I’ve been learning how to make movies on a mobile phone!
‘The Screening Room’ took me to Paris, and although I’ve always had my mobile phone to hand, I’ve had an epiphany because I’ve discovered all the things I can do with it. We met a gentleman called Benoit Labourdette – founder of the Pocket Films Festival - and he showed me how you can make watchable films. The process was fascinating because my past efforts were a bit ‘Blair Witch Project’ when I’ve watched them back.
Benoit shared a few techniques with us, such as never using the zoom, instead move closer to the subject. He also advised us to try to make films in one take to reduce the need for complicated editing.
I was told that most people in shops don’t know what they are talking about, so if you are buying a mobile phone to use it for filming, just remember this – the megapixels refer to still photography only and have no bearing on the quality of your video.
It opened up a whole world for me as we set off around Paris to make our own movie. We filmed on carousels, under the Eiffel Tower and on a rented bicycle. We shot the final part of the film at the American Cathedral in Paris, where I played Faure’s Pavane on a piano, which we stripped down to get the camera into the inner workings of the instrument.
When we cut the two-minute mini-movie we were surprised at the quality – much clearer than we expected. I’m proud of our little film but we are challenging viewers to do better. So if you fancy yourself as a director simply shoot a film on your phone – five minutes or less – and visit our website (shown below) to find out how to enter.
For the latest edition of ‘The Screening Room’ we travelled to The Hague for Amnesty International’s Movies That Matter Film Festival as part of a special edition focusing on films covering human rights.
I enjoyed this festival, mainly because it didn’t have red carpets, movie celebrities, or even money. I loved the people I encountered, because I think, in true activist form, they’re doing it from the heart and there are issues out there that they’d like to make people aware of.
We saw films shot on undercover cameras in Myanmar, Rwandan villagers attempting reconciliation after genocide, the women who stopped a civil war in Liberia and the singer who drew the wrath of conservative critics when she dared to dance during Afghanistan’s answer to American Idol.
The event also gave me the opportunity to interview the former Dutch Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers, who was the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for four years. In his role as juror for the festival he told me why such films were important:
"It means a lot to me. Because the more you become older, the more important it is for you in terms of what really matters. What is it about in life? It becomes more important for you because you see it in the eyes of the grandchildren. What do you answer your grandchildren when they ask you "grandfather, when you became aware of things which weren't right, whether it's nature or human rights, what did you do?" This is an excellent way to make people more aware of that question."
Along with one of the world’s most experienced politicians we encountered one of the world’s top lawyers – not bad a for a film festival!
Luis Moreno-Ocampo is Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. He spends his time crossing the globe trying to bring war criminals to justice. Recently he urged the judges at the I.C.C. to issue an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for atrocities committed in Darfur. He’s also the star of a new documentary about the Court. He endeared himself to me when he said he made the film to help his children understand just what daddy did at work.
Myleene Klass hosts ‘The Screening Room’ each month on CNN International www.cnn.com/screeningroom
