5. Speaking

Think of a film you've seen which has impressed or disappointed you. You are going to tell your partner about it. Choose from the list the things you want to talk about. Think about what you will say and what language you will need.

What was the name of the film?

When did you go to see it?

Why did you go to see it?

Had you seen trailers or read reviews?

Was it hyped?

Why did(not) it live up to the hype?

What did you particularly (dis)like about the film?

Who was in it and who directed it?

Were there any characters you could identify with?

Were there any characters who annoyed you?

What did your friends think about it?

Would you go and see another film by the same director?

Topic 4. Filming

1. Warm-up

Pair work.

Ask and answer.

Have you ever thought of being involved in film industry?

If you were engaged in film production, what would you do?

Would you like to be an actor? Why / Why not?

2. Listening for gist

Listen to the interview with Alan Dawson who has just been shot in a movie (PT RSE: T8 3).

What did he do in the film?

Was it difficult for him to get to the film set?

What is his attitude to the movie and his participation in shooting?

3. Listening for details

1) Listen to the interview again (PT RSE: T 8 3)

Choose the best variant.

A. Alan says that

1) he probably won't be in the finished film.

2) people might not see him in the film.

3) he's one of the stars of the film.

B. The film Battle of the Giants was

1) completely made in Hollywood.

2) not made in Hollywood at all.

3) partly made in Alan's local area.

C. The advertisement which Alan saw called for people

1) who were particularly good-looking.

2) with plenty of acting experience.

3) who wanted a minor role in a film.

D. Before the film, Alan had

1) never done any acting at all.

2) only done a small amount of acting.

3) done a large amount of acting.

E. Alan heard from the film production company

1) one day after he had applied.

2) one week after he had applied.

3) three months after he had applied.

F. Alan thinks the purpose of the interview was to

1) test how good at acting he was.

2) see if he really wanted to be in the film.

3) measure him for some clothes.

G. Most of the work Alan did on the film involved

1) standing in a crowd of people.

2) learning how to act properly.

3) running away from the giants.

2) Listen to the interview with a stunt man (SL: U15 B p67). Complete the notes which summarise what the speaker says. You will need to write a word or short phrase in each box.

1. Actors don't always do all the ____________________ in a film.

2. Bill had to fight with ______________________ in his latest film.

3. Bill says that every job is ________________________.

4. Bill works for less than half the _________________________.

5. When Bill isn't working, he's with his ___________________.

6. ___________________ are not necessary to become a stunt man.

7. ___________________ are available for people thinking of doing stunt work.

8. Stunt men need to learn how to __________________properly.

9. Bill was a ___________________ before he became a stunt man.

10. The first film Bill worked on was about ___________________.

4. Lexis

1) Read the sentences and then use the words in bold to complete the sentences below.

• It's not going to be a studio production. The whole movie is going to be filmed on location in the Alps.

• Terry Fisher and Barbara Walker are both film critics; they write film reviews for national newspapers.

• I'd love to be a stunt man; it must be great fun doing all the dangerous stunts in a movie.

• Film credits at the end of a film tell us the names of the actors and the other people who were involved in the production of the film.

• If an actor has a bit part in a film, they only have a very small speaking role.

• If you are an extra in a movie, you can be seen in the background, but you don't have any lines to say.

- The Score stars Robert De Niro, Marlon Brando and Edward Norton.

- In the film, De Niro plays a jazz club owner who is also a master thief.

- Gone with the Wind is set in the American Civil War.

- A twist in the plot is when something very unexpected happens.

- Most foreign-language films have subtitles at the bottom for you to read.

- Some foreign-language films are dubbed, which means that they put all the voices into your language.

• The special effects were amazing! The spaceships all seemed real!

• I haven't seen the film, but I've seen the trailer and it looks really exciting.

• The director shouted 'Action!' and the actor started running.

• The film is based on a book by Stephen King.

• All the members of the cast had to wear strange costumes in one scene.

• I thought the acting was quite good, but the story was boring.

• I read a review of that film and it sounds really interesting.

1. I can't remember her name! We'll have to look at the ___________ at the end.

2. Most of the _________ said it was a dreadful movie, but I really enjoyed it.

3. Making the movie was actually extremely hard, as we shot the whole thing _____________ in the desert.

4. Did you do the fight scenes yourself, or did a ___________ stand in for you?

5. I'd love to be an ________________, just to see what it's like on a film set.

6. I've been offered a _____________ in a movie! I'm only in one scene, but it's a start!

7. I hate it when foreign films are _______________; I like to listen to them in their original language.

8. The film is ____________ on another planet, but it's really about modern-day issues on Earth.

9. Leonardo Di Caprio _____________ struggling artist who falls in love with a rich girl.

10. I'm going to try not to read the _______________; it'll help me practise my English.

11. There's a great _________ at the end - it turns out that he's actually a ghost!

12. The film _________ Brad Pitt, and was directed by Robert Redford.

13. As far as I know, this film is ______________ a true story.

14. The ___________ were very talented and did a great job.

15. They use computers to create all the __________ these days.

16. After watching the ______________, I decided not to go and see the film.

17. The film got a really bad ___________ the newspaper.

18. When they had finished the scene, the _____________ shouted 'Cut!'

19. Even though the film starred a lot of children, the __________ was very good.

2) Complete the texts by changing the form of the word given in capitals.

