Rough Cut - Deadline

A rough cut of your trailer is due THURSDAY, 15th DECEMBER.

A rough cut will not necessarily include your final music/sound, but the majority of your footage should be in place and it should be arranged in an order that makes sense.

Blogs Must, Should, Could List

Blogs Must Should Could

Remaining Planning and Drafting - Due 11th Nov

You should all be in the final stages of planning (with your first draft script and storyboard complete). Below are the remaining (compulsory) tasks:

• Audience feedback on your script/storyboard
• Location Reports
• Casting
• Wardrobe
• Prop sourcing

As last year, the more detailed the better. You should be aiming to draw comparisons between your decisions and how they fit with existing conventions. You should also use the audience feedback to shape your product (ensure you explicitly comment on this too).

For those of you aiming for the best possible results in your coursework, you may want to consider the inclusion of:

• Test shots

• Lighting tests

• Make up tests

• Screen tests (actors)

• Further drafting on script (perhaps based on audience feedback)

Target Audience Research

Look at this article relating to target audience for films - HERE 

Find an existing film similar in tone to your own film concept and produce a research document outlining the target audience and how the marketing and film content has appealed to this group.

You should outline age groups, gender, demographics, psychographics etc... How did the film studio and distributor work to appeal to these groups? Think about marketing, film plot, stars, similar products, merchandise tie ins etc...

Here is an example of a layout:

Blogs Must, Should Could List

Blogs Must Should Could

Progress of Coursework

Use the following to help you get up to date:

Exemplar Blogs

As promised, here are two blogs from last year that achieved full marks for research and planning:

BLOG ONE

BLOG TWO

Planning Tasks - Drafting

Hopefully by now you have a fully formed concept for your film and you can now start developing a script, shot list and full storyboard.

Please remember that a this stage you will be producing first drafts - it is important to publish these drafts and any developments you make over the course of the next few weeks should be logged and reflected upon in your blog.

Below is an example of a script and how it should be formatted. Plus, I have taken screen shots of the latest 'Beauty and the Beast' teaser trailer which is 1 minute 31 seconds in length and is a pretty slow moving trailer! This gives you an idea of the number of shots you should be exceeding as I am sure your trailers will be more action packed!

Sugg Script Layout

Concept Development - Planning

Divide the following tasks between your group members:

• A moodboard/collage which represents the style and tone of your chosen film/genre
• An outline of your characters with comparisons to other existing film characters. You could also apply Propp's character type theory
• A name for your 'production company' and a logo design 

Iconic Imagery in Horror Trailers

Task - In your groups, decide on a rough narrative thread for your trailer. Once this is in place, discuss and draw up 5 iconic images you would like to include in your trailer. These images will need to be appropriate to the sub-genre of your film and linked in some way to your proposed plot - however, do not let this limit you! Below are some suggestions for how you might set out your work:

EXAMPLE: Evil Dead (2013)

Narrative: Exterior shows a secluded cabin in the woods. A girl is sat on the floor and asks for help to get out. The trailer cuts to a man reading a book with demonic images and warnings not to read. The girl in the cabin says there was something in the wood and we see her being chased and caught by gnarled branches. She says that there was something in the wood that is in the cabin with her now and the trailer cuts to various people seemingly possessed by this thing. The trailer cuts to people screaming in terror, possessed people doing bad things and an explosion. A child like rhyme is spoken at the end and a girl is dragged into a trapdoor.

IMAGERY -  

Narrative of Films vs Trailers

Finalising Your Film Concept - Due September 29th

Now that you have your audience feedback results you need to create a finished proposal for your film idea/concept. This can be presented in video format or as a document but it needs to include the following information:

• Working Title (this is a basic idea for the film's title - you will undertake title research and ask for audience feedback so this may change)
• Your Chosen Genre
• A Synopsis - a full breakdown of your film's plot and the characters

Pitches - Due 28th September

As one of your first planning task, I would like you to develop two or three film concepts and create a 'pitch' for each.

