The End.

Just wanted to say congratualtions to all of you for getting your films and all the accompanying written work in on time.

This year we had some really great work from both AS and A2 students. We had a diverse range of styles from noir to horror, a music video, drama and even a bit of comedy.

To complete your own short film requires a great deal of hard work and dedication. Many of you made the effort to stay long after the bell had gone to work on your films, at one stage I thought Brendan was going to start camping out in my room! Others put a great deal of time into getting the right actors, costumes and setting. I know it was a lot of work but I hope along the way you had fun in making your films and that you feel a sense of accomplishment when watching the fruits of your labour.

Good luck in your exams and I hope you have a great summer.
Ms D-L

The End is Nigh!

Hi there,
just a reminder that This Thursday is the day for our screening. We should meet after school in Ms Cole's room. Make sure you have your film burnt to disc before then and have checked it works. Also, don't forget to have your questionnaires ready, if you need them photocopied get them to me before 2.30 on Thursday.

AFter that all we need to do is finish your evaluations and prepare for the exam.

The dates for the exam are as follows:

A2 (Legacy) - Tues 12 May 2009 (AM)

AS (New) - Thurs 4 June 2009 (AM)

Keep busy.

Easter Fun.

So, it's almost that time of year when onto Newcastle's streets Shimna students spill, camera in hand, storyboard and shot list in pocket, ready to embark on a shooting spree.

So far the one/ two minute films have been a success and the planning seems to be in place. I love all of your ideas and can't wait to see what you've shot when we get back!

A few things just to remember over the coming weeks:
1) Keep a production diary, write it up at the end of each day's shooting
2) Shoot scenes a couple of times and from different angles, in other words shoot more than you've planned for.
3) Make sure you have enough tape!
4) At the end of each day's shooting fast forward your tape a few seconds, you don't want to tape over your previous day's work!
5) Callum says, do the log list when you're filming rather than when you're finished, otherwise you'll have forgotten everything.
6) Keep in touch, DON'T PANIC!

Where are we, where are we going?

Unlike the title might suggest this is not going to be a post about the meaning of life, we'll save that for another day. Instead, I just wanted to take stock of what should be done and what remains to be done with your coursework.

What you ( AS and A2) should have completed by this stage are the following:
1. Statement of intentions/ illustrated essay
2. Script
3. Storyboards
4. Mise en scene planning

What you should be working on this week is your one ( AS) two (A2) minute films.

There will be a screening of the films in Next Monday's lesson.

Some advice on what these should include is offered below. This is taken from the CCEA's MIA advice to candidate's document.

What is a Production Exercise?
The Production Exercise is a one-minute piece of video that explores either:
The Theme of your film
•
The Visual Style of your film
•
A Filmmaking Technique to be used in your film.
It is advisable to try and include elements of all three.
The Production Exercise does not have to be one continuous piece of film nor does it have to have its own narrative. It can be made up of several shorter pieces of video exploring the elements mentioned above. Production Exercises do not need written back-up work.
Tip: If your one min experiment is made up of several smaller pieces use your own narration
to tie the pieces together. Similar to the director’s commentary on most DVDs.

After these are completed then you should be ready to start shooting the real deals. My advice is shoot more than you need and make sure it is done before the end of the holidays as the most time consuming process is the editing.

Storyboards are go.

Just wanted to recap on where you should be in terms of your coursework.

AS= redrafed versions of your statement of intentions and your scripts are due in on Monday.

A2 = illustrated essays and scripts are due in on Monday.

Once the scripts are written the next stage is to start work on storyboarding your ideas. First, let’s just get one thing clear, it doesn’t matter if you can’t draw. Seriously. The point of a storyboard is to illustrate your concept, there’s no need to spend hours perfecting every panel. Some of you have been experimenting with software programmes and if you prefer to use these that's fine. Alternatively you can go about it the old school way an simply draw it. Don't forget templates for storyboards are stored in the coursework folder of MIA in the learning resources.

Below are a few sites to check out that may help you with your task.

Storyboards!

Drawing storyboards!

Script it

Hi all,
hope you are having fun writing the scripts for your films, below are a few links you might find useful.

How to write dialogue!

Scripts without dialogue!

BBC Film Network!

The Times article on script writing!

Also, year 13 don't forget the second draft of your statement of intentions is due in on Monday, here is a worksheet to help you.

Statement of Intentions!

Buzz Killington

Hi all, hope you're enjoying your mid term break, far be it from me to kill your off school buzz, however, I just wanted to remind you all that you should be working on your film ideas over the break.

AS -the first draft of the statement of intentions is due in on Monday. This can be in bullet points and should include who the inspirations for your film are, why they inspire you and how you hope to use this inspiration in your own films.

A2 - you should be working on your illustrated essays, the first draft of that is due in on Friday.

Also, just to remind you all of your blogs should now be up and running and yet I am still missing links for some of them, so get posting...