Flex Class - Get Ready to Film!

This class is a flexible schedule class. There are NO live meetings for this class.
The materials will be posted weekly on Sundays and can be completed when convenient to the student during the following week. Submission dates for marking and reviews will be the Friday of each week.
	
This is an 8 session course, aimed at students who want to investigate the world of film production. The course will cover plot and story planning, scripting, storyboarding, sound, filming, and post-production editing techniques. 

> Session 1: In this introductory session, students interact with the pre-recorded video instruction to complete a range of worksheet-based tasks and practical activities. Students will examine film genres and begin to explore job roles within the film industry. Students will experiment with different camera shots and angles and participate in an onscreen interactive quiz, selecting appropriate filming techniques for a variety of film scenarios. 

Students will be assigned a short film project, with tasks to be completed outside of the sessions. Students will be given the opportunity to participate in an onscreen discussion, sharing ideas to begin planning for the set scenario. 

The film project can be completed as a collaborative project with other students in the classroom or, if preferred, submitted as an individual project. Students can submit their work to the classroom page in a variety of formats, including PDF, PowerPoint, annotated images, voice, or video format.  

> Session 2: In this class, students participate by viewing recorded lectures and interactive slides as they explore the basics of scriptwriting. Students will become familiar with script layout conventions and will look at how they can begin to write and prepare a script for their own short film. Students will be given the opportunity to record snippets of voice dialogue for other classmates to analyse and work into a script format. 

> Session 3: In this session, we will examine the role of the storyboard and how it is used to support plot development and filming. Students will be challenged to complete an onscreen storyboard as a practice task for their own film. Outside the session, students will be encouraged to pull together their resources from session 1-3 to collaboratively work on the storyboard and a shot list for their own video. Students will be encouraged to finalise their script and dialogue. 

> Session 4: This session will focus on how to film safely. We will examine how to ensure that the cast and crew are kept safe during filming and investigate some of the hazards that the film crew, actors, and the public may encounter. Students will participate in virtual field trip to assess the potential dangers of a given location shoot. 

For homework, students will carry out a recce for their film shoot. They will work collaboratively in the classroom to create a pre-shoot checklist. 

> Session 5: The role of music will be examined in this session, and students will listen to and select appropriate music clips to use in their own film. Students will participate in a scavenger hunt to find suitable objects to create Foley sounds and compete in a music and sound quiz. The importance of adhering to Copyright will be addressed in this session. Focus will also be given to reviewing and sharing any resources that have been uploaded by students to the classroom. 

As homework, students will record and collate the music and sound effects for their films. Links to appropriate sources and media will be posted in the classroom. Students are encouraged, where possible, to record their own music and/or Foley sounds and to share these in the classroom. 

> Session 6: In this session, students interact with the pre-recorded video instruction and are shown different post-production editing techniques which could be used to enhance their filmed scenes. On-screen demonstrations will show how to edit audio using the free editing software, Audacity, and the principles of video editing will be shown using OpenShot, (www.openshot.org). Students will be able to create their movie using software of their choice, applying some of the techniques demonstrated by the teacher. 

Students are encouraged to use the classroom this week to post requests for help and support from other students and the teacher. 

Students will then be sign-posted towards free online resources and resources that will help them to edit their film clips. 

> Session 7: This session will begin by reviewing the progress made by the group and allow students the opportunity to peer assess and critique any films that have been uploaded to the classroom. Students will be encouraged to begin to think about how to market their film and will be tasked to write a short synopsis of their storyline.

Homework for this session will be to complete the editing of the film – students working as part of a group may choose to edit different sections of their films. Completed films should be uploaded to the classroom before the final session. 

> Session 8: Bring your popcorn! Students can opt to make their film publicly available to the group. These films will be collated by the teacher and ‘shown’ in this final session. Students will be given the opportunity to peer review their films and vote on their favourite.