Watch

During a windy little lunch, Mrs Gonsha tells everyone to go inside for yoga instead.

Watch the clip from the episode ‘The Windy Day’, showing the windy conditions. Listen for voices, background sounds, sound effects and music.

Now watch the clip again but with the sound muted.

Reflect

After watching, reflect as a class on these questions:

• Which sounds helped you imagine being there?
• How would you describe the mood? Which sounds contributed to it?
• What changed when you watched without sound?
• What sounds could make it feel calm?

Explore

Mood is the feeling a scene creates for its audience. Sound designers choose and combine sounds to help create that feeling.

With a partner, experiment making sounds that would fit with this windy day scene with everyday materials:

• Gently crumple paper to imitate rustling leaves.
• Tap your fingers or pencils to create footsteps.
• Rustle a plastic bag
• Use your body or voice - rubbing hands together, tapping feet, whistling or making sounds.

Try making the same sound calm, then tense. Change its volume, speed or pauses. Take turns making and listening to the sounds.

Share one discovery with the class: “Changing _____ made the sound feel _____.”

Create

In groups of three or four, prepare live sound effects for the muted windy scene of The Windy Day.

Perform it twice: once to create a calm mood and once to create a tense mood.

1. Plan: Choose three or four sound effects and decide who will make each one. Match sounds to the setting or actions in the clip.

2. Rehearse: Practise both versions as your teacher replays the muted clip. Use the same sound sources, changing their volume, speed or pauses. Decide when to start and stop each effect.

3. Perform: Make your sounds live while your teacher plays the clip. Repeat with the other mood. Ask the audience to identify each mood and the sounds that created it.

Watch

Watch these scenes from The Beep Test. Look for wide shots, medium shots, close-ups and moments shown in slow motion. Notice when the action slows down and what draws your attention.

Reflect

After watching, reflect as a class on these questions:

• Which shots show the setting? Which shots reveal the characters’ feelings?
• What do you notice when the action slows down? Does it feel funny, tense or dramatic?
• How might the same moment feel at normal speed?

Explore

Filmmakers choose both what we see in the frame and how quickly the action plays.

Consider these techniques:

• Wide shot - Shows a whole person and their surroundings, establishing the setting and action.
• Medium shot - Shows a person roughly from the waist up, drawing attention to body language.
• Close-up - Fills the frame with a face or detail, highlighting an emotion or important feature.
• Slow motion - Plays action more slowly than it happened, emphasising a movement or moment

In small groups, try these experiments. Take turns filming.

1. Change the shot: Film a simple action, such as raising your arms in celebration, using all three shot sizes. Repeat the same action each time. Compare what each shot reveals or leaves out.

2. Change the speed: Film one clip in slow motion. What do you notice now? How does the feeling change?

If you are using an iPad you can film directly in slow motion on the camera. If you are editing a clip in iMovie you can select the clip, tap Speed, then move the slider to ½x.

Create

Make a short video for your classmates: a student prepares for a challenge and a friend encourages them. Use three different shots and slow down one important moment.

You will need to:

1. Plan one wide shot, one medium shot and one close-up. Choose which moment to slow down and why.

2. Record each shot for about five seconds. Use actions and expressions to tell the story.

3. Edit - Put the clips in order in iMovie or an editing app.

4. Share - Show another group. Ask what they noticed and how slow motion affected the scene.

Watch

Watch this clip from The Pavlova. The children are tasting the pavlova, but it’s not what they expect. Notice their facial expressions, gestures and movements, and when their reactions happen.

Reflect

After watching, reflect as a class on these questions:

• How can you tell what the characters think of the pavlova, even without their dialogue?
• Which expression, movement or pause makes a reaction funny? Why?

Could you still understand their reactions without hearing their words?

Explore

Mime means showing an action without words. Timing means choosing when to act, pause or react.

Work with a partner and take turns:

1. Show surprise: Imagine your pencil case starts moving by itself. Mime noticing it and reacting. Your partner describes what your face and body communicated. Swap roles.

2. Change the feeling: Repeat the moment as an excited character, then as a worried character. What changes in your expression, posture or gestures?

3. Change the timing: React immediately, then try a pause between noticing and reacting. Which version makes the surprise clearer or funnier?

Create

In groups of 3-4, create a 30–60 second scene in which something unexpected happens. Choose one idea or invent your own:

• A teacher arrives wearing a superhero costume.
• You search everywhere for your glasses, then realise they’re on your head.
• You open a classroom door and discover a jungle on the other side.

1. Plan: Show an ordinary moment, the unexpected event and what happens next. Decide how each character reacts.
2. Rehearse: Use facial expressions, gestures and one deliberate pause. Have two characters react differently to the same event.
3. Perform: Show another group. Ask: “How did each character feel? What acting clues helped you understand?”
4. Refine: Use the feedback to improve and replay one moment. Explain how your change made the reaction clearer or funnier.