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Di Digital Film and Video/Animation

PiXL Gateway: Progression

- Digital Film and Video/Animation

Contents: I. Introduction

II. Skills in Storyboarding

III. Mastering the Adobe CC suite

IV. Film Shot types

V. Writing Critical Analsysis

VI. Stop Motion Animation

VII. Additional tasks

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I. Introduction

Course Outline and Modules

There are two options for taking this course.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate in Digital Film and Video

Production (360GLH) 603/1910/0 This is the equivalent of 1 A level and you can choose to

other subjects alongside this.

Or

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma in Film and Television Visual Effects (720

GLH) 601/7471/7 This is the equivalent of 2 A levels and you can choose one other subjects

alongside this.

Whichever option you take, it is worthwhile pointing out that the courses are structured very

similarly and follow the same format in regard to coursework. Students are expected to

complete one critical analysis essay eg “The History of Stopmotion” followed by several

practical modules eg “Create a 3 minute Stop Motion animation” and finally a written report

or evaluation. This is generally the same for each module completed on the course.

The idea of this gateway progression booklet is to provide suitable activities for students to

complete in orfer to help them maximise their potential and prepare them for life on these

Digital media courses….. and give them a ‘head start’.

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II. Skills in Storyboarding

It is a great idea to build up your drawing skills in order to complete the storyboarding

module. Do not worry if you aren’t confident in drawing. You will have time to learn and

develop your skills within this area but these excericises can be of real benefit.

Watch and then work through each of the links below. Make sure you practise each exercise

and develop your skills.

Introduction to Storyboarding

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQsvhq28sOI

Introduction to 2 point perspective drawing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6MOIP_mLsc

How to draw objects

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

How to draw cartoon faces

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T52UIiUtozA

Drawing cartoons

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61qUZgdH-aI

III. Mastering the Adobe CC Suite

Throughtout the course we will be working with the Adobe Creative Cloud suite. This consists

of Photoshop; After Effects, Premier Pro, Fuse, Illustrator, Animate and inDesign. You will

be expected to use all of these applications. Through Eckington LEAP academy you will be

given access to the complete suite free of charge. You will have two licenses (one for school

and one for home to work in your won time).

The following activites aim at giving you som overview of the main applications and what

can be done with them in a creative context. Again, try to work through them and get used to

the basic functions at how to control the application.

Introduction to Photoshop CC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqKHo1Q7OMc

Introduction to Premier Pro CC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdN-Rs-3uok

Introduction to Animate CC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGKBam84ZAA

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Introduction to After Effects CC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MA2kVwJPBkg

By far the most complicated application to use is After Effects CC. If you could dowlnload

the application and use your school log in details to sign in you could continue getting to

grips with the program.

These are also brilliant resources to show you the power on the application:

http://www.videocopilot.net/basic/

IV. Film Shot Types

You will also be expected to analyse and describe film shot types. It is very important that

you are fluent in the shot types and where they are used in Film, Television and Animation.

The basic types of shots in a film are:

1. The extreme wide shot 2. The wide, also known as a long shot

3. The full shot 4. The medium shot

5. The medium close-up shot 6. The close-up shot

7. The extreme close-up shot 8. The establishing shot

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Once this shot list has been learned, try analysing a favourite film or television program. Make a list

of the different shots they have used to tell the story. Why have they chosen that shot type?

V. Writing critical analysis

How to Write a Critical Analysis Essay Step by Step

When you know how to write a critical analysis essay step by step, you do not have to panic when

your teacher, tutor or lecturer gives you this assignment. A critical analysis essay can be defined as an

essay in which the writer analyzes a text, idea or literature by discussing its validity while evaluating

its worth. Usually, the analysis entails a summary or concise restatement of the main message of the

work under analysis as well as an evaluation of how well the message is put across. For instance, a

critical analysis essay on a piece of literature can examine the tone, style and rhetorical appeals that

the author of the text employs. A critical analysis essay on a scientific paper can examine the

accuracy, relevance and methodology of research.

A simple guide on how to write a critical analysis essay step by step

The goal of a critical analysis essay is to provide an interpretation or text of certain aspects of a given

text or to simply situate it in the broader context. For instance, a critical analysis essay on a book can

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focus on determining how the used tone influences the overall text meaning. A critical analysis essay

on a film can focus on the importance of recurring symbols in it. Regardless of the topic of your

critical analysis essay, there are sections that you should include and steps that you should follow

during the writing process to make your critical analysis essay stronger.

They are as follows:

Understand the critical analysis essay writing assignment

Once your instructor assigns you the essay writing assignment, read the provided guidelines carefully

highlighting what you may not understand. Seek clarification where necessary to ensure that every

aspect of the assignment is clear to you.

