Movie Behind-the-Scenes, for 5-year-olds
July 16, 2021 4:05 PM Subscribe
My 5-year-old is having some trouble separating reality from fiction in movies/on TV. We've been explaining that they're actors, they're just pretending, but even the slightest hint of danger/menace/spookiness with real-people actors (cartoons are fine) and she gets very upset, and then she gets MORE upset that she can't watch the show she wants to watch. I'd like to show her some behind-the-scenes videos so she can understand what "they're actors pretending" means. Specifics within.
Ideally it would be a clip that showed an ever-so-slightly intense (but still very kid-friendly!) scene in a movie (Jedi battle, or people flying, or something like that), and then right afterwards would show a wider shot with the actors on a soundstage, or on a CGI stage, acting out the scene. (If CGI, a side-by-side shot with the acted and finished shots would be amazing.) And then, the most key part, I want to show the actors finishing the scene and breaking character and laughing/joking/applauding/congratulating each other, to help her understand that the actors are people with a JOB of pretending, and when the scene is over, they're all good friends again, and that there are lots of other people there with jobs of running the cameras and lights to help their pretending seem more real.
It would be okay to have separate clips of 1) something being acted out without music/special effects/a tight shot and then showing how it was filmed and 2) actors finishing a scene and breaking character.
She's a bright kid, and I think if she could see how the actors are playing pretend, and how they KNOW they're playing pretend, and how the TV/movie camera makes it all look more real, she'd be very reassured.
Ideally it would be a clip that showed an ever-so-slightly intense (but still very kid-friendly!) scene in a movie (Jedi battle, or people flying, or something like that), and then right afterwards would show a wider shot with the actors on a soundstage, or on a CGI stage, acting out the scene. (If CGI, a side-by-side shot with the acted and finished shots would be amazing.) And then, the most key part, I want to show the actors finishing the scene and breaking character and laughing/joking/applauding/congratulating each other, to help her understand that the actors are people with a JOB of pretending, and when the scene is over, they're all good friends again, and that there are lots of other people there with jobs of running the cameras and lights to help their pretending seem more real.
It would be okay to have separate clips of 1) something being acted out without music/special effects/a tight shot and then showing how it was filmed and 2) actors finishing a scene and breaking character.
She's a bright kid, and I think if she could see how the actors are playing pretend, and how they KNOW they're playing pretend, and how the TV/movie camera makes it all look more real, she'd be very reassured.
You can look up the featurette/ making of/ behind the scenes/ blooper reels on YouTube and show them right after the episode/ movie ends.
posted by Champagne Supernova at 4:23 PM on July 16, 2021
posted by Champagne Supernova at 4:23 PM on July 16, 2021
It’s 40 years old but Mister Rogers’ visit to the set of the Incredible Hulk covers some of this.
posted by yarrow at 4:30 PM on July 16, 2021 [16 favorites]
posted by yarrow at 4:30 PM on July 16, 2021 [16 favorites]
I remember "The Making of Star Wars" documentary--I was a seven year old who loved the movie and then watched the documentary.
There's a scene where Luke is looking through binoculars, loses track of a Sandperson, then gets attacked from outside his field of view. Super intense and exciting for the young me!
The documentary included the raw footage of this, which was a guy in a rubber costume lackadaisically moving a big club to the left and right of Mark Hamill's head. It was my earliest memory of learning that film is 24 lies per second (as the seven year old version of me wouldn't have phrased it.)
posted by mark k at 4:34 PM on July 16, 2021 [3 favorites]
There's a scene where Luke is looking through binoculars, loses track of a Sandperson, then gets attacked from outside his field of view. Super intense and exciting for the young me!
