Media Arts Year 10 – Exploring and appreciating the world of film.

There are many films and TV series which are exceptional examples of visual storytelling and the Internet Movie Database IMDB is a comprehensive database, which is a useful reference for exploring the world of Film and Television. The IMDB provides information such as a short film synopsis, cast, crew, awards nominations and trivia for many thousands of films.

It also has a number of lists such as the Top 100 and 250 movies (as rated by IMDB users), as well as guides to the top films in the major genres and suggestions for other films that you may like; based on your browsing habits. 

Activity 1: Use this link to visit the Internet Movie Database’s Top 250 Movies list:  IMDB Top 250

From this list, select 10 films that you have not seen, but are interested in viewing. Be adventurous; choose films from genres that you may not normally watch. Ensure that you select films which are an appropriate age rating.

1.	The Dark Knight Rises
2.	Forest Gump
3.	The Matrix
4.	The Intouchables
5.	The Wolf of Wall Street
6.	Batman Begins
7.	12 Years a Slave
8.	Hachi: A Dog’s Tale
9.	The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
10	Black Swan

Activity 2: Select 2 of your favourite films and complete the following information about each one: 

Information	Film 1	Film 2
Title	The Hunger Games	The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants
Genre/s	Adventure	Drama
Director	Gary Ross	Ken Kwapis
Writer/s	Suzzane Collins	Anne Brashares
Cinematographer	Tom Sterns	John Bailey
Editor	Alan Edward Bell	Kathryn moff
Lead actors	Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson	Blake Lively, Alexis Bledel, Amber Tamblyn, America Ferrera
Other Information	Made after a book	Made after a book

Activity 3: Select 3 of the following directors and list 4 films that they have directed:

James Cameron, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Ang Lee, Rob Marshall, Christopher Nolan, Yimou Zhang, David Fincher

Complete in the Table below:

1. James Cameron	Avatar Titanic The Terminator Aliens
2. Ang Lee	Life of Pi Brokeback Mountain Hulk Sense and Sensibility
3. David Fincher	The Social Network The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Alien 3

Activity 4: From the list of genres below, select any 5 and complete the table. 

Action, Adventure, Comedy, Crime and Gangster, Drama, Epic/Historical, Horror, Musical/Dance, Science Fiction, War (Anti-War), Westerns.

Hint: To find films belonging to these genres look on the right side of the Top 250 Link

Genre	5 example films belonging to this Genre	List some common elements used in these genres; (consider elements of Mise-en-scene, Cinematography, Sound (Effects and Music) and Narrative Conventions i.e. typical scenarios or characters).
Drama	The Wolf of Wall Street 12 Years a Slave Saving Mr. Banks American Hustle The Shawshank Redemption	Normal day clothing Set in everyday places Many close ups on faces Character/s in conflict at a crucial part of their lives
Epic/Historical	Gladiator  300 Titanic Cleopatra The Passion of Christ	Transports the viewer other settings Set in the past Often about events that have happened, or based on certain events Often extravagant costumes, and settings are used
Science Fiction	Alien E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial The Matrix Avatar Star Wars	Set in weird places, eg. Space Unusual camera positioning, and shot/scene changes Includes mythical creatures Mad scientists Techno music Aliens
Adventure	Thor The Hunger Games The Hobbit The Lord of the Rings Harry Potter	Hero Adventurist Wide shots showing all that is going on Army looking clothing eg. Camo pants Hiking shoes Exiting stories
Comedy	Anchorman The Hangover The Wolf of Wall Street We’re the Millers The 40-Year-Old Virgin	Funny looking people Dumb man/woman Recorded laughter played Wacky clothing Set in random places

