C. Evidence of Arts Visit

On the 25th of October, we went to the Ultimate Picture Palace to watch The World's End. It is the third film in the cornetto trilogy, and stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. It was very funny and I laughed a lot, although the ending was not particularly good.

B. Critiquing Skills - Day 3

26th October

We started off our day by watching a film at the Ultimate Picture Palace. The film we saw was 'The World's End' by Simon Pegg, which is a comedy film. I enjoyed it and found it very funny, and laughed a lot, but I thought the ending wasn't particularly good.

We then returned to Film Oxford to have 2 lectures, one on critiquing skills and one on British cinema. Critiquing sounds fairly difficult, especially as I tend to just passively watch films and not really engage in them. However, hopefully from now on I will become better at engaging in films instead of just absorbing them.

The lecture on British cinema was very interesting, as I had never really thought about British cinema or what it was. It was fascinating to learn about the ways that British cinema was different to cinema in Europe and America, and to see what the criteria was for a film to be considered British.

We then split off into our production groups to continue developing our film ideas. We decided to go with a story about a homeless man who notices that a rich man looks like him and steals his identity. We put the film into a 3-act structure that we learnt about on Day 2 with Michelle, figuring out how it would work as we went through the story. We then began thinking about locations to film, and about maybe getting other people in to act or be body doubles (since we have one person playing both characters).

B. Screenwriting and Tech - Day 2

18th October

Screenwriting

We started the day with a screenwriting course from screenwriter Michelle Duffy. It was a very intensive session, with a lot of knowledge fitted in. We covered genre, structure, pitching ideas, formatting screenplays, characters, and dialogue, as well as watching a few shorts and reading a few screenplays.

I found the session incredibly interesting and useful. I learnt many things about structure of films, something I had never considered before. I also had never thought about pitching ideas, so I found that very interesting as well. The formatting, as I was aware, was incredibly confusing, and I was incredibly grateful when Michelle gave us the names of some free resources we could use for screenwriting. I will definitely be checking celtx out in the future!!

Part way through the session, we got into our groups and created pitches for our 2 films. Members of our groups then pitched them to the rest of the people on the course. Doing this was incredibly useful, as it made us think about our ideas, and receive feedback on how we could improve. Also, any flaws with our ideas were highlighted so that we were aware of any potential problems.

One of our groups pitches

Technology

In the afternoon, we had 3 workshops, on lighting, grips and sound. Our group started in the lighting workshop. We learnt that it was important to light a scene so that the action could actually be seen, although the type of lighting used depended on the atmosphere we wished to create. We learnt about the most basic lighting set-up, three point lighting. The most amazing part of this for me was seeing how big an impact a back light made on the scene, and how it made the film look much more professional. We then had to create a moonlit scene using light. We used a bluey/purpley gel over one light, which helped create the cold sense of moonlight. We softened one other light using special paper, and removed the third light.

We then had a workshop in grip. We looked at many different pieces of grip, including tripods, sliders, dollies, and steadicams. I knew very little about grips, so the workshop was very informative. I found it quite difficult handling the handheld grips, partly because they were very heavy, and partly because they took a lot of skill and steadiness to carry them. We all attempted to then use the vertigo effect, by dollying in and zooming out, and vice versa. It was incredibly difficult, but I managed to do it kind-of by going very slowly.

The last workshop was in sound. I found it incredible that sound was 50% of a film, as I had never thought of it as being especially important. Knowing this, it amazed me even more how few people are used on films to do the sound, and how little considered their role is. We also learnt about foley sound, which is where sounds are recreated in a studio. It was really interesting seeing how different sound effects are made, and really funny knowing that some sounds are made using such weird things.

B. Introduction - Day 1

17th October

We started out our day with an introduction to the course and the people doing it. We one by one went up to the front and introduced ourselves, saying our names, what we were doing currently in terms of education, and what our idea for a film was. My idea was fairly vague in terms of plot, but was a 3 perspective story where each new perspective adds another layer to the viewers understanding of what happened.

