A2 Production

Hello everyone,I hope you are all now clear about what you are doing and how to go about doing it? The following is a comprehensive list of what you are required to produce for the Pre-Production stages of this film project.

so you should all have your brief and realise that you have two ancillary tasks complete alongside your main short film task. As you are now A2 students you will be expected to carryout your research with a critical perspective, this means you should be analysing a large number of other media products that are suitable for your chosen project. The following provides a list of tasks you must complete, this list is the bare minimum expected at A2 level & so if you are aiming for a good grade you must do over & above this.

Pre-production checklist
• Demonstrate a clear knowledge of Forms and conventions – this must include the general forms & conventions of short films (or lack of!!)and ALSO genre specific forms & conventions of your chosen genre (this must be clear as starting point on your blogs), you can also state whether you are following those conventions or subverting them
• Hyperlinks / embedded posts of at least 6 short films that you have analysed (any genre) and hyperlinks to a further 8 that you have analysed of the SAME genre as your title sequence. So this is 14 short films in total that you have analysed and written about – 6 general, 8 genre specific, (this is a basic number requirement, you should/could analyse many more and they should all be added to your blog – links & your analysis) The framework for your analysis should include the following – mise-en-scene, what sound was used – to what effect and when during the sequence it was played (include dialogue), what the film was about, the characters, location, genre, time, mood etc, etc, where any themes developed? What colour schemes were used, Was any imagery used or inter-textual references made? Did they use signs and symbols (Semiotics)to convey their message further?

You also need to apply narrative theory to your analysis, for this you must research Todorov, Propp, Vogler,

again you also need to apply genre theory so research daniel chandler and go to the aberystwyth university website & search for 'genre theory' & narrative theory' (make sure the search box is selected to all aber web pages not just the courses.

You will also find appropriate research here about audience theory and representation all of which must be discuss in your analysis. This work will also prepare you for the exam work we start when your production is completed. It is complex and complicated but you need to make notes for yourself and apply what you can as I will be explaining everything in much more detail for the exam. However as A2 students you will have to carryout substantial research on your own and to a high standard in preparation for university.

• Your synopsis and any influences (other films etc that you have worked from)
• Links to sample sound files that you may use and how / why you would use them
• Sample screen page layouts to include an image with sample titles placed over it in the positions that you may use in your sequence
• A mood slide that should be made of images (any from the net), colour schemes, fonts, words and sound that portray the intended ‘mood’ of your short film like a PowerPoint collage

• Who your target audience are – age, gender, location, interests, How you are going to attract them, Why you know they will be interested in your film – past films, fans of specific musical genres etc etc, where they will be able to see your film (if it was real), you must apply your research on audience theory to this
• Classification and what that means in relation to what you can show
• Storyboard
• Script - using professional format
• Production schedule/planning - these should be elaborate and organised
• Up to date blog covering all of the above and all other work you have carried out
• Character profiles
• List of locations/ photos if you have them

You should analyse at least 3 film posters, discuss the layout, colour scheme, imagery, fonts, what information is given, symbols used and how the poster relates to the film

You should also create 3 sample page layouts (drafts) for your poster
You should also listen to and analyse 10 radio film adverts, note the types of sounds used, the 'hook' of the advert, the duration, what information was given and what dialogue was used. This is a link to the aber site Good luck!