Y9/10 and Y11 media BTEC students - production log

Hello ladies and gentlemen, here is some essential information about your production log:

During production phase each learner must keep a production log which:

●                                documents the production process

●                                notes how individual role has contributed to that process.

In order to get a merit for production you must: competently carry out a technical role in the creation of a video product.

In order to get a distinction you must: skilfully carry out a technical role in the creation of a video product.

I cannot be there to constantly assess this so you must provide evidence in the detail of your logs.

Look back through your logs and amend them so that you can provide the following clear details for each entry:

·       What was your role in the session; director / cameraman / actor?

·       Which scenes did you film (think of explaining where in the script the scene comes, what physically happens in the scene, who else was involved and the names of the camera shots and angles you filmed.

·       How well did you shoot them? Did you change your initial ideas or try different angles as back-up / additional footage?

·      Will you need to re-shoot anything? Why?

It is these details which will provide evidence that you are competently or skillfully fulfilling your role.

For Y9/10 and Y11 Media BTEC sets:

Hello ladies and gentlemen.

We have a very tight schedule over the next few weeks, as we have to finish filming, editing and evaluation of your films over the next six weeks.

You will have this week and next to finish your filming, followed by two weeks of editing where you will all produce your own edit of the film, with the best one being finally submitted.

Following this we will have two weeks to finish your evaluation of both the film and your role in its production.

Make sure you have all relevant props and costumes and make every effort to be on time and present for every session; you will not only be letting yourselves down but also everyone in your group!

This will be a lot of work but each and every one of you can achieve it, as long as you work to a disciplined schedule and follow instructions clearly.

Year 11 / Year 9 and 10 Media BTEC students

Hello everybody, most of you have finished your scripts and preproduction by now. Those of you who have not yet finished will have to attend the after-school sessions on a Thursday evening to catch up; the first session is this week.

You will be grouped into fours according to who has finished their scripts and will begin to work on the production of your scripts. First of all you will be pitching your proposals to each other. It will be up to you to decide amongst your group which film you will make; think about who has produced the best proposal, who has written the most exciting and inspiring script and who has produced the project which will be the most practical to film.

Next you will need to produce a list of the elements you will require to begin filming. You will need to think about:

Cast: how many people will you need to film. When will you need them? Try to work out who you will need for each scene.

Locations: where will you need to shoot scenes for your film? Will you need permissions? At what time of day or night will you need to shoot your film?

Costumes: what will your characters need to wear? Do you have the costumes yourself? If not, how will you acquire them? Will you need to borrow from family, friends etc?

Props: what props will you need for your film? Do you have the props yourself? If not, how will you acquire them? Will you need to borrow from family, friends etc?

Next you will need to think about blocking and scene selection. You will be going out with your group and copies of your chosen script to film some test shots for your film. This will require thinking about the shots you will use and also about blocking: working out where your characters will stand and their positions in relation to each other.

Once you have worked out these ideas, you will have until next week to sort out everything you need to begin filming: your homework this week is to arrange permissions, find appropriate locations, and assemble any costumes and props you will require.

Good luck and happy filming!

To Year 11 / Year 9 and 10 BTEC Media students

Welcome back everybody, I hope you have had a good break!

You should all now have finished your scripts and be ready to finish your pre-production. Any of you who have not will, unfortunately, have to come in to finish the scripts in detention.

The next step you need to do is to create some storyboard shots for your film. I have storyboard shots on file; ask me for them and I will put them onto your computer.

In the meantime, have a look at this link:

http://www.thestoryboardartist.com/Site/Hound.html

It provides an examples of a storyboard from the film Hellboy 2,  produced by Josh Sheppard, a professional storyboard artist who has worked on nearly 40 films.

You will not need to produce storyboards as detailed as these but you will need to produce at least 4 or 5 simple storyboard sketches, showing what happens in key scenes. Each will need a simple sketch or photograph accompanied by a written description of what happens in the scene.

Once this is finished, you will have to answer the following questions in a post on your blogger.com:

What is your target audience?

What locations will you need to make your film?

How many people will you need for cast / crew?
Will you need permission for filming in certain locations?
Are there any potential health and safety risks? If so, how will you make filming as safe as possible?
How can you group your filming into a schedule (so all scenes set in the same place are filmed together, to save time)?
How would you pitch your film to a producer?

