Sustainability through film

Sesame Street: It's Not Easy Being Green (Kermit's Song)

What will you learn?

 What sustainability is and why it is so important
 How the 3Cs and 3Ss (camera, colour, character, story, setting and
sound) can inspire curiosity about sustainability
  Resources to plan and shoot films that promote sustainability
 Practical film-based activities on how to lead more sustainable lives
 Insider tips from the film industry and its commitment to more
sustainable practices.
How do you motivate change without frightening us all into a blind panic?
Have any films driven you to take action in your own life? What were they
about and what made them so inspirational?

PART 1
A. Breaking down film
The six core elements of film
Film can be segmented into six manageable, core elements. These are called the
3Cs and 3Ss: camera, colour, character, story, setting and sound.

By using the 3Cs and 3Ss we can start to break down film’s own rich eco-system.
By paying attention to colour, character, camera, story, setting and sound we
become more attentive to the intricate details of film.
Watch the short film, “Time To…,” a beautifully made film by 17-year-old
Orlaith, who won runner-up in Into Film’s Nature in your Neighbourhood
competition in 2020. The competition asked young people to share their
experiences of lockdown life in their local area, to create a time capsule of films
made by people of different ages, backgrounds, and from all walks of life. The
young people did a fantastic job of highlighting the importance of maintaining
green spaces and their positive impact on public health and mental health.

In the case of Time To…, the 3Cs and 3Ss help us to consider the beauty and
significance of the natural world. It’s a perfect film to delve into because its
exploration of the beauty of the environment reminds us of the reasons we fight
to protect it through sustainable measures.
Choose one or more of the elements listed above and think about the following
questions as you watch the film.
 What can we tell about the character? How do you think they are feeling?
 What colours are predominantly used in the film, and how do they
contribute to the overall tone of the film?
 You will learn more about camera shots soon, but can you recognise any
shot types? What effect do they have?
 How does the soundtrack make you feel?
 Where is the film set? How can you tell?
 What is the film about? Were there any surprises?
Discuss your ideas and how all elements work together to portray the beauty of
nature.
Take a look: you can find more prompt questions using the 3Cs and 3Ss in
Prompt Cards (PDF).

B The importance of sound

As we saw in the previous step, a soundtrack can be just as effective as dialogue
in driving a film’s narrative forward. If you have ever sat in a cinema and watched
a film with professional sound equipment booming around the auditorium, you’ll
know that sound design is an integral element in the irrepressible power of film to
move us, excite us and electrify our senses.
Sound design can consist of several different elements:
 ‘In-camera’ sounds captured during the original recording
 Foley sounds (additional sound effects created in a studio using objects and
added in during editing to emphasize real sounds)
 A score (a piece of original music composed for a particular film or scene)
 Other soundtracks gathered from copyright-free music and sound sites,
such as: Incompetech, Bensound, Purple Planet, Freesound, and the
YouTube Audio Library.
Foley activities are a great addition to any music lesson – hours of fun to be had!
Watch our tutorial video with Foley artist, Peter Burgis, to learn more.
Exploring sound, through film watching and analysis, allows students to immerse
themselves in a film without having to struggle with the difficult scientific
language of a written text. In this way, sounds can encourage to develop a greater
understanding of the messages behind a film.

