Unit 9  Pinewood Studios

What do you think?

1 Answer the questions.
1 What was the name of the last film you saw? Which country did it come from?

2 What happened in the story?


3 Did you like the film? Why / why not?

Comprehension check
2  Watch the video. Choose the correct answer.
1 Pinewood Studios is located in … .
a  the USA
b  the UK
c Greece
2 You can save money by filming at Pinewood Studios because … .
a  it’s easier than filming outside
b  actors like it more
c  it’s near a capital city
3 Mamma Mia! was filmed … .
a  on the 007 stage in Pinewood Studios
b  in a small fishing village in Greece
c  at Pinewood Studios and in Greece

3  Watch the video again. Correct the factual errors in the sentences.
1 Directors can control the wind in a studio.

2 The pool at Pinewood Studios is nearly 70 metres long.

3 The underwater stage has over 1 million bottles of water in it.

4 The ‘007 Stage’ is the most famous film stage in America.

5 Mamma Mia! was the sixth most successful film of 2008.

6 Pinewood Studios has been making films for the last 17 years.

4  Complete the sentences. Write two words in each gap.

1 Pinewood Studios is London in the UK.
2 Inside the studio, light is always the same, which makes films cheaper to make.
3 There’s a huge behind the pool where they film boats.
4 The underwater stage was permanent underwater stage in Europe.
5 There are stages and several TV studios at Pinewood.
6 Over the last 70 years, Pinewood has constantly changed to keep up with new technology.

React
5 Work in pairs. Answer the questions.
1 Would you like to work at Pinewood Studios? Why / why not?
2 If you could make a film, what would it be about? (A story, your life, a documentary or something else?)

INSIGHT 2e Pre-Intermediate    Unit 9 video worksheet photocopiable © Oxford University Press

 Vocabulary
6 Match the words to the definitions.
1 scene a to film
2 location b to use instead of something
3 shoot c a place where stories are set
4 replace d the people who work on films
5 audience e a short part of a film, play or book
6 crew f a very good copy of something
7 stage g a place where actors perform
8 replica h the people who watch films

7 Complete the sentences with the correct word from exercise 6.

1 The film was so moving that some members of the cried.
2 It’s often quicker and less expensive for directors to build a set rather than film on .
3 The special-effects team can the blue screen with computer-generated images.
4 The film crew all agreed it was easy to build a Greek village.
5 Mamma Mia! needed a very big for the actors to use during the filming.
6 Some scenes in films take a very long time to .

Task
8 Work in small groups. Imagine you are going to make short a film at Pinewood Studios.
1 Make a list of the different types of film you can make (action, horror, sci-fi, etc.). Take it in turns to suggest a type
of film, then decide which one your group wants to make.
2 In your group, think of the different types of stages at Pinewood Studios that you could use. Think of any special
effects that you might need and any replicas or sets (e.g. a Greek village) that you might want to build.
3 Write down the general story for your film. Use your ideas from steps 1 and 2 to help you.
4 Present your film idea to the class. Use the expressions in the box to help you.
5 Have a class vote to choose the best film.

Useful expressions: Making a film

We’re going to make a (sci-fi) film.
It’s going to be about …
We’re going to film it all at Pinewood Studios.
We’ll use the (underwater) stage for …
We’re also going to use the (007) stage because we
want to …
We hope to make a replica …
If possible, we will use …
There will be lots of special effects in the film, for example …

INSIGHT 2e Pre-Intermediate    Unit 9 video worksheet photocopiable © Oxford University Press

Unit 9 Teacher’s notes  Pinewood Studios

Video summary
The video is about the Pinewood film studios in the UK. It talks about the advantages of filming in a studio
compared to on location. It also talks about the filming of two famous British films here: Mamma Mia! and
Casino Royale.

Background culture notes

Pinewood Studios is a major British film studio about 32 km west of central London. The studios were created in
1934 by Charles Boot. Many of the James Bond films have been filmed there and the studio is home to several
popular television game shows and sitcoms.
Casino Royale is the 21st film in the James Bond series. It was the first film in which Daniel Craig played the main
character. Some of the scenes were filmed at Pinewood Studios and the film was released in 2006. Until the
release of Skyfall in 2012, Casino Royale was the most successful James Bond film ever. The newest James Bond
film No Time to Die was released in 2021.
Mamma Mia! is a 2008 British musical / romantic comedy adapted from a stage musical of the same name. It is
based on the songs of the Swedish group ABBA, and the actress Meryl Streep plays the leading role. The film is
set in a Greek fishing village, but most of the scenes were filmed at Pinewood Studios in replica of the village.
Mamma Mia! was the fifth most successful film of 2008 and it is one of the most successful British films ever
made.

