TELLING COMPLEX STORIES WITH EASE AND CLARITY, SPEAKING AND PLAYING WITH FOREIGN WORDS, NAVIGATING MODES AND TENSES HOW DOES IT WORK IN FRENCH?

Everyone has their own method, don't they??Mine will appeal to some people who will feel freer and more themselves, and at the end of the day the stories will be unique, authentic and sincere.?

I love cinema, especially that of the 60s.

I own a great little book written by Claude Chabrol in which he explains how to make a film, I'm using it here to show you, if you want to share stories and experiences orally, how to tell a story or an anecdote in a logical and understandable way.?

? Will you see more clearly?

?? Yes, because language isn't just learnt in grammar precis (but I assure you you'll get a dose of it, just what you need).

? Yes, because grammar MUST be learned in order to free yourself from it at certain times.

? Yes, because life oscillates between rigour and lightness.

COME ON, LET'S GET AWAY FROM ALL THIS PEDAGOGY AND GET DOWN TO REALITY ??

You're going to be the scriptwriter, the cameraman, the editor AND the cameraman.

?? Your story, an ‘edifice that advances from sequence to sequence’. At the end you must find a COHERENT whole.

??? You are free to structure your script, to break off pieces of it; you can cut scenes, make them longer, always with an idea of logic and harmony, but to do that you need to know WHERE YOU ARE GOING, in what direction.

?? ‘You have to clarify in your head what you want to say’.

SO YOU HOLD THE CAMERA AND EACH SHOT TAKES US FURTHER INTO YOUR STORY.

You choose the rhythm, the tone, the style, the ACCROCHE and suddenly...?

?? The hero's Boeing 707 arrives at LAX, to the rhythm of Simon and Garfunkel's The sound of silence - The Graduate by Mike Nichols, 1968.

Long uncut sequence shot lasting over 3 minutes. We follow the main character, Benjamin Braddock, in a fluid and immersive way.

As the verbal aspect is a question of point of view, you can choose the present or the past. The present offers an immediate immersion into the story.

?? If you opt for the past tense, in this situation it will be the imperfect.

???? Voice-over: ‘Benjamin returned to Los Angeles, unsure of his future, feeling lost and anxious’

? Combined with slow motion, ‘the essence of the imperfect tense is that it puts us in the position of an eyewitness’ (Molendijk).?

?But how do we break this slow, stretched time and create a temporal rupture to enter a shot where an action collides with this sequence of the narrative?

The sequence suddenly cuts to a party at Benjamin Braddock's parents' house, where Mrs Robinson appears for the first time.

?? Fast transition, acceleration effect. The camera focuses on a specific place, movement, moment, person or action.

??? ‘The door latch swung open and Mrs Robinson appeared in the doorway, her gaze piercing and intense’.

The passé composé here contrasts with the imparfait ‘in the way it presents a past event’.

We could go on to use the past perfect and all its accomplices. Amusing, isn't it? And above all, it's essential for us to follow your story!

?? In this context, I suggest you work on a speaking situation where you can fiddle with TIMES, MODES and LEXICON with the bubbling enthusiasm of the creator, the precision of the technician, and the authenticity and SINCERITY that is yours.

?? For the launch of ‘Formez-vous à la prise de parole comme les Fran?ais’, I'm offering the first 3 sessions to the first 4 people who reply ‘Action’ in the comments (Level B1 minimum).

It starts at the end of July and then at the beginning of September, the only thing I ask in return is that you commit yourself to the end and have a message, a story to tell.