Oxford Referencing

Editing History and Techniques test

You will have a short test on the History of Editing and Editing Techniques based on the 2 powerpoints on the VLE on Thursday 23rd Feb. This should help consolidate your knowledge. you will also have to carry out a textual analysis (1 side A4) of the editing techniques used in a short film sequence which you will be given with the test. This should help you with writing up your contextual study. Please make sure that you revise for this test.

Half term work

Over half term please continue working on your Contextual Study VLOGS. Please also carry out some more editing demos. These can be shot on your mobile phones then uploaded and edited either at home or at college then added to your VLOG. Remember that for each editing technique you use you need to discuss why you chose to use it. Don't forget to hold your phone horizontally when filming otherwise you end up with vertical footage which doesn't look good!

Unit 16 Short Film option

Creative Media BTEC Sub Dip final major project

Short Film option for Editing techniques Unit 16

Short Film is an excellent text to make in order to use a variety of editing techniques for your Unit 16 as it allows you a really free rein to experiment.

The short film can be loosely defined as any film shorter than feature length made for exhibition on the cinema screen.

Short films are usually associated with a restricted audience: in particular, they tend to be exhibited at Film Festivals, Art House Cinema seasons, or late at night on Channel 4 (e.g. 3 minute wonder). Unlike most mainstream films, they are not considered to be commercially viable and require private funding or funding from a Film Commission which believes in supporting new talent, such as the New Zealand Film Commission

The statements below will show you several approaches to defining short films, though some share common factors:

• ‘Short film defines itself as ‘other’ to the accepted feature format…Apart from that, I imagine there are as many short film definitions as there are short films. They can be anything, but not a ‘feature’ film.’ (Stephen McGlashan, filmmaker/ producer)
   
• ‘It has to be able to get the message/ideas across a lot faster.’
• ‘An idea that is created and lasts for 2-15 minutes.’
   
• ‘A simple, self-contained story, no great development of characters…Usually very few characters introduced.’

 

• An opportunity for the film maker to communicate their ideas concisely. By that I mean there is no extra information. Everything is there for a reason and there is no padding.’

 

• ‘Similar to a short story. Sometimes with a surprise ending.’

 

• ‘An intense piece of time – usually deals with one idea and expresses it fairly directly.’

 

• ‘An expression of an idea on a shorter scale. Often expressive and tends towards the abstract.’

 

Clearly, a short film cannot entertain complex plots or develop characters in any depth. Through its form and structure, however, it can achieve remarkable brevity and make concise observations on the world.

 

When planning to make a short film, it is useful to consider carefully the kind of narrative conventions you will use. Typically, short films contain a surprising twist or enigma. They need to condense the narrative into a much shorter space of time than a feature length film, and therefore a lot of material will be elided (left out). They will often use highly stylised and creative types of camerawork and editing.

And there will be a limited number of characters and often a very limited amount of dialogue.

 

 

 

 

Narrative

Consider how the final part of the narrative relates to the rest of the film: Is resolution suspended? For what reasons might a director have created symmetry though imagery, sound or event?

 

 

Genre

Consider the use of familiar:

• iconography
• settings
• characters and roles
• situations/events/outcomes
• camera work, editing and sound
   
  Will you use a hybrid of genres? Will some recognisable conventions be changed or subverted? To what effect?
  Representation
  How will your film represent aspects of gender, class, race, age, region and sexuality? Consider:
• narrative roles
• relationships
• audience positioning through mise-en-scene, editing and sound
  What traditions and conventions will you change? To what effect?
  It would be very useful for you to research some short films, making notes on the narrative; genre; stylistic features (camerawork, editing, sound and mise-en-scene) in order to inform your own ideas. You could include this research in your Contextual Study or in your Pre-production.
  You can view a range of short films made by A2 and AS film studies students on the MPA web page. You  can also find short films for your research here
• Virgin Media Shorts https://www.youtube.com/user/VirginMediaShorts
  Channel 4 Shorts http://www.channel4.com/programmes/shorts
  Films Short http://www.filmsshort.com/
  Or just type in Short Film to YouTube and see what you come up with. I would recommend that you view films which are no longer than 5 mins as your brief is to make a film which is 3-5 mins long.
  Good luck and have fun!
   
