AS

FOUNDATIO
N
PRODUCTIO
N
G321
UNIT GUIDE
~1~

If you have any questions about these tasks please contact us on Edmodo or come
and see us in MS1/2

INTRO TO THE UNIT

For this unit you will be planning, filming, editing and evaluating the opening
sequence to a new film. You will work in groups of 3-4 to do this. You will have to
submit the following things:

A group preliminary filming project

A research and planning blog with a selection of group and individual tasks
A group final film opening sequence which includes titles and lasts a
maximum of 2 minutes
An evaluation made up of group / individual tasks

PRELIMINARY FILMING TASK

In your groups you must film and edit a sequence to show what your CURRENT
production skills are like. There is no mark scheme for this task, instead it is a
set mark. If you complete this task, each person in your group gets 15 marks
towards their coursework grade. If you do not complete it, you dont get the
marks! SIMPLE!
You sequence must involve the following items to qualify for the 15 marks:

A character walking, opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a

chair
Whilst in the chair he / she has a conversation of some kind with someone
else where they both speak
Correct use of the 180 degree rule
Shot / Reverse Shot editing
Action Match editing

~2~

No continuity errors (eg no costumes changing mid sequence, or items

disappearing mid sequence from the background etc..

You should aim to finish the whole of this preliminary task within 3 lessons. You
may have to spend your own time editing in order to get this finished.

PRELIMINARY TASK EVALUATION INDIVIDUAL

Once it has been uploaded to your blog you should all write INDIVIDUALLY about
your prelim task, discussing the following things:

How filming went

How editing went
Problems you encountered
Strengths of the prelim
Weaknesses of the prelim
What you will remember to do the same next time
What you will remember to differently next time

~3~

RESEARCH AND PLANNING AN OVERVIEW

Your individual blog should be a comprehensive and creative demonstration of
your research and planning skills.
Some tasks are to be done individually but some can be done as a group. On
each relevant task page it has been highlighted in bold what tasks or parts of
tasks should be done as a group and uploaded to everyones blog within that
group.
It is also important to note that NONE of the work on your blogs should be
copied and pasted from these or any other website as not only is this
plagiarism, it is likely to be spotted by your teachers or external moderators
and could result in you, and possibly the rest of your group being disqualified
from the coursework element and / or removed from the course entirely (this
has happened before!). Use the internet for inspiration and research and write
your work in your own words with your own examples.
MARK

RESEARCH INTO
ORGANISATION SHOTLISTS,
SIMILAR
OF ACTORS,
SCRIPTS AND
RESEARCH AND PLANNING MARK
PRODUCTS &
COSTUMES,
STORYBOARDS
SCHEME
TARGET
PROPS AND
AUDIENCE
LOCATIONS

TIME
MANAGEMENT

PRESENTATIO
N OF
RESEARCH &
PLANNING

16-20
Marks

Excellent
research into
similar products
and a potential
target audience

Excellent work
on shotlists,
scripts and
storyboards

Excellent time
management
skills

Excellent level
of care in the
presentation
of research
and planning

12-15
Marks

Good research
into similar
products and a
potential target
audience

of

Good work on
shotlists, scripts
and storyboards

Good time
management
skills

Good level of
care in the
presentation
of research
and planning

8-11
Marks

Basic research
into similar
products and a
potential target
audience

of

Basic work on
shotlists, scripts
and storyboards

Time
Management
may not be
good

Basic level of
care in the
presentation
of research
and planning

0-7
Marks

Minimal research
into similar
products and a
potential target
audience

of

Minimal work on
shotlists, scripts
and storyboards

Time
Management
may be very
poor

Minimal care
in the
presentation
of research
and planning

Excellent
organisation
actors,
costumes,
props and
locations.
Good
organisation
actors,
costumes,
props and
locations.
Basic
organisation
actors,
costumes,
props and
locations.
Minimal
organisation
actors,
costumes,
props and
locations

of

~4~

RESEARCH INTO GENRE INDIVIDUAL TASK

You should research the film genre that your group intends on working in.
You should discuss the following points, finding screen grabs / posters /
images / videos to illustrate your points.

