movie magic primary schools enrichment pack

Movie magic

Primary Schools Enrichment Pack

Key Stages 1 and 2

These activities have been collected from the teams at Islington Council who work

on Careers, Arts and Creative, and Music activities with schools.

We’ve selected some fun learning worksheets that you can do with your children

around the topic of ‘Movie magic’! You won’t need a computer to complete these.

What’s in the pack?

We picked some ideas that let you explore the theme of ‘movie magic’ from your

own home. Most of these activities have been gathered from Into Film, an

educational charity that runs films-based programmes for children and ScreenSkills,

an industry-led skills body for the screen industries.

Creative activities:

1) Film picture puzzles

2) Directors Mood Board 3) Make a thaumotrope

World of Work activities:

1) Who makes a movie?

2) Which film career are you?

3) Visual storytelling

4) Be a film critic

© Into Film 2016. All rights reserved

ACTIVITY:

GAMES

Look at the pictures below, and try to name the films based on the picture clues. If you get stuck, try saying what you can see out loud.

Example:

THE The Lion King=

Simple Picture Puzzles

Picture Puzzles


ACTIVITY:

GAMES

Trickier Picture Puzzles

AWAY

And

Next steps

• Now you’ve got the hang of these, try making your own picture puzzle like the ones above.

Then swap with your neighbour and try to guess each other’s puzzles.

• As well as films, you could try making them for characters, actors, or directors too – or better

yet, think up some categories of your own!

• How many different ways can you think of to draw the same film? For example, you could

draw Beauty and the Beast as a beautiful lady and a monster, or you could draw a ghost, a cup

of tea, the words “and the”, some bumblebees, and the letter T (Boo-tea and the Bees-t). Try to

make your puzzles as creative as possible!


ACTIVITY:

GAMES

Quick-fire challenge

Looking at the images below, try to think of as many films as you can that feature that

object. Can you think of any films that include more than one of these things?


ACTIVITY:

FILMMAKING

Lead a creative brainstorm with your production team to generate ideas for a short film. Once you have decided on the basics below, you will

share your vision using a director’s mood board.

Director’s Mood Board

Write your film synopsis (3 sentences maximum):

Describe when and where the film is set (e.g. A dystopian world in 2019):

What is the overall mood of the film? How will you show this through

costumes or settings?

Director’s notes


ACTIVITY:

FILMMAKING

Find out more about being a producer here: http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles

Who is the main protagonist of your film? Describe them physically and their personality:

How should your film be shot? You could consider camera angles, colours used

and anything else:

What is the message behind your film?

Director’s notes


ACTIVITY:

FILMMAKING

Mood board

Create a mood board that shares the visual style of your film. Find images that reflect how you would like your film to look (this could include locations, casting choices, colours, camera shots, film posters and costumes). Share this with your team so they are clear on your artistic vision.


ACTIVITY:

CREATIVE

Make a Thaumatrope

Thaumatropes were very popular toys during the 1800s. These toys achieve their effect due to the persistence of vision, in the same way as models or drawings in stop motion animation films appear to move.

YOU WILL NEED:

• Scissors

• Glue

• String

• A pencil and sticky tack to make a hole, or a

hole punch.

Instructions

1. First cut out the two circles on page 2, then

make a hole in, or hole punch, the shaded

circles on the right and left of each image.

2. Stick the two circles of paper together,

making sure to keep one image upside

down and match the holes on both pieces

so that they line up with each other.

3. Attach one piece of string to each of

the two holes that you have made.

4. Finally, spin the string quickly

in your fingers to see the

optical illusion.


ACTIVITY:

CREATIVE

Make a Thaumatrope

Top tips:

1. Use two pieces of paper in case the image that you draw bleeds through to both sides of paper. 2. Keep your drawings in roughly the same space on both pieces of paper. 3. It is not necessary to use a circle of card or paper, any shape will work as long as both pieces are exactly the same.

