Movies: Making Magic (STEM in 30 Season 11 Episode 5)

"They're gonna put me in the movies. They're gonna make a big star out of me." - Buck Owens, Act Naturally

There’s a movie out there for almost everyone: sci-fi, horror, comedies, romance, historical fiction, documentaries, you name it. But did you ever wonder what goes into making a movie? Creating a movie takes multiple steps — from imagining characters to writing a story, then filming, editing, producing, and on and on. In this episode of STEM in 30, we’ll take a look at what it takes to make a movie, talk to an unlikely author of a hit movie, and experiment with early special effects. 

Learning Standards

Standards: Media Arts

• Anchor Standard 1: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.
  • 6th:(MA:Cr1.1.6) Formulate variations of goals and solutions for media artworks by practicing chosen creative processes, such as sketching, improvising and brainstorming.
• Anchor Standard 2: Organize and develop artistic ideas and work.
  • 6th: (MA:Cr2.1.6)  Organize, propose, and evaluate artistic ideas, plans, prototypes, and production processes for media arts productions, considering purposeful intent.
• Anchor Standard 3: Refine and complete artistic work
• Anchor Standard 4: Select, analyze, and interpret artistic work for presentation.

  • 5th: (MA:Pr4.1.5) Create media artworks through the integration of multiple contents and forms, such as a media broadcast.

Teacher Tips

About STEM in 30

STEM in 30 is an Emmy-nominated program for middle school students produced by the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. These 30 minute episodes are great for classroom use. New episodes are released every month, featuring hands-on activities, explanations of aviation and space topics aligned with national standards, and interviews with experts from the Museum and beyond.

STEM in 30 is made possible by Amazon, Boeing, and Hexcel.