Blog Tick List

Deadline Tuesday 27th January

RESEARCH (primary and secondary)
Thriller codes and conventions
Thriller film openings and analysis
Film Reviews
Target audiences
Directors
Actors
Production Companies
Music


PRE-LIM
Introduction to the task
Editing theory (continuity, 180 degree rule, match cut, etc)
Camera Theory (camera shots, angles, effects, etc)
Skills learnt in filming / editing
Review of Pre-lim filming (what did you learn from exercise)

PLANNING
Review of past students thriller film
Storyboards (scanned in)
Idea development
Synopsis of final idea
Production Schedule
Shot Lists
Contingency Plan
Costume / Prop lists / Locations

You will be marked on:
• Research into similar products and potential audience
• Organisation of actors, locations, costumes, props
• Shot lists, scripting, storyboarding, etc
• Time Management
• Level of care in the presentation of research and planning
• Use of digital technology and ICT in the presentation of your blogs
• Communication Skills

You could use Flickr to upload your storyboards into an animated series
Please see HKn if you would like anything scanned
Remember to tag your posts
Remember to reference secondary material correctly

As we come to the end of the practical.....

As the practical comes to a close we wanted to ensure that you are aware of a number of things that are still left to do and keep you in the picture in terms of how your work is assessed.

The practical unit is worth 50% of your final AS grade

It is marked out of 100: 20 marks for the presentation of the planning and research; 60 marks for the construction; 20 marks for the evaluation.

The final deadline for the planning and research will be Tuesday 27th January. This should represent 18 weeks worth of work! This section will be marked this week so there will be no negotiations! It will not be possible to achieve a decent grade without this section.

You will be working on the evaluation during the Tuesday lessons. The deadline for the evaluation will be Tuesday 24th February.

You will be starting to prepare for the exam in June on Thursday’s until the end of term.

You have all produced excellent video pieces that you should be proud of. However, you will be disappointed in your final grade if you do not complete the research, planning and evaluation to the same high standard.

I will be producing a tick list for the research and planning sections to help you over the next week. However, it can all be found on this homepage!

PRODUCTION BLOG

Please keep up to date with your blogs as your production gets under way.

Here are some suggestions;

Synopsis of your ideas Dates for filming Storyboards Shot List
Proposal
Contingency plans
Checklist of costumes, props.
Camera problems
Editing problems
ANY problems & solutions
Who turned up for filming (and who didn’t)

Remember the blog is a great way to communicate within your teams.

Thriller Production

AS THRILLER PRODUCTION PLAN OF ACTION
Term 2
This plan of action has been written so that you can take control and ownership of your own practical production. Everything you need to know about what you should be doing and when for is included below. Please read this sheet carefully and ask if anything is unclear. The deadline dates that have been set for filming are not flexible and are out of the control of your teachers. Remember this is worth 50% of your final grade. Most importantly have fun filming and we look forward to seeing the best AS Thrillers ever produced!

WEEK /DATE AND TUTOR
PLAN OF ACTION

3 Tuesday 18th November (BWi)
Finalising Thriller ideas and presenting them to the rest of the class. Gain positive and constructive criticism. Keep all notes in order to update blog. Gaining, responding and evidencing feedback is a very important marking criteria.

3 Thursday 20th November (HKn)
Shot, costume, props, actors, scripts, finalising filming dates and filling out booking forms. Plan and organise to film whole thriller opening next week from Tuesday onwards. Remember to confirm dates with your actors. Make a note of everyone who is participating (including actors) mobile numbers so you can all keep in contact.

4 Tuesday 25th November (BWi)
2.45pm Collect camera, tripod and tape from classroom. Rest of lesson allocated to film. Remember all filming must be completed by Tuesday 2nd December! No exceptions will be made – do not ask.

4 Thursday 27th November (HKn)
Lesson allocated to film. Attendance is not necessary.

5 Tuesday 2nd December (BWi)
Individual tutorials to review footage. You will be allocated a specific time to attend. Bring your labelled tape with you! You must return your camera and tripod to the media technician’s office (opposite the edit suite) between 1.00 – 2.00pm. Failure to do so will have serious consequences.

5 Thursday 4th December (HKn)
Blogs to be updated with planning and filming stages. Read the guidelines provided for you on the blog’s homepage for further guidance

6 Tuesday 9th December (HKn)
Capturing footage in edit suite

6 Thursday 11th December (HKn)
Capturing footage and starting to edit

7 Tuesday 16th December (BWi)
Edit and blogging


7 Thursday 18th December (HKn)

Edit
(Further edit lesson to follow next term)

Two Weeks To Go

There are now only two weeks left to complete the research and preliminary task sections to your blog. Use the holidays to ensure that all the key areas are covered.

Your Preliminary task will be added to your blogs shortly so keep an eye out for it and ensure that you evaluate the completed task using technical language; what did you learn? How will it inform your approach when planning for the thriller opening?

Well done to all those students who have added multiple posts, many of which make really interesting reading. The ones that work best are those that have included personnal responses to found material, i.e. a film reviews, responses to theory, film analysis. This approach demonstrates an engagement with the material and is evidence of your growing knowledge and understanding of Thriller films. Keep it up.

For those that have yet to post a comment, time is running out. I'm sure you would agree that blogging is prefereable to writting an essay but the rule of a deadline still applies. The more you find out, the more informed and prepared you will be to create your own Thriller Opening - so there is a point to it all!

Have a great holiday and remember that the deadline is the first Tuesday back.

Skills

Just a reminder to you all...
You should also be blogging your developing technical skills and your experiences of filming and editing.
Here are some hints and questions to ask yourselves;

• Which camera are you using?

• Before filming, what checklist would you give yourself?

• Explain your knowledge of camera shot types and angles explaining how these communicate to audiences.

• What is continuity editing?

• Explain the 180 rule. (you could use a diagram or picture...remember it cant be worse than miss williams' drawing!)

• Explain what a 'match on action' is. remember you can use diagrams / drawing etc.

• How did your filming go? Did it happen as planned? Did you have any technical difficulties?

• What have you learnt from the pre-lim filming exercise? If you could do it again, what would you do differently?

• Who did what in the pre-lim?

• How do you feel you performed in your production role?

• What camera / editing skills did you have before you started? What skills have you now got? Are there any more specific or identifiable skills that you will need for your thriller?

  
  

Thriller Research

Once you are up to speed you must start your Thriller Research. The Deadline for the research is Tuesday 4th November (first AS lesson after the holidays).

You must find information from a range of sources (remembering to reference correctly) and use both Primary and Secondary research methods to gain a solid understanding of the Thriller genre, its audience and producers.

Areas to cover:

• Defining the genre
• Sub-genres
• Target Audiences
• Directors
• Actors
• Industry