4. Make sure that you stick the paper together so that one of your drawings looks like it is upside down.

Try it yourself


Movie magic

Who makes a movie?

Everyone likes watching a good film whether they see it at the cinema, on TV or on their

phones. But not everyone knows how a film is made. The film industry in the UK is worth

over £15 billion! If you enjoy being creative and telling stories, it could be the perfect place

for you to find a job. There are lots of different jobs people do that come together to make

a film. Let’s look at some of them here…

Director

The director is responsible for what appears in front

of the camera. Directors work with the actors and

decide when filming a scene starts and finishes. They

say: “action” and “cut”.

Producer

The producer is the boss. Producers are responsible

for the whole production. They raise the money and

hire the director.

Actor

The actor is the star of the show! They

play the parts of the characters in the

story. If you like drama and performing in

front of other people then you could be

perfect for this role.

Screenwriter

The screenwriter writes the story. They write

the dialogue between the actors and all the

things that happen in the film.

VFX producer

The VFX producer puts in all the thing that

can’t be filmed – like cars bursting into flames.

They manage a team that puts these in using

computer-generated images.

This resource was adapted from the ‘Who makes a film’ resource by Screen Skills, Into Film and the ARTS

Council England: https://www.intofilm.org/resources/1573

https://www.intofilm.org/resources/1573


ACTIVITY:

QUIZ

1. Which of these is your favourite subject?

Art

Music

Drama

Computing

Literacy/English

None of the above

2. What is your strongest skill?

Listening carefully

Writing stories

Designing new things

Coding

Being the leader!

None of the above

Which Career Are You?

3. When you are watching a film, what are you thinking about most?

How well (or badly) the film has been

put together

You can’t wait to go home and create

the visual effects on your computer

You’re too busy looking around the

room for objects to recreate the

sound effects

You are drawing the characters

You are predicting all of the

character’s lines

None of the above

4. What would you most like to receive as a present?

An iPad with all the latest apps

A big box of paints and brushes

A special notebook for all the ideas you

get during the day

A drumkit

A video camera

None of the above

Once you’ve answered all the

questions, count how many of each

shape you selected and then visit the

next page to find out which career

could be ideal for you.

Complete this quiz to find out which career in film is for you.

Don’t worry if your skills and interests don’t match up with these roles!

Find many, many more at www.creativeskillset.org

http://www.creativeskillset.org


ACTIVITY:

QUIZ

Answers

Mostly

You are a make-up, hair or costume

designer

Skills to develop:

• Hairdressing and make-up

• Imaginative and artistic

• Know hair, make-up and clothing

through history

• Designing clothes for characters

Mostly

You are a Foley artist or sound designer

Skills to develop:

• Excellent listening

• Creative problem solving

• Love of sound and music in films

• Good at copying sounds you hear

Mostly

You are a director

Skills to develop:

• Strong leader

• Good at making decisions

• Excellent communication

• Understanding of whole filmmaking

process

Mostly

You are a VFX artist or editor

Skills to develop:

• Know how to use computer editing

equipment

• Understand storytelling

• Interest in animations and computer

games

• Careful attention to detail

Mostly

You are a screenwriter

Skills to develop:

• Writing stories and plays

• Accept criticism of your work

• Good at using descriptive language

• Convincing others to like your work

Mostly

You are one of hundreds of other roles

Not seen any jobs you like? Visit http://bit.ly/JobRolesCS and search hundreds of careers in film to find the one that’s right for you.


ACTIVITY:

FILMMAKING

This rule can be remembered as Show, Don’t Tell!

Example 1:

Instead of having your character shout, “I am so ANGRY!” you could show them slamming a

door, frowning and kicking a chair. There would be no doubt that this person was angry and the

audience would understand this straight away.

Visual storytelling can also be used effectively to show what a character is thinking. A character

might not speak their thoughts aloud, but their actions and movements can help the audience to

understand thoughts and ideas.

