Audience feedback

Use my blog or Marion's to access the films of your AS Peers.

Using the questionnaire feeddback, leave comments / feedback about films on group blogs.

Please ensure that you do this, it is a requirement for one of the questions on the AS Evaluation.

Final deadline this Friday.

Deadline is this FRIDAY!!!!!!!

You need to have all your image and sound editing completed and to have completed your title and credit sequences.

Researching Titling and Credits

This will form part of your opening sequence and will need to be incorporated. If you are to do this, you can't do it cold and therefore need to do some research. Therefore :-


On your blog, you should now post a discussion of 3 title sequences of your own choice - try to use thrillers from either TV Drama or Film. Ensure that you consider how the film title, graphics, music, and placement, all work in the overall construction of the sequence. Do they contribute anything to the meaning about character, mood, atmosphere or any aspect of narrative.

http://www.artofthetitle.com/A very useful site for looking at title and credit ideas.

A useful short YOUTUBE interview with title designers another useful link

Do NOT simply reproduce an analysis of those that we have covered in class.

This is also a good interview to watch on YouTube.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbhi-JICKKI

What to do in the time upto the filming deadline

1. Make sure that you have done the pre production posts - all of them.  Make your posts interesting - some of you are really starting to understand how to make interesting and reflective posts.

2. Experiment - show experiments with camerawork (framing, movement, Slow Motion etc), post production techniques etc etc.

3. During your filming, ensure to capture yourselves filming - explain what you are doing, what you are trying to achieve and reflect upon the experience - what went well, what went less well.

4. Make up any key props that you require - newspapers front pages etc. Secure particular costumes etc.

5. Make sure that you have blogged all your permissions and risk assessments.
6. Research into films/dramas that have used particular props or sequences that you intend to use and see how they have been filmed. Can you pick up useful tips from these?

Feedback to deadline two - Pre Production

For those that I am supervising, you will find comments on your posts for Pre Production Planning - please read these if you have not done so already.

Generally, many of these were very incomplete - use your booklets to see what is missing.  The consequences of not completing all the criteria for deadline two are considerable - you will be docked marks for planning. 

Remeber there is a total of 20 marks for Planning. 

Don't throw these marks away.

Deadline three - Filming.

YOUR FILMING DEADLINE IS SOON!

Deadline Three – Filming

Filming stage: plan this extremely carefully. Read the booklet on this stage again. Take photos of your shoot as illustration of your decisions and evidence of your own presence. These should be uploaded to illustrate your discussion of choices and decisions made to which you each contribute.

By the deadline below: – all “rushes” (unedited, raw footage) to be completed and logged onto the Mac network as a rough cut into the correct file (Locate AS black and group).

All Filming processes, decisions and choices clearly recorded on the group blog. Each of you must contribute to this. Use screen grabs to illustrate shots and the shoot itself.

Again, use blog format fully and creatively.

Friday 8^th March, 4.10

Feddback fo deadline one

Far too many  of you present vusually uninspiring entries - few screengrabs for instance.  Also many of you failed to actually analyse and just listed elements of the 4 aspects of film language.  You need to analysse - why di this create a thriller effect - How were the openings constructed to do this?

Deadline Two

 

The first deadline for research has now passed.
If you failed to meet this deadline, it will have been noted and marks may be deducted for time management (an assessment criterion). You MUST complete this task, even if you failed to meet the deadline.
Your next DEADLINE is for planning. Study the list of requirements to the blog for this deadline. You will not be permitted to start filming unless these are done!

Deadline Two – Pre-Production Planning

A completed storyboard for the entire opening (preferably having used ‘post it’s), including initial ideas about title placing.

This needs to be made into an animatic of approximately the same length as the final film will be (shots to be timed carefully) with a voice-over explanation and embedded onto the blog.

Also:

- a synopsis for the whole film narrative from which this will be the opening (about 100 words),

- the script for any dialogue,

- list of roles (see pre-production planning advice)

- images of locations and decisions about locations,

- prop research and justification in terms of character and story

- health and safety, including risk assessments for filming and use of equipment.

- lighting decisions.

Blog Heading “Pre-Production Planning”(clearly label which group member has taken responsibility for each of the various posts).

Again, consider blog format – images, text, screen grabs, embedded video, hyperlinks, etc

If you want to film over half term, this needs to be handed in earlier in order that we can check it through and grant permission.

Deadline - Friday 15^th February, midnight.

SUMMARISING THE CONVENTIONS OF THRILLER OPENINGS

DEADLINE SUNDAY FEB 3RD, MIDNIGHT.

You have all been analysing the openings of thriller films to identify features used to create suspense, intrigue, enigma, fear and so on. These are some of the ways in which thrillers engage their spectators and create the genre. You should now be finding your own examples individually and applying some of our findings to these to explain how the openings are constructed in a way typical of the thriller genre. You should also explain how the opening is unique and different to others. You can use the check list below if you wish to analyse your own. YOU HAVE TO DO FOUR EACH.

