filming deadline approaches

This friday - you need to have your filming complete.

Blog update

I have had a look at all your Blogs.  please read the posts - they are meant to be read AND acted upon! A number of video have not uploaded properly - sort this please.  You all need to ensure that somewhere you have a full account of the story.  Where you have done this through a full commentary accompanying the animatic, it works really well.  So, if you have an animatic, please do have a full commentary explaining everything.

Advanced Portfolio 2012-13

You should have met your first deadline on research by now.
I will comment on these shortly.

Lessons should now be dedicated to the meeting of your next deadline - The Pre Production

Pre-Production Checklist – tick off tasks as you complete them

 

Allocate pre-production roles in the group: location scout; prop ‘buyer’; storyboard artist/s; animatics director; sound designer; lighting designer; screenwriter; camera operator/s; costume, hair and make-up designer and ‘buyer’; posting synopsis and shot list to blog.	Done
Group writes synopsis – about 200 words posted to blog
5 Key Concepts: Genre and style decisions – single genre? Hybrid? Or resist genre category? Will you use established film styles – eg Social Realism or ‘Noir’? Decisions to blog with justification and links to similar real texts if possible (these may be feature length films)
5 Key Concepts: representation – initial ideas about representation of social groups, places and ideas or issues covered by your story, posted to blog
5 Key Concepts: audience – initial ideas about your expected audience – by age, gender and social class. Link to expected viewing platforms for your film (where would it be screened ideally?). Post to blog.
5 Key Concepts: narrative – initial ideas about the structure of the story – linear? Non-linear? Circular? Use narrative theory here – Todorov; Levi-Strauss; Vogler..Post to blog.
5 Key Concepts: media language – initial ideas about film techniques you’d like to use and examples or suggestions posted to blog
Location decisions and photos of selected and rejected locations
Written permission granted for privately owned locations
Storyboard  for all shots, carefully timed to ensure that film lasts 5 mins
Animatic with voice-over commentary
Acting decisions
Health and Safety considerations – recorded and posted to blog
Sound design – initial ideas about sound – soundtrack, foleys, ambient etc and likely issues in locations.
Shooting schedule – plans for the shoot

Final deadline this Friday - 2nd march

FRIDAY MARCH 2ND IS YOUR FINAL DEADLINE!

THE FOLLOWING MUST BE COMPLETED BY THEN AND ON THE BLOG BY 9PM:
YOUR BLOG, INCLUDING INDIVIDUAL EVALUATION
YOUR FILM
YOUR POSTER
YOUR REVIEW

IT MUST BE POSSIBLE TO READ YOUR REVIEW AND POSTER ON THE BLOG.

THIS DEADLINE IS NON-NEGOTIABLE.

Writing your evaluation and help avaiable.

Remember worth 20 marks overall

Write your draft for this in blog style over half term.

Meet the draft deadline - 20th Feb, and you will get Feedback.

Failure to meet deadline results in NO feedback

Final deadline for evaluation will be 2nd March

Help available

Use the handout you received in class

The slides from the lesson are available on Moodle (as is the handout) under the Media A2 - Advanced Portfolio 2012 section

The making of LWL

If you haven't yet seen this, a great little film taken at Church of London - the Publishers being LWL.

What a great place to work!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fe9AAfGgJuU (see in column to right)

Latest comments posted

I have commented on George, Chloe and Charlie's review - I need to see the ammended version in Tuesdays lesson

Joe, Lianne and Jack - your review comments are on an e mail to Joe.

Max, Jake, Angus and Jake - no review at all from you.

Alex, - nothing from you.

Ghislaine, Beth and Amy - you need to post a final draft on the blog - what you have is a bit incoherent - for Tuesdays lesson please without fail as you only have a 3 day week this week.

Marcus, Steve, Rory and Adam - comments have been sent to you via an e mail on a word document.

Jordan and Matt - comments are on the blog. you still have a long way to go but follow the masculinity theme. Discuss in tuesdays lesson.

Remember that we only have 3 days this week. As well as final deadline being 10th feb, we will also distribute the evaluation guidelines that you will need to write over the half term. you will go through this in one of your lessons this week.

First review deadline - Monday 30th January

Help with the writing of the review

Use the handout that you were given to identify what it is that you need to incorporate into your review.


The target audience is very film literate and youthful - students and young adults working. Gender split is about 60%M 40%F.

Above are copies of reviews from Little White Lies - these may help. Click on these to get enlarged, readable version. The more reviews that you read, the more familiar that you will become with the style of the magazine

You are writing the review for this particular magazine (LWL)


You can also go online and read reviews from the magazine at :-

http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/the-magazine

Poster - deadline one

You will need to have posted your first PHOTOSHOP draft of your poster by tonight.