Example 2:

Instead of having your character saying, “I’m going to steal the robot’s gun and escape!” you

could show her looking from the robot to the gun and then to the door of the spaceship.

Visual Storytelling

Visual storytelling is a technique used by filmmakers to tell their stories using

action rather than dialogue (words or speech).

Instead of characters explaining how they are feeling or what they are thinking

(which might be quite dull for the audience), it is easier to give the audience

information through the character’s actions and movements.


ACTIVITY:

FILMMAKING

INT. LOUNGE - LATE AFTERNOON.

BILL (16) is dressed casually in jeans, t-shirt and mismatched socks. He

hasn’t washed for a few days. He is lying on a battered sofa in the lounge

of a suburban family home.

BILL tries to read a magazine but throws it aside after a few seconds. He

checks his mobile phone: no messages.

BILL flicks the TV on using a remote. An alien-abduction film fills the

screen, bright colours, shouts and screams explode into the room. BILL

immediately sits up to watch it: he is transfixed.

BILL

Woooow! I wish...!

Suddenly, a loud crash and huge bang! Smoke fills the room.

BILL

Aaarh! What’s happening? LET ME GO!

ROBOT

Engage the laser beam! Capture the human specimen!

A green laser beam cuts through the smoke, BILL levitates off the sofa...

Activity: Script Stories

In this script you will see that the scriptwriter has included dialogue, and has also

included a description to tell the audience more about the character, Bill.

As you read the script, can you find the words and phrases the scriptwriter has used

to tell the audience about the character, Bill?

How has the scriptwriter told the audience about Bill’s boredom?


ACTIVITY:

FILMMAKING

• Now use the Storyboard Template

to plan the camera shots you will use.

Once complete, use your camera, tablet or

smartphone to record the shots, aiming to

shoot between 10 and 30 seconds of film.

• Think about what you will need to include

in the shot to make it clear to the audience

what the character is thinking or feeling.

• When you have shot your scene, share this

with another group and ask them to guess

what the character is thinking or feeling.

“I’m hungry!”

“I’ve lost the cat!”

“I’m so tired!”

“I’m late for school!”

“I’m really annoyed with her!”

FOR THIS ACTIVITY YOU WILL NEED:

• A camera/tablet/smartphone

• Groups of 2-4 people

• Camera Shots Sheet

• Storyboard Template or large piece of paper

and pens to create your own

Activity: Show, Don’t Tell!

How to complete this activity

• Imagine that you are a scriptwriter and you

have been asked to revise the script for a film.

• The director thinks there is too much dialogue

in the script and wants you to make some of

the key scenes more visually creative.

• You have selected the following five lines of

dialogue to change:

• “I’m hungry”• “I’ve lost the cat”

• “I’m so tired”

• “I’m late for school”

• “I’m really annoyed with her”

• Using these lines of dialogue, write a short

description of the shots you would film, to

show what the character is feeling.

Be a Film Critic

Watching films and sharing your opinions with friends and family can be great fun,

some people even choose to review films for their career! Film Critics can share their

opinions on websites, social media, YouTube, TV, magazines and more. Often a film

critic will say what they like or don’t like about a film before giving it a rating.

Now it’s your turn to write a film review! Below is a writing template that will guide

you through the process of reviewing a film. So pick a film and get started!

Title of Film

Introduction

Describe how you feel about the film overall. Hook the reader by making it

interesting and exciting

Paragraph 1 – Summary

Write a brief and snappy description what happens in the film. Try not to include

any spoilers that can give away the ending or best bits

Paragraph 2 – Context

• Use your favourite creative comparisons to help explain what the film is like. • Include useful information like the names of actors and other films that the

director has made.

Rate your film out of 5!

Paragraph 3 – Evaluation

• Did you like the film? Why? Why not? • Use a range of adjectives to describe how you feel

movie magic primary schools enrichment pack

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