TEACHER'S NOTES

This ‘Cinema Senses’ booklet has been designed to give primary children a greater
understanding of the cinema experience. It will stimulate their awareness of the cinema
as much more than a showroom for films. It encourages them to look at the cinema as a
market place, as a building full of technological wizardry and as a building of sociological
importance in any town or city.

The information provided within this booklet has been designed to be used as a
workshop within the framework of National Schools Film Week (however, it could be
used at any time of the year). The majority of local cinema managers are often willing to
allow manageable school groups into the cinema during quiet times for tours - morning
sessions for example. The workshop will give pupils the chance to explore behind the
scenes giving them a greater understanding of how a cinema is run and the way in which
a film finally comes to be screened.

In order to give the workshop a framework, ‘Cinema Senses’ as its name suggests, is
keyed into the use of the five senses. The children should be encouraged to consider
which of their senses are being used at any one stage. As well as stimulating them to
think of the cinema as more than a venue, this aspect of the workshop can be used to
highlight the different ways in which those people with disabilities respond to the cinema.
It is up to you to decide how far to investigate this but there is certainly scope for serious
consideration.

Many curriculum areas are covered although the focus is on English. Maths and statistics
in the cinema are dealt with in a separate guide entitled ‘Cinema & Maths’ which can be
obtained from Film Education.

The worksheets have been intentionally left open-ended. With all the different types of
cinema buildings that exist today it was impossible for us to come up with a detailed
version that could be used in any and every cinema.

The following notes might be of some assistance in your preparation

MAKING CONTACT
In order to maximise the potential of your group visit to the cinema, early planning is
essential. A visit to the cinema before you carry out the workshop is recommended
enabling you to be better equipped to respond to your own cinema by adding specific
information to each section of the workshop. Your local cinema may not have had much
experience of dealing with school parties. However, most managers are very keen to
establish links with their neighbouring schools and will do all they can to make your visit
both worthwhile and enjoyable.

The success of your workshop will depend upon the level of involvement of the cinema
staff. A prolectionist who is willing to explain the intricacies of the projection room and
staff who will make popcorn or answer your group’s questions will help bring the cinema
to life. Rather than risk being disappointed on the day it will benefit your group if you can
arrange, in advance, for popcorn to be made, trailers to be shown etc.

©Film Education 1
 WELCOME TO THE CINEMA!
* On arrival take your group to an auditorium for a general introduction and, if
possible, introduce the cinema manager at this stage.
* Find out what your group already knows about this or any other cinemas.

* Who has been to this or any other cinemas before and how regularly?

* Explain the differences between the old cinemas and new multiplex cinemas
making clear which type of cinema the children are in.

* How old do they think the cinema is?

* Is this their first visit?

* If so, what are their first impressions?

* Do they like/dislike it?

* How would they describe it to someone else?

FIVE SENSES

Establish the five senses as the theme behind the group’s tour by running through them
at a level appropriate to your group. Go through the first worksheet with them entitled
Welcome to the Cinema! (page 4). Let them know that the ‘senses chart’ should be filled
in throughout their visit.

©Film Education 2
 THE FOYER
Now take your group out into the foyer. Establish this as the first place that the general
public sees - as an entrance it is important.

What do they notice straight away? It might be that they are drawn towards the box
office, it being the principal function of the foyer. Perhaps they notice the posters,
standees and mobiles advertising various films?

Encourage your group to walk round. Ask them to look around taking note of everything
they can see in the foyer: box office, sweet counter, posters, bins, plants, carpets and so
on. Work through their charts (pages 5 and 6) making clear the function each area serves
and the priority given to each area. The children are asked what they can touch - make
sure they realise not to take this too literally!

Further attention should be given to the box office and to the sweet counter.

The Box Office

•Ask the children to look for clues which help cinema-goers work out what films they are
legally entitled to see.
• How do members of the public actually buy their tickets? (Ask the manager in advance
ifs/he will run off some dummy tickets for you.)

The Sweet Counter

For most cinemas the sweet counter is where the money is made - selling tickets for films
comes second to this! (Ask the manager in advance of your visit if the group can see
popcorn being made. Ask if the process can be explained to them, ending with a tasting
session.)

The children might like to find out a few statistics at this stage about how much money is
taken at these two areas, for example, the quantities of popcorn eaten in a week.

THE AUDITORIUM
Take the children back into the auditorium The first point to make is the difference
between watching a film in the cinema and watching television at home - space,
darkness, tipping seats, a tiered auditorium, surrounding sound, watching in the company
of so many other people and screen size should all be considered.

Put each point into context exploring why these differences exist. Aim to draw out points
about enjoyment, concentration etc. (Check with the manager how many seats are in the
auditorium you will be sitting in.)

If you have a particularly young group it might be worth reassuring them at this stage that
although they are in the dark they are by no means on their own!

After they have filled out the section ‘Watching a film’ (page 9) themselves go through the
answers with them explaining from where the film is projected, and where the sound is
coming from. You may need to make sure that the children are aware of the difference
between television and film projection.

©Film Education 3
 (Check in advance with the manager/cinema projectionist to see if the group could watch
two trailers, one without sound and one with both sound and vision. This will help pupils
appreciate the impact not just of a sound track but of sound that surrounds them at high
volume.)

Explain the function of a trailer - non-stop advertising, to whet the appetite of a captive
audience, to encourage return visits on a future occasion.

