Message for Ben Baeza, Bea, Kiah and Michael

I've tried to put a comment on your blog, but as I thought, there is a problem with posting comments on your blog (the dialogue box doesn't include a space for the word verification). As I don't teach you tomorrow, can you ask Andy Paul or Richard Ellis to sort this out for you? I have given you the go ahead to start filming, on the condition that you are careful about activities filmed as part of the flashbacks, and that the length of flashbacks is kept to a minimum. You still need a full storyboard, and an animatic with an interesting ending - this must be done tomorrow.

Feedback on Planning Deadline

Please enter a heading only entitled: 'Planning Deadline Feedback' so that we can post comments on your plans. We will give feedback by the end of this week.

Permission to go ahead with filming

You will all need to make sure that you have the 'go ahead' for filming before you proceed. We will look at all ideas after the deadline on Wednesday and let you know.

Missing from research posts

Most, if not all groups have forgotten to include research and findings with links into the marketing/promotion and institutional material for 2 short films, including Wasp. This must be done asap to begin prep for the ancillary tasks.

Also, please make sure that your blog has a heading post for each of you to get individual research feedback, eg: 'Research Feedback for ....'. This should have been done already, but many of you haven't yet done it, making it difficult to navigate your blog and therefore difficult to award marks. It should also be clear on your group blog list of posts whose research is whose - you may need to change headings for posts to do this in 'edit posts'. As we have suggested, you should try colour coding individuals in the group, so that your work can be found easily.

Deadline Approaching!

Study the list of things you need to have ready for Wednesday. Make sure that you allow enough time to consult with representatives of your target audience for initial feedback on story ideas. Remember to use the blog potential to the full.

Next Deadline

As you know, the next deadline involves continuing research into inspirational short films, and pre-production planning. Remember to consult the booklet frequently for advice on each stage, and mark scheme.

Here is the summary of material for submission at the next deadline:

Deadline Two: Ongoing Research and Pre-Production Planning
On your group blog by the date below, with everyone contributing equally, and all individual posts labeled with names and colour -coded:

- individual blog material copied onto chosen group blog
- evidence of ongoing research into short films (embed links to more films the group finds inspiring, with comments)
- short statements (bullet pointed paragraphs) on initial group decisions in each of the areas for assessment in Unit G325: genre/style, narrative, representation, target audience, use of film language (eg ideas for key shots and dominant mise en scene). Remember that you will need to consult members of your audience for feedback later in the process!
- allocation of roles at this stage
- location research (photos taken and uploaded with notes)
- initial props ideas and photos with notes
- lighting notes (on animatic or as separate posting)- use examples from others
- storyboard as animatic (with or without commentary)
- outline script (either as part of animatic, or separate posting)
- initial ideas for additional sound (soundtrack, foley/fx, ambient)
- notes, images, links on initial research into short film promotion (advertising, reviews)
- some audience feedback on story ideas, proposed characters and scenes (can be gathered and presented through social networking sites), with comments posted

Wednesday 27th January

This Week

You should be continuing with research throughout your planning, and we will expect to see evidence of this on the blog.
In your first lesson this week you will choose one blog from your group to adopt as your group blog from now on, and you will copy and paste work from others in the group onto that one. You will also be getting the full brief with remaining deadlines and advice in that lesson. Following that lesson, on both sides, you will begin planning your short film. Good luck!

Keep doing your research!

Very little digging around on youtube produces some fantastic examples of short UK films. Look at this one - official selection for the Cannes Film Festival, 2005

Snow Today!

I hope you managed to enjoy it (or is it enough now...?)!
As your deadline is electronic, and you need to do independent research, the deadline for Friday still stands. As we have already said, blog comments on as many short films as you can, including your own examples. Screening of these will continue this week, and next week we will be merging blogs, introducing the booklet and full brief, and beginning planning.

Deadline Approaching!

As you will have seen from the notices around the classrooms, your first research deadline is this Friday January 15th.Time is tight, but we do expect you to have blogged your answers to the questions for each of the films we have screened in class, plus one or two of your own choice. This shouldn't be the end of your research though, and you should keep going with it when you're planning and filming. If you don't make this deadline, you will have more to do later!

Heading 2 on your blogs

Your notes on your blog for this section of the work should be headed 'Research Tasks' - you can use the questions to organise bullet points. Write as much as you need to, fully answering the questions, but make sure that you insert as much multi media as possible (eg links to youtube, embedded films from youtube or other hyperlinks. Below is a copy of the brief:

Media Studies A Level, Advanced Portfolio, Research and Planning

Main Task: Making a Short Film lasting Five Minutes

Research and Planning Task

Study some selected short films and your own choice of short films, and make notes to answer the following questions. Afterwards, record your answers as fully as possible in bullet point form on your blog, under the heading: ‘Research Tasks’. Identify each film you discuss with its title, director and year of production.

1. Identify the genre/s or style/s used, providing micro evidence of conventions used in the film in terms of style or content (eg iconography, mise en scene, sound, narrative structure, themes and issues, characterisation …)

2. All films use genre or style conventions uniquely. How does this film use genre/style conventions uniquely? What aspects of their use do you find interesting or inspiring?

3. How does the film use the short film format? What are the advantages of the short narrative? How is the narrative structured? (It is not essential to discuss Todorov’s theory here, but you do need to account for the choice of narrative structure and ordering, and the choice of opening and ending). Again, make some comments related to your own planning where possible: what are you inspired by?

4. What do you find interesting about the use of sound? Use sound terms to analyse, and consider whether you might extend any of the ideas yourselves.

5. Themes and issues and representation: what does the film seem to be about? Does it ‘position’ the audience to take a particular view on the subject matter? If so, how is that achieved? Which social groups are represented by the film? Explain how they are represented, using evidence: consider whether stereotypes are used, and whether this is a sympathetic representation of these types of characters?

Suggested Films:

Conversation Piece, (Stewart), 2009

Wasp (Andrea Arnold), 2003

Joyride (Gillespie), 1995

Eight (Daldry), 1998

Lou-Lou Lives Here (Grian) 2003

Select your favourite 2 from Virgin Media Shorts

Research Tasks

You should be starting your research tasks now. In class you will all study the short film 'Joyride', and blog individual answers to the questions you have been set. Following that, you will study a further 5 short films in class and blog more analysis. You must then complete additional research on more short films of your choice. Virgin Media shorts are a good source for this.

Some more short films...

Have a look at these...

Starting the Research for the Short Film

Here are some links to youtube short films, that you should view as part of your research:

Welcome!

If you are reading this, you are probably being supervised by me for your Advanced Portfolio. You will have set up your own blog, and very soon you will need to follow my blog so that you get any messages I send directly via the blog. I will also be following your blog, so that I can post comments on your progress, suggest material to research, and help you improve your work. I will also use this blog as a way of introducing you to links you should visit, and also to assess your work - as you found last year, the blog is a crucial part of your assessment for the overall grade.