Film Games *

This paper presents data on how film students practice filmmaking skills by devising and playing games. In their games film students suggest images for films and correct one another's notions about the methods for or appropriateness of realizing these images on film. By using increasingly complex games as a series of exercises, students develop greater skill in anticipating programs in making films they imagine. The apparent effectiveness of these games suggests playful behaviors which may seem insignificant because they are not “serious” could be important mechanisms for socializing people's imaginations, tailoring them for a particular kind of problem and problem‐solving.