Starter activity - bfi.org.uk · The nine-shot suspense film The brief Create a short nine-shot film filled with suspense. Further info: ... The first shot might begin with an enigma

Starter activity

Practical Production

If SUSPENSE was the following things, what would it be?

• A prop• A costume• A character• One shot

For example:

If suspense was an instrument, it could be a piano.

• A camera movement• A colour• A setting• A title

Independent and GroupPractical Production: Producing a Short Film

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Through the application of nine-shot suspense filmmaking, we will:

• Consider different approaches to practical filmmaking and film-based learning tools for the Film and Media Studies classroom

• Examine strategies which cultivate creativity in students’ idea generation.

Aims of the session


Production work: meeting the specs


The nine-shot suspense filmmaking activity engages with the following:

• WJEC and OCR Production components (AO3)

• Moving Image Arts (AO2a and b, AO3)

• BTEC Nationals in Creative Digital Media Production (units 1 and 10).

• To build upon my creative confidence in practical work and planning.

• To create a short film to a brief.

Learning outcomes for students


• Restricting your students to think about one aspect of filmmaking is a useful way to open up creativity.

• The 3Cs and 3Ss.

• Focusing on the use of sound

is a very effective stimulus.

Creative constraints

Analysing sound grid

4) How does the use of soundimpact upon the atmosphere?

3) What kind of an atmosphere has been created?

2) What can you infer about the relationshipbetween these characters?

1) Where is this conversation taking place?

Rory Waudby-Tolley © (2015) All rights reserved

Sound on/vision off activity

Analysing sound grid

4) How does the use of soundimpact upon the atmosphere?

3) What kind of an atmosphere has been created?

2) What can you infer about the relationshipbetween these characters?

1) Where is this conversation taking place?

Rory Waudby-Tolley © (2015) All rights reserved

British Council Shorts: ‘Mr Madila’ (2016)

5,4,3,2,1 filmmaking


Example

5 – A maximum of five transitions.

4 – At least four different camera angles that support meaning-making.

3 – No more than three characters.

2 – At least two original Foley sound effects.

1 – No more than a minute long.

Student-made 5,4,3,2,1


Teacher-made 5,4,3,2,1


Script based creative constraint


Character A: Close your eyes.

What do you see?

Character B: I, I… I can’t see anything.

Character A: Look again.

Rub your eyes…Rub them ‘till the colours come.

Background music is heard.

The colour of nothing…it’s so beautiful, no?

It’s all in your head.

[end] Rory Waudby-Tolley © (2015) All rights reserved

Parallel Lines Competition 2010

In 2010, Philips ran a contest called Parallel Lines for which they asked 5 RSA films directors to create a three-minute short film using only six lines of dialogue:

• “What is that?” • “It’s a unicorn” • “Never seen one up close before”• “Beautiful”• “Get away, get away”• “I’m sorry”

This was then opened up as a competition to the public, after more than 600 entries were submitted.

Porcelain Unicorn (Competition Winner, selected by Ridley Scott)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ImGFtk8w-Y

https://youtube.com/watch?time_continue=33&v=hRMcPJrWm-g

The nine-shot suspense film

The brief

Create a short nine-shot film filled with suspense.

Further info:

Two characters are on a collision course:

Character one is static; Character two is moving.

It seems inevitable that Character two is going to clash in some way with Character one.

Shortly after they meet it leads to the conversation that we have studied so far (from Rory Waudby-Tolley’s Mr Madilla).



The first shot might begin with an enigma.

The next 6-7 shots could alternate between the two characters.

The final 1-2 shots should show how the characters meet and the story ends.

Film the shots in order in iMovie, as we will not be editing the footage.


What is suspense?

‘Suspense is a great ingredient in any film.’

Watch the following clip ‘The bomb under the table’.

Can you describe suspense in five words?

What is the difference between suspense and surprise?


