BFI film openings event summary presentation- no videos

1. film openings

2. key features
• genre
• narrative
• character
• atmosphere

3. www.artofthetitle.com

4. http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=opening+scene&aq=f&gl=GB&hl=en-GB

11. making film openings

12. Step 1: take stock
• what’s the task?
• what’s the assessment?
• what’s the timeframe?
• what’s the equipment?

13. task and assessment
• Titles and opening of a new fiction film
• up to 2 minutes
• 20 marks Research and Planning
• 60 marks Construction
• 20 marks Evaluation

14. timeframe and equipment
• build your skills
• build up your research
• build up your planning
• give yourselves time to shoot and edit
• keep evidence throughout the whole process

15. step 2: set up a blog
• and keep evidence of everything you do!

17. good blog examples
http://scasmediagwpahs.blogspot.com/?zx=fd277084e4b7cc3b
http://cmdiplomayasmin.blogspot.com/

18. Step 3: build up skills
• sound
• camerawork
• editing

19. Step 4: investigate
• what do film openings actually look like?
• what does other student work look like?
• what do you need to know about titles?
• how are you going to do something that stands out?

20. search for student films on youtube

22. Titles exercise

23. titles analysis

24. Step 5: brainstorm ideas
• possible scenarios for pitches/treatments
• 25 word pitch
• moodboard treatment
• peer and teacher feedback
• realistic expectations- keep it simple
• know the film but make the opening

25. possible pitch scenarios
• low budget UK film with young teen
protagonist, set on housing estate
• supernatural thriller aimed at a female
audience; co-production with europe
• a character returns to town after years away

27. Step 6: Planning
• experimenting with camera and editing
• recce shots of locations
• examples of shots, costumes, props, etc onto
blog
• post-it storyboard, animatic, moodboard
• logistics planning- including risk assessment

28. step 7: the shoot
• people, places, props, costumes
• rehearsing
• equipment, jobs on the day
• keeping a record of the process

29. Step 8: edit
• all having a voice/hand in it
• screengrabs of process
• importance of audio and titles
• foley - not just music
• rough cut deadline and peer feedback

30. big picture before fine detail
titles could be laid down first

31. step 9: evaluation
• seven questions become seven tasks

32. suggested tasks
• nine frames
• split screen comparison
• voiceover on distribution
• ideal target audience member
• tagged youtube video- how audience addressed
• technology photo and you
• screengrabs from prelim and final videos

37. other ideas
• prezi
• interview with audience members
• screencasts

38. http://vimeo.com/23419989

39. Six most common student film openings
• Saw: victim tied up in shed
• Scream: hooded stalker follows female victim
• Waking up: clean teeth, brush hair, leave house
• Se7en: killer sticks knife in polaroid photos
• Lock, Stock: gangsters play cards
• Flashback or Flash forward

40. most common problems
• looks more like a trailer or a short film
• insufficient titles
• poor sound, poor lighting
• confusing for the viewer
• uses one of the six common openings

41. you are the ref- what score and why?

42. Level 1: minimal 0-23 Level 2: basic 24-35
Level 3: proficient 36-47 Level 4: excellent 48-60