Monday, December 15, 2014

Mr Halsey cover work: Tuesday 16 December

Classes A2 and B2: Assignment 2 Production

I'm sorry, I won't be in our lessons on Tuesday because I'm taking Year 13 Media students to a Media conference. I'll be back on Thursday for the Assignment 2 Production Deadline and that's what you need to be working towards today. The cover work is simple:

1) Complete your film poster on Photoshop

2) Complete your 10-frame storyboard for a film trailer that shows synergy with your film poster

The deadline for this work is Thursday. 

If you have any questions or concerns we can address them on Thursday. For now, make sure you have two high quality pieces of work for your folder ready for the deadline.

Thanks for getting on with things while I'm out at the conference - we have a fantastic reputation in Media for working brilliantly in cover lessons and I'm absolutely confident you will keep that reputation up. Good luck!

Monday, December 1, 2014

Exam topic: TV News


Your PPE Media Studies exam is on Friday 12 December at 08.30am.

The preliminary material that gives you the brief you need to follow in the exam is available here. You will also be given a printed copy in class.

You MUST complete the following research and planning tasks before the exam on Friday 12 December.


Research 

1) Choose two TV News programmes to research.

2) Watch your two different TV News programmes on three different nights. Watch the whole bulletin each time and make notes on the following:

  • Title, date and time of bulletin
  • Presenters
  • News stories covered
  • Use of graphics, animation, video packages, interviews and live links (key conventions of TV News)
  • Use of modern or digital technology (cameraphone footage, audience tweets, hashtags, website links etc.)
  • Anything that encourages the audience to keep watching (dramatic video, animated graphics, previews of news or features later in the programme etc.)


3) Research the institutions behind your two TV News programmes. Find out the following for each:

  • Who owns or controls the institution
  • How the institution is funded or makes money
  • Any controversial issues or complaints that the institution has had to deal with in recent years


4) Find out the target audience for your two TV News programmes. You should be able to find a detailed breakdown online if you search intelligently. If you cannot find anything, write what you think the target audience for the programme would be and why.


Planning

1) Brainstorm ideas for a new TV News programme aimed at young people. Plan out the following:

  • Title
  • Channel, day and time broadcast
  • The length and structure of the programme
  • The presenter or presenters
  • The types of news the programme will cover
  • The brand identity for the show - title, logo, slogan, colour scheme etc.
  • How you will package the news - video, images, graphics, live links, interviews etc.


2) Plan how you will make your TV News programme interactive with opportunities for the audience to submit photos and video and comment on the issues covered.

3) Prepare for the creative task in the exam. Plan, sketch and draw the following:

  • Logo and graphic identity for your TV News programme
  • Website homepage for your TV News programme
  • Storyboard for the opening 30 seconds of your TV News programme
  • A storyboard for a TV advert for your TV News programme

All tasks MUST be completed before Friday 12 December

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Storyboarding guidance

The second part of your production task for Assignment 2 is a 10-frame storyboard of your film trailer - for the same film as your film poster. 

What does your storyboard need to include?

  • 10 frames
  • Institutional information / studio logo
  • Synergy (links) with your poster – the same image, tagline, release date, colour scheme etc.
  • Production blurb
  • Text on screen / voiceover
  • At least three close up shots

Don’t forget the basics....
  • Shot number
  • Type of shot
  • Edit/transition (cut/fade to black etc.)
  • Dialogue/sound
  • Camera movement
  • Timing 
Plan and sketch using post-it notes and then draw a first draft on storyboard sheets (make sure you write about camera movement, sound, dialogue and any other details in the right-hand boxes). When you are happy with your storyboard, you can then draw a final draft with colour and fine-liner that looks fantastic.

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Film poster production blurb: Steel Tongs font

The institutional information at the bottom of a film poster is in a very distinctive font - you can't make a film poster look authentic without it...



