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Languages' Film Première
26 September 2011
In June 2011, the Languages Faculty was successful in its bid for some funding from the ‘Schools of Creativity’ scheme to support the promotion of language learning.
Following an initial launch, a group of 24 pupils in Year 9 worked enthusiastically at weekly meetings after school to familiarise themselves with a range of film scripts in other languages. The pupils then sub-divided themselves into smaller acting groups and selected excerpts from famous Hollywood blockbusters ranging from ‘Shrek’ and ‘Star Wars’ to ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘The Wizard of Oz’. Pupils were encouraged to work independently in a number of different ways. For example, some groups decided to adapt the scripts using vocabulary they had learnt in their Languages lessons, other groups worked hard on pronunciation of the original scripts, and all pupils worked together to decide what sort of costumes they would need and what acting skills they would use.
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Two meetings involved a visit from our colleagues at the Shootme Film Company (based in Bristol). The first meeting was a very informative workshop where the pupils were taught a little bit about the use of green-screen technology as well as how to create a storyboard. Each group produced its own storyboard using a special template and submitted English subtitles for their scripts. On Tuesday 12 September, Shootme came into school for a whole day to film the excerpts using their professional lighting, cameras and green-screen technology. The pupils had surpassed themselves over the summer holidays in preparing for this filming day and attended their filming sessions in incredible costumes, many of which were hand-made. All had learnt their scripts in French, German or Spanish by heart. Filming was great fun and everyone was very excited when the Premiere night finally arrived on Wednesday 21 September. Over 80 pupils, parents and attended the premiere night in the school’s main hall, which had been transformed into a cinema for the evening, complete with popcorn. Pupils introduced their own work and reflected on what they had learnt. As each excerpt was screened, we were mesmerised by the realistic backdrops which replaced the green material we had seen during the filming session. Headteacher, Chiquita Henson, was impressed: ‘The quality of the pupils’ films was superb and the confidence with which they delivered their lines in foreign languages was exceptional. I particularly enjoyed the extracts from ‘Shrek’ and ‘Forest Gump’.' At the end of the evening the Oscar was awarded to Henry Blackaller and Oliver Holt for their Spanish version of ‘Star Wars’. Second and third prizes were awarded to Maddi Tibbles, Hannah Holt, Rosie Driscoll, Charlotte Ellis, Brydie Hodgson (‘The Wizard of Oz’ in French) and Finlay McLellan, Niall Lees, Gabe Freer, Matt Owen, Sam Pywell (‘The Italian Job’ in German) respectively. ‘The project was thoroughly enjoyable,’ said Fiona Moss, Advanced SkillsTeacher, who lead the project. ‘It culminated in a lovely evening to celebrate the pupils’ talents. We are enormously grateful to Shootme for their expertise and help in making the idea for this project a reality.’ |
The Wizard of Oz 
The Italian Job |
Parent and governor, Chris Perryman, observed ‘“It was a very entertaining 45 minutes! Once again, I sat in the audience thinking what a privilege it is to be the Link Governor for Languages at CDPS. Well done to all involved!”
Fiona Moss, Advanced Skills Teacher
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The winning groups and Miss Moss |
Winners Henry Blackaller and Oliver Holt |
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