647. uk cinema figures

.

615. Beat sheet links

http://www.craftyscreenwriting.com/excerpts/TV03.html

http://dannystack.blogspot.com/2005/12/beat-sheets.html

http://lucyvee.blogspot.com/2008/05/outlines-beat-sheets-treatments.html

mcu.edu.tw/~vedrash/Courses/ELC/Fall_07/…BeatSheet/explan.doc

http://www.beatsheetcentral.com/

561. Shot types and movements link

click here

558. Why you should log shots – and downloadable shotlog

click here

520. Film viewing – Audience Feedback Questionnaire

audience-feedback-questionnaire-17309

519. SIGNS, CODES and CONVENTIONS

MISE-EN-SCENE (French for ‘put in the scene’)

EDITING
Some important edits are called: continuity (or ‘Hollywood’) edits; MTV (’music television’) edits; cross-cuts; follow-cuts; match-cuts; jump cuts; eye-line matches; dissolves; fades; montages; bridging; flashbacks…

SHOT TYPES

Establishing shot / long-shot / mid-shot / close-up / point-of­ view shot / soft-focus…

Semiotics is the name given to the study of the way by which meaning is created in the world, especially in the mass media. It is based upon the Idea of ’signs’ and ‘codes’, ‘denotation’ and ‘connotation’.

A sign is the basic unit of meaning in semiotics. A sign is any individual thing that signifies meaning; for example, your clothes are a group of ‘fashion signs’ which signify meaning (perhaps you are trying to look ‘cool’?). There are two ways that signs create meaning: all signs have a literal meaning, which is called their denotation; but, depending on the context, many signs also suggest other ‘layers’ of meaning, which is called their connotation. For example, an image of a girl dressed all in white denotes just that, I.e. this is what you ’see’; but it may also connote innocence or purity (and all that this means in our society and culture), i.e. this is what you ‘think’.
Connotation, therefore, is always more than the denotation. Signs rarely work alone. They are most often combined with other signs to form a code.

A code is a group of signs that we recognise as going ‘naturally together’ to signify meaning (e.g. a rose is a sign; but being handed to a girl by a boy could create a ‘romance code’ and suggest love).

Film and TV codes are often called technical codes because technical equipment is used to create them.

There are three ways through which codes and signs can signify meaning: Iconicity: an iconic sign or code looks just like the thing it seems to represent, e.g. an image of a cowboy seems to be just that; but it is called iconic because it suggests far more than it should: for example, our culture tends to associate extra meanings with the idea of ‘cowboy’, such as toughness, heroism, masculinity, etc. Iconic signs are never reality: they are a representation of reality.

Indexicality (an indexical sign or code) in a sign directly suggests meaning because what it shows seems to be the result of something we associate with the thing it represents, e.g. smoke suggests fire, sweat suggests exercise, appearance can suggest wealth, etc. This can be a short-cut way for a film director to create meaning.

Symbolism (a symbolic sign or code) suggests meaning because we have learned this meaning in our culture; a symbol, in itself, has no association with what it means, e.g. a red heart shape suggests love; letters combine to make words, etc. The meaning we gain from codes is said to be culturally determined which .means that our culture ‘taught’ us that particular way to interpret the meaning. For example, when we see our national flag, the Union Jack, we see more than what it simply denotes – a piece of coloured cloth: patriotism and pride, etc.

An important code is an enigma code. These codes put a fascinating question in the mind of the audience that only watching the movie will answer. They tempt the audience to watch and are often used in trailers. A convention is simply a way of doing something that we are so used to we usually fail to notice it; conventions can seem ‘perfectly natural’ or ‘realistic’ yet are anything but. So: women in cowboys tend conventionally to be either ‘very good’ or ‘very bad’ – and this seems ‘normal’ within the genre of cowboy movies; the wheels of a car always screech; guns always kill outright; a punch always knocks a person out cold.

Genre and narrative are important media conventions that are covered later, as are editing techniques and-the use of certain shot types (such as an establishing shot sequence or montage – see later).

Cinema and TV codes are created within an area bounded by the edges of a screen. By controlling what objects and action are in this frame, a film director creates what is called a mise-en-scene.

Asking questions such as ‘who, what and where’ of the characters and objects and their relative positions, expressions, appearance, costume, make-up, scenery, props, lighting, sounds, etc. in a mise-en-scene will help you analyse it.

Try to consider what effects are created in a mise-en-scene’, what meaning they have (their denotation and, most importantly, connotation), how they have been created and why they were created (which will be the director’s purpose – perhaps to develop a character, a mood, the storyline or plot and sometimes to explore a deeper meaning or idea, i.e. a theme).

Editing is the placing of separate shots together. This allows a director to manipulate space and time ­hundreds of miles or weeks of time can be reduced to a few scenes that appear perfectly natural and believable to the audience. A montage is a most important editing technique. It is a series of shots that are edited together to create a kind of ‘individual unit’ of meaning.

