drama brief

CREATIVE MEDIA PRACTICE PROJECT – PROJECT #5

ASSESSMENT  – PRESENTED ON  THURSDAY 10^TH & FRI 11^TH MAY

DRAMA PROJECT

For this project, you will be working in groups of x6.

You will each have a specific role in the making and completion of the work

Think carefully about the role you will undertake – as a group try and play on your individual strengths and also take the opportunity to learn from each other.

It is important that all group members contribute equally to this project and this should be reflected in your self-evaluations.

GROUP ROLES

On receiving the group project brief, your tutor will put you into groups of x6. You are then required to decide as a group what the role will be for each member. 1. Director 2. Producer 3. Camera Operator 4. Sound Recordist 5. Picture Editor 6. Sound Editor/Designer

The brief for this project is to create a 5 MINUTE DRAMA FILM which conveys the notion of ‘JOURNEY'.

JOURNEY

1. a travelling from one place to another, usually taking a rather long time; trip

2. a distance, course, or area travelled or suitable for travelling

3. a period of travel

4. Passage or progress from one stage to another

As a group project, you have the opportunity to be far-reaching and ambitious in a way that you might not undertake in an individual project. However, your project must also be realistic and achievable within the time available to create the work. This is a chance to engage and involve others in your work via cast, contributors, and your fellow group members. It is important to clearly communicate throughout the planning, production and post-production of your project, in order to get things done on time, and at the best of your ability, and to avoid misunderstandings, complications, or bad time management.

PROJECT REQUIREMENTS – your project MUST include the following elements:

-Only use a MAXIMUM  of 3 character - Use a MAXIMUM of 3 locations - Shot on location outside of the university building - Shot with Synch Sound - Demonstrate an awareness of mise-en-scene in shot design - Include a strong element of sound design - Shot and edited at the aspect ratio of 16:9 letterboxed - The final work must be five minutes long (no longer and no shorter)

You will have:

– x3 WEEKS PRE-PRODUCTION (including 2 weeks in the Easter holidays)

– x1 WEEK SHOOT

– x2 WEEKS POST-PRODUCTION

                                                           

PROJECT RESEARCH AND PREPARATION

Think carefully about your chosen approach and research works using this theme.

Some points to think about:

- Suggestion of movement - beginning in one place or state, and ending in another

- Suggestion of narrative

- Is your journey physical, emotional, or metaphysical?

- Is your journey through linear time, or jumps back and forth within time?

- Is your journey in the past, present or future?

- Is your journey personal, or that of another person, object, or thing?

- Think about the notion of quest?

- Think about the notion of pilgrimage?

RESEARCH BLOG                                         (see page 6. of your module guide)

YOU NEED TO RESEARCH APPROACHES TO DRAMA FILMMAKING BEFORE YOU ATTEMPT TO MAKE YOUR WORK. YOU WILL BE SET A BRIEF TO ANALYSE A SHORT DRAMA IN DETAIL AS PART OF YOUR RESEARCH.

Throughout this semester, you should have been keeping an INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH BLOG

Your research blog should include:

• reflection on your practice
• project and ideas development
• project planning PERTAINING to your INDIVIDUAL ROLE e.g mind maps, treatments, sound plans/maps, recording lists, audio timeline, storyboards, shot-lists, camera and sound logs, edit planning and timelines, call sheets, schedules etc.
• analysis of the short film you are delegated using the breakdown sheets provided
• analysis of other film, visual and audio works that have influenced your project development
• External sources and influences e.g. imagery, printed screen grabs, exhibition material, references to materials on the reading list etc.
• Any other materials, found or self-generated such as sketches, storyboards, own photography, snippets of transcribed dialogue etc.

PRODUCTION FOLDER

For this project you are required to keep a GROUP FOLDER

This should include: -        Initial treatment used for pitch -        Final treatment/script -        Equipment Lists -        Storyboards -        Shot Lists -        Crew List -        Contributor Contact List -        Contributor Consents -        Schedule -        Sound Logs -        Camera Logs -        Edit Logs & Plans -        x2 Good Quality Printed Production Stills

TREATMENTS

AS A GROUP YOU WILL WRITE AN INTITIAL 500 WORD TREATMENT TO BE PITCHED

IN YOUR TUTORIAL SESSION IN WEEK 38 

Your treatment should consist of the following:

A Hook Paragraph: This should be a short paragraph, which succinctly expresses your idea in no more than two or three sentences. This is your hook - a way to get the reader interested in your idea and draw them into your proposal, so it should make your project sound interesting, exciting, and original.

