Exploring the World of film

Media Arts Year 10 – Exploring and appreciating the world of film.

There are many films and TV series which are exceptional examples of visual storytelling and the Internet Movie Database IMDB is a comprehensive database, which is a useful reference for exploring the world of Film and Television. The IMDB provides information such as a short film synopsis, cast, crew, awards nominations and trivia for many thousands of films.

It also has a number of lists such as the Top 100 and 250 movies (as rated by IMDB users), as well as guides to the top films in the major genres and suggestions for other films that you may like; based on your browsing habits.

Activity 1: Use this link to visit the Internet Movie Database’s Top 250 Movies list:  IMDB Top 250

From this list, select 10 films that you have not seen, but are interested in viewing. Be adventurous; choose films from genres that you may not normally watch. Ensure that you select films which are an appropriate age rating.

1.	Inception
2.	The Matrix
3.	It’s a wonderful life
4.	The Dark night rises
5.	Terminator 2
6.	City Lights
7.	The usual suspects
8.	The fight club
9.	12 angry men
10	The untouchables

Activity 2: Select 2 of your favourite films and complete the following information about each one:

Information	Film 1	Film 2
Title	The Great Gatsby	My Sister’s Keeper
Genre/s	Drama	Drama
Director	Baz Luhrmann	Nick Cassavetes
Writer/s	F.Scott Fitzgerald	Jodi Picolout
Cinematographer	Simon Duggan	Caleb Deschanel
Editor	M Villa, J Redmond, J Ballatine	Alan Heim, Jim Flynn
Lead actors	Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan	Cameron Diaz, Abigail Breslin
Other Information	Based on a novel	Based on a novel

Activity 3: Select 3 of the following directors and list 4 films that they have directed:

James Cameron, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Ang Lee, Rob Marshall, Christopher Nolan, Yimou Zhang, David Fincher

Complete in the Table below:

Director	4 Film titles
1.James Cameron	Avatar, Titanic, The Terminator, Piranha ll
2.Steven Spielberg	E.T, Jaws, Jurassic Park, War Horse
3.Rob Marshall	Annie, Pirate of the Caribbean, Into the Woods, Chicago

Activity 4: From the list of genres below, select any 5 and complete the table.

Action, Adventure, Comedy, Crime and Gangster, Drama, Epic/Historical, Horror, Musical/Dance, Science Fiction, War (Anti-War), Westerns.

Hint: To find films belonging to these genres look on the right side of the Top 250 Link

Genre	5 example films belonging to this Genre	List some common elements used in these genres; (consider elements of Mise-en-scene, Cinematography, Sound (Effects and Music) and Narrative Conventions i.e. typical scenarios or characters).
Crime	-Now you see me -We’re the millers -The Godfather -The Wolf of Wall Street -Spring Breakers	Police, weapons, someone committing a crime, some sort of fight either being verbal, abusive or with weapons.
Comedy	-Grown Ups 2 -Rio 2 -Anchorman 2 -This is the End -Ghostbusters	Upbeat music, bright lighting, Jokes,
Musical/Dance	-Frozen -Grease -Wizards of Oz -The little mermaid -Annie	Singing, happy scenes, dancing, bright lighting, big groups dancing.
Drama	-12 years a slave -Blue Jasmine -The Book Thief -The Great Gatsby -Saving Mr.Banks	Dramatic Music,
Action	-The Hunger Games -Lone Survivor -The Avengers -Thor -The Dark Knight	Suspenseful music, dark lighting, usually a main or a couple of main heroes, focus’ on one character, weapons.

Evaluation

Year 10 Media Arts Short Film Production – Term 01 Mr. Andrews

Task 1: Self-reflection and evaluation:

Please answer each question using complete sentences, including as much detail as possible.

Discuss your feelings about the production task: Please explain your responses:

·      Did you enjoy creating your short film?

I enjoyed creating the film because before we started filming we were very excited about our idea and once we had finished shooting and editing it had all come to life.

·      Are you satisfied with the final result?

I do like our film even though we didn’t have long to film and edit it still looks good. Hopefully next time we wont have so many problems and we will have a better final results.

·      Did your film turn out as well as you pictured?

The film did turn out how we pictured it but for the ending we planned to have a tear run down Cayley’s face and then go back up but we decided not to do that in the end. Throughout the film there are very quick different shots that make it very suspenseful.

·      Would like to change or improve any aspects of your final film (storyline, shots, editing etc.)?

I would’ve liked to add in the tear going up and down in the end but I think that the film still looks good without it.

·      If you could start the project again, what would you do differently?

I would use my time more efficiently and have filmed on other days so that we could have different shots to make the film more interesting.

As this task focused on mise-en-scene and cinematography, describe:

·      How you used specific elements of mise-en-scene to depict your film’s genre and enhance the narrative?

The setting is supposed to feel a bit spooky and contribute to with the acting style of being nervous and anxious and this makes it suspenseful.

·      How you used specific shot types to convey the storyline without dialogue?

Some of the close up shots that are used show that she is very nervous and anxious to find her friend and this helps the viewer sympathies for her. The quick shots also help convey that she is anxious and it also creates suspense.

·      Whether the intended genre is depicted clearly or if this could be improved?

Once you’re a few seconds into the film it is clear nearly straight away that is in the drama genre.

Reflecting upon your completed task, respond to the following points:

·      How did other people respond to your rough-edit? Did you use their feedback to make changes to the film?

When we made our rough edit some people didn’t understand the concept of the film and some said that it seemed as if the girl was being followed and finally at the end she gets taken away so we changed some the shots so it was in sequence and now it makes more sense.

·      Did your group use the planning and analysis tools effectively? (storyboards, shot lists, mise-en-scene evaluation).

We made a shot and planning list before we started and this helped us figure out what we were going to film and where and this made it easier on the day when we had to film because we knew exactly what we had to do.

·      Did shooting require more or less time than you thought? Why?

Shooting actually took less than I thought, with Ally and Cayley both being absent for 3 of the shooting lesson we only had 1 lesson to shoot but in the end that was all we needed to complete the filming.

·      Were there any problems or difficulties during filming and how did this affect your project. (Difficulties may include; shooting, technical, time-management, teamwork, absences or editing etc.);

The only problems we incurred was Ally and Cayley were away for 3 of the filming lessons so we only had 1 lesson to film but it didn’t end up being an issue in the end. Hopefully next time we won’t have any issues.

·      Discuss whether you undertook adequate and detailed reflection to support your work? (Look at your blogs and consider if it looks like a terms worth of work);

I could have done more reflections after every class but overall I have all of the work that was set.