Fun with Films

1. Mathematics can be an important element in making a movie.  There are 24 frames per second of film, and a film is typically 90 minutes to 2 hours long.  How many frames will be used in a film that is 90 minutes?  2 hours long?

If film stock costs 50 cents per foot, and processing costs are 25 cents per foot, how much will it cost to buy and process 3,000 feet of film?

2. Divide a class into groups.  Assign one group to plan making a dramatic film, another a comedy, another an action film.  Each group is to create a basic story from beginning to end with appropriate plotting.  Have the groups storyboard (draw in visual format) at least a portion of the sequence of the film.  They also will have to decide the angles and shots they would use.  Let each group present its pre-production work.

3. Choose a film the class can see at school and have them take note of the number of shots in a scene, the cutting of action scenes, angles the director uses to convey the feeling of the film, etc.  Also note the credits - who is the screenwriter (or screenwriters)?  Is the editor credited?  If possible, watch two movies by the same director to see if he/she has a distinctive style.  Or find a film remade several years apart by different directors and watch both versions.  Compare and contrast the styles.

4. Assign each student (or class group) to find a book, short story or poem that they think could be made into a movie and give it a script treatment.  Discuss the problems they might encounter making a film from their chosen work.

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Last Updated: 02/16/03
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