The documentary included the raw footage of this, which was a guy in a rubber costume lackadaisically moving a big club to the left and right of Mark Hamill's head. It was my earliest memory of learning that film is 24 lies per second (as the seven year old version of me wouldn't have phrased it.)
posted by mark k at 4:34 PM on July 16, 2021 [3 favorites]
I don’t think The Mandalorian is necessarily age-appropriate, but I’ve been watching the Behind the Scenes / Making Of thing lately, and has a lot of what you’re looking for. The making-of doesn’t get too deep into plot, so it might even be reasonable to share (though you may inadvertently get your kid wanting to watch the show too.)
posted by Alterscape at 4:39 PM on July 16, 2021
posted by Alterscape at 4:39 PM on July 16, 2021
I would look for things you have already tried to watch and add “bloopers” in that search. Because it’s VERY often that people crack up and can’t stop laughing specifically when trying to do serous shots.
posted by Crystalinne at 4:46 PM on July 16, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by Crystalinne at 4:46 PM on July 16, 2021 [5 favorites]
Reading Rainbow went behind the scenes of Star Trek: TNG in one of my favorite episodes ever. There's a lot of insight on the business of acting and directing a TV show, some cool effects shots, and especially a deep dive into Klingon hair and makeup that did a lot to get me over my childhood fear of characters with a lot of prosthetics.
posted by fountainofdoubt at 4:52 PM on July 16, 2021 [22 favorites]
posted by fountainofdoubt at 4:52 PM on July 16, 2021 [22 favorites]
Five is very young. I would just wait a couple of years, and show more gentle stuff in the meantime. Bambi was bad enough to become a legend in terror for children, even though his mother's death was never shown, and it's a cartoon. . Old Yeller was bad for that, too. I guess I'm showing my age.
Children quite rightly can't understand violence and death. I got a copy of Paddington, and decided my granddaughter would probably not enjoy it, because she's sensitive. (Uncle dies, then there are a couple of scenes that are funny to adults, but...) She's going to be 10 this year, so maybe for Christmas.
I would look for movies specifically made for young children.
I still remember being in a theatre when ET came out, and a small child screamed bloody murder when ET was being hunted in the first scene.
posted by Enid Lareg at 5:02 PM on July 16, 2021 [12 favorites]
Children quite rightly can't understand violence and death. I got a copy of Paddington, and decided my granddaughter would probably not enjoy it, because she's sensitive. (Uncle dies, then there are a couple of scenes that are funny to adults, but...) She's going to be 10 this year, so maybe for Christmas.
I would look for movies specifically made for young children.
I still remember being in a theatre when ET came out, and a small child screamed bloody murder when ET was being hunted in the first scene.
posted by Enid Lareg at 5:02 PM on July 16, 2021 [12 favorites]
Response by poster: "Five is very young. I would just wait a couple of years, and show more gentle stuff in the meantime. ... I would look for movies specifically made for young children."
Yes, part of the trouble is, we live in a TEENY place with one common space and just the one TV, and her brothers are 10 and 12, and we've all been trapped at home with Covid for 18 months. The boys are only allowed to watch G and PG things while she's awake, but it still creates a problem from time to time. By preference, I'd show nothing but Totoro 24/7, but compromises have been made to survive 18 months of quarantine with three kids.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 5:21 PM on July 16, 2021 [21 favorites]
Yes, part of the trouble is, we live in a TEENY place with one common space and just the one TV, and her brothers are 10 and 12, and we've all been trapped at home with Covid for 18 months. The boys are only allowed to watch G and PG things while she's awake, but it still creates a problem from time to time. By preference, I'd show nothing but Totoro 24/7, but compromises have been made to survive 18 months of quarantine with three kids.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 5:21 PM on July 16, 2021 [21 favorites]
A classic example of this is when Mr. Rogers invited Margaret Hamilton on to an episode of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:23 PM on July 16, 2021 [13 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:23 PM on July 16, 2021 [13 favorites]
Fwiw, I was EXTREMELY confused as a young child about Levar Burton being in both Reading Rainbow and TNG which my dad watched. It did not make any sense to me. I'm pretty sure I watched that exact special fountainofdoubt posted, and it confused me more. I similarly remember being confused by a Jim Henson Muppets or Fraggle Rock behind the scenes thing. (It aired around the time of Henson's death, which was right after I turned 5, and I really didn't get how he was Kermit but not Kermit and now someone else was Kermit and WHAT IS THE WORLD RIGHT NOW??!?!)