Property of The American Film Institute © (1970) All rights reserved

‘The bomb under the table’


Property of Twentieth Congleton High School © (2017) All rights reserved

Student-made nine-shot suspense film


Teacher-made nine-shot suspense film



Use the Storyboard provided and then use iMovie on the iPads to produce a nine-shot film.

You will work in groups of 2-4 people and each of you must have a clearly defined role.

You have half an hour to:

• Storyboard (5 mins)• Record (20 mins)• Edit - optional (5 mins).


Planning your nine-shot suspense film

Six top tips for filming












Editing tips

• Set up a ‘relay’ - have one student hold the iPad (editor) and a second student saying where they want to cut/add in a transition etc(director).

• iMovie often automatically adds transitions between shots. Transitions are like punctuation, and need to be used sparingly, to add to the action (particularly for suspense films). Watch films back to see whether the transition adds to or breaks up the suspense.


Editing tips

• Ample planning time so that you don’t end up with any gaps when you come to watching your film back.

• Keep storyboards for evidence.

• Take each shot at least twice, so that they have plenty of footage to choose from in the edit.


Editing

Editing options to consider:

• Colour• Transition• Titles• Sound effects (including silence)• Soundtrack.

But largely, the lighting and shots should speak for themselves.


Film and Media Studies, and Moving Image Arts on intofilm.org

https://www.intofilm.org/film-media-studies-mia

Resources www.intofilm.org/resourcesInto Film Clubs www.intofilm.org/clubs

The Into Film Festival http://www.intofilm.org/festivalCPD http://www.intofilm.org/training

How can we help you?


https://www.intofilm.org/film-media-studies-mia

http://www.intofilm.org/schools-resources

http://www.intofilm.org/schools-film-clubs

http://www.intofilm.org/festival

http://www.intofilm.org/schools-training-and-development

Youth-made shorts submitted to Into Film:https://www.youtube.com/user/FirstLightMovies

Short films on the Into Film Catalogue:https://www.intofilm.org/films/all#&meta_duration=30

Film of the Month competition:https://www.intofilm.org/filmofthemonth

Short films


https://www.youtube.com/user/FirstLightMovies

https://www.intofilm.org/films/all#&meta_duration=30

https://www.intofilm.org/filmofthemonth

Using archive/found footage

Relevant found footage may be used in students’ final productions. It can be added in at the editing stage.

Resources about where to find archive footage and how to use it can be found at:

https://www.intofilm.org/into-archive


https://www.intofilm.org/into-archive

Additional slides

Please find below additional slides that offer ideas for developing creative confidence.

Linking the nine-shot suspense filmmaking to exam board

specifications

Production work: meeting the specs


• WJEC and OCR Production components (AO3)

• Moving Image Arts (AO2a and b, AO3)

• BTEC Nationals in Creative Digital Media Production (units 1 and 10)

At A level they must watch and take notes on a list of short (mostly British) films as part of their research. They then make their film and write their evaluation, linking it back to the studied films.

“The production is intended to provide learners with a filmmaker's perspective on the films studied thus enabling them to apply as well as reinforce learning within the course.”


OCR: A Level

Learners are encouraged to put into practice an appropriate range of camera shots and editing techniques in their production, applying their theoretical knowledge and understanding of:

• Cinematography• Mise-en-scène

• Editing• Sound.

There is no explicit requirement for independent lighting or independent sound.


WJEC/Eduqas

Produce a short film of between 4 and 5 minutes which includes one of the following:

• A narrative twist• A narrative which begins with an enigma• A narrative which establishes and develops a

single character• A narrative which portrays a conflict

between two central characters.

The nine-shot suspense film can cover these bases.

WJEC/Eduqas A Level


Produce an extract from a fictional film focusing on narrative construction of between 2.5 and 3.5 minutes based on one of the following:

• The opening sequence• A climactic sequence• A sequence which portrays a crisis for a single

character• A sequence which portrays a conflict

between two central characters.

