A2 transition-pack

CTK – Media Studies: AS-A2 Transition 2015

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-CONTENTS-PAGE TOPIC3 AS-A2 TRANSITION INTRODUCTION4 SCHEME OF WORK5 AS-A2 FILM SCREENINGS6 A2 COURSEWORK BRIEF7 THE HORROR GENRE11 CREATING A TREATMENT - GUIDANCE13 CREATING A STORYBOARD - GUIDANCE15 THEORETICAL CONCEPTS - GUIDANCE17 SUMMER WORK - GUIDANCE18 SUMMER WORK - MARK SCHEME 19 ASSESSMENT PACK20 ICONIC HORROR - VIDEO INFORMATION25 SEMIOTICS - LESSON NOTES27 SUB-GENRES - VIDEO INFORMATION29 THEORY LESSON NOTES31 TRAILER CONTENT ANALYSES33 TREATMENT35 SHOT-LIST/STORYBOARD37 THREE FILM SCREENING CRITS

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- AS-A2 TRANSITION - INTRODUCTION -

Welcome back AS students! The next four weeks will be focused on preparing you for the A2 Media Studies Course, covering both the exam (G325) and coursework (G324) units.

• You will be introduced to the A2 coursework brief & review past work (Trailers, posters etc.)• You will explore the Horror Film Genre + its most iconic films.• You will be study the conventions associated with horrors many film sub-genres.• You will investigate film theory and how it applies to the horror genre.• You will analyze the contents of horror teaser trailers.• You will understand the purpose of a storyboard and treatment and create your very own.• You will also have the opportunity to watch SIXTEEN real media text horror films.

Week 1: A2 Coursework Brief – Research the Horror Genre – Iconic Films – Horror Semiotics.Week 2: Horror Sub-Genres + Conventions – Theoretical Concepts – Trailer Content Analyses.Week 3: Treatment & Shot Lists/Storyboard – Inferred Meanings & Representation – Horror Quiz.Week 4: Summer Work Guidance – (Extension Activity: Review of Past Student Work).

- ASSIGNMENTS -

ASSIGNMENT 1COMPLETE THIS TRANSITION PACK

1. Iconic Horror Video Information2. Semiotics Lesson Notes3. Sub-Genres Video Information4. Theory Lesson Notes5. Trailer Content Analyses6. Treatment7. Shot-List/Storyboard8. Three Film Screening Crits

ASSIGNMENT 2PRACTICAL SKILLS PORTFOLIO (& SUMMER

PROJECT)

1. Edit Task: What if…was a Horror film? 2. Poltergeist Swede3. Garageband Horror score4. Location Recee Selfie5. Summer Assignment: Test film trailer, shoot

and edit on phone

THE STANDARD OF THESE TASKS DETERMINES WHICH GROUP YOU WILL BE PUT IN FOR THE WHOLE A2 YEAR. DO A GOOD JOB... YOU WILL WANT TO BE IN AN A-GRADE GROUP

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- AS-A2 TRANSITION - SCHEME OF WORK -

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Poltergeist Swede & the Summer Assignment

To complete the tasks, download this free app:

Transition Horror Film Screenings

Weds 2pm – 4pm in S025

Week 1: RecWeek 2: Nightmare on Elm Street

Week 3: The ExorcistWeek 4: Scream

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Media Students Only – all students must complete a minimum

of 3 x Crit Analysis for R&P

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- A2 COURSEWORK BRIEF -

CREATE A FILM PACKAGE FOR A HORROR FILMTEASER TRAILER – 40 MARKS

POSTER – 10 MARKS MAGAZINE – 10 MARKS

WEBSITE – 20 MARKS EVALUATION – 20 MARKS

Individual Roles & Responsibilities:

The exam board wants to see students develop their practical skills further than they did in A.S. One way, to ensure this is to assign individual responsibilities within the group. Each student’s area of responsibility must be clearly explored on the group’s blog/website. They could be: Camera operator, director, make up & costume supervisor, editor, designer etc. It is important that one student is blog or website administrator (upload documentation/ensures that each member contributes to the project/updates team log).

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- THE HORROR GENRE -

- SLASHER SUB-GENRE -

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- SPLATTER SUB-GENRE -

- VAMPIRE SUB-GENRE -

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- PSYCHOLOGICAL SUB-GENRE -

- ZOMBIE SUB-GENRE -

- MONSTER SUB-GENRE -

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- J-HORROR SUB-GENRE -

- THRILLER SUB-GENRE -

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- PICK A SUB-GENRE -

- CREATING A TREATMENT- GUIDANCE -

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WHAT IS A TREATMENT?

A treatment is essentially a breakdown of your movie/TV production. It can be anything from a single page, to twenty pages (or even more, depending on the density of the script). A treatment is a blueprint for a screenplay. In essences, a treatment is a Short Story, covering the basic ideas and issues of the production as well as the main characters, relationships, locations, and story angles.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF A TREATMENT?