Just a couple years later, and I was all over Wishbone's Behind the Scenes segments. Those are pretty fun if you can find them, and Wishbone is pretty gentle yet engaging for older kids too. (Heck, I'm in my 30s and love it.)
posted by basalganglia at 5:26 PM on July 16, 2021 [7 favorites]
Just a couple years later, and I was all over Wishbone's Behind the Scenes segments. Those are pretty fun if you can find them, and Wishbone is pretty gentle yet engaging for older kids too. (Heck, I'm in my 30s and love it.)
posted by basalganglia at 5:26 PM on July 16, 2021 [7 favorites]
And here is the actual sequence with Margaret Hamilton! Your situation is exactly WHY Fred Rogers did that - to help very young children understand that it was just actors pretending.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:27 PM on July 16, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:27 PM on July 16, 2021 [6 favorites]
Would theater performances help? I don’t mean live performances- although maybe you could find something outdoor- but a film of a play? Disney Plus has Hamilton.
My youngest is similar and we have older siblings who also want to watch more intense shows. A revelation for me was when he told me he especially dislikes cartoons and animation. It scares him more, I think something about animated faces and the action is really high energy and unrealistic. He prefers real actors and can better understand they are “pretending.”
We’ve been trying to stick to g-rated comedy. They loved the movie “Yes Day” recently and that type of silly, family oriented situation comedy seemed funny to all ages.
posted by areaperson at 7:25 PM on July 16, 2021
My youngest is similar and we have older siblings who also want to watch more intense shows. A revelation for me was when he told me he especially dislikes cartoons and animation. It scares him more, I think something about animated faces and the action is really high energy and unrealistic. He prefers real actors and can better understand they are “pretending.”
We’ve been trying to stick to g-rated comedy. They loved the movie “Yes Day” recently and that type of silly, family oriented situation comedy seemed funny to all ages.
posted by areaperson at 7:25 PM on July 16, 2021
So this unfortunately doesn’t have the “cut!” breaking character moments as much, but it does a pretty okay job showing side by side shots of film scenes -specifically Marvel action scenes- during filming vs finished product. The narrator is incredibly obvious and annoying but she’s also unintentionally breaking it down to a level that’s okay for five year olds (“Dr. Strange’s cape wasn’t ACTUALLY there”), and her constant talking makes all the clips not scary.
25 Marvel Scenes With and Without Special Effects
This one is less obnoxious and covers live action Disney films, which might work better for you if those are films she’s encountering.
posted by castlebravo at 7:47 PM on July 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
25 Marvel Scenes With and Without Special Effects
This one is less obnoxious and covers live action Disney films, which might work better for you if those are films she’s encountering.
posted by castlebravo at 7:47 PM on July 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
Doctor Who does a ton of behind-the-scenes segments like this, and the show is calibrated to be little-kid scary-but-not-TOO-scary.
posted by Comet Bug at 9:02 PM on July 16, 2021
posted by Comet Bug at 9:02 PM on July 16, 2021
Go Behind the Scenes of The Jungle Book (2016)
HARRY POTTER | Magical Effects Featurette
posted by oceano at 9:24 PM on July 16, 2021
HARRY POTTER | Magical Effects Featurette
posted by oceano at 9:24 PM on July 16, 2021
I do hope that showing her the artificiality of movies helps her to not get so upset.
You might find it doesn't, even if she completely understands, intellectually. I have noticed that some people experience fiction very differently. For example, some people find horror films entertaining and even funny because they know it's all fake. I'm not like that. The onscreen violence, fake as it is, still upsets me deeply, maybe because I emphasize so much with fictional characters and have a very vivid imagination.
