Exercise 48 Designing a film poster.

Design an advertising poster for a new film. First, study several different film posters and answer the questions:

- How is the information on them arranged?

- Where is the title?

- Is there just one picture or are there several?

- What do they tell you about the film?

- How many actors and technicians names appear in the credits?

- Does the poster include one or two sentences which describe the film?

(For example, 'In space no-one can hear you scream'- Alien)

Try to make your poster as original, colourful and interesting as possible.

Exercise 49 Storyboarding a trailer.

 

Storyboards are drawings which show, shot by shot, what's going to happen in a scene. They don't have to be very good or contain a lot of detail - they're just to show the director how the scene will look. Draw two or three storyboards for a one-minute trailer.

First, choose a film you've seen recently.

Next, decide how you'd promote it on the screen. Select which clips you'd show and

arrange them in definite order. After that, draw a storyboard for each clip.

Finally, write a short script to go with your drawings. It should fit with each one and make peoplereally want to see the film.

 

Exercise 50 Writing a report on the cinemas in your city.

Compile a 'Cinema Questionnaire' and give copies to your fellow students. Ask them to fill in the questionnaire next time they go to the cinema. Here are some examples of questions you could ask:

- Do you think the seat prices are... low/OK/high?

- Is the sound quality… poor/OK/good?

- Are the seats...uncomfortable/comfortable/very comfortable?

- What are the three best films you've seen this year? etc.

Read and discuss their answers. Then write a report about the best and the worst cinema in your city.

Exercise 51 Writing film reviews for the University magazine.

Do you ever read reviews before you go to the cinema? Do you agree or disagree with them? What do you think a review should do? Should it...

a) just tell you who's in the film and what the story's about?

b) explain why the film is wonderful/good/OK/bad/awful?

c) both?

Read a selection of film reviews in newspapers and magazines. Decide what kind of reviewer you want to be, (a), (b), or (c). See a new film and then write a 200/300 word review (in English, of course). Compare your fellow students’ views with your own. Did you agree or disagree about the film?

 

Exercise 52 Compiling a movie quiz.

Test your family and friends with a 20-question 'Movie Quiz'.

Here are some ideas for the sort of questions you could ask:

 

- Name three films starring _____________________

- In which film did ___________ say '______________'.

- What is_________________________ 's real name?

- Who wrote the book which ________________ is based on?

- In which country was '____________________' set?

- One of the following stars wasn’t in '_____________' Which one? ___________

etc.

 

Exercise 53. Match the definitions and film types:

(thriller, science fiction film, sequel, cartoon, horror film, musical, action movie, comedy, war film, western)

1. a film about cowboys and life in the 19^th century in the American West. ________________

2. a film that is intended to make you feel frightened, for example one in which people get attacked by strange creatures, or in which dead people come to life. _______________________________

3. a film that is intended to make you laugh. __________________________________________

4. a film that has a lot of exciting events in it, for example people fighting or chasing each other in cars. __________________________________________________________________________

5. a film about life in the future, often with people or creatures who live in other parts of the universe. ______________________________________________________________________

6. a film made using photographs of models or drawings, which are put together to look as if they are moving. ___________________________________________________________________

7. a film about people fighting a war. ________________________________________________

8. a film that tells an exciting story about something dangerous like a murder or a crime. ________

9. a film in which part of the story is sung to music. ___________________________________

10. a film which continues the story of an earlier film. _________________________________

Exercise 54 What word is being defined?

1. All the people who act in a film ________________________________________________

2. The people who watch a play at the theatre. _______________________________________

3. The person who holds rehearsals. _______________________________________________

4. Journalists who write articles about films and plays. _________________________________

5. The name of the articles they write. ______________________________________________

6. Images, often created by a computer _____________________________________________

7. Person in a film who has a small, unimportant part, e.g. in a crowd scene ________________

8. The most important actors or actresses in a film. ____________________________________

9. The person who designs sets ____________________________________________________

10. Transcription (usually translation) of the dialogue of a film that appears at the bottom of the screen._____________________________________________________________________

11. The music of a film. __________________________________________________________ 12. A part of a film happening in one place. __________________________________________

13. The story of a film. __________________________________________________________

14. The person who heads the camera crew _________________________________________

15. The written words of a film ____________________________________________________