Teachers - Film Making Workshop with Harley Alexander from Creative Cavalry

Learn - Fundamentals

SOUND
Filming on phone- landscape
Recording sound on phone- voice recorder with "boom"

Monopod for Audio Recording ($55): 

https://www.rubbermonkey.co.nz/Velbon-Unipod-UP-400

Grip Mount for attaching Smart Phones to the Monopod ($56): 

https://www.rubbermonkey.co.nz/Joby-GripTight-PRO-Smartphone-Mount

VISION

Tripods are essential.

With ipad clamp.

CLAPPER BOARD

Clapper Loader- snap makes a marker "spike" on imovie. Allows you to sync up audio and visual when editing.

DIRECTOR

Onset phrases:

• “Turn over” (the Director saying: ‘please start recording video and audio’) 
• ‘Quiet on set.” (usually said by the 1st Assistant Director)
• “Camera speed” (the Camera operator confirming the camera is recording vision)
• “Sound speed” (the Sound Recordist confirming the sound is being recorded)
• “Scene 1, Shot 1, Take 1”  (the Clapper Loader identifying the shot for vision and audio)
• “Marker” (meaning: ‘that was the sound of the clapper board, not another background noise’) 
• “Camera is set” (the Camera operator confirming the camera is in position)
• “Action” (the Director saying: ‘actors, go ahead and play out the scene’) 
• “Cut” (meaning: ‘actors, camera, and sound recording can all stop’)

Different kinds of shots:

-Establishing Shot: used to set the scene, establishes the geography.

-Wide Shot: Closing in on actions- drawing viewer in, showing layout.

-Medium close up / Mid shot: someone from waist up. Drawing view into to focus on character.

-Close-up: belly button to head. Focus on dialogue.

-Extreme close up: showing emotion/facial expressions.

Avoid zooming and panning. Hand held shots.

Learn - Basic Camera Techniques 

Composing a Shot:

- Rules of Thirds:

screen divided into grid of 9. Put point of interest at intersecting point on grid.

Rule of thirds egs

Eyes should  be on top line.

Power side is right. Vulnerable= center of frame.

- Crossing the Line / The 180 degree rule

ensuring that the action is always filmed from the same direction.

Crossing the line egs

- Stable camera: Letting the action happen within the frame

- Don’t Pan. Don’t Zoom. 

- Do track. Do slide. (why gimbals are becoming essential tools) Hold camera still when operator is moving. Used to reveal something new/dramatic.

- The importance of controlled camera moves

- Stillness is power (for an actor)

Action!

Janet and Anna

Film Group 1 - Conversation

Film Group 1 - Rats

Our Movies!

Reflections

Today we learnt so much about camera shots and sequences. It was great to share the roles to try them all out and see how each role is very important. Taking the production right through to editing was helpful because you could see how you would improve your shots and media collection/storage next time. There are so many steps that go into movie making. As we were taught today you could see how you could also use the same exercises with children. I think they would really benefit from working with a professional but as a teacher I think Mark and have gained so much knowledge to carry projects on with our kids.

Link to Agenda for reference and links.

Inquiry Update Week 7 Term 2

This week Petrina and I discussed where we are at in terms of our Inquiry and make a SMART goal for the rest of the term.
I talked about how I had been reflecting with students on what they were learning and the purpose of it but I had been doing this very sporadically and not in a planned/intentional way. We decided as I was setting up my student blogs at the moment that I would utilise them for learning reflections as well. Therefore my SMART goal for the remainder of this term is:
- To ensure that each students makes at least one blog post per week
- Each post will include the following reflection:
                        What were you learning to do?
                        How successful were you? How did you know?
                        Next time I will...



Further discussion among staff stemmed from Robs goal to ensure he had visual aids in his classroom with the learning progressions for reading, writing and maths.
We discussed how did kids feel seeing their own work up as exemplars at each stage. It was mentioned that maybe it was easier in younger classes where the gaps between learners was not so wide? We also discussed how classroom culture, habits of mind and growth mindset impact this. We wondered if this may lead to more of a school wide collaboration around having the same visuals, progressions school wide might benefit our learners as they moved through the school. Something that has come up before but not progressed. This is something that we may come back to...