One Day Film School

On Friday the 21st, we put our filmmaking skills to the test with the help of the One Day Film School. The day was a wonderful experience as we had the special opportunity to experience what it is like to work on a film set and learned many techniques on how to film.

We started the morning with a tutorial on how to fake a stage punch called a roundhouse punch, and students got to demonstrate. It was a fascinating and very fun activity for us all. During the morning, we also got to learn about film history.

Before we went off to practice making a short film, Josh and Charlie demonstrated how to produce good quality content and edit a film. For example, we learned three different types of shots: wide, medium, and close-up. We also learned how to smoothly operate a camera to produce professional-like shots. Finally, we learned the three things every good script needs and how to create memorable characters and stories that make us care.

Our first task was to create a three-shot story, using the shots we learned, with the theme of ‘surprise’ on the iMovie app. Our group’s film was ‘A Death at Channing’. When we all came back from our groups, we got to watch each other’s films, sharing lots of laughter and rounds of clapping throughout the projects. After watching each film, Josh told us how to improve for our final project.

It was then time for the ten-shot challenge. We were given five themes that our film had to be made within. The one we did was “love, an obstacle.” Then we went to plan our ten-shot film, making sure each person in the team had an important role in the production of the film. After that, we went off to film. Our team’s film was named “I’ll Always be Yours.” It was an emotional story, showcasing the strong love and beautiful memories between an elderly couple.

Once we had finished filming and editing our film, we went back to the Arundel Centre. It was then time for the 2024 Channing Oscars. Mrs. Hughes, Josh, and Charlie from One Day Film School were the judges. They took their seats for the world premiere of our films, watching to decide who would win.

There were three awards: one for best technical achievement, which went to ‘The Bromance’; one for best motion picture, which went to ‘I’ll Always be Yours’; and the best performance, which went to ‘No Banana No’. Our group won the best motion picture award, and we were presented with an Oscar award. Overall, it was a very exciting and memorable experience that we are so grateful for.

By Rafaella C and Tatiana C 7JG