TGJ2OI: Communication Technology

A BLOCKBUSTER IN THE MAKING

“Someone once asked me what making a movie was like. I said it was like making a mosaic. Each setup is like a tiny tile [a setup, the basic component of a film’s production, consists of one camera position and its associated lighting]. You color it, shape it, polish it as best you can. You’ll do six or seven hundred of these, maybe a thousand. Then you literally paste them together and hope it’s what you set out to do. But if you expect the final mosaic to look like anything, you’d better know what you’re going for as you work on each tiny tile.” -Director Sidney Lumet (12 Angry Men)

PART ONE: Create a video production company with branding.

Assignment:

You and the members of your group are to create a video production company. You will need to create the following:

  1. A production company name.
  2. A production company logo.

Directions:

  1. Research names and logos from different production companies.
  2. As a group, brainstorm and record potntial names for your production company.
  3. As a group, decide upon a name for your production company.
  4. Individually, sketch ideas of a logo for your company.
  5. As a group, review all the sketches and choose 1 to be used as your logo.
  6. Individually, using any of the computer graphics programs that we have worked with in class, create a digital version of your selected logo. Each member of the group will produce their own version of the logo. The logo needs to be about 10 cm x 10 cm at 300 dpi.
  7. As a group, decide which of the 4 logos you will use. Finalize the logo for handing in.

Ideas

  1. You might find the WikipediaList of Film Production Companiesuseful.
  2. Remember that a logo is graphical element that give identity to an organization and it can contain both a graphic and text.
  3. Experiment. Do not copy something from the internet. Be creative
  4. Try using colour as well as black and white logos.
  5. Put some thought into your ideas, don't just use a "special" font.

PART TWO: Pitch your idea.

Now that you and your group have decided on a production company name and logo, it is time to start thinking about what you are going to make a movie about. However, you don't have the funds to make the movie so you need to consider how you will get someone to finance it. One of the popular ways of doing this is the elevator pitch.

Anelevator pitchis a short summary used to quickly and simply define a product, service, or organization and itsvalue proposition.The name "elevator pitch" reflects the idea that it should be possible to deliver the summary in the time span of an elevator ride, or approximately thirty seconds to two minutes.

You will pitch the teacher (the executive producer) your idea and depending on the quality of the pitch, your proposal will be accepted or rejected. If it is accepted, you can start working on your film. If it is rejected, you will have to rethink your film idea.

In cases where a group cannot decide on an idea for a movie, the teacher will assign one.

Assignment:

Working with you your group you will need to decide on a movie idea and storyline.

Directions:

  1. Meet with your group.
  2. Discuss and brainstorm ideas for a 2-3 minute movie.
  3. Plot out a rough storyline that you can use todescribeall the scenes in the movie. You can do this using point form notes and rough sketches.
  4. Prepare a 1-2 minute presentation describing your movie to an executive producer (teacher).
  5. Give an oral presentation to the executive producer.

If accepted, you can start planning/writing your treatment

PART THREE: Write your Treatment

Assignment:

You will be writing a treatment to describe the video you are making.

The treatment is a chronological description of the video you will be making. Think of it as a written description of how it will look and how it will unfold (think of telling the “story” of your video).

Sample:

Automotive Maintenance Video:

The main goal of this project is to provide information about basic car maintenance for young drivers. The video will be light-hearted in nature, featuring casual dialogue among on-screen talent, humour and up-beat music.

The video opens with a wide shot of the automotive repair shop. The camera will move around the shop, showing various pieces of equipment, etc. The scene will be set to music and will feature voice-over narration describing the general content of the video and subjects to be covered.

Following the introduction, the video will continue with a series of fast-paced segments featuring many quick cuts to maintain audience attention. Cuts will be as short as possible. Each segment will feature a different on-screen actor working in the shop who will provide specific lessons on car maintenance, such as changing a tire, replacing spark plugs, etc. Each segment will be introduced with upbeat theme music and a brief, simple title screen. Plenty of interesting camera angle changes will be used to create a strong sense of excitement for the viewer.

The video will close with voice-over narration as the camera sweeps around a shiny, just-washed sports car gleaming in the sun. The camera will pull back as the video fades to black, closing music starts and the credits start to roll.

Directions:

You and your group have talked about what your video is going to be about and you have presented your pitch. Once the pitch is accepted you need to start planning the video.

You will produce a detailed, well-written treatment for your video (see sample above).You will write a minimum 3-4 paragraph description of all the elements that will be involved in the video and how the video will be constructed.

The treatment must cover the following information:

  • The overall mood of the video (humourous suspenseful, scary, etc).
  • Overview of the setting/location for the video. You should scout locations for your shoot prior to developing the treatment.
  • A detailed description of the action.
  • An outline of visual effects, camera techniques, etc. as required.

The treatment should be easy to follow and understand.