Luckily, we have downloaded the font on to school computers - it is called Steel Tongs. The way the font works is that CAPITAL letters work normally while lower case letters each correspond to one of the movie credits ('Directed By...' 'Written By...' etc.)

You need to use the Steel Tongs guide to see which letter you need for each credit - there are plenty online, this link has one website you can use.

Note: we have an older version of the Steel Tongs font so not every credit is possible - if you can't find the one you need, just change the credit. It won't cost you any marks!

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Film pitch: exemplar work

Quite a few students have asked for an example of a film pitch. Have a look at Kishan's work from last year for inspiration or read his film pitch below:

Unauthorised Personnel film pitch

Unauthorised Personnel is a crime/action/drama story about 17 year old student Clyde Kennedy, the son of Gerald Kennedy - a middle-aged criminal mastermind and reputed member of anti-government organisation: 'RTTS'. Gerald discovers that type U-235 enriched uranium is securely cached at Clyde's college site, which leads to a high-priority stealth operation executed by the academically successful and socially-anxious teenager; alongside unexpected personnel. 

Unauthorised Personnel offers an all-action element to the film Spy Kids. The film provides appeal to late-teen audiences with an effective coalition of serious crime, teen drama and explosive action. 

Clyde Kennedy has an established reputation of being the son in a criminal family and is neglected among his social groups for his intellect and shady background. Clyde commits the mistake (which he very soon regrets) of informing his father regarding the storage of type U-235 enriched uranium at his college. This develops interest for Gerald and results into Clyde having to operate a series of tasks under the surveillance of RTTS to obtain intel of accessing the lethal substance - tasks which could not only sabotage his reputation but also kill the 17 year old.

By Kishan Pandya

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Film promotion: writing a film pitch

Our production task for Assignment 2 involves coming up with our own film promotion for an original movie that we have created.

But before we create the promotion, we need to come up with a good idea for a new movie.

Work through the following tasks to develop your film pitch. Remember, it must be original and individual to you - this is NOT a group task.

Task 1: top tips
Read these top tips for coming up with your own idea:

1) Think carefully about setting and genre – a sci-fi pitch may be difficult to realise with the time and resources at your disposal.
2) Avoid major stars – you’ll need an original image for the film poster and unless you know Brad Pitt that will be a difficult photoshoot to arrange. 
3) Make sure the film’s narrative is easy to understand and follow – you only have a 30 second trailer to play with. If you can't tell the basic story in one sentence you need to work on it more.

Task 2: the key details
Come up with the basic idea for your film - title, genre, storyline, characterssetting etc. Discuss it with someone else and make sure you can tell the story clearly and easily.

Task 3: writing a log line
You now need to start building your film pitch for your idea. This is the chance to sell your film idea in approximately 150 words

The first part of a film pitch is the title and 'log line’ – a one sentence summary that will immediately grab attention.

Example log line - from Pirates of the Caribbean: "A 17th Century tale of adventure on the Caribbean Sea where the roguish yet charming Captain Jack Sparrow joins forces with a young blacksmith in a gallant attempt to rescue the Governor of England's daughter and reclaim his ship."

Write a log line for your original film idea.

Task 4: writing the film pitch
You now need to write the rest of your film pitch. Remember: you only have 150 words to play with. Make sure you include the following:

1) The ‘log line’ (a one sentence summary of the film's narrative or appeal) - in task 3 above.
2) Brief reference to your film's genre ("this film is an urban thriller...")
3) Brief reference to at least one similar film ("this film is a cross between The Italian Job and Spy Kids...")
4) Brief reference to the target audience for your film ("this film will appeal to the core cinema-going age group of 12-25...")
5) Indication of main characters ("The story is based around Jack - an honest guy who gets caught up in a major robbery - and Reuben, the villain who is after the money...")
6) Brief summary of narrative (what happens in the story)

Task 5: planning and sketching
When you have completed your film pitch - and it may take some time because you want a very good, original idea - you need to start planning your film poster and trailer. First, plan your photoshoot and work out who will be in your film poster and when you will shoot the picture. Then, sketch a draft of the film poster and start writing the text that will go on it. Remember: a film poster can be either portrait or landscape.

