Match on action, shot/reverse shot, 180 degree rule

The following clips and links should help you with the key skills you need to demonstrate in your preliminary exercise.

Match on action

Look at this YouTube clip for match on action - the cuts you want to look at in particular are at 2 seconds, then again at 18 seconds:

Shot/reverse shot

Shot/reverse shot uses over-the-shoulder shots to show a conversation between two characters. Look at this example from the Hunger Games movie - specifically between 0.50 and 1.30.

With shot/reverse shot, you need to observe the 180 degree rule. Draw an imaginary line between the two characters facing each other and then make sure the camera never crosses that line during the filming of that scene. This video is a brilliant explanation of the rule:

Good luck!

Y12 Preliminary exercise

Preliminary exercise: continuity task

Your preliminary exercise involves filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. 

This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule. 

Time allowed: two weeks

You are advised to work in the group that you will work in for your MEST2 coursework project.

Good luck!

12E Narrative task (homework/Tuesday lesson)

I'm sorry I won't be in for Tuesday's lesson - I'm on a course. The work is as follows:

Come up with your own narrative for a new film or TV programme. Write a 250 word summary of the storyline using everything we have learned:

• Protagonists
• Linear or multi-stranded narratives
• Enigma and action codes
• Equilibrium
• Propp’s character types

You have Tuesday's lesson to do this but will need to finish it for homework.

Due: next Monday 11 November

12E - Brand values (Mr Halsey)

According to Gillian Dyer (Advertising as Communication, 1988) advertisers use, among other techniques, lines of appeal to create brand identities and attract their target audience.

Institutions use these images, references or suggestions to tap into our desires and make us ‘feel part’ of the brand. Dyer suggested lines of appeal could be classified into 13 groups:

• Happy families - everyone wants to belong 
• Rich, luxurious lifestyles - aspirational 
• Dreams and fantasy 
• Successful romance and love 
• Elite people or experts 
• Glamorous places 
• Successful careers 
• Art, culture & history
• Nature & the natural world 
• Beautiful women - men AND women like looking at beautiful women, so the thinking goes: men admire them, women admire what makes the men admire them. 
• Self-importance & pride 
• Comedy & humour 
• Childhood - can appeal to either nostalgia or to nurturing instincts 

Brand values task 100-10-1

Choose 5 brands. For EACH brand:

1) Sum up the brand values in 100 words, making reference to Dyer’s lines of appeal.

2) Distil the brand values into one sentence of no more than 10 words. 

3) Sum up the brand in ONE word.

Example: Starbucks

1) The Starbucks brand is clever because it comes across as a friendly, local-style company when it is in fact a massive global business. Its brand values would be about quality, lifestyle and a personal touch.  Starbucks could fit into several of Dyer’s lines of appeal: Happy families - everyone wants to belong, hence Starbucks asking your name when you order. It could also fit into Successful careers – Starbucks is for hard-working, successful people who want to enjoy life. Finally, Self-importance and pride links to Starbucks taking coffee seriously and its employees and customers having genuine passion for the brand. (100 words)

2) The Starbucks brand is about quality with a personal touch. (10 words)

3) Starbucks in one word: Passion.

Due: by the end of Tuesday's single lesson

12E homework - Mr Halsey

Your homework is to make sure everything we've done on Institution is up on your blog. That means the following needs to be posted:

For your 8 minute lesson on a particular media institution:

1. Write up your feedback on your blog, dividing the points into WWW and EBI.
2. Upload your Powerpoint, notes and anything else from your lesson (videos, images etc.) on the same blog post.
3. Write an evaluation of your lesson, reflecting on what went well and not so well from your perspective.

In a separate blog post:

Write a channel profile for the TV channel you have worked on in class.

Due: Monday 21 October

12D homework - Mr Halsey

We're getting towards the end of our Film Language unit and have seen clips from some of the best films in cinema history. In order to finish the unit, we've got a lot of homework to get through but this week you'll have plenty of time due to the training day and strike.

The tasks are as follows:

Cinematography task (camera shots and movement)
Choose two extracts from different eras (e.g. one from the 1940s and one from the 2000s) and analyse the cinematography.  What are the key differences? Upload the extracts on your blog by embedding the YouTube videos and write the analysis below.

Editing task

Choose an extract that you think has been edited in a distinctive way and write a 750 word analysis. Upload the extract on your blog by embedding the YouTube video and write the analysis below.

Film Language revision

Before half-term you will have a written test that will involve analysing a film clip. Revise everything we have covered in this unit: mise-en-scene, sound, camerawork and editing.

Due: Monday 21 October

Institution: Teaching a lesson

With Media institutions, there is no substitute for knowing a variety of institutions in detail.

In your pair, you need to teach a 6-8 minute lesson on the institution you are given. The lesson needs to involve the following…

Starter activity
This could be image or clip-based, or perhaps involve a quiz to engage the class. It should introduce your institution and grab the attention of your students.

Teaching
Make sure you cover the following in your lesson:

Their history: how did they come to be where they are now?

Their influence: What audiences do they reach? Do they have political influence?

What they control: What companies or other media institutions do they own or have authority over? How many phases of production and distribution are they involved in?

Who influences them: Are they owned or controlled by powerful individuals, families or governments?

Synergy: In what ways do their different businesses support each other? Give specific examples.

Why is any of this important? Explain what we need to know about this institution.

Handout
You need to produce a handout to give to the class for their Media folders. No more than one page of A4, this needs to summarise the main aspects of the institution.

Plenary
Finish up with something that will help your students remember your institution. It might return to the starter activity or be a memorable or important fact about the organisation.

Think about…

• Using audio-visual materials (clips, images etc.)
• Interactivity – involve other students
• Role play or performance
• Key questions you may be asked at the end of your lesson

The topic you’ve been given is HUGE, so try to take a step back. Individually, do some preliminary research, and get a sense of the most important elements of the institution. Then, as a pair, you can decide how to use your research to plan an effective and memorable lesson.

Good luck!