Last week, our Year 10 employees began following a
curriculum set by the international film education programme ‘Le Cinéma, cent
ans de jeunesse’. The theme behind this year’s curriculum is ‘climate’. You can view the work they produced
for Exercises 1 and 2 here.
This week, Year 10 employee Shanay reflects on Exercises 1 and 2, and practices her analytical skills.
'Our first exercise was to record a minute of footage. There
were no unexpected things that happened in mine but in Dylan’s a few unexpected
things happened. In one shot, a woman walked past, three cars went past, and
later on a bird flew past.
My second exercise was to make shots that were 10 seconds
each but we had to make several of them. I think I enjoyed it because I haven’t
done something like this before and it’s always nice to try something new. I
thought it would have been boring but it wasn’t. I learned how to use the
camera properly. I also learned how to use a tripod which I haven’t ever used
before. I learned a bit of French as well.'
Year 10s also practiced some film analysis. They studied
clips from two separate films, both featuring snowy landscapes, and observed
the different ways in which weather is used in them. Here are Shanay's observations...
The Empire Strikes Back
'The weather was very snowy. It created a tense atmosphere
because I didn’t know if they were going to survive. It affected their
behaviour because they had to find shelter because of the weather. Also, if it were
a nice sunny day, they wouldn’t have had to cut open the animal.'
Citizen Kane
'The weather in this clip was also very snowy. The little boy
was happy at first. He was playing with snowballs and the sledge. It made me
feel like I wanted to be there.'
Ahead of Exercise 3, our employees watched scenes from a
selection of films and recreated their storyboards. This helped our employees
to understand the purpose of different shot types, and how to plan their own
films effectively. They even began mapping ideas for Exercise 3, which requires
our employees to film the same short narrative in different weather conditions.
We were delighted
that Shanay, a participant in La Cinémathèque Française’s ‘Le Cinéma, cent ans
de jeunesse’ film education programme, chose the Lumière Brothers as her Arts Hero(es). 
This week climaxed with the launch of the BTEC
Art and Design Christmas exhibition at Myatt’s Corner Café next to the Oval
Quarter development. Our Year 10 employees selected and arranged some of their
own creations, as well as work produced by Year 11 employees for Unit 1 of BTEC
Art and Design. The work will be on display throughout December for all visitors
to admire.
Our filmmakers began shooting simple narratives this week.
Check out yesterday’s filmmaking special to find out more.
She storyboarded her scene, allowing her to plan
the shoot more thoroughly. She’ll soon repeat the exercise to see how different
weather conditions affect the way in which the scene is staged.
She was also awarded her Level 2 Food
Hygiene for Catering certificate, along with Dylan, Samantha, and Muhamet.
After Year 11 employees performed brilliantly in last week’s
Media skills workshop, Year 10 employees were invited to participate in the
same workshop this week. 
This week, we’re bringing you a special blog post in
addition to our Friday bulletin. We're excited to announce that our Year 10 employees have begun to follow the
curriculum for this year's cycle of the international film education programme ‘Le Cinéma, cent
ans de jeunesse’. 
On Wednesday, our Year 11 employees participated in a Media
skills workshop. Their brief was to create a short promotional video,
advertising the Canon 1200D DSLR camera. First, they took portrait photographs of
each other, and captured scenic shots of local plant life. 
On Thursday, our Year 10 employees met with the staff at
Myatt’s Corner Café in preparation for their Hospitality and Catering course in
January. Staff explained the importance of rigorous hygiene practices and
outlined the basic duties that our employees will be undertaking. We look
forward to seeing them in action after Christmas!