Help! Online resources
There are many resources online to help with writing a film pitch. Try Script Hollywood and the BBC Writer's Room for help.


Extension task
When you have finished your film pitch, planning and sketching, ask another student to look over your plans and suggest ways to improve them. Make sure you can tell the story of your film in one clear sentence - that's how you would sell the idea to a film studio in the first place.

If you have completed everything, you can start sketching a potential storyboard for the trailer of your film.

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Film posters and trailers

Film poster key conventions

  • Central image
  • Secondary images
  • Title
  • Tagline (like a slogan)
  • Release date
  • Stars
  • Critic reviews
  • Production blurb


Film trailers: key conventions
  • Institutional details – film studio, actors, director etc.
  • Short clips of key moments in film to introduce characters and narrative
  • Fast paced editing to suggest drama and excitement
  • On-screen text (replaces tradition of voiceover)
  • Stars – usually early on
  • Title and release date – always at END of trailer
  • Critic reviews / quotes
  • Social media hashtags / website details
  • Production blurb (usually final shot of trailer)
  • Music that communicates genre and ‘feel’ of film

Film language notes

Sound
Sound in film includes:
  • Dialogue
  • Sound effects
  • Music
  • Voiceover

Diegetic and non-diegetic sound

Diegetic: sound that is coming from within the sphere of the film. Remember: the characters can hear it. Example: dialogue.

Non-diegetic: sound that is NOT within the sphere of the film – only the audience can hear it. Example: soundtrack/music/score.


Mise-en-scene

Mise en scène literally translates from French as ‘putting on stage’. 

We use it in film studies to describe everything that appears in front of the camera.

When we analyse mise en scène, we need to look at the following:
  • Actors (placement, movement, expression)
  • Costume and make-up
  • Setting and props
  • Lighting and colour

Film posters and trailers: blog task

You are currently working on a case study for the film you have chosen from our list of 10. Complete the following tasks on your blog:
  1. Create a new blogpost called ‘Film trailer and poster analysis’
  2. Find the poster on Google Images and the trailer on YouTube for your chosen film
  3. Embed them in your blogpost (you may need to save a small version of the poster to ensure it displays correctly)
  4. List all the film poster key conventions you can find. How do these attract a potential audience?
  5. List all the film trailer key conventions you can find. How do these attract a potential audience?
  6. In your opinion, do the poster and trailer successfully promote the film you have chosen to investigate? Why?

If not finished during the lesson, complete for homework - due next Tuesday

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Film Institutions: your own case study

Research the institutions behind one of the following films:

  1. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
  2. Taken
  3. The Perks of Being a Wallflower 
  4. The Wolf of Wall Street
  5. Frozen
  6. Blue is the Warmest Colour
  7. 12 Years a Slave
  8. Django Unchained
  9. Precious
  10. Pompeii


Use imdb.com, rottentomatoes.com and any other relevant websites you can access to find out the following information about the film you have chosen...


Your chosen movie
1) What film have you chosen? 

2) Why did you choose this film in particular? 


Institutional background
Use IMDB to find out the institutions behind your chosen film. Find your film, click on Company Credits and then look for the production company and UK distributor.

1) What was the film studio or production company behind your chosen film? E.g. Warner Brothers, Paramount etc.

2) Who was the distributor for the theatrical release of the film in the UK?



No brand loyalty
1) What genre does your chosen film fit into?

2) How can you tell it fits that genre? Be specific with reference to the trailer.

3) Is your chosen movie a sequel?

3a) If Yes, how does the film use the original movie or franchise as part of its marketing? 

3b) If No, are previous films by the writer, director or star mentioned in the trailer? 



It’s all a matter of timing
1) What was the UK release date for your chosen film?

2) When did the first trailer appear on YouTube for your movie? Find the earliest example you can and embed it in your blog.

