FILMMr Curran

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DT in

The History of FilmFilm Studios - Dream Factories Behind the Scenes:Begin with a Story - The Idea and The ScriptPre-Production - Start with the DirectorStoryboarding - The Sequence of ActionCasting - The ActorsShooting - Principle PhotographySpecial Effects - The MagicPost-Production - The ScorePromotion - Advertising/CertificationThe Premiere

The world of film uses many of the skills and creativity that come from Design and Technology. From set building, special effects, costume design and graphics, it is an industry full of creative andtalented people from a DT background. Using this file you will be able to study film from its early days through to the modern era. We will look behind the scenes and find out how a film is made, from the first spark of an idea through to the first night.

The History of Film

Film GenresThrillerDramaRomanceAdventureComedyFantasyHorrorScience FictionWarSportingFactualDocumentaryWesternAnimationChildrensMusical

Film or ‘movies’ first appeared in the late nineteenth century and were silent. One of the earliest films was made by the Lumiere brothers in France showing a train arriving at a station. This caused audiences to flee in terror as the train approached on the screen! The ‘talkies’, films with sound first appeared in the 1920's and became an extremely popular form of entertainment where people went to cinemas to be entertained and watch the latest news from around the world. The advent of colour film in the 1930's was another innovation that proved popular at the time and soon would follow 3D, Surroundsound and IMAX screens. Soon, actors and directors became some of the most famous people on the planet and the ‘Hollywood’ lifestyle would become the envy of the world.

: Who were the earliest film pioneers?To research

Train entering a station 1896 Film clips: Trip to the Moon 1902 The Wizard of Oz 1939 Question: Can you name any famous film companies?

Film Studios - The Dream Factories

Research topics:Find out about your favourite filmswherewere made. Find out about PINEWOODand studios in Britain andSHEPPERTONabout and MGM WARNER BROTHERSstudios in , USA.HOLLYWOOD

What is a what does SET, ON LOCATIONmean? What are the film studios MALTAmost famous for?

Film studios provide the base for film production, a centre for building, SET CAMERAS, SOUND,LIGHTING, SPECIAL EFFECTS, COSTUMES,MAKE UP, and many other services needed to make a film. A film company may number severalhundred people who will need to be fed, looked after and housed during a shoot that may lastseveral months.

Did you know?...The British creative industries generate £7bn of revenue each year

Use the INTERNET MOVIEDATA BASE (IMDB) and

for informationWIKIPEDIA

What does a

PRODUCER actually do?

Behind the Scenes: The role of the ProducerBegin with a Story - The and The Idea Script Every film starts with an idea, an idea that could possibly interestan and attract the attention of a film . AUDIENCE PRODUCTION COMPANYMost films only get made because a thinks that it willPRODUCERmake money and hopefully become a .BLOCKBUSTER

- Find out the names and films of some famous film producersResearch

Your idea will need to be interesting, not only to you but to a wideraudience. Do you have a story that makes people think, makes them happy or sad, scared or angry? Is it true or fictional or more importantly,something that you care enough about to work on for a year or more?

- Then you may begin.Yes?

Preparation: - go on-line and download famousRead scripts!film scripts and read them. Read ‘How To’ books by scriptwriters and simply watch your famourite films listeningto the dialogue and studying the story.

- What are the of a script, a ,Question THREE ACTS CHARACTER ARCa and an ? What does PROTAGONIST ANTAGONIST JEOPARDYmean and why is it so important to a story?

What does a

SCREENWRITER actually do?

The Story Arc A screenwriter will come up with interesting ideas andturn them into a film script. They will develop the maincharacters and take them through a journey that willinvolve many human emotions.

Set the and introduce your SCENE CHARACTERSWhat is the ? Is it a or a ?CONFLICT THREAT SECRETWho are the and the ?PROTAGONISTS ANTAGONISTSIncrease the until the big final showdown:TENSIONThe and the final .CLIMAX RESOLUTION

Think of a famous story like and draw the CINDERELLAstory arc for it.

