This document outlines the main tasks for a media studies portfolio, which includes maintaining a blog and creating a 2-minute opening sequence for a fictional film. Students must include continuity features like shot/reverse shot and adhere to conventions. They will evaluate their process and completed work. A timeline is provided with deadlines for completing research, planning, shooting, and editing by specific dates, with opportunities for feedback. Students are directed to example blogs and film openings to inform their work.

1. Introducing Your Main Task
AS MEDIA STUDIES
FOUNDATION PORTFOLIO IN MEDIA

2.  Napoleon Dynamite opening sequence
 http://vimeo.com/5524216
 Note – no sound from Vimeo on school pcs

3. Preparing Minds
 What is:
 Action match?
 Shot/ reverse shot?
 180 degree rule?
 Blog?
 Why are they important?

4. What you need to do
 Blog including detailed research/ planning (20 marks)
 Titles and opening of new fiction film - 2 mins (60 marks)
 Continuity features:
 Action match
 Shot/ reverse shot
 180 degree rule
 Other features
 Titles (essential)
 Genre-specific features (e.g. mise-en-scene/ music)
 Range of shots/ camera movement (essential)
 Range of edits/ effects (if appropriate)
 Evaluation (20 marks)

5. Success Criteria
 We will
 Note down key information about final task
 Answer and ask questions, where relevant
 Plan a basic research/ development schedule

6. Examples
 I have emailed you a dropbox link allowing
you to access these.

7. Effective Openings
 The Fall
 Fight Club
(not available)

8. Weekly Tasks
 Maintain blog (at least 3 entries a week –OCR
suggest one a day)
 Include images/ video clips supporting work
(planning + work in progress)
 Consider all aspects of production process,
including institutions, audience and
representation
 Include as much detail as you can, justifying
choices made
 Link to your work in progress
 Thorough outline of production process

9. Planning – Lvl 4
 Planning and research evidence complete and detailed
 Excellent research into similar products and potential
target audience
 Excellent organisation of actors, locations, costumes or
props
 Excellent work on shotlists, layouts, drafting, scripting or
storyboarding
 Excellent level of care in the presentation of research and
planning
 Time management is excellent

10. Production work should demo
 Material appropriate for target audience and task
 Titles used appropriately according to institutional
conventions
 Sound, images and editing used appropriately
 Material shot appropriate to task set, including:
 controlled use of camera
 attention to framing
 variety of shot distance
 close attention to mise-en-scene
 Editing so that meaning apparent to viewer and with
selective and appropriate use of shot transitions and
other effects

11. Demonstrate
 Steadiness of shots where appropriate
 Framing shots, including/ excluding elements
 Variety of shots/ distances
 Shooting appropriate material
 Selecting mise-en-scene
 Colour/ lighting/ objects/ setting
 Editing for meaning using appropriate effects
 Accurate use of sound/ image
 Appropriate use of titles

12. Production Checklist
 Places
 Rehearsal
 Setting
 Production Base
 Transport
 Post-Production
 People
 Call sheets
 Actors
 Technical
 Camera
 Continuity
 Support
 Things
 Props
 Costumes
 Technical
 Script
 Cameras
 Media
 Log sheets
 Storyboards
 Schedule
 FX/ SFX

13. What do you need to know?
 Pre Production
 Research
 Scripting
 Storyboarding
 Location scouting
 Production schedule
 Call sheets
 Shooting
 Logging shots
 Continuity

14. Evaluation
 Evaluate / reflect upon creative process/ experience
 Evaluate electronically, guided by key questions
 Should not be solely textual; combination of text/
image/ presentation/ video/ audio etc.
 Examples of suitable formats for the evaluation:
 A podcast
 DVD extras
 Detailed blog entries
 PowerPoint/ Prezi
 Director’s commentary
 “Making of” documentary

15. Evaluation Questions
 Following questions must be answered:
 How does product use, develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products? - Must research these
 How does product represent particular social groups? -
Must aim to include a social group
 What kind of media institution might distribute product and why?
- Research studios and distribution
 Who would be audience for product? – Research audience
 How did you attract/address your audience? – Evidence from
planning/ final product
 What have you learnt about technologies from process of
constructing product? – Evidence from blog (shooting/ editing)
 Looking back at preliminary task, what have you learnt in
progression to full product?

