How to Start a Film Festival At YOUR School

[Learning 2.008 Conference]

By Richard Friedericks

School tends to emphasis left-brain over right-brain thinking. The 21st century is going to require a better
balance between left and right brain people. Filmmaking is a perfect way to combine both kinds of thinking
in a fun and challenging way. It doesn't take a huge budget. It doesn't take hiring Hollywood directors to
teach special courses. You can help kids make films with a camcorder or even a still digital camera with a
movie function. They can edit on a PC with Windows Movie Maker or Adobe Premiere and on an Mac you
can use iMovie or Final Cut. The basic technical skills are easy to figured out. What students need are
organized events to focus their energies. You can also help by challenging them to design good stories.
This is where organizing a film festival really helps.
Room: M-258
Session 4
Visual Media

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You have to be a logical thinker and problem solve all the time. Think out of the box... you must.
Daniel Pink's book has a lot of ideas.
Create a target for student creativity... FILM FESTIVAL
Equipment: mini DV camcorder (recommended)
hard disk camcorder
digital still camera with movie function
Computer -

What do TECHERS need to provide?
an understanding of the technical process
understand of the storytelling process
specific guidelines and directions

What, when, who, where, why, how
The Writers Journey by Vogler
Joseph Campbell - Hero with a Thousand Faces

The Hero starts out in the ordinary world, and gets a call to action... Mentor... crosses a threshold, the journey begins...

Get others to do the music score...

Technical Process
basic camera operating skills, lighting &sound basics.... (don't shoot with a back light, etc.)
non-linear editing skills on PC
encoding skills for .wmv or .mov or .mp4 files so you can upload files ot a video server that are small in size yet high in quality.
YouTube turns everything into a Flash model...
Storytelling
All stories need a beginning, middle and end; knowing the "hero's journey" helps
Documentary Style
Presenting info creatively to engage an audience; narrative voice, interviewing skills, let the pictures talk
Students need to make a time-line for the pictures... words can be three a second.... Ss can write a precise narrative with the images... must be plotted out. The pictures have to relate to what you are saying. Don't say exactly what the picture shows.... give more information.

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Helpful Hints by workshop participants:

Avid Free DV (good movie making FREE software)

Visual Communicator

Version Tracker.com (Check it for all of the things you are searching for related to movie making.)

Final Cut Express (also avail. in PC)

Low end Cannon has external mike (middle end doesn’t have it.) DV tape...

Best to look for a camera that has: an external mike jack, DV tape (better than harddrive) , has Firewire Out;

You can use Audacity and record sound and do voice over....

Wireless mikes can work, too.... can take shoes off cameras...


The Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age GREAT BOOK

Authentic Learning

design
story
symphony
empathy
play
meaning – exploring

Quadrants:
1, (I) self expression 2. (It) skills with equipment
3. (We) communicating and connecting with others 4. (Its) research and planning abilities

Internet Movie Database has some good ideas (IMSDB) on rubrics to score the movies students make and other helpful student ideas

John Golden’s Reading in the Dark is a good one.... (look at other participant’s notes to get more.)

O Brother Where Art Thou.... has a split screen with a bonus feature... side by side

also Beauty and the Beast... has a storyboard format.
The Sixth Sense also has a storyboard

[rtuprod]

-create a target for student creativity....include work from other schools
-expensive equipment and programs not needed...anything will work
-need to inspire the students to do it
-teachers need some understanding of the process but need understanding of storytelling processes ("the writers journey" by vogler?, "heroes with a thousand faces" by campbell) and develop guidelines and directions
-teachers also need infectious interest and fascination with film
-write screenplay, choose some to be produced, involve others to write score (1 semester writing, 1 semester production)
-teach some of tech process: basic camera skills, basiclighting, basic sound, non-linear editing, encoding skills (trial&error for best fit for purpose) and uploading to server
-storytelling: beginning, middle, end, "hero's journey"?
-documentary: creatively engaging, narrative voice, interviewing skills, letting the pictures do the talking
-can say 3 words a second....timecode, precise narrative, narrative-picture relationship
-two-column script vs storytelling script (insdb)
-school projects: specific curricular, cross-curricular, varied length of assignment, short snippet videos with deep meaning can be effective for course assessment
-student evaluation of the film's potential effects on society
-news broadcasts as part of the course, school projects promoting school activities, public service announcements
-sponsor contests (time to work w/ assigned theme, prop, line of dialogue.....planning, storyboarding, shooting, scoring, editing/encoding in 48 hrs).....next hkis film competition starts friday oct 19
-in-class or club contests....80 min (20 min plan/script, 20 min shooting, 40 min editing/encoding)
-HKIS Tai Tam Film Festival Saturday, February 23, 2008...virtual film festival
-"a whole new mind" by daniel pink...how the right brain will rule the world: authentic learning involves design, story, symphony, empathy, play, meaning
-quadrants for evaluation: objective vs subjective: I (me): self-expression, self-reflection, creativity, WE: communicating and connecting with others, IT: skills with equipment, ITS: research and planning abilities
-media/presentation evaluation sheet/rubric with skill, knowledge, connection, personal as measures
-4 P's: planning, production, presentation, promotion

Interwrite Learning Launches Video Contest
http://www.interwritelearning.com/contest/

HKIS Film Festival
http://dragonet.hkis.edu.hk/media
[e-mail]

[David Larson]

Based on Joseph Campbell's "Hero With a Thousand Faces" is ___ Vogler: The Writer's Journey

You need to provide:
*an understanding of the technical process
*an understanding of the storytelling process
*specific guidelines and directions
*infectious interest and fascination with film

Technical process:
*basic camera operating skills,, lighting & sound basics
*non-linear editing skills on PC or Mac
*encoding skills for .wmv or .mov or .mp4 files so you can upload files to a video server that are small in size yet high quality

Story Telling
*all stories need a beginning, middle, and end
*knowing the "hero's journey" would certainly help

Documentary style
*presenting information creatively to engage an audience
*narrative voice, interviewing skills, let the pictures talk

Begin with informative info, then draft story, then find images. Transfer to two-column planner
3 words per second--draft a story that matches the images. I.e. Speak to the images. Play images and narrate on the fly. Don't tell the viewer what is being seen, provide the background (e.g. if a picture shows a wrecked ship, don't say the ship ran aground, share that it was the maiden voyage).

