Her Morning Elegance - inspiration for film & animation students

A friend sent me this link and I have become somewhat obsessed with the idea of using the concept with my Diploma students. So simple, very cheap to make, and what fabulous results! Check it out.

Oddsox Episode Seven

Here's the latest episode of Oddsox. It has some interesting features about Cornwall Film Festival, as well as the usual mixture of odd things and music. Enjoy.

Dog Bite Film Crew

Dog Bite are a Cornwall based film and production company. They have worked on many film projects within and outside the county. They are an amazing young talent, with a fab collection of film-making equipment, from cameras, lighting and sound (and they did all their training here in Cornwall - a real inspiration to students). The best thing is, they are happy to work with schools (and have recently provided training to teachers at MBS using an OB van), helping students and teachers alike gain experience within the medium of film.

Get in touch with them here:
www.dogbitefilmcrew.com/

I managed to grab a quick interview with the crew whilst at the Cornwall Film Festival. And here it is, for your listening pleasure:

The Big Pitcher

The Cornwall Film Festival was a resounding success. I managed to catch a talk by British writer Jon Ronson about his book, The Men Who Stare at Goats, now a Hollywood feature film starring George Clooney. I also got the chance to watch the film and partake in a Q&A session with the writer after the screening. Brilliant! Next year I will try and organise a school trip to the festival (and I urge all you Creative & Media teachers to do the same). It's a wonderful opportunity for you and your students to really experience the film industry first-hand.

The best part of the festival for me, was entering and winning The Big Pitcher competition. I had 2 minutes to pitch my film idea to a live audience (very nerve-racking), who then voted on the winners. I received a £100 towards the cost of making my film, which will be screened at next year's festival.

Here's a rough outline of how I pitched my film:

My film is called Chicken and is a coming-of-age tale about a 16 year old lad on the brink of sexual awakening. One morning he wakes up to discover he has lost his voice, and can only make the "bwark" of a chicken.

The film is a lyrical lesson in life, love & loss. A fowl fantasy of a fairtyale, with our hero learning that actions speak louder than words.

After years of being teased for being a chicken (especially with girls), his worst fear is realised - it seems he's actually turning into one.

When all he can utter is a "cluck, cluck,cluck", how's he ever going to score his first lay? Our hero has to impress his girl & learn that a person is better judged by what he does rather than what he says.

So how does our boy finally catch his chick? He's going to have to hatch a plan.

Chicken - think Metamorphosis meets Stand By Me. It's sure to be An Affair to Remember.

I was thrilled to win and I can't wait to start making the film. Just gotta write the thing first! If anyone has any ideas about how I should go about this, then please, get in touch.

Get into Character

Taught a low ability (hate that term - does the students no favours) year 9 English group today. We've been reading Stone Cold for what seems like forever and the students are keen to finish the book. Problem is, most of them are self-conscious when reading aloud to the whole group, stumbling over words and often giving up - and this slows the whole process down.

Hmmmm... what to do? Then I had a brainwave - ask the students to read the story in thick Scottish accents. I demonstrated what I meant by reading a paragraph in my own best Glaswegian, asked for a volunteer to do the same, and was beseiged by eager readers.

All of a sudden, the classroom was transformed into a hub of confident readers. They ALL read far faster than usual (even through the giggles) and far less mistakes were made. It seems that reading in character lessened the nerves, the students were no longer themselves, but transported into the pages of the book. And they loved every minute.

Best thing was, for the rest of the day, every time I passed one of the students in the corridor, they greeted me with a cheery Scottish "A'right Miss? How zit goan?"

Next week: Welsh. I'd better go practice.

Technical Theatre Terms and Meanings

What a day! Year 10 Diploma from morning to night and some excellent student research produced (eventually). I also developed an ability to think on my feet, when the lesson I had planned on blogging fell apart due to lack of internet connection. (Note to self - always, ALWAYS have a contingency plan). On the plus side - I made good use of students as resources - they taught each other how to use certain applications (and thoroughly enjoyed imparting their knowledge). I encourage you all to do the same - it sure supports the old AfL.

I'm mentoring the technical theatre team. Today we had to learn the correct terminology to use when describing lighting and sound equipment used in theatrical productions. When I say 'we', I mean 'we'. I have no prior knowledge in this area so worked hand-in-hand with the students to discover more. Illuminating (pardon the pun!)

Here's a link to a wonderful website we stumbled upon that had lots of really useful information:

www.theatrecrafts.com/glossary/glossary.shtml

One of the best features of this site is that students have to know the term before they discover the meaning. In other words - they have to work for it - and are all the more chuffed with themselves when they succeed. Give it a go...

Cornwall Film Festival 2009

Cornwall Film Festival has taken place in Falmouth for the past 8 years, and this year promises to be the best yet. If you're looking for an opportunity to learn more about film - this is the place for you.

From professional development workshops to premiere film screenings, Cornwall Film Festival offers teachers and students alike, the chance to experience what life is like working in one of the most exciting creative and media industries.

I spoke with Donna Anton, festival director, to find out more about what's going on in 2009. Listen to my interview here:


Tickets for ALL screenings, workshops, lectures and events are available from the Phoenix Cinema Box Office.

Phone: 01326 313072
Single Event ticket - £6/£5 conc
Day pass (Sat or Sun) - £15/£12 conc
Weekend pass - £35/£28 conc
Student Weekend Pass - £25

You can find out more about the films and events by logging on to:
www.cornwallfilmfestival.com

I'm particularly interested in The Big Pitcher (Sunday 15 Nov 7:15-8:30, UCF Woodlane Lecture Theatre):

"Now in its fourth year, and still not banned, this wild and chaotic festival favourite returns to give desperate filmmakers the opportunity to pitch for £100 awards to make their next great epic. The catch is that they have to do it in a maximum of two minutes in front of a live audience - who are both judge and jury. Hosted once again by trail-blazing production company o-region, the event will also feature the world premieres of last year's survivors ('winners', we mean 'winners')".

I'm gonna try my luck and pitch my own idea for a film (details to follow - when I've actually come up with an idea). I've managed to blag myself a press-pass for the weekend so there's no excuse not to give it a go. I'll be filming the whole thing for my blog... so watch this space - or - come and join me. What have you got to lose? (Except your dignity).