Conventions of the genre (colours, images, locations, props, costumes,

music, fonts, characters, etc)
Conventional actors / directors / companies that work mainly in that genre
Themes that tend to be tackled in films of that genre eg revenge, love etc
Why audiences enjoy watching films of that genre. What gratifications do
they gain from the genre?
Famous examples of films of that genre
To push for A/B grades in this task, aim to include lots of terminology, and
perhaps one or two theories such as Steve Neale, Rick Altman etc..
CONVENTIONS OF OPENING SEQUENCES INDIVIDUAL TASK
You should show knowledge of what the conventions of opening sequences are (eg
institutional logo, title, credits, intro to characters, narrative enigma etc). For each
convention you come up with you should give a visual example from a film (clip /
image) to back up your point.
To aim for A/B grades in this task, you should aim to include lots of terminology,
and perhaps even an explanation of the function of each convention, (eg why does
narrative enigma get included in the opening)

ANALYSING FILM OPENING SEQUENCES INDIVIDUAL TASK

You should analyse at least 3 film openings on your blog. They should be from a
similar genre of film to the one you intend on working in.
You should embed the opening sequences you are analysing IF POSSIBLE into
your blog along with a title of the film and year of release to make it clear what
you are analysing. As well as embedding the video you should take screen
grabs of parts you discuss and embed those too. For each film you need to
make sure you dont describe what is happening in each opening, but
instead are making analytical comments about the following features using key
media terminology

Camera movement, shots, angles

Editing transitions, special effects, titles / graphics
Mise-En-Scene (colour, costume, props, location, facial expression etc)
Sound (music, dialogue, sound effects, ambient noise etc)
Representation how the characters are represented through these technical
elements above

~5~

Dominant Ideologies what ideologies are presented in the opening

sequence, are they dominant ideologies or not?
What conventional elements of an opening sequence have they included /
not included?
Genre of the film and how this is signified in the sequence through the
embedding of codes (eg objects, colour, locations etc)
Audience reception how might an audience react to or view the sequences
(uses & gratifications) + why it is engaging etc
Narrative How have the company signified the possible narratives of the
film in the first two minutes? What signs and signifiers are there that
indicate narrative? What narrative enigmas have been included?

To push for A/B grades in this task, aim to include a large amount of accurate
media terminology, and references to at least two theories (eg Todorov, Propp etc)

REPRESENTATION IN FILMS OF THAT GENRE - INDIVIDUAL

Representation means the way an individual or a group is shown to the
audience in a media text. Many groups of people are often represented in a
stereotypical way, or under-represented in media texts. As an individual you
should discuss the representation of some of the following social groups in
the film genre you are working in. The representation will vary from genre to
genre. Discuss how they are portrayed to an audience through the use of
narrative, camera, editing, sound, mise-en-scene. Do the films of your genre
represent these groups mostly in a conventionally stereotypical way or an
unconventional, non stereotypical way? Why do they do this? Find examples
of real characters from real films that back up your ideas. You could discuss
other groups of people as well eg disabled people, british people,
northerners etc..
Different Genders men often seen as masculine, brave, dominant,
powerful, good at labour, aggressive, technical, intelligent, physical etc.
Women often represented as feminine, weak, powerless, submissive, good at
caring, maternal, emotional etc
Different Ethnic Groups white people often represented as intelligent,
dominant, powerful, good, innocent. Other ethnic minorities represented as
weaker, subservient, powerless, criminals, guilty, etc
Different classes Very dependent on the genre. Working class people often
either underrepresented in most films, OR less powerful, poorer,
criminalistic, aggressive, lazy. Middle classes often represented as being
good, clever, kind, caring, happy.

~6~

Different ages Children often represented as sweet, innocent, reliant on

others for care. Teenagers often represented as aggressive, lazy, criminals,
violent. Adults often represented as clever, hard working, good, happy,
powerful. Older people are often represented as weak, stupid, confused,
reliant on others.
To push for A/B grades in this task, aim to include at least one theory (eg
Laura Mulvey) and lots of media terminology.
CREDIT SEQUENCES INDIVIDUAL
You should watch some opening credits / titles / logos to see what real film
companies have done. Write about your research using videos / images to
demonstrate your points. How have real companies used elements such as
sound, font, background to enhance their title sequences?
To aim for A/B grades in this task, include titles / credits from a range of
different texts in a range of different styles.
INITIAL IDEAS INDIVIDUAL
As an individual you should have a post which shows ALL of your own individual
initial ideas for a film opening sequence. These ideas could be very diverse. So
you could include the following:

Possible genres
Possible storylines
Possible characters
Possible locations
Possible titles
YOUR GROUP FILM IDEA GROUP TASK