3) What other examples of marketing (teaser trailers, main trailers, newspaper or TV interviews etc.) can you find for your chosen film from before the film’s release date?



It’s a social thing
1) What was the word-of-mouth like for your chosen film? If you can’t find tweets (probably blocked) use the IMDB user review rating or the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating to judge whether the public have given the movie a good review.

2) Find three quotes (no more than 25 words each) from user reviews of your movie to create a picture of what the public reaction to the film has been. Post them on your blog.



Risky business
Use IMDB to find out the box office records for your chosen film. Find your film, click on Company Credits and then Box Office/Business.

1) What was the original budget for your chosen film?

2) How much money did the film make in the opening weekend?

3) How much money has the film made in total? (Look for the subheading ‘Gross’ which has the total box-office earnings listed).



Stars in their eyes
Research the stars and director for your chosen film.

1) What films has the director previously directed? Are they in the same or similar genres?

2) Who is the main star in the film?

3) What other films has the main star appeared in? Are any of the films similar to the one you are researching?

4) Are the stars or the director or writer mentioned in the trailer for the film?


Complete for homework if you don't finish in the lesson - due next Thursday.

Institution: the movie marketing business

Key questions and answers from the film institution movie marketing lesson:

Why is movie marketing a risky business?
Because it is very expensive to make and promote a movie. A movie is a product with a limited shelf life. 

Why do movies usually have to be a hit on their opening weekend? 
If not they will tend to disappear very quickly, and the studio will make a loss on their investment. 

Why are sequels, remakes and reboots so popular?
These blockbuster movies already have an audience. The studio has greenlit a huge budget for the movie because they already know people will go and see it - often because it is based on a media text that already has an audience. 

Original movies like INCEPTION and AVATAR represent a huge risk for the studio backing them. Studios have a huge operating overhead, and put out a lot of flops that make no money at all, so they need a guarantee that a blockbuster movie is going to be make a comfortable profit. After spending $100 million dollars on a movie they can spend 50% as much again (or more) on marketing. 

Why spend so much on marketing a movie?
Most cinema tickets are one-off purchases: there is no brand loyalty. Your decision to buy is based on the marketing you have seen for that movie. With each new movie release, a studio has to create a new brand.

What two strategies do studios use to get around this?
Studios like genre movies (romantic comedies, horror) that already have a form of brand identity, as they can market them to a specific audience. This is also why they like sequels and franchises so much — a string of movies all based around the same brand are easy to market. 

Why can movie Stars also be considered as brands? 
Audiences feel comfortable going to see a movie starring Jason Statham because they know that they are going to get a specific sort of action movie (lots of fighting, not much talking). People may be fans of an individual actor and will go to see a movie because he or she is in it.

Why is this a double edged sword? (i.e. Why does this have benefits and drawbacks?)
Because Stars as brands go stale after a while, audiences tire of actors doing the same thing over and over again. Actors do not like to be restricted in their choice of scripts, otherwise they will quickly become typecast. Just consider the variety of movies that Johnny Depp has done. 

Why is timing so important for a movie's release?
Films have a limited distribution window (they may play in cinemas for as long as six months, sometimes only for a week). Movie marketing needs to get audiences into cinemas, and keep them coming. The movie studio may begin marketing a movie as long as six to eight months before the release date, especially to create anticipation for an event movie, using teasers.

What is a teaser?
Enigmatic posters or short viral videos designed to get people talking about the movie long before release.

How far in advance does the full-on marketing campaign start?
Most movie campaigns begin two to three months prior to release. However, a marketing campaign may build for as long as it takes to make a film (and keep changing, once it becomes clear how different audience segments are responding to the message).

Why are they over once the movie has been released?
Films can only be marketed effectively prior to their release. Once they have been shown in cinemas, word-of-mouth takes over from the marketing department in persuading audiences to go and see a film. Some movies screen at festivals for select audiences before they are released and are often re-edited between a poor festival reaction and the actual release date. 

