One Day Film School 2023
Headington U4s put their filmmaking skills to the test with the One Day Film School on Thursday 26th January.
In the morning, they learned the essentials:
- Fight Choreography – analysing James Bond fight scenes and filming their own screen punch
- Camera – learning to use an iPad like a pro, tips and tricks to avoid common mistakes, making a practice three shot film about a theft
- Screenwriting – discovering three key things every good script needs, how to tell a great story, create memorable characters and make us care
In the afternoon, pupils took the 10 Shot Challenge: creating a short film (maximum two minutes) based on a classic narrative (eg ‘someone is kidnapped, an attempted rescue’) for premiering at the end of the day. Pupils chose their own roles within their film crews, covering writer, director, producer, screenwriter, actors.
Most adverts take several months to make, so the challenge of making a successful short film in just ninety minutes can be daunting. However, the groups gelled exceptionally well, showed great leadership and teamwork and no-one missed the deadline. Their final task was to introduce their film, just like at the Cannes film festival, and give it a poster tagline (eg ‘In space no-one can hear you scream’). Then it was time for judges Headington Director of Drama Phil Macken and Young Film Academy representatives, to take their seats and decide which would win the ultimate prize: the Best Picture ‘Oscar’.
Mr Ed Boase, Co-Founder of the Young Film Academy, said: “The standard was very high, so it was a tough decision.
“The Best Picture Oscar was awarded to ‘When Regret Becomes Reality’. It told an engaging, entertaining story which was technically superb: the judges were particularly impressed by the excellent performances and high standard of camerawork, editing and sound design. Congratulations to the winning team – hope to see you at the (real) Oscars one day!”
Mr Macken said: “It was fantastic to have Ed and the team back again for another great day of the One Day Film School. The girls absolutely loved it and produced some amazing pieces of work over the course of the day. We’ll look forward to next year’s return of the Young Film Academy!”
