Coursework: Photoshoot

Having planned our low-budget horror film, it's now time to take the photos we'll need for our website.

This will be the most creative part of the course and hopefully result in some stunning low-budget horror images.

Here's Tuesday's lesson video going through the photography process:

Links and resources

Reminder of the brief: Create a working homepage and one linked page for a website promoting a new independent, low budget film.

The AQA coursework brief is here - with the details from the exam board regarding what can be submitted due to Covid-19. You'll need to be logged in to your Greenford Google account to view it.

Here's our example film website using some A Level Media pictures from a different project. This is what we're trying to produce!

Low budget independent horror films

Fortunately, our brief is ideal for taking photos using our phones or a camera at home… low-budget horror is all about being creative with the environment we are in.

Mise-en-scene: CLAMPS

Planning every aspect of mise-en-scene for your photo will result in a better set of images for your production. We use CLAMPS to remember the different aspects of mise-en-scene:

C: Costume

L: Lighting

A: Actor placement and expression

M: Make-up

P: Props

S: Setting

Photography top tips

Once you have planned and prepared everything you need, it’s time to take your photos. Top tips:

• Take LOADS of images (assuming you have space on your phone/camera). You need at least three different images on your website but the more options you have the better.
• Take photos using a variety of different camera shots - wide shots, medium shots, close-ups, extreme close-ups etc.
• Take a selection of landscape AND portrait images.
• Think about how you will use the images on your website when setting up your shot.
• Ask your actor to use a range of expressions to give you options when selecting images for your website.

Coursework: Photography blog tasks

Create a blogpost called 'Coursework photography' and complete the following tasks:

1) Plan out every aspect of your mise-en-scene for your photoshoot:

C: Costume

L: Lighting

A: Actor placement and expression

M: Make-up

P: Props

S: Setting

2) Take your photos and post the best FIVE images you take to your blog. You should be able to upload them directly from your phone.

Due date: on Google Classroom

Optional extension task

Once you have taken your images, go back to your Statement of Intent and see if you need to update any of the Media Language elements now you know what mise-en-scene you are using for your photos.