THE PROJECTION ROOM

This is the heart of any cinema where films are prepared for screening and then
projected.

(Try and arrange for your group to see reels being spliced together, for a film to be laced
up and for the mechanics of the projector to be explained. Given a vogue outline of what
happens the children usually have plenty of questions and will seek an explanation at
their own level.)

A souvenir off-cut of film will give an idea of the moving images and the way in which film
works, film being a series of still frames projected at 24 frames per second. (Ask in
advance if the children can take a piece of film away with them.)

©Film Education 4
 WELCOME TO THE CINEMA
Cinemas have been around for over a hundred years and are changing in
appearance all the time. There are smaller cinemas with one or two screens and
there are multiplexes with eight or more screens.

What kind of cinema are you at? Write down the name and address of the cinema
along with the number of screens.

Name of cinema

Address of cinema

Number of screens

USING OUR SENSES

When we go to the cinema we go to SEE a film. However, we use far more than our eyes
when we are at the cinema.
During your visit you will have the chance to think about the way in which we use all of
our five senses as you have a good look around the cinema.

Here are our five senses

©Film Education 5
 TASK
As you walk round the cinema think about which senses you use. There will be
times when you use only two or three and there might be times when you see,
hear, touch, smell and taste - all at the same time! As you visit each place in the
cinema write down what senses you have used in the chart below.

THE SENSES CHART

PLACES I VISITED SENSES I USED

THE FOYER

a) THE BOX OFFICE

b) THE SWEET COUNTER

THE AUDITORIUM

THE PROJECTION ROOM

As you walk round the cinema you may want to ask questions. List below anything that
you want to ask or facts you want to find out during your visit. To start you off one
question has already been filled in.

QUESTIONS AND FACTS

How many films do you show here each week? Answer ______________

©Film Education 6
 THE FOYER

The FOYER is the first place you enter when you arrive at the cinema.
What happens in the foyer? Take a good look around you for some clues.

What can you SEE?

What can you HEAR?

What can you SMELL?

What can you TASTE?

What can you TOUCH?

TASK
Two of the most important areas in the foyer are the BOX OFFICE - where you buy
your tickets to see a film and the SWEET COUNTER - where you buy drinks and
things to eat. Which senses do you use in each place? Fill in the chart given on
page 6.

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 THE BOX OFFICE

What information do you have to give to buy a cinema ticket? With a friend take it
in turns to practice buying a ticket. What would you have to say?

Try and find out how many tickets are sold each day?

How much does each type of ticket cost? Look at the prices for both
children’s and adults’ tickets?

What is the most popular film showing at the moment?

TASK
Find out if you can have a copy of a ticket to stick in the space below. If not, try and
draw one. Find out what all the information on the ticket means.

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 THE SWEET COUNTER

What types of things are on sale?

Can you find out how popcorn is made?

Can you find out how much popcorn is sold in one week?

Can you find out what the most popular sort of food/drink is?

What is your favourite sort of food/drink on sale?

©Film Education 9
 IN THE AUDITORIUM

Once you have bought your ticket and popcorn it is time to take your seat in the
AUDITORIUM or screening room - this is the room where a film will be shown inside the
cinema. The cinema you are visiting probably has more than one.

How many seats does the auditorium you are sitting in have? Try and have a guess before
asking the manager.

MY GUESS

SEATING

WATCHING A FILM
When you watch a film you not only SEE the pictures on the screen you also HEAR the
sound coming from speakers. Together, what you SEE and what you HEAR tell you a story.
Look around and see if you can spot from where the film is PROJECTED - where the
pictures that appear on screen are coming from. Now identify where the sound from the film
is coming from.

THE FILM IS PROJECTED FROM

THE SOUND IS COMING FROM

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 Now you are going to be shown a couple of film TRAILERS. These are advertisements for
other films that will be shown at the cinema. In two or three minutes, using pictures and
sound, the trailers give you an idea of the whole story of a film. But what if the sound were
turned off? Would you still be able to understand the story of the film just by watching
carefully?

TASK
Watch the first trailer without sound and see how much you can understand just by
watching carefully. The second trailer will have pictures and sound. Listen carefully to
all the sounds and list some of the ones you remember in the box below.

SOUNDS I HEARD

IN THE PROJECTION ROOM

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 IN THE PROJECTION ROOM

While you are sitting in the auditorium turn around and look behind you. High up on the back
wall you will see two or three small windows. If a film is running a light will be shining
directed onto the main screen. These are the windows of the PROJECTION ROOM.

The projectionist has to work very hard in this room to make sure that the film quality you
see looks and sounds as good as possible. Try and find out the answers to the questions
below and add any more facts you find out about the PROJECTION ROOM

The PROJECTION ROOM is where all of the films are put together and projected onto each
screen in the auditoriums in the cinema.

QUESTIONS AND FACTS

How many PROJECTORS are there in the PROJECTION ROOM?

What was the longest film shown in the cinema and how long was it?

Has the projector ever broken down? If it did what happened?

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 The projector should look something like the drawing above and is very complicated to use.
Ask the projectionist to show you how it works. Where does the film go? How does the film
end up being projected onto the screen?

Ask the projectionist to show you a piece of old film. (If you are lucky you may be able to
take a piece away with you.) If you look carefully you will see lots of little pictures on the film.
Find out how many of these are shown per second.

Don’t forget to say thank you to the manager and projectionist for showing you around. A big
thank you should also go to your teacher for arranging the visit to the cinema!

©Film Education 13