Continuity edits – especially matched cuts – are called ‘Hollywood editing’. This creates a sequence that seems to flow naturally on from the previous one, and in which the edits are ‘invisible’. These have the effect of creating a realistic and seamless flow to a story or narrative (see below) where one event leads naturally onto the next.

Jump-cuts are dramatic edits; MTV edits are rapid sequences of fast jump cuts used to create a conscious effect as used first in pop-videos;

cross-cuts/parallel editing follow different actions such as two people talking; follow-cuts follow an action to its consequence, e.g. a character looking edits to what they look at

eye-line matches are a kind of follow cut).

A sound-bridge is a sound edit that allows sound from one shot to cross into the next to create continuity.

An establishing shot is usually the opening shot of a sequence; it ’sets the scene’ and locates the action. It is often followed by a mid-shot followed by a close-up shot.

A subjective point-of-view shot (POV) is at eye-level and appears as if you are viewing the scene from the character’s perspective (as in ‘Blair Witch’).

An objective point-of-view shot acts as if you are an observer secretly looking into a scene.

CAMERA ANGLE Eye-line match / high / low

CAMERA MOVEMENT Zooming / tracking / panning / hand-held

LIGHTING High key, neutral, low key

‘DIEGESIS’ AND SOUND

VISUAL EFFECTS / SFX

NARRATIVE

GENRE

ICONOGRAPHY

THE ‘STAR SYSTEM’

REALISM

‘Verisimilitude’

‘Generic verisimilitude’

‘Cultural verisimilitude’

Camera angles can signify meaning, e.g. a subjective POV high angle shot can crate a superior feel. Different camera movements can create significant meaning – a zoom or tracking shot into a close-up of a face can create emotion, a pan across a war scene can suggest violence; POV tracking shots and POV hand-held camera shot can create tension and involvement by making you feel as if you are a part of the action.

Lighting can create atmosphere and mood as well as signify meaning, e.g. in a horror movie, light and shade are important codes of meaning. High-key lighting is harsh; soft-key lighting creates a romantic atmosphere, spotlighting picks out a character from a group, etc.

Diegesis means the ‘world of the film’: if something seems to be a part of the ‘world of the film’, it is called ‘diegetic’. So, sound that is a part of the action is diegetic sound, e.g. wind noise, screeching cars, etc; but sound that is added’ to create, most often, mood or atmosphere is called non-diegetic sound. Diegetic sounds may also be added in after filming, or may be exaggerated for effect (e.g. loud footsteps).

SFX (special effects’) often use computer-generated graphics to create compelling realism and meaning.

The use of a narrative structure is a major convention of cinema and TV. We are all immersed in narratives and have been since childhood as we tell of or hear about the complex events of the world not in the form of long-winded complex details or bald information but as absorbing and interesting stories. Yet this way of explaining real as opposed to fictional events greatly oversimplifies reality whilst at the same time; paradoxically, appearing very realistic and believable. For instance, real events are rarely clearly ‘connected’ by such simple ’cause and effect’ relationships as in stories (i.e. this leads to that because…). Yet in narrative they always are. And in the real world people are not either good (i.e. ‘heroes’) or evil (i.e. ‘villains’); but in narrative they always are to some degree at least. And so on. For better or worse, we tell and hear of world events as narratives and media producers know this and use it to create media texts that rely on narrative structures and forms to be absorbing, compelling and convincingly realistic. Because of this, filmed narratives can easily trick us into thinking we are viewing a real ‘window on the world’.

Genre means the type/kind of narrative being told, e.g. detective, sci-fi, horror, etc. Genre defines a text by its similarities to other texts. Importantly, when we watch a genre film we have many pre-existing expectations of the types of characters, setting and events we want to see (prediction is a major aspect of our enjoyment of a film, and genre helps this). Genre conventions are an important way a director can create believable ‘versions of reality’ because we fail to see that what is shown is not reality at, all, but a media convention that we have become accustomed to seeing in that kind of film. So… we don’t mind the owner of a casino being horribly killed because we see him, in the gangster genre as naturally a ‘villain’. Film companies use genre to sell and make films: a popular genre creates a greater chance of commercial success; and genre can be cost effective, making it cheaper to write new stories and reducing the need for entirely new sets. Iconography is an important aspect of genre. We come to expect to see certain objects within the mise-en­-scene of a particular genre, for example, in a Western, we expect to see dusty lonely roads, saloon bars, cowboy hats and horses, jails, sheriffs badges, etc.; in a modern horror film, we expect lonely girls, ‘normal’ objects, use of dark and light, etc. These ‘genre indicators’ are called the iconography of the genre. Celebrities and film stars are an important part of the iconography of cinema and TV.

