Published by Pogo Learning
Nick Handel is a former BBC producer and has used this skill to write a fantastic, easy to use resource that uses film to develop creative writing.
Today’s youngsters have a highly developed visual knowledge. Brought up on a diet of video films, games and animated learning techniques – something has to give. Writing creatively is a skill; difficult to teach and difficult to refine.
In this chunky, A4 beautifully-designed tome, Handel demonstrates in simple language and clear graphics how film techniques of storytelling can be replicated in writing. Through storyboarding, he shows how basic descriptions – in caption form – can be developed with style through linking all the grammatical techniques we know and love.
The book, you will be pleased to hear, does not skimp around the grammar – each chapter concludes with a grammar focus – from using descriptive vocabulary to create atmosphere to writing correctly-punctuated dialogue.
As Handel says: ‘After 35 years of producing and directing mainstream programmes for the BBC, I still describe myself as a storyteller. The creative processes of making memorable TV shows are rooted in the same thing; being able to tell stories in a clear, imaginative and compelling way.’ He is spot-on of course.
Not only that, publishers Pogo Learning have taken care to match the revised National Curriculum, and the book is a clever way to make the most of our youngsters’ love of television. Work with it; and the acknowledgement of this knowledge should be repaid in kind.
You may need to convince your enlightened head to take the plunge – use it in mainstream classes but this will also be a brilliant resource for your challenged pupils. A must have.
Review by Lesley Finlay