This week in Filmmaking…

There are some amazing videos coming out of the filmmaking elective. Our first eighth grade film project is complete and can be seen below, along with a note from the writer/director, Maddie.

Instead of creating the standard plot for a film, I chose to work with the idea of mood by creating an environment with audio clips and visual images that display stress and gave the illusion that the character was going crazy when left alone with his thoughts. Without the audio, it is just a man walking, and I received a lot of criticism for the lack of a plot. However, with the audio I discovered that it added another layer to the film and showed the complexity of his thoughts and really showed what I was trying to convey. It showed the stress and really does seem like his idea of reality is slowly deteriorating. – Maddie

Maddie’s film was a final project that had no limits or restrictions other than requiring a finished script and storyboards which were workshopped in class. A call sheet was used to make sure we were all on task and knew where we had to be.

All 12 students in the eighth grade elective will be making their own film. We recently wrapped production on our second film which is currently being edited and we were outside filming our third film today. More to come!

Class 602 recently completed their filmmaking elective. The quality of personal narratives was incredible, but being personal, many students were not comfortable sharing with the world. Luckily, I convinced Erica to let me feature hers on the blog. For their personal narratives, students needed to come up with a three-act story about something significant in their life.

Now that 602 has transitioned out of filmmaking, it’s time for 601. We met for filmmaking the first time this week. Their task is to create nine sentence story that will become their first production. The project guidelines are as follows:

• Story must start: “A student, or group of students stumble upon a box…”
• 30 to 60 seconds (excluding titles or end credits)
• No dialogue (this is strictly a visual story)
• Music and sound effects encouraged
• Use a variety of shot styles and diverse shot composition

We’re so fortunate to have Ms. Waters with us for this period as she also has a background in film and, unlike me most of the time, remembers to take some photos of the kids at work! Enjoy and I’ll be sure to post finished work when they’re done.