During February Half Term, young filmmakers taking part in Sparks Film School’s film and media camps have been busy making comedy films, honing animation skills and exploring multimedia production.
Over the February half term break, Sparks Film School students joined in with lots of fun film and media adventures.
Film students aged between 5 and 14 spent the week developing different film and media skills and working towards their own portfolio productions.
Take a look at some of the highlights from the week…
Inside Studio 1 with Filmmakers Age 5-7
The young filmmakers started the half terms camps getting to grips with the basics of the camera and the roles on a film set, looking into different shot types and how to operate the equipment.
The crews focused in on what can make a scene funny. They experimented with repetition in a scene (after being inspired from a comedy scene from Spongebob Squarepants), and created some truly hilarious moments during February half term.
During the February half term camps, filmmakers in Studio 1 got creative with the green screen, creating scenes where their characters are pulled into TV screens using some top editing techniques and clever camera trickery.
Studio 1 film students also created their own hilarious adverts, using a mix of props and mime to try and advertise a silly object for sale. They created funny faces using craft materials and used them to tell jokes too.
Inside Studios 2 & 3 with Filmmakers Age 7-9 & 9-11
As part of the Comedy Cuts workshop, young filmmakers in Studio 2 and Studio 3 developed their comedy chops by creating hilarious on screen moments and funny films during February half term.
The crew began the week by practising some different camera techniques, after which they started to look at different styles of comedy such as slapstick physical comedy. They also focused on techniques to help bring the comedy out of their scenes such as deadpan delivery, comic timing, and repetition.
The crew then looked into narrative structure and how a story is formed. They later got to pitch their film story ideas to each other and decided via a group vote on which they wanted to film this week.
Later in the week, after being inspired by a scene from Johnny English, the crew experimented with over the shoulder shots, a shot type that can really bring the audience into a character’s conversation and world. The crew then created some short comedy scenes using this technique, to help bring an audience closer into the funny moments.
The crew also looked into how to break the fourth wall in a film. This is when a character directly addresses the audience (Eg; by talking directly down the camera to us). Using only six shots, the group created short comedy films where they broke the fourth wall for comedic effect.
Hilarious work was happening in Studios 2 and 3, with some fantastic new comedy film productions on their way!
Inside Studio 4 with Filmmakers Age 11-14
Studio 4 filmmakers started out by looking at roles on the film set, and how to operate the equipment. They looked at some camera techniques that they could use for comedic impact, such as how to control the focus, zoom, and how an angle can influence an audience’s reaction.
The filmmakers then explored how to create comedy by using techniques such as timing, physical comedy, and spoof. The crew then pitched their ideas for the plot of the film, building on key skills such as public speaking, and presentation delivery.
The crew also developed their own jump cuts. A jump cut is an editing technique used to create snappy, surprising, scenes that have a great element of comedy.
They drew inspiration from Little Shop Of Horrors and got to work creating their own funny jump cut scenes.
Well done to all the filmmakers involved in the February half term film and media workshops.
It was such a fun week with many laughs, and we can’t wait for our next film and media camps coming up in the Easter holidays!
About Sparks Film School’s Half Term Courses
Sparks Film School offers filmmaking, animation and photography workshops for ages 5-18, including term time classes and holiday camps.
You can find out more about our filmmaking courses here >>>