As a group you need to have a detailed version of your groups final film idea. This
should include:
Title of the film
Genre of the film
Age Rating of the film
Characters who would be in the film (names, type of person, role in storyline,
job, personality, what actors would play them etc)
Location / Setting
Storyline including beginning, middle and end of the film.
To aim for A/B grades for this task, make sure you include lots of details

~7~

YOUR GROUP OPENING SEQUENCE PITCH GROUP TASK

As a group you need to have a detailed plan for what your opening sequence will
look like. You will use this plan to pitch your idea to the class. This detailed pitch
will include:
Exactly what is going to happen on screen
Sketches of the way the titles are going to look (font, style, colour etc)
Ideas for music / sound
To push for A/B grades in this task, make sure you include lots of details
DESCRIPTION OF YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE INDIVIDUAL
For this section you must identify your target audience in as much detail as
possible. When describing your target audience for your film you need to include
as many of the following as possible:

Age
Gender
Social Demographic (eg ABC1C2DE)
Occupation
Hobbies & interests
Style
Personality
Media Grouping - fave films, fave tv. favourite artists / music
What Uses & Gratifications will your film offer to your audience?. Remember
that in the Uses & Gratifications theory, Blumler & Katz suggest that a text
must gratify an audiences needs that might include offering them
entertainment, information / education, escape, social interaction,
opportunities for identification. Discuss this theory and how your film plans
on offering these to an audience.
What solutions will your film offer to their problems (Utopian theory).
Remember that in Richard Dyers Utopian Solutions theory, he suggests that
audiences often have various problems in their lives and they will be more
attracted to media texts that offer them solutions to these problems. So
confusion might be solved by clarity, boredom might be solved by
entertainment, isolation might be solved by a sense of community and
loneliness might be solved by social networking. Discuss this theory and
how your film plans on offering these things to an audience.

To push for A/B grades in this task, aim to include at least 2 theories

~8~

AUDIENCE QUESTIONNAIRES / FEEDBACK FROM YOUR PITCH GROUP

TASK
For this task you need to work in groups to create a questionnaire to hand out to
your target audience to help you work out what they think of your film idea when
you pitch it. Ideally your questions should fit on one side of A4 and have both
multiple choice questions and spaces for more open answers to particular
questions.
You should have 2-3 questions that allow you to find out who it is filling in your
questionnaire (e.g. age, gender, etc)
You should then sum up your film opening sequence clearly and simply for them.
You should have 4-10 questions asking them what they think of your idea. You
might suggest some different locations and ask them their favourite. You might
have pictures of several different possible main actors and ask them to choose
their favourite. You might show them different film titles and get them to choose
the best.
Once printed you will ask approximately 6-10 people to fill the questionnaire in.
The filled in questionnaires need to be scanned in, and uploaded on to all of your
blogs.
Example of multiple choice question
Which of these locations would be good for a film about lost love? (choose your
favourite)

Theme Park
Bar / Restaurant
School
Park
Beach

Example of an open question

Describe below what you think of our film opening idea including suggestions
about what we could improve.

To push for A/B grades in this task, make sure your questionnaires ask relevant
useful questions, where the answers will actually help you make key decisions in
your production work.

~9~

FOCUS GROUP - GROUP TASK

For this task as a group you need to get a group of people together (preferably
from your target audience profile) to have a filmed group discussion as
research. You will have around 5 key questions prepared that are open
questions allowing for descriptive answers and then film the group discussing
what their opinions are about these questions.
To do this you will need a camera and tripod, a quiet room, and 3-6 people
willing to take part on camera (not people from your group). Ideally they will be
people from your target demographic.
Good questions to ask are things such as:

Here is our idea (tell them about it), what do you think about it? What could
be improved?
What locations do you think would be good to film in?
Where should we end our opening sequence to help make the audience want
to see more?
What are your favourite film opening sequences and why?
Is there anything you hate in particular film opening sequences and why?

And so on
You need to make sure the camera is as close as possible to the group to pick up
their audio clearly.
This focus group video then needs to be uploaded into Final Cut (edited if you
wish) and then exported as a video clip and uploaded to You Tube, before being
embedded in your blogs.
To push for A/B grades in this task, make sure you ask relevant, engaging
questions that will ensure the focus group give useful answers in their discussions.
Dont be afraid to prompt your participants for more detail during the focus group.