Different stars can be important signifiers of meaning. They can create expectations of character and action, help identify genre, and create powerful iconic representation of such as masculinity and femininity. Cinema and TV are able to offer high levels of ‘realism’: the bright screen, the clear and powerful Dolby sound, darkened room, etc. are highly compelling and persuasive. Such ‘appearance of reality’ is given the odd name of verisimilitude. This is yet another convention of course – there is nothing ‘realistic’ about an image on a flat screen.

There are two kinds of verisimilitude: generic verisimilitude is the ‘realism’ that convinces us because of the genre we are watching (in the horror genres it seems highly realistic for a vampire to sink his teeth into a person’s neck); cultural verisimilitude is the kind of reality that convinces us because it looks like the way things are or should

518. Parts of a PRESS KIT

WHAT’S INSIDE A PRESS KIT?
As far as its contents, no two press kits are alike. However, most press kits will contain a few \”staple\” items.
These may include:
AD SHEETS/SLICKS An ad sheet (also called an ad slick) is a page or pages of camera-ready ads of varying sizes that are used in print media such as newspapers and magazines. They are prepared by the movie studios and sent to theatres and/or promotional companies.
PRESS STILLS – Press stills are standard 8\” x 10\” glossy photographs, normally black & white. They can be the film\’s stars and/or crew either from scenes in the movie or on the movie set during the production of the film. There is usually some type of descriptive information included on the press still that explains who is in the photo and what the photo represents. Sometimes the studios will type the description on a separate sheet of paper and staple it to the back side of the still. The press still also have a studio still number which is normally printed into the still itself which identifies the still. Quite often they will include the NSS number (reference number showing year and number of film) and studio information on the bottom right… but not always. Every presskit is different with a varying number of press stills from 1 (especially in the mini press kit) to over 30.
PRESSBOOKS The term pressbook is used generically, but has come to mean the flyer, pamphlet, booklet or book (released as part of a press kit which contains certain information about a particular film. Pressbooks and related press materials date back to 1910\’s. Movie studios release certain information about a film, its stars, crew, etc. that the theatres and/or film exhibitors can disseminate to the press. Recognizing that many theatre managers do not have an advertising background, the major studios design and distribute advertising and press materials to the theatres to help in the overall promotion of a film. The pressbook contains whatever information a studio chooses to release on a particular film. Most include background information about the film, the actors, the crew and other tidbits about the film\’s history. Some contain news articles about the stars\’ lives outside of the film. Some press books contain a breakdown of the advertising materials and merchandising tie-in products that are available to the theatres. Press books can contain ideas for promotions, radio and TV advertising, newspaper and magazine advertising, contests and games.
Posters: ONE-SHEET and Mini Sheet – The most widely used movie art is the one sheet. Up until approximately 1984, the one sheet measured 27\” x 41\” (normally with a border). Since the mid 1980’s, some one-sheets measure 27\” x 40\” (normally without a border). They are normally printed on paper and displayed in a marquee case.

Mini sheets are often the same image but smaller (see below). Since it is the centre of the advertising movie paper, some studios offer many versions of the one sheet for a particular movie. These include
ADVANCE/TEASER In order to create an early \”buzz\” around a new film, many movie studios will issue what is known as an \”advance\” or \”teaser\” movie poster. These advertising materials are distributed to theatres and film distributors well in advance of the film\’s projected release. When discussing advances with older collectors, you need to remember that there is a difference between an Advance and a Teaser. Even though both are used to promote the film before the release, a Teaser has no credit information at all, so teasers are advances BUT not all advances are teasers.
Depending on the film’s promotional plan, the advance sheet may be identical or may differ significantly from the regular issue one-sheet (the one issued with the release of the film). In some cases, the studio may choose to put out a series of advance sheets – each giving a little more information about a film. In some cases, the artwork may be completely different and not include the normal credit information. In other cases, the artwork is identical to the regular issue except that it will contain the projected release date. While there is no set standard for an advance one-sheet, it will normally have one of these distinctions:
The word \”Advance\” or \”Teaser\” in the lower bottom corner. The abbreviation \”Adv\” in the lower bottom corner. Words like \”Coming Soon\” or \”In Theatres This Summer\” somewhere on the poster, usually on the bottom.The projected date of release. No or limited credit information. On films with smaller budgets, only one poster is issued which is used as both the advance and the regular. Awards poster Lenticular is like a hologram the poster needs to be moved to make it change
PREMIERE: Movie studios will sometimes present a special premiere screening of a film at a specific theatre or at limited theatres. In these cases, studios will sometimes release a special movie one sheet promoting the premiere. Many times, the movie poster will contain similar artwork to the regular poster, but also include the marquee or some other indicator of the place where the premiere is held. When Star Wars premiered, it was shown at four specific theatres, and only two posters for each theatre were made. These are extremely rare and very expensive. As its name implies, the \”mini-sheet\” is simply a small poster, printed on poster paper. They come in a variety of sizes, depending on the studio and the film. In many cases, the mini sheet is an exact duplicate of the one-sheet, only smaller. The size of mini sheets can range from that of a half sheet down to almost that of a herald, depending on the purposes outlined by the studio. Quite often, mini sheets are printed as advances to help generate interest in the film. Buttons to be distributed to movie patrons or at outside marketing events.
Premiums- Hats, T-shirts, stickers, cards, etc. – used as giveaways or special promotions. Special screening passes to be a

