John McGlashan College – Year 10 Film – Short Film task

Year 10 Film Genre – Production TaskObjective: Work as a group to produce a short film that demonstrates your understanding of

genre film conventions.

Process:o Form a group of 4 – 5 people. Each person needs to adopt a specific role for the project.

Director: The director will be in charge of the film. Responsible for making the final

decisions and ensuring everything gets done on time.

Camera Operator: Controls the camera during the shoots and works with the director to

find the best shot.

Storyboard Artist: Completes the images in the storyboard that will reflect the final product.

Editor: Responsible for editing the film and adding titles and effects.

Actor: Appears on camera playing characters in the story.

Each member of the group may have to take on the role of actor in order to provide

enough characters for the task.

o Choose one of the following genres: Action, Romance, Horror, Western, Science-Fiction.

o Brainstorm a conventional story - that includes the four character archetypes typical to

your chosen genre.

o Journal/reflect on the process as you go by writing short journal entries using an

individual Google doc on Google classroom (you will use these later to help write your final

reflection)

o Write a short script for you genre film – using Google drive (shared) or PlotBot

o Storyboard the film - making a short film that condenses the story down

o Organise which group members will bring in which props and costumes for filming.

o Film the movie using the Green Screen studio as needed.

o Edit the movie.

o Show another group your rough edit- and get feed back from them. Use this activity as

a means to make changes to your edit and refine your work after hearing feedback from

your peers

o Present the final film to the class and complete a reflection on your work.

Marking Key:

TeamworkEach member of the group fulfils their role and works as a

team. Problems are solved as a group. /10

NarrativeThe story follows genre conventions whilst being creative

and interesting. /10

CharactersEach of the four characters types are represented. Each of

them are interesting and entertaining. /10

Genre ConventionsThe film follows the conventions of the genre, including

characters, story, costumes and props. /10

Technical CodesThe movies is well shot with the correct types of camera

shot and angles used. /10

Symbolic CodesSymbolic codes, such as props and costumes, are

correctly chosen to reflect the intended meaning. /10

EditingThe film is well edited – no continuity errors, correct use of

titles and effects. /10

ReflectionThe student has given a detailed reflection – detailing their

contribution and /10

OverallThe movie is entertaining and provides a satisfying

conclusion. The audience can clearly identify the genre. /20

Total: /100

Complete a self-reflection:

Year 10 Media Arts Short Film Production – Term 4

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, it was different to what we did last year so it was a good experience.

      Are you satisfied with the final result?Yes, I think it was pretty close to what we were aiming for.

      Did your film turn out as well as you pictured?Pretty close, there were a few things that I had pictured differently but it was good apart from that.

      Would like to change or improve any aspects of your final film (storyline, shots, editing etc.)?I am really happy with the storyline and I think it fits the task well. I also think the shots don’t need adjusting as I think we used a variety of different shots learnt.

      If you could start the project again, what would you do differently?Maybe I would do having a costume as wearing the uniform was not as effective, even though it was based at a ‘campus room’.

As this task focused on mise-en-scene and cinematography of your chosen genre, describe:

      How you used specific elements of mise-en-scene to depict your film’s genre and enhance the narrative? Quick shots to enforce the idea of it being stressful and scary.

      How you used specific shot types to convey the storyline without dialogue?We used a close up note from a book, telling the girl what she had to do, indicating to the watchers what was happening.We also had a shot of a hand knocking on the door so the watchers knew what the girl was doing when she got up to open the door.

      Whether the intended genre is depicted clearly or if this could be improved?I think the genre would be obvious to know that it is horror as there were lights flickering, creepy notes and text messages and the facial expressions looked frightened. Although at some points it could be improved as it may have not been as scary.

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?

Other people didn’t really help as they all just said things like ‘good job’. But we got a couple of things like how one shot was a bit fuzzy so that helped.

      Did your group use the planning and analysis tools effectively? (storyboards, shot lists, mise-en-scene evaluation).We didn’t actually draw a storyboard but we made a table of how everything would be and how long each shot will be. I think our shoot would have been better organised and easier to follow if we had drawn up a storyboard – as then we would have had a detailed plan.

      Did shooting require more or less time than you thought? Why?I honestly didn’t know what to expect. I thought editing would have taken a lot longer but filming took longer then editing, which surprised me. I think this was because when we filmed we made sure to keep watching over the videos after we took them to get the perfect shot which took a while so when it came to editing it didn’t take as long.

      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.);Yes, Bob was the first actor and we were half way through editing when he was absent so we had to start over with a new actor. Also when we started we thought we were going to film in the Chapel but it didn’t work so we were stuck until a teacher in the near the Chapel suggested the dining hall, which worked really well.

      Discuss whether you undertook adequate and detailed reflection to support your work? (Look at your blogs and consider if it looks like a months worth of work);I know that I have posted the work from class tasks, although I have probably not posted as much as I should have for my assignment reflections.