Pre-production

 1) Script

2) Shot list

Once you have a full script you are happy with, you can turn it into a shot list containing EVERY shot you plan to film for your TV drama AND additional shots to create flexibility when editing. You'll know from your preliminary exercise that missing a shot, continuity errors or not having enough material makes editing much more difficult. A good shot list will help you avoid this. In particular, make sure you plan lots of extra shots that you may not need but can help you with editing. These additional shots are often close-ups, cutaways, alternative angles or similar. I advise using a simple table on Google Docs to set out your shot list - you can find an example here for a student film shot list. It makes sense to write your shot list by scene or location (like in the example linked) rather than a huge list of every shot in the extract in chronological order. 

3) Mise-en-scene

Costume: One character in school uniform to represent a school kid and another in a monster costume holding a wooden stick as a prop

Lighting / time of day: Graveyard scene at night to seem more suspenseful along with river scene whereas the forest scene will be in the day

Actors - casting, placement, movement: 

Make-up and hair: N/A

Props: Green potion in a jar with glow sticks to look enchanting

Setting: Set in a graveyard to begin and then moves to a river which then goes into a forest too

4) Shooting schedule 

I will be using my preliminary exercise and adding one more scene as it already consists of 2 characters and locations then i will continue the story to a teleportation to a graveyard at night which will be around 5pm to not be too dark for good lighting.  

Plan a shooting schedule for your filming over the next two weeks. Include when, where, who is required and what shots you will complete at each time/location. Again, this can be on Google Docs or Sheets or you could simply use your blog. The most important thing is that you've planned it!

Paper 1 assessment learner response

1) Type up your feedback in full (you do not need to write mark/grade if you do not wish to).

Total = 24 Grade = 5

WWW - There are plenty of solid answers here (and Q3 on narrative is very good) but overall I think this needs to be a useful lesson in the depth of knowledge and analysis required for a 7+ grade.

EBI - Focus on unseen Q and the Tatler Q on social/cultural contexts. These 12 mark questions will be vital for a 7+ grade and currently you are outside the top two levels. See the mark scheme for more on this .

2) Look at the mark scheme for this assessment. For Question 2 (12 mark unseen) use the indicative content in the mark scheme to identify three points that you could have referred to in your answer.

• Upper case and bold – connotations of the important, powerful message of the image and copy. 
• Body stance / position connotes that the subject is ready to face and overcome any opponent.
• The text is positioned over the top of the tyre to signify the challenge and create synergy between the image and the message in the text.

3) For Question 3 (Galaxy - narrative features) use the mark scheme to write down the main narrative theories and how we can link them to the Galaxy advert CSP. 

• There is disequilibrium at the start when the village is associated with chaos (fruit falling, bus stopping, people shouting). This is juxtaposed with the calm, heroic persona that the audience encounters when they meet Hepburn and, when the new equilibrium is restored at the end, the sweeping vista suggests endless possibilities /traditional happy ending at the closure of the narrative. 
• The use of locations in the narrative suggests a version of reality for the audience: Italian Riviera has connotations of romance, upper class and the old Hollywood era is evoked, suggesting the luxurious nature of the chocolate and reinforcing the ‘silk, not cotton’ message.

4) Now look at Question 4 - Tatler and social/cultural contexts. Use the mark scheme to identify three points you could have made in your answer here.

Serif font for title connotes formality, high class and how well

• established the magazine is (Britain’s oldest magazine).
• Use of green colour scheme (fresh and new) with white text (style, class, sophistication).
• Recent cultural events referenced in cover lines – ‘See EU later’ references Brexit while ‘Love in the time of Corona’ reflects Covid pandemic. Suggests that wealthy British people want to know the latest news and current affairs.

5) On Section B, focus on Question 7 - film industry and Black Widow. Use the mark scheme to identify three ways Black Widow was marketed to its audience.

• The importance of the Marvel franchise and the overall Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)
• The use of trailers, teasers and social media to build up excitement and word-of- mouth long before release.
• The use of traditional film marketing techniques: trailers, film posters, red-carpet premieres, interviews with stars and director etc.

6) Finally, write down three things you are going to work on before your next mock exam in December (e.g. time management; revising CSPs etc.)

Revise CSPs (Tatler, Black Widow, Galaxy, OMO, His Dark Materials)

Preliminary exercise learner response

 1) Type up your teacher's feedback in full plus a summary of the comments you received from other students in the class. If you've received your feedback via email, you can simply cut and paste it from the email into your blog.

• wow - this is stunning! Brilliant chase scene both in terms of camera shots and editing. Place is excellent.
• One question in terms of genre/costume: is this more horror than fantasy? This could be a tricky one!
• The effects are brilliant - simple but perfectly executed using editing and sound.
• The ending sets it up perfectly to continue but we may need to discuss the costume and how we will write about it in the statement of intent.

2) Using a combination of your own reflection on the preliminary exercise and the feedback you were given, write three WWW bullet points (What Went Well) and three EBI bullet points (Even Better If) for your preliminary exercise. 

WWW:

•  Great editing and special effects good use of music and sfx
•  Great story line and acting 
• Camera movement and angles are also very impressive

EBI:

• The panning shot at 00:18 is slightly off as there is no space in front of the character which makes him come slightly out of frame
• Perhaps costume may come across as fantasy and instead horror genre 
• 
  

3) What have you learned from the preliminary exercise that will help you in the actual coursework project? List three things you have learned or will do differently as a result of this exercise. You may want to comment on organisation, actors, filming, editing or something else entirely but be specific.

I've learnt the process of filming and editing and mainly how taking many different shots is a great way to get a wider variety of shots from different angles to quicken editing when wanting to add tension to the narrative