Film clips to watch:-Jaws (1975)Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)Dispicable Me (2012)

Memorable Scenes - What makes them great? Each in a film helps to tell the story. Some can give more SCENEinformation ( or introduce a character. Some are EXPOSITION)always associated with certain films like the opening of every James Bond film.

Watch these scenes - what is it that makes them so memorable? Is it the script, the acting,the set, the lighting, the design?

- The Indianapolis sceneJaws- Woody gets mendedToy Story 2

- Persuading AudaLawrence of Arabia - Carl and his wife’s dreamUp

- Starting the engineFlight of The Phoenix - The food critics reviewRatatouille

- ‘My daddy, my daddy’.Railway Children

Do you have favourite scenes from films? Watch themagain and think about why they are so memorable.

Use the INTERNET MOVIEDATA BASE YOU (IMDB), TUBE WIKIPEDIA and for information

What does a

DIRECTOR actually do?

Pre-Production - Start with the Director

Film clips to watch:-Opening and End credits reel from.......

Once the is on board, then the rest of the DIRECTORcrew is chosen :-

Director of Photography Casting Director Art Director Sound Department Lighting department Stunt Co-ordinator Location Manager Music Score Costume and Wardrobe Design Make Up Department Visual Effects

Find out how these different roles contribute to the film.These are creative and talented people but they all need tobe managed and work as a team to create the finished film.

A film crew can number several hundred people and a shootlast for several months. They all need the leadership of a

who has control (with the ) over allDIRECTOR PRODUCERSaspects of the film.

- What famous directors do you know? Question

Use the INTERNET MOVIEDATA BASE (IMDB) and

for informationWIKIPEDIA

Storyboarding - The Sequence of Action

Film clips to watch:-Storyboarding for thetrain fight on Spiderman 2

Once the film script has been developed and agreed on the and will work on the look of the film andDirector Art Director

the sequence (order) in which the scenes will be filmed.Using each shot will be visualised before storyboard artistsit can be filmed. Small models of the will be made andsets any outdoor found. and will also locations Props costumesbegin to take shape.

Research - Using the internet: find storyboards for famous film sequencesand see how closely they resemble thefinal scenes in the film.

Who builds the sets and designsthe famous costumes?

What does an

ACTOR actually do?

Casting - The Actors Casting the right actor for the right part is the job of the CastingDirector. Get this wrong and the whole film could fall apart. Certain actors are known for playing similar parts - Tom Cruise: action films,Will Ferrell: comedy films etc, but the best actors tend to be able toperform in which ever genre they are in.

Question: Who are your favourite actors and why? Is it the type of films they appear in or is it their skill as an actor.

: How do actors train?Research Why are some paid so much money? Who has starred in the most films? What is a ?Character Actor

: Sometimes a film will require crowd scenes involvingExtrashundreds and sometimes thousands of people. What is an Extraand how do you become one. Do you know anyone who has appeared as an extra in a film?

Shooting - Principle Photography

Film clips to watch:-Behind the scenes extrason DVD / Blu Ray films

You have a script, a director and crew, you have raised enoughmoney from , built the sets, scouted the locations INVESTORSand cast the actors. Now you need to bring all of that together for several months and begin to film your story.

Some small, cheap and independant films can be shot in weeks(or even days) and go on to become successful. More expensive films with budgets in the region of over £100 million can take months,even several years to shoot.

: Find out about how long it takes to make a film, about budgetsResearchand which films make money and which films ‘flop’. Find out about thefilms - and and why they were so infamous.Heavens Gate CleopatraWhich films have made the most money and which films have cost the most to make.