ANALYSIS OF AUDIENCE RESEARCH RESULTS - INDIVIDUAL

Then as an individual you need to sum up the results of your questionnaire and
focus group. You should do this in the following ways.

Create bar charts or pie charts to show some of your results

Write about what you have found out & say how you are going to use it to
help you develop your plans

Your charts could show the percentages of what answers were given. Charts will
only be possible for the questions you asked that had multiple choice answers.

~ 10 ~

You can also write about how the results will influence you in the making of your
film opening sequence. As a result of this analysis you may have to upload a final
film idea or updated film opening idea showing how you have developed or
changed your idea based on their feedback etc..
See below for an example about how to analyse results.
Example of Chart and Writing about results

Question: What is your favourite location idea for our film opening?
4 people chose a
theme park
Theme Park

Park

Beach

School

4 people chose a
school
15 people chose the
beach

5 people chose the

park

The results here show that the

beach was by far and away the
most popular choice for a
location for filming so we intend
on basing most of our filming on
Brighton Beach. However we will
also include smaller elements of
the park as well as this was the
next favourite.

The analysis of your questionnaires / focus groups can be written directly in to your
blog with charts embedded as pictures, or it could be a Word or Scribd document..

~ 11 ~

COMMUNICATING THE GENRE OF OUR TEXT GROUP / INDIVIDUAL

TASK
You need to explain how your group intends on communicating the genre of the
film in the opening sequence. What genre signifiers will you include? How will
you use media language to help communicate the genre? You might discuss
particular camera shots, sounds, editing transitions, colours, locations,
costumes, lighting, text, font, music, dialogue etc.
To push for A/B grades in this task, aim to include some theories about genre
such as Rick Altman, Robert Stam, Steve Neale and use lots of terminology such
as conventions, genre signifiers etc..
NARRATIVE IN OUR OPENING SEQUENCE GROUP / INDIVIDUAL TASK
You need to explain what narrative techniques you are planning on using in your
opening sequence and why. For example, will you be following Todorovs
narrative structure or challenging it? How? Why? Will you be including Propps
character types or challenging them? How will you make them clear? Why?
To aim for A/B grades in this task, try to also include other narrative theories
such as Levi Strauss Binary Opposites, Barthes Enigma codes etc..
ENGAGING THE AUDIENCE GROUP / INDIVIDUAL TASK
Write a post explaining how / why your film opening sequence will be instantly
engaging, particularly to your target audience? How will you use media
language to help communicate the genre? You might discuss particular camera
shots, sounds, editing transitions, colours, locations, costumes, lighting, text,
font, music, dialogue etc.
To push for A/B grades in this task, aim to include some theories such as Uses &
Gratifications, Maslows Hierarchy of Needs, Young and Rubicam, Barthess
Enigma codes, etc..
REPRESENTATION IN OUR OPENING SEQUENCE GROUP / INDIVIDUAL
TASK
Write a post explaining how your group intends on representing particular
people in your opening sequence. You can discuss particular social groups such
as teenagers, adults, working class people, women, men, people from ethnic
minorities, disabled people, gay people etc (obviously only choose to discuss the
groups of people relevant to your opening sequence!). Why have you chosen to
represent people in this way? How will you use media language to help
communicate the representations? You might discuss particular camera shots,
sounds, editing transitions, colours, locations, costumes, lighting, text, font,
music, dialogue etc.

~ 12 ~

To push for A/B grades in this task, aim to include some theory such as Steve
Neale, Laura Mulvey, Angela McRobbie, and lots of terminology.
STORYBOARDS GROUP TASK
As a group you should complete a full storyboard for your film opening sequence
to illustrate exactly whats going to happen throughout the 2 minutes. Your
storyboards must be detailed and include shot descriptions, shot durations,
sound, music, and editing transitions. Previous students have had storyboards
with up to 15 pages! The storyboards should be hand drawn, and preferably
coloured in, on blank templates available from us, and then scanned in and
uploaded as images to all your blogs.
Make sure you use the right terminology on your storyboards. Try and show off as
many of your skills as possible (as long as its appropriate for the script). For
example:
Camera close ups, medium shots, long shots, low angles, high angles, eye level
shots, aerial shots, canted angle, shallow and deep focus, loose frame, tight
frame, over the shoulder shot, pan shot, tracking shot, tilt, POV shot, pull focus,
two shot, zoom, reverse zoom
Editing Action match, cut, cross cut, dissolve, eyeline match, fade, graphic
match, jump cut, slow motion, wipe
Sound ambient sound, asynchronous sound, contrapuntal sound, diegetic
sound, non diegetic music, high / low dynamic range, pitch, rhythm, dialogue,
voice over
Mise-En-scene low / high key lighting, use your drawing to make the following
things clear facial expression, body language, colour, costume, props, locations,

~ 13 ~

To push for A/B grades in this task, make sure you are really matching the
drawings to your show descriptions, that you have filled in all the boxes in
detail, and that your storyboard makes it ultra clear how your opening
sequence is going to look on screen.

