Loreto Media

Hip Hip Hurray!

2009-05-11T15:29:00.003+01:00

Well done everyone! We have reached the end of the AS year and your AS course. We are really pleased with the standard of work this year and there are a number of outstanding pieces with which we are super-impressed! As a department, we all agree that the films this year are the highest standard we have seen in this college so you should all be very happy with yourselves!

Also, we are really happy with how the whole blog thing has worked out so another pat on the back to you all. Most of you have used the blog as a brilliant way to keep on top of your production processes and therefore should have found them really helpful when it came to writing the evaluation - I know we referred back to them especially for initial research and the films you have acknowledged.

So, to summarize, well done Media students! We are really pleased and you should be too! See you all for A2 music videos!

Evaluation instructions

2009-05-01T16:37:00.003+01:00

The instructions for completing the evaluations are now on Eloreto. Remember that each member of the group must be seen to be contributing to this by making at least one posting on the blog.

You will be assessed on the quality of the entire blog, so help members of your group out with their posts and make sure that the whole group is happy with everything that is on the blog.

Evaluation deadline is 4pm on Friday 8th May.

The evaluation.

2009-04-22T11:06:00.003+01:00

We cannot stress how important the evaluation is in you achieving a high mark and overall grade. It is worth 20% of your final mark which is the equivalent of two whole grade boundaries. Make sure you address each question as a separate entry and add visuals, including frames from your finished piece. We think this could be some of the best production work we have ever seen at Loreto so don't let yourselves down with evaluations which are too chatty, brief or lacking detail. make sure your teachers see a version of each blog entry before you publish them.

Blog update

2009-03-31T12:47:00.003+01:00

Hi everyone,

Please make sure you are keeing on top of your blog! Having just checked them all out, there are some really good ones that are really thorough and well-phrased. However, some of them have not been added to since February 2nd! You should be concentrating on filming and editing but there is no reason why your blog shouldn't also be right up to date. Remember, it is much easier to keep a diary of your creative processes as you go along rather than trying to remember what you did, and when, all in one horrible rush at the end.

Keep going!

Final Deadlines.

2009-03-23T14:23:00.003Z

The final deadline for the film itself is 4.00pm on Friday 1 May 2009. The film has to be complete in every respect as of this deadline. No alterations or additions will be possible after this.

The deadline for your completed blog will be 4.00pm on Friday 8 May 2009. We will give you further guidelines as to ways in which you might improve your blog and we will give you specific help in writing the evaluation, arguably the most important aspect of the blog.

If it seems like a long way off, there are only 18 College days to that first deadline.

Filming Deadline

2009-03-05T08:48:00.002Z

Remember that the filming deadline is just over two weeks away- Friday 20th March. It is very important that you get all of your footage by this date.

Ensure that you film lots of different takes and aim for an interesting variety of camera shots- the more good quality footage you have to edit, the better your project is likely to be.

Make sure you are working hard and getting your group organised!

Drama opening- Romeo and Juliet

2009-02-27T11:11:00.004Z

This is a bit different, but it is a very powerful opening with a lot of good images. Concentrate on the first 2 minutes 30 seconds

You should be filming...

2009-02-23T13:55:00.003Z

Happy new half-term everyone,

As of this week, you should be filming. If you are not filming, then you need to be.

To be clear, this week is all about the filming.

Blogs can continue in your own time. Remember, if you forget your blog URL, you can access it from this one (look for your group listed over there on the left-hand side).

Happy filming!

Rom- com opening- Love Actually

2009-02-11T09:10:00.000Z

Thriller opening- Se7en

2009-02-11T09:09:00.001Z

Deadlines

2009-02-10T11:08:00.001Z

Planning deadline: 13th February

Shooting deadline: 20th March

Starting to film...

2009-02-10T11:03:00.002Z

This is the week in which you need to finalise your planning (see list below for what we want to see). This means that after half term you should be able to go straight out and begin filming.

Think of this week as a chance to make sure you have everything set up so that when we come back, you know exactly what you are going to shoot, when, where and who will be in it.

When we return (week beginning: 23rd February), you have just four weeks to shoot all your footage. In this time too, you must expect to show us your raw footage so we can help you decide whether or not some of it might need to be re-shot.

Shooting deadline: 20th March.

Loretomedia youtube channel

2009-02-06T08:35:00.003Z

Follow this link to access the Loretomedia youtube channel.