465. FS4. Small Scale Research Project – final advice

Fs4 The Area of Investigation The range of areas of investigation is deliberately as wide as possible to encourage candidate ownership and enable candidates to feel their interests and passions can lead to a project that will be lively, engaged, manageable and successful. Examples of such areas of investigation include: star/performer • Area of Investigation: the characteristics of Rhys Ifan’s performance across different directors and production contexts • Focus film: Enduring Love (Film Four/Film Council/Pathe/Free Range/Inside Track/Ridgeway 2004, Dir: Roger Michell) • Related films: Twin Town (Polygram/Figment/Agenda/Animimage, UK 1997, Dir: Kevin Allen), Notting Hill (Polygram/Working Title, US/UK 1999, Dir: Roger Michell), The Shipping News (Buena Vista/Miramax, US 2001, Dir: Lasse Hallström). • Area of Investigation: meaning(s) brought to a film by Juliet Binoche • Focus film: The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Saul Zaenetz, US 1987, Dir: Philip Kaufman) • Related films: Les Amants du Pont Neuf (Artificial Eye/Christian Fechner, Fr 1991, Dir: Leos Carax), The English Patient (Buena Vista/Tiger Moth/ Miramax, US 1996, Dir: Anthony Minghella), Chocolat (Brown/Golden/Holleran, US 2000, Dir: Lasse Hallström). genre • Area of Investigation: the shaping of the gangster genre by the films of Martin Scorsese. • Focus film: Mean Streets (Taplin-Perry-Scorsese, US 1973, Dir: Martin Scorsese) • Related films: Goodfellas (Warner, US 1990, Dir: Martin Scorsese), Casino (Universal/Sylalis/Legende/De Fina/Cappa, US 1995, Dir: Martin Scorsese). • Area of Investigation: the perceived Communist threat and the rise of the American Science Fiction film • Focus film: The Day the Earth Stood Still (TCF, US 1951, Dir: Robert Wise) • Related films: Plan 9 from Outer Space (Wade Williams Productions, US 1958, Dir: Ed Wood), On the Beach (UA/Stanley Kramer, US 1959, Dir: Stanley Kramer). technology • Area of Investigation: development of CGI in animation and its impact on audiences • Focus film: Toy Story (Buena Vista/Walt Disney/Pixar, US 1995, Dir; Jerry Hopper) • Related films: Toy Story 2 (Buena Vista/Walt Disney/Pixar, US 1999, Dir; John Lasseter/Pete Docter/Ash Brannon), Shrek (DreamWorks/PDI, US 2001, Dir: Andrew Adamson/Vicky Jenson). • Area of Investigation: the development of colour film techniques • Focus film: Gone With the Wind (MGM/Selznick International, US 1939, Dir: Victor Fleming) • Related films: The Black Pirate (Technicolor, US 1926, Dir: Albert Parker), Flowers and Trees (Walt Disney, US 1932, Dir: Burt Gillet ), The Sheltering Sky (Palace/Sahara/TAO/RPC/Aldrich Group, UK/It 1990, Dir: Bernardo Bertolucci). social and/or political context. • Area of Investigation: German film’s reflection of Germany before and after reunification • Focus film: Kings of the Road (Im Lauf der Zeit) (Wim Wenders Prod, W.Ger, 1975, Dir: Wim Wenders) • Related films: Run Lola Run (Lola Rennet) (Columbia TriStar/Bavaria/German Independents/X Filme, Ger 1998, Dir: Tom Tykwer), Downfall (Momentum/Constantin/Bernd Eichinger, Ger/Au/It 2004, Dir: Oliver Hirschbiegel) • Area of Investigation: films dealing with the Vietnam war as a symptom of modern America • Focus film: Platoon (Hemdale/Arnold Kopelson, US 1986, Dir: Oliver Stone) • Related films: Forrest Gump ( Panavision, US 1994, Dir: Robert Zemeckis), Hamburger Hill (Paramount/RKO, US 1987, Dir: John Irvin), The Deer Hunter (Universal/EMI, US 1978, Dir: Michael Cimino) institution • Area of Investigation: the Ealing Studio’s ‘signature’ • Focus film: Kind Hearts and Coronets (Ealing, UK 1949, Dir: Robert Hamer) • Related films: The Man in the White Suit (Ealing, UK 1951, Dir: Alexander Mackendrick), The Lavender Hill Mob ( Ealing, UK 1951, Dir: Charles Crichton). • Area of Investigation: Goldcrest’s rise and fall. • Focus film: Gandhi (Columbia/Goldcrest/IB/IFI/NFDI, UK 1982, Dir: Richard Attenborough) • Related films: Room With a View (Merchant Ivory/Goldcrest, UK 1985, Dir: James Ivory), The Killing Fields (Goldcrest/Enigma, UK 1984, Dir: Roland Joffé), Revolution (Warner/Goldcrest/Viking, UK 1985, Dir: Hugh Hudson). the auteur • Area of Investigation: Luc Besson’s move from French film to Americanised movies and the impact on his cinematic style • Focus film: Leon (Buena Vista/Gaumont/Dauphin, Fr 1994, Dir: Luc Besson) • Related films: Subway (Gaumont/Films du Loup/TSF/TFI, Fr 1985, Dir: Luc Besson), Nikita (Palace/Gaumont/Cecci/Tiger, Fr/It 1990, Dir: Luc Besson), The Fifth Element (Columbia/Gaumont, Fr 1997, Dir: Luc Besson). • Area of Investigation: Jerry Bruckheimer’s imprint as master of the high concept film. • Focus film: Con Air (Buena Vista/Touchstone, US 1997, Dir: Simon West) • Related films: Armageddon (Buena Vista/Touchstone/Valhalla, US 1998, Dir: Michael Bay), Gone in Sixty Seconds (Buena Vista/Touchstone, US 2000, Dir: Dominic Sena), Pearl Harbour (Buena Vista/Touchstone, US 2001, Dir: Michael Bay). Research and Annotated Catalogue (10 to 15 items) With the area of investigation considered, decided on and approved, the next stage is to begin the research. Both primary and secondary research should be undertaken. This will then lead to a body of research materials being put together, from which items will be selected to produce an Annotated Catalogue. Each catalogue item should be appropriately referenced and be accompanied by a brief note (around 5 lines), which explains how the particular item is relevant to the area of investigation and assesses the importance of the item to the overall research. A short, closing paragraph will identify significant items not selected for inclusion in the catalogue, offering reasons why. An annotated catalogue for a project that addresses genre through an area of investigation considering the emergence of a ‘gothic’ genre in American film may well look something like this: Annotated Catalogue FILMS Item1: Edward Scissorhands (Fox, US 1990, Dir: Tim Burton). Very useful as it has all the markers of the new gothic genre on display, and also has a clear relationship with Burton’s early films and his later ones. Item 2: The Crow (Entertainment/Most/Pressman, US 1994, Dir: Alex Proyas). The genre was still in cult territory here, and this shows in the comic book feel. Development of genre markers and influence of Burton clear. Useful, but could have easily been one of several other films in this place. Item 3: The Craft (Columbia, US 1996, Dir: Andrew Fleming). This is the film that was the turning point for the genre, where it suddenly not only got mainstream acceptance but also spawned similar films. Very much a teen movie, this shows the changing focus towards a new audience. Invaluable. BOOKS Item 4: Baiss, B. The Crow: The Story Behind the Film (Titan 2004). This was a very good piece of research as it not only told the story of making the film it also gave a broad overview of what makes a gothic film. This is possibly the most useful piece in the catalogue. Item 5: Smith, J & Matthews, C. Tim Burton (Virgin 2002). This gives a clear sense of what Burton’s work is all about, and how he practically defined the new American gothic genre. Detailed information on all of his films, and on the thoughts underneath them, this led me to some of the other material in the catalogue and some deselected from it. MAGAZINES Item 6: Tim Burton: Cinema’s Prince of Darkness, supplement in SFX Magazine, March 2005 Detailed on Burton with a clear emphasis on the gothic elements. Could not miss being included. Item 7: Travers, P. Auteur in Angora in Rolling Stone Magazine July 1995 An interesting article that looks at Burton as an auteur – some good references to his film and some discussion of his “burtonesque” genre. INTERNET Item 8: http://www.thetimburtoncollective.com The Tim Burton Collective is a fan-based site that offers a considerable range of articles, biographical information, and links for Tim Burton. This was the best of the Tim Burton related sites as it seemed authoritative and was also recommended by many other sources. Item 9: http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/04/31/lost_in_translation.html Neon Gothic: Lost in Translation by Wendy Halsem – this is a great article by a University Lecturer that served to widen my view of the gothic. Full of film references, it took my research in several unexpected directions (some not so fruitful). Item 10: http://minadream.com/timburton/EdwardScissorHands.htm this is a quite sophisticated site, but I sense it is still a fan site. Full of information about Burton and the gothic, this was particularly useful for looking at Edward Scissorhands. Item 11: http://www.darklinks.com/dmovies.html Dark Side of the Net – this was a little bit strange (particularly the movie forum) but it did clue me in to a whole range of American gothic films that I hadn’t even considered before. Not as relevant to the focus films as the other sites, but good for a general overview. CONFERENCE Item 12: Deviance & Defiance The 7th Biannual Conference of the International Gothic Association – Panel 1.3 Gothic Cinema (Thurs 11th August 2005). As I was on holiday in Canada this summer I stumbled across this Univ Montreal event. This was perfect research (although there were parts where I simply didn’t understand the panellists!), particularly when I got to talk to John Hogland from Univ of Kalmar afterwards about American gothic films. MATERIAL NOT SELECTED Vampress.net ( http://www.vampress.net/forum ) had some useful fan comment on the three films, but it never really got beyond the superficial. The Crow’s Loft (http://www.thecrowsloft.com ) was quite detailed and authoritative on the film, but never got into the gothic or genre that much. There were a few film reviews from Empire, Total Film and Sight and Sound that were useful background reading but had no direct relationship with the investigation, and similarly Mark Salisbury’s Burton on Burton (Faber 1995) was good to see Burton’s own words, but there was so much that was outside the project that it really didn’t fit. The presentation script (1000-1500 words) With the annotated catalogue complete, the next step is to prepare to present your findings in the form of a presentation script which may: • be in note form (though comprehensibly so) • be bulleted or numbered in an appropriate fashion • be short pieces of prose with reference to presentation material connecting them (and listing the catalogue items) • use appropriate headings and sub-headings to divide it up. It should show where a piece of supporting material from the Catalogue will be used (or where material derived from the Catalogue but designed specifically for the Presentation is employed) and should ensure that Catalogue Items used in the Presentation Script are clearly referenced (by Catalogue number is easiest but full referencing in footnotes/endnotes is also fine). It is important to note that an essay format is not suitable for this task. A presentation script may look something like the following – the opening of a presentation script on the performance of Michael Caine: Presentation Script Citizen Caine – the performance of Michael Caine RUN AUDIO: Theme music from The Italian Job (Item 3) – 30 seconds then fade out. PROJECTOR: BCU Image of Michael Caine’s face from Alfie (Item 9) – fade for Video PRESENTER: Michael Caine exploded onto 1960’s British cinema with his first starring role in Zulu (Item 2) in 1964, and immediately marked himself out as a charismatic and dynamic performer. VIDEO CLIP: Battle scene from Zulu (Item 2) – 1’14” PRESENTER: My research project looks at the development of Michael Caine’s performance across a number of films focusing on the 1960s and 1970s and making clear reference to his more recent work. Two films central to this examination that I will make reference to throughout this presentation are The Quiet American (Item 4) and The Ipcress File (Item 1) PROJECTOR: Split Screen freeze frame of Caine in The Ipcress File (Item 1) as young man and freeze frame of Caine in The Quiet American (Item 4) as an older man. PRESENTER: In this presentation I will cover: • Caine’s acting style • Caine’s approach to acting • The meanings produced by Caine’s work • Critical opinion of Caine’s acting • Caine’s British and American work • Caine’s own musings on his films FLIP CHART: Display bullet points for duration of presentation. PROJECTOR: Poster of Caine in The Ipcress File (Item 12) PRESENTER: I’d like at this point to quote Caine himself speaking on the Southbank Show (Item 6): “People are always asking me about…. What you should be able to see from this example is a clear sense of the presentation script as being for presentation, with regular breaks in the spoken delivery to introduce stimulus material from the Catalogue. This extract is approximately 250 words long and covers approximately 2 minutes 45 seconds of time. If I use all of my allotted 1500 words then I can expect my presentation to last somewhere in the region of 12-18 minutes (assuming I show five or six clips of between 60-90 seconds in duration. The Evaluation (approx 500 words) An evaluation should identify the research and presentation processes that went into the project and should be able to identify the learning developed in these processes. Similarly, it should assess the product of the project (in this case the annotated catalogue and the presentation script) and should make value judgments on them. It is preferable to be specific. Candidates should use examples of the strengths and weaknesses of their project and should not be afraid to identify a weaknesses, particularly if they can offer some corrective advice at this stage. This clearly demonstrates both reflection and the ability to problem-solve. (See Specification, page 29 for list of items which could be included in the evaluation). Acknowledgement Much of this material has been extracted and adapted from Casey, Gaffney & White, A2 Film Studies: the Essential Introduction (Routledge, 2006). Reproduced with kind permission of Taylor & Francis Books.

