Spotlight on Learning: Inter School Project Share
Spotlight on Learning: Inter School Project Share
Presented by: Mr. Brian Billo
Course: TV Film 11/12
TITLE: Inter school project share
TEACHER DESCRIPTION and / or REFLECTION: This semester I was contacted by the new drama teacher at Yale regarding us taking part in a share session with our TV Film classes. The idea was that we would come to Yale and see their final projects and then our class would vote on a few “Oscar” type awards: Best Picture, Best actor/actress, and best sound design. We tried to work out busing and schedule, and that part didn’t work out, but we did end up organizing that her classes’ projects were sent to us, and we watched as a class and had a discussion on the eventual winners of the categories. This was interesting as any and all bias is removed as you have to take the movies at face value, with no context about process, ability, experience. Our students in return sent their major project of the semester – A film involving a Heist following the typical structure – to Yale and they responded with their picks. It was all a great experience being able to see what other schools are working on, and we hope to continue and expand this idea for next year.
STUDENT REFLECTION: The Heist project tasked students with making movies that revolved around a heist and its many components. The interesting part came from how much focus was put into each step, some movies putting less focus on the plan and more on the actual heist, while others doing the reverse.
It was a lot of fun seeing the projects that students from other schools made. Watching these projects featuring outlines and even people we didn't know freed any external or pre-emptive biases, allowing us to just enjoy the movies how they were. (They were pretty awesome). Hopefully Yale felt the same way! On a sort of tangent, It would be exciting to expand this sharing to other schools and create a film festival. Imagine a big in-person event with a red carpet gala, or a more casual "bring your family" gathering, involving many schools from Abbotsford and a voting committee for awards. We could include ticket sales and concessions or keep it simple. I'm working on setting this up, so if you're interested or have your own ideas, please let me or Mr. Billo know.