  
  

 

 

 

Unit 16 Editing demo task 1

CMP BTEC SUBDIP UNIT 16 Editing Task

To be carried out Tuesday 24^th and Thursday 26^th January.

 

On Wednesday 25^th January you should continue class work on The History of Editing powerpoint/note-taking with Sarah Setterfield. This work will inform your Contextual Study for Unit 16.

 

Please book out a camera and carry out the following filming and editing task:

You are going to demo 3 different types of editing technique which you already know and then write up half a side A4 on why you chose each edit and the effect you were aiming to generate for the audience. Your demo needs to be no longer than 60 seconds. You can film the footage in groups of 3 or in pairs, but the edits must be individual.

Scenario: 2 people meeting ~ To exchange something? To have a drink? To eat a meal together? To talk about a 3^rd person they both know?

You need to upload finished edits and your commentary to the blog or hand in a hard copy and email me a link to the final version by Tuesday 31^st January

We will look at them in class.

Thank you

Unit 16 Editing Techniques Overview

CMP BTEC Unit 16 Editing Techniques overview

 

Your final major project will take the form of a 3-5 minute film. This can be any genre  (apart from animation), but we strongly recommend that you make either a Short Film; a Music Video or a Documentary extract to best demonstrate the skills you have developed over the whole course and to incorporate excellent editing skills and techniques

 

CONTEXTUAL STUDY   PMD1

 

For this Unit you will be required to produce a Contextual Study, in the form of a vlog, outlining all you know about the History of editing and the purposes of editing. You will be taught about the key figures from: early cinema (The Lumiere brothers, George Melies) at the turn of the 20^th century; the beginnings of continuity  and other editing techniques with DW Griffith in the 1920s; The Kuleshov effect in Russia and the Soviet Montage movement (Sergei M Eisenstein); the French New Wave in the 1950s; the Direct Cinema Movement in the USA/Cinema Verite in France both in the 1950s; and some key editing techniques which developed from the 1970s onwards. You will also be taught about different specific editing techniques with some film examples, and additionally you will be expected to film some material and then demonstrate some of those techniques yourselves.

Your Contextual Study vlog will demonstrate everything you have learned about the above, and will include both your own editing examples and clips from films which you will research, along with still images of key characters in the world of editing and key facts about the history of editing and the purposes of editing.

 

PRE-PRODUCTION    PMD2

 

For your pre-production you will need to produce a 300-400 word treatment/synopsis. You will be giving a pitch outlining what your product will be; what specific editing techniques you plan to use to create particular meanings; who your target audience will be; similar short films/music videos/documentaries which have informed your ideas. You will carry out all of the usual pre-production tasks (risk assessments, storyboards, production schedules etc ). In addition to this, the ways that you store and list your material in preparation for editing is crucial in order to get top marks, so a big emphasis is placed on your Rushes Log which will need to be kept with detailed information updated regularly throughout the filming process and uploaded to the blog (or printed off as hard copy) by the given deadline. You will really need to keep a detailed Project Diary discussing all of the decisions you have taken throughout the whole Unit.

    

PRODUCTION EDIT and EVALUATION    PMD3

 

Your final major project (FMP) will demonstrate the editing skills and techniques you have developed so maker sure that you take this into account when you are planning and storyboarding your production. The evidence will also need to be given in your evaluation where you will use screenshots from your production demonstrating the different editing techniques you have employed  accompanied by a written explanation for why you chose that particular edit and what you were aiming to convey to the audience. You will also discuss how well your final product meets the conventions for the genre of text you have chosen as well as for your original aims and what you have learned through the process. You will have feedback from peers, teachers and an industry professional on your rough cut. This can go into your evaluation as well. The evaluation will take the form of a blogpost or a printed hard copy.

 

Final reminders re Unit 30 Advertising

You can upload your Ads to YouTube as they are now, calling them Work in Progress in order to carry out your surveys/questionnaires. However, please don't upload the final version until after the lesson on Thursday. Also please remember to send your ads to Bill Smith at Latest TV for professional industry feedback to go into your evaluations. You can tell him when your deadline is  (January 19th) to reinforce the need for a quick response.