Documentary films are nonfiction movies intended to show some aspect about our world in order to educate, influence or make a historical record. The goal of a documentary film is to bring a real life story to an audience through photos, videos and narration. They can be a fun and effective vehicle for sparking enthusiasm for digging deeper into a topic. 

Even 8-year olds can apply the basic skills of research and image collection and progress through content organization to presentation of a documentary movie project.

Documentaries are not only educational, but they are also the most accessible form of filmmaking. All you need is access to the internet. Research is done to gather existing photos and video that can be incorporated into the film. There is no need for heavy equipment or high tech. Digistars® programs use Ken Burns style editing which is a skill that can be learned by anyone. Applications in the Google suite are universally accessible and can be used to produce a documentary film.

Documentary films are nonfiction movies intended to show some aspect about or world in order to educate, influence or make a historical record. The goal of a documentary film is to bring a real life story to an audience. They can be a fun and effective vehicle for sparking enthusiasm for digging deeper into a topic. 

Are you a teacher who wants to assign documentary filmmaking but don’t have a background in film? 

Digistars® Documentary Filmmaking for Kids- Curriculum for Teachers helps to guide teachers through the movie making process. There are 10 modules of instruction that lead students in creating a documentary film. These include how to research a topic, collect images, write scripts, record narration, and so much more. The program offers a complete curriculum for teachers including instructional videos, leadership guides, downloadable worksheets, etc.

If you are a teacher who is unsure of how to teach documentary film production or do not know the details of filmmaking, our program is perfect for you.

Unleash the power of the documentary film project to enhance and enrich learning and knowledge acquisition. Let us take you and your charges through the production process and nurture the next generation of digital storytellers. Learn more about Digistars Documentary Filmmaking programs.

Digistars Documentary filmmaking program guides students through the process of creating a professional movie. Each step helps students learn the movie making process and incorporate 21st century skills into their education.

Pre Production

Pick and research your topic.   

The first step to making a successful documentary is to pick and research a topic. Documentary films educate, influence or create a historical record. Images and footage are downloaded and saved to a device or the cloud. This allows filmmakers to show rather than tell.

 Then, students will write their script. Script writing for documentaries follows a specific format and needs to be put into a storyboard. The storyboard helps to provide a map for production.

Production

Assemble your story and edit.

After the storyboard is created, students incorporate their script and storyboard into the film assembly. This footage can be live video, still images or interviews. They then import their footage into their storyboard map. They edit their footage by adjusting the length, clipping, and making sure clips are in script order.

Post- Production

Complete your final film with effects.

Once the video footage editing is completed, students add sound to their films. They first rehearse their narration that they want to overlay the video and then they record. Next, they add their final sound effects. These effects include Ken burns effects, transitions, titles, and a final credit page. After the final steps are completed, students can wrap up their film and enjoy their finished documentary!

Digistars movie making programs are easy to follow and allow your student to tell an effective story that can educate and influence. Learn more about Digistars STEAM programs that can help your student use these steps and make a movie.

A documentary film is a nonfiction movie intended to show some aspect of real life in order to educate, influence or make a historical record. The goal of a documentary film is to bring a real life story to an audience and To do this we need to tell a good story. 

All stories have a beginning, middle and end. And this is true for documentaries as well. It’s all about the storytelling. Documentary filmmakers use a variety of techniques to illustrate the story. These include showing live video, still images, interviews or existing video clips on the screen. Along with music, sound effects, narration, or words from the mouths of characters. 

Popular documentaries like Paris is Burning or 13th, help to tell an accurate story of a part of history.  

They are important becuase they provide an opportunity to understand and connect with the world.

Documentaries allow the storyteller to tell a real life story in their own way.

Movies that are funny spoofs of documentary films are called mockumentaries. These are fictional stories presented as if they were real life events.

Learn more about documentaries and filmmaking with Digistars Documentary Movie-making course.

Let’s be honest, making a movie by yourself can be a difficult thing to accomplish. Recording, acting, writing, and editing can be difficult for only one person to do. But, telling a story can be easy for any storyteller to do if they are willing to put in the extra effort. 

Out of Digistars’ three programs, Stop Motion Animation and Documentary Filmmaking are the best choices for a single storyteller. Both of these programs offer step by step lesson plans that can be easily followed by an individual. Here are some tips that can help you to create a successful movie by yourself.

It is all about the effort that you want to put in. 

A storyteller can create a professional film if they are willing to put the work in. Because there are so many steps to creating a movie, it can be time consuming for one person to do. 60% of creating a movie is the pre production process, which is usually done by an individual . In the pre production phase students research, write scripts, and create a storyboard. This can easily be done by an individual, it just takes more time.

Work at your own pace.

Making a movie is a step by step process. Each production phase offers a set of steps that allow your student to work at their own pace. It is important that you follow each step in order, but you can always pause and come back to where you left off. Each step allows storytellers to follow a successful process that helps them to create a professional film.

Stop motion animation can be easily done with one person. 

Stop Motion Animation is a technique used in animation to bring static objects to life on screen. This is done by moving the object in increments while filming a frame per increment. Because each scene is filmed separately, a single storyteller will be able to move the object and film at the same time. Any kind of object can be animated, these include puppets, models and clay figures.

Learn more about Digistars STEAM programs that can help your student use these steps and make a movie.

From the earliest days of film, filmmakers have used special effects to open the window into another world. As technology has evolved throughout the years, the ability to set movies in other universes has become easier for filmmakers to do. Green screens have developed to become the most popular production tool used by Hollywood to create illusions. But they were not always so easy to use.

