30 | July 11, 2013 | cambridge-news.co.uk | Cambridge News
What’s On Family Five things
VISIT OUR FAMILY SECTION at cambridge-news.co.uk/whatson
Film workshop
to do with the family
1. Meet a tortoise SLOW, shelled and pretty awe-inspiring, you can now get to know Linton Zoo’s giant tortoises – and maybe even hug one! The centre is running behind the scenes tortoise tours (that’s a bit of a tongue twister), in aid of their Yupukari River Turtle Conservation Project. Take a dawdle with the bigger creatures before learning how tortoise eggs are incubated and see some of the latest hatchlings! Suitable for ages 2+, the sessions run daily at 2.30pm but you must book your space on (01223) 891308. Tickets cost £15.
2. Go to a feast SADLY we can’t track down a medieval feast so The Shelford Feast will have to do – although there is a barbecue and a hog roast, so you might get to chew on a bone, and dads can make the most of the beer stand, tankards at the ready! Head over for live music, stalls and outdoorsy activities for the kids. It’s on Sunday at Great Shelford Recreation Ground, Woollards Lane, Great Shelford from 12noon. Visit www.shelfordfeast. co.uk for a full run-down of all the events on offer.
3. Be a nature detective HOW many creepy crawlies and sneaky bugs can you spot? Wicken Fen is hosting a 24 hour Bio Blitz and needs as many budding biologists to help out as possible. From 4pm on Friday until 4pm on Saturday the aim is to track down and catalogue as many different insects and animals that call the nature reserve home. Experts will be on hand giving guided walks and helping to identify creatures – you might even discover a new species! Entry is included in usual admission prices. Call the ranger on (01353) 720274 for more details.
4. Create a paper masterpiece WE’RE expecting a whole lot of paper planes to be flying about at the Museum of Cambridge (formerly the Folk Museum) this Friday. Part of the museum’s Fab Family Friday’s scheme, little ones with an eye for origami and a talent for cutting up sheets and sheets of A4 can get stuck into some simple paper projects to take home afterwards. Turn up between 10.30am – 12.30pm for the interactive workshop. It’s free with the cost of admission.
5. Have a paint ARTY little ones can pop in to Kettle’s Yard on Castle Hill for an explore and a draw this Sunday. From 1pm to 4pm the gallery will host their twice-monthly Studio Sundays sessions, where families can go along, soak up the exhibits and invent their own colourful artworks. There’s even a prop-box to rummage through packed with family-friendly activities. It’s completely free and there’s no need to book. Visit www.kettlesyard. co.uk or call (01223) 748100 to find out more.
Short Cuts:
Greatest Sporting Mistakes! ᔡ Short Cuts: Greatest Sporting Mistakes! Arts Picturehouse, Saturday, July 20 at 10am – 4pm. Tickets £30 from 08719 025 720 / www.picturehouses.co.uk/cinema/ Arts_Picturehouse_Cambridge/
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ILLY running, terrible throwing, falling over, racket flying, sweatbands all over the place – if this sounds like you when it comes to sports, you might just be the star of the Arts Picturehouse’s latest film workshop. The one-day course, Short Cuts: Greatest Sporting Mistakes!, is aimed at 10 to 13-year-olds with an interest in filmmaking, a knack for directing and a happy-go-lucky attitude to acting a bit foolish in front of the camera. “We’ll be making a Charlie Chaplin inspired sports film,” summarises course leader and independent filmmaker Ryd Cook. In association with the Cambridgeshire Film Consortium, the idea is to create a ‘mockumentary’ parodying some of the silent film greats, all with a sporting twist. Ryd, who also runs Jump Cut sessions at the Picturehouse, a filmmaking course for 14 to 19-year-olds, will lead the session teaching the groundwork in basic filmmaking techniques, from turning on and setting up the camera, framing shots and getting the right
camera movement, to catching the best light and making sure you remember to switch on that pesky microphone. So, it doesn’t matter whether you’re a complete beginner or seasoned home-video pro, all levels can get involved. The day will start with watching a few classic examples from the moustachioed Charlie Chaplin, the legendary comic actor and filmmaker famed for his hilarious sketches, and
Buster Keaton, the bounding, physical comic with a deadpan expression who caused a ruckus with his death defying antics and crazy escapades in the 1920s. “Then we will go out onto Parker’s Piece and film little silent comedy sketches,” says Ryd. All you have to do is turn up packed with energetic ideas and be ready to wear oversized or undersized sports gear to get all the laughs you can out of
running around like mad things. This isn’t the first time the course has run. Last time the final film was chosen to appear as part of the Hansel of Film series, a programme or ‘relay’ of short film screenings shown from “Shetland to Southampton and back.” “It was an idea they ran last year, funded with the Olympics, and they had film screenings all over the country,” explains Ryd. “It was selected for that which was really nice. It’s a really funny little film.” So why should people sign up for this round of the course? “It’s great fun,” Ryd enthuses. “You get to make a film in a day, it’s sporting and you’ve got to bring along all your sporting equipment, so balls and rackets, that sort of thing. It’s a chance to learn how to make a film and also have a lot of fun doing sporting activities.” What’s not to love?