School projects as class assignments for all curricular areas (and across and extra-)

Resources, inspiration and urge students to challenge themselves.

48 Hour Film Festival
Similar to the 2880 Minutes project is the 168 Project. Films are written, produced, and published in one week: http://www.168project.com/

October 19 at 5 PM, upload film to web-based forum and send URL to HKIS by 5 PM Sunday Send email to HKIS film club

In-class or Club contests

80 minutes - theme
Planning, scripting, 20 minutes
shooting 20 minutes
editing, encoding - 40 minutes

Tai Tam International Film Festival
Saturday, Feb 23, a virtual film festival with online HKIS DragonMedia

Here's a good resource for teaching film study and film techniques:

Golden, John (2001) Reading in the Dark: Using Film as a Tool in the English Classroom. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English

It includes cinematography techniques, suggested film exemplars, and full film units.

IMSDB Internet Movie Script Database. Beaucoup de scripts available online.

The enhanced DVD (DVD(9)) for Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou has a bonus feature that splits the screen with the actual film on one side and the storyboard on the other, synchronized.

Also--Beauty and the Best, The Sixth Sense, Back to the Future,...

The AFI (American Film Institute) offers through United Streaming a complete course on film study and creation. Here's the gateway link for starters: http://www.afi.com/education/screened/screened.aspx

[Janet Price]

How To Start a Film Festival at YOUR School, Richard Fredericks, M259, Session 4
Tagline: 'Let the Pictures Talk..."
Tai Tam International Film Festival 23/2/2008, a virtual film festival with an on-line venue via HKIS Dragon Media

Combines right- and left-brain tasks. Richard instituted a film festival at his school in Hong Kong and invites all schools to submit matrial. He recommends using the W5+H method of organization. Reference books include The Writer's JOurney, by Vogel which outlines the classic construction of a story. He also has instituted a film studies class that revues films and once a year they produce a film from the sreenwriting, score, etc. to post-production. MY NOTE: Locate the hands-on shooting book we used at Bowie and buy copies.

Technical skills needed are 1. basic camera operation, lighting and sound, 2. non-linear editing skills on PC or Mac 3. encoding skillsw for .;wmv or .mov or mp4 files so they can be uploaded to a video server...small yet high quality.

Writing styles & skills 1. Need a beginning, middle and end, 2. know that 'the hero's journey' is, 3. engage the audience with creatively presented material, 3. narrative voice, interviewing skills. MY NOTE: This is a senior project for Richard's kids and I know he has about 200 seniors. But to produce a good porject a number of these skills would have to be developed earlier, expecially in my school with a very high ESL student body. I'm also curious about the specific criteria his video festival sets.

Given the limitations of iMovie the group suggested AvidfreeDV as an alternative to Adobe Premier, Final Cut Pro, etc. But we did not really discuss the benefits and limitations of the more detailed programs. MY NOTE: If your goal is to make a better quality video than what might be dropped into uTube then it pays to use a more advanced program, use a camera with tape and not DVD or memory sticks (non-manipulatable) and be sure to have a nice sized hard drive that will allow you to manage data efficiently and to store a variety of student projects.

There is some discussion about a program I am not familar with called Digital Communicator that has advanced options for timing sound to motion. I Googled this software and could not find anything related.

Richard displayed a sample of the 'Sponsor Contests' he sporadically challenged his students with. It would be a weekend project. On Friday at 17:00 students would get a theme, a significant prop and have to complete the video by Sunday evening. The next 48 Hour Contest runs 19/10/2007 - 21/10/2007. Everyone is welcome to submit. Please email Richard for more information.

Other content ideas might include 1. a simple dialogue in a foreign language, 2. commercials or PSA for campus events, 3. ???

Recommended Reading: Daniel Pink, A Whole New Mind

There is a script locator resource www.imsdb.com with sample scripts of most movies.
Another suggestion was the extended version of Oh Borther, Where Art Thou which has a split screen sample of video and and the corresponding storyboards.

Links: Interwrite Learning Launches Video Contest: www.interwritelearning.com/contest/
Richard Fredericks (HKIS) Film Festival) [e-mail]
Dragonmedia (HKIS) media Server) - for sample student productions http://dragonnet.hkis.edu.hk/media
A post meeting was held to discuss the institution of a film festival for schools in the Shanghai area.

[Richard Friedericks]

Here is a great wiki tool you can use with students: http://www.celtx.com
Celtx does it all - scriptwriting for feature film, 2-column audiio/video, theater, audio, storyboard and text for novels. Automatic formating.

Get an account and upload to the server - work on it anywhere and give access to others on your production team. Its FREE. Works on Windows, Mac and Linux platforms.

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I've downloaded Celtx. IT looks very interesting. Do you know if you can insert video clips in the storyboard? I haven't tried, but I'd like to use still-shots, movie clips and animation in the final product. Will this support that?