Focus on Film In this session we ll discuss how to be in control of your production. Assessment Criteria Production Design Plan Production Exercises Lessons from the Season of Excellence
Design Plans Online http://atomvic.org/season-of-excellence/ Resources > Season of Excellence.
Scope of Task Video: 3-10 minutes. Digital/online. Audio: 8 minutes minimum. Convergent. Animation: 10 minutes maximum Photography: At least ten images. Print: 8 pages minimum.
Concept Think about what you ve seen today. Think about what s possible and what s not possible. Talk through your ideas with everyone.
Safety and wellbeing You have a responsibility to ensure the safety of your actors. Act responsibly, ethically and according to the law. Remember, you are representing not only your school but also the VCAA.
Investigation Don t have an idea? Start investigating films that inspire you. Use Top Screen 2016 as inspiration.
Presentation Don t waste time decorating your design plan. We expect that it s clear, well-organised
Assessment Criteria Media production is a process Each criterion assesses one specific aspect of the process Use the criteria to help you plan and complete your production at each stage: preproduction, production, postproduction.
Criterion 1: Production Exercises Use of media equipment, applications and/or processes to present ideas and/or achieve particular effects in a media form.
Production Exercises Two production exercises. The production exercises might an exercise in shooting, editing, recording sound, lighting or colour correcting. Each exercise will include an intention and evaluation.
Criterion 2 Development and preparation of a media production design plan in a selected media form for a specified audience. It needs to be coherent, integrated and feasible. Imagine someone else picking up your design plan and making your film. What do they need to know?
Intention and Audience Intention: What do you hope to achieve? Audience: Who are you making it for?
Criterion 3 Application and understanding of styles, codes and conventions appropriate to the selected media form.
Criterion 4 Realisation of an individual or a distinctive media product appropriate to the intention for the selected audience(s) that demonstrates appropriate style.
Criterion 5 Skill in the operation of equipment and use of materials and processes appropriate to the selected media form.
Criterion 6 Management of the production of a media product.
Criterion 7 Realisation of the production design plan in the media product.
Lessons from the Season of Excellence
Narrative Films In 2015, the Top Screen selection panel was impressed by the quality and sophistication of storytelling. Even in high scoring films, there are still a number of areas which need to be addressed.
Narrative Films The most successful films told clear and engaging stories. Students increasingly show an awareness that short films are different to feature films, choosing to tell contained stories with a small cast of characters.
Narrative Films Narratives begin with a complication. The most successful films introduced this complication early and demonstrated what it meant for the lives of their characters.
Narrative Films Although students are permitted to create films of up to ten minutes, the most engaging films were usually no longer than six minutes. It is very difficult to sustain audience engagement for ten minutes.
Narrative Films Students typically demonstrated controlled use of their cameras. Shooting under fluorescent lights with the incorrect shutter speed caused problems for some students, creating a flicker that cannot be removed in post-production. Camera movement was generally controlled and purposeful, contributing to narrative and audience engagement. Students used a range of equipment, including tripods, dollies, sliders, jibs and drones.
Narrative Films Age appropriate actors. Students are increasingly casting age appropriate actors. They often involve family and friends in their films, tailoring their story to the strengths of available actors. Bad accents. In some cases, actors were directed to use American accents. This was usually unconvincing and detracted from the quality of the film.
Narrative Films Consistency. Selected films demonstrated consistency in technical skill and storytelling. Editing. There were a number of films which had a great deal of promise but needed a good whack with the edit stick. Establishing shots, sound bridges, bridging shots. Use these techniques to transition between scenes.
Narrative Films Sound. Successful films featured polished soundtracks. The students who created these films showed an awareness of sound throughout the production process. During development and pre-production, they selected locations suitable for recording clean audio. On location, students used a range of microphones to capture audio and, more importantly, positioned these microphones close to their actors. It was evident that many students enlisted the help of classmates to take responsibility for sound while they were behind the camera. In postproduction, successful students used a combination of location audio, foley sounds and sound design elements to create polished soundtracks. Sound is an area that all students must continue to focus on if they want to increase the production value of their films.
Narrative Films Lighting. Lighting makes an important contribution to shot films. Students are increasingly demonstrating an awareness of how they can use lighting to tell their stories, using a combination of natural light, practicals and lamps to light their scenes. Successful lighting was usually planned in pre-production, the production design plan featuring lighting diagrams or specific discussion of how lighting would be used in the film.
Narrative Films Title sequences. It is encouraging that students have largely abandoned long credit sequences in their films, opting for a simple title card instead.
Narrative Films Student number. Students are not required to include their student number in the credits of their production.
Documentaries The Top Screen selection panel was pleased by the range and quality of documentaries submitted this year. Like narrative films, documentaries must have a clear and compelling story. The best documentaries focused on an interesting subject and told a story rather than just cutting between talking heads without developing a story.
Documentaries Subject matter. Students should look towards their local communities for compelling subject matter and stories.
Documentaries B-roll. Polished documentaries made good use of b-roll footage, cutting away during interviews to well-composed and interesting shots which contributed to the story. Students are strongly encouraged to get as much coverage of their subject as they can.
Music Videos Effective music videos adopted a consistent aesthetic suited to the style of music. It was commendable that so many students created music videos for local bands or songs they had written.
Copyright Use original music, public domain, creative commons and royalty free tracks. For use outside of assessment you must have copyright clearance for third party materials. For Top Screen you must have written permission to use the copyrighted material at Top Screen at ACMI, Top Designs at the Museum and the Top Screen DVD. Obtaining permission can be a long, difficult and potentially expensive experience. Seriously why would you even?
Questions
Good luck! The VCE Media SAT is hard work but it s very rewarding and lots of fun. It is the best thing you will ever do at school.
Thank you.