There are two major purposes of a treatment. Initially, as a device for the writer to organise their thoughts and develop the texture of a script. Secondly, to sell the proposed movie to a commissioning editor, financial backers, or major stars. It is often presented in the form of a pitch, which explains why proposed financiers should invest their money in to an idea. It has to be impressive! Treatments are written in the present tense, are concise, grab the attention, and are interesting to read.

HOW TO WRITE A TREATMENT?

Your treatment should read as a short story, in detail, stage-by-stage as it unfolds. It reveals the full story sequence and its structure, key scenes, the main and secondary character personalities, relationships, and how they change and develop. Treatments have different functions: a writer may compose a highly detailed treatment in preparation for the first draft, but this will have to be scaled down to meet requirements of busy producers and development execs.

TREATMENT CHECKLIST

Production Team Name: Include Logo Movie Title (Working Title): Title can change through Production stages. Tag Line (If Appropriate): Quote, one line/phrase from/about the film. Format: TV program, video, film, trailer, advert etc. Genre: Include sub-genre if appropriate. Tense: Always present tense. Intended Audience: Who do you think will enjoy your proposal?

Synopsis: Outline of story/angle/summary of main events/similar to the back of a DVD (50 words).

o SAMPLE - ROCKY (1976): Rocky Balboa is a struggling boxer trying to make the big time. Working in a

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meat factory in Philadelphia for a pittance, he also earns extra cash as a debt collector. When heavyweight champion Apollo Creed visits Philadelphia, his managers want to set up an exhibition match between Creed and a struggling boxer, touting the fight as a chance for a "nobody" to become a "somebody". The match is supposed to be easily won by Creed, but someone forgot to tell Rocky, who sees this as his only shot at the big time

Characters: Profiles and relationships between other characters.

o SAMPLE: ROCKY (1976): Robert Balboa is a Roman Catholic Italian-American boxer, living in the slums of Philadelphia in 1975. ‘Rocky’, as he is known, begins dating Adrian Pennino, a shy pet shop worker. Rocky worships her and will do anything to give her a better life. Adrian is the younger sister of Rocky’s best friend Paulie. Paulie is a drunk, and is often horrible to both Adrian and Rocky. Despite this, Rocky will always look out for him. Lastly there is Rocky’s trainer Mickey Goldmill. Mickey is old, but an expert within boxing. Rocky greatly respects and cares for him. Rocky gets his big break to fight the undisputed World Heavyweight Champion, Apollo Creed. Although Rocky respects Apollo as champion, their relationship becomes strained as Rocky feels he can not only compete, but win.

Dialogue: None! Style: Concise, vivid, evocative; keep the text simple and visual. AVOID: abstract language, camera

movement/angles etc. Length: Hours/Minutes of proposal. Ratio: If your script is 100 pages and your treatment is 10 pages, then 1 page of treatment = 10

pages/minutes of script. Keep to this proportion. Rewrite: As with a script, you need to do a number of drafts of your treatment. Each draft should

concentrate on cutting away all unnecessary detail and making the story as vivid and engaging as possible. Less is more!

Locations: Possible early thoughts on places to shoot.

WHAT THE PRO’S SAY

“The most common phrase in Hollywood is not ‘Let’s do lunch.’ the expression you’ll most often hear in production, studio, and agency offices is: ‘OK, send me a treatment.’ Michael Halperin - Writing the Killer Treatment

“Treatments can be a poisoned chalice. They are enormously difficult to write, a nightmare, &they only give you a sense of the movie. The problem is: you can’t write a script before a treatment.” Adrian Hodges - Screenwriter

“This treatment not only tells the story, but it sells the story. It is a market piece. You write it for producers, talent, and directors - you want them to love the story. You want them to say, ‘what a great concept! Let me read the script!’” David Trottier - The Screenwriter’s Bible

“A treatment may not get a project made, but if it’s good and interesting it will at least get you an interview with the powers that be.” Allon Reich - Channel 4 TV/Film

“An outline is for you; a treatment is for them… the creation of a treatment is almost a required step in selling your script.” Howard Jay Smith - Opening the doors to Hollywood

If you are serious about making a successful film, you must master the craft of writing treatment

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Goldmill


- CREATING A STORYBOARD - GUIDANCE -

Storyboards are graphic organizers in the form of illustrations or images, which are displayed in a sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture. Storyboarding is a useful tool for getting students to plan and visualise their ideas, ensuring they make use of a variety of shots and angles.

FilmA film storyboard is essentially a film comic. Produced in pre-production, it helps film directors visualize the scenes and find potential problems before they occur. Often storyboards include arrows or instructions that indicate movement, and provide a visual layout of events through the camera lens. Most technical film craft details can be efficiently described either in picture, or text.

