Week #8: Film-Making in the Art Classroom

This week we discussed film history, techniques, and vocabulary at length.  We were asked to think about ways that we would attempt to use film in one of our own future classrooms.  Luckily, I personally find film to be a very compelling, effective, and interesting form of media – and I discussed some of my previous experience making videos and films in classes in a recent blog on Media Arts.

(Retrieved from:  http://www.bang2write.com/2015/09/50-industry-insiders-share-their-filmmaking-secrets.html)

If I were going to introduce film and film studies in an art or media class I would simply breeze over the history of the medium and move on to the technical aspects of film making.  I would discuss different shots and angles, and how the camera can be used to create a story.  Students would illustrate the different techniques on handouts in order to retain the material, and name techniques from video clips to recognize real examples.  I would want to emphasize how students can use particular shots and sequences to emphasize details, explain narratives, show action, and create illusions.

Below are some examples of handouts from our class.

The first is similar to one that I would use in my classes.

After a discussion of these topics I would have the students create short videos themselves in small groups.  I have found that this is the best way for students to conquer the large amount of work involved in making a film, that it encourages them to work collaboratively, and that it forces them to think critically as they make decisions about content and process as a group.  I would ask the students to use iMovie or Windows Movie Maker to complete the editing of their films, simply because they are the most readily available programs, they are rather straightforward to use, and I have the most experience with them.

I would definitely have my students complete short films, only a couple of minutes long at the longest.  However, I think that the applications of the medium and the possible projects we could complete in class are almost endless.  Film is a great way to introduce the concepts of narrative, subversion, advocacy, parody, and appropriation.

Below are some film projects that I completed

in high school, and during my time at USC.

I created this video in High School in a Media Arts class

called Imaging Technology.

This video was created in a class on incorporating new

media into art education.  It focuses on the subversion

of the typically accepted role of a particular toy.

This video was created in the same new media class.

It is an example of a student made advocacy 

piece or documentary.