Fm1 creative project booklet

FM1 Assessment: Analysis of a Film Extract

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FM1 – Creative Project

Unit 1 – FM1 20% (40%) Internal Assessment

Exploring Film Form

ONE Analysis of how the micro aspects of a chosen extract from a film of
candidate’s choice produces meaning and responses (1,500 words) [30]
ONE Creative project based on a film sequence or short film and one
Reflective Analysis of the project [50] (Creative project 40 marks /
Reflective Analysis 10 marks)

Your FM1 Coursework must include:

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Aims & Context guide lines

For this assignment you are required to create a film sequence or a complete short film that
demonstrates how the micro-features of film construct meaning and provoke response in a film
extract.

This creative project will consist of three elements:

Aims & context
Film Sequence or short film in one of three forms
Reflective analysis
(50 marks in total)

Aims and Context should contain the following:

A clearly defined title for your project
Genre of your film and how this is reflected in your sequence/film
Narrative Structure – What devices will you use?
Target Audience – How will your film target them specifically?
How will you micro-elements in your film to generate meaning?

Identify the Micro-Elements

What do we mean by Micro-elements? Micro-elements are aspects of cinema that can be
directly manipulated by a filmmaker to ensure an audience is exposed to an intended meaning;
there should be nothing in a shot or sequence that is there accidently, as all these elements
should have been within the filmmakers’ control. Micro-elements to be considered:

Mise-en-Scene
Cinematography
Editing
Performance

The aims and context should not contain a synopsis of your sequence (brief summary of the
plot/narrative) but instead, should focus on your chosen micro-concepts and detail how you, as
a filmmaker, will apply each concept to your sequence in order to convey a specific meaning to
your target audience. If you are creating a film extract rather than a complete short film, you
should offer some sense of where the chosen sequence sits in the films timeline.

When working in groups it is required that each student identifies a micro-concept(s) that they
will be responsible for throughout the project. For example, one student will be in charge of
direction, another in charge of editing. It should be noted that each group member is required

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to create an individual set of aims and context that relate to their own micro-concepts and
intentions in relation to the final sequence.

Option 1

Complete Short film/Film Extract

Students are required to shoot, edit and produce a short film sequence. The sequence can be
either a complete short film or an extract taken from a finished film. This creative project must
be completed as part of a groups and it is essential that each group member take a
responsibility for a particular micro-element relevant to their role. For example, one group
member should be chosen to be director, and they will focus on (shot placement &
performance). Another group member will be chosen to be the editor, and they will focus on
editing and post-production. Below are just some of the micro-elements your group should
focus on:

Mise-en-Scene (Cinematographer)
Performance and shot placement (Director)
Sounds effects, music and dialogue (sounds operator)
Editing and construction of sequence (editor)

Your group must also focus on how a narrative structure is to be created and how the ordering
of shots within a piece of work is of vital significance to how a spectator will make meaning
from it. The genre of your film must also be considered; use the codes and conventions of your
particular genre to help structure your work and ensure that the spectator views it in terms of
other, similar films.

The making of a video sequence can be divided into three distinct areas:

Pre-Production – Planning/Script/Storyboarding/Casting
Production – Shooting of the film
Post-Production – Editing & Sound

Planning this short sequence can be a very time consuming activity therefore it is essential that
each member of your group is fully aware of their role within the group.

Basic Shooting Rules

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Always use a tripod to support the camera (unless you have a specific reason for
wanting to shoot handheld (e.g. Documentary or ‘shakey’ cam chase sequence)
If something goes wrong in a shot, call ‘Cut’ and retake the shot
Always adhere to the 30° rule (shot that are intended to be joined should be shot from
camera positions that have at least 30° between them
Avoid cutting when the camera is in movement – let the shot ‘rest’ before cutting
Let the camera run of approx. 5 seconds before shouting ‘Action’ and after shouting
‘Cut’
Always adhere to the 180° / ‘Fourth Wall’ Rule – the camera can travel anywhere on a
180° axis as long as it does not cross the line (do not turn the camera round more than
180° as this will cause lots of confusion in the editing process)
Basic Editing Rules
Dissolve – gradual appearance of a new shot as an old shot gradually disappears (one
image fades out as the next fades in)
Fade – gradual appearance or disappearance of a shot (often to black. The duration of
the fade can suggest particular meanings to the audience)
Graphic Match – Two shots can be connected through shapes within the frame

Match on Action – Two shots can be connected by the replication of an action
(character puts drink down in a American bar, and cuts to a drink being picked up in
another bar) or a cut which splices two different views of the same action together at
the same moment in the movement, making it seem to continue uninterrupted.
Montage – this represents the juxtaposition (placing images side by side for comparison
or contrast) of images to create ideas not presented in either shot by itself.

