Students at École Ste-Marguerite Bourgeoys got to spend time in front of and behind the camera this spring through the Artist in Residence program. Mme. Baker's Grade 5 class welcomed filmmaker and owner of Upriver Media, Matt Kennedy, to help them produce a short video and learn more about filmmaking.
"It was really fun. My favourite part was learning how to make a video, all the different parts and how it comes together in the end," said Grade 5 student Jacob Silva. "We got to add in fun things and we got to experience what it was like to be an actor."
The students were tasked with putting together a short film about the Seven Habits of the LeaderinMe program.
"First we had to learn about the seven habits, then get a page and a group and go through what your habit means to you," said Rowan Phillips. "Then you take one of those examples, write a script and put it into video. We had to practice our video and then film it with Matt. Once we were done filming, Matt Kennedy went on his computer and cut all the videos together. But he didn't do it all so he could go back with us and change things or add sound effects."
All of the scripts around the seven different habits were written by the students. They focused on situations that they would come across at school or at home where their lessons would be useful. The seven habits include:
- Habit 1: Be Proactive
- Habit 2: Begin With the End in Mind
- Habit 3: Put First Things First
- Habit 4: Think Win-Win
- Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood
- Habit 6: Synergize
- Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw
"Our habit was Put First Things First, Habit Number 3. We took our idea of putting things that are more important like school work ahead of games and things you enjoy. We turned it into a real scenario where our teacher was giving us something to study and one of our classmates wasn't listening and playing a game," said Silva.
Once complete, the students got to present their work to the school at their Monday morning assembly. Both Silva and Phillips said they learned a lot.
"I learned that actors shouldn't say cut, cause that ruins everything," said Phillips.