Film holiday 2012
Project description:
On 23-28 July 2012, 30 young people from Łobez County worked under the supervision of two film crews during a workshop called ‘A Film Workshop for Children and Adolescents from the Villages of Przemysław, Bełczna and Prusinowo, Intended as a Way to Stimulate Social Activity’. The ‘film holiday’ brought tangible results - the two films posted below: ‘Bajeczna Bełczna’ (‘Fabulous Bełczna’) and ‘Pewnego lata w Przemysławiu’ (‘One Summer in Przemysław’).
A more fleeting result of the workshop, that was nevertheless most satisfying for the organisers, consisted in the smiling faces of the participants during the closing ceremony and their questions about when they would be able to resume their film adventure.
The young film-makers would not have had so much fun if not for the support of the councils of the three participating villages. We would like to give special thanks to Ilona Wierzbowska and Marek Wierzbowski from Przemysław, Bożena Giermakowska from Prusinowo and Barbara Kordyl and Nina Szuba from Bełczna.
Special thanks also to Ryszard Sola, the mayor of Łobez, and the volunteers from Bonin Foundation who supported the project: Justyna Werbel from Canada, Alex Kuhl, Magda Kuhl and Elżbieta Nowakowska from Berlin, and Małgorzata Rohde.
Description of the first day - 23 July 2012: Welcome and introduction. Presenting the workshop agenda. Dividing the participants into groups. Exploring the local area to find interesting filming locations and subjects. The workshop instructors document the excursion on film.
Description of the second day - 24 July 2012: Learning basic film vocabulary, including the terms frame, take, long shot, medium shot, close-up, scene and portrait. Learning how to use filming equipment. First practical exercises with photo and video cameras. Focusing on a chosen person, object or place, the participants do exercises in which they learn to frame shots, plan takes and use basic filming techniques to show objects and people.
Description of the third day - 25 July 2012: Discussing the material filmed on the previous day. Tips from instructors: what has gone well, what needs improving and what one should be mindful of while setting the camera and taking photos.
Learning basic rules of screenwriting. Discussing the main parts of a screenplay: exposition, midpoint and resolution. Choosing film subjects together and assigning them to participants.
Each participant createstheir own screenplay - the younger children prepare mini-storyboards while the teenagers list the main scenes.
First location shooting.
Description of the fourth day - 26 July 2012: Learning about the term film editing. Learning basic editing vocabulary and how to use editing software. Viewing the footage from the previous day using editing software and initial selection of scenes to be included in the films.
The children continue filming according to their screenplays.
Description of the fifth day - 27 July 2012: Discussing the rules for making a film portrait. Learning about the terminology related to the film portrait genre, including off-camera narration and pseudo-monologue. Recording introductions, final comments and group scenes.
Saving the material filmed on the previous day on a computer. Editing the childrens’ films. The children continue filming according to their screenplays.
Description of the sixth day - 28 July 2012: Preparing the final cut of the films. Choosing the music and sound effects. Choosing and preparing the opening sequences, animation effects and closing credits. Rendering the films and burning DVDs.
Closing ceremony - all the participants receive certificates and gifts from representatives of Bonin Foundation and the workshop instructors. The films made during the workshop are shown to village residents on a big screen.
The films made during the workshop:
