Film language

The workshop groups worked on the making animation which was based on a plot - a proverb interpretation, a fairy tale or myth adaptation, and with the animated commentary to the everyday situations. Each time there were made animations created according to the rules of the film art.
Obviously, the goal of the project was not professional film making, but running the workshop in the way which approached professionalism as close as possible, attempting the work rules according to which film teams work. This attempt was based on facing the participants with difficult tasks, which entailed concentration, responsibility, special sacrifice, but also knowledge.
Film knowledge was conveyed in two manners - first, by the series of successive meetings devoted to the history of cinema, secondly, by gradual introducing the concepts of the film language during the practical use (light, sound, editing).
The first meetings of this series were dedicated to the beginning of the film art. We are presenting it as experience of groups working in Poland.

Assumptions and goals

The goal of this part of the project was to present film as a field of art and pointing to its strong connection with technique, including multimedia. For most participants of the project - children aged 8 to 12 - film means nothing except entertainment. In many Polish families the word "film" is the only item in the TV listings.
The goal of the described workshops was to point to film (it was animated film in particular during successive meetings) as a proposal to fulfill talents and imagination which is extremely rich in means and methods; and as a source of reflection, but also the manner of expressing it - in other words, to the field of art.
The participants of the project used the tools which they were entrusted with in a conscious and effective way. Children who have never before sat in front of the computer or held a camcorder, after eight months took the roles of operators, scenographers, film editors, proudly and with full responsibility.

Meetings topics

The beginnings of the film art - the showing of first films

We do not recommend to begin the classes with a lecture, we do not recommend to begin with the cinematograph definition or the afterimage phenomenon. We do recommend to start with the words: "At the turn of the century, one French conjurer made over five hundred film within fifteen years, one film a fortnight. The title of one of them is "Voyage to the Moon", and then begin the display. The first classes of series should be a long presentation of Georges Melies" films (because he is being talked about here), Lumiere brothers, or Charles Chaplin. It should be a few technical curiosities, anecdotes, several words about the epoch, but only few dates, numbers, commentaries, or analyses. It is because charm and the professionalism of the pioneers thrill even those who cannot name all the emotions yet. This is a conscious maneuver of "seducing" by so called "old cinema".
Our suggestions of titles are: Georges Melies" "Voyage to the Moon", Lumiere brothers" "Train arrival in the station" "The gardener", Charles Chaplin "The kid".

Film concepts - frame, motion

These concepts will be perfectly introduced by a practical exercise - game - the construction of the zoopraxiscope.
In 70"s of the nineteenth century the first mechanical shutter was constructed by Edward Muybridge, who made a series of photos of a running man. Frames which move quickly in front of the observer"s eyes, give the illusion of constant motion. It was the first film. The first motion picture.
Firstly, one should make a series of drawings, in this way that every subsequent picture is different from the previous one by one change in the motion. For example, if it is a little man raising his hand, on each subsequent drawing the hand should be drawn higher, always at the same value. These drawings should be glued to the strip of cardboard in a proper order, and little holes should be cut between them. Now, the cylinder should be closed in this way that drawings are inside. The illusion of the motion picture can be acquired by rotating the cylinder and peeping inside the cut holes. There can appear stricte technical problem - how to make the cylinder move - it can be suspended on a thread, on a stick, or put at the old record-player. It should not take more than two hours total. Cardboard, glue, thread, and pencil are needed to make drawings.
The other simple method of presenting the rules of animated motion is a popular play, where there is a series of drawings made in the corner of a notebook, which present the subsequent phases of motion. film ilustration When one turns the pages very fast (holding the corner with the thumb), it gives the illusion of motion.
This exercise illustrates one of the most important effects which are the basis of the existence of the cinema, television, computer image, etc. - so called "after-image". Shortly speaking, it consists in that the image, when it disappears from the sight or after closing the eyes, is visible for people for a short moment (although they not always realize that) and so to say it is "recorded in the brain". Thanks to that, next images, shown at the proper speed, are perceived as a whole. The minimal speed of showing the subsequent film frames, so that they give the illusion of continuity, is twelve images a second; the film standard is twenty five images a second.
The participants were introduced into the world of animation kinds by the projection of a few films. Very diverse kinds were consciously selected (collage animation, flat objects animation, three-dimensional figures animation, celluloid animations, computer animations, etc.). It was not necessary to watch them entirely, one representative part was sufficient.
One had to also convince the participants that it is worth watching these parts for the second time, but this time without the sound. Then one can point to takes, scenes, film sets, and image drama. Then watching for the third time, now with the sound again, one can hear how the music was selected, what sound effects were applied, or if there are dialogues present. This lesson was a lesson of practical application of basic film language concepts.
basic film language concepts