In the Spring Term of Filmmaking Classes at Sparks Film Schools, the young film crews have been busy exploring a new creative theme.
Read on to discover what young filmmakers have been up to during the first classes of the spring term classes as part of their work on the new theme: Picture Perfect.
This term, Sparks Film School film students are exploring a range of techniques that will help them to become impressive visual storytellers. Our latest theme – Picture Perfect – is all about how to tell stories effectively in screen-based media.
Exploring The Rule of Thirds
In Studios 2 and 3, the young filmmakers have been focusing in on the Rule of Thirds. This is where we divide a shot up by a grid on the camera, which helps to give a shot some interesting dimensions, and is a powerful tool in helping filmmakers decide where to direct audiences attention.
The filmmakers have also been exploring the key skills of a strong opening scene, and how to show, not tell, a fundamental skill in filmmaking and visual storytelling.
They’ve explored this by creating some short silent scenes in which they could set up a longer story.
Show, Don’t Tell!
In Studios 4 and 5, the young filmmakers have been looking further in depth into how to structure a good sequence on screen, and how to use advanced camera work to support this.
During their first session and introduction to this term’s theme, the crews have been looking into how to show, not tell onscreen. They’ve been using examples from cinema, such as the classic from E.T. to examine how an opening scene can draw an audience into a story with effective visual elements.
They have quickly got to work shooting their own short opening sequences inspired by different genres, with the goal of establishing stories and characters quickly through their visual storytelling.
Panning Shots and Push in/Out Shots
The young filmmakers in both Studio 2 and Studio 3 have also been experimenting with moving shot types and techniques, including pans, push ins and push outs.
The young film crews have explored how to produce these shot types, where the camera either moves in a panning motion, or zooms away/closer in within the frame. The crews have been creating some really special sequences with these techniques, which is helping to give their work a dynamic look and feel.
Mise-en-Scene
The Studio 4 crews have been delving deeper into explorations with their camera work, experimenting with camera movement and camera blocking during a scene.
The crew experimented with tilt shots and tracking shots on an actor, both to some interesting effects.
The crew learned that adding camera movement to a shot can help create energy and pacing to a sequence, alongside helping to set the emotion of a scene. They looked at how a slower movement of the camera helps an audience relax slightly, whereas a faster more dynamic movement may make an audience purposefully feel tense or excited.
Find Out More
To learn more about this term’s theme, Picture Perfect, take a look here >>
To learn more about Sparks Film School’s youth filmmaking classes, take a look here >>
