FILM MAKING OPTION - REMINDERS OF ESSENTIAL GOOD PRACTICE IN FILM MAKING

READ THIS NOW! (FULL PRINT COPY COMING OUT TODAY)

REMEMBER THAT FILM MAKING IS A COMPLICATED PROCESS, INVOLVING VERY CAREFUL PLANNING AND THOROUGH WORK FOR EVEN MEDIOCRE OUTCOMES. READ THE HANDOUT YOU WILL BE GIVEN TODAY TO ENSURE THAT YOU REMEMBER BASIC PROCEDURES AND DON'T MAKE SILLY MISTAKES. (HANDOUT ALSO ON MOODLE UNDER CREATIVE TASK SECTION).

Your work last year with Andy on the Preliminary Task, Filming Option at AS (where applicable), and your Transition Documentary task, should have prepared you for good film making practice, but just in case, here are some vital reminders of what you must do, and must not do to succeed!

If you have a DSLR, or  a video camera of your own, it is permitted for you to use this in the filming of your product, as long as you have spoken to Sophie before filming to discuss the possible need to convert.  However, you are unable to use your own editing program and you have to conduct all editing on the film and media editing suite.

Standard Filming advice and reminders:

• No lesson time will be allocated for this stage, as you should not be filming on the college premises without very good reason.
• Always plan and film to edit! Mostly this means planning for, and filming for continuity editing (revise the techniques for this if you have forgotten them). This planning should also be evident in your storyboard. If you are filming and editing for discontinuity, this MUST be justifiable in the context of your story and character/s. You must expect to discuss this in your Reflective Analysis.
• Record several versions of each shot and also from different perspectives and different shot distances in order to give yourselves choices when it comes to editing.  The most successful films have the most unused footage!
• FRAMING: Keeping characters in a consistent position during movement: avoid poor framing of subjects and consider composition.
• Reset WHITE BALANCE for every new shot direction, and even slight changes of position (light values change constantly!): 
• Always reshoot if you are unhappy with footage (but be mindful of using up battery power viewing footage – it’s best to allow plenty of time to allow for the need to reshoot). 
• Expect to need more time to film – reshoots are very often vital!
  Reminder: avoid silly mistakes with the camera! 

• Always use the same camera – get to know it.
• Record footage on the camera setting (not the playback setting)
• Always set the white balance before shooting in new locations/if turned off camera, if pointing camera in different direction.
• Always use a tripod (apart from those few POV shots) – you will be heavily penalized for lazy camerawork, and hand-held camerawork must have clear justification in the context of your film.
• Make sure the batteries in the bag are charged – the screen will tell you.
• Film a lot of takes of each shot and sequence to give you options in the editing suite
• Don’t forget to create your sandwich for each shot
• Don’t break the 180 degree rule

READ MORE ON THE HANDOUT...

FILMING AND EDITING DEADLINES

ADVANCE WARNING:
FILMING DEADLINE (ALL UNEDITED FOOTAGE TO COMPLETED FOLDER ON MAC NETWORK) - THURSDAY MARCH 17TH.

 ALL SOUND AND VISION EDITING DEADLINE (PRODUCT IS COMPLETE):
THURSDAY MARCH 31st.

Compulsory Draft Reflective Analysis Deadline: Thursday April 7th.

Final Reflective Analysis Deadline: Thursday April 27th.


 

CREATIVE PROJECT PLANNING DEADLINE IS HERE!

AS YOU KNOW, THE DEADLINE FOR PLANNING DOCUMENTS TO APPEAR ON YOUR BLOG IS TODAY. ONLY WHEN I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO CHECK THESE WILL YOU BE ABLE TO GO AHEAD AND FILM. THE LIST OF PLANNING TASKS IS REPRINTED BELOW TO REMIND YOU:

You will be granted permission to film once you have completed all stages of the pre-production work. 

Use the checklist below to help you meet this requirement.

