To help you and your students get going quickly with Moviestorm, below are a couple of Introduction lesson plans, created by teachers.
Written by the respected and inovative media teacherand digital educational tools advisor, James Durran, this guide:
provides practical sessions aimed at deliverables to demonstrate an understanding of filmmaking and the software;
provides tools to help students benefit from time spent practicing skills individually or in teams outside of the classroom
It will help if you familiarize yourself with the software and film-making process beforehand. There is a How To and References section in this guide to help you review the main points.
This lesson plan recommends a series of demonstrations and student practice sessions. Students will benefit from spending time between each demonstration to practice that skill, individually, or in teams.
Written by the forward-thinking sixth form media teacher Steve Thorne, this guide outlines how to introduce the Moviestorm tools for the first time, with practical sessions aimed at deliverables that will demonstrate their understanding of the software and the filmmaking process.
Students will benefit from spending time outside of class to practice their skills individually, or in teams.
This well-structured guide is essential reading for collaborative movie-making, explaining how to approach and be successful at such projects:
Explains the roles in a movie crew and helps you decide who's going to do what.
Understand how to get the best out of Moviestorm.
Save you a lot of time further along the process.
Key information for the key movie-making roles
English and Drama | History, Geography and Current Affairs | Arts and Music | Foreign Languages | Computers| Science and Mathematics | Religion | Health Education | Physical Education | Career Development and Business Studies | Miscellaneous
The symbol indicates that there are downloadable resources, typically a Moviestorm file that students can use as part of their work.
These suggestions have been developed in association with teachers around the world, educational organisations, and members of the Moviestorm Education Academy. More lesson ideas are being provided by teachers all the time and added to the Lesson Outline resources listed below *.
Please check back regularly to see what's new.
NB Names for subjects or courses vary in educational systems throughout the world, as do the ages at which they are taught and what is considered appropriate.
Topic | Age | Summary |
---|---|---|
English, Drama & Media Studies | ||
4+ | Create simple videos that demonstrate adjectives. | |
11+ | Students create a short 30-45sec clip advertising either a product or a favorite TV show to understand the techniques used by advertisers to manipulate their audience. | |
14+ | Take a scene from a set play and present it in movie form. | |
14+ | Create a film interpretation of a poem. | |
12+ | Review a book. Explain what it's about, and comment critically on it. If it's a classic book, explain why it's significant in literature. | |
14+ | Do a chat show style interview with a character from a book or play. Get the character to talk about their background, their motivations, and explain their actions | |
14+ | Create a short film about a famous author. Tell the story of their life, and explain why they and their books are significant. | |
14+ | Create a commercial for a book, and try to persuade people to buy it. | |
8+ | Create a short film based on a popular myth or legend, or write your own myth. | |
14+ | Write a short story, or choose a set text. Then adapt it to a film. | |
13+ | * Students recontextualize a hero myth in a contemporary context. They then must find a creative way to present their transformed myth. | |
13+ | * Students to show knowledge of novel studied through creation of a book trailer. | |
13+ | * Students design sets that suit the spatial needs of the production they are designing for. | |
11+ | * Introduce a scene from a well-known Shakespeare play, introduce the basics of using Moviestorm and show examples of the work. | |
11+ | * Take a scene from a chapter of a novel and tell the story in modern day language and place it in a modern day setting. | |
18+ | * Students to research their heritage and visualize their descendants in Moviestorm | |
15+ | * Create an environmental design scape montage highlighting design elements / principles in the environment and a sense of place. | |
13+ | * Apply a different genre to a story to understand genres. | |
15+ | * To explore representations we can construct through animation and then consider how these affect audience response. | |
History, Geography, Current Affairs | ||
14+ | Create a short public service announcement about a topic of your choice. The aim is to persuade people to act in a specific way. | |
14+ | Create a biographical film about a historical person. Tell the story of their life, and explain why they are historically significant. | |
14+ | Present a news show focusing on current events. | |
14+ | Make a short film about a historical event. | |
14+ | Take a famous speech, and film it. | |
14+ | Create a TV-style discussion on a historical topic or event, highlighting different views about it. | |
12+ | Create a short film re-enacting a historical event. | |
12+ | Create a short film about a particular region or place. | |
14+ | Create a news bulletin focusing on a major event in history. | |
14+ | Create a TV quiz show based on a specific theme, period, or topic. | |
Arts and Music | ||
7-9 | * Using Moviestorm for special needs pupils to "compose" and tell their stories in order to share them with other pupils. | |
14+ | Create a video report on a particular artistic style, movement, or period, and explain why they are historically significant. | |
12+ | Pick a piece of music and make a video for it. | |
10+ | Create and add your own blues music to this topical movie. | |
12+ | Create ambient music to accompany a soundscape depicting the seasons. | |
14+ | Create a biographical film about a famous artist or musician. Tell the story of their life, and explain why they are historically significant. | |
14+ | Create a portfolio of artwork and present it in an interesting environment. This could be the student’s own work, the work of an artist being studied, or a theme. | |
14+ | Make a commercial persuading the viewer to buy a piece of art. It should talk informatively about the piece, its history, the techniques involved and the artist. It should also explain the valuation and make the viewer want to buy it. | |
Languages | ||
14+ | Present the news in a foreign language. | |
16+ | Film a business meeting in a foreign language. This could be a presentation, negotiation or job interview. | |
14+ |
| |
14+ | Create a TV-style discussion in a foreign language, highlighting different views about a particular topic. | |
