Pre Production Masterclass

PRE-PRODUCTION MASTERCLASS BA MEDIA DEPT
Story ideas
Pitch and treatment
Script
Storyboard
Location
Cast / Auditions / Rehearsals on and off location
Shooting schedule
Call sheet
Equipment
On the day – March 17 th & March 18 th – 4 weeks to go !

YEAR 12 PRODUCTION BRIEF
Brief: Create the opening sequence of a new film (including credits.) Your film will be a modern version of a classic fairy tale
Genre: Family Drama
Target Audience: Young children from the age of about 10 to adults (typical audience for a family drama)
Casting: No teachers to be used. All cast to be cleared with HOD
Locations: School locations
Dialogue: Minimal dialogue to be used.
Soundtrack: Your opening sequence will need a soundtrack

OUR EXPECTATIONS …..
THE PRODUCTION LOG
PRODUCTION MEETINGS – what are these and why are they important
THE BLOG

WHERE DO STORIES COME FROM?
Newspaper stories – weird & wacky
Fairy tales – key ingredients
Poetry
Music lyrics
And many more …..
**Red Riding Hood story analysis

81 cats found, taken from house Ex-nun, nurse said they'd hoped to find homes for them all read more
Conway's big bubble blower has blown away the British. Bubble-blowing queen Kelsey Lea went to London and brought home another biggest-bubble crown. read more
America's growing waistlines are hurting the bottom lines of airline companies as the extra pounds on passengers are causing a drag on planes read more

Texas Girl Kills Sleeping Mother [Dallas, TX] - A 12-year-old girl upset about being grounded by her mother fatally shot the woman in the face while she slept. read more
Woman Digs Beer, Cigarettes from Boyfriend's Grave [Portage, WI] - A woman has been arrested for digging up her dead boyfriend's ashes from a cemetery more than 10 years ago and drinking the beer that was buried with him. read more
**Use brainstorm on Ark girl story on projector

CHARACTER and CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
RESOLUTION
LOGICAL CAUSALITY – a story contains a series of interconnected events which lead to a resolution
THEME

PITCH & TREATMENT
TREATMENT : Synopsis of the story (see examples)
PITCH : Try and sell the story to the producer for funding. Does it have decent characters? good ending?
You will get feedback from the class and your teacher.
You need to make detailed notes so you can go back and improve the treatment and pitch again.
Example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8sK2EY0ZuU&feature=PlayList&p=833792608994279B&index=4

STORYBOARD
Visual representation of what is in your head needs to go down on to paper
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvQV21hkMjI
Hand drawn by the group – why?
Photo storyboard

SCRIPT
What makes good dialogue in film openings?
Do you need dialogue?
Avoid dialogue ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YswkF-d2VZ8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dr_i2w0W-ZM&feature=PlayList&p=EF93FC74B129C968&playnext=1&index=16

LOCATION RECCE
See LBY’s handout on this

CAST/AUDITIONS/REHEARSALS
Avoid having too many cast in the opening sequence – more cast means more things for you to manage on the day
Difficult to take other pupils off timetable so keep this to a minimum
Avoid using teachers in your film – they are too busy !!
Reading script with cast off location
Rehearsals on location before the shoot
Rehearsal on location on the day of the shoot before each take

CAST/AUDITIONS/REHEARSALS
Call sheet
Contracts
Phone nos:
Timetables
Contact details

SHOOTING SCHEDULE
A shooting schedule is a project plan of each day's shooting for a film production.
Why do we need this?
(Clapperboard, editing rushes)
How – use commonsense and be practical about grouping shots together. Also fit this around availability of cast.
Like the conductor in an orchestra !
See examples

CONTINUITY
Why do this?
How to do it?
Check continuity before each shot for each character and prop separately
Roll camera
Sound ok?
Continuity ok?
Action
Cut

EQUIPMENT
Check in and out
Collect continuity sheets
We go home at 5pm!
Do not ever leave equipment unattended
Pack it up safely and carefully – you will be charged for damages

ON THE DAY
You are being assessed as you work on location around the school
Food and drink
Schedule carefully – shooting schedule
Let cast know – call sheets
How to use the clapperboard
View daily rushes where possible back in studio– do not rewind tape
Rehearse on location before each tak
Director cues –

HOW TO FILM EACH SHOT
ACTORS ACT OUT THE SEQUENCE EACH TIME BUT THE FOCUS OF THE CAMERA MOVES EACH TIME
*Use example of someone coming in and leaving room

BACK UP SHOTS ARE VITAL !!
CUTAWAY SHOTS - A bridging, intercut shot between two shots of the same subject. It represents a secondary activity occurring at the same time as the main action. It may be used to avoid the technical ugliness of a 'jump cut' where there would be uncomfortable jumps in time, place or viewpoint. It is often used to shortcut the passing of time.
http://www.mediacollege.com/video/shots/cutaway.html

SAFETY SHOTS / TOTAL SHOTS- before you move to the next scene shoot the whole sequence as a TOTAL SHOT where everything is filmed in WIDE ANGLE / LONG SHOT. This ensures that you have material to use in editing

http:// www.mediacollege.com /video/shots/ - you need to have a confident grasp of different shot types, movement and angles.

OUR EXPECTATIONS …..
THE PRODUCTION BLOG
PRODUCTION MEETINGS – what are these and why are they important

http://barkingabbeyschool.blogspot.com	3
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Pre Production Masterclass

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