The History of Green Screens

One of the earliest filmmakers was George Melies who spent his life studying the art of illusion. In 1898, Melies created a popular film, Four Heads are Better than one, that incorporated his studies. In this film, Meilies utilized his invention the masking technique, which inserted images that weren’t in the original shot. This trick worked by filming the scene many times on the same piece of film. Masking is used today with the modern green screen to bring new scenery into a shot.

But, green screens were still not available until the late 1990s. Before that, filmmakers used other creative methods to create illusions in their movies. In the 1933 film, The Invisible Man, the actors would wear full black velvet suits while standing against a black background to give the green screen illusion. Then, in the late 1950s, Walt Disney used special sodium vapor lights to create special effects. The popular film Mary Poppins was one of the first Disney movies to utilize this technique. 

What is a green screen?

By the end of the 20^thcentury, technology had progressed enough to insert computer generated images over a blue or green screen. Green screen compositing, also called chroma key technology, is a special effect accomplished by layering images together. The camera erases everything that is green and replaces it with another image that the filmmaker chooses. Green became the standard color to use as the background over blue.

But why green?

1.  It is easier and cheaper to light.

 2. It doesn’t match the color of the sky

3. Its brighter in electronics

4. Less common color in costumes

Green screen technology allows storytellers to set movies anywhere in the universe. Digistars programs help students learn and incorporate the awesome technology of green screens into their live action films. Learn more about Digistars programs and STEAM courses for kids.  

There are three phases of creating a film: Pre-production, Production, and Post-production. Each of these phases is necessary to create a complete and high quality movie. Digistars programs provide step by step guides through the production phases that culminate in students having finished their movies.

Pre-production

The pre-production phase contains all the steps of making a movie before filming. This is the most time consuming phase, as stories need to be carefully planned out and written in order to create a film with a beginning, middle and end. The main steps in the pre-production phase include research, script writing, and storyboard creating. 

Production

Once a story is created, students begin the production process.This phase involves the actual filming of the movie. Students can incorporate video, still images, and interviews into their films. This is where acting, recording, text, and sounds are all applied to tell their story.

Post Production

In the post production phase of creating a movie, students edit and wrap up their films. Students flow through the editing process and incorporate all of their footage into a finished movie. 

Digistars courses help your student walk through the production process of creating a film. Digistars offers three movie making programs: Documentary Filmmaking, Stop Motion Animation, and Live Action Filmmaking. Teachers can use our curriculum packages to teach digital storytelling either in the classroom or through remote teaching. Students and parents appreciate our camp-like experiences that they can do at home.

Learn more about Digistars STEAM programs that can help your student use these steps and make a movie.

Using animation in classrooms is an expressive and effective way to introduce information and communication technology to the students. Stop motion animation also enhances the creativity of a student, and it relieves teachers of their tasks by helping them finish quicker. 

There are many benefits of using stop motion videos in our education system. They are great tools for explaining boring and unexciting concepts to students in an entertaining way. Using stop motion animation can make any topic more interesting, and students possibly learn more from this teaching technique.

Stop motion animation is an innovative technology that has made life easier for teachers. Primary school teachers are excessively using stop motion animation in classrooms and trying to avoid dealing with pen and paper writing format. There are many students who find grammar a challenge and always worry about spelling mistakes. Stop motion animation, on the other hand, helps them effortlessly in real-time. It allows them to concentrate on the story instead of technical errors. This technology also enhances communication between teacher and students.

Stop motion animation can be used to teach basic concepts

Students can visually express their innovative ideas. Children have a cute nature of expressing their ideas – they write or draw them on paper in their own way. Stop motion animation can help children turn their ideas into reality.

Teachers often face many challenges when teaching math problems to young students, such as graphs, algebra, addition, and subtraction. It’s challenging yet important to clear their concepts. Using Stop motion animation have made this hassle much easier, both for teachers to teach and for the student to learn. 

Many children find history and other textbook subjects boring. Teachers can make it an exciting one by using stop motion animation because it includes pictures and clips within the teaching process. 

If you are a teacher and find teaching kids a challenge, then consider incorporating stop motion animation into your teaching methods to take the class forward at a whole new level.

Find Digistars’ stop motion animation programs and STEAM courses on our website.http://Digistarworkshop.com

Terror in the Forest by Henry (6th grade) and Kellan (4th grade).

The Hole Story by Anicia, Tatum, and Eleanor (3rd and 4th graders).

The Hunter’s and the Bear by Stella M. (1st grade) and Stella S. (3rd grade).

Looking for something for your kids to do during Thanksgiving break?

Send them to us to make a movie! Day-long claymation camps are open for registration for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, November 23rd, 24th, and 25th. Take advantage of special grand opening pricing on November camps! Sign up now to secure your spot!

New Name, New Studio Location

We are so excited to announce that our program is growing and expanding! You may have noticed the addition of “Digistars” to our name – the better to feature our Digital Stars and their stellar movie making efforts!

Our new studio location is conveniently located just west of the zoo in the City Park neighborhood at 28th Avenue and Race Street. We have been busy moving in and getting it ready to host our first camps next week. Having our own studio will enable us to offer more programming year-round, so keep an eye out for new programs and weekend workshops.

Our vacation day camps allow kids to come for one day or many, and still have the satisfaction of leaving with a finished movie. Camps run 9am-5pm, with extended day options of 8am-6pm to make it easier for working parents. Our new neighbors even offer hot lunch options for only $6 for kids who prefer to buy rather than bring a sack lunch.

Sign up today for camps over Thanksgiving and Winter Breaks!

New Films Posted

If you’re looking for movies from Isabella Bird Community School orPolaris@Ebert, or even from the summer programs, be sure to visit our NEWSpages to view the masterpieces!

See you in the movies!