Filmmaking journey: From scratch to screen Erasmus Project

Project Title

Filmmaking journey: From scratch to screen

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for Schools Only

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Inclusion – equity; EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy

Project Summary

The project “Filmmaking journey: From scratch to screen” aimed at experiencing the value of film and its creation in education. It focused on educating students to use video in ways that are educationally enhancing, responsible and empowering. Through collaborative structured filmmaking projects our students learnt such skills and techniques as scriptwriting, understanding of lighting and sound, camera angles and different types of shots, storyboarding and scene planning, and video editing. We also created the right environment for the development of other valuable skills such as how to work collaboratively, assign roles, negotiate aims and meet deadlines, all of which was done in the target language (English), thus creating opportunities for genuine communicative language use.
The project started with basic filmmaking training for the project coordinator and colleagues from each partner school during the first transnational meeting in order to have a clearly defined starting point from which our level of expertise could be increased. The training was conducted by an English-speaking expert from our associated partner The FMK Trnava in Slovakia. The trained participants collaboratively created the basic content of a filmmaking manual, which was gradually further expanded after each of the students’ trainings (camera work, script-writing, lighting, sound, and video editing carried out either during the short-term student exchanges or online collaborative sessions on our TwinSpace), and eventually published online to help other teachers and students with school filmmaking activities.
In a further step, the teachers also agreed in advance on the samples of various short films genres which were screened by our students separately in each institution and which followed a short introduction of short films background and theory. The schools also formed “Film clubs“, where after-viewing discussions about filmmaking, film ideas, and film messages were developed. Afterwards, five international groups (of 10-20 students from each country) were formed and the students discussed and chose some of the concepts and issues of media literacy to be explored through their collaborative process of short films making. The process itself was divided into 3 stages: pre-production (carried out mostly online through different online platforms but during personal meetings of students as well), production (carried out during short-time exchanges of students), post-production (the students’ editing collaboration online and in the professionally-equipped film and radio studio on the premises of the FMK Trnava, Slovakia, assisted by filmmaking professionals). During all this joint learning and work, five international short films were created, which were officially screened by a wide public at the very last short exchange of students in Slovakia. The films were screened within the two-part “video news“, whose main goal was to cover all the most significant events and steps in the lifetime of the project. After the screening, the viewers were also invited to see the photo exhibition “Behind the scenes“, which depicted the project through the pictures taken during our meetings.
However, apart from media literacy short films produced in joint-international teams, other forms of video production were explored, by having students also taken part in the two film competitions announced by the project coordinators and created additional short films in small national teams which were sent to different short film competitions and won different prizes.
The project “Filmmaking journey: From scratch to screen” opened up completely new horizons for all participants. It brought such new experience, skills, and abilities to our students and teachers that its official end will definitely not mean the end of our filmmaking journey. For all of us, this project was just the beginning of our further quest into filmmaking.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 134750 Eur

Project Coordinator

Stredna priemyselna skola Svidnik & Country: SK

Project Partners

• Agrupamento de Escolas de Casquilhos
• IES FIDIANA
• 11th Lyceum Peristeriou
• SUPS sv. Anezky Ceské, Ceský Krumlov