Year 12 Media Blog

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Review the prelim task.

You need to include the following in your posts and can refer back to the earlier post on your blog where you wrote about the prelim. Make sure your actual prelim film is on the blog
- What was the brief?
- Why were you asked to complete the prelim?
- What did you learn from the task? See below for ideas]
- How did it help you in the thriller opening work?
Think about what you learned about:
- Rules of continuity what are they? 180 degree rule eyeline match, match on action etc
- genre/ narrative
- generating and developing ideas – the creative process
- importance of effective planning – casting, locations, establishing mise en scene,
- filming techniques
- editing with final cut
- effective group work/ organization
- getting and taking advice
- time
- how difficult it is to make 2 minutes of film!
What would you do differently/ next time?

How can you show this on your blog? Some ideas…
1. A group short video of advice to next year’s yr 12. Prepare a section each or a few sections in pairs. Film and edit together quickly. Give sensible advice closely linked to your experience – but make it fun. Could end with top tips!
Keep it short and snappy!
1. A photostory made out of all your production stills from prelim to film opening which shows the story of your progress and understandings
Or
1. Similar to above but as a slideshare presentation with top tips at the end.
www.slideshare

Or
1. A video post with your group discussing aspects of the prelim – what you did and what you learned – intercut with bits of the prelim
Or any other great idea .How about a spoof of the prelim or a pretend interview with you as Hitchcock?

Evaluation Question 5

1. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
You need to show two things
- The potential of digital technology for creativity and communication
- The skills you have developed in using technologies
Think about all of the advantages and disadvantages that digital technologies have brought in terms of the power to create and communicate/ to make and distribute media products. You will do some work on this as a class. Make notes to use in your blog entry.

NOW BLOG ENTRY

For this entry we should try to use the most interesting technology to deliver the post.

It could be
- Filmed interviews
- A short making of… could be done in a spoof style
- Think how you could create the information for this post and them communicate / pass it on through different sources email. Text, tweet, facebook, photos, instagram etc
- You could create little animation in i-movie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2y9GlmOPT2w

You could have some of the information delivered via an small avatar

https://eduhowto.wordpress.com/2013/02/18/15-free-safe-avatar-creators/

Pair up in your groups and interview each other on the skills and technologies you have used and developed using flip cameras. Refer to specific things that you did ie shots you filmed/ bits you edited. Show each other using the technology if possible!

Evaluation Question 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

How did you attract/address your audience?

ANSWER BOTH QUESTIONS

Think about…

Summarise all info on the audience
Demographics/ psychographics
Certification
Genre – who would watch your sort of thriller?
What elements did you include to appeal to that audience? Eg music/ actors

You must include some audience feedback here this can come from the peer assessment but also get some other people to look at your work and comment

Ideas for blog…

Do short vox pops on audience with flip cameras and upload and add link to blog.
Questionnaire

Evaluation Question 3

What media Institution might distribute your Products and Why?

For this blog entry you need to set your film in an institutional context. You need to think of it as a real complete film.

Is it a Hollywood mainstream film or a low budget British film? Or is it both?

Production Company: What production company made your film? Did you invent your own and put it ion the credits? What sort of company is it?

UK? What scale of company? What sort of company is it like?

Working Title
Bedlam Productions
Big Talk Productions
Blueprint Pictures
DNA Films

Finance- how were the films financed?

Distribution Companies:

What is the role of a film distribution company?
What distribution companies could have distributed your film and why? For example, are there any films that are similar to your film- how was it distributed?

Look on this site: http://www.launchingfilms.com/links/

What distribution plan would your film follow? ( when and where would it be released- country etc)

Marketing Ideas: How would your film be marketed if you released it formally? Would it follow any existing marketing campaigns that have been used for other films?

Exhibition: What cinemas would your film be exhibited, if it were formally released? Do these cinemas fit in with the demo and psychographics of your audience?

Think of some similar films to your own and research how they were distributed/produced/ financed- THEN apply it to your own film as if it were going to be formally made.

How can you show this all on the blog in an interesting way?

Give some info on the above and then…

Make a mock up of a film poster with the film companies on and annotate it

Create a video/ magazine mock interview with the producer explaining where the finance came from and what it was like working with…

Create a marketing plan for your film [ remember what you learned in the film industry unit about this ad what is involved in such a plan

Evaluation Question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The groups that you will consider will depend on your film. They may be related to age, gender, social class, ethnicity/ race, special interest etc

Think about how you have represented them through your construction of film language.

How far have you replicated dominant representations. How far have you challenged or subverted those representations

NOW..BLOG ENTRY

Create a collage of images of typical representations of your group/ characters in other thriller films.

Bring in theories like the Male Gaze. The final Girl, The Femme fatale

Add clips from films that illustrate typical conventions

Chose some screen shots photos of your groups/ characters and annotate to explore your representations.

You can incorporate text into the collage or record your analysis in post-production.

Evaluation Question 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Think about…

What are the typical conventions of a thriller opening?
Think about style/format/cinematography/narrative/characters/settings/text /titling.
Have you used typical conventions?
Any specific influences from other films?
Have you deliberately broken or subverted the typical conventions?
How and why have you done this? Think of specific examples.

NOW… BLOG ENTRY.

Create a prezi presentation exploring thriller / film opening conventions and comparing with your own work and its conventions.

You can use screen shots from your film to illustrate how you have used developed or challenged typical conventions. Annotate the shots to show your ideas

We shot this through broken glass to give the idea that there was something wrong and sinister with the character.

By shattering the shot of a child we made it chilling and emotive

Thriller films often play around with point of view and the idea of looking and watching.

You can embed links to clips also.

Editing Posts

To accompany the editing process of your Thriller, you need to explain how you created the film opening. You can discuss:

Changes to your sequence (how you built up the timeline, any changes you made)
Any fine editing (Colour correction / speeding up clips / etc.)
Effects or Transitions you apply
Titles you create
Any video and audio editing

You are documenting the process of making the Thriller opening. You need to create a post each time you edited.