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Shot on location

About places

Finding locations for shooting a film is one of the first tasks that film makers do before they start filmiing. A lot of films are set in real settings such as castles, blocks of offices, parks, houses or museums, among others. In this mission, you are going to create a Google map based on film locations.

At the end of this section, you will have:

  • Learnt about place-related names.
  • Practised how to locate people and things in space.
  • Created and presented a Google map.

Leading activities: talking about locations 

The activities below will help you acquire the necessary knowledge to perform the mission correctly.

Activity 1: Checking your knowledge

For a start, click on the Forrest Gump's trailer and comment with a classmate on the questions below.

  • What places can you see on the video?
  • Where do you think the film is set?
  • What do you know about Forrest Gump, the character?
  • Think about one of your favourite films, Where is it located?

At the learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org site, you can learn and revise names of places in town. Also, you can revise and learn about the use of the most common prepositions of place on the ecenglish page.

On the Roughguide.com site, you can learn about film locations around the world.

Activity 2: Speaking about your favourite location

Tell a classmate about a location that you would like to visit because it appears on one of your favourite films. Follow the guidelines below to talk about this place.

  • Mention the film's title.
  • Say the place's name and where it is.
  • Add more information about the place. If you do not know much about it, search for relevant information on the Internet.

The expressions The film is set in... or The story takes place in... can help you talk about film settings.

Activity 3: Posting and sharing

Find a picture of this place and publish it on Pinterest. Type the information that you know about this place and share it with the rest of your classmates.

Extra resources

It is important that you learn about how to refer to places in films because this will be an important point in the mission you are about to start.

A person represented in a film, play, or story.

An actual place or natural setting in which a film is made.

The place and time at which a play, novel, or film is represented.

Represented (a story, play, film, or scene) as happening at a specified time or in a specified place.

Your map location

In this second mission, you and your classmates are going to create a map with the locations of a film.

You will work collaboratively using the Google maps. By working on this task, you will learn not only about cinema but also about Geography and above all, you will check how much you can learn by working in a team.

Important: please, read carefully the information in the headings below, where you will find out what you must do, how your work will be assessed and how you should promote it.

Your work
  • Get together in groups of four students and agree on a film that you all like. Remember that the film must contain several shot on location  scenes. The movie map and the Movie location pages may be useful if you are not sure about what film to select.
  • Look for information on the places that appear on the film.
  • With a Google account, enter Google maps and create your own map entitled "Film location map". Search places from the film in the map search bar. When you find what you’re looking for, click on the icon that looks like a balloon to add a marker. Put your cursor over the location and click to add the marker. A screen will appear where you can title the marker, add a description and links. By clicking on the camera icon, you can add videos or photos.
  • Be sure to save changes.
  • Make your map public or send the link to your teacher.
  • You and your classmates will present your map on a fixed day in your classroom. Each member in the group will present a scene location. First, show your classmates the film scenes on which you have based your map. Then, start your presentation of the places. You may find useful the expressions below.

The film is set in…(place / time).
The scene's shot on location in... (place name).
The characters are.... (say what they are doing) in that place).

  • Use some adjectives to describe these places from the list on ESOLcourses page.
  • Practise as much as you can before presenting your map.
Work evaluation
Work promotion

Publish your map on the page 'My Digital Resources'  in your Weebly site. You can share it with the rest of classmates on Pinterest. To do this, remember to accompany your post with an image.

When you finish your work, do not forget to open your learning diary and answer the questions on how you think you performed your own part and your classmates'.

Not filmed in a studio, but in real places.

Learning diary

How is it going? Open again your Learning Diary and create a new post on your blog entitled 'Shot on location'.

Creado con eXeLearning (Ventana nueva)