Download Lights, Camera, Action - Association for Language Learning

In this project you are going to write, direct and produce a short film, of any genre, in your
Language. The final cut should last not a second longer than 5 minutes. We have structured the
project so that, besides showing your fantastic language skills, it also teaches you the rudiments of
film production. It’s a complicated and lengthy process to get right so we suggest you negotiate a
deadline with the whole Language Futures group and your teacher - a date when all of your films
will be viewed by your invited audience. It’s always good to have an audience in mind - the bigger
the better. This will keep you focused on a good end result.
Therefore, we suggest you enter for the national schools’ film making competition ‘Language on
Film’. This is an annual competition run by Routes into Languages East, Cambridge University. We
have developed this project with Routes and you’ll find many of their support resources very helpful. The notes below will structure the project for you. If you intend to enter the competition do
visit the website as there are deadlines and you will need your teacher to coordinate the project.
A DVD offering further support and advice is also available.
It’s time to start the project.
Stage 1
a. Negotiate and decide on a role for everyone in your Language Group, for example:
• Producer
• Director (has the overall vision for the film)
• Art Director (has a more visual role – thinks about lighting, camera angles, set, etc.)
• Camera
• Writing Team
• Costumes and makeup
b. Decide on an idea and genre for a film – e.g. an action film, fly-on-the-wall documentary, comedy sketch
etc.
Language Futures was originally developed by Linton Village College as part of a Paul Hamlyn Foundation initiative. Management of the initiative
passed to the Association for Language Learning in summer 2015. When using and/or adapting resources, we would ask you to acknowledge the
Language Futures initiative and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation as the original publishers of the material. This Project was adapted from Routes into
Languages East, Language on Film competition. Thank you to Rachel Hawkes, Jane Driver and Sarah Schechter for allowing us to use their material,
Leigh Mc Clelland for the DVD while the original course was taught by Sarah Gibson-Yates. For information about how to enter your film for the
national competition, please visit the Routes East Website.
c. Pitch your idea to your teacher and mentor and ask for feedback about the feasibility of the idea and advice on how to keep the language simple enough for you to achieve perfection. The pitch should be a short
presentation to sell your idea. You need to video this if you are entering the national competition.
d. Write a film proposal. This is a written version of the pitch and should consist of a two-line idea proposal.
e. Produce an outline of the film. This is a short paragraph detailing what happens in the film.
Stage 2
Produce a script of the film in your language. We suggest you use the film industry script format. You will
certainly need to do this if you are entering the national competition.
Stage 3
Storyboarding and shot list
a. Produce a storyboard for each shot in your film. This is a series of sketches. Each sketch depicts a
shot in the film and helps the directors and the camera to set up and frame the shot. The story
board can be done in stick figures. Here is a storyboard template:
Language Futures was originally developed by Linton Village College as part of a Paul Hamlyn Foundation initiative. Management of the initiative
passed to the Association for Language Learning in summer 2015. When using and/or adapting resources, we would ask you to acknowledge the
Language Futures initiative and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation as the original publishers of the material. This Project was adapted from Routes into
Languages East, Language on Film competition. Thank you to Rachel Hawkes, Jane Driver and Sarah Schechter for allowing us to use their material,
Leigh Mc Clelland for the DVD while the original course was taught by Sarah Gibson-Yates. For information about how to enter your film for the
national competition, please visit the Routes East Website.
b. Produce a shot-list. Give each of the shots on the story-board a number. During the shoot you may not
be able to shoot each shot in the order shown in the storyboard. You might want to shoot all shots in each
location together. The shot-list is a list of numbers showing the order in which all shots will be filmed.
These are different types of shots you might consider using:
Shot
Shot type
Shot 1
Long shot establishing the view of a bank
Shot 2
Medium shot of Xian and Tingting walking across the view of the camera. You get a view of their head and
side of their body. This shot is to show they have arrived at the bank.
Shot 3
Big Close Up shot of Xian and Tingting. They look at each other and then separate.
Shot 4
Medium Long Shot of Xian walking to the counter
Shot 5
Medium shot of Xian at the counter
Shot 6
Close Up shot of Xian picking up a deposit slip and writing on it, ‘This is a hold-up. Put all your money in
this bag’. (This to be written in Mandarin)
Shot list - use this format:
Shot
Description of the shot
Shot 1
Shot 2
Shot 3
Stage 4
a.
Film the movie. You should film the shots using your shot list and storyboard to help you.
b.
Save the shots in Microsoft Moviemaker or iMovie. Put the shots in the correct order so that they are
ready for editing. At this point you can delete any outtakes.
Stage 5
a.
Edit your movie. Use Microsoft Moviemaker or iMovie to edit the shots. Make sure the film runs in sequence and that the transitions between shots are smooth. You’ll find support material on how to do
this on the national film competition ‘Language on Film’.
b.
Add English subtitles to your film so that everyone in your invited audience will understand the film.
c.
Add music. This could enhance the ambience of the film. Make sure you use only open-source music
(ideas here) which isn't subject to copyright rules.
Language Futures was originally developed by Linton Village College as part of a Paul Hamlyn Foundation initiative. Management of the initiative
passed to the Association for Language Learning in summer 2015. When using and/or adapting resources, we would ask you to acknowledge the
Language Futures initiative and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation as the original publishers of the material. This Project was adapted from Routes into
Languages East, Language on Film competition. Thank you to Rachel Hawkes, Jane Driver and Sarah Schechter for allowing us to use their material,
Leigh Mc Clelland for the DVD while the original course was taught by Sarah Gibson-Yates. For information about how to enter your film for the
national competition, please visit the Routes East Website.