For this last question, you will have to write a two minute pitch, describing why your film is exciting and interesting, and why it should be made. You will all pitch your films to the other people in your group and discuss which of your films should be made.

For Year 11 Media Studies BTEC Students

Hello everybody, I am away today, but there is plenty of work for you to get on with.

1.) Write a new post in Blogger.com describing the work you did last week and what you learned about character profiles.

2.)   Look on BBC Writers Room website http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/insight/childrens_drama.shtml and read through the first few scenes of the shooting script for The Sarah Jane Adventures- The Vault of Secrets Part 1.

3.) Write new post on Blogger.com describing the  layout of the script and how this will help you with your own scripts.

4.)   Revisit Guillaume Sabourin’s video “Camera angles and shots” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwbsYgZ7d-8 and write notes in your own words describing each shot.

5.)   Carry on with breaking your treatment down into scenes.

Save work and log off.

AFTER LUNCH

1.) Watch original District 9 short film on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlgtbEdqVsk then write down all the different camera angles you saw and post on Blogger.com.

2.)   Continue with scene breakdown of treatment, including camera angles where possible.

3.) Log onto each other’s Blogger.com and review each other’s scene breakdowns so far, writing a comment giving two positives and one thing which would make the script even better.

Save work and log off.

This should keep you busy for the two lessons. I look forward to reading your results on Blogger.com.

Mr Pyle.

Y11 BTEC media 08/11/11; Y9/10 BTEC media 10/11/11

Character Profiles

Script writers will often create detailed profiles of all the characters in a film or television programme, asking many different questions about each character. There is an example of a set of questions a writer might answer to produce a character profile below.

Soap operas such as Eastenders and Coronation Street, where a number of different writers write for the same characters, all have what they call “bibles,” which are detailed guides featuring key information about every character in the show.

You will not need to know every single fact in order to write your scripts; in fact, you may think that some of the questions have nothing to do with your script at all, but there is a point behind them.

The more information you have about a character, the more you know what they are really like, so the better you will understand how they will react in certain circumstances.

Knowing how your characters will react makes it easier to write a script, because it helps you to understand what the characters will do at each point.

Answer all of the questions below for at least one of your main characters.

CHARACTER PROFILE QUESTIONS

• What is your character's full name? What is their preferred nickname?
• How old is your character throughout the majority of the story?
• What is their date of birth?
• What is their place of birth?
• Are they male or female?
• Where do they live now? Are they married, single, engaged, divorced, widowed?
• Does your character have any brothers or sisters? If so, how many?
• What is your character's overall health like?
• What type of personality does your character have?
• What is their Ethnic background and religion?
• What is their current occupation?
• What level of education does your character have?
• What does your character like or love?
• What does your character dislike or hate?

Scene breakdown for Y9, 10 and 11 Media BTEC students

Ladies and gentlemen,

In an effort to help you along with the scene breakdown of your treatment, please look below for a scene I have created here. It contains all the elements you should be putting into each of your scenes when you break the treatment down into scenes.

1.     INT.       CLASSROOM.     DAY.

Mr Smith, a science teacher, stands at a desk, frowning and staring down at Billy Jones. Billy, a small, nervous-looking schoolboy, sits and stares up at Mr Smith with a look of fear.

Mr Smith shouts at Billy for not doing his homework and for not paying attention. Billy is in a detention for not doing his work. Billy tries to tell the teacher that he did do his homework but that the school bully, Bruiser Barnes, took it and tore it up, but Mr Smith does not believe him. Billy closes his eyes and puts his head on the desk as the teacher continues his rant.

CUT TO:

Each scene needs to be laid out like this. You will need a scene heading with the scene number, whether the scene is inside (INT) or outside (EXT), the location and the time of day.

Next you need to write a brief description of how the scene starts in italics (the diagonal writing like this.) This description should contain what the audience would see at the start of the scene, the characters they would see and what they are doing as the scene begins.

After this you need to write a brief description of what happens in the scene. Avoid dialogue if possible for now; once you have planned out the whole treatment you may find you have to cut scenes if it is too long so don't waste your time writing dialogue yet.

End your scene with either CUT TO: or FADE TO: according to how you would like to reach the next scene.

Read this carefully and use it to structure all the scenes for your treatment. Remember you need a separate scene for every location change in your treatment.