460. Women and horror

This site offers some insight into important feminist theories around Women and Horror films including Carol Clover’s exploration of representations of women in Horror. You should be making reference to these theories if you want the A-C grades! 

http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1775841

Another theory based site this time drawing upon the work of feminist theorist Laura Mulvey

http://www.helium.com/items/132886-women-in-horror-films-ripley-the-alien-and-the-monstrous-feminine

Top 25 Women of Horror – useful maybe

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/816579/top_25_women_of_horror.html?cat=40

458. movie distribution facts

http://moviedistributionfacts.wordpress.com/

406. List of free sound effects and free music sites

try soungle

freeplaymusic for something different

creative commons site
Free Sound Effects from PartnersInRhyme.com

This is a great site but check carefully because it sells sounds as well as offering others for free.
http://derekaudette.ottawaarts.com/

http://www.acoustica.com/sounds.htm

http://www.alcljudprod.se/english/ljud.php

http://www.freesound.org/index.php

brilliant, but you need to set up an account and log in to download

http://www.ljudo.com/default.asp?lang=tEnglish&do=it

http://www.jamendo.com/en

405. Film statistics link

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/genres/

373. Writing up your coursework

Write up guidelines

Critical evaluation has an introduction and three parts. In the introduction, you must outline exactly what you did for your AS production.