C. Exploring plastic peril-” Save Bobby the fish”

The environmental problems that plastics, especially in single-use form, are

having on our environment are becoming more and more evident. While some
shops and cities are banning plastic and other retailers are implementing zero
usage of plastic straws and cutlery, we can all play our part in reducing plastic use.
Plastic is one of the key concerns among young people, and many of them are
choosing to use tote bags, paper straws and reusable bottles instead of
contributing to the plastic problem. Littering, and the impact of plastic on ocean
life, are favourite topics for exploring through film and filmmaking.
Plastic also features heavily in the Eco-Schools’ topic of Waste Minimization as
well as the overall concepts of Circular Economy and reducing pollution.
“Save Bobby the Fish” made a huge impact not only on the young people who
made it, but lives on as a source of inspiration long after they have left the school.
The pupils, aged 10–11, watched Disney film
Paperman https://youtu.be/mM6cLnscmO8
and were inspired to tackle the issue of single-use plastic by transforming rubbish
into a short film about pollution in our seas. We caught up with the teacher and
Into Film Club Leader, Rachel Lees, and a few of the pupils she teaches.
To the pupils, all aged ten:
Why is sustainability important to you? What do you care about most?
Alice: We live by the sea so I really care about the place we live as well as the
entire world. So I care about reducing plastic pollution in the seas.
Melanie: Plastic pollution is making the oceans worse and killing so many
innocent animals. I want to change that and I believe small actions can make a big
difference if we all do it.
Sylvia: I love sealife! That’s why I care about the climate and the animals in it. I
don’t WANT our world to be destroyed. I don’t WANT animals dying because of
careless people!
How has the legend of Bobby the Fish lived on in your school?
Melanie: Our school has tried to recycle our paper and plastic and we have helped
to turn our classroom plastic free. We hope to spread this across school!
Oscar: We are trying to protect animals in the sea because we live near the
seaside by reducing our plastic!
Alice: We are all very careful about not littering or using single use plastic.
Sylvia: People have always thought of Bobby when they are trying to reuse and
recycle in school.
Rachel, how do you think the children benefitted from the experience – of
making “Save Bobby the Fish”, but also being generally eco-aware in your class?
The reaction to “Save Bobby the Fish” was overwhelming and the children were
blown away by the support they received around the world. It has made not only
the children involved in making the film, but all children across school more eco-
aware. We have made eco-bricks in a bid to reduce the amount of single use
plastic that is being thrown away. The children also helped in making my
classroom plastic free and are brilliant ambassadors for reducing plastic pollution.
Do you have any ambitions to make more films with your pupils (about
sustainability or otherwise)?
Absolutely! I have Film Club starting with Years Three and Four soon. They haven’t
been able to take part in it yet due to the pandemic, so I’m very excited for them
to experience all the brilliant opportunities it has to offer. I like to let their
interests guide the films that we watch and the activities that we do but making
more films is definitely something they are interested to do.
Do you have any tips for teachers looking to do something similar?
I would say just go for it and enjoy it! Let the children’s interests guide you. Talk
about the types of films they enjoy watching and what’s important to them. It’s
great fun and all children can be involved in many different ways:
creating props, writing the script, filming, editing. Seeing the confidence of all the
children involved grow has been amazing – it’s been a journey for all of us and
we’ve learnt so much from the process.

D. The Story of Plastic

Watch the short film, “The Story of Plastic”. As you watch the film, consider:
 What do we learn about plastics?
 How has animation been used to tell ‘the story of plastic’ in an accessible
way?

E. Camera shot types

We’ve heard a little about film analysis using the 3Cs and 3Ss but before we move
onto some light touch storyboarding, it’s time to learn more about some core
camera shot types and angles and what they’re used for.
First up we have the extreme long shot. Also referred to as an extreme wide shot,
it conveys contextualizing information to the viewer about where action in a
scene is taking place or sets a character in their context. For this reason, an
extreme long shot is often used to establish context and setting at the start of a
film or a new scene. When used in this context, an extreme long shot can be
described as an ‘establishing shot’.

Next we have the long shot, which can also be called a wide shot. This generally
shows the full length of any featured characters from the feet to the top of the
head and is used to show a character in relation to their immediate surroundings.
In this instance, we learn more about the environment the characters inhabit –
here it is a school. The shot enables us to see the characters interact through their
body language, enabling the audience to draw conclusions about the characters,
such as understanding that they are friends.
The mid shot or medium shot generally shows the character from the waist to
the top of the head. It enables the viewer to see facial expressions in combination
with body language, to show emotion. For this reason it is great for dialogue
shots. In this example, it makes perfect framing for a news-style report so we can
see the reporter’s face, whilst the framing of the body allows for us to see the
reporter’s formal body language.

The close-up is often used to show a character from the top of the shoulders to
the top of the head. It’s used for capturing a character’s facial expression,
heightening emotions and building tension. It’s another great shot type for
dialogue.
And lastly we have an extreme close-up, when an object, item or body part fills
the frame, which is used for emphasis, showing detail and, once again,
heightening emotion. In this instance, the focus on the second hand of the clock
suggests that time will be an important factor in the sequence to follow.

Let’s now move onto camera angles.