General Cinematography Evaluation
What types of shots are used to convey the intended message in this scene?	Wide shots have been used to show the whole room, and show the audience that is messy and something has happened in it.  Close up shots of the mens faces have been used to draw attention to them while they are talking, and to show the limited amour of emotion they are using, there are very secretive. A close up shot has also been used of the gun, facing down the barrel, with Bond’s face in the background, this draws the attention to the fact that there is a gun, and someone is probably going to be shot.
How does the use of framing convey information to the audience; by hiding or showing specific elements and information.	In some shots the camera shows the whole room, to show what has happened previously, but also cuts this out to bring the audience’s focus to the speaking character so they do not get distracted. Also the lighting has been used to hide things, to keep the audiences attention on the two characters.
Describe how the camera position affects each shot?	The camera positions affects each shot as it creates a meaning, for example there are shots in the perspective of one of the characters of the other, to show the audience what they can see, and give them us an idea of what they are feeling.
What type of camera movement takes place and how does it enhance the shot?	The camera goes from one shot to another quite fast, showing that a lot of suff has taken place in this room. Also panning has not been used, this is to make the audience see more like the characters, because they are not moving so the camera isn't moving either.
Does the cinematographer make specific use of under or over exposure to convey a message?	The cinematographer has used high exposure in the scene, this brings attention to the faces, which unlike the rest of the room are lit.
Focal point (does it shift or remain constant)	1. The focal point shifts between the two mens faces, depending on which one is talking.
Shot type	1. The shot is a close up, and shows the ‘poker faces’ on the men, and shows that they are not going to give any
Framing/perspective	1. Close up, perspective of the other talking
Camera position/movement	1. The camera is directly in front of the speaker, and a little to the side. It is also slightly below them, making them seem more important/superior.

Briefly Describe the Setting/Location and the type of activity/ies would usually take place in this setting?	Dark, low lit, unoccupied, messy. The location looks like during the day it would be an ordinary working place, but with the low dim lighting and al of the objects scattered around the floor, it shows that something bad would happen, a fight would break out.
What props have been included in the setting to convey an intended message or describe the activity/ies taking place?	A lamp that is directed on the side of Bond’s face, show that he is mysterious. A gun, this shows that someone is going to die. A black car, this shows that the man does not want to be noticed.
What does the contrast (light levels, difference between dark or bright areas) indicate about this setting?	The scene in whole is very darkly lit, but there is light on one side of the two mens faces. This makes them look mysterious and creates tension. This contrast of the light draws attention to the men and away from the rest of the room. Also there are bright lights (coming from windows of other buildings) that show that around the building the men are in is the city and an ordinary place but right there and then is completely different.
What type of tones or colours are used within the setting; pleasant, simple, cheery, bleak. (Also consider the lighting).	Dark tones have been used, greys and black, the scene is only in black and white. These dark tones create tension and show the audience that it is not a happy cheery place but a scary one, and that something bad is about to happen.
Describe the spaciousness of this setting (Cramped or open/roomy).	The room in the scene is quite large, but it is very cramped. The room is massy with objects scattered on the floor, this makes it look lil someone has been in the room and been looking for something, or that a fight has taken place.
Describe the physical state (messy, neat, formal).	The room is very messy as said above, and that it seems as though someone has been throwing everything around whilst looking for something.
What is the general atmosphere of this setting (what moods or feelings does it invoke)?	The atmosphere of the film is tense, and mysterious. It makes the audience wonder what has happened, and whit is going to happen, an unknowingness.
Describe the acting style of the main character within this scene?	The main character is very smooth, and doesn't seem to be affected by the dark room, and the messiness. He seems very calm and not like the other character in the scene.
How does this setting contribute to the acting style and character/s personality?	This creates a contrast between the setting and the main character. But he still has the same mysteriousness as the room, even though he seems to be very calm.

Ingredients

Method

1 innocent women 1 dark alley behind a bar 1 one way opening door 1 cigaret  1 demon 1 handkerchief  1 red handled axe 1 deserted car park 5 broken down cars 1 River

The woman goes outside of the bar to have a cigaret. She heres a noise from a distance, and begins to walk back towards the door. She speeds up her pace, and when she gets there, the door can not be opened. She can here the sound getting louder, and begins to panic. Then the noise appears and she can see the demon, she screams and the demon grabs her. After he has used a handkerchief, tied around her mouth, to stop her screaming, he takes her to a deserted car park, with several broken down cars. When they get there, the demon throws her onto the ground and unveils a red handled axe. He begins to chap her up, after a lot go groosem action her collects her body and throws her in to the nearby river.

Romance

A man and a woman.

An obstacle they must overcome.

Another person who is trying to stop the relationship.

The couple usually end up together in the end.

A magical first kiss.

Horror 

A victim

An villain (ghost, monster, zombie, murderer)

A hero

Creates fear

Violence and gore

 Mise en scene has been used in this scene by having the stamp"Dept of Records" in blue, this contrasts with the rest of the image as it is a different colour, also the name on the receipt is written in capital letters, which also draws the attention of the viewer, making this particular name significant for the film. The lighting used is very dull, making the scene look mysterious.

