Year 9 Boscars

This year as well as years before, year 9 had to create short films as their English project. At first, year 9 learnt about different aspects of making a film like mise en scene and lighting, as well as props, costumes, sound, and more. We looked at some openings of films and had to write an essay on why those films decided to use those specific techniques. Then, we had to plan and create our films, edit it, and write an essay about the techniques we used and why.

When I heard what our next project for English was, I was really excited. I love making films and had made attempts of making some with my friends before. To be honest, at first, I was a bit disappointed when I heard that we can’t do horror movies. I think many of us were looking forward to making horror movies, but I’m glad that there was a challenge. I liked learning about different things film directors have to keep in mind because it gave me a different view when I am watching films. I also enjoyed acting for our film. Because my group decided to do a Charlie Chaplin styled film, it was a challenge to act in that style, especially mastering the walking. I liked the planning part too, as we had a lot of discussions on who’s idea we should choose and why. My group wanted to create a creative movie that would stand out from the others. This is why we decided to make a Charlie Chaplin styled film.

I was also very exited to see what my classmates have created, and it was funny to watch the final products. We had a movie lesson where we could bring in snacks and we watched all the films we made. Some of the movies were funny to watch, though, some were serious. But it was very interesting to look at the movies, as you could “watch how everyone had different interpretations of an uplifting movie” said by a classmate.

My overall experience with this unit was really good, although I think that there could be an added winner for the most uplifting film as the task was to create an uplifting movie. But I think that this is a great unit as I learnt a lot and had fun. It helps with a lot of skills too, like teamwork and creative thinking. “The experience was fun as we were able to create our own story and adapt it into a short film.” Said one of my classmates. I think that many people can agree with me, that this was a really exiting unit.