Study your source critically

This assignment requires you to evaluate a given work such as a movie or a painting. To analyze the

work critically, you need to familiarize yourself with it. Take your time to read the work carefully so

that you can understand it. If you are required to write a critical analysis essay on a film or any other

visual work, watch it severally. If it is a painting, view it from different angles. Take notes while

studying the work. This will enable you to recall various aspects of the work and think critically about

it while writing the essay. Therefore, ask important questions while studying the work.

For instance, ask yourself:

What purpose does the work accomplish?

What is the main message of the work?

What are the major points or ideas?

What makes the work puzzling?

Is the purpose of the work accomplished successfully? If yes or no, how or why?

Review notes so that you can identify problems and patterns

After studying the work and taking notes, go through the notes carefully so that you can determine

which patterns are the best for presenting the text as well as problems that should stand out in your

essay. Identify solutions to some of these problems.

Select a topic for your critical analysis essay

This is one of the most important steps of a guide on how to write a critical analysis essay step by

step. The topic that you select for your critical analysis essay will determine what you include in the

essay. For instance, do you prefer critiquing a modern movie or a classical book? It is important that

you consider the given assignment or prompts as you select the topic. You might also be given a topic

to write your essay on. However, if the assignment allows you the freedom to select a topic, pick a

strong topic to make your critical analysis essay unique.

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Conduct secondary research

If the assignment requires you to use secondary sources, you have to conduct some research from the

right sources. The assignment guidelines might specify the sources that you should use. Scholarly

journals, books, magazine articles, trustworthy websites and newspaper articles are examples of

sources that you should consider exploring. You can also use the database of your college library

because this allows you access to various articles freely. Nevertheless, evaluate each source carefully

to ensure that it is credible. Take notes while reading the sources that you identify and ascertain their

credibility. Highlight important passages to make coming back to them easier. Additionally, jot down

information about the sources to make crafting a bibliography or reference page easier.

Come up with a tentative thesis

After developing ideas of your critical analysis essay from the primary source and secondary sources,

draft a thesis statement for your critical analysis essay. A good thesis statement should express your

main idea while stating an arguable claim. Using a thesis statement that has a multi-sentence nature is

helpful. Such a statement has a first sentence providing a general idea while these second refines it

into an idea that is more specific. Make sure that your thesis statement is arguable and that it provides

adequate details.

Outline your critical analysis essay

On the basis of the research notes that you took in step 5, develop an outline for your essay. This will

enable you to organize the information that you have gathered in a more effective manner. Come up

with a detailed outline on the basis of the information that you will include in the sections that your

outline highlights.

Use an engaging sentence to start your essay

You should start discussing the topic of your essay immediately at the introduction. To determine

what to include in your introduction, think about the main ideas or points that you will discuss in the

essay. Note that you should identify the key points or ideas of the essay at the introduction. Crafting a

good introduction is also a vital step of a guide on how to write a critical analysis essay step by step

because the introduction provides a preview of your essay.

Include background information

You should include background information in the introduction because this will guide the readers of

your essay. Background information establishes a context for the essay. Therefore, think about the

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information that your readers may want to know so that they can understand the entire essay and

include this in the introductory paragraph.

Discuss specific components in the body

Instead of attempting to discuss multiple aspects of the text in one paragraph, come up with several

body paragraphs with each focusing on a specific aspect of the work. Make sure that each aspect

contributes in proving the stated thesis statement.

In each paragraph:

State a claim in the topic sentence

Support the claim with an example from the work under analysis or the primary source

Support the claim with an example from the secondary sources

Write a strong conclusion

In the conclusion, emphasize on what you were trying to show readers about the work under analysis.

Take time to reflect on the content and message of your essay before you draft a conclusion.

Determine which the best way to end the essay is. For instance, you can review and summarize your

main points regarding the work under analysis. You can also explain the effects of the topic on the

readers. Alternatively, you can explain the application of the topic to a broader observation or theme.

Your conclusion can also be a call to action such as further exploration or present a question

introduced by your essay.

VI. Stop Motion Animation

One of the most enjoyable and rewading modules in the course is the Stopmotion unit.

Students are expected to create a 3 minute short using the stop motion animation technique.

Students should try and download a free app for their smart phone (there are lots of free

stopmotion apps that get students started. Stopmotion studio is free and available on all

android and iphone platforms).

Please follow this link for some excellent ideas and information about getting started with

stopmotion techniques.

https://www.nyfa.edu/student-resources/stop-motion-animation/

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VII. Additional tasks

For each of the texts you read throughout this booklet, summarise the key points in one of the

following ways:

List any key terms from the text in a vocabulary list, researching their meanings (if

not clear from the text) and recording these.

Create a set of drawing for an original cartoon character. Draw an outfit and the

character in different angles and poses

Create a picture mind-map of the key ideas. Use doodles and images to illustrate

these. For a guide to mind-mapping, see this short video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLWV0XN7K1g

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© The PiXL Club Ltd. June 2018

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