Narrative Development: This is a couple of paragraphs describing in detail how your project will unfold. How does it begin, what happens in the middle and at the end? What is the story or idea that your project expresses and how will you tell this story or get this idea across?

Style: This is a couple of paragraphs that describe the style and techniques you will use to express your idea. This is a visual/aural description of the mood and tone you will create through stylistic and technical choices.

Audience: A final concluding paragraph should state who your perceived audience for the piece is, and where you envisage the work being seen or heard.

GET YOUR IDEA EARLY – PLANNING/SCHEDULING

It will be to your advantage to start working together as a group as soon as possible.

Make sure you plan all stages of your project allowing enough time for technical and creative problems along with postproduction.

One of the key things that came up in evaluation of projects in Semester 1 was that many of you did not adequately plan and schedule your projects. Make sure you plan all stages of your project allowing time for technical and creative problems, allow plenty of time for postproduction.

Be sure to start your project as soon as possible and start developing your ideas in your research workbook: mind-maps; storyboards; schedules; equipment lists; sound plans/maps; recording lists; audio timeline; think about possible cast if needed. Start watching, listening and reading relevant works that might inspire and inform the development of your idea.

SELF–EVALUATION                                                     (see page 6. of your module guide)

AS OUTLINED IN YOUR MODULE GUIDE – YOU ARE REQUIRED TO SUBMIT A

1000 WORD SELF-EVALUATION AT THE END OF SEMESTER 2.

THIS WILL INCLUDE REFLECTION ON THE PROCESS OF MAKING YOUR X3 GROUP PROJECTS IN THIS SEMESTER:

–       EXPERIMENTAL PROJECT

–       DOCUMENTARY PROJECT

–       DRAMA PROJECT

This is a chance to review the work and the way you made it so that you can learn from the experience and apply this knowledge to future works you make.

The questions we require you to answer are:

– Did things go to plan? Did you have any problems with planning, equipment etc?

– Did things work out differently from the way you had visualised or imagined them?

- How did you approach your individual role on the production?

- How did you work as part of a team on the production?

– What did you feel went well, and what could have been improved?

– What would you change if you could do it again?

– What have you learnt from each finished project in the semester?

– Your approach to working in a group

PRESENTATION

Each group of students will give a 5-minute critical presentation of their work.

You will be expected to introduce and present your finished work to your tutors in front of your group. We will expect you to give an explanation of what you aspired to achieve within the work, and critically analyse if this was achieved successfully. You should be able to look at your work and assess its strengths and weaknesses, highlight the creative and cultural influences that have influenced or inspired the work and pinpoint lessons learnt and technical skills acquired through making the work. To assist in this you should be aware of the importance that your research blog has in this process and how it will contribute to easing your public explanation.

It is important that you each clearly describe your individual contribution to the finished work.

Detailed information about how you can format your work for submission is available on blackboard.

SUBMISSION

 

The following must be handed in, in the presentation session on THURS/FRI 10^TH & 11^TH MAY

– WEEK 41

–       DRAMA project

– x1 playable DVD (made in DVD Studio Pro or similar), PLUS

– x1 DVD with High Quality Quicktime file of finished project

–       GROUP PRODUCTION FOLDER

–       RESEARCH BLOG INCLUDING ANALYSIS OF THE SHORT DRAMA GIVEN IN THE BRIEFING SESSION

–       1000 word SELF-EVALUATION (includes process of making x3 projects in Semester 2)

ASSESSMENT

The marking criteria and assessment mark sheet for this project is available to download from the module Blackboard site. Following the presentations, your submission items will be taken away for assessment.

Your work will be assessed by your tutors. You will receive verbal feedback on the presentation day and written feedback 3-4 weeks after the work has been handed in. Your will also receive written feedback from your peers

Your work will be returned to you via Sheaf Reception along with your mark and written feedback from your tutors.