Answer key
1 Students’ own answers.
2 1 b   2 a   3 c
3 1  Directors can control the light in a studio.
2  The pool at Pinewood Studios is nearly 70 metres wide.
3  The underwater stage has over 1 million litres of water in it.
4  The ‘007 Stage’ is the most famous film stage in Europe.
5  Mamma Mia! was the fifth most successful film of 2008.
6  Pinewood Studios has been making films for the last 70 years.
4 Suggested answers:
1  just outside/located near
2  and quicker
3  blue screen
4  the first
5  over forty
6  new technology
5 Students’ own answers.
6 1 e   2 c   3 a   4 b   5 h   6 d   7 g   8 f
7 1 audience
2 location
3 replace
4 replica
5 stage
6 shoot

INSIGHT 2e Pre-Intermediate    Unit 9 teacher’s notes photocopiable © Oxford University Press

 Task
Stage 1: Preparation
• Ask: What types of films do you know? Think of types of films on the board e.g. comedy, horror, historical drama,
action film, romance, etc.
• Tell students they are going to imagine making a film at Pinewood Studios. Divide the students into small
groups of three or four. Ask them to choose the kind of film that they are going to make.
• Tell students to research more about the facilities at Pinewood Studios and how they could use them to make
their film. Ask them to think about any special effects they might need or sets that they might want to build.
Stage 2: Procedure
• Divide students into small groups of three or four. Ask them to move their desks together, if possible.
• Ask students individually to spend a few minutes and make some notes. They should decide on the type of film
and what happens in their film. Students can use their smartphones. You could model an example on the board,
e.g. Sci-fi. An empty spaceship arrives on earth …
• When students have finished, ask them to share their ideas with their group. They then choose which film they
are going to make. Explain that as a group, the students will need to plan the story with a beginning, middle
and an end. They will also need to plan a few scenes and describe the characters. Allow students time to discuss.
Circulate and offer help.
• Each group presents their film to the rest of the class. Allow students to ask and answer questions about their
films.
• When students have finished, have a class vote on which film they think would be the best.
Extra ideas
• For a simpler version of this task, students could remake films they already know.
• For increased challenge, ask students to individually write a simple story of their film for homework. They should
write 150 words and have a clear beginning, middle and an end. They should include pictures. Display the
completed film ideas on your classroom wall.

INSIGHT 2e Pre-Intermediate    Unit 9 teacher’s notes photocopiable © Oxford University Press

Unit 9 Video script  Pinewood Studios
This is Pinewood Studios, just outside London in England. You might not recognize it, but some of the most famous
film-makers in the world have made films here. And it’s easy to see why.
At Pinewood Studios, film-makers can film scenes for all types of locations, from old English mansions to underwater
scenes.
A lot of directors said they used studios because it’s easier than filming outside. This director said he filmed in studios
because he could control the light.
He said it was easier for the whole team because filming a scene could take a very long time. The light would change
all the time if they filmed outside. But inside the studio it was always the same, and this made the film cheaper and
quicker to make.
The director on this film told her crew she wanted to set a scene on a boat in the middle of an ocean. Fortunately, she
didn’t need to leave the studio to do this, because at Pinewood you can film in this pool. It’s sixty metres long and
nearly seventy metres wide.
There’s a huge blue screen behind the pool. And there are fans which make the water move. After shooting, the
special-effects team told the director they would be able to replace the blue screen with computer-generated images,
so the audience wouldn’t be able to see that the actors hadn’t left the studio!
There’s also an underwater stage at Pinewood Studios. This was the first permanent underwater stage in Europe. It’s six
metres deep and contains over a million litres of water.
This actress told us that the water was very warm and clean, so she could stay underwater for a very long time.
Most actors and crew said they preferred working in these conditions because it saved time and money, and was more
comfortable. They’ve filmed some very famous underwater scenes here, like the scene in the Bond film Casino Royale.
There are over forty stages at Pinewood. There are several television studios, too. And the ‘007 Stage’ is the biggest and
most famous film stage in Europe.
This is where they filmed most of the musical comedy Mamma Mia!
Mamma Mia! is one of the most successful British blockbusters ever. In 2008, most movie magazines reported that the
film had made over $600 million and was the fifth most successful film of the year.
The film’s setting is a small fishing village on a Greek island. But this village wasn’t really in Greece. It was here, in the 007
studio. The film crew all agreed it was easy to build a replica Greek village here because the stage is so enormous.
Film-makers have made films at Pinewood for over seventy years. During this time, the studio has constantly changed
to keep up with new technology, so it will always be the home of British cinema.

INSIGHT 2e Pre-Intermediate    Unit 9 video script photocopiable © Oxford University Press