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Option 2

Digital Storyboards

Digital Storyboards

The purpose of your digital storyboard is to photograph each and every shot of a short film or
extract with a list of key information written underneath so that a director can see how the
finished film will look before shooting commences. This allows filmmakers to identify the
technical requirements to shoot the film and also gives them the opportunity to revise
sequences that seemed like a good idea initially.

Your own digital storyboards must be between 10 and 25 shots in length (some of which may
be repeated) plus an additional 5 found shots. (Found shots are shots which are difficult to
photograph or where locations need to be established)

You should plan your shots carefully and use the following terminology to clearly identify what
type of shot you are presenting:

H/A - High angle Track/Dolly – Move Camera on a wheeled platform

L/A - Low Angle Crab – Sideways move

POV – Point of View Pull Focus – Change what is focused on

2-Shot – Two people in a shot Fade – Shot fades in/out

OTS – Over the shoulder Dissolve – Shots fades in/out and another fades
in/out

ELS – Extreme long shot LS - Long Shot

MS- Mid Shot CU – Close up

ECU/BCU – Extreme or Big Close up

It may be helpful to select a 1 or 2 minute film extract and note down the types of shots,
including angle, movement and positioning of the camera to give you an idea of how a
sequence is put together.

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All digital photographs from your storyboard should be of a ‘standard’ size with each
accompanied by an abbreviation identifying what type of shot it represents. The individual
shots must also be labelled with the following relevant information:

Shot Number: Each shot must be numbered so that the shot sequence can be followed. Failing
to do so can have serious consequences for shooting and editing if it is not adhered to.

Action: Brief description of what is happening in the shot. This allows one storyboard to
represent a whole shot. If the shot is radically different from the beginning of the shot to the
end you must use multiple storyboards to explain camera movement and label then as A, B, C
etc (Storyboard 1a, 1b etc)

Camera: Indicate a shot size/type (ELS, CU etc) and clearly label what is being framed

Dialogue: Single lines only. If part of a longer conversation only the first line of the conversation
should be included

Sound FX: Indicates specific sounds that will stand out against the sound scape of the scene.

Sounds Atmos: the over background sound of the shot used to create atmosphere of a
fictionalised location

Sounds Music: Soundtrack and non-diegetic sounds

Shot Duration: This is a vital piece of information as it gives the storyboard a rhythm and
indicates that the filmmakers have considered the shot-to-shot relationships and the overall
relationship of individual shots.

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Option 3

Extended Step Outline

What is a ‘Step Outline’? A Step outline is a detailed telling of a story intended to be turned in
to a screenplay for a motion picture. The step outline is used to detail every scene and ‘beat’ of
a screenplay’s story, and often has indications of dialogue and character interactions. It is
similar to a script treatment but much more detailed.

Your extended step outline can be broken down in to acts and should follow a standard three-
act structure (beginning/middle/end) and be either a complete scene, or an extract from a
complete film. It must also be highlighted that your step outline should not contain any
dialogue. The reason for this is to give you space to describe the setting and what is going on
without worrying about what is being said or how it is being delivered. You must visualise the
setting and the micro-elements without reliance on dialogue carrying the scene and means you
will be focused on mise-en-scene, sound and how it may be shot and edited.

The extended step outline you are required to complete must be between five and eight scenes
in length and be a total of 1000 words. As a guideline, the average length of a scene should be
between 175 and 200 words in length. (The word count for this step outline will be based on
the words of the scene description alone)

Please find attached an example of an Extended Step Outline and a blank template.

