Short film

After looking at the options for the practical productions I have decided to do the short film option. This option will require :

10. A short film in its entirety, lasting approximately five minutes, which may be live action or animated or a combination of both, together with two of the following three options:

A poster for the film.

A radio trailer for the film.

A film magazine review page featuring the film.

Here is the mark specification which is more specific to the option i have chosen :

Film/Television/Video

Level 3

The candidate is expected to demonstrate proficiency in the creative use of most of the following technical skills:

Holding a shot steady, where appropriate;

Framing a shot, including and excluding elements as appropriate;

Using a variety of shot distances as appropriate;

Shooting material appropriate to the task set;

Selecting mise-en-scène including colour, figure, lighting, objects and setting;

Editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer;

Using varied shot transitions, captions and other effects selectively and appropriately for the task set;

Using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set.

Level 4

The candidate is expected to demonstrate excellence in the creative use of most of the following technical skills:

Holding a shot steady, where appropriate;

Framing a shot, including and excluding elements as appropriate;

Using a variety of shot distances as appropriate;

Shooting material appropriate to the task set;

Selecting mise-en-scène including colour, figure, lighting, objects and setting;

Editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer;

Using varied shot transitions, captions and other effects selectively and appropriately;

Using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task.

Here is the more generalised version of the mark scheme which is applicable to all the specifications:


Level 3 12–15 marks

There is proficient research into similar products and a potential target audience.

There is proficient organisation of actors, locations, costumes or props.

There is proficient work on shotlists, layouts, drafting, scripting or storyboarding.

Time management is good.

There is a good level of care in the presentation of the research and planning.

There is proficient skill in the use of digital technology or ICT in the presentation.

There are proficient communication skills.

Level 4 16–20 marks

There is excellent research into similar products and a potential target audience.

There is excellent organisation of actors, locations, costumes or props.

There is excellent work on shotlists, layouts, drafting, scripting or storyboarding.

Time management is excellent.

There is an excellent level of care in the presentation of the research and planning.

There is excellent skill in the use of digital technology or ICT in the presentation.

There are excellent communication skills.

I plan to refer back to these mark schemes on a lot of occasions through out this project to make sure I am following the specification correctly and covering everything I need to.

Animatics

To get a rough idea of the work required to create a music video we created one minute long animatics of our chosen music video.

Animatics are generally a series of pictures from the storyboards that are synchronized with the sound track. This allows the animators and directors to correct any script or timing issues easily before the full animation begins.

Here is a fairly detailed description from wikipedia :

Animatic

Often, an animatic or story reel is made after the soundtrack is created, but before full animation begins. An animatic typically consists of pictures of the storyboard synchronized with the soundtrack. This allows the animators and directors to work out any script and timing issues that may exist with the current storyboard. The storyboard and soundtrack are amended if necessary, and a new animatic may be created and reviewed with the director until the storyboard is perfected. Editing the film at the animatic stage prevents the animation of scenes that would be edited out of the film; as traditional animation is a very expensive and time-consuming process, creating scenes that will eventually be edited out of the completed cartoon is strictly avoided.

In the mid 1970s, these were known as videomatics and used primarily for test commercial projects.

Advertising agencies today employ the use of animatics to test their commercials before they are made into full up spots. Animatics use drawn artwork, with moving pieces (for example, an arm that reaches for a product, or a head that turns). Video storyboards are similar to animatics, but do not have moving pieces. Photomatics are another option when creating test spots, but instead of using drawn artwork, there is a shoot in which hundreds of digital photographs are taken. The large amount of images to choose from may make the process of creating a test commercial a bit easier, as opposed to creating an animatic, because changes to drawn art take time and money. Photomatics generally cost more than animatics, as they require a shoot and on-camera talent.

music videos

To begin the practical part of the course we had a look at some music videos we enjoyed as this was one of the more popular options we could choose from.

I decided to examine the music video "Walking Contradictions" by the band Green Day. It was made in 1996 and is regarded as one of there most popular videos.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/walking_contradiction
http://www.greenday.com

Introduction

Hi my name is Martin Campbell and I am currently studying Media Studies A2 at the Kett Sixth Form in Norwich. This Blog will show my progression through the practical parts of the course and the learning processes required as I prepare to create, edit and exhibit my final production.