Making Movies

This year we look forward to the wonderful assistance of the 'Outlook for Someday' organisation. They visit schools to teach skills in movie making to promote the theme of 'Sustainibility' in Aotearoa. We will also be entering movie competitions as part of learning, creating and sharing in the extension group.

Planning a movie/animation

The Production Process:

An effective way to plan a movie/animation if you think of the production process in 3 stages.

1.Planning and scripting (the pre-production stage)

2. Recording the images/frames (the production stage)

3.Editing the visuals/adding audio (the post-production stage).

Here are some activities for your group

Pre-Production: planning activities

  • Look at TV commercials to help develop an awareness of different camera shots/style.

  • Describe the shots: re-create a storyboard a favourite TV ad.

  • Basic camera skills – how to use the record/pause/zoom controls to learn how to set up shots.

  • Roles and responsibilities: create a production team/s with the appropriate key roles depending on the project (e.g. director, production assistant, camera operator, sound recordist, animators, set designers, editor).

  • Work to deadlines. Arrange a “screening” date for the finished project to help keep the work focused

  • Involve all members in script writing/storyboarding – discuss and agree a target audience for the production.

  • Animation can take a lot of time. Start with simple sequences and keep characters to a minimum to start off with. Regular checkpoints are a good idea.

Production: recording the images – the “shoot”

  • Make sure camera batteries are fully charged before the “shoot” - Mrs Tele'a and PENN crew

  • The “director” and “production assistant” should plan a shooting order in advance and liaise/ask permission where required.

  • Use a tripod if possible as it is more difficult to record steady shots if the camera is hand-held. This is very important for back drops for animation too!

  • Use the storyboard during the shoot to help ensure all shots are recorded

  • It is helpful if the PA (Production Assistant) logs the shots as they are recorded as this will help if the movie is being edited at a later stage.

Post-Production: editing

  • Download the clips and save. Name the event folder clearly.

  • Review/evaluate the clips as a whole class activity and decide which clips work best for your story.

  • Use the storyboard/shot log (if you have a lot of material) to help with the editing.

  • Audio track: You can either lay the audio track first (voice over/music) and edit the visuals to the audio OR edit the visuals first and then add the audio timed to the visuals. If you are recording dialogue for an animation you will probably need to record the voice over after the visuals have been edited as they will have to match the action of the sequence.

  • Adding an appropriate track music track can enhance the mood/atmosphere of a movie - check if it's legal? Have permission to use?

  • Review the project at regular stages together.