Remember that each time that you miss a deadline, you are penalizing yourself re Planning.

Sound editing

What you will need to do

Foleys - either use Garageband or record your own using our sound recording equipment.

Music soundtrack -

remember no copyright music allowed. You can use Garageband or you could try this new site that Andy (the technician) found http://incompetech.com/m/c/royalty-free/.

Go to the royalty free page and browse by mood or genre - couldn't be easier.

Filming and Editing - deadline this Friday 20th January

A number of groups are getting dangerously close to the deadline with either too little edited footage or with filming still to be completed - AND lots of promises!!!!!!!!

You risk losing planning marks if you miss the deadline on Friday because this is purely down to you being unable to plan and deliver a finished product despite having being given over a month in which to film and edit. It has been unbelievable to see how many of you are unable to find time outside of college in which to film or are so inflexible over paid work commitments. Very short sighted I feel.

Do not look to pad out films where you have inadequate amounts of footage - shoot additional scenes instead. Yes, its hassle but this is your A level.

Max's group - you require more scenes. you are in danger of having insufficient for 5 minutes

George's group - You need to be far clearer about the point of your film and in particular the ending - somehow, this appears to have altered over the course of filming.

Joe's group - also, insufficient footage at present. More scenes will be required. Don't run the risk of having to over extend particular scenes and thereby making the film tedious.

Marcus' group - if you can complete the filming on the "parent scene" and succeed in creating a successful twist, you should be OK.

Ghislaine's group - bite the bullet and film some more scenes or you run the risk of having to extend scenes and loose the necessary pace for the film.

Alex - you need to film additional, high contrast scenes to contrast the slower pace of the reflective scenes.

Jordan's group - you still have a worrying amount of filming to complete, let alone edit.

If you want an A+, A or B grade, you really need to be aiming for Level 4 - from what I have seen so far, many of you will struggle to get into this category.

A very busy week ahead. (and I haven't even mentioned sound editing!)

Film Poster Deadline One

For this deadline you will need to have posted the following :-

1. Each individual of group to upload an initial poster design. Try to develop this as much as you can - pay attenntion to the conventions and layout!

2. Justify/discuss your decisions about the design. You should be considering how it connects with the target audience, what it tells us about the narrative and clearly indicate genre. In terms of any characters, you need to be thinking about the representation.

3. Individuals MUST also post independent research on posters. Aswell as BRIGHTON ROCK, the expectation is for two other film posters for independnet, low budget, British and of a similar genre to your short film.

Don't forget to consider format - use screengrabs and subtitles and bullet points - it would be helpful to me and yourselves, if you structured your analysis around the 4 key areas of narrative, genre, audience and representation.

Use the checklist below to remind yourself of what could be included on your poster

The First Ancillary Task - The Film Poster

Remeber that your CW is marked out of 100 - you get 60 marks for the Product, 20 for the planning and research and 20 for the evaluiation.
The 60 marks for the Product is not just all for the film - only 40 of the allocated 60 marks are awarded for this. The film poster and film Review are both worth an additioanl 10 marks each!!!

We will now start the process of constructing the Film poster. In addition you also have to blog the planning and reseach for this and evaluate it.

You will recieve a booklet for this now with all the guidance necessary - READ IT!

First interim deadline fior the Film Poster is next Wednesday (11th Jan). - initial research and consideration of design, particualrly what image(s) you will use?

We'll do some work in class on this, but you need to research UK film posters yourselves. Notice title design (masthead), recommendations and sources, credit details, colour, layout, font, main images...This is a great example.

We suggest you look at posters for BRITISH films, but also Independent Films.

Posts about the editing process

This has tended to be very poorly blogged in the past.

Avoid diary type posts where you simply describe what editing you have undertaken/or posting a few images of an imac or a few images of you editing. This is a hugely complex process (involving lengthy decision making and complex editing skills) and you need to ensure that you do yourselves justice by posting well illustrated, reflective and evaluative accounts of the process.

Plan posts that will reflect :-

1. Illustrate (perhaps through Screen grabs) how you have demonstrated particular continuity editing techniques such as Match On Actions, 180 Degree Rule, Shot/Reverse shot, Eyeline matches, etc.
2. Examples of how you have used editing to create effect - for example the creation of PACE, Parallel editing, Cross cutting, through the use of particular transitions, or how editing has been used to manipulate space or time,
Again consider HOW you will illustrate these.

3. Your decision making - throughout your editing experience, you will discuss (and maybe have disagreements) about various alternatives - try to capture some of these discussions and post differently edited versions of a particular scene with a discussion as to which version was decided upon and why. This is a great opportunity for audience feedback and to evidence this.