1. Discuss these questions in groups.
• What was the last film you saw at the cinema or on DVD? Did you enjoy it?
• What was your favourite film? Do you have favourite actors?
2. Words2know. Listen to 4.17. Tell each other which types of film you like and don’t like.
• a romantic comedy
• a historical drama
• a thriller
• fantasy/science fiction
• a horror movie
3. Words2know. Listen to a description of how a film is made (4.18) and put the Words2know in the order that you first hear them.
• producer
• special effects
• director
• actors
• film studios
• script
• budget
• editing
• publicity
• scenes
4. Listen again and answer the questions.
1. What’s the typical budget of a big Hollywood film?
2. How much do the top stars earn?
3. How many minutes of the final film do they make each day?
4. Why don’t they film all the scenes on location?
5. How long does it generally take to edit a film?
6. How much of the total budget do they spend on publicity?
Types of films
5. Match 1-5 with a-e to make definitions.
1. A historical drama
2. A horror movie
3. A romantic comedy
4. Science fiction
5. A thriller
a. … is a film where strange and frightening things happen.
b. … is about important events in the past.
c. … is a funny story about love.
d. … is an exciting story about murder or crime.
Making a film.
6. Rearrange the letters to make words connected with making a film.
1. t r e c o d i r director 2. p e r c u d r o
3. t e d b u g 4. p e s c a l i f e f t e c s
5. s o r c a t 6. t r i p c s
7. d e t i 8. s o i d u t
9. n e e s c 10. c u l p i t i b y
Grammar Focus
Present simple passive
7.In pairs, put the of making a film into the correct order. Compare your answers with another pair.
_ Then the movie is filmed.
_They then plan the budget and choose a director.
1 A story is chosen by the producer.
_ The scenes are planned in detail.
_ Music isn’t added until the end.
_ Finally, the film is printed.
_ The director decides on the main actors.
8. Read Grammar2know. How many passive forms can you find in exercise 7?
Grammar2know
Present simple passive
Use the passive when the action is the most important thing in the sentence:
The film is printed. (it is not important who prints it)
Notice that often we do not say who does the action because it is not important or it is obvious.
The movie is filmed. (obviously the camera men do this)
To say who does the action, we use by:
A story is chosen by the producer.
Form: is/are + past participle
+ The music is added
-Most scenes aren’t filmed on location.
? Is the story chosen by the producer?
When is the music added?
9. a Complete the text, using the passive. Then listen to 4.19 and check.
SUBBED OR DUBBED?
Do foreign language films have subtitles in your country? Or 1 are they dubbed (they/dub)? Foreign language films 2___ (watch) all over the world nowadays… but people need to understand them!
In many countries, subtitles 3___ (use) to translate the dialogues. Usually, dialogue 4___ (not/translate) word for word but the general meaning 5 ___ (give). Often the dialogue 6 ___ (make) shorter so the audience can read the titles easily.
In other countries, dubbing is more popular. The dialogue 7 ___ (re-record) by voice actors and the original actors’ voices 8 ___ (not/hear) by the audience. These days, famous actors 9 ___ (often choose) to do the dubbing.
A third method, the ‘lector’ method 10 ___ (use) in some countries. Here, the
audience 11 ___ (give) a translation by a single narrator but the original voices 12
___ (hear) in the background.
b Which method in the text do you prefer when you watch a foreign language film?
10. Rewrite the sentences in the passive. Use by if necessary.
1. Big studios make most films these days.
Most films are made by big studios these days.
2. They spend millions of dollars on special effects.
Millions of dollars _______________________
3. The designers plan every scene in detail.
Every scene ____________________________
4. They film some scenes on location.
Some scenes ____________________________
5. The editors cut some scenes.
Some scenes ____________________________
6. They send copies of the film all over the world.
Copies of the film ________________________
11. Complete the sentences with the present simple passive of the verbs in brackets.