Many of our TV and film stars also perform in plays in FAVOUR

the theatre from time to time.

They often see it as an opportunity to do some 'real' ________, ACT

despite the fact that theatre work is not usually well paid. Giving

a live ______ is quite different to performing on film, and PERFORM

in many ways is more ______ and risky. DANGER

In the theatre, an actor cannot stop and ask the _____ if they DIRECT

can do the scene again. The show must go on whatever happens!

Also, the ____ and response of the audience can affect how the BEHAVE

actor feels and performs.

However, a major problem for theatre actors is that doing the same show

night after night can become _____ after a while. BORE

Marlon Brando was perhaps the greatest film _______ ACT

of his generation.

He was born in-1924 and people soon realised that

he was _________________ TALENT

However, he never did very well at school and he never seemed to be

interested in __________ . When he finally left school, EDUCATE

he travelled to New York, where he became a _______ STUDY

at drama school. There, he heard about the ideas of the Russian,

Konstantin Stanislavski, who had developed a way to bring acting closer to _______ . Brando used Stanislavski's ideas in his acting REAL

and during the 1940s he appeared in _______ plays VARY

on Broadway.

The critics liked him and he slowly became better known.

His first major __________ was in the film SUCCEED

A Streetcar Named Desire (1947).

He became world famous and a star was born.

3) Fill in with an appropriate word from the box.

comedian characters starred full-length feature-length talking silent

Charlie Chaplin was the greatest ________ of his generation, and probably of all time. He was born in 1889 in England, where he first appeared on stage at the age of five. He travelled to America in 1912 and stayed to work for the Keystone Film Company. Films in those days were _______ , so actors had to find ________ that could be recognised immediately on the screen. Chaplin's great character was the little tramp, who appeared in around 70 short films, as well as a number of ________ comedies. In fact, Chaplin was the first comedian to make a _________ comedy, Tillie's Punctured Romance (1914).

_______ films began to appear in the late 1920s, but Chaplin continued to make silent films until the mid 30s. He was unusual because he not only ______ in his films but also wrote, directed and produced them. He even wrote the music for some of his later films. He will long be remembered for bringing enjoyment to millions throughout the world.

4) Fill in an appropriate word from the box.

filming shooting lighting location film set fees budget edited designed rehearsals auditions pre-production post-production screen tests cast crew backers storyboarded

Lights, Camera, Action

Making a film is such a complicated process that it's a wonder any of them ever get made. When you go to your local cinema to see what's on, do you ever think of all the separate steps that have to come together to end up with what you see on the big screen? Where does it start?

Most films start as an idea. It might be in a director's mind, or in a writer's mind, but wherever it comes from, it's the producer who needs convincing. The producer is the businessman who finds the money to make the film. If you've got an idea for the next blockbuster, you need to find somebody who is willing to make your film. The producer will then organize the _________ and decide how much it is worth spending on the film.

The producer will decide who is going to be responsible for making the film: the director. This is an important decision since the director is the person who will be in charge of the whole cast and __________ . The producer will either find somebody who has made similar films in the past or he or she might take a chance on a new director. Most importantly, the producer wants someone he or she can trust to do a good job and to stay under budget.

The producer and director will then choose the other people to work on the film and will decide on the members of the _________. People feel very strongly about actors and a film has to have the right ones if it is to draw people into cinemas. Actors usually become associated with a particular kind of film in the mind of the public and it can be a risk to cast an actor in a different kind of role. _________ and _________ might be held to make final decisions and __________ will begin.

While the actors are developing their characters, the director will be making other key decisions concerning things such as _________ . Where the film is shot is very important and the locations for filming will be chosen carefully. The film will also be __________ , with pictures of all the key moments. Special effects will be planned and costumes will be _________ . This _________ phase can take a long time because there may not be a chance to change things later.

The actual __________ can take anywhere from a few weeks to a year, or possibly even more. The actors spend a lot of time waiting for everything to be right - the set, the________ , the cameras – and boredom can be a real problem. Life at the Oscars might seem wonderful, but life on a ________ can be stressful and tedious.

Once filming is over, __________ begins. This is the stage where all the elements of the film are brought together. The film is ________ so that it tells a clear story and any special effects are perfected. Music is added to emphasise the excitement or the emotion of certain moments in the film. Often, the film is previewed to small audiences and changes are made, depending on their reactions. Finally, the film makes its way into the cinemas.

Once the process is over, what the ________ will want to know is where the money has gone. We hear a lot these days about the huge _______ commanded by stars but the cast will typically cost around 10 % of the total budget. Pre- and post-production costs will account for 50 %, while the director and crew will take another 10%. This leaves around 30 % of the total cost of the film to be spent on actual ________.