Film is such a cool way to tell stories. I mean, for me, making films is the best way to communicate my ideas.
Sima Urale
Here are some activities to help you learn more about moving pictures
Animation
Have a go at creating your own animated film. Find an object that you can film (you might use something as simple as a cardboard box or a plasticine model - it doesn't matter what you use). Set up your camera in one place, and make sure that it can't move around or get accidentally knocked. Place your object on a table or on the floor. Take a five-second shot of the object. Move the object ever so slightly and take another five-second shot. Do the same thing over and over again until the object has been moved out of the camera's sight (this is called "out of shot"). Play back what you recorded at a faster speed, and you will see that the object appears to have moved all on its own.
Comic strips and picture books
Movies are about "visual images" or pictures. If you can't get hold of a video camera, try writing a comic strip or picture book. This is another way of using pictures and words to tell a story.
Flick cards
Make some flick cards. You do this by cutting up some soft cardboard into rectangles about the size of playing cards. On the bottom of each card, draw a picture, with every new picture slightly different from the one before. As you flick through the cards really quickly, the pictures will appear to move. You can swap sets of cards with your friends.
Watch and learn
You probably watch heaps of movies and videos without wondering how particular scenes or moods are created. Next time you have just watched a video, maybe you could re-look at some of your favourite scenes and think about how the mood or tension was created. What kind of lighting is used? What about the camera angles? Are there any sounds or music? How do they add to the whole feeling of the scene?