CAMERA

· ECUs to distort

· shallow depth of field to draw attention to objects of
significance or distort perspective

· tight framing to restrict view - called restricted narration - eg
where only parts of body are visible, identity concealed>
shock delivered or enigma created

· Wide shots to create unrestricted narration and dramatic
irony and suspense

· Still (tripod) camera work (observation? suspense?)

· hand held camera for realism and/or subjectivity

· canted frame for disorientation

· pov shots/voyeurism

MISE EN SCENE

· variety of exterior settings, but often urban , or rural (rarely
suburban like Haywards Heath!)

· interior settings often reflect threat or sinister action - everyday
objects create menace

· Iconography of suspense: props may add to characterisation, OR
may create ENIGMA

· low key lighting

· desaturated colour or symbolic use of colour (eg red)

· creation of 'pathetic fallacy' (symbolic weather)

· costume, hair, make-up create realism and/or symbolise who
spectator is expected to dislike or like

EDITING

· continuity editing used for sense, flow, coherence and
realism

· parallel cutting used to connect 2 characters or places -
simultaneous action

· cross cutting used to connect 2 or more characters and
CREATE SUSPENSE

· occasionally: DISCONTINUITY EDITING (jump cuts or
shock cuts) used to fragment and disrupt sequence,
matching unsettling mood

SOUND

· diegetic sound used for realism and/or mood

· non diegetic sound as music or sound fx used to
construct mood/atmosphere and suspense

· parallel sound enhances vision

· contrapuntal sound may introduce threat or create
sinister mood

· dialogue used sparingly

Finding thriller openings

Can't think of any thriller films?
You will need to be prepared to spend several hours finding examples.
You can try using lists made by film fans on the internet (search for thriller films). Check with me that they can be classified as thrillers for our purposes (remember the difference between thrillers and horrors). If you are in college, ask to borrow some from our office for the lesson. Try to find UK thrillers, as UK films like yours will be, have distinctive use of mise en scene. Use youtube for some, but remember that you cannot use a trailer (look for the title 'part 1'). Have a look on the college streaming page for TV - planet estream - linked from the student homepage or moodle home page and browse TV thriller openings, but make sure that most of your research is based in Film as the pace is often different. Don't forget to search for big name directors in this genre: Alfred Hitchcock; Kathryn Bigelow; David Fincher; Quentin Tarantino etc.

Feedback

I have given feedback to al of you that i am supervising.  The following films have not been uploaded - Shay and Nicole, Helena, Max and Kate.  This is causing quite a lot of inconvenience for me.  ASAP or you will not receive any feedback.

Lighting Homework

Once you have gone through lighting in class, you will have one week to complete the Homework on Moodle - see homework 6 below on the Media AS page.  This is to be done as a group and will count towards your coursework grade because it will count as part of your Research and Planning mark allocation.  

Click on homework Six to read the instructions for the Homework.

Follow my blog

you should now sign up and follow my blog if you are being supervised by me!

Sound Homework

The task asked you to add sound to a film clip in Garageband - 

You needed to add at least ;

• 4 Foleys from GB
• A soundtrack from GB
• A Soundtrack from a copyright free website 
• A foley of your own making using a Sound Recorder.

The final product then needs to be uploaded to your blog by this
Wednesday.

Documenting how your prelim task illustrtaes the 3 continuity techniques

In 3 separate posts, using screengrabs, you need to demonstrate each of the 3 techniques that you were asked to demonstarte in the task.

i-Macs allow you take screen grabs by pressing CMD / SHIFT and 3 or 4 simultaneously (depending if you want to capture the entire screen or just a part of it).

Where to store your finished preliminary task

Once you have completed your prelim task, Go to  FILE / Export / Quick time conversion / and then choose the i-phone option and save as an i-phone conversion.  This will then save it to a resolution that is perfect for viewing on your blog.


Place your completed work in the AS Media Folder / Prelim Task  / Completed Prelim Task / Your AS block and then name it with your group names (First Name and Surname of each individual).

Then upload to your blog.

Media Studies foundation Portfolio 2013

The Preliminary task

This needs to be edited by the end of the week really.  However the final deadline is next Wednesday 23rd January.

1. Your video needs to be saved into the appropriate completed folder for your BLOCK

2. You need to then export and upload your video in Quick time to your Blog

3. On your blog, you will need to demonstrate through the use of screen grabs, the 3 continuity editing tasks that you were asked to complete.

4. ALSO, you will need to upload your sound practical using garage Band, copyright free music sources and your own recorded Foleys, onto your blog under a title of "Sound Practical" and you need to make it clear where each of the recorded sounds can be heard on your film clip.