A role playing WebQuest for THE403 Independent Film
Photo http://www.greenwichfilmfestival.org/
Designed by
Jon Simpson
jonsimpson@jonsimpson.com
Introduction | Process |
Activities: Week One |Week Two |Week Three |Week Four
Resources |Evaluation | Conclusion | Return to THE403 HomePage
Introduction
If you trace the history of your favorite filmmaker back to his or her artistic origin, it is a safe bet that they probably started off with a short film. (The puppet stuff from 4th grade doesn't count.) Whether they did a three minute or a 30 minute film, most filmmakers first tested out their tools and skills in a short film where they get a chance to exercise their storytelling skills and their filmmaking prowess.
In this activity, you will play the role of a burgeoning filmmaker at the very start of his/her career. After some case studies and some research, you will be ready to calibrate you compass and set sail on your independent filmmaking career by submitting your very first short film to one or more film festivals.
Preparation:
Identify class members who have access to the following movie making equipment:
Camera: Preferably a digital mini-dv camera or something equivalent. What other ways can you tell a story? Still pictures? Scanned images?
The Process
Each week you should have a meeting with the members of your group.
ACTIVITIES FOR WEEK ONE:
- make a list of three or four of your favorite independent filmmakers.
- research the filmmakers careers to discover what they did prior to having a career as a filmmaker. Did he/she do short films? Plays?
- did the short film launch their career? or did the short film just serve as a skill building exercise?
- is there any way you can review the short film? is it online somewhere? included as an extra on a DVD?
- write a one to two page recap of your findings.
Week one Web Resources:
ACTIVITIES WEEK TWO:
- share your work from week one.
- each member of the group should inform the other members about their findings on their favorite filmmakers.
- analyze the differences between the filmmakers. Which approaches were the most effective, and which ones fell short of expectations?
- for each film festival, research what types of films they accept, lengths, what formats (film vs digital), other requirements like entry fees, applications, forms, filmmaker biography, etc. plot all the results in the spreadsheet matrix so it can be sorted by the different fields (formats, due dates, etc.).
- in microsoft excel or another spread sheet, create a matrix which you are going to fill out for all the different film festivals. should you limit your search to just the united states?
- for next week, each group member should spend some brainstorming time about possible content or topics for your first short films. Look around you to find inspiration. Think about point of view.
Web Resources for Film Festivals
ACTIVITIES FOR WEEK THREE:
- share your work from week two.
- eliminate some festivals, and rank the most probable festivals in order
- one of the team group members consolidate the festival matrix into a final form.
- each member present two or three ideas for possible short films.
- as a group, narrow the ideas down to two possible short film ideas.
- each group member take the two possible short film ideas home, and spend time thinking about ways to approach the topic creatively.
ACTIVITIES FOR WEEK FOUR:
- share your work from week three.
- each group member should discuss the creative results of their individual time creating.
- eliminate the short subjects and decide upon one final project.
Evaluation
Describe to the learners how their performance will be evaluated. Specify whether there will be a common grade for group work vs. individual grades.
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Developing 2 |
Accomplished 3 |
Exemplary 4 |
Score |
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Conclusion .
By the end of this webquest the students will have an understanding of the feasibility problems facing them when trying to get a group to make a film together. In working together, I hope they will experience troubleshooting logistical and creative differences and acquire a glimpse into the difficulties of making an independent short film.