So I'm just suggesting that the fact that she gets so upset isn't *necessarily * an indication that she thinks it's real, or doesn't understand that it's all actors and special effects.
She might be mourning the fear that the fictional person had to feel in their story.
Good luck! I hope you find a way to help her be more at ease with this situation.
posted by Zumbador at 10:56 PM on July 16, 2021 [18 favorites]
You might find it doesn't, even if she completely understands, intellectually. I have noticed that some people experience fiction very differently. For example, some people find horror films entertaining and even funny because they know it's all fake. I'm not like that. The onscreen violence, fake as it is, still upsets me deeply, maybe because I emphasize so much with fictional characters and have a very vivid imagination.
So I'm just suggesting that the fact that she gets so upset isn't *necessarily * an indication that she thinks it's real, or doesn't understand that it's all actors and special effects.
She might be mourning the fear that the fictional person had to feel in their story.
Good luck! I hope you find a way to help her be more at ease with this situation.
posted by Zumbador at 10:56 PM on July 16, 2021 [18 favorites]
My kids loved a 40 minute YouTube clip of Behind the scenes on the flight of the navigator. The stop motion animation staircase part especially.
posted by Valancy Rachel at 10:58 PM on July 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Valancy Rachel at 10:58 PM on July 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
The movie "Boxtrolls"
At the end there is the stepping back from the stage and discussion as to the choices made
posted by Barbara Spitzer at 1:27 AM on July 17, 2021
At the end there is the stepping back from the stage and discussion as to the choices made
posted by Barbara Spitzer at 1:27 AM on July 17, 2021
If you don't already play The Floor Is Lava and have swordfights with pool noodles and read bedtime stories with over-the-top theatricality in the voices of the characters and act out your favorite scenes from the movies you watch, I'd suggest starting some of that. If you already do that sort of thing, it'd be easy to connect her acting to movie acting.
posted by headnsouth at 5:06 AM on July 17, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by headnsouth at 5:06 AM on July 17, 2021 [3 favorites]
It's not movies specifically, but when my daughter was having some of the same struggles at the same age, watching Julie's Green Room on Netflix helped her to start understanding actors and acting better.
posted by Inkslinger at 12:17 PM on July 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Inkslinger at 12:17 PM on July 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
A slightly different approach: make a movie with her on your iPhone. Performing the process is a great way to learn by doing. Then you'll have not only a fun movie for your family archives, but an experience you can refer to. "Remember when we made the movie about the Runaway Bunny and you pretended to be the baby bunny? That man is pretending to be Deadpool* just like you were pretending to be a bunny!"
*Probably not Deadpool.
posted by DarlingBri at 1:17 PM on July 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
*Probably not Deadpool.
posted by DarlingBri at 1:17 PM on July 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: We watched several of these, and she was particularly interested to see a) the actors repeating the same scene several times and b) how many camera guys, etc., there were and how even the rooms weren't "real." Green screen was a little less-interesting to her, but we did find a "green screen bloopers" video where people wore green dresses to do the weather and she thought THAT was hilarious.
Anyway, it does seem more clear to her now that actors are playing a very big game of pretend, and that nobody's in danger or even really upset/angry/whatever -- they're pretending really well. Hopefully that will help her be less anxious when she comes in the room and her brothers are watching something!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 2:58 PM on July 19, 2021 [4 favorites]
Anyway, it does seem more clear to her now that actors are playing a very big game of pretend, and that nobody's in danger or even really upset/angry/whatever -- they're pretending really well. Hopefully that will help her be less anxious when she comes in the room and her brothers are watching something!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 2:58 PM on July 19, 2021 [4 favorites]
Ok just as a warning, the Incredible Hulk piece on Mr. Rogers terrified me as a kid and I wouldn't watch TV for quite a while. My mom was pissed because I was an only child and she could no longer stick me in front of the TV for half an hour while she made dinner or whatever.
posted by radioamy at 7:15 PM on July 22, 2021
posted by radioamy at 7:15 PM on July 22, 2021
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