by Rebecca Saunders-Tack - Year 13

During the latest winter holidays, I spent four days in Christchurch participating in a Yoobee Colleges School Holiday Film Course. After signing up for the course last year, doing it again was an immediate yes.

On the course was a group of 7 including myself, with our favourite films ranging from ‘Trainspotting’ to ‘Disney’s Cars 2’. Some of us had made short films before, others had never picked up a camera. We were paired up with a young tutor from Christchurch who had already made multiple feature-length films and had a definite love for the art.

The next four days involved;

• Learning script writing formatting and techniques such as where to perfectly place dramatic plot points.

• How to operate a camera and boom mic, along with correct lighting, and what minuscule but crucial elements go into getting the perfect shot.

• Directing artistic and stylized cinematography along with how to bring the best out of our actors.

• And how to professionally edit both sound and visual film to create a smooth and visually outstanding final film.

The first day we were given the task of writing our script, together we decided a zombie film would be a perfect idea (then we could get the special effects makeup team next door to get involved too!). We came up with the short comedic story of an outcast business-man called ‘John’ who desperately wanted a promotion to become a Zombie from his undead bosses, and once realising that becoming a zombie takes more guts than brains he revokes his decisions and comes to a fair compromise with his employers.

The second day was primarily learning how a camera works, how to change the intricate settings and visuals, playing with different lighting angles, as well as getting our hands used to the equipment we were to use.

Our third was a difficult day; filming. I was given the role of head director and script supervisor, running back and forth between actors, cameras, clapperboard claps, as well as making a cameo. It was a lot of stress. But with the help from our amazing actors, behind-the-scenes team, and our eager tutor, the day went as smoothly as possible, and most importantly was exciting!

Our final day was primarily editing on Premiere Pro; making sure we had the right Bee Gees song for our montage scene, making sure our brain-munching sound effects were as gory as possible, and making sure everyone looked like gorgeous zombies on film.

We finished the course with a beautifully completed 3-and-a-half minute film about corporate Zombies and held a screening with all the other students and tutors on the other courses. We were all very proud of ourselves, as well as being very exhausted after a very full week.

All of us went from being apprehensive and quiet at the beginning, to naturally finding what role we shone in and asking if we could all stay friends by the end. Overall the filming techniques and companionship I made over those past four days were exceptional and memorable, and with YooBee Colleges being my move after year 13, I can say that I am incredibly excited for the following year.