Multifunctional

Our employees have been excelling in Functional Skills Exams this week, but our Year 10 filmmakers have still found time to get out and about with cameras. Check out yesterday’s blog post to see what they’ve been up to.

Our Year 10 employees have also been preparing to curate the upcoming exhibition of BTEC Art and Design work at Myatt’s Corner Café. 

Looking forward to displaying these works of #art @MyattsCafe next month. #BTEC pic.twitter.com/b8WzzGnLvf

— Passport Programme (@Pp2eProgramme) November 23, 2015

We look forward to sharing the final exhibition with both our local and online communities in December.

Le Cinéma... Part 4

 
This week, Shakai and Samantha completed Exercise 1 of this year’s ‘Le Cinéma, cent ans de jeunesse’ film education programme. We’ve added their ‘Météo Minutes’ to the collection we uploaded previously (see below).

Shakai also created his ‘Météo Montage’, a series of beautifully composed shots intended to accentuate the harsh Winter temperature.



Shanay edited her first sequence for Exercise 3. Exercise 3 requires our employees to film the same simple situation in several different weather conditions.

‘The only thing I would change is my actors so the same people don’t get fed up of being in my films. I would also make the scene easier to perform because the people I used didn’t know each other so it was a bit awkward for them. I would also add some different camera angles.’ -Shanay

The stimulus for Shanay's sequence was 'a secret'. As you can see, her first attempt was filmed in mild weather. We look forward to seeing how she approaches the sequence under harsher conditions. Dylan also filmed his first attempt at Exercise 3. Screenshots from his rushes can be seen below.

We wonder how different the first shot might look and feel without a low Winter sun creating such a distinct shadow on the wall, or how different the second shot might be without such an overpowering lens flare.

Next week, Dylan will be enhancing his already-proven editing skills by putting these shots into sequence.

Work Hard, Display Hard

Our filmmakers began shooting simple narratives this week. Check out yesterday’s filmmaking special to find out more.

We’re excited to announce that a selection of Year 10 and 11 artwork produced for BTEC Art and Design will be exhibited at Myatt’s Corner Café next month. The café, part of Myatt’s Field Centre in the Oval Quarter development, will be displaying decorations and other Christmas-themed pieces produced by our employees.

We believe that sharing these finished products is integral to the self-esteem of our young learners, and the perfect way to conclude a BTEC unit. If you're local to the Oval Quarter, stop by Myatt's Corner Café for a bite to eat, and enjoy their work first-hand.

Le Cinéma... Part 3

New starter Christiana captured her ‘Météo Minute’ this week; a peaceful scene of tree boughs shaking in the wind. We’ve added it to the collection of minutes previously uploaded.

Her ‘Météo Montage’ followed a similar theme; a series of shots depicting and/or accentuating the wind. Christiana even decided to desaturate the colours in her montage; an homage to the films of the Lumière Brothers that she watched at the beginning of the session.

Other Year 10 employees moved onto Exercise 3, as Shanay explains…

‘We had to film a short scene in different weather conditions. I brain-stormed it at first then I wrote the treatment.’  

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. 
 
‘It was challenging because I had to move the camera a lot and move around and speak. If I had to repeat the exercise, I would have planned it differently so my actors could understand more.’

We look forward to sharing her film once editing is complete. Dylan also began planning his Exercise 3 film. We look forward to watching him storyboard and shoot his film soon.

All Systems Go

In addition to yesterday’s filmmaking special, we’d like to share some more highlights from our busiest week at Passport yet.

As well as developing her filmmaking skills on Monday, Year 10 employee Shanay took her Maths lesson by the reins on Wednesday. 



She was also awarded her Level 2 Food Hygiene for Catering certificate, along with Dylan, Samantha, and Muhamet.

Shanay wasn’t the only person working behind the camera this week. Year 11 employees began working through Unit 1 of their Creative Digital Media Production BTEC course and getting to grips with our filmmaking kit. We can’t wait to see them develop their skills in the coming weeks.

#AllSystemsGo at Passport today. #English, #Maths, #Art and #Design, and #Creative and Digital #Media. pic.twitter.com/AufagghFQ4

— Passport Programme (@Pp2eProgramme) November 13, 2015

Friday was the busiest day of the week. Throughout the day, classes in English, Maths, Art and Design, and Creative and Digital Media were running smoothly and simultaneously; a testament to the competency of our teachers and the diligence of our young employees.

Le Cinéma... Part 2

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.

Check back soon for further updates, and follow us @Pp2eProgramme.

Passport, je t’aime

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. 

Take a look at Dylan’s video below to see how he was able to enhance some of his photos in Paint.NET.

Dylan and Shanay also began following a curriculum set by the international film education programme ‘Le Cinéma, cent ans de jeunesse’. This project, driven by La Cinémathèque Française in Paris and coordinated in the UK by the British Film Institute, is a great opportunity for our young learners to exercise their creativity while developing new vocational skills and theoretical understanding. 

Check out yesterday’s blog post for a closer look at some of the work they've already produced.

Year 11 employees were getting us in the festive mood this week with their print designs for Unit 1 of BTEC Art and Design (First Certificate).

 

Things are already getting #festive here at Passport. #christmasiscoming #BTEC #artseducation pic.twitter.com/qf34bBP9zY

— Passport Programme (@Pp2eProgramme) November 3, 2015

Congratulations to Luis, who was our employee of the month for the second month running.

Year 10 employees Shanay, Dylan, Samantha and Muhamet also deserve congratulations for earning their Level 2 Certificates in Food Hygiene for Catering. They're now qualified to begin their Hospitality and Catering taster course at Myatt’s Corner Café after Christmas.

Le Cinéma... Part 1

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’. 

This project, driven by La Cinémathèque Française in Paris and coordinated in the UK by the British Film Institute, is a great opportunity for our young learners to exercise their creativity while developing new vocational skills and theoretical understanding.

The theme behind this year’s curriculum is ‘climate’, and the first exercise required our employees to capture a minute of footage depicting the weather, similar to the films of the Lumière Brothers (the founding fathers of filmmaking). 

After studying some of the original ‘Lumière Minutes’, our employees headed out to capture some of their own. Take a look at the video below to see their ‘Météo Minutes’. Both of them capture a foggy morning in Camberwell but feature very different structures and incidents.



The second exercise required them to create a montage of shots, giving a sense of a particular weather type. As you can see in the video below, our employees chose to make the most of the foggy Autumnal conditions.

 

 

For their extension task, Dylan and Shanay also captured some still images of their local scenery, experimenting with shot types and depth of field.

 

 

Next week, we'll hear from the employees themselves as they reflect on the project thus far. We look forward to charting their progress on this prestigious programme.