Deadline

The final draft of your production report is due this Friday 5th April at 17.00.

It is essential that it is submitted at this time and there is no possibility of extension! It will be marked over the weekend, moderated on Monday 8th and final marks submitted to IB on Tuesday 9th April.

Formatting Your Report

The production report should be formatted as follows:

A title page which should include:

1. The name of the film.
   • ‘Untitled’ is acceptable.
2. The Logline
   • This may have changed
3. Your production role
4. A table of contents
   1. Creative work in my role as cinematographer, editor, sound designer, director
      • Word Count (approx 1,000 words). p.2
   2. Collaboration with my core production team
      • Word Count (approx 1,000 words) p.?
5. Works cited p.?
   • These should be referenced using Harvard

Here is an example title page.

Images.

It is expected that the production report will include images of: development and planning documents, behind the scenes images from the filming days, screenshots from the film, screenshots from editing applications…

These images should include captions. For example:

‘Figure 1. Examples of preliminary colour correction’

Or

‘Figure 5. Screenshot of my work creating the opening titles’

These captions should be brief and contextualise the images.

They are not included in the overall word count.

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Part 1, Creative Work in Your Production Role.

Assessment:

• The student provides a thorough and discerning justification of their creative choices in order to convey meaning in one film production role during the production phases. This work is detailed, accurate and relevant.

Discussion is likely to evidence the creative work undertaken during the pre-production, production and post-production phases and the ways in which their production skills, techniques and/or approaches were effectively deployed in order to convey meaning and to contribute to the overall effectiveness of the film.

Part 2, Collaboration with your core production team.

Assessment:

This section should begin with a clear statement of the core production team’s agreed intentions for the film.

• The student provides an insightful reflection on the successes and challenges of their participation in the core production team, discussing how their collaborations helped to fulfill the agreed intentions of the group
• The student cites informative moments or examples from within the completed film to support their reasoning.

Discussion is likely to evidence the student’s work beyond the one chosen film production role and their approaches to effective group work (through problem-solving, giving and receiving constructive feedback, supporting others, working flexibly, reliably and responsibly and so on). Reflecting on collaboration does not mean that students should see this as an opportunity to complain, blame or criticize the role of other core production team members. Students should cite informative moments and examples from within the completed film to support their reflection.

Exemplar

Here is an annotated example of a production report.

This exemplar would have received a top band mark

Redrafting Part 3

Please redraft the second part of your production report based on feedback.

You should also use this self assessment check list for each stage of your production report to make sure that you are covering the essentials

Structure & Content of Part 4 (Post Production)

You should refer back to your creative intention within this section of the report and your decisions / revisions, should be referred back to that, as this is your overarching meaning.

Please include screenshots of your work in progress and pictures of planning documents.

Collaboration with my core production team (approx 200 words)

• How did you support the team in creating:
  • A pick up list for the cinematographer?
  • A sound spotting list for the sound designer?
• How were you involved in discussion with the editor about the rough cut?
• What suggestions were made about how to recut draft 2?

Creative work in my film production role (approx 200 words)

1. What specific decisions have you made in your production role to create meaning and link back to you individual or group creative intention?

Deadline

Friday 22nd March

The final deadline for your collaborative project:

• Final edit of short film: Friday 29th March at 17.00
• Final draft of production report: Friday 5th April

Please note that we are obliged to mark this work and upload to IB by April 10th April. This means there are no extensions under any circumstances!

Edit Draft deadlines:

There will be a deadline every Friday for the edit to take shape.

Friday 15th March. 

This draft should include:

• Pick up and re-shoot footage
• Transitions
• Foley sounds and effects

Friday 22nd March

This draft should include:

• Music
• Asynchronous dialogue
• Colour correction / adjustment layers

You will receive teacher feedback on this edit

Friday 29th March

The final draft should be exported

Please remember you have a 500mb limit for this file.

Production Report Deadline

Friday 22nd March

Draft 4 of the production report on Post Production

 

Redrafting Part 2

Please redraft the second part of your production report based on feedback.

You should also use this self assessment check list for each stage of your production report to make sure that you are covering the essentials

Structure & Content of Part 3 (Production)

You should refer back to your creative intention within this section of the report and your decisions / revisions, should be referred back to that, as this is your overarching meaning.

1. Collaboration with my core production team (200 words)

• How did you work with other team members during the shoot?
• Directing and production design are (mostly) shared responsibilities and so you should write about the ways in which you:
  • Blocked and gave notes to actors
  • Supplied or sources props or  costumes that helped communicate meaning
  • Help resolve issues with equipment
• You may also have been asked to immediate feedback on cinematography or sound recordings
  • What feedback did you give and why?
• After the shoot you should also have reviewed the footage together and decided on pick ups (shots that are missing or needed to be re-filmed):
  • What decisions did you make and why?
    • Remember this should be linked to communicating meaning.

1. Creative work in my film production role (200 words)

• What decisions did you make on shoot to communicate the desired meaning within your production role?
  • Cinematographers discuss: lighting, framing, movement and blocking
  • Directors discuss: blocking, characterisation (working with actors)
  • Sound designers discuss: dialogue, Foley and ambient sound recorded.
  • Editors discuss: continuity, filming for transitions and cut aways

Deadline

Friday 8th March

Redrafting Part 1

Please redraft the first part of your production report based on feedback.

