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Lights,
Camera, Action!
We Made A Student Video!
Recently, my French
II class at school has had the privilege of making student French videos.
It was a lot of hard work, but it was fun too. Our class divided up into
groups of five students and got to work. My group consisted of four of
my friends and me. We thought it would be simple; write the play, film
it, turn it in, and get a grade. It did seem simple but it took a little
more effort than that.
First we
had to write the play. Simple as that may sound; we had a few obstacles
to overcome. For one thing, it had to be in French, so that limited our
creativity. Plus we aren't professional camera people or directors, so
we had to think of something simple yet entertaining. We only had six
school days to work on it, and then it wasn't all day. It was only one
hour a day while we were in French class. Unfortunately, our whole group
was in band and this assignment was right in the middle of the busiest
part of the season. It took our lunch periods for the whole week and we
worked right up until 9:00 the night before it was due typing it up and
proofreading it again and again. But we got it in and made a 95/A!
 Next
was filming. This was the hard part. Our play took place completely outside
and conflicting schedules, along with bad weather, put off filming until
the Thursday, Friday and Monday before it was due. Nothing like waiting
till the last minute huh? But even before filming could begin, we needed
credits for the beginning, a narrator, a camera & tripod, and of course
parental supervision. Once all of these things were gathered and the scenes
were set up, filming began. We first practiced the lines and the movement
needed. We used two tapes so we could see where we needed to stand and
how loud to speak.
We called
our practice tape our 'Blooper Tape' and looked at it after every scene.
The lighting caught us off guard too. If one scene was in the daylight
and we were filming after school, we had to rehearse and film before the
sun went down. Our film was only 5 minutes long and it took 2 days to
film. Now I know why a 3-hour movie takes 2 years to film!
But in the
end, we turned it in on time and ended up getting a perfect 310 out of
300 on it! We were so excited that our hard work had paid off. In case
any of you out there are planning on making a video in the near future,
whether for school or just for the heck of it, here are a few tips to
help your movie really get off the ground and impress your family and
friends!
Tips
1) Put a lot of thought into your script; don't over shoot your abilities.
Your play will look better if it is simple than if it is too hard and
looks fake.
2) Give yourself plenty of time. I know it seems like we waited till
the last minute on everything, but it really stressed us out. Filming
is more fun if everything goes smoothly.
3) Learn how to use your camera. Have your parents teach you how to
work the camera. If it has a "fade" ability then learn it and use it.
It adds a real professional look. (P.S. don't forget to take off the
date and time clock.)
4) Use a tripod. You are more likely to get good feedback if watching
your video doesn't give people a headache. Not everyone can handle that
"Blair Witch Project" type filming.
5) Watch your lighting. Be sure you'll be able to see the actors and
actresses when you watch the tape. You don't want it too dark or too
bright.
6) Use 2 tapes. If you do this then you can see how you look before
you film it for real. Plus if you mess up, you can put them behind your
finished video as funny bloopers. Hey, didn't you like the bloopers
on "A Bugs Life"?
Well that's
about everything. Oh, most importantly, have fun! Be creative. So get
out there and start filming. Lights, Camera, Action! Check out websites
like Noodlehead.com to see other
kids videos and get more tips on how you can make your own videos.
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