1 location1 prop1 random generated film title

You have to come up with a synopsis for a film including all three in 6 minutes.

• Sort the features of practical work into your experience of whether they:

Always occur Usually occur Sometimes occur Never occur

• The good news is that you really don’t need amazing cameras to produce excellent practical work

• In fact, excellent cameras can even highlight incompetency with the basics in production skills - shaky cameras/lack of tripods/playing around with the functions too much/not understanding how to use the cameras

• You will be given either a link to a film opening or three pages from a music magazine and a jigsaw sheet

• Your task is to take the project back in time. Retrace the journey you ideally would have encountered from end product back to concept.

• Why? Because the stages which lead to the end product are what makes good practical work.

Film openings

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuU5LBODrSs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_OiWtv7EOM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F33eBPO3Zqw

What kind of things get missed out from the journey?

Head - ons Amendments to ideas

Thought plans – camera placement details

Experimentation with cameras

Justification of decisions

Inspiration blog/collation

Development of the actual product – the actual growth of the product

Physical comparison of own product with ‘real’ products throughout construction process

Original sound construction and inspiration for it

Detailed photoshoot plans

Shot lists Practical/realistic (real) filming schedules

Script blocking (with a producers vision)

Evidence of original footage pre-editing

Amendments to shooting schedules - reasoning

• Robbie McKillop – Director of ‘Our Zoo’ and ‘A Young Doctor’s notebook’ always presents his initial ideas for a film as a HEAD-ON. Essentially these are informal presentations of ideas put on paper – mood boards but with purpose and direction. The idea is that you collate general ideas for the film and combine it with images that you can image appearing in the film/shots that you like/colours that you can imagine/quirky images/shot types you feel belong there etc

• Michelle Eastwood – Producer of ‘In Our Name’ and Co-Producer of ‘Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll’ – strongly feels that a recce is essential for good practical work. In fact, more than one recce! The most important recce should be the one when you do a run through of the action before the shoot day so that you know exactly what will happen on the day – make the mistakes etc before the day.

Other important processes

• Detailed organisation of the photoshoots prior to the day is essential. It is often skimmed over and consequently the shoot may not be as successful as required

• Thought plans are essential, particularly for moving image but also for magazine work. These are essentially hand created sketches of locations and details of where the cameras will be positioned and how you will move around the set (avoiding being caught in shot/mirrors etc)

• Script blocking is also essential for good practical work. Not enough time is spent on really working ideas into a true script in the first place. Scripting does not have to mean words! It’s more about direction and mood which leads to ideas about how this can be turned into a film opening considering camera/sound etc.

You will be allocated one of the tasks to complete as if you were carrying it out for the product you looked at at the start of the session. Obviously this is occurring after construction which defeats the purpose and should be completely avoided during student production or it makes a mockery of the importance of planning.

1.Thought planning2.Script blocking3.Recce planning for one of the locations in the opening – things to ask yourself when on location4.Photoshoot planning

• Create groups around the room which have representative voices of all four task.

• Evaluate the effectiveness of your activity as if it was embedded in practice prior to production

1.Thought planning2.Script blocking3.Recce planning 4.Photoshoot planning

3. Which three features of planning for practical work need to be included to improve practice in your school?

2. Which two activities would you consider to be the most challenging to introduce? What are the barriers?

1. What one thing will you embed in planning tomorrow if you could?

• Look at the script you have been given. It is actually the opening to an existing screenplay.

1. Firstly identify the elements which make it a script which would allow students to work effectively in production. What elements have been considered?

2. Read through the script. Which areas should be discussed from the perspective of a :

a) Director’s point of viewb) Producer’s point of viewc) Cinematographer’s point of viewd) Editor’s point of view Block out the script, breaking down the features of the production

which need consideration prior to production. 3) What do students gain from this stage?

Obviously this activity would usually take place on location during a recce. Therefore, this particular treatment of it is somewhat artificial and should be avoided in real like production (planning after the event)

1.Look back through the clip and identify a location from the opening and a specific moment within that location. Alternatively, with Print work, identify a shoot location selected. 2.Sketch out the location in as much detail as you can from an aerial viewpoint 3.Plot in the position/direction/movement of your cameras4.Identify the routes of movement around the space to maximise footage and avoid ‘lost footage’ due to mise en scene related issues5.What do students learn from this stage?

1. Look back through the opening you were allocated or at the location from one of the photo shoots within the magazine productions

2. What kind of activities/planning should have taken place prior to a recce?

3. What needs to be considered whilst on location? Write a list of things to consider whilst on the recce.

4. What might take place during a second recce on location? Why is this useful for production?

5. What could recce ‘evidence’ look like? How might this be presented?

6. What do students gain from this stage?

There are lots of these available on the internet. Some are created by students and others are actual guidance for carrying out ‘professional’ photoshoots.

1.Read through the guidance sheet for how to plan a photoshoot you have been given. 2.Identify those areas which you think are useful in effective photoshoot planning3.Add on any other areas which you feel should be considered prior to a shoot4.Now think about what this might look like in terms of presentation on the blog/page/website5.What do students gain from this stage?