Today's Lesson 30/06/09 - Storyboarding

Today we practised storyboarding. The exam board say that this is one of the hardest things to get right. So, we going to do a lot f storyboarding over the next few months. You had to storyboard a short sequence from a thriller (no, not that one). Some things to remember:

• practice
• you are telling a story through pictures
• use a range of camera angles
• choose your angles carefully - what are you trying to show
• if you get time add colour to show the lighting
• try to add a description of the shot
• always say what the audience will hear (diegetic and non-diegetic)

Right, I'm off to see Transformers 2 (all 150 minutes of it!). But before I do; the last film I watched was Tropic Thunder. Which was good. Well, I laughed a lot especially at Robert Downey Junior. Would like to have seen more Jack Black and a little less Stiller, I thought his character was a bit dull. A good Saturday nighter, but be warned: loads of blood and nastiness. A 15 for a reason. 3 stars.

Today's Lesson - 24/06/09 - Film Language

Today we started to look at the different camera angles and what they are used for. The main angles we named were:

Close-Up (CU)
Extreme Close-Up (ECU)
Mid-Shot (MS)
Long Shot (LS)
High Angle
Low Angle

We also talked briefly about tracking and panning camera movements. We used the camcorder (and Ismail - thanks again, your Oscar's in the post!) to experiment with shot types. We decided that we could shoot a conversation between two characters in a number of ways. One of these is an 'over-the-shoulder' type shot so that we can see who a person is talking to.

We then looked at some examples from Steven Spielberg's 'Saving Private Ryan' (1998) before moving on to a clip from the Spielberg's 'Minority Report' (2002) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181689/.

You had to look at the type of shots used. Some of you noticed that a lot of the shots combine more than one type, for instance a tracking shot may settle on a mid-shot of two characters talking. This is very common and used by directors to keep their scenes interesting. Few directors today keep their camera still for that long (see Michael Bay's 'Transformers 2' as an extreme example).

I've marked your books and so far so good, everyone seems to have settled in to the course well and is giving 100%. Keep up the good work!

Remember to add some notes in your blue books, anything you watch make a note of. On these lines I'm going to go and watch the end of Jurassic Park 3. I don't think its as good as the first two (check out the bit on the windscreen of the bus as it hangs over a cliff in number 2, an excellent scene) and some of the effects don't quite work, but its good fun and so far I'm enjoying it. Three stars at the moment.

Today's Lesson - 23/06/09 - What is Film?

OK, so today was all about getting you to understand the course and what you'll gave to do. However, I also got to see what you know already (lots by the way) and also about your favourite films (which I've listed below). You got your books and folder, but also your Film Diary. The idea is that whenever you watch a film write down a few ideas. I won't read your film diary but I may ask you to read out a review or something so make sure you have it with you in lessons.

We went through the GOAL idea (as Dean said "To make a film you have to score a goal").
G - Genre (horror, thriller, action, comedy, sci-fi, fantasy etc)
O - Organisation - or who makes and releases a film (Paramount, Fox, WB, Dreamworks, New Line, Disney etc)
A - Audience - who will watch the film
L - Language - how the film is made. This is the most important that we understand at this point - before we can make our own films (and we will), we have to know how professional film makers make theirs.

Lastly we talked about our favourite films (mine are on the right hand side). Notice I said 'favourite' not 'best'. I know that Raiders of the Lost Ark is not the best film ever, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy it probably more than any other.

So, your list was:

Alien vs Predator
Crank 2
Fast and the Furious 4 (twice)
Resident Evil 2
Death Race (2008)
Transformers
Beethoven 2
The Big Lebowski
Final Destination 4
Rush Hour 3
Scary Movie 5 (which must be good as it ain't even been made yet - its out in 2011!)
The Simpsons Movie
Aliens Vs Predator 2
Resident Evil: Extinction
American Pie
The Godfather
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

We noticed that almost all of these films come from series and that these are popular because people like the characters and they sort of know what to expect.

The very last thing we talked about was the visit to New Zealand in 2010. Remember, if you want to visit the places where Lord of the Rings was shot see Mrs Belt for an application form.

The last film I watched was 'Raising Arizona' (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093822/). Directed by Joel Coen in 1987 and starring Nic Cage and Holly Hunter. I really liked this, it was funny and quick and really quite weird in places, full of typical Coen brother quirky humour. The film is about a couple who, unable to have children of their own, steal a baby from a couple who have had quintuplets (5 babies in one go!). Of course things go wrong, things that involve a pair of escaped convicts, a fight with a boss and a huge hairy guy on a motorbike. God fun. 3.5 stars.

A Few Changes...

You may (or may not) have noticed that there have been a few changes on the blog recently. This is in readiness for the start of GCSE Film Studies being launched on Tuesday! This is a brand new GCSE at Edensor, indeed it only started last year. It's gonna be really exciting and cover loads of topics. As such the blog will be covering all the lessons that Year 10 will be involved with but also other topics as and when, you know, whatever...

So, the next post will be ALL NEW FILM STUDIES STUFF!! but until then enjoy Transformers 2 (you are going aren't you?)

Some Suitable Clips

Below you should find some clips suitable for revising with. Remember you will get to see the clip 3 times in the exam and have a ten minute slot to write notes. Use this time carefully - think about:

• who made the clip
• who's in the clip and how are they shown (dialogue, music, costume, lighting, relationship with other characters)
• camera angles used
• mis-en-scene
• who is the target audience

When revising use the headings on the sheets you've been using in class.

The clips:

1. Cel animation - Spirited Away

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9LDbV65oVI

2. Mo-Cap - The Polar Express

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RjWOoBR8_M

On each one use the first 5 minutes or so.

Hope this helps.

The Exam!

The exam is getting closer, so I thought I'd give a few bits of advice on how it works and how to deal with it.

The exam is long - 2.5 hours. But don't worry! The first 30 minutes or so is watching a clip!

First you get 5 minutes just to read the question, then you watch the clip. Having read the questions carefully you should know what to look out for in the clip.
The clip you will see will be about 3-5 minutes long and will be taken from an animated film (we don't know which so get on youtube and watch loads).
The first time you see the clip you're NOT allowed to make notes. Watch t carefully, thinking about those questions.
The second time you CAN make notes. Think about the headings we have used in mock exam tasks. You then get 10 minutes to reflect on what you have seen and make even more notes. Use this time well, it will help loads when it comes to writing your answers and save you time later on.
The clip then gets played a third time.

Then spend an hour on the animation questions.

In Section 2 you will get photocopies of two news texts. Annotate this - think about layout, language, who's published it (institution), who's it for (audience) and what/who it shows (representation).

Then spend the remaining time answering the news questions and checking all your answers.

Just to remind you that the exam is on Tuesday 16th June in the afternoon.