Why is word-of-mouth so important nowadays?
Social networking. People tweet, post status updates and blog reviews as soon as they leave the cinema, and their reactions spread globally and instantly. If the consensus spreads that a movie is bad, it can have an immediate impact on ticket sales, even for screenings later that same day. 

What is Twitter Bombing?
BRUNO was the first movie to suffer this phenomenon - early screenings were booked out, thanks to the success of BORAT. Ticket sales took a nose dive once the first audiences tweeted their negative reaction. Equally, positive tweets and social network comments can promote a movie - for free - by building up buzz. 


Monday, November 3, 2014

Assignment 2: Genre and NCIS

Genre

One of the things a film production company uses to market a film is genre.


A film genre is made up of a repertoire of elements. That repertoire could include particular iconography, lighting, sound, or actors and directors associated with the genre. This list of features is known as a ‘repertoire’ because any given film within a genre may not use all of the possible elements, but it will use some.

NCIS

A useful acronym to remember what you need to look for when analysing the genre of a film is NCIS:

N = narrative (storyline)
C = character (people/character types)
I = iconography (what we can see)
S = setting (where it takes place)

These four aspects will provide enough evidence to identify the genre (or a hybrid of genres if the film fits more than one category).


Afternoon lesson / Homework

This afternoon, you need to work on the following:

  1. Make sure your blog is up-to-date with your finished Assignment 1 magazine cover.
  2. Choose three film trailers, embed the clips from YouTube and write an analysis of what genre each film is in and why. Use NCIS to help you.

Example:

Taken (2008)


Genre
Thriller

Narrative
The storyline is clearly shown to be a father willing to go to any lengths to rescue his kidnapped daughter. This is a tense, dramatic narrative that fits the thriller genre well.

Character
The characters are typical of a Hollywood thriller - the main hero: strong, brave and willing to do anything to rescue his daughter. The daughter is a classic 'damsel in distress', a female character requiring saving by a male hero. There are stereotypical villains - in this case Albanian, another typical aspect of a Hollywood thriller.

Iconography
There is plenty of iconography typical of the thriller genre: a car chase, gunshots, violence, technology, running and jumping from a bridge, explosions and smashing glass. All of these are typical of the action or thriller genres - in connection with the narrative, we can confidently say this is a thriller.

Setting
Although the trailer is only two minutes long, it has a safe American location for the daughter's birthday party and then a glamorous foreign location (Paris) for the rest of the narrative. Within Paris, there are clearly action sequences on roads, off bridges and in other settings that suggest action and drama.


Anything you don't finish in the lesson is homework.

Due: Next Tuesday


Thursday, October 16, 2014

Assignment 1 Analytical Task

It's now time to complete the Assignment 1 Analytical Task. A reminder of the task AQA have set you:

Analyse the cover pages of two popular magazines. How do the covers appeal to their audiences?

Word count: 750 words
10 marks

AO2: Analyse and Respond

Remember - we add a couple of details to that. Firstly, the two magazines must be from the following choices and aimed at different audiences:

Magazine 1: GQ OR Men's Health
Magazine 2: Glamour OR Empire

Secondly, you also need to analyse your own magazine cover.

You can find guidance for the layout of the Assignment 1 Analytical Task here.


Use the official magazine Media Packs to help you with the target audience:

GQ Media Pack
Men's Health Media Pack
Glamour Media Pack
Empire Media Pack

Remember, we analyse something by explaining HOW and WHY it is produced in that way and the EFFECT it has on its audience. For an A*, you need to explain in real detail and offer alternative interpretations.

One of the ways of doing this is making sure we use those key words and phrases to show connotation:

This tells the reader...
This could signify...
A possible interpretation of this is...
The reader could infer that...
This shows the audience...
This suggests to the reader...
From this, the audience will understand that...
This connotes...
This is significant because...
This creates...
This emphasises...