If any of your favourite DVD/Blu ray have - cast extra featuresinterviews, set reports, behind the scenes footage, deleted scenes etc,watch them for an insight into the world of film making

What does stand for? Question: SFX

‘Spectre took two years of my life to make from beginningto end’ Sam Mendes - Director

Special Effects - The Magic of SFX

Film clips to watch:-Raise The Titanic,Fury, Matrix, Avatar,James Bond

From the earliest films (Trip to the Moon) directors havehad to call on the services of special effects technicians.From miniature models, animation and lighting throughto explosions and stunts, effects have made the impossibleseem possible.

Film genre’s such as science fiction, horror and historicalfilms will always require effects, from the physical (explosions)or as CGI (computer generated images). What is ? green screen

Research - Watch the following film clips and talk throughwhich shots or scenes required any SFX:

The Matrix - 1999

Raise the Titanic - 1980

Fury - 2014

Avatar - 2009

The Man with the Golden Gun - 1974

Question - Which films have amazed you with their special effects and which ones completely fooled you into thinking that what you were seeing was real?

How do you film in the mountains of India without actually going there? Filming in far off countries costs a lot of money. Many films that look as if they were filmed abroadwere actually filmed in studios using clever special effects. Look at the scene below from the Britishfilm ‘Black Narcissus’ which was set in a monastery at the top of a mountain in the Indian Himalayas.

This part of thescreen was filmed at a studio in west London on a set and with an actor ringing the bell.

This part of thescreen was paintedon a sheet of glassand lined up in frontof the camera as thescene with the actorwas filmed. It is knownas a Matte Painting

This is the split linefollowing the edgeof the cliff and alongthe side of the bell tower.

Post-Production - The Score

Film clips to watch:-Battle of Britain,James Bond Theme,Despicable Me,Frozen,

Music is essential to any film but what should the film score do? Music can enhance a scene, built tension, tug on theheart strings as well as scare the wits out of us. Think how different the music is when used in war, romance,comedy, horror and historical films to name a few.

Research : Find out about the following film composersand the films they have scored:

- Star Wars, ET, Jaws, Indiana Jones etcJohn Williams - James Bond, Zulu, Dances With Wolves etcJohn Barry

- Beetlejuice, Batman, Simpsons etcDanny Elfman - Lemony Snicket, Skyfall, Spectre etcTom Newman

- The Good, the Bad and the Ugly westernsEnnio Morrecone

Which film music do you like? Who wrote it and which orchestra wasused to record it? Can you get it on CD or download?

: How is a film advertised?Question

Promotion - Advertising/Certification

Even before a film is finished the art department will beworking on poster designs, cinema trailers, merchandiseand generally, how to get the film noticed.

- look at your favourite film posters. What makesResearchthe poster attract your attention: font, colours, images,layout? A film like Spectre may have as many as twenty different versions of its poster for the different countriesthe film is shown in. Try to find the different versions.Do you own any film merchandise?

: Before a film can be shown to the public it Certificationhas to be shown to certification boards in each country whothen decide which age group it is suitable for. Occasionallya film might have to have some scenes cut in order to be shown in a certain country. This is known as . censorship

Look at the website for theBRITISH BOARD of FILMCLASSIFICATION and find out what they do.

The Premiere

And finally........After all that effort, all the blood, sweat and tears, the tantrums,the fights, the delays and the money running out - you have a FILM!Enjoy the first night - the - with the world’s press invitedPREMIER together with other VIPs. You cross your fingers and hope for goodnewspaper / online reviews and probably the best advert of all -

- where people tell each other that it's a good film.word of mouth

So, get dressed up, arrive in style, walk down the red carpet and throw a few poses for the flash bulbs of the press. You may be on the front of the papers tomorrow!

Oh.. just one last thing.You’ve got to think up another great story now and start all over again!

Magazines:-

EMPIRETOTAL FILMPREMIERE

Websites:-

IMDB - Internet Movie DatabaseWikipediaMovielocations.comReel StreetsMGMWarner BrothersColumbiaParamount

Visits:

Leavesden Studios - Harry Potter Experience

Love film? Try these magazines and websites for all your favoutite films.