Scout life through a lens

You’ll need

Coloured pens or pencils
Rulers
Big pieces of paper
Props, set materials and costumes/wigs
Device to record video
Moveable light source
Access to a computer with video editing software

Before you begin

This activity can be done in one half-day session, or spread across several sessions as a long project. Forward planning is important for both. Let everyone know that they’ll be making a film about Scouts, and to bring any outfits, props or other materials that they’d like to see featured in their film to the session.

Run the activity

Everyone should get into small groups. Each group needs to decide what kind of films they’d like to make. One should be an advert and the other a documentary.

For example, will they do a short clips-reel of the best bits of Scouts, or a reconstruction of an activity or game from Scouts? They’ll need to think about how long their films will be. Adverts should be less than a minute, while documentaries can be as long as five minutes.

Everyone should now choose a theme for their documentary and advert. This is the element of Scouts that will feature most in their films. It might be to do with skills, or a character trait like perseverance. Relatable themes might be things like growing up and working together. Groups should share their experiences with one another and come up with a feature of Scouts to focus on that everyone can get behind.

These examples are a good starting point for a theme, as everyone should have a notion of this to work with. However, each group is allowed to think up their own theme, to demonstrate what Scouts means to them.

Give out paper (two sheets per group), rulers and coloured pens and pencils. Each group should split each page into six equal squares. Do this by evenly dividing the pages into three columns, and then drawing a line horizontally through the middle. These will be the storyboards for the advert and the documentary.

Groups may use all six squares or fewer, depending on the length of their piece.

Now the groups can sketch out their scenes in the boxes, starting from the top left. Each scene should feature the theme they came up with, while notes should be made to describe what’s happening and how long the scene is.
At this point, the person leading the activity and the groups should get together to discuss camera care. Each group needs to make sure they look after their device, know how it functions and that it’s adequately charged.

As an extension, groups could make a checklist of camera care dos and don’ts.

Prepare to shoot the scenes, once each group is happy with their storyboards. Plan out the sets and get helpers involved to make sure everything’s where it needs to be at the right time. List and collect all costumes and other accessories that are needed, make sure there’s plenty of light where you’re filming and have each group choose a director to lead their shoot.

A director instructs actors how to act and tells set helpers what needs to be done.

Each group should rehearse their scenes a few times before filming. When everything’s ready and everyone knows what they’re doing, they should start shooting each scene, keeping the screenplay short and snappy.
While filming, each group should use a different camera technique for different scenes. In a completed film, each group will need a panning shot (moving from one side to the other), a zoomed-in shot, a close-up, a long-shot and a shot with extra lighting.
Once all of the adverts and documentaries have been filmed, they’ll need to be uploaded to a computer where they can be edited.
Each group should use their storyboard and other plans or notes to check that their theme is present throughout both films. Edit out any unwanted footage and save the finished films.

Most computers have basic film-editing software built in. Other editing software is available online.

Reflection

In telling the story of what Scouts is like, the groups communicated a theme through their advert and their documentary. Besides the length, what is the key difference between an advert and a documentary, and how are they communicated differently? How did your group work together to get all the planning, storyboarding, shooting and editing done, to the satisfaction of all involved?

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

Phones and cameras: Make sure parents and carers are aware and have given consent for photography.
Online safety: Supervise young people when they’re online and give them advice about staying safe. Take a look at our online safety or bullying guidance. The NSPCC offers more advice and guidance, too. If you want to know more about specific social networks and games, Childnet has information and safety tips for apps. You can also report anything that’s worried you online to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command. As always, if you’ve got concerns about a young person’s welfare, including their online experiences, follow the Yellow Card to make a report.
Music and films: Make sure music and films are age appropriate for the youngest person present.