Part 1 (1,000 words max) – Pre construction and construction

In this part you need to outline your brief, briefly how you researched it and the stages and decisions you made in the construction stage.

Include:

• Folder of research
• Flat plans, storyboards, rough sketches
• Printouts you made of previous versions of final product

Part 2 (1,000 words max) – Post construction evaluation of the product and how it works

In this section you analyse the finished product. This means you must explain how the decisions and revisions you made affected the form of your work and why you made these decisions in relation to the audience e.g. ‘I changed x because it looked too childish and I knew my main audience would be women aged 30-40’.

Next, answer how your product makes meaning – what do the elements of the work signify to the audience?

Wherever possible, relate to critical theory from the course e.g. genre, audience effects, narrative, media language (feminist, Marxist, close-up, POV, hybridity, intertextuality) Remember this is synoptic.

Part 3 (1,000 words max) – Evaluation of the product with direct relation to the audience

In this section you must explain how your text fits in with the wider context of media institutions and audiences. This means you must compare your product with real media output of a similar nature. Direct comparisons to actual texts and real institutions (BBC, magazine producers) are vital.

You must analyse how well you think your product would work with the audience – you should include any comments you have had from audiences you have tried your product on. Remember evaluation is how well or effective this part is (e.g. colour choice).

Analysis is why things are as they are.

Advice:

o Don’t spend ages saying ‘I decided to research this…’ and ‘When I had done this I changed it to…’. Get straight to the point, for example ‘After researching women’s magazines I found…’ and ‘The next change made was…because…’

o Choose the key points and explain them in detail rather than trying to cover everything

o Refer to theories and ideas you have learnt in both years of the course as much as you can, think how you can use a higher level of language at all time e.g. ‘narrative structure’ as opposed to ‘storyline’

o Wherever possible try to think beyond decisions of liking or not liking. If you like something or don’t like something there is a reason why: try to uncover what this is e.g. you prefer the purple writing on the pink background rather than black. At first thought you might prefer purple but, purple and pink are actually complementary colours and this will account for why you prefer it. It is not wrong to prefer one thing to another, you must get to the ‘why’ you preferred it and write about that reason.

Avoid simply describing, always analyse and evaluate.

372. Propp is fun!

http://www.brown.edu/Courses/FR0133/Fairytale_Generator/gen.html

371. Propp’s character archetypes

Propp’s character archetypes

• the villain, who struggles with the hero
• the donor, who prepares and/or provides hero with magical agent
• the helper, who assists, rescues, solves and/or transfigures the hero
• the Princess, a sought-for person (and/or her father), who exists as a goal and often recognizes and marries hero and/or punishes villain
• the dispatcher, who sends the hero off
• the hero, who departs on a search (seeker-hero), reacts to the donor and weds at end
• the false hero (or antihero or usurper), who claims to be the hero, often seeking and reacting like a real hero (ie by trying to marry the princess)

325. A2 Film Studies FS4 – assessment tasks

Assessment Tasks

Candidates should complete a coursework portfolio containing the following:

(1) the small-scale research project (50%) comprising:

(i) an annotated catalogue

(ii) a presentation script and

(iii) an evaluation.

(2) the practical application of learning – creative work (50%) comprising:

(i) aims and rationale of the creative product

(ii) a creative product (film journalism, screenplay [including synopsis] or

film/video) and

(iii) an evaluation.

Mark Allocation:

Small-Scale Research Project

Annotated Catalogue plus Evaluation: 30 marks

Presentation Script: 20 marks.

Practical Application of Learning

Aims/Rationale plus Evaluation: 20 marks

Creative Product: 30 marks.

 

(1) The Small-Scale Research Project (50%)

The research project will be based on one focus film, making appropriate reference to at least two other related films. Candidates will define an area of investigation (through an approval process) that relates the chosen focus film to one of the following contexts:

star/performer

genre

technology

social, historical and/or political context

institution

auteur (in its broadest sense)

Candidates may not choose as a focus film either a film selected for their FS1 Written Analyses (macro or micro) or one which is identified as a focus or Close Study film in FS3 or FS5.

 

The project will highlight a focused area of investigation and must be approved prior to commencement. Whatever the area of investigation, the research should endeavour to identify what is distinctive about the chosen focus and related films within the chosen context and to demonstrate how this distinctiveness contributes to making meaning – in essence working from text to context. In practice, candidates will constantly be interrelating aspects of their chosen film(s) and their research materials.

