Year 11: Week 15 (Controlled Hours 25 & 26)

You only have these two hours to complete the storyboard for your documentary. You can't spend any time away from the lesson on this task either. You must work as an individual, without input from any other members of your group. You will have access to your completed documentary (posted in sidebar) so you don't have to do anything from memory.

You should take a two-part approach to the completion of this task.


Part One : Draw Your Storyboard

Draw a storyboard frame for EVERY shot in your documentary (every time you cut to a new shot, you need a new storyboard frame). Include text elements such as lower-third titles and give an impression of EVERYTHING that you put in the frame (including backgrounds). It is ok to use stick people, but make sure that you present the correct shot distance and framing. This doesn't have to be a masterpiece, but it does have to be accurate. You are not expected to colour in your storyboard (but you can identify colours of objects using pencil crayons if their colour is important - you can just draw a sample colour patch on your storyboard without colouring the whole object or frame).


Part Two : Annotate Your Storyboard

Annotate your storyboard to present important information. Things you should include are;

• Storyboard frame number. (goes in the box above each frame. Start at 1...)
• Transitions (how a shot moves to the next. E.g. dissolve, cross-fade, straight cut, split edit, etc). identify the transitions in the boxes in-between frames on the storyboard.
• Camera movements. Use arrows to identify camera pans, tilts, zooms & reverse zooms (using 3D arrows will help to differentiate between a tilt and a zoom). Draw these directly into your storyboard frame.
• Shot Type. Use abbreviations such as ECU for Extreme Close-Up. Identify the shot distance or type for every frame in your storyboard. Write these in the information box below each frame. Use the shot distance reference guide in the sidebar to help you.
• INT or EXT. Identify each shot as an 'interior' (indoor) or 'exterior' (outdoor) shot. Just circle correct description in the information box below each frame.
• DAY or NIGHT. Identify the time of day by circling the correct description in the information box.
• Details. What is this a shot of? E.g Interview with Headteacher or Establishing shot of factory, etc.

Don't forget to number your storyboard pages and identify the name of your production at the top of every storyboard page too.

Here is a picture of the storyboard template we normally use in our dept. You are welcome to use it or you can find, or draw, your own. The benefit of using the existing template is that we have lots of copies already photocopied and ready for use.

Merry Christmas!

Year 11: Weeks 13 & 14 (Controlled Hours 21-24)

Don't forget to read the new posts published below this one first!

You now have two lessons to complete the following;

1. Your Documentary!
2. Your Production Log!

You can re-film elements of your documentary in your own time (spending as long as you want on it) but you can only edit in Final Cut during the 4 hours of lesson time we have assigned to this task. You must not open Final Cut at any other time. If you wish to re-record voice-over elements at quieter times when the rest of the class aren't there (lunch or after school), the time will be added up and included as part of the formal time limit for the unit (maximum of 30 hours).

Your Production Log (not including the Storyboard) must be completed as OHL, in your own time. Use the checklist and the progress grid to check which elements still require work.

Peer Satisfaction Ratings & Distribution of Final Marks (HOO)

Some of you are yet to prove your true value to the group and, as a consequence, are unlikely to be awarded the full value of marks for your documentary. You have another 2 weeks to demonstrate how valuable your input is; I suggest you make a real effort to contribute both in the lessons and to sessions arranged at other times (re-filming, recording voice-overs, etc).

Currently, a summary of how I may distribute the marks for your product is represent by the chart below. You can only compare to other members of the SAME group - comparing with other groups DOES NOT WORK! (The explanation is complicated). So, the person with the highest rating WITHIN YOUR GROUP will get the full value of marks for your product. Group members rated significantly below this will only be awarded a percentage of the marks.

Click to Enlarge

Presenting Audience Feedback

Following last week's lesson, you probably have two types of audience feedback;

1. Extended written responses
2. Scores (marks out of 10 perhaps)

You must use this feedback to demonstrate the following workflow;

EXHIBITION OF ROUGH CUT

⬇︎

AUDIENCE FEEDBACK

⬇︎

ACTIONS TO IMPROVE PRODUCT IN RESPONSE TO AUDIENCE FEEDBACK

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IMPROVED FINAL PRODUCT

You've completed the first two stages, but now you have to analyse the feedback so that you can respond to it, suggesting improvements that you could make to your product. This is one method of achieving this aim...

Presenting 'Extended Written Response' Feedback

Here is an example of what I would do:

Q5) How could our documentary be improved?

In response to this question, 75% of those questioned suggested that improvements could be made to the soundtrack. The balance between the production music, the voice-over and the narration seemed to be their greatest concern. Most identified the use of sound effects in the reconstruction scene as a strength.

ACTION : Remix the balance between the production music, voice-over and interviewee dialogue, ensuring that every word can be heard clearly.

Presenting 'Scores' Feedback

In Excel, make a frequency table identifying what percentage of those asked responded in a particular way. Turn this table into a chart (I've use a pie chart). Don't forget to suggest some actions that may improve your scores though. Here are some examples;

ACTION : Improve the balance between the production music, voice-over and interviewee dialogue to improve overall quality of sound editing.

ACTION : Stabilise the one or two shaky shots (between 01:24 & 01:35) and increase the pace of editing during the second interview (introduce B-Roll elements) to increase the number of people identifying visual editing as good or better.

If you identify specific visual elements that need addressing, such as framing, why not add a screenshot to clearly identify the scene or shot you are going to improve? You could even annotate it to identify your action plan/improvements.

ACTION : Use the transform and crop tools to reframe this shot, leaving less headroom and making the interviewee larger (more important) in the frame.

Present your detailed analysis of audience feedback, together with action plans, on the 'Target Audience Feedback' page in your Production Log. This is a VERY IMPORTANT part of your Production Log!

Documentary Rough Cuts & Feedback (HOO)

The rough cuts of your documentary have been posted on an 'Exhibition of Pupils' Work' page (see sidebar or click here. Why not seek some additional feedback from members of your target audience too (parents, other teenagers, game players, etc)?

I really am pleased with the quality of the rough cuts and, with some additional filming & editing to refine your product in response to the feedback you received, I think all products will be worthy of a level 4. Well done! Now, let's see who gets what proportion of the marks allocated to the product...