We were then introduced to different shot types and movements, and taught the basics of how to operate a camera. We were then put into our production groups for the first time, and given a storyboard for a cowboy style shoot out film which featured various shot types. We were also told to add a shot that was not on the sheet.

Our group then went outside to film. Kiira and Reuel were the cowboys, and the rest of us swapped between roles. At first, I was the director, but I found this very hard as the storyboard was not my own, so I found it difficult to visualise what was supposed to be happening. However, I then swapped to doing sound, and I found it much more fun. I had never really done sound before, but I really enjoyed getting to hear all the different noises, especially sounds I don't normally notice, like birdsong and car music. Doing sound made me realise how much I don't hear normally, and how, when filming, the production team must constantly be listening for background noise.

We were then introduced to Adobe Premiere Pro, and edited our shoot out film together. I found the editing process interesting, as I had never used Premiere Pro before. I found the software slightly confusing, but I began to understand it as we edited more. I think the most interesting part of editing was seeing how big of an effect music and sound effects had on the film.

Our Shoot Out Film - Password: red

After we had finished editing, and had watched all of the shoot outs from all of the different groups together, we separated again to decide on 2 ideas to consider for our final films. The ideas we chose were my idea about the 3 perspectives and Tascha's idea about a-day-in-the-life poor vs rich story.

Discussing our ideas

B. Schedule

Here is the schedule for the Arts Award:

A. Identify and Agree Arts Challenge

Arts Challenge

My arts challenge is to create a film in a group by attending the BFI Film Academy. I will be creating a script, developing a storyboard, shooting a film, and editing it, along with the others in my group. I particularly want to develop my skills in screenwriting, as it is an area that I am interested in, but know very little about.

Why I Have Chosen This Arts Challenge

I chose this arts challenge because I am very interested in film, and am considering a career in the industry, although I am not too sure what I want to do yet. The BFI Academy will provide me with useful skills that I can apply to any film-making I do in the future, and teach me more about the film industry and how it works.

How I Will Achieve This Goal

I will achieve this goal through practical means, and through talks from professionals who are already in the industry. For example, there will be a talk about SFX and VFX from Ken Turner, who has worked on various computer games and on the TV series Poldark. I will also be watching a movie to help develop my critiquing skills, and be visiting the National Film and Television School in Beaconsfield.

My Ambitions Within The Industry

I am very interested in the film industry, and am thinking of having a career in the industry when I am older. Currently, I am thinking about going into acting to start with and, later on, transferring into directing my own films when I have enough experience & knowledge. This is because I really enjoy acting, but also have good ideas of my own that I would like to see become films.

My Current Skills And Experience

I have made a few short films before. Me, my sister, and 2 of our friends make a film every new year. The films (so far) have not been particularly good, although they get better each year. I also go to a summer camp and do a film workshop there, where we work in groups to create a film. This year I also started doing my media A-Level course, and so far I have made a preliminary task with another person in my class. All of these things have given me skills in filming, acting and editing. The summer course has also taught me about third lines when planning shots, and the A-Level has taught me about shot types and storyboarding. I also have done drama for as long as I can remember, and am doing a Theatre Studies A-Level. My strengths are in acting and choosing shot types. My weaknesses are in screenwriting, storyboarding, and anything technical to do with cameras and sound.

What I Would Like To Improve / Learn

I would really like to learn how to screenwrite, as I have been writing since I was a child but never in a film scenario. I would also like to learn about the technical side to film - mainly cameras, lighting and sound - as I am not very good at using technology with more than two buttons. I also want to improve my editing skills, as I have not edited very much, but have found it enjoyable when I did.

Specific Skills I Want To Develop

As well as the technical skills, I would also like to develop some personal skills. The main skill I want to develop is my confidence, both in making films and in communication. I am not a particularly confident person, and I really want to develop a stronger confidence in myself. I also want to develop my skills in working with people who I don't know and who are different to the people I normally work with. These skills would both help me in the future, no matter what I choose to do next.