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

Have you created posts on all the following?	Done
Allocate pre-production roles in the group: location scout; prop ‘buyer’; storyboard artist/s;; sound designer; lighting designer; screenwriter; camera operator/s; costume, hair and make-up designer and ‘buyer’;
Group writes synopsis of short film – about 200 words posted to blog
Apply Genre to final idea – single genre? Hybrid? Or resist genre category? Will you use established film styles – eg Social Realism, Documentary or ‘Crime’? Describe conventions of genre/s or style you plan to use. Decisions to blog with justification and links to similar real texts if possible (these may be feature length films). Include references to relevant theory you have studied on the course at AS or A2.
Apply Audience to final idea– initial ideas about your target audience – by age, gender and social class. Link to expected viewing platforms for your film (where would it be screened ideally).  Make links to real texts.
Apply Narrative to final idea – initial ideas about the structure of the story – linear? Non-linear? Circular? Use narrative theory here – Todorov; Levi-Strauss; Vogler etc.  Make links to real texts.
Apply Film Language to final idea – initial ideas about film techniques you’d like to use and examples or suggestions. Make links to real texts.
Script for dialogue
Storyboard on post-it notes -  or for Documentary film, draft step outline of key scenes
Evidence of location research – rejections and final decisions with explanations.
Evidence of location permission (where required)
Health and Safety considerations – locations and roles.
Evidence of research and planning into Costume, Make up, Hair and Props
Organization of actors
Lighting decisions
Sound design – initial ideas about sound – soundtrack, foleys, ambient and dialogue. What needs to be organized and what are the likely issues in locations.
Shooting schedule – plans for the shoot

FINAL SSRP DEADLINE APPROACHING!!!

AS YOU SHOULD ALREADY BE VERY AWARE, THE FINAL SSRP DEADLINE IS THIS COMING WEDNESDAY JANUARY 4th DURING OUR FILM LESSON.
YOU MUST HAND IN A PAPER COPY OF THE CATALOGUE (INCLUDING 'REJECTED ITEMS' AS ADVISED IN EARLIER LESSONS AND HANDOUTS), AND SEPARATELY, A PAPER COPY OF THE COMPLETED SCRIPT, USING FULL REFERENCING AND PRESENTATION CONVENTIONS.

PREPARING FOR YOUR DRAFT PRESENTATION

These will begin this THURSDAY, Dec 1st, running into the following week (Tues).
While others are presenting, you should be continuing to work on your own Script and Catalogue, in preparation for the final deadline below.
I will email the order to you, but it will be roughly alphabetical by surname.
PPT slides, script (word doc) and clips needed 
Email the script to me for comments afterwards.

FINAL DEADLINE FOR COMPLETED SSRP: 
THURSDAY DEC 15TH
(Arrangements for submission to follow).

STARTING YOUR PRESENTATION SCRIPT

You should now be starting to write the presentation script. Your research (primary and secondary) must continue, and be fed into your emerging script.
Study the material I gave you in the last lesson. Read my comments on your blog under the Catalogue, and make sure you act on them before Thursday.
On Thursday, I will be clarifying the format for the script, and we'll be writing your opening paragraph/s. Make sure you have all of your work accessible in the lesson.
NEXT DEADLINE: PRESENTATION OF YOUR SCRIPT DRAFT TO ME - WEEK COMMENCING NOVEMBER 29th.

CATALOGUE DEADLINE EXTENDED TO THURSDAY THIS WEEK (3rd Nov)

Just to remind everyone - an advanced draft of your CATALOGUE, using the correct format, and including around 15 items MUST be on your blog by the extended deadline of THURSDAY NOVEMBER 3rd.
In the lesson and via the blog, I will give you feedback. You must assume that this is an ongoing process, and that you will continue to gather material for the Catalogue to feed into the script right through until the final few weeks this term.
During this half term, you will begin to work on the PRESENTATION SCRIPT  - which as you know, is your discussion of what you have discovered, your evaluation of what you have discovered, and your own ideas/conclusions regarding your topic. You should start to look at exemplar scripts for ideas on format, but we'll be doing more on this in lessons.