Here you can view all the preliminary tasks. You will need to create a link from your blog to your video on the loretomedia channel. The best way to do this is to open your video on youtube and copy the embed code. You then need to paste this code into a new post on your blog. Title this post "Preliminary Task Video"

Blogs from Long Road Media

2009-02-04T12:38:00.004Z

It's worth checking out these blogs from students at Long Road Sixth Form College in Cambridge:

It appears they did most of their project last term and the rough cuts are of a very good standard. They all did thrillers, whereas you have the choice between thriller, horror, rom- com and drama.

This should give you an idea of some of the things you could include in your blogs and is a good indication of the standard required for the main task.

Planning deadline

2009-02-03T10:54:00.002Z

The deadline for planning is Friday 13th February; unlucky for some so they say...

IMDB for Genre information

2009-02-03T08:16:00.002Z

http://imdb.com
This is a very useful site for investigating different genres of film. It is the biggest database about film on the web. You can use it to carry out research and consider the narrative conventions of the various genres as well as other elements such as location, costume, characters, props and subject matter.

What to include in your group blog

2009-02-02T13:56:00.001Z

The purpose of the blog should be to show all your planning and evaluation for your coursework- both the preliminary and main tasks. A good way to do the blog is to fill in a lesson by lesson account of what you’ve done and also include more detailed planning and evaluation posts for both the preliminary and main tasks.

Ensure you keep your blog updated throughout the coursework period- don’t leave it until after you’ve finished filming. (We can see the dates of all your posts!)

Your blog should include the following:

Preliminary task
Outline of preliminary task.
Shot list/ storyboard of preliminary task.
Evaluation of preliminary task- you need to explain what you learnt from this task about filming and editing, what went well and what you need to improve on. You need to explain how you used a shot/ reverse shot combination, how you achieved matched cuts and how you ensured you didn’t break the 180 degree rule. Use the evaluation sheet on eloreto to help you with this.
A link to your preliminary task video on youtube.

Main Task
Outline of what your group is doing for your main task.
Research into the genre- this could include links to clips of films from this genre on youtube and analysis of the genre’s features.
Shot list/ storyboard for your main task.
List of filming locations.
Shooting schedule.
List of props and costumes.
An evaluation of the filming process for your main task.
An evaluation of a rough edit of your main task.
An overall evaluation of the main task- you need to explain what was successful about your finished product and how you used genre features to make your piece authentic. You need to explain what filming and editing techniques you developed during the coursework project and give specific examples of how your finished product demonstrates a range of filming and editing techniques.
A link to your main task video on youtube

Don't panic if there is something listed here that you don't know how to do! If you get stuck at any point, come and ask any Media teacher and we will show you.

Welcome to your blog!

2009-01-29T17:06:00.004Z

By now some groups are starting to get going with their blogs so now is a good time to give you some guidance as to what to write and how.

You will notice on your individual group blogs that any of the group members can contribute and that any comment you make has your name attached to it. This means it is very easy for us to see which members of which groups are contributing and which members may not have managed to yet. As a reminder, you must all contribute to your group blog as this will form part of your planning mark and therefore your overall grade.

Now, what to post about. Your blog should form a kind of production diary where you can post your learning experiences. For example, if you have had a particular problem getting the shot you want or trouble in editing then you should write about this. More importantly, you must explain what you learned from your trials and tribulations.

In your A2 year, there is a whole unit devoted to your creative growth over the life of the course so the blog is something that will be continued into next year too.

Planning

2009-01-27T16:05:00.001Z

Before we let you loose with the cameras for real, you need to do the following:

Treatment
shot list
shooting schedule
location list and any permission to film required
costumes, make-up, props etc
kit needed

Show us this and then you can get on with the filming!

Moving on to the main task

2009-01-27T14:54:00.001Z

Since we're nearing the end of the week, now is a good time to turn our attention to the main project. Remember that you are making just the first two minutes of a film and you can choose from: Horror, Thriller, Rom-Com, Drama.

Most groups have made an excellent start with the preliminary task and really seem to have learned a lot about continuity and matched editing. Well done!

Now is the time to start to think about films from the genre you have chosen and how their opening sections work. You can add these clips to your blog to show the examiner you have done your research. If you need any ideas or information on how to do this then ask us.

Preliminary task

2009-01-19T18:31:00.000Z

Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180 degree rule.

We have set an initial deadline for completion of the prelimary task for the week ending 30th January.

Please note that failure to complete this task will immediately knock ten marks off your final grade and prevent you from beginning the main task.

First post

2009-01-08T15:03:00.001Z

Hello and welcome to the Loreto Media blog...