After receiving a camera for Christmas, and with many of the 34s involved or interested in acting in some way, a group of the kids decided to form the Acting & Film Club.
Initially the desire was to create a short film of their own. However, as this would be a big endeavor, we decided to start small by recreating a scene from a movie that already existed. Some sample scripts were printed for them to go over and to learn what a script looks like to begin the planning process. That's when one in particular stuck out to them:
Raiders of the Lost Ark.
After that they wanted to work on it everyday. Scripts for the scene were printed, they circled their parts, descriptions of their characters, assembled costume pieces, discussed sets, watched the clip online, worked on changes to the script and more. Roles were assigned, both to characters and jobs. Then, rehearsals began. This was the part they enjoyed the most, being the characters in the scene and getting it work and look it's best.
We then moved on to learning about and making storyboards. This style of planning is used frequently in filmmaking and is like a series of comic panels with stage directions, camera distances and characters movements on it. It helps to visualize the set, costumes, actor directions and any other details that need to be sorted out before any actual filming occurs.
Here are the storyboards they made for part of the opening sequence:
Through this process we have been learning not only about aspects of film but also larger skills like teamwork, leadership, conflict resolution and complex planning. So far, great progress has been made and great times have to been had. Can't wait to see what comes next.
To be continued...