Coursework: Pre-production

Pre-production tasks are vital - this is where you plan all the key details that make your video coursework successful.

Over the next two weeks we will be finalising our pre-production and starting our filming. Here's a great video on low-budget filmmaking from our friend D4Darius on YouTube:

Pre-production: blog tasks

Create a blogpost called 'Pre-production' and work through the following tasks.

1) Script

You need to write a complete script for your two-minute extract and format it like a real TV script (see picture on the right).

There is lots of help out there for top-quality screenwriting. A good place to start is the BBC Writers' Room which has top tips, a whole script library of real examples (like the Doctor Who script pictured) and more ideas for turning your concept into a real TV script.

Make sure you include both stage directions and dialogue - and as you can see from the example, often the stage directions are much more detailed than the dialogue. Try and make your script look like a professional example in terms of layout - either in your blogpost or on a linked Google Doc. 

2) Shot list

Once you have a full script you are happy with, you can turn it into a shot list containing EVERY shot you plan to film for your TV drama AND additional shots to create flexibility when editing. You'll know from your preliminary exercise that missing a shot, continuity errors or not having enough material makes editing much more difficult. A good shot list will help you avoid this. In particular, make sure you plan lots of extra shots that you may not need but can help you with editing. These additional shots are often close-ups, cutaways, alternative angles or similar. I advise using a simple table on Google Docs to set out your shot list - you can find an example here for a student film shot list. It makes sense to write your shot list by scene or location (like in the example linked) rather than a huge list of every shot in the extract in chronological order. 

3) Mise-en-scene

What iconography or mise-en-scene are you including to ensure your audience understands your drama as fantasy? Plan your cast, costume, make-up, props, lighting and setting. This can be simply completed using your blog or on a Google Doc - the key aspect is to have planned all the critical details. Remember the mise-en-scene mnemonic: CLAMPS. 

Costume:

Lighting / time of day:

Actors - casting, placement, movement: 

Make-up and hair: 

Props:

Setting: 

Important note: You CANNOT film anything involving anything that could be mistaken for a weapon in any public place. Media students from a school in North London were arrested by armed police after filming a scene with a replica gun in a public place. Remember this when planning your coursework! 

4) Shooting schedule 

Plan a shooting schedule for your filming over the next two weeks. Include when, where, who is required and what shots you will complete at each time/location. Again, this can be on Google Docs or Sheets or you could simply use your blog. The most important thing is that you've planned it!

Deadline: on Google Classroom