The shot below is a high angle. Angles can use any of the framing types we’ve
discussed above, but the camera must be positioned at an angle looking down at
the subject. Generally, a high angle is used to make the subject within the frame
seem small, isolated, vulnerable or less powerful. The extremity of the angle can
be altered, often causing the desired effect to be more or less impactful. In this
case, the high angle is used to make the characters seem even more vulnerable.
The low angle can also be used in combination with any camera shot type, but
the camera must be positioned down low at an angle looking up at the subject.
Generally, a low angle is used to make the subject within the frame seem large,
imposing, daunting or more powerful. The extremity of the angle can be altered,
often causing the desired effect to be more or less impactful. In this case, the low
angle wide shot of these trees makes them look dominant, reinforcing the power
of nature.

As you and you learners experiment with shot types, framing and angles, you’ll be
able to create some really interesting combinations and think about adding in
camera movement in too, such as pans, tilts and even tracking shots.
Take a look at the PDF documents: Camera shot types, Camera angles and
Camera movements resources.
F. Storyboarding simple swaps
We have seen that unnecessary plastic use is one of the biggest threats to
creating a sustainable world. However, each of us can play a part in tackling this
problem.

Small collective actions and their ripple effects can certainly make a big wave. Film
and filmmaking are powerful tools for advocacy, and give young people
meaningful outlets for their ideas, hopes and feelings.

Digital storyboard

Storyboards are a great way of making a film more sustainable; after all, the
better the planning, the less waste there is during production.

G. Caring for the community

Watch the highlight above from the youth-made documentary (and a recent
winner of our ‘Film of the Month’ competition), Coronavirus: Overcoming
Adversity as a Community.

Aodhán, the young filmmaker, chose to tell the story of the COVID-19 pandemic
and the way his community responded to it, through a series of interviews. The
film is available to watch in full from our Vimeo shorts playlist.

While watching the highlight, reflect on the way that Studio 2 has taken small
steps to ensure that the basic human needs of the most vulnerable in their
community are being met. Use Circles of influence (PDF), to consider how
actions of groups like Studio 2 can create a positive ripple effect on
communities. Working your way from the centre of the circle outwards, note
down the positive impacts that their free meal programme may have on the
community and beyond.

H. Internal motivation, wider impact

Attempting to live a completely sustainable lifestyle is challenging on a number of
levels, but as we have seen, even small actions can make a sizeable impact over
time.

Watch the highlight from the youth-made film, “Germinal”, and consider how
growing your own vegetables, fruits and herbs could create a more sustainable
future, as well as having a positive influence on your own life.

Using a similar ‘Circles of influence’ approach from the previous step, briefly
consider all of the positive ways in which this vegetable patch could make a
positive, sustainable contribution to the community. The example in the
documentary can be scaled down – a small vegetable patch in the school
garden, or even a windowsill herb garden, still makes a positive contribution! It
also supports curricular targets in science and geography, for example, by
adding contextual understanding to topics such as how vegetables grow, the
land required to grow them and how humans need them to survive.

Identify an area of sustainability you care most about. Use the Role on the Wall
(PDF) to think about:

 Your motivations for wanting to do it, how it will impact on you and your
class mentally and physically (inside the person outline)
 External, wider impacts in the community or even globally and in the
future (around the outside of the person).

Used when watching any film about any topic, Role on the Wall is a great activity
to examine internal motivations of characters, their thoughts and feelings, as well
as how they act externally and how other characters perceive them. If you’d like
to practice with an existing film or idea first, use the sheet in conjunction with the
people we meet in the “Germinal” highlight.

I.‘ Hands on’ for collective responsibility

Consider the ‘call to arms’ in the youth-produced short film, Time is Up. The film
uses poetry and simple but effective editing techniques to suggest that if we each
take small steps to become more sustainable, the impact on our planet will be
significant.
Shoebox set design
A great design and technology activity to begin thinking about making positive
changes in your immediate environment is by redesigning your space in a
‘shoebox set design’ task. This activity is perfect for kinesthetically designing and
dressing a film set, but in this instance can also be used as a plan for how to
improve a personal space that you inhabit, such as the classroom, the playground
or your bedroom.
By repurposing an old shoebox and other waste materials, you can design a new
space with as many simple sustainable features as possible. Perhaps you could
include a recycling station, a vegetable garden, solar panels or recycled wall art?
Engaging in ‘hands-on’ filmmaking activities (such as prop or costume making, set
designing and storyboarding) has been seen to give us greater and even
‘extended’ time for deeper introspection and reflections. They create a safe space
for discussion.
Here are some examples of shoebox set design in action. While they’re not
necessarily sustainably-themed, you can get a feel for what the concept looks like.