You should also use this self assessment check list for each stage of your production report to make sure that you are covering the essentials

Structure & Content of Part 2 (Pre-Production)

1. Collaboration with my core production team (200 words)
   • The pitch (recorded and available for review).
     • Feedback on the idea as a whole.
   • What techniques did you use to visualise the film and each scene within it? (Step Outline, Storyboard, Script…)
   • Rehearsals.
     • How did you direct your actors and work out the blocking.
   • What specific creative decisions / changes did you make during pre-production as a group?
   • What were the necessary documents to complete in pre-production (PMA & Risk Assessments)
     • What was the importance / significance of these?
2. Creative work in my film production role (200 words)
   • The pitch as it relates to your production role.
     • What Targets / experiments will you practice in your production role.
   • What pre-production tasks / documents did you have to complete in your production role and how did you get input from other team members?
   • What specific creative decisions did you make during pre-production in your production role?

Deadline

Friday 15th February

This is the sort of detailed planning we need from every group…

Shoot Dates:

• Half term break (as agreed by group)
• Tuesday 26th February (Groups 1)
• Thursday 28th February (Groups 2)

To make sure you are ready for the shoot, have collaborated with your production team and prepared for your own production role you should complete the following tasks as a group and individually:

Rehearse your actors and block the scene(s).

• This will require you using a phone to take photos of the blocking.
• The cinematographer will be taking photos
• The sound designer / editor will be doing one of two things:
  1. Working with the cinematographer to place the actors on their marks
  2. Working with the actors to discuss the action & behaviour, their lines and mood.

Test your ideas.

• Cinematographer: test (framing, DofF, filter, lighting, lenses…)
• Sound Designer: practice Foley recording or editing / composing temp tracks.
• Editor: test edits / colour correction.

This should be done for independent study and your ideas should be based on examples taken from your shared vision document.

Shot list for all scenes.

This is the job of the cinematographer & editor

Production Meetings

• Here is a link to the production meeting agenda

Risk assessment for your shoot(s).

• Here is a generic risk assessment, agreed by your parents.
• You should also discuss and complete a group risk assessment for each location you intend to film at.

The Pitch

You will have half a lesson to work with your teacher on presenting and developing your idea.

You need to bring the following to the meeting:

• The Logline
• Shared Vision Slideshow

During the meeting you will have an opportunity to discuss your inspiration for the short film and explain the specific camera, editing & sound design techniques you wish to use.

The outcome of the meeting should be a shared creative intention that you can then adapt to reflect your production role.

The meeting will be filmed, so that you can review the discussion, creative intentions and next planning targets.

You will also need to discuss the narrative shape and the individual scenes in your short. Once agreed, you will need to complete a step outline for each scene.

The Step Outline

Once you have got a more visual idea of your short it is time to start developing it in more depth and detail, considering what will happen step by step and what we SEE and HEAR how the scene will unfold.

Use this document to develop this for each scene. Once you have completed this you should start plotting out your short step by step using an extended step outline for each scene.

This work should be shared among the group with each person being responsible for drafting at least one step outline document, which they then bring back to the group to discuss.

If you have a director they have final editorial decision, if not, you will have to reach a compromise in the group.

The Animatic

An animatic is an animated storyboard. Images from the storyboards are brought into an editing program and are cut together with the correct timing and pace of the film. An animatic should include basic sound effects, dialogue recordings and temp soundtrack.

What is it used for?

Similar to storyboards, animatics are used for pre-visualizing the film before production starts.   This is when you first get a sense of the pacing, the rhythm and the progression of your film.

We are not going to draw a complete storyboard, but will use a combination of drawn and found images to complete your animatic.

It will be the job of the cinematographer to find stills for the animatic and the job of the editor to cut them together. The sound designer will also put together a multi-track mix of music, dialogue and sound effect.

You can also use titles if you can’t find an appropriate image. These will be helpful in giving you a sense of timing. You could also use some images from location scouting.

An Example Animatic

You need to start developing your production report.

This is a 2,000 word report which will be submitted in 5 sections:

1. Development
2. Pre-production
3. Production
4. Post-production
5. Reflection

The content of this report is worth up to 2/3 of your final mark for the collaborative project. There are no extensions on deadlines. We have to submit your film and the report to the IB by the end of this term!

This means you must submit the report in stages in order to get feedback.

Full guidance on the production report can be found here.

The first deadline is next Friday 25th January.

The production report will be submitted in two equal sections. Please complete the first 400 words on:

1. Creative work in my film production role (200 words)

• You should also discuss why you chose your particular role and what you hope to bring to the project
• Then, you should discuss how have you drawn inspiration from the work of film makers, specific (named) cinematographers, editors, directors and sound designers.
  • What specific techniques (micro) have they used to convey meaning within their work?
  • You should attempt to cite at least two specific films / shorts and use screenshots from those shorts.

2. Collaboration with my core production team (200 words)

This section should reflect back on how you developed your idea and then how you worked as a group to refine and shape your shared vision.

• This should include discussion about the brainstorming process.
  • What if…
  • Interesting Characters
  • Stories from the news, anecdotes, jokes…
  • Inspiration document (location, prop, sound, costume)
• You should also discuss how created a group contract and identified the tasks within your role as well as your collective responsibilities.
• Describe and discuss your shared vision (the slide show) and how the group idea took shape.
• Finally you should conclude with your groups creative intention.
  • This will be clarified and agreed in your pitch.

Help & Reminders

The blog post on development is here