SCRIPT - GROUP TASK

As a group, you must create a full script for the opening sequence of your film.
This must be laid out like a professional script (you can see an example extract
below). It should include the dialogue, stage directions, short descriptions of any
action, and cue for music / title etc
Example script layout:

To push for A/B grades in this task, ensure that you use the correct layout /
structure for a professional script (Miss Alford has shown you some) and make
sure that you use the correct terminology on the script such as INT for Interior etc..
SHOOTING SCHEDULE GROUP TASK
As a GROUP, produce and upload a schedule of your filming which shows in
detail what shots / you will be filming when. A shooting schedule cannot just
say filming park scenes. It must be broken up into particular shots you know
you want to get. It will normally include the day, time, shot description,
location, people involved. You could organise this in a table and then upload it
to your blog. It might involve something like this (although obviously yours will
be much longer!):
DAY / TIME

LOCATON

SHOT

~ 14 ~

PEOPLE NEEDED

DESCRIPTION
th

Tuesday 4
October AM

Exterior - Park

Tuesday 4th
October PM

Interior
Teenage
bedroom

Long shot of
roger running
through park
Long shots of
Roger sitting on
park bench
Close Ups of
Roger sitting on
park bench
reading
Tracking shot
over messy
bedroom floor
Medium Shot of
Lucy lying on
bed
Long shot of
Roger talking to
Lucy on bed

Roger, all crew

Roger, Lucy and

all crew

COSTUMES & PROP LIST GROUP TASK

Write and upload a detailed list of costumes / props that you will need for all of
the scenes you are filming. Dont forget to think about all of the characters and
scenes, all of the extras, all the set decoration needed for all the locations etc..
Include images where possible to make your ideas ultra clear.
To push for A/B grades you could add a short explanation for many of the items
on your list to say why you have chosen them / what they add to your piece.

LOCATIONS RECCE - GROUP

A recce means, a trip to a place to see what it is like and if it is suitable. As a group
make a detailed list of the locations you are going to use including the following for
each one:

Pictures / Video clips of the locations from different angles

Information about why you want to use it as a location and for what scenes
Information about access difficulties, restrictions, rules for using each
location (eg lack of power points, lots of members of the public, dangerous
hazards etc)
Information about how you will overcome any of these problems or ensure
against any danger / health & safety issues etc..

~ 15 ~

To push for A/B grades in this task, aim to write in lots of detail, and you may even
wish to include some locations you decided against, giving reasons for your
decisions etc.

CONTINGENCY PLAN - GROUP

As a group, you should have a plan for your film in terms of what you will do if
things go wrong. You must describe what you will do if these things occur, or how
you will try and prevent them from happening in the first place. Common
problems to consider include:

Cast dropping out / being unreliable / being bad actors

Crew being late / getting lost
Locations not letting you film there / being too noisy / having too many
people in the background
Battery running out on the camera
Continuity problems (eg filming one scene with a character wearing a shirt
with two buttons done up, and then accidently filming another scene with
the character where he has three or four buttons done up.

OPTIONAL FURTHER RESEARCH AND PLANNING BLOG IDEAS GROUP /

INDIVIDUAL
On top of all of these compulsory research and planning tasks, you could choose to
include more tasks to further demonstrate your individual skills. Here are some
ideas for other posts you could include:

Research into particular directors and their style of film making

Analysis of scripts
Analysis of student made opening sequences
Discussion of what makes a good / bad student made opening sequence
Auditions
Rehearsals
Release forms for actors / extras (templates available on Edmodo)
Health & Safety and Risk Assessment discussions / concerns / forms
(templates available on Edmodo)
Moodboards
Research into lighting / lighting test shots
Costume & Make up tests
Practise using the Live Type software
Problems during filming or editing and how you solved them
How you got the shots you wanted
Experiments you did with editing techniques or effects