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Assignment 1: planning and sketching

Some great work going on today planning our Assignment 1 magazine covers. Here are the notes if you've missed anything:

Things a teenage audience may be interested in:
Sport, Football, Crime, Fashion, Basketball, Technology, Music, Celebrities, Movies, Comedy, TV shows, Politics, Gaming etc.

Design skills

Reading path
The standard reading path for western audiences is left-right, top-bottom.

Rule of thirds
Graphic designers and photographers often divide pages/images into thirds to create a balanced composition.

Visual centre
The visual centre is just to the right and slightly above the actual centre of the page

Assignment 1 production brief

Produce a magazine aimed at a teenage audience to be given away free with the i newspaper.

You need to complete a detailed planning document – giving you a title, slogan, target audience and what features you could include in your magazine.

You then need to produce two A4 sketches of your front cover (one with colour).

These three planning documents need to be in your folder before you participate in the photoshoot.



Tuesday, September 30, 2014

#MatthewsBlogscarOfTheWeek



#MatthewsBlogscarOfTheWeek this week was a 2 horse race between Ryan Masters and Ali Hammoudi - I literally cannot seperate them so for the first time in he history of the Matthews Blogscar awards the metaphorical statue is shared between these two great minds. Phenomenal contribution in class boys; I hope the verbal answers translate to quality courseworks soon...




Thursday, September 25, 2014

Task: magazine audience profile

Demographic classification:

  • Age
  • Gender
  • Education
  • Social class
  • Race/ethnicity
  • Job/profession/earnings
  • Home (city/village/countryside)


Social class classification
Advertisers have traditionally classified people into the following groups:
  • AB – Managerial and professional 
  • C1 – Supervisory and clerical 
  • C2 – Skilled manual 
  • DE – Unskilled manual and unemployed

Audience profiles

Advertisers these days are interested in more than just a social class classification. Now they try to sell a brand or lifestyle.

So you also need to think about the kind of brands your audience will be interested in.

Armani and Porsche? Banana Republic and Apple? John Lewis and The Times? Nike and PlayStation? Peppa Pig and Haribo?


Audience profile task

Create an audience profile for a magazine of your choice using Photoshop.

First, use demographics: Age, gender, education, social class, race/ethnicity, job/profession/ earnings, home (city/village/countryside).

Then use brand logos that the audience will use or enjoy and build them into your profile.

NME magazine example:



Right and Left Wing - What Does it Mean?

A lot of students have said to me: "Teachers keep talking about ‘left wing’ and ‘right wing’ - but what does it mean?" Well it basically means what people believe a country should do for its citizens.
Left wing beliefs are usually progressive in nature, they look to the future, aim to support those who cannot support themselves, are idealist and believe in equality. People who are left wing believe in taxation to redistribute opportunity and wealth - things like a national health service, and job seeker’s allowance are fundamentally left wing ideas. They believe in equality over the freedom to fail.
In the UK the main left wing parties are the Labour Party and the Green Party. They believe in making laws that protect women, ethnic minorities, and gay people against discrimination. They believe that we should tax rich people more to support people less well off, and they believe we should regulate big businesses so they serve people’s interests. They believe that a good welfare system means people are healthier, more able to work, and will put more back into the economy. They also typically believe country-wide tax-funded action on climate change is necessary.
Right wing beliefs value tradition, they are about equity, survival of the fittest, and they believe in economic freedom. They typically believe that business shouldn’t be regulated, and that we should all look after ourselves. Right wing people tend believe they shouldn’t have to pay for someone else’s education or health service. They believe in freedom to succeed over equality.
In the UK the main right wing parties are the Conservative (or Tory) Party, and UKIP (who focus on the UK not being a part of the European Union). They believe that if you have more money, you should get to keep it, and buy better education and health services for yourself. They believe that businesses should be less regulated, and that the more money they earn, they’ll bring more benefits to the country. In 2008 2/3 of Tory MPs didn’t think climate change was a priority, but their leadership says it’s important. They are more likely to focus on energy security (oil and gas are set to run out very soon, and they won’t want to rely on other countries).
left/right wing explained

Matthews Blogscar of The Week



Matthews' Blogscar of The Week is shared for the first time ever this week - and it goes to Ryan Masters (aka The RyMa Republic) and 'Scroogey' herself...Chloe Ebinezer!

