PRE-PRODUCTION MASTERCLASS

BA MEDIA DEPT

Story ideas Pitch and treatment Script Storyboard Location Cast / Auditions / Rehearsals on and off location Shooting schedule Call sheet Equipment On the day – March 17th & March 18th – 4 weeks to

go !

YEAR 12 PRODUCTION BRIEF

Brief: Create the opening sequence of a new film (including credits.) Your film will be a modern version of a classic fairy tale

Genre: Family Drama Target Audience: Young children from the age of about 10 to

adults (typical audience for a family drama) Casting: No teachers to be used. All cast to be cleared with HOD Locations: School locations Dialogue: Minimal dialogue to be used. Soundtrack: Your opening sequence will need a soundtrack

OUR EXPECTATIONS …..

THE PRODUCTION LOG PRODUCTION MEETINGS – what are

these and why are they important THE BLOG

WHERE DO STORIES COME FROM?

Newspaper stories – weird & wacky Fairy tales – key ingredients Poetry Music lyrics

And many more …..**Red Riding Hood story analysis

81 cats found, taken from house Ex-nun, nurse said they'd hoped to find homes for them all read more

Conway's big bubble blower has blown away the British. Bubble-blowing queen Kelsey Lea went to London and brought home another biggest-bubble crown. read more

America's growing waistlines are hurting the bottom lines of airline companies as the extra pounds on passengers are causing a drag on planes read more

Texas Girl Kills Sleeping Mother [Dallas, TX] - A 12-year-old girl upset about being grounded by her mother fatally shot the woman in the face while she slept. read more

Woman Digs Beer, Cigarettes from Boyfriend's Grave [Portage, WI] - A woman has been arrested for digging up her dead boyfriend's ashes from a cemetery more than 10 years ago and drinking the beer that was buried with him. read more

**Use brainstorm on Ark girl story on projector

CHARACTER and CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

RESOLUTION

LOGICAL CAUSALITY – a story contains a series of interconnected events which lead to a resolution

THEME

PITCH & TREATMENT

TREATMENT : Synopsis of the story (see examples)

PITCH : Try and sell the story to the producer for funding. Does it have decent characters? good ending?

You will get feedback from the class and your teacher.You need to make detailed notes so you can go back and

improve the treatment and pitch again.

Example:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8sK2EY0ZuU&feature=PlayList&p=833792608994279B&index=4

STORYBOARD

Visual representation of what is in your head needs to go down on to paper

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvQV21hkMjI

Hand drawn by the group – why? Photo storyboard

SCRIPT

What makes good dialogue in film openings? Do you need dialogue? Avoid dialogue ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YswkF-d2VZ8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dr_i2w0W-ZM&feature=PlayList&p=EF93FC74B129C968&playnext=1&index=16

LOCATION RECCE

See LBY’s handout on this

CAST/AUDITIONS/REHEARSALS

Avoid having too many cast in the opening sequence – more cast means more things for you to manage on the day

Difficult to take other pupils off timetable so keep this to a minimum

Avoid using teachers in your film – they are too busy !! Reading script with cast off location Rehearsals on location before the shoot Rehearsal on location on the day of the shoot before each

take

CAST/AUDITIONS/REHEARSALS

Call sheet Contracts Phone nos: Timetables Contact details

SHOOTING SCHEDULE

A shooting schedule is a project plan of each day's shooting for a film production.

Why do we need this?

(Clapperboard, editing rushes)

How – use commonsense and be practical about grouping shots together. Also fit this around availability of cast.

Like the conductor in an orchestra !

See examples

CONTINUITY

Why do this? How to do it?

Check continuity before each shot for each character and prop separately

Roll camera Sound ok? Continuity ok? Action Cut

EQUIPMENT

Check in and out Collect continuity sheets We go home at 5pm!

Do not ever leave equipment unattended Pack it up safely and carefully – you will be charged for

damages

ON THE DAY

You are being assessed as you work on location around the school

Food and drink Schedule carefully – shooting schedule Let cast know – call sheets How to use the clapperboard View daily rushes where possible back in studio– do not

rewind tape Rehearse on location before each tak Director cues –

HOW TO FILM EACH SHOT

ACTORS ACT OUT THE SEQUENCE EACH TIME BUT THE FOCUS OF THE CAMERA MOVES EACH TIME

*Use example of someone coming in and leaving room

BACK UP SHOTS ARE VITAL !!

CUTAWAY SHOTS - A bridging, intercut shot between two shots of the same subject. It represents a secondary activity occurring at the same time as the main action. It may be used to avoid the technical ugliness of a 'jump cut' where there would be uncomfortable jumps in time, place or viewpoint. It is often used to shortcut the passing of time.

http://www.mediacollege.com/video/shots/cutaway.html

SAFETY SHOTS / TOTAL SHOTS- before you move to the next scene shoot the whole sequence as a TOTAL SHOT where everything is filmed in WIDE ANGLE / LONG SHOT. This ensures that you have material to use in editing

• http://www.mediacollege.com/video/shots/ - you need to have a confident grasp of different shot types, movement and angles.

OUR EXPECTATIONS …..

THE PRODUCTION BLOG PRODUCTION MEETINGS – what are

these and why are they important