Putting Pacman in the Classroom - Karen Anderson

Computer games are now more widely available than ever and present a massive opportunity to grab our pupils' attention and engage with them in a new way. You may have introduced games as a learning tool, but wouldn't it be great if you could make your own computer games? You could tailor them to your pupils, your subject, the areas you want to make more interesting or accessible. What if your pupils made their own games, demonstrating their learning or playing each others' to learn more? This workshop will give you practical experience in games design using free software. Don't we all learn better when we're having fun?

Image, Text and Sound with Final Cut Express - Tom Barrance

We'll start this workshop by looking at some examples of film title sequences and how they combine images, text and sound. Then it's your turn: you'll be given the text of a poem, some still and moving images, and some music and sounds. Your task is to put them together using montage techniques. Using the affordable but powerful editing program Final Cut Express, you'll edit to the rhythm of music, and you'll learn the basics of 'compositing': layering and combining images and text, and adding motion, effects and transitions.

Sound and Light - Martin Phillips, Tim Arnold

Many promising student video productions are marred by poor (or no!) lighting and indifferent sound. Doing exactly what it says on the tin, this workshop will consider these two important elements of the creative process, focusing on the expressive effects which can be achieved even with the simplest equipment. Participants will work in groups to devise their own son et lumiere.

Reading and Editing Film Trailers - Julie Green

The Primary Framework for Literacy recommends the analysis of film trailers as persuasive texts. In a short space of time, a trailer can establish genre, mood and atmosphere and give suggestion of character, plot and key themes.

Film trailers are ideal moving image texts for Primary literacy, as they can be watched in one sitting and read as a whole. The power of editing, sound and language combine in a trailer to excite and influence audiences. Trailers are narrative constructs as well as persuasive texts. During this workshop, after an introduction on moving image analysis, delegates will edit their own engaging film trailer with transitions, voiceover, music and sound. I will also demonstrate how the activities present valid opportunities for assessment for learning.

Those who work in the upper Primary sector, or who are responsible for the transition stage between Primary and Secondary will find this workshop useful.

Supporting Literacy with Animation - Oscar Stringer

A hands-on session exploring the basic principles of stop motion animation. Working in small groups you will create a short animated adaptation of your favourite myth or legend. The session will give you helpful tips and tricks suited to the classroom and the confidence to get animated!

25 Shots - Ian Wall

For the last 20 years I have been moderating students' practical work and one thing still remains patently clear. They know what they want to film but are not sure how to go about it. How do you convey exactly what you want to convey through a shot? How do you edit shots together to make the impact that you desire?

And how do we make our students think about the endless possibilities of the filmic shot?

This workshop will look at the idea of the camera frame - how you actually decide on what type of shot you can film (the aesthetic possibility).

Through an exercise which combines both shooting and editing material we will explore the visual possibilities with regard to the selection of possible shots and different ways of editing these shots together.