 

The project will be submitted in three parts:

(i) An annotated catalogue of key items of the candidate’s research (approx 500 words)

The catalogue will contain approximately 10 to 15 items selected from the

candidate’s total primary and secondary research. Each catalogue item should be

appropriately referenced and be accompanied by a brief note (around 5 lines), which

explains how the particular item is relevant to the area of investigation and assesses

the importance of the item to the overall research.

The catalogue must conclude with a short paragraph, which identifies significant

items (e.g. between 3 and 5) which were not selected for inclusion in the catalogue,

offering reasons why.

Please note: there is no longer any requirement for a separate commentary, as

was the case up to and including the 2006 examination series.

(ii) A presentation script (1000 – 1500 words)

The presentation script must take the form of notes for a presentation and could

combine (for example) subheadings, bullet points, short pieces of connected prose

and reference to visual extracts to illustrate the presentation. Candidates are

encouraged to devise a presentation format appropriate to their needs. This is not an

essay but a presentation of research findings.

Please note:

Reference to key items of research from the catalogue must be made

explicitly in the presentation.

Short credited quotations may be used but care must be taken that the words

of the presentation are the candidate’s own. Credited quotations are

excluded from the word count.

(iii) An evaluation of the research project (approx 500 words)

The evaluation may include:

brief consideration of the relative success of the research project

brief discussion of the research methodology (i.e., approaches to research) used,

highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of different forms and sources of

research (comments on using, for example, the internet, DVD additional

material, magazines and books)

identification of research and problem-solving skills developed over the course

of the research project (problems faced during research with an indication of how

these were or could be overcome)

brief discussion of how the candidate selected appropriate material for the

presentation script

brief reflections on the findings from the research.

 

(2) Practical Application of Learning – Creative Work (50%)

The Practical Application of Learning may take one of three forms: film journalism,

screenwriting or film/video-making.

The creative work will be submitted in three parts:

(i) the aims and rationale of the creative work – including a statement on the target

audience and the stylistic/formal influences which will inform the work (500 words

maximum)

(ii) the creative product itself (either film journalism, screenplay or film/video)

(iii) an evaluation (500 words maximum).

The portfolio of coursework must be submitted together in a single folder accompanied by the Coversheet, FS4a.

 

The Creative Work: the three options

EITHER:

Film Journalism

The candidate will produce between two and four pieces of film journalism, possibly

differing in length, up to a maximum of 2000 words in total. The pieces of journalism

should be for intended publication in named magazines or newspapers, student magazines, fanzines or websites. Each piece should be based on a film critical approach – for example, one related to the subject of the small-scale research project (authorship in its broadest sense, stars/performance, genre, aspects of film technology, social and/or political context or aspects of distribution and exhibition, whether local or national). In this way the film journalism will clearly demonstrate the application of film studies learning.

The candidate should identify a publication and a target audience for each piece. Diversitybetween the pieces should be encouraged. It is, therefore, suggested that candidates should limit their journalism to one film review only.

Note: Alternatives to film reviews could include, for example, pieces on fans or cinema

exhibition. Intended publications need not necessarily include Sight and Sound.

 

OR

Screenwriting

The candidate will produce either

a synopsis (approximately 200 words) for a feature length film together with the

screenplay for a section (approximately 1800 words) of the film or

a complete screenplay (approximately 1800 words) for a short film.

The screenplay should not exceed 1800 words, including both dialogue and directions/visual information. The standard conventions of screenplay writing should be observed. Work produced for this unit will be expected to meet higher standards than screenwriting produced in FS1. The emphasis for this option in FS4 is on screenwriting skills.

The screenplay will clearly demonstrate the application of film studies learning.

 

OR

Film/Video Making

The candidate will produce either

a synopsis (approximately 200 words) for a film, together with a three to five minute

film/video extract from the film or

a complete short film of between three and five minutes in length.

The film/video will clearly demonstrate the application of film studies learning.

Group work

While a candidate may produce the film/video without support, it is more likely that it will

be produced in small groups. In this case, a maximum of four candidates may be assessed within a group – each of whose contribution must be clearly identifiable for assessment purposes. If, for example, a group of four divides responsibilities in terms of (i) direction,

(ii) cinematography, (iii) editing, (iv) sound, then for both the aims/rationale and

evaluation sections, each candidate is expected to discuss the work of the group and their own individual specialist contribution. If there is some overlap in the roles taken, then candidates must focus their evaluation on the dominant contribution that they have made. In some cases, collaborative work may lead to some students ‘helping out’ while not being assessed at all.

Assessment of the quality of the product will include some direct observation by the teacher of the group working together. Credit should be given for creative or organisational skills within the group.

317. A2 Film Studies – structure for the year 2008/9

introduction-film-studies-a2-fs4-film-making-meaning-24

263. FS4 Links to written and audio reviews

Film Critic Film Reviews

Mark Kermode’s Audio Reviews