~ 16 ~

What has been tricky / easy that week

How your time management has been
How you are working as a group
Rough drafts of the finished opening sequence / credits
What people think of your opening sequence so far, suggestions they make
etc

PRODUCTION AND EDITING OF YOUR FILM OPENING

SEQUENCE GROUP TASK
You must film and edit a sequence which is the titles and opening of a new fiction
film lasting a maximum of 2 minutes. You should be aiming to start filming as soon
as possible after completing your research. All the footage used must be your own
and music must be copyright free.
You will be marked on your ability to:
Produce a piece that has a clear genre and is appropriate as an opening
sequence
Cast appropriate actors
Use a variety of appropriate and interesting shot sizes and angles
Use a variety of appropriate and interesting camera movement
Select appropriate and interesting mise-en-scene like colours, costumes,
locations, props etc
Use a variety of appropriate and interesting film editing techniques,
transitions and effects
Select appropriate and interesting sound including dialogue, music and
sound effects
Select appropriate and interesting titles and credits
Contribute to all aspects of group production and editing
Hints and Tips
Find interesting and unique locations (avoid using the school like the plague
unless your film is specifically about school kids!)
Cast appropriate people of the RIGHT AGE AND LOOK. There is nothing
worse than a 17 year old trying to play a bank manager or a teacher or spy
etc
Cast someone who can really act or is really confident in front of the camera
because there is also nothing worse that someone with stilted dialogue or
who clearly sounds cheesy or false
Find places with beautiful light, or get some lights to make a place beautiful
Dont forget to dress your set. That means not just turning up and filming,
but instead remembering to arrange furniture, or add props, change colours
etc
Experiment with editing effects but dont make it too cheesy!

~ 17 ~

 Your titles are ALL IMPORTANT. Dont just stick them on a black screen at the
end in a standard font. Think about where they are going to appear and
when. Choose a font that signifies something about the genre, and using
editing / animation to make them interesting and engaging

~ 18 ~

EVALUATIONS GROUP / INDIVIDUAL

MARK

16-20
Marks

12-15
Marks

8-11
Marks

0-7
Marks

UNDERSTANDING
OF FORMS AND
CONVENTIONS,
REPRESENTATION
, TECHNOLOGY,
INSTITUTIONS &
AUDIENCES
Excellent
understanding of
issues around
forms &
conventions,
representation,
technology,
institutions and
audiences in
relation to the
production
Good
understanding of
issues around
forms &
conventions,
representation,
technology,
institutions and
audiences in
relation to the
production
Basic
understanding of
issues around
forms &
conventions,
representation,
technology,
institutions and
audiences in
relation to the
production
Minimal
understanding of
issues around
forms &
conventions,
representation,

REFERENCE
UNDERSTANDI
TO CHOICES & NG OF
OUTCOMES
DEVELOPEMEN
T FROM
PRELIMINARY
TO FULL TASK

COMMUNICATI
ON

Excellent ability
to refer to the
choices made
during the
production
process and the
outcomes of
these choices

Excellent
understanding of
their
development
from the
preliminary to
the full task.

Excellent ability
to communicate

Good ability to
refer to the
choices made
during the
production
process and the
outcomes of
these choices

Good
understanding of
their
development
from the
preliminary to
the full task.

Good ability to
communicate

Good skills in
the use of
digital
technology
and ICT in
the
evaluation

Basic ability to
refer to the
choices made
during the
production
process and the
outcomes of
these choices

Basic
understanding of
their
development
from the
preliminary to
the full task.

Basic ability to
communicate

Basic skills in
the use of
digital
technology
and ICT in
the
evaluation

Minimal ability
to refer to the
choices made
during the
production
process and the

Minimal
understanding of
their
development
from the
preliminary to

Minimal ability to
communicate

Minimal skill
in the use of
digital
technology
and ICT in
the

~ 19 ~

USE OF ICT
AND
DIGITAL
TECHNOLO
GY IN
EVALUATIO
N
Excellent
skills in the
use of digita
technology
and ICT in
the
evaluation

technology,
institutions and
audiences in
relation to the
production

outcomes of
these choices

the full task.

evaluation

You can use : Audio podcast / commentary, Filmed discussions, Prezzi

presentations, Powerpoint Presentations, blog entries including links, pictures and
embedded video links etc. All must be uploaded to your blog. You can choose to
work as a group to answer these questions, or split them up and work on a few
each. However you must make it clear WHO in the group has contributed to
answering each question so we can mark you accordingly.