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Extended Step-Outline Sheet

Template:

Scene No Page No

Slugline

Endpoint of last scene

Characters in scene

Point of scene

Conflict

Ending / central question

Scene description (without dialogue) focusing on key micro aspects (mise-en-scène,
camera, sound, editing, etc)

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Notes

The 'extended' step outline

Scriptwriters commonly use a step outline as a planning tool for producing scripts. For AS Film
Studies, this film industry planning and visualising technique is being adapted: it is being
‘extended’ to include the micro details of the scene being outlined. A further adaptation of the
step outline for AS Film Studies will be the insertion of micro details in square brackets within
the scene description.

The extended step outline will thus provide students with the opportunity to develop ideas for
a series of scenes – between five and eight is required, totalling1000 words – whilst still
developing visualising skills. As a guideline, the average length of a scene for this extended
step outline is envisaged as between 175 and 200 words (excluding the context boxes above
the scene description and excluding the micro indications in square brackets). The word count
for the extended step outline will thus be based on the words of the scene description alone.

Devising an extended step outline

Looking at the Step Outline sheet above, you will see that half the page is given over for a scene
description and it stresses ‘without dialogue’. The reason for this is to give you space to
describe the setting and what is going on without worrying about what is said or how it is
delivered. This allows you to visualise the setting, the action and the micro aspects without
reliance on dialogue and means you will be focused on mise-en-scène, on sound, on how it
might be shot and even how it might be edited. (Although this is not directly your concern as a
scriptwriter, it should be on your mind. If it is, you can more easily write a scene to suggest the
way it could be shot.)

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Below is an example of an extended step outline for one scene (you will be creating about five)
as is proposed for AS Film Studies:

Scene No Page No

Slugline Int. Flight Deck of the space freighter ‘Pole Star’. Day

Canton scrabbles desperately to reach the Failsafe lever as
Endpoint of last scene
the Gyroscope powers up, lighting the hull of the ship.

Characters in scene Hunt, Fischer, Cruise, Rodriguez

To show that Hunt is a better flight commander than
Point of scene
Fischer

Hunt’s desire to see Fischer fail set against the
Conflict
consequences for all of failure

Hunt is forced to countermand Fischer to save the ship /
Ending / central question
Will they be able to escape before the oxygen fails?

Scene description (without dialogue) focusing on key micro aspects (mise-en-scène,
camera, sound, editing, performance)

Console lights flicker, illuminating Cruise. [Close up of console lights, pulling back to
reveal a low angle shot of Cruise illuminated by coloured lights]. He looks across to the
shadowed, leather Captain’s chair where Fischer sits crouched forward. A nearby sun
flares [Sound bridge – sound of flaring sun – linking shot of captain's chair on long shot
of sun]. The sunshields descend with a worn mechanical sound [Sound effects
accompanied by quiet music suggesting tension]. Fischer leaps and crouches to see
Canton, his colleague trying to save crew, as the shields descend [Close up of Fischer's
face showing anguished expression].

Bulkhead doors clang as Hunt and Rodriguez enter [Medium shot of Hunt and Rodriguez.
Slow zoom to close-up of Roriguez's face]. Rodriguez, sweat covered and disheveled
looks to Cruise. The lights turn red [pan to show medium shot of lights turning to red].
A pulsating siren begins [Diegetic sound of siren]. Hunt runs to Fischer, whose face is lit
by the red light from the console [Low angle medium shot of Fischer, expressionistic red

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light cast over face]. Hunt grabs his face and lifts his wildly flicking eyes to hers, but he
cannot look at her and he retreats into the shadow. Hunt turns and barks instructions
[Series of rapid cuts from Hunt to Fischer]. A moment of hesitation. Cruise and
Rodriguez look from a red-lit Hunt, to a silhouetted Fischer.

A distant rumbling explosion rocks the ship. They are thrown to the floor. The
Gyroscope camera activates [Cut from close-up of gyroscope camera to point of view
shot from gyroscope camera]. Rodriguez leans over a monitor, sweating [High angle of
Rodriguez looking down to gyroscope camera]. On screen an interference-strewn image
of Canton appears [Medium shot of gyroscope screen, with interference, showing figure
trapped]. Picking herself up, Hunt shouts a command, and Cruise hits a button. A
flashing light warns oxygen level is low [Close up of warning light.]. Another explosion
rocks the flight deck [Sound effects of explosion] and they are thrown into darkness.

Extracted in part from: Gaffney, F. (2007) On Screenwriting (Auteur)

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Mark Scheme

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