25th Oct: WaterAid Documentaries

SMART START

And here are your answers...

Your marks were emailed to you individually.

Go to full screen mode to access the shared menu so that you can grab the embed code to publish the results on your own blog.

24th October: Dirt Time

Guess what? I think we'll start this lesson with a quick critical perspectives test. You know what you have to do and the times you have to beat! Remember, the only person you have to beat is your previous self (and Katie).

I've marked your work and updated the monitoring document. You can spend this lesson reflecting on and responding to the feedback. This includes making improvements to your Magazine Page & Match-on-Action NEA tasks. You can also address the comments I've made on your returned assignment. You can resubmit your assignments once you have addressed the issues I have raised.

My main observation from marking your assignments is that you need to develop essay writing techniques; deciding a structure and maintaininn an academic register throughout. Maybe this structure will help you...

Critical Perspectives Ebook

To help you remember the basics for the critical perspectives relating to media language & representation, I have created the following ebook. Click on the link to read online.

Critical Perspectives: Minimal Information Ebook

18th October: Cheslyn Hay Academy Film Festival

At the start of today's lesson, you will retake the Critical Perspectives Matching Task. Is there anyone who can beat Katie?

In today's lesson, you will exhibit your match-on-action sequence. We will review each sequence looking out for;

• Continuity (and continuity errors)
• Accurate MOA edits (looks like a single action)
• The use of a supportive underscore
• The use of realistic, balanced sound effects

We will rank order the sequences to discover the winner of the inaugural Cheslyn Hay Film Festival. I would like to submit my own sequence. How does yours compare to my benchmark production?

The rest of today's lesson will be dedicated to the development of your WaterAid documentary. This will be completed in next Friday's NEA lesson (focusing on Premier Elements skills).

At the start of next Thursday's lesson, we will start our unseen text analyse programme. Once a week, you will be given an unseen text (still or moving image) and asked to review it considering one of the critical perspectives we have studied so far. I will use this mini-assessment to inform my weekly intervention strategy (directing you to attend a catch-up session for each critical perspective you don't know or apply inappropriately). There is no way to magically impart the ability to label these critical perspectives; you just have to learn them the old fashioned way. However, here is a knowledge organiser covering the critical perspectives for 'media language' and 'representation'.

Click to Enlarge

17th October

At the start of today's lesson, you will complete the Tide / Kiss of the Vampire assessment. You can access the assignment via our Google Classroom. You will have 30 minutes to complete this assessment.

Online Timer

Now for the rest of the lesson...

SMART START

LEARNING CHECK

How did your performance compare to your peers?

THE BIG PICTURE

WALT: How do we apply the theoretical frameworks we have studied so far to the 'WaterAid' advert?

EXPLAIN & MODEL

We will go through the fact sheet for the WaterAid advert (see sidebar), defining any terms that you are unfamiliar with and clarifying any misconceptions. You would be wise to make notes during this phase of the lesson.

PRACTISE

To demonstrate your understanding of the text, you are going to construct a documentary. You have the following resources available to you;

• A copy of the WaterAid advert
• Adobe Premier Elements
• A USB microphone (we only have 1 for the class)
• Access to AudioBlocks

In the making of your documentary, you may exploit the following techniques & codes;

• A voice-over
• Titles (overlays)
• Intertitles
• Pause & talk

Other creative approaches do exist and you are welcome to consider alternatives.

REVIEW

At the end of the lesson, we will use 'Talking Chips' to share our new knowledge. Whoever is the last person holding a chip... is the loser!

10th & 11th Oct: Regroup!

Unfortunately, only half of the class will be with us today. Therefore, we will use the time to regroup and to embed learning. You will complete the following tasks;

1. Set up own learning journals (blogs) if you haven't already
2. Publish a post summarising each of the theorists we have covered so far (see below)
3. Complete and publish all of the NEA skill-building tasks covered so far (see below)
4. Complete and publish your Tide & Kiss of the Vampire annotations

Each of your practical tasks should be submitted as an assignment on Google Classroom.

Once you have completed all of the tasks above, you may collect your flash drive and start to edit your 'MOA' clip using Adobe Premier Elements.

Summary of Theorists Studied So Far

• Steve Neale's Genre Theory
• Todorov's Narrative Theory
• Levi-Strauss' Structuralist Theory
• Van Zoonen's Feminist Theory
• bell hooks' Feminist Theory
• Paul Gilroy's Postcolonial Theory
• David Gauntlett's Identity Theory
• Stuart Hall's Representation Theory
• Roland Barthes' Narrative Codes
• Propp's Character Theory

Summary of NEA Skill-Building Tasks Studied So Far

• Fantasy Romance Movie Poster: Blending Images (in Photoshop Elements)
• War Film Movie Poster: Making Selections (in Photoshop Elements)
• Magazine Review Page (in QuarkXpress)

Set Text Annotations

• Tide Advert (in QuarkXpress)
• Kiss of the Vampire (in QuarkXpress)

Oct 4th: Theory Assessment & NEA Skill Development Task (Moving Image 1)

SMART START

At the start of today's lesson, you will demonstrate your understanding of media language relating to camera movements, angles and shot types (see sidebar for revision).

LEARNING CHECK

Following the smart start assessment, you will be placed in groups for today's practical work. The structure of the groups will be informed by the smart start outcomes!

THE BIG PICTURE

WALT: How do you construct a moving image sequence that observes the basic rules of filming to establish a linear narrative that follows the conventions of continuity editing?

EXPLAIN

The Basic Rules of Filming...

Continuity Editing

Rule of Thirds

180 Degree Rule

30 Degree Rule

Match-on-Action

MODEL

I will quickly direct the shooting and editing of a single match-on-action shot as an example. You will be my crew & actors!

PRACTISE

Your task in the second half of the lesson is to plan and shoot a short film sequence that demonstrates your understanding of the rule of thirds, the 180 degree rule and, once edited, match-on-action & continuity editing.

The Brief

Plan and shoot a short sequence, lasting no longer than a minute once edited, that represents a journey from A to B. In your sequence, your protagonist must have a motivation to get to point B (e.g. to meet a deadline, to prevent something happening, etc). You must include;

• A minimum of 3 match-on-action shots
• A variety of shot types, including a least one extreme close up (see media language page in sidebar)
• A least one element of camera movement (side media language page in sidebar)

Rules

• No dialogue!! (we will add sound effects and an underscore afterwards, but not words!)
• No inappropriate activities (drugs, smoking, sexual references, etc)- If in doubt, leave it out!
• You will each edit your own version of the sequence

Planning

• How will you plan? On the fly? Storyboard? Location recce? 
• How will you allocated roles within the film crew?
• Who will you use as actors?

The Prize 

All sequences will be submitted into the 'Cheslyn Hay A2B Short Film Festival'. The sequence voted the best by the judges will win...

REVIEW

At the end of the lesson, you will exhibit your personal edit of the sequence. The critic (me) will evaluate your success and declare somebody the winner!