Both produced phenomenally creative graphic identities using photoshop. I'll post their products soon...

Well done guys #A*

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Minority Report shot-by-shot analysis

We are now going to use everything we have learned about film language (camera shots, movement and editing) to produce a shot-by-shot analysis of key shots in the Minority Report sequence.

Remember, writing analysis in Media means picking out the interesting or important aspects of something and then examining WHY or HOW they have been put together to create an effect on the audience.

The images are below and also on the VLE > Departments > Media > Shared documents > Minority Report shot 1/2/3.

Here's an example of what you need to do:
















Over-the-shoulder / medium shot (OTS/MS)

The over-the-shoulder angle allows a point-of-view shot from the perspective of the man reading the newspaper. The medium shot allows enough background to establish the location as a metro train. The corner of the seat immediately in the foreground also helps place the location. The over-the-shoulder shot also means the following shots, with the newspaper man recognising the fugitive, are easy for the audience to interpret.


Here is the original clip, in case you want to check what shots are juxtaposed with the shots you are analysing:




The shots you need to analyse:

Shot 1


Shot 2

Shot 3 

Camerawork and editing - notes

Camera shots recap:

  • Wide shot / establishing shot (WS/ES)
  • Long shot (LS)
  • Medium shot (MS)
  • Medium close up (MCU)
  • Over-the-shoulder shot (OTS)
  • Close up (CU)
  • Big close up / Extreme close up (BCU/XCU)


Camera angle:
  • High angle: makes subject look small and weak.
  • Low angle: makes subject look big and powerful.
  • Unusual perspective: can be used to surprise the audience or show danger (e.g. looking down off a cliff)

Camera movement

Pan: horizontal turn left or right
Used to follow movement. A whip pan (very fast pan) can create a feeling of action or drama.

Track/Dolly: Camera moves on tracks/wheels
Tracks action smoothly – look for in chases or fast-moving sequences.

Handheld: camera held by hand, often shaky
Handheld camera can add urgency, realism, pace or unease to a scene.

Zoom: focal length of lens changed to make subject appear closer or further away
A zoom into a character’s face can show realisation or an emotional reaction.

Crane: Camera attached to crane – can pan, track or ‘swoop’ in or out as required
Crane shots are often high angle and show large, epic scenes of dramatic action.

Tilt: Camera tilts up or down from fixed point
The hero or villain can be made to look weak or powerful using a tilt (high/low angle).


Editing

You need to learn the following about editing:
  • Transitions
  • Pace
  • Juxtaposition

Transitions
Cut (Straight cut, jump cut, match cut)
Shot changes from one to another – the most common cut.

Dissolve 
Shot melts into another – often shows passing of time.


Pace
The speed at which the film cuts from one shot to the next makes a huge difference to the experience for the audience.

Generally, slow cuts build tension while fast cuts suggest action and excitement.

Juxtaposition
The word juxtaposition literally means ‘the act of placing together side by side’.

In film, two shots may be placed together to create meaning for the audience. E.g. A shot of the hero may be followed by a shot of his love interest to link these in the audience’s mind.


Mr Parker's Media Stars of the Week
Firstly, a huge thank you to Ada and Tyriek who helped out the Media Department at Opening evening last night - they were professional, friendly and a credit to themselves and the school. True Media Stars!


Well done to Deema for a superb blog; Deema has evidently taken time to make her blog look professional and her work is very impressive. Everyone should go and take a look at it as a shining example of what blogs should look like. True Media Star!

Finally, (and this is really difficult because the whole class have impressed me) I'm going for Ihsan for outstanding contributions on in class. True Media Star. 


Well done!

Mr Parker