The nine-shot suspense film can cover these bases.

WJEC/Eduqas: AS Level


Produce a film extract of between 2 and 2.5 minutes long from one of the following genres of film:• Crime; science fiction; war, horror; the teenage

film; the musical.

The extract must take the form of one of the following two options:• The opening of the film, or• An extract from any part of the film which

creates suspense and tension.

The nine-shot suspense film can cover this base.

WJEC/Eduqas: GCSE Level


Further ideas for developing creative confidence

Example:

Thor

• Why not create a superhero based on a God from a different mythology?

• What would be their powers on Earth? • What would be their weakness? • Who would be their enemies?• What is their backstory?

Developing creative confidence


’My media profile’


Idea generation toolkit


Extracted from Moving Image Arts support booklet.

1. Gather four different containers and label them Location, Incident, Characters and Traits. Take four sheets of paper and label them with the same headings.

2. On the Location sheet write every location to which you may be able to gain access, eg park, house, bus stop etc.

3. Repeat with Characters, eg middle-aged woman, 10-year old boy etc.



4. Now fill in the Traits sheet, eg hates flies, loves Kung Fu movies etc.

5. Finally fill in the Incident sheet, eg caught shoplifting, robbed at knifepoint, hit by a car etc.

6. Now cut up each sheet, putting each individual item listed on each sheet into the corresponding container.

7. When your containers have all of their contents, pull out one location, one incident, two characters and two traits and use these to develop a storyline for a short film.



Some combinations may not be workable but you can pick out different combinations a number of times until you find something you think will work.

What strategies do you use to elicit interesting ideas from your students?

More tips from CCEA


• Take a newspaper and pick two human-interest stories. Combine them to create your own short script.

• Take a family myth or funny story and re-write it as a script.

• Watch a short film and stop it at one minute into the film. Ask yourself what happens next? Write three different scenarios, which feature different outcomes.

More tips from CCEA


• Play a short film but switch off the visuals, listening only to the soundtrack. Write where you think the film is set, who the characters are, and what you think the storyline is. Create a script based on your scenario.

• Use sound as a starting point: church bells, factory noise, a school playground. Who is ringing the bells or who are they being rung for? Develop your story and cast of characters from there.

• Take a postcard/painting and ask yourself what happened just before or what happens next.

To support effective construction of conceptual creativity, you could ask:

• What do you like? What was the last good film/music video/website you saw?

• What is the main concept? • What was good about it? What ideas can you

get from it? • Now take it and change five things to create

something different.

Developing creative confidence


Demonstrating independent contribution in group work

OCR: GCSE


Short films must be undertaken by learners as individuals, with all materials assessed individually.

Learners may use other students “as long as the outcome can be assessed as the work of an individual learner”.

Examples of support include acting, sound, lighting. However the the assessed learner must have creative control, as director, and create the final edit.

• Non-assessed research notes and planning materials to aid the authentication of work

• A teacher-assessed short film, including digital stills

• Teacher assessed evaluation

• (Coursework cover sheet)


NEA Portfolio requirements (OCR)

• Unit A2 1: Creative Production and Research: Advanced Portfolio

• One 4–7 minute long narrative film or 2–3.5 minute long animation; and an evaluation.

• “All work must be entirely the student’s own. Teachers must monitor work to ensure authenticity. Students may need to collaborate with others, but they are individually responsible for all creative decisions and for the production of their narrative film sequence.”


Moving Image Arts (AS and A)

• Component 2: Acquisition of Skills in Moving Image Production

• Component 3: Planning and Making a Moving Image Product

• “Students produce a live-action or animated film portfolio from a selection of genre-specific production briefs that we provide.”


Moving Image Arts (GCSE)

Documents

Starter activity - bfi.org.uk · The nine-shot suspense film The brief Create a short nine-shot film filled with suspense. Further info: ... The first shot might begin with an enigma