For some ideas, see the A-Level student blog here, another excellent AS Film blog here and here. Also see the Long Road Media Thriller Opening Project blog for masses of good advice on making a film opening.
To find out how to achieve the top Level 4 click here for an extemely helpful blog, which explains how you plan your coursework and gives hints and tips on research. IMPORTANT: for each task you must record ways in which your research might feed into your own production work - any ideas or inspiration it's given you.
RESEARCH TASKS
TASK 1: COLLAGE: Use found images from the Internet to make a collage or 'mood board' of iconic images from your chosen film genre. Record any ways you might use ideas from this for your own project.
DEADLINE: 18th September
TASK 2: PRELIMINARY TASK EVALUATION: Use the prompts below to write a detailed evaluation of what you learnt through your preliminary task:
Preliminary Task Evaluation
1. Describe your brief: to film someone walking through a door, sitting down opposite someone else and exchanging a few lines of conversation. How did you find the task overall?
2. Summarise the equipment and the software you used - what was new to you and what did you learn from it?
3. How did you plan the task? How was your planning useful to you and did you divert from it at all?
4. What challenges did you face during the planning, construction and editing of the task? How did you overcome them?
5. Watching your task, what sort of feedback have you received from others and how successful do you feel it has been? What would you do differently next time?
6. Overall, how pleased are you with the task and how do you think it might inform the next step in planning your film opening?
DEADLINE: 19th September
DEADLINE: 19th September
TASK 3: TIDYING UP YOUR BLOG: Your research and planning is marked by your teacher and then moderated by the exam board. You can gain up to 20 marks for this section of the coursework, but you need to work for them! Below is a section of the Foundation Portfolio Mark Sheet your teacher will use. Good organisation and presentation is key, so now make some labels for your blog posts:
1. Film Openings Research
2. Audience Research
3. Actors, Locations, Costumes & Props
4. Shotlists, Layouts, Drafting, Scripting, Storyboarding
As you post, make sure you are focused and label each post appropriately. That will make your blog easy to navigate and gain marks. Also, make it clear exactly what contribution you have made to the group - make it clear when something was your idea, which bits you filmed, if you found a location, if you directed a certain section...
DEADLINE: 22nd September
TASK 4:DIRECTORS: Research two or three iconic directors famous for their work in your chosen genre. Record any ways you might use ideas from this for your own project.
DEADLINE: 23rd September
TASK 5: CONVENTIONS OF FILM OPENINGS: Make your own PowerPoint or Prezi detailing the key conventions of film openings. Use the following articles to help you: http://whatculture.com/film/the-importance-of-film-openings.php, and for 2013's title sequence award-winners, see:
http://www.artofthetitle.com/news/sxsw-2013-wrap-up/
DEADLINE: 29th November
TASK6: CONVENTIONS: Research the key conventions of your chosen film genre. Record any ways you might use ideas from this for your own project.
DEADLINE: 24th September
TASK 7: TOP 10 CAMERA SHOTS: Research the Big Top 10 Shots for your chosen genre. For example, in Horror, the shots would be:
- off-kilter;
- over the shoulder shot of the killer;
- close up on weapon;
- close up/extreme close up of fear;
- 360 degree shot to show isolation/fear;
- high angle shot to show victim's vulnerability;
- low angle shot to show the power of the killer;
- how to stab someone without hurting them;
- point of view of victim and killer as victim crawls away on her back and killer approaches;
- use the power of suggestion...
Now in groups or pairs, go and film each of the 10 shots and upload them to your blog.
DEADLINE: 25th September
TASK 8: HISTORY: Research the history of your chosen genre. Record any ways you might use ideas from this for your own project.
DEADLINE: 29th September
TASK 9: NINE FRAME ANALYSIS: Produce a detailed analysis of the first nine frames of two films in your chosen genre (see Art Of The Title). This task can be written up as a blog post or in a word document and attached to your blog. Record any ways you might use ideas from this for your own project.
DEADLINE: 6th October
TASK 10: AUDIENCE EXPECTATIONS: Interview at least five members of your 'target audience' about what they expect from a film of your chosen genre. You could ask them what sort of protagonists they expect to see, whether they enjoy special effects, what sort of storyline interests them, whether music and sound effects are important. Record any ways you might use ideas from this for your own project.
