8th practice – SHORT FILM WITH MOVIE MAKER

PRESENTATION

In this practice we are going to record and edit a short film using the program Movie Maker. There are more powerful programs that can be used for this purpose – making a film - but they are not free.

Movie Maker is quite limited editing sounds and music. So you can use Audacity to record and modify the voices, add music, effects… Here I have included you a video about how to use Movie Maker.

As a general rule, all the scenes will be recorded in your free time with your mobile phones. I am going to give you an authorization that your parents will have to sign. Without this authorization signed you cannot bring the mobile phone to the School and you cannot record any scene in which your faces appear.

The editing process of the music and the images will take place during the classes.

You cannot use music or sounds under author rights because is illegal. However, you can search for free music in the Internet. There are some free music banks such as the ones listed below:

• You tube audio library
• Jamendo
• Musopen
• FreeMusic Archive 
• Dig.cc.Mixter 
• Soundcloud

INSTRUCTIONS

Some instructions to improve the results of your work:

• Write a script of the story even if it is a silent movie. You need to know what to record and the order of the scenes you are going to edit during the class.
• Record the images and the sounds with different phones. The phone recording the voices has to be near the characters in order to avoid disturbing noises.
• Use a clapperboard (or a strong slap) to synchronize with Movie Maker the sounds and the images.
• Record some takes from different angles at the same time.
• If you need to change the extension of your videos (from .mp4 to another format) you can use the VLC program installed in your computer.

GETTING IDEAS

Here you can find some interesting videos about how to record a powerful short film:

FILMS TECHNIQUES

5 TIPS FOR MAKING SHORT FILMS

TRICKS & TIPS: CAMERA ANGLES

I have also included some famous short films and the links to some festival WebPages where you could probably find some inspiration…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbTc81JmQTs 

https://vimeo.com/8076064

http://www.clipmetrajesmanosunidas.org/categoria-escuelas/

FESTIVALS OR COMPETITIONS FOR TEENAGERS

There are some festivals in which you can participate. I include the links to them below. There are more, but unfortunately we are out of date. Should you be interested in taking part in any of them, please, let me know as soon as possible so that we can process all the forms and requirements needed.

https://www.participamelies.com/el-concurso/que-es-participa-melies/

http://www.festivaleducaccion.com/participa/

http://www.educa.jcyl.es/ciberacoso/es/plan-seguridad-confianza-digital-ambito-educativo/actuaciones/realizacion-exposicion-videos-corta-duracion

http://gestiondgmejora.educa.madrid.org/concursocorto/index.php/index/info

If you find about any other festivals and you are interested to take part in them, be so kind to inform me so that we can study the possibility of participating.

TOPICS

Anyway, whether you take part in a competition/festival or not, here you have the topics your short film has to be about:

• Bullying.
• Gender inequality and violence within the domestic and familiar environment.
• Environment preservation and sustainability.
• People trafficking.
• Racism and migrant movements.
• Corruption and how it affects to the countries' development and richness.

When all the videos will be finished we would watch them in the class. Although I haven’t mentioned it before, they have to be respectful with the rest of your classmates, teachers, people or animals. No offensive language is allowed. The reproduction or distribution of these materials outside the class it totally banned. The School will adopt disciplinary measures if you ignore these rules.

So let’s go and good luck!!!