Creating Films in the Classroom

In my junior year of high school, my English teacher was a first year graduate from Kent State. She was phenomenal. We had so many activities that enhanced my experience and made plays like Macbeth and Hamlet much more memorable. For Macbeth, we were assigned to make a movie. We creatively made a newscast from Scotland, incorporating the plot and the characters. We had so much fun making the film together and I think that this is the reason I remember the film so well.

We did not pay much attention to shots, angles, lighting, and overall quality of the film.. However, it was the 2005-2006 school year. Honestly, times were different! Not everyone had a laptop with cool movie editing programs. We certainly did not! However, we made the film and loved it. We thought we just hilarious and the assignment was incredibly meaningful.

As for Hamlet, we watched the version of the film with Mel Gibson. I don't remember any special assignment that went along with the movie, but I did watch it and like it. When I came to college and took Intro to Shakespeare, I was an expert on Macbeth and Hamlet and more eager to read Othello and King Lear.

I think that making movies is a very meaningful activity that I will want to use with my students. The possibilities today with technology are endless. There is so much room for creativity. I can't wait to hear what Dr. Kist has to say about film in the classroom!