scottleduc

Solo Film # 3 Production Project (STRUCTURE)

CC image Matt Alonzo Filmmaker by Director Inspiration at Flickr
CC image Matt Alonzo Filmmaker by Director Inspiration at Flickr

The material below was adapted from the IB Film Teacher Support Material

WHAT

The director’s role involves overall control of the artistic, dramatic, and logistical aspects of the film, guiding the actors and technical crew to transform the script from page to screen. The director is a key member in all three phases of production and must be able to communicate well with all members of the team. The director collaborates, delegates, and leads the team towards the completion of the finished film. They also lead the team in defining the vision or concept of the film.

The director should be familiar with all phases of production and all roles required to create a film. It is good practice for a director to have a sense of how each film production role works and thus it is recommended that they single-handedly create a one-minute solo film. This activity will help the developing director to hone their ability to express themselves and begin to establish their own clear vision.

WHY

WHERE

HOW

  • Copy and paste the Solo Film #3 Production Project (Structure) TEMPLATE into yourEdublogs.org blog
  • Review the other Production Roles and the Production Form
  • Watch 1 minute or other short films
  • Create a blog post titled, Solo Film # 3 Production Project
    • Copy and paste the Solo Film # 3 Production Project TEMPLATE into the new post
  • Complete the Inquiry section
    • Review the Director’s Journal tools and resources (at the bottom of the Director Journal page)
    • Review the other Production Roles and the Production Form
    • Research into the notable directors and genre or style of films that helped influence the vision and overall concept of the films you like
    • A good starting point might be an online writer’s resource, such as “Forty-four Short Story Ideas”
    • The theme or concept for the one-minute film can feasibly come from anywhere
    • Develop a theme or concept and create a one-minute film that you write, direct, film, edit, and create sound for
  • Complete the Action heading
    • Find actors to appear on screen for them and also to consult others in the development of the film; however, the overall artistic vision must come from the student director
    • Include some evidence from the Evidencing the Role section of this project
    • Embed the final film in this section
    • Write what skills/choices you performed/made are observable in the film in the Action section
  • Complete the Reflection section
    • Regardless of the quality of the end result, the value in this exercise comes from you gaining respect and knowledge of all the other main roles that work under the director and reinforcing the value of working with a dedicated team
  • Complete the Summary section
    • Describe the what and why of the project

Evidencing the Role

Students are likely to generate some the following types of evidence for assessing their work in the role of the director:

  • Evidence of research into the notable directors and genre or style of films that helped influence the vision and overall concept of the film
  • Notes from any collaborations with other production team members such as brainstorms, lists, emails, storyboards, photos, and drawings for each phase
  • Evidence of location-scouting documentation and permissions
  • Notes on casting, costume, prop and set-decorating decisions
  • Evidence of timelines, shooting schedules, and call sheets
  • Diagrams of blocking and actor movement
  • Scripts with director notes (including justifications for any changes made to the original scripts)
  • Storyboards
  • Production notes for each day of shooting – before and after: a set of expectations for the day and a list of what was achieved or not achieved; notes on ways to solve problems
  • Post-production notes regarding the length of the scene, transitions, pacing, color, special effects, sound choices and other noteworthy elements to be handled in post-production
  • Notes and reflections after test screening

Required Components

Inquiry

Reflect on watching, discussing, and/or writing about films in preparation for this project
Identify areas of filmmaking that excite and inspire you about this project
With your team, develop filmmaker intentions you would like to achieve through this production work

Selected a film production role
Research/Acquire techniques required to work in this role
Plan for practically exploring the chosen film production role in order to acquire, develop and apply skills, and to fulfill stated filmmaker intentions

Action

Undertake a range of practical production activities in the chosen film production role
Experience working both individually and collaboratively in film activities
Grapple with the skills associated with the film production role
Attempt to effectively fulfill stated filmmaker intentions

Reflection

Make clear links to the identified films and filmmakers that inspired this work
Reflect on explorations and on the impact this learning has had on your understanding of the film production role and the extent to which they fulfilled their filmmaker intentions.

Resources

Logline Creator

Short Films