
something special that they know, or can do. This is your chance to identify
that special something and share it with us through the 'Magic of Movies'.
The Task:
You will need
to identify that special something that you are going to share with us. It might
be showing us how to cook a special, or familiar dish, how to hit a 'hole in
one', or sharing some story about a recent holiday. You will create a two minute
video for an audience of your friends and schoolmates. This requires many
different people performing many different jobs. As you need to produce one
movie of your own, you will need to enlist your friends to help. It is
absolutely critical that you each person involved in a film project is
knowledgeable and competent at his/her task.
We will need to split up the many tasks that go into making a quality
production and investigate each job in more detail. We are all going to need to
be knowledgeable actors, directors, producers, cinematographers, special
effects/ props people, screen writers, set coordinators, gaffers, and editors.
| What
do they all do? Click here to find out...
Then record briefly what each person does. |
 |
**Don't forget to record the site in your bibliography! |
Each job is as important as any other. Because each movie is short, you
will have a chance to try each of the jobs! You may find yourself doing two jobs
at once!
Your mission is to investigate the role that you would be interested in doing by using the selected web sites and resources provided on this web quest as well as the cameras and video software available to you in school. You must record your knowledge and experiences through your Design Sheet.
The Process:
To
begin,
you need to understand the different processes and jobs involved. Use
the information in the links above to help you. If you'd like more information,
you can follow this link :
http://www.cyberfilmschool.com/
Next, brainstorm!
On your Design sheet, write down or draw all the
ideas you can think of that might make good subjects for your movie.
Choose...
your group members. It might be a good idea to get together with
about three others who are using a similar theme - you can toss ideas about, and
possible film some scenes at the same time.
Now...
you need to prepare your
storyboard. You can use the sheet supplied, or go to
http://english.unitecnology.ac.nz/resources/units/movies/storyboard.html
Here are some other Storyboarding links you might like to look at:
http://www.storycenter.org/memvoice/pages/tutorial_3.html
http://www.usd.edu/~rthompso/strbd/sld001.htm
When your planning is done, and you have assigned jobs, booked the equipment
you need and the space you need, you can Film your clips.
Your Rules! (The Design Specification)
1. Your finished movie should be about 2 minutes long (about 10 secs either way is OK)
2. There must be a clear introduction, middle and ending.
3. You must save a version of the finished movie suitable for use on the Internet (small file size).
4. No-one is to be hurt or offended in the making of the movie.
5. There must be a clear structure and storyline.
6. You must include a title and credits.
7. There should be at lease one transition included.
8. You should try to do something 'different' - don't copy others' ideas.
9. The topic is 'open', but should be something you know about, or can investigate and present easily.
10. You should have fun!\
What equipment will you need?
You need a tripod, whatever type of camera you use, to keep everything steady. You may use a video camera, or your own digital still camera if it has a video mode. You can also use digital or scanned still shots.
http://www.cyberfilmschool.com/mschool/5_equip/equip_usage.htm
Filming
Check out these sites with information
from the professionals!
http://www.washjeff.edu/at/dv.html look for the heading 'Planning a Project' about half way down the page.
This site has some composition rules you will find useful: http://www.atomiclearning.com/freerules.shtml
This site will help you with Special Effects and Transitions
http://www.diynet.com/diy/hp_digital_photography/article/0,2033,DIY_13956_2688067,00.html
and here are some things NOT to do...
http://filmmaker.com/DUMPS.html
(This site has some good tips closer to the bottom of the page)
Editing
You may choose to edit your Movie using
Roxio Movie Creator or Windows XP Movie Maker. Whichever you choose, you will
need to get your footage into the PC. You can do this by either transferring
from a video camera with the firewire cable, or from your storage card (Memory
Stick, Compact Flash, SD Card etc) Don't forget to describe the process in your
Design Work.
What Software?
This is what a couple of reviewers say about Roxio...
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,574601,00.asp
http://www.computervideo.net/dec03-5.htm
Some MS Movie Maker tutorials you might like to try at home -
http://www.atomiclearning.com/moviemaker2
This one has some samples (some better than
others!)
Introducing Movie Maker 2 (300k) is probably the best.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/moviemaker/videos/samples.mspx
Presentation
You will introduce your movie to your
classmates and show it, during the 4th week of Term 2, 2005.
TOP
Evaluation:
These are
some questions that you need to record the answers to, in your Design Sheet.
Who did what job in your production? What did you do, and which job did you enjoy the most?
What are some important tools and/or skills that are needed in your field?
What are some of the "tricks of the trade"?
Do you agree with what the reviewers had to say about Roxio? Explain why?
Where did you find your information?
You will need to show the Design Process as a record of the development of your project.
Your evaluation should use the same specifications as in your original plan, and answer the question 'Did my movie....?'
Did you have fun?
| Doesn't address any of the Essential Questions. Information is random and unfocused. | Covers some of the Essential Questions, but not all. Information may touch on role, but does not go in-depth. | Gives in-depth information about role and answers all questions from Evaluation Section. | Meets all requirements for Sitcom and teaches other information that would be important to film project. Presenter seems to have an outstanding grasp of requirements for role. | |
| Storyboard is very messy or only has a few items in it. There few or no visuals to accompany information. Lacks organization. | Storyboard contains some visuals and attractive attributes, but might be missing key elements. | Storyboard is attractive and easy to understand. All information is organized with visuals. | Storyboard is unusually imaginative, enabling the audience to gain a high level of understanding about development of 'plot'. | |
| Presenter does not attempt to inform audience about role. Presentation skills may be absent. Editing is rough and lacks transitions. | Intent to inform is apparent. Presentation skills may be present some of the time. Some evidence of transitions, titling, credits etc. | Presenter informs an audience on his/her research. Presentation skills and editing skills are evident. | Does all things listed in Sitcom, and presents in an imaginative way that makes the audience pay attention or think differently. Strong beginning and ending | |
| Does little to process information found. | Selects some relevant information, but only uses one Internet source. | Uses more than one resource and selects relevant information. Records resources appropriately. | Uses many resources, some outside of the Internet. Bibliography well presented | |
| Design Sheet is incomplete and does not show progression. | Design Sheet shows some evidence of progression, but some sections are incomplete. | Design Sheet shows progression and evidence of development, but lacks depth. | Design Sheet demonstrates progression, good understanding and development of techniques. Well presented with | |
| Self Evaluation | No attempt made at self evaluation. | No clear evaluation of the overall success of the project. | Some understanding of how the original aims of the project have been achieved. some suggestion of possible modifications. | Clear understanding of original aims against original Design Specification. Evidence of possible modifications for future projects. |
TOP
Some other useful sites-
The Academy Awards
iLife Educator Award Winners
1st place http://www.apple.com/education/ilifeawards/project_grassborn.html
2nd place http://www.apple.com/education/ilifeawards/project_americanexperience.html
3rd place http://www.apple.com/education/ilifeawards/project_canterbury.html
A Safety First! video. Action yes, but the ending is s bit abrupt.
http://www.60secondmovies.com/html/safetyfirst.php
For fans of Steve Irwin - a bit long, and it takes a while to download.
http://www.bignutstv.com/moviesandimages/crochunter.mov
Thomas Riddle lives in Bangkok and has a few different short clips here - 'Rush Hour in Sayaboury', 'Four Trains at Siam Square' and 'Canal Boats'.
http://www.thomasriddle.net/movies.htm