SHARJAH – A workshop packed full of kids preparing for TV career at Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF) showed them how to become directors in a live TV studio environment, complete with camera framing, lighting, angles and a mixing desk.
The event, ‘Live Filming’, held by the veteran cameraman, director and lecturer Ghassan Abdallah from Syria, demonstrated how the height, focus and size of shot could transform a mood and give the interviews a range of effects from bright and believable to dark and suspicious.
Having explained the basics of framing, the children aged 6-12 years set up their own three-camera studio scenario with two of them acting as interviewer and interviewee, complete with microphones to record their answers. When they looked back at the interview on a big screen the young directors assessed and analysed the results.
Ghassan, who presented a workshop on filming at SCRF last year, said the children’s knowledge and their ability to take in the information was a great credit to them.
“Structuring a live studio is not an easy task and the children did exceptionally well, asking some great questions along the way and understanding the main points of how the smallest changes can make a massive difference.
“There are certain technical rules which need to be followed and others which are largely subjective. Many of the children here had a natural gift for the framing and could immediately sense what worked and what did not.”
The festival, which runs until April 28 at Expo Centre Sharjah under the theme ‘Your Future… Just a Book Away’, spans several programmes, including Kids Activities, Cultural Programmes, Cultural Café, Kids’ Creative Café, Social Media Café and Cookery Corner. SCRF 2018 also features a series of international theatrical performances like ‘Tuta and Monkey Cheetah’, and the ‘Island of Kids’ Area’ that combine education, fun and entertainment to highlight the values of honesty to young visitors.
–PR