EVALUATION QUESTIONS
The bullet points are just there to give you some things to think about to help you
get started. You dont have to include all of them, and you may choose to include
other information too:
1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real media products?
Show you understand what the conventions of an opening sequence are
Discuss the conventional opening sequence elements you have chosen for
your opening sequence (what are they and why have you chosen them?)
Discuss any unconventional elements of an opening sequence if you have
chosen them for your opening sequence (what are they and why have you
chosen them?)
Show you understand what the conventions of your chosen genre are
Discuss the generic conventions you have chosen
Discuss any generic conventions you have challenged or developed
To push for A/B grades, make sure you include a variety of terminology, and at
least two theories such as Todorov, Steve Neale, Propp, Barthes
2) How does your media product represent particular social groups?
What social groups appear in your opening sequence (eg teenagers,
women, men, elderly people etc)
What is the stereotypical representation of these social groups in the
media?
How has your opening sequence either represented them in a
conventional or unconventional way? (you might look at their appearance,
clothing, language, actions, camera angles, editing etc)
Why have you chosen to represent them in either a conventional or
unconventional way? (eg so that audiences can easily understand what is
going on, can identify with the characters, will be shocked, will be
interested etc)
To push for A/B grades, make sure you use a variety of terminology, and at least
two theories such as Mulvey, McRobbie, Propp etc

~ 20 ~

3) What kind of media institution might distribute your media product

and why?
Show you understand what film distribution is and why it is so important
Discuss two different companies that might be suitable to distribute your
film. What films have they already distributed? Do they focus on niche or
mainstream films, or a particular genre?
Why would they be suitable to distribute your film?
What kind of distribution would you expect them to do for you?
To push for A/B grades, make sure you use a variety of terminology, and give
detailed reasons for the choices of institution you discuss
4) Who would be the audience for your media product?
Discuss who your target audience are in detail including age, gender,
other favourite films, social demographic (class, income etc)
Discuss some of the research you did to find out more about your target
audience. What did you find out about them?
To push for A/B grades, make sure you use a variety of terminology, and the Young
and Rubicam theory
5) How did you attract/address your audience?
Discuss what you found out from your audience research?
How did you tailor your product based on what the audience wanted?
How have you made the genre of the film clear to the audience in the
opening sequence?
How does your opening sequence engage an audience and make them
interested in carrying on watching?
What uses & gratifications have you offered your audience? What about
utopian solutions?
What did your audience think about your opening sequence and how do
you know? Have you done focus groups since finishing? What did they
say?
To push for A/B grades, make sure you use a variety of terminology, and at least
two theories such as Uses & Gratifications, Maslow, Young and Rubicam, Barthes,
Todorov, Neale etc
6) What have you learned about technologies from the process of
constructing this product?
Discuss what you have learnt about how useful the following
technologies are, what you can do with them, and why they are a popular
choice for film makers / people in general.
- Digital cameras
- Final Cut Express
- After Effects (if you have used it)

~ 21 ~

Green Screening / Chroma Keying (if you

used it)
Photoshop (if you have used it)
Blogging
You Tube / Facebook / Twitter
Scribd / Slideshare / Wordle

80-100
70-79
60-69
50-59
40-49
0-39

A
B
C
D
E
U

have

To push for A/B grades, make sure you use a variety of terminology, and try and
discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each piece of technology you discuss.
7) Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have
learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
What skills did you learn when you did your preliminary task? (filming,
editing, sound, directing, writing, planning, storyboarding, scripting etc)
How have you used or developed these skills in your full task
What were the weaknesses of your preliminary task?
How have you ensured that your final piece does not have those
weaknesses?
What have you learned overall about practical work from doing these two
tasks? What is essential for being able to make a good practical piece?
To push for A/B grades, make sure you use a variety of terminology, and give a
range of specific examples from your prelim task and your finished opening.

BEFORE YOU FINISH

CHECK all your posts on your blog are in roughly the right order,
including making sure that you have your finished opening sequence
embedded at the end, and then the 7 evaluation questions embedded as
the last posts.
Make sure all the posts appear as you want them to appear, and that the
font is easy to read against the background
Make sure that Mrs Fisher / Miss Alford have the correct version of your
finished opening sequence for the examiners DVD.

CONGRATULATIONS YOU ARE FINISHED!

~ 22 ~