OBJECTIVE OF THE SESSIONTo show why short films are an excellent resourse and how they can be used critically and creatively in the language classroom and beyond.
1.The renaissance of the short film.
2.The benefits of using short films.
3.Activities designed around short films.
4. Learner-generated moving images
5. Quality short films.
OVERVIEW
1.View several times2.Different activity each time3.Greater dramatic impact4.A whole narrative 5.Prompts for oral and written
communication
Advantages of short films
• The Adventures of a Cardboard Box
• The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr Morris Lessmore
• I Forgot My Phone• Inseparable• The Man Who Planted Trees• The Black Button• Post-it Love
Lost PropertyShow the trailer and predict the storyhttps://vimeo.com/92017358
Filmmaking is a positive and creative solution to integrating students’ digital life outside the classroom with what can happen inside the classroom and that through collaboration, they can actually create something greater.
‘We must teach communication comprehensively in all its forms … We live and work in a visually sophisticated world, so we must be sophisticated in using all the forms of communication, not just the written word.’
George Lucas
‘We need filmmaking in our classrooms, not to graduate filmmakers, but to graduate problem solvers, critical thinkers and passionate people who can work with others to make that which does not yet exist, real.’
Nikos Theodosakis
‘The ability to capture diverse images, text and sounds and make educated decisions regarding the best way to combine them into a coherent and meaningful product makes digital filmmaking an appropriate tool for creative language learning.’
Seemita Mohanty
“Today everybody’s a film-maker.”
Wim Wenders
Film chronicles enable the learners to connect the language of the classroom with the outside world and their own personal interests.
These film chronicles aim to develop the learners’ abilities in the following areas:• Reading and writing skills• Speaking skills• Paralinguistic skills• Presentation skills• Research skills• Visualisation skills• Problem solving skills• Critical thinking skills• Planning and coordinating skills• Creativity• Self-confidence
Students either individually or in their pairs or groups:• explore and develop an original idea.• prepare their own scripts.• rehearse and perform their scripts.• direct and edit their films.
The teacher plays a number of roles: • Helping students write their
scripts, and making sure these are understandable.
• Ensuring their subtitles and captions are understandable.
• Advising them on their pronunciation, when they are rehearsing their scripts.
• Advising them on paralinguistic features, such as body language, gestures and facial expressions.• Giving feedback on their
language errors.• Evaluating their performance
in the creative process of making a film, and their final products – their films!