8+ | Create short videos in a foreign language, and ask the students what was being said. | |
14+ | Create a travel report from a foreign country, in the language of that country. | |
14+ | Create a short film based on a set play. | |
14+ | Create a short film based on a set poem. | |
14+ | Create a short film in a foreign language, depicting a typical everyday situation that a tourist might encounter. | |
4+ | Create simple videos that demonstrate adjectives. | |
Computers | ||
15+ | * Create a short film demonstrating the understanding of the basics of programming in C# such as conditional structure. | |
Science and Mathematics | ||
13+ | * Create a tutorial video to present a topic. | |
14+ | Create a short film explaining scientific method. | |
12+ | Create a video explaining a scientific concept. | |
14+ | Do an on-screen debate about green issues such as recycling, alternative fuels, global warming, or biodiversity. | |
14+ | Create a biographical film about a famous scientist. Explain the key elements of his or her work, and show why they are significant. | |
16+ | Do a weather forecast, using weather data drawn from public records. | |
6+ | Create simple videos that demonstrate numbers and simple mathematical operations. | |
14+ | Create a short film demonstrating the understanding of some element of basic statistics and how they apply to the real world. | |
12+ | Create a short film about a famous mathematician. Tell the story of their life, and explain why their work is important. | |
16+ | Create a promotional or informational video about working in a particular field of science. | |
Religion | ||
12+ | Present a Bible story or parable (or equivalent from another religion) as a video. | |
Health Education and Citizenship | ||
12+ | Create a public information program about the benefits of a good diet, or any other similar positive health practice such as smoking cessation, drug avoidance, or regular exercise. | |
8+ | Create a short film on a topic such as bullying or stranger danger. | |
16+ | Create a public information program about a topic such as AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases, gender identity issues, or family planning. | |
13+ | * Students create scenarios of digital citizenship that can be shared and discussed by other students, to decide what is a good digital citizen today | |
Physical Education | ||
13+ | Create a movie which shows the interaction of a team members during a tactical situation. | |
14+ | Explain the rules of a sport. You may choose to focus on a specific rule. | |
14+ | Create a biographical film about a famous sporting personality. Tell the story of their life, and their role in their sport. | |
13+ | * Create a movie explaining the process of TOTAPS - the method used for assessing soft tissue injury. | |
Career Development and Business Studies | ||
16+ | Create a film about a company or business, explaining what it does. | |
14+ | Make a TV commercial for a real or fictional product. Limit yourself to 30 seconds. | |
16+ | Create a promotional or informational video about working in a particular job. | |
16+ | Create a short film demonstrating interview techniques. | |
Miscellaneous | ||
10+ | Make a video informing students of events taking place at the school. | |
12+ | How to use Moviestorm |
A downloadable version of the cross-curriculum lesson ideas, suitable for a range of different courses, ages, and curricula. These suggestions have been developed in association with teachers around the world, educational organisations, and members of the Moviestorm Education Academy.
Students will be able to….
Learning about people and politics Grade 8 Students will understand that…
Students will be able to….
Qualified teachers have started sharing their lesson plans on 3rd party sites. Here are some links to a selection of them. Keep checking back to see what's new!
This lesson will provide an introduction to using Moviestorm for storyboarding
See also our guide Using Moviestorm to create storyboards
This lesson is about producing promotional media.
See also our guide Using Moviestorm to create storyboards
This lesson provides an introduction to narrative theory and using scripts. Students create an animated movie from a script using Moviestorm
This lesson provides will provide an introduction to camera shots and movements.
See also our guide Making Better Movies with Moviestorm Vol 1: Basic Camerawork
This lesson will provide an introduction to using static and moving cameras.
See also our guide Making Better Movies with Moviestorm Vol 1: Basic Camerawork
These lesson plans support the following qualifications:
If preferred, this series of Lesson Plans can be downloaded from a number of external teaching resource sites:
A range of self-guided e-books, with exercises designed to improve filmmaking skills using Moviestorm.
This book, designed for self-guided study, enables students to develop their skills through filming scenes in several different ways.
Exercises cover common situations such as:
Students are also asked to experiment with filming techniques including:
“Spot on. The exercises are set up in a very logical, progressive way.”
James Martin, University of North Texas
“Excellent - great for schools and colleges alike. The tone of the writing is perfect - neither patronising or too authoritative.”
Jezz Wright, Blockhouse TV
Download workbook of exercises
Exercises cover common situations such as:
Students are also asked to experiment with filming techniques including:
“If someone goes through the book and does the exercises, they're going to come out a better filmmaker, no question”
Hugh Hancock, Guerilla Showrunner
“A really good primer for any film student, especially all crammed into 40 pages.”
Andrew Segal, Carshalton College
Download workbook of exercises
Exercises cover techniques such as:
“A very fine job on sound and lighting.”
Ricky Grove, Machinimator, sound designer and actor
Download workbook of exercises
Exercises cover techniques such as:
“ Anybody making not just machinima, but any sort of live action or animated films, will benefit from this informative series of books.”
Kate Lee, Chat Noir Studios
Download workbook of exercises
Previsualisation is a powerful pre-production technique that has the potential to reduce production and post-production costs and also help you make better movies. Some proponents of previsualisation claim that this technique can reduce shooting time by up to 50% and cut post-production time by up to 25%.
Explains the basic process for creating a storyboard from Moviestorm and the key concepts of animatics and storyboards
Identifies two different approaches to animatics and how to choose which is right for you, then explains how to generate your animatic with Moviestorm, and convert it into a storyboard.
Index
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Introducing Moviestorm to a class
Cross-curriculum lesson outlines