DEADLINE: 13th October
TASK 11: AUDIENCE RESEARCH: Find a typical audience member for your chosen film genre and interview them to find out as much as you can: favourite music, films, fashion, hobbies, holiday destinations, perfume, favourite actors, TV programmes, who they watch TV and films with, whether they go to the cinema, when and what they see. If possible interview them on camera and add to your blog. Comment on how what you have found out will inform your own film opening. Also, make a collage or a mind map with a picture of your audience person and annotations of their likes and dislikes.
DEADLINE: 15th October
TASK 12: TYPICAL SYNOPSIS: Take four sub-genres of your chosen film genre and write a paragraph summarising the storyline of each. the IMDB can be helpful for this. Include a shot of each film in your blog. Record any ways you might use ideas from this for your own project.
DEADLINE: 20th October
TASK 13: ICONIC SOUNDS: Choose at least four sounds (and/or pieces of music) from your chosen genre and explain why they are typical and how they affect the audience. If you can, upload the sounds to your blog. Record any ways you might use ideas from this for your own project.
DEADLINE: 27th October
TASK 14: TITLE SEQUENCE TIMELINE: Watch the title sequence of a film that has been a big influence on your choice of task. Draw a title sequence timeline to show what credits are included and when during the first two minutes. Record any ways you might use ideas from this for your own project.
DEADLINE: 4th November
To see an example of the title sequence timeline, click on the link to another very good A-Level Student Blog:
http://cmdiplomayasmin.blogspot.com/
Click here to see the title sequence of 'Ginger Snaps'
TASK 15: FILM COMPANY IDENTS: Film studios produce their own animations to insert at the beginnings of film openings. Research the purpose of these film company idents and analyse two from your chosen film genre. How could you reflect your film in the film company ident you are going to create for your own film opening? For some ideas, see this article: http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2013/mar/13/clip-joint-bespoke-studio-idents
DEADLINE: 6th November
TASK 16: CERTIFICATE RATINGS: Research what each different film certificate rating means and think about which one will probably cover your chosen film. Record any ways you might use ideas from this for your own project.
DEADLINE: 8th November
PLANNING TASKS
TASK 17: GET REAL: Now you've done some research, it's time to start planning your own film opening. First, watch this video and use it to blog your ideas about the resources you can use for your work:
TASK 18: TREATMENT: Plan a presentation to the class, to take about 10 minutes, to explain your ideas for your film opening, the story, how it will appeal to an audience and who that audience will be. Make sure you include a timetable of when and where you are going to shoot and the actors you are going to use. For inspiration, have a look at some previous blogs such as: http://tabismediastudies.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/treatment.html
TASK 19: STORYBOARD: Make a storyboard for your film opening. Then use iMovie to create an animatic and upload to your blog. For example: http://jdmediastudies.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/final-storyboard.html and http://lizzysmediaasblog.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Storyboard.
TASK 20: LOCATION PLANNING: Visit the locations you want to use for your film opening. Take some test shots and upload to your blog.
TASK 21: ACTORS, COSTUMES AND PROPS: Do three blog posts to plan the actors you are going to use, what they are going to wear and any props you will need for your shoot.
TASK 22: SHOT LIST: Use your storyboard to create a shot list of the shots in order that you will shoot them. This is unlikely to be the order in which they will appear on your film opening. For example, you may want to film a sequence in close-up, mid-shot and wide before moving on to your next sequence, but when editing these shots might be cross-cut with another sequence for variety.
TASK 23: TIMETABLE: Make a timetable of when you are going to do the different tasks you need to do for your final shoot, such as shopping for any props, making fake blood, raiding your sister's wardrobe for costumes, meeting your actors for a rehearsal, organising your location and making any necessary arrangements for loan of equipment, etc. Allow yourself time for re-shooting anything that doesn't work first time, and plenty of time for editing.
TASK 24: RISK ASSESSMENT: You will need to produce a risk assessment for any filming you do, assessing any risks of damage to property or you/your actors, and ensuring you take appropriate measures to avoid unnecessary risks. Make a Risk Assessment for each different location you will be filming at, and upload it to your blog. A sample template is here:
Risk assessment template from stmarysmediastudies
TASK 25: ROUGH CUT: Once you've filmed your first shoot, blog about how it went and upload a rough cut to show to a focus group for initial audience reactions.
TASK 25: ROUGH CUT: Once you've filmed your first shoot, blog about how it went and upload a rough cut to show to a focus group for initial audience reactions.
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