16. Evaluation – Forms/ Conventions
 Need to be able to identify conventions
 Will come from research into openings
 Should be explicit in the first stages of your blog
to revisit in evaluation
 Includes media language, representation, use
of titles, use of music, mise-en-scene etc
(effectively, macro and micro features
 Could be done as a video including
comparisons of your work and your research

17. Evaluation – Social Groups
 Product must include a social group.
For example:
 Teenagers
 Ethnic groups
 Social demographics
 Consider work on representation and apply
this when researching and planning
 May affect genre/ form of final piece

18. Evaluation – institutions
 Need to know which kind of companies make
and distribute movies of genre/ style you are
making
 Mainstream or niche?
 Conglomerate or indie?
 Info from Wikipedia/ IMDB/ Box-office mojo
 Demonstrated through research and choice
of distributor/ studio for final piece

19. Evaluations - audience
 Need to know who watches your genre of
film – demographics/ psychographics
 Can do primary/ secondary research
 Should find data from the web (e.g. box-office
figures) as well as market information,
if available
 Might consider primary and secondary
audiences (e.g. “Lego Movie”, Pixar films etc.

20. Evaluation – attracting aud
 How was final piece designed to meet
audience needs?
 Evidence from your piece compared to existing
pieces
 Interviews/ vox pops with target audience
reflecting on film
 Detailed deconstruction of what you did/ why you
did it – could be in Prezi form, for example,
including stills/ clips

21. Evaluation - technology
 Need to regularly blog about engagement
with tech (cameras/ editing)
 Identify problems and solutions
 Take photos/ screengrabs
 Record clearly what you did at the time
 Will effectively be a reflexive post
 Can take into account development from start of
course
 Should be incisive and clear – the more primary
evidence the better

22. Evaluation - comparison
 Compare your preliminary project(s) with
your final piece
 What did you do better?
 How did you improve?
 Consider both planning and production as well as
editing
 Where is the evidence
 For example, a comparison of shots/ edits from your
final piece; a reflection on planning exemplified
from early stages of blog

23. Timeframe – Dec 2014
 By Fri 7th December
 Decision made about genre/ form of final video
 Research begins into opening sequences, institutions and audiences.
 Social group to be represented identified
 By Friday 19th December
 Research into existing opening sequences completed (min five)
 each example analysed in detail with regard to questions to be posed in
the evaluation, notes made on how example might be of value to projects
 At least one blog entry dedicated to each of institutions (e.g. distribution
companies, studios), audiences (some evidence) and representation
(reasons)
 Planning begins in earnest

24. Timeframe - Dec/Jan 2014-15
 20th Dec-5th Jan (Christmas “holiday”)
 Pre-production planning undertaken (regular blog updates)
 Include:
 Scenario
 Script
 Sketches
 Storyboards
 Location scouting
 Prelimary footage
 Animatics
 Call sheets, props lists etc.
 Etc.

25. Timeframe – Jan/Feb 2015
 6th January
 All pre-production planning (including storyboards, production
schedules, call sheets etc.) completed/ posted to blog in digital form.
 Might also include test footage and mood boards
 2nd February
 All material required for project shot, converted and uploaded onto
media servers
 During the period 06/01-30/01, you are invited to periodically upload brief
examples of work to blog for peer and staff review
 13th February
 Rough edit completed and uploaded to blog for peer/ staff review
 23rd February (including half-term “holiday”)
 Final cut begun

26. Timeframe – Mar/Apr 2015
 9th March
 Final edit completed and uploaded to blog and media server in order
to gather audience response and feedback
 13th March
 15 min presentations of work, including initial evaluations and
outlines of audience response
 20th April (including Easter “holiday”)
 Detailed blog entries answering the evaluation questions uploaded,
coupled with a video commentary

27. Next Steps
 You will have two weeks to complete planning
 This gives you:
 14 days
 6 lessons + non-contact periods
 You need:
 Minimum 5 films in detail (screengrabs, clips, analysis)
 Audience data (primary/ secondary)
 Representation issues
 Institutional information
 How are you going to organise your time?

28. First thing to do…
 Look at some examples of successful blogs:
 Zoe Crick
 Kathryn Dowson
 Katie Boal
 James Corker

29. Plenary
 Questions?
 Task one
 Complete a blog entry explaining the institutional
conventions of film titles
 Use the “Art of the Title” website to help you