Copyright

There have been some questions about using music in your film opening and how this works with copyright.

Here is the exam board's position:

All video and audio material must be original, produced by the candidate(s), with the exception of music or audio effects from a copyright-free source.

This means you can use copyright-free music and sound effects (eg the ones you'll find on iMovie) and music where copyright has expired.

Copyright expires on a piece of music 70 years after the person who wrote it died. So you could use Motzart but not Elvis Presley.

Planning

Now that you have decided on your genre of film and know what your COMPLETE narrative is going to be like, you can start to plan your film opening.

REMEMBER: EVERYTHING YOU DO MUST GO ON YOUR BLOG. IF YOU HAVE A CONVERSATION AS A GROUP AND DISCUSS SOME IDEAS, MAKE A RECORD OF WHAT YOU TALKED ABOUT AND ADD IT AS A BLOG ENTRY.

Things you need to do before Christmas:

• Analysis of BBFC ratingWhat rating is your film going to have? What kind of content is it going to involve?
• Storyboard(s)Don't just draw what is going to HAPPEN in your opening scene, decide on the camera angles, cuts and movement you are going to use, and WHY
• Costume designHow are your characters going to dress? How will this affect their representation and the way the audience engages with them?
• Audition videosWho is going to act in your piece? Film some auditions so that you can discuss who would best play the different characters.
• Location shotsWhere might you shoot your film opening. Take some photos, put them on your blog and explain why they would/wouldn't work
• Non-diegetic sound
  What are you going to use as your soundtrack? Are you going to include and sound effects? 
• Props
  Are you going to need any props? What will you need? Where are you going to get them? How will they help confirm your genre or show the representation of your characters

Parents evening: Thursday 4th December

Please see me to get a parents evening appointment with myself and Mr Groves on Thursday (5-7pm).

Todorov's Narrative Theory

Todorov’s theory of narrative states that all narrative plots follow the same basic pattern:

1. State of equilibrium
2. Disruption to that equilibrium
3. Recognition that disorder has occurred
4. Attempt (or attempts) to resolve the situation
5. Return to equilibrium or establishment of a NEW equilibrium

This pattern can then be re-started in subsequent narratives (eg sequels).

For example, the film Die Hard:

1. Equilibrium: John McClane (Bruce Willis) is meeting his wife for Christmas at her office Christmas party at the Nakatomi Building.
2. Disruption: Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) and his team of terrorists take over the Nakatomi building in order to break into the vault.
3. Recognition: McClane isn't in the room when the terrorists storm in so is aware of the situation AND outside of their control.
4. Attempted resolution: The police try sending in a SWAT team (failed resolution).
5. Equilibrium/New equilibrium: McClane kills Gruber and saves the hostages. He and his wife leave happily together.

This week’s work:

1. Come up with a film in your chosen genre and analyse how it does/doesn’t fit into Todorov’s Theory of Narrative (like above)
2. Decide if your film is going to follow Todorov’s narrative theory
3. Devise the plot for your film
4. Decide at what point in your narrative your film is going to start and how much your opening scene is going to show
5. Develop a script for this opening scene

Work for Tuesday 25th November

Sorry that I'm not in school for our Tuesday lesson. Here's what you need to do:

1. I've left a folder with my feedback on your research section. This details what you have done well but also what you could do to improve. Please take a look at these targets and make these improvements over the next week. 
2. Prepare questions to put to Niv Adiri during the Q&A session at the Oxfordshire Schools Film Festival on Tuesday. I expect you all to turn up with questions in mind and suitable materials for taking notes - you won't get to interview many Oscar winners in your life so don't waste the opportunity. MEET ME AT WHEATLEY PARK MAIN RECEPTION, 8:30-9:00. DON'T BE LATE.
3. Read the blog post below re: plagiarism. This is very serious as it could lose you marks or, if there has been a very serious breach, disqualify you completely.

Next steps for coursework:

When you have completed the 'Research' section of your portfolio, it's time to start planning. We will look in more depth at what this will involve in subsequent lessons but first of all...

You all should have decided the genre you want to work in for your final production and started examining the conventions of films within this genre. Specifically, makes notes (including embedded videos and images if possible) on:

• Characterisation: who are the stock characters in your genre? How are they represented? Are there differences between the portrayal of men/women? Or different ethnicities/nationalities? Think about the work you've been doing with Mr Groves on representation.
• Narrative/Plot: what is the 'standard' plot line within this genre? What generally happens and in what order. Think about Todorov's narrative theory here.
• Conventions/Motifs: what things always tend to happen? Are there any recurring themes or stylistic elements that generally crop up?
• Camera angles and movement: are films in your genre often shot in similar ways? Why are these angles/movements used? How does it affect the audience and our interaction with the film?
• Camera cuts: fast? slow? different paces for different moments in the film? Style? Genre?
• Sound (diegetic and non-diegetic): what do these add to the film? How do they affect the audience's response to it?

Make sure you have a blog post explaining what genre you plan to work in (and why) and then have blog posts discussing these ideas in relation to that decision.

Plagiarism + Referencing

Just so that you're all aware, it's OK to include content on your site that other people have written, so long as it is clearly referenced and you say where you get it from: a note at the end of the paragraph/section/blog post is fine.

However, it would be even better for you to internalise that information and write it in your own words, using your own examples. This will show the examiner that you really understand the concepts rather than are able to cut'n'paste.

Niv Adiri - the Oscar winner you are going to meet next week

Here is an article about Niv Adiri, the Oscar-winning sound engineer who will be the special guest at the Oxfordshire Schools Film Festival next week. Have a read and start thinking about questions you might want to ask him during the Q&A session.

http://www.haaretz.com/life/arts-leisure/1.573037

There is a trailer for Gravity, the film for which he won his Oscar, at the bottom of the article that might interest you in terms of how sound can help create mood and atmosphere in a film.

I need to confirm numbers with Wheatley Park this week so I need all permission slips by Friday at the latest.