Logic
Sometimes when I am putting together a film, I feel like I’m in the middle of a giant algebraic equation. So many decisions in filmmaking are affected by so many other decisions. IF it is sunny we WILL shoot Scene 16 by the lake with all the actors and props required for that scene, BUT IF it rains THEN we will shoot the interior scene in the cabin living room. There are so many decisions that are interwoven into all of the other decisions that filmmaking requires the development and utilization of good logical thinking skills.

In the classroom the process of filmmaking requires students to imagine what they will need to make their movie. As they are asked to develop a strategy of planning, production and editing, they start assembling a logical series of events and resources to make it all come together. Regardless of whether this process is articulated on paper, or simply considered in their minds, that process will occur.

Planning
A feature film is very rarely filmed in sequential order. This is because time, money and other resources can be better utilized if similar scenes are shot at the same time. Often these scenes are grouped by location, or by actors, or by equipment availability. Filmmaking in the classroom enables students to explore their own planning and time management skills as they estimate, budget, schedule, analyze and revise their filmmaking projects. The results of poor or proper time management can be examined and used as yet another learning tool in this process, so that there is a constant self-analysis of what works and what does needs a new approach.

Analytical
Another skill which is invisible to the movie audience, but which is essential to the filmmaker, is the ability to critically analyze information. As a director, when I am standing on a film set, my role is to take in all the information about the scene that I have researched and all the new information that I am receiving from the actors, the crew or the location. Then I analyze it against my vision for that particular scene. It is about looking at all the information and deciding what should be included and what should be left out. It is about filtering on your feet. Later, during the editing process, I will look at multiple takes of the same shots, and multiple shots of the same scene, and decide, after I look at all of this information, which film footage best illustrates what I am trying to communicate and what I want to explore. As long as we continue to be overloaded with information and continual decision-making, the development of analytical processes will be an important survival skill for students.

Beyond the Classroom
Now more than ever, filmmaking in the classroom can play a strategic role in engaging student learning and in encompassing multiple educational objectives. The goal here is really to enable students to experience these skills in the classroom as part of the preparation for them using it in their own worlds beyond the classroom. When students have opportunities to solve problems, budget, schedule, analyze, research, plan, imagine and communicate their ideas to others, they are building real world skills. And although their films may never be up on the big screen, the experiences learned and the skills developed will make them much more than better filmmakers, they will become better thinkers, better communicators , and better problem solvers, and it seems that ultimately, this is what this planet needs.

Nikos Theodosakis
Nikos Theodosakis is a filmmaker, educator and author of the book The Director In The Classroom: How Filmmaking Inspires Learning You will find more information on filmmaking in the classroom at his website http://www.thedirectorintheclassroom.com Contact him by e-mail: nikos@thedirectorintheclassroom.com ©2001, Nikos Theodosakis.

This article contains excerpt s from the book: The Director in the Classroom: How Filmmaking Inspires Learning, by Nikos Theodosakis, it is published by Tech4Learning, 2001. Permission to share this article was given to Pinnacle Systems by the author.