Microsoft Education has a Digital Storytelling e-book that contains resources, project ideas, and information you may find useful for your classroom filmmaking activities.  Since it’s a Microsoft product, the editing software highlighted in the e-book is Windows Movie Maker and Photo Story. 

We recently discovered a fabulous site about digital storytelling created by a teacher in Missouri.  Krissy Venosdale’s site http://greatdaytolearn.com/digital_storytelling/portfolio.html contains:

-       Definition of digital storytelling

-       Portfolio of student projects

-       Sounds & music resources

-       Assessment resources

-       Image resources

-       Storyboard tools

-       Software and technology resources

Enjoy!

Disney/Pixar’s Wall-E (trailer) was without a doubt one of my favorite movies of 2008. The expert use of simple, but effective story techniques and visual storytelling made this movie a masterpiece in my mind. Ever since the movie came out on DVD and I was able to watch it with Director’s commentary I’ve been referencing it in my storytelling lessons.

As far as I’m concerned, this movie should be considered a blueprint for how to film a movie. Wall-E’s filmmakers subscribe to the idea that you should be able to watch a movie without sound and still understand what’s going on, and Wall-E definitely accomplishes this. For a movie that features very little dialogue, Wall-E is extremely easy to understand, and can be a great lesson for students.

 Wall-E would be a great addition to your teaching library. Watching the first 10 minutes of the film can begin a great discussion with your students about how to tell a story visually.

Below, I’ve included several resources that explain analysis about the film and the steps leading up to its creation. I’ve found it interesting to see how much work went into Wall-E before the filmmakers even sat down at a computer to create the characters. Andrew Stanton, the Director, explains that Wall-E was his full time job for four years, and a significant portion of that was dedicated to the first 15 minutes of the film.

Click here to see a video about the creation of Wall-E featuring interviews from the filmmakers. The video is on Youtube, so you may not be able to view it in your school. Even if you don't show it to your students, there's some great information here that you can pick up for yourself.

Here is an A.V. Club interview of Wall-E’s director, Andrew Stanton. It’s pretty interesting to see some of his inspirations. Also, pay attention to how much of the discussions leading up to the creation of the film had to do with the story rather than the technology used to create it.

Click on this link to see how Karen J. Lloyd’s storyboarding blog go into some serious detail about how the Wall-E’s shot selection tells the story.

            Finally, this film analysis blog points out the brilliant use of visual storytelling in Wall-E, and how it might not be for everyone.

There have been a few requests from teachers for us to mention some movies that are a good example of various filmmaking techniques. Below is a list of films to check out:

Shot styles and composition – Watch the first scene of "Napoleon Dynamite." Have students comment on the types of shots they’re seeing and how the director uses the rule of thirds and different angles to tell the story. Remember, this is our first introduction to Napoleon, what is the audience learning about him?

Lighting  - As far as lighting goes, it’s difficult to get students to have a discussion about what lighting is “good” because lighting can be very subjective. My suggestion is to have students watch specific moments from films and have them discuss what the lighting says about the character. Windows MovieMaker offers some tips on lighting as well.

Take a look at the final act of “Return of the Jedi” specifically the final fight between Luke and Darth Vader (find link to that clip here - must have access to youtube)***. During this scene, Luke hides in the Shadows from Darth (this happens at about 3:19 in the youtube clip). This scene is lit where half of Luke’s face is in the light, and half is in the shadows as Vader tries to lure him to the dark side. Have students discuss what Darth Vader is saying relates to the lighting of the scene. ***zamzar.com is a way to download video off websites to your computer. Contact us with questions.

Additionally, the film “E.T.” is full of interesting lighting that students can analyze. Pick a scene for students to watch and have them pay attention to its lighting. How does the mood of the scene relate to the lighting?

Documentary – Pick up the documentary “Spellbound.” This is a brilliant film about students competing in the national spelling bee.  Pick a scene in the movie and have students watch through it. Students can identify the different elements of a documentary they noticed (interviews, b-roll, music, etc.) and discuss their opinions. [You can review documentary filmmaking in your iDEA curriculum].

Storyboarding - You can find examples of storyboarding in the DVD "Bonus Features" for both Snow White and Monsters Inc. Be sure to purchase the 2-disc set containing bonus features. DVD bonus features are a great place to find examples demonstrating film concepts.

Don’t hesitate to pick any film your students are familiar with and would enjoy. Every movie using lighting, sound, and shot styles, so every movie can be analyzed. It helps when students know the movie well, they will stay more interested and have a clearer sense of how these filmmaking techniques fit into the film as a whole. 

Storyboarding can be a great process for students, especially those who struggle with writing skills. A storyboard is a visual representation of how your film will turn out. Think of it as a comic book for your movie. A storyboard shows, shot by shot, what the audience will see on screen.

            The storyboarding process doesn’t begin until your students have decided exactly what will happen in their film. If your students have enough writing skills, have them write a story synopsis first (refer to the previous post to find out about writing a synopsis). Ideally, each sentence in their synopsis will be a different frame in the storyboard.

            The advantage to storyboards is that they will help students be able to project how their film will look and have an easier time filming. Make sure students draw each storyboard frame to reflect how they will film it. A wide shot in their film should look like a wide shot on paper, same thing with close ups and medium shots. Students can draw arrows to convey camera movements.

            One thing to watch out for is the way many younger students or first time filmmakers will approach storyboarding. They tend to create frame after frame of full body stick figures, even if the storyboard occasionally calls for close ups and medium shots. Always remind students that the storyboard should look the way things will look on camera.

            Fortunately, many DVDs contain samples of storyboards in their special features. Many of them have side-by-side comparisons of the final film. Below is a short list of DVDs that have storyboard samples.

Panic Room (3 Disc Special Edition) (phenomenal storyboard feature, but watch out for the language around eight minutes into it)

Monsters Inc.

Back to the Future Trilogy

Dragonwars

            Be careful though, many of the special features will be on the second discs, and renting the DVDs at Blockbuster will only give you the first disc. So you’ll need to purchase the DVD to view the special features.

            Another option for teaching storyboarding to students is to have them watch a brief sequence from a film and storyboard that themselves. I recommend the first few minutes of Let Them Eat Cake on your iDEA DVD or the opening scene of Napoleon Dynamite.

To find more about storyboarding along with some blank sheets, refer to pages 41-46 in your iDEA book.