The 90-second Newbery Film Festival is coming up. Time to start making movies again.
I started making movies with my students in 2019. The idea was daunting. Impossible. But I wanted to try. I originally wanted an authentic reason for having my students read a Newbery book. Now I include this project because of the movie-making.
The kids loved it. They had fun. But it didn’t go as planned. They couldn’t write the script. I ended up being the script writer, director, and cameraperson.
The next year was covid. We made our movie online. The next year we tried again. I had more experience. The movies got better.
And then my computer crashed. I couldn’t make movies. I started using Adobe Express and found out the students could make the movies on their own.
Each year I try to begin earlier, but each year we always rush. It’s already December and the students haven’t written their scripts. We have begun writing, but there is so much to teach before they can write their script.
They have to understand the story first. One group chose to work on The Westing Game, but when I asked them who killed Sam Westing, I knew they didn’t understand the story.
But I will let them try. The students love making their movies. Whether or not they get to make their own movie, they will still get to participate and make a movie as an extra.
They learn so much with this experience. They have to summarize a book. They have to turn their summary into a skit. They write dialogue, make props, and act. They get to be directors and camera people. They get to edit and produce their own movie.
I get to watch them learn and grow from their mistakes. Mistakes are what helps them get better. I can lecture and teach all I want, but the best way is for them to try first.
When I show their scene and all the characters are standing like statues reading their lines, then they understand the need for camera positions, reading with expression, and action.
Last year we didn’t make the deadline. It was fine. We finished our movies in May and had a film festival for their families and the other students. I think that was more important.
This year we will work on our movies in January. If we don’t make the deadline, it will be fine. We can finish our movies in May, after all the testing. And they can celebrate their movie making success with their families and the school.