For this project, you will make a short film modeled after a particular type of film made after 1950.

Step 1: Form a Group
Form a group to make your film and decide on the specific type of film your group will make. You can model your film after the style of a particular director, make a film typical of a particular actor/performer/star, model your film after a particular film genre or movement, or make it in the style of the films made in a particular country during a time period after 1950. The film should not be more than 15 minutes long. The group must contain between three and eight members.

(The success of this project depends on all the members of the group doing their jobs responsibly and on time. If you cannot make the commitment to do the work required for this project, please talk to me about doing an individual project instead.)

Step 2: Proposal and Job Descriptions
Do research about the style or model you have chosen for making your film: what are the characteristics of this film style or model? What ideas do you have about how you will create the film you want to make? Who will be the director? producer? screenwriter? cameraperson? costume designer? makeup artist? editor? special effects person? sound person? actor(s)? etc. (Each person must have one or more defined jobs. Do not say “everyone will do everything.”) Each member of the group should look up “film crew” in Wikipedia and read the descriptions of the job(s) he or she plans to do. Though you may invite people who are not in the class to work on the film with you, the producer, director, and screenwriter must all be students enrolled in the class. The director and producer can not be the same person. The producer has the power to replace the director with another member of the group if necessary. After the group agrees on which jobs will be done by which people, each member of the group should write a description of the exact duties and responsibilities he or she will have in the making of this film and turn it in to the director or the producer.

When the group has done the research, agreed on the kind of film that will be made, and assigned the jobs, the director or the producer should write a proposal of approximately 150 words describing the film the group plans to make, the characteristics that define the approach you are taking, explaining why it is relevant to this class, and why you think it would be interesting to make a film in this way. Remember that you need to justify your project in order for it to be accepted. He or she should then compile the proposal (1 per group) and the job descriptions (1 per person) into one document and e-mail it to me no later than midnight Tuesday, February 14. One point will be subtracted for each day late.

Step 3: Write Blog Posts about Films
After your proposal is approved, have everyone in your group watch at least 2 films in the film style or with the particular characteristics you plan to use. I can recommend films and perhaps make them available to you. Take notes about anything you notice in these films that might help you with your film. Each member of the group should then write a blog post about the films watched. Blog posts in the forum are due by Wednesday, February 29 at midnight.

Step 4: Backstory
If you are making a fictional film, the screenwriter, the director and the actors may want to discuss the backstory of the characters once you have decided what kind of film your group is making. This means information about the lives and experiences of the characters before the point when the action of the film starts. Knowing the backstory can help the screenwriter develop the physical and psychological description of the characters and this can help the actors develop more complex and original, though not necessarily more realistic, characters. It can also give the actors ideas for creating the physical appearance of the character, and provide them with motivation for the emotions characters will express and actions they will take in the film.

Step 5: Write the Screenplay
The screenwriter of each group should write the screenplay for the film and e-mail it to me by Tuesday, March 13.

Step 6: Jobs for The Director
After receiving the screenplay, the director should think about:

A. Mise en Scène: Define a visual style for your film with hair, make up, wardrobe, props, set design, etc. What is your rationale for the visual style you are using?

B. Shots/Pacing/Editing: Think of the pacing of your film. How fast or slow should it be at different points in the film? Will you use slow motion? Fast motion?

C. Music/Sound: What music, sound effects, etc. would be appropriate for the style of film you want to make? Music and sound effects can be found on the web and