AnimaticIn film and special effects work, the storyboarding stage may be followed by simplified mock-ups called "animatics" to give a better idea of how the scene will feel with motion and timing. At its simplest, an animatic is a series of still images edited together and displayed in sequence. More commonly, a rough dialogue and/or rough sound track is added to the sequence of still storyboard images. This allows directors to work out camera positioning, shot lists and timing issues. Often storyboards include zooms and pans to simulate camera movement. This will highlight the need to either include or cut shots.

CreationStoryboards can be created by hand drawing or digitally on the computer. If drawing by hand, the first step is to create or download a storyboard template. These look much like a blank comic strip, with space for comments and dialogue.

EACH STORYBOARD FRAME MUST INCLUDE:Type of Camera Shot/Angle/Movement

Frame/Shot numberEditing notes - SFX/Music/Dialogue.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_director

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialogue

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_effects

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animation


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- THEORETICAL CONCEPTS - GUIDANCE -

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- SUMMER WORK - GUIDANCE - Over the summer holidays you will be expected to produce some work on the horror film genre .

This will be handed in on your first A2 lesson in September along with your transition period pack.

How well you complete this work will impact which group you are put in . You will be placed in a group with students who have put the same amount of time and effort in to their work as you. If you are lazy, you will be placed with other lazy students.

Past students have produced amazingly creative work and as a result placed in to an A-Grade group.

Possible Ideas:Horror Theories - Horror Films - Horror Sub-Genres - Film Franchises - Costume & Maybe Try Outs – SFX/After Effects Try-Outs - Original Film Concepts/Treatments - Original Film Marketing Campaign - Horror Timelines - Origins of Horror/History - Horror Trailer/Poster/Magazine Analysis – Moodboards - Horror Sound Research.

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- SUMMER WORK - MARK SCHEME -

HOW THE SUMMER HOLIDAY RESEARCH ON HORROR WILL BE GRADED, THIS INCLUDES THE FULL COMPLETION OF THIS TRANSITION PACK

A GRADE:

Summer holiday research and transition pack submitted by the deadline and demonstrates an EXCELLENT LEVEL of effort & pride in their work. The work produced will be characterized by a combination of both written and visual/aural work on at least two mediums and should demonstrate research into existing horror films, as well as students exploring their own original concepts and ideas for their own horror film. Students show an

excellent level of engagement with the topic, demonstrating at least fifteen hours of independent study.

B GRADE:

Summer holiday research and transition pack submitted by the deadline and demonstrates a PROFICIENT LEVEL of effort and pride in their work. The work produced will be characterized by a combination of both written and visual/aural work on at least two mediums and should demonstrate research into existing horror films, as well

as students exploring their own original concepts and ideas for their own horror film. Students show a good level of engagement with the topic, demonstrating at least twelve hours of independent study.

C GRADE:

Summer holiday research and transition pack submitted by the deadline and demonstrates a GOOD LEVEL of effort and pride in their work. This work will be characterized by a combination of both written and visual work on one medium, such as a study of the history of horror, a mood board exploring a subgenre or some footage filmed on a mobile phone exploring student’s original concepts and ideas for their own horror film. Students

show a good level of engagement with the topic, demonstrating at least ten hours of independent study.

D GRADE:

Summer holiday research and transition pack may not be submitted by the deadline, and may be rushed, lacking in structure or length. The work itself may have significant errors (in which ever medium has been

used). Less than 3 sides of written work produced, may contain some visual or filmed work. Lacks refinement.

E GRADE:

Summer holiday research and transition pack are not submitted by deadline, or parts may have been copied from the internet. Less than 2 sides of written work. Rushed. Little engagement with the subject. The work will

not appear to have had much time or pride invested in it. Will get an effort mark of 4.

U GRADE:

Summer holiday research and transition pack are not submitted by deadline.

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- ICONIC HORROR - VIDEO INFORMATION -

1Title: Dawn of the DeadRelease Date:Director:Sub-Genre:Notes/Facts

2Title: HalloweenRelease Date:Director:Sub-Genre:Notes/Facts

3Title: ScreamRelease Date:Director:Sub-Genre:Notes/Facts

4Title: Nightmare on Elm StreetRelease Date:Director:Sub-Genre:Notes/Facts

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5Title: SawRelease Date:Director:Sub-Genre:Notes/Facts

6Title: TeethRelease Date:Director:Sub-Genre:Notes/Facts

7Title: 28 Days LaterRelease Date:Director:Sub-Genre:Notes/Facts

8Title: The ThingRelease Date:Director:Sub-Genre:Notes/Facts

9Title: PoltergeistRelease Date:Director:Sub-Genre:Notes/Facts

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10Title: The RingRelease Date:Director:Sub-Genre:Notes/Facts