 The use of mise en scene has been used to draw the viewers eye to the man standing at the back of the room. This has been done by having low lighting, but a bright spot light on him. This shows the he is important. The picture is also made to look like the camera is moving making everything look blurry, except for the man at the back. The colours are very dull, creating the idea that it is a boring and un eventful place.

Mise en scene has been used to make the man in the image the focal point, this is done by having a spot light on the top of his face, showing off his emotion. Also the background is white, but name is written in a dark colour, which also bring attention to it. The rule od thirds has also been used, the mans face is in the top left third which draws the eye towards him. 

Year 10 Media Arts Short Film Production – Term 01 Mr. Andrews

Task 1: Self-reflection and evaluation:

Please answer each question using complete sentences, including as much detail as possible.

Discuss your feelings about the production task: Please explain your responses:

Did you enjoy creating your short film?

Yes I did enjoy making the film, because I found the whole filming bit really fun, and also because of the freedom of what we had to film, but still had an idea to work off- the lone person looking for something. I also liked working with a partner as you always had another opinion. 

Are you satisfied with the final result?

I am happy with the final result of our film. I think it flows well, has a good lead up with her looking for the knife and then ‘BAM’ she finds it, and then when you think it is going to end in tragedy, it actually ends up with a happy ending. 

Did your film turn out as well as you pictured?

Our film has turned out really good. When we got feed back from our peers there wasn't much that they said we needed to change, so once we did make those few adjustments it turned out pretty well. 

Would like to change or improve any aspects of your final film (storyline, shots, editing etc.)?

I don’t think that there is really anything that I want to change in our film. We were able to portray our thoughts and ideas pretty well. 

If you could start the project again, what would you do differently?

I would probably organise better costumes, and change the setting to somewhere outside of school, because that kind of effected it as everyone watching knew where the film actually was.

As this task focused on mise-en-scene and cinematography, describe: 

How you used specific elements of mise-en-scene to depict your film’s genre and enhance the narrative? 

We used very simple costumes, but they were obvious enough for the audience to tell the story. We used lots of props and placement of setting to help carry the story, and we were able to do this all on the school grounds which was helpful. 

How you used specific shot types to convey the storyline without dialogue?

We used specific shots to convey the storyline, for example when we filmed down onto Hope, it showed that she felt small and helpless (this was when her boyfriend left and she was left crying).

Whether the intended genre is depicted clearly or if this could be improved?

I believe the genre is shown well, as you can clearly see her heartache, and the way she is going loopy, and how the film is in black and white at this time. But when the man comes back into her life, colour comes through. This helps convey the genre of romance. I can not think of anything that I would change of I were to do it again. 

Reflecting upon your completed task, respond to the following points:

How did other people respond to your rough-edit? Did you use their feedback to make changes to the film?

When we received our feedback, there were a few points about the edits, but that was all, so after we fixed these the film was good. 

Did your group use the planning and analysis tools effectively? (storyboards, shot lists, mise-en-scene evaluation).

We did plan our work very well, as we planned our ideas, then we we planned each scene, and the edits we would use. 

Did shooting require more or less time than you thought? Why?

Shooting took much less time than we thought, I think this is because we did lots of planning and knew exactly what we needed to do. 

Were there any problems or difficulties during filming and how did this affect your project. (Difficulties may include; shooting, technical, time-management, teamwork, absences or editing etc.);

I don’t think we had any problems, we worked as a good team, planned well, did everything that we needed. 

Discuss whether you undertook adequate and detailed reflection to support your work? (Look at your blogs and consider if it looks like a terms worth of work);

I think that I did fairly god reflections, but I think that I could have done better and put in more detail. 

Today we did the rest of our filming, we were meant to borrow a pair of pants off Zharah but were unable to, so we used two art-smocks as pants- I think they worked pretty well. After the filming we went back and did the edits, but didn't get it all done, so I said I would do it as homework, and Hope just told me her ideas so I could input them. 

Today we planned on filming but we didn't have any costumes because we didn't know that there was lesson. So rather than just not doing anything we used initiative and went and found costumes which worked out fairly well. We got most of the scenes done so we just need to finish off filming and then do our edits.

In class today we discussed more about our idea and what we are going to do. We decided on costumes, props, lighting, camera angles and the setting. We went around to the places and chose how we would do everything.