A2 - Production Start

Today is the first day of your production fortnight.

Are you ready?

• permission slip signed
• all locations secured
• casting complete
• storyboard and shot list
• risk assessment
• schedule for your shoot
• equipment list
• props and costumes

If you you do not have the above your are not ready for the shoot but could be by the end of these four lessons depending on what you do with your time.

Focus

Focus on what is most important and complete this without distraction

Testing

If you are at the testing stage for equipment, shots, lighting - see me and we will arrange that

Script

Must be secure for you go into the shoot or you will FAIL

Storyboard

Highly recommended

Schedule including all locations

Must be completed before you are given access to equipment

Casting

Again, little point in beginning your shoot before you have a cast in place

A2 Media Studies - PRODUCTION

The beginning of your shoot.

• Complete review of all evidence of planning and preparations
• Receipt of all permission slips before issue of cameras - depending on requirements

Vivas to discuss progress and actions

1.50pm    Jessica

2.00pm    Hodo and Rana

2.10pm    Valeriya and Josh

2.20pm    Yasmin / Habiba

2.30pm    Rebecca and Lauren

From 2.40-3.20 - complete any preparations in advance of equipment issue before 3.10pm.

AS MEDIA STUDIES ASSESSMENTS

From a look at your blogs on Tuesday at 16.48pm I notice that 9 of you have not completed the October assessment on the opening of City of God. This must be completed and posted on your blog ASAP and before Thursday's lessons, if you are not to trigger a letter home and Prep.

Please note that any evidence of plagiarism will be treated very seriously, you should not be tempted to copy anyone  else's work and if caught doing this the consequences are dire - be warned.

All work posted by the the date an time above has been saved and filed for marking and evidence of your progress.

I also note that not everyone has completed the other tasks set for homework, please makes sure this happens asap and before Thursday as we will be working on your scripts then.

A2 Team meetings

Order of team meetings

For these meetings you will need to have available all documents relating to your project. Before and after meetings you will continue with the preparations and by the end of the class show evidence of this progression.

1.45 - 1.55     Rebecca and Lauren

1.55 - 2.05     Habiba

2.05 - 2.15     Yasmin

2.15 - 2.25     Hodo and Rana

2.25 - 2.35     Valeriya and Josh

2.35 - 2.45     Jessica

Documents for discussion should be up on your blog, in your folders and available to scrutinise.

Point of discussion:

To assess progress towards filming and readiness to begin production next week

AS week beginning 8th Oct

I notice from your blogs that not everyone has uploaded their City of God essay. It is vital that this is done by Sun evening (well past the deadline) as this essay forms the major part of my early assessment of your work. Failure to submit will trigger a letter home, prep and may threaten your position on the course.

This week.

Homework 1

I hope you all enjoyed the experiences you had yesterday.

a) Following on from the first session which allowed you to explore representations of teens and apply this to creating a DVD cover. Please write a reflection on what you learned during this lesson in a blog post by next Thursday.

The second lesson was focussed very relevantly on what you are preparing for at this moment - your preliminary exercises. These will be filmed and edited over the next two weeks on Thursday with the aim of having completed them soon after half term. 

b) Again, as preparation for next week please reflect on the lesson and what you learned especially your developing understanding of editing for continuity, the 30% and 180% rules and the importance of action cuts. Agin post by next Thursday.

Both these posts will form evidence which you can use as part of your Foundation Portfolio and will therefore contribute towards your overall AS grade.

Homework 2

Read and review the short scripts prepared for Homework last week by other students. Read and comment on at least two while ensuring that you have posted one of your own. We will be working with these on Thursday. 

Incomplete work will trigger Prep.

A2 Wednesday

Tasks for today.

• Return to the four evaluation questions and re-answer them with reference to your research and use these questions to develop your productions.

Complete the tasks set for Monday and review preparations for your shoot which will start on the 22nd of October. The main areas for you to work on are below.

• Completed scripts, storyboards, schedules, call sheets
• Drafts for ancillary products and plan for completion of those product

In detail:

• A schedule of what you want to shoot, when you want to shoot and where you want to shoot. Check out the dependent films website for useful forms.
• An exhaustive list of props, costumes, equipment.
• A cast list and plan for casting

P3 & 4

• A scene by scene/shot by shot breakdown of your film/trailer/music video - written
• An animatic of your production using Kodak cameras and iMacs in Heart.

All work MUST be published. I wil pop in during the morning to see how things are going.

A2 Monday's Class

Today's lessons in Heart ICT suite. Complete all tasks.

1. Embed (or link) Prezi presentations on representation of black people in your specific media focus on your blogs.
2. Post any outstanding essays: teen reps, disability reps.
3. All teams/individuals: ensure that all scripts are completed, all storyboards refined (specific shot choices, sound design, mise ens scene) and a draft schedule made for the week of the 22nd October and the half term week - look on Dependent films website for examples of schedules and call sheets. 
4. All teams/individuals: ancillary products. A mock-up of one ancillary product made (in digital form) and posted. Early designs for second ancillary product.
5. All teams/individuals: ensure that you have created a weekly or new blog for your Advanced Portfolio and email me the link.
6. Extension: designs for sets, location stills, props lists, costume designs, 

Your October assessment will be based on what you have presented on your blogs. Prep will be given for incomplete or inadequate work.

AS ASSESSMENT WEEK

AS media w4 FP

Please ensure that you have all completed the essay on the opening of City of God by next Thursday. Those of you who missed the class please watch the link below and do your best.

A2 HOME STUDY FOR WEEK 4

It is vital that you are all up to date with your work on the blog by Wednesday am. Please ensure that you are prepared with storyboards, scripts, schedules and detailed breakdowns as per last week's Homework. We will be using this in class.

You also need to ensure that your essays are completed and that I have either your book OR that they are uploaded to the blog. As some of you have been put into Prep already you are aware of how vital it is to stay on top of your studies.

This weeks G325 task is to research the representation of black people in media especially young black men.

I would like this research presented in the form of a PREZI with short video clips embedded, images, quotations and analysis.

Here are your individual research areas:

How are black people - especially young black men represented in/by:

• Rebecca - Newspapers and online news (current and recent)
• Lauren - Music videos (all genres - with some history)
• Hodo - UK Movies (all genres)
• Rana - Advertising (TV ads, wed ads, posters, magazine ads)
• Josh - UK TV (focus on drama)
• Yasmin - US movies (romance/comedy/musical - with some history)
• Habiba - US movies (drama/crime/action - with some history)
• Jessica - UK TV (focus of documentary, reality etc.)
• Valeriya - International Movies (especially from Europe, African countries and middle east)

What is being tested is your ability to find good source material and explore how meaning is created.

Examples:

Please see below a presentation made by a previous A2 class whose focus was the representation of teenagers in US movies.

Cinema of the United States (Edel)

A2 - short film made on iPhone

Watch the film below. Think about the construction of the film, narrative and how the camera has been used. This was shot on an iPhone!

Bamboozled - Spike Lee

The above embedded film (removed) is very controversial but well worth watching when considering the representation of black people, in particular black men, in America and is deeply satirical as well as hilarious. Be warned though it can offend and does use the 'N' and 'F' words frequently. The film is made by Spike Lee the pre-eminent black FIlm maker in the US who also participated in an episode of Who do you think you are? This is the stimulus for today's exploration of Representation and Cultural Identity with reference to black History month. The essay you will write will be explorative and focussed on the representations of black men in the media.