11Title: CarrieRelease Date:Director:Sub-Genre:Notes/Facts

12Title: The OmenRelease Date:Director:Sub-Genre:Notes/Facts

13Title: The Evil DeadRelease Date:Director:Sub-Genre:Notes/Facts

14Title: AlienRelease Date:Director:Sub-Genre:Notes/Facts

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15Title: Paranormal ActivityRelease Date:Director:Sub-Genre:Notes/Facts

16Title: The ExorcistRelease Date:Director:Sub-Genre:Notes/Facts

17Title: The ShiningRelease Date:Director:Sub-Genre:Notes/Facts

18Title: Blair Witch ProjectRelease Date:Director:Sub-Genre:Notes/Facts

19Title: Human Centipede 2Release Date:Director:Sub-Genre:Notes/Facts

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20Title: Cabin in the WoodsRelease Date:Director:Sub-Genre:Notes/Facts

21Title: Friday 13thRelease Date:Director:Sub-Genre:Notes/Facts

22Title: RecRelease Date:Director:Sub-Genre:Notes/Facts

23Title: The DescentRelease Date:Director:Sub-Genre:Notes/Facts

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- SEMIOTICS - LESSON NOTES -

Phallic Power: Knives/Teeth/Fangs/Flesh

Body Transformation

Yonic: Corridors/Birth/Alien

Monsters/ The ‘Other’ & Man vs God

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Youth & Virginity (Death of Innocence)

- SUB-GENRES - VIDEO INFORMATION -

SLASHER

SPLATTER

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VAMPIRES/WEREWOLVES

PSYCHOLOGICAL/SUPERNATURAL

ZOMBIE

MONSTER

J-HORROR

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THRILLER

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- THEORY - LESSON NOTES -

Ideology: The Enemy Within (Marxism)

Representation: Final Girl

Feminism: Male Gaze (Mulvey)

Genre Development (Neale)

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Representation: Zombies, materialism & violence (Kim Paffenroth)

Narrative: Binary Opposition (Levi-Strauss)

Narrative: 3 Act Structure (Todorov)

Narrative: Character Types (Propp)

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- TRAILER CONTENT ANALYSES -

TRAILER ONEFilm Title: PoltergeistDirector:Year: 2015

Shots of Victims

Shots of Aggressor

Graphic Content

Sound Techniques

Editing Techniques

Camera Techniques

Locations

TRAILER TWOFilm Title:Director:Year:

Shots of Victims

Shots of Aggressor

Graphic Content

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Sound Techniques

Editing Techniques

Camera Techniques

Locations

TRAILER THREEFilm Title:Director:Year:

Shots of Victims

Shots of Aggressor

Graphic Content

Sound Techniques

Editing Techniques

Camera Techniques

Locations

TRAILER FOURFilm Title:Director:Year:

Shots of Victims

Shots of Aggressor

Graphic Content

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Sound Techniques

Editing Techniques

Camera Techniques

Locations

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- TREATMENT - OWN FILM -

FILM TITLE (WORKING TITLE)

TAG-LINE

SUB-GENRE

TARGET AUDIENCE

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PROTAGONIST

ANTAGONIST

SYMBOLIC CODES


SYNOPSIS

NARRATIVE - TODOROV THEORY APPLIED

EQUILIBRIUM:

DISEQUILIBRIUM:

RESOLUTION:

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INFERRED MEANING/REPRESENTATION


- SHOT LIST/STORYBOARD - OWN FILM-

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- FILM CRIT: ONE -

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FILM TITLE:YEAR OF RELEASE:DIRECTOR:

BURTON THEORY

PROTAGONIST:

ANTAGONIST:

THEME:

STOCK CHARACTERS:

STOCK SITUATIONS:

ICONS:

BACKGROUND & DECOR:

TODOROV THEORY

EQUILIBRIUM:

DISEQUILIBRIUM

RESOLUTION:

FILM REVIEW:

- FILM CRIT: TWO -

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BURTON THEORY

PROTAGONIST:

ANTAGONIST:

THEME:

STOCK CHARACTERS:

STOCK SITUATIONS:

ICONS:

BACKGROUND & DECOR:

TODOROV THEORY

EQUILIBRIUM:

DISEQUILIBRIUM

RESOLUTION:

FILM REVIEW:

- FILM CRIT: THREE -

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BURTON THEORY

PROTAGONIST:

ANTAGONIST:

THEME:

STOCK CHARACTERS:

STOCK SITUATIONS:

ICONS:

BACKGROUND & DECOR:

TODOROV THEORY

EQUILIBRIUM:

DISEQUILIBRIUM

RESOLUTION:

FILM REVIEW:

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AS-A2 TRANSITION

MEDIA STUDIES

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A2 transition-pack

Education

Transcript of A2 transition-pack