You will be filming these pitches and sharing them with the class (and perhaps the school) to gather feedback on which cinematic concept appeals most.

Your pitches should be engaging and sum up the concept of your film in under a minute!




Once you have some filmed pitches (like the excellent one above). Publish to your blog and create a survey (using Survey Monkey) to gather some feedback.

Codes & Conventions - DEADLINE

Deadline for trailers, posters and magazines codes and conventions posts...

WEDNESDAY, 21st SEPTEMBER 2016

Codes & Conventions - Film Magazines & Film Posters

Your next research task is to investigate and outline the typical conventions of film posters and film magazines. Working in pairs, look at a variety of posters and magazines in an effort to establish the common features in each (e.g. look at a variety of genres of films and more than one film magazine - Empire, Total Film, Sight and Sound are some suggestions).

In addition to outlining codes and conventions, I would also like you to start considering how the brand/identity of a film is maintained between trailer and poster (and if possible, when featured on a magazine cover). Be thinking about use of colour, fonts, logos, actors, imagery etc...

General Codes & Conventions of Trailers

Looking at between 10 and 15 trailers from a variety of genres, establish the typical codes and conventions.

You should consider:

• Use of text

• Use of dialogue/voice over

• Editing styles

• Sound/music

• Choice of shots (cinematography and action)

• Information included (and where)

• Font styles

• Inclusion of studio names, actors, directors etc...

• Colour palette?

As always - how you present your work is essential. Think of an interesting way to get this information across and show off the thoroughness of your research.

Holiday Homework - Evaluation

DUE FIRST LESSON BACK IN SEPTEMBER

Your homework for the summer holidays is as follows:

You are going to be evaluating and reflecting on the knowledge you gained from your AS coursework and the skills you have developed from the trailer recreation task.

OUTCOME - a post which includes your trailer recreation and an honest response to some questions designed to get you thinking about your work and how you are going to move forward in year 13. As always, you should be trying to think of new and innovative ways to present your work on your blog.

Possible ideas for responding to the evaluation questions could be a Podcast-style response, a mini-documentary with pieces to camera and edited examples, a filmed head-to-head interview/group discussion with others from your original group... the possibilities are endless!

Here are your suggested questions - this list is not exhaustive! Anything you may want to reflect on can be added/considered.

• Thinking back to your AS coursework, what did you find difficult/challenging? What do you plan on doing this year to prepare for and overcome these difficulties/challenges?
• In terms of practical skills you used and developed for your AS coursework, what do you see as being important for this year? How do you plan to develop and enhance these skills further?
• What do you think was the biggest lesson you learned last year? How will this impact your work this year?

• Thinking specifically about your trailer recreation, what surprised you about the process of shooting and editing a trailer?
• What did you learn and how do you plan on using this new knowledge in the creation of your own trailer?
• Thinking specifically about the footage you recaptured, was there anything that you recreated that you would never thought of yourself (e.g. an unusual angle/movement, a framing decision etc...)
• Finally, consider the editing process - what was the main lesson you learned about the editing style of a trailer? How do you plan on applying this knowledge to your own trailer? 

A2 Bridging Project

Task: Recreate a film trailer shot for shot. You will need to carefully consider the following:

• Shot types and angles
• Lighting, lighting, lighting
• Props, costumes, locations and make up

The aim of the project is to expand and further develop your creative production skills. The recreation needs to be as authentic as possible - shots and mise en scene should be as close to the original as you can manage. You have been assigned a group and a trailer. You will be working on this project over the next four weeks and it will contribute to your 'research and planning' for your year 13 coursework. You will film as a group BUT edit individually.

The groups (and trailers) are as follows:

• Tanatswa, Jack, Annabelle, Kate
• Alannah, Seb, Jaden, Amy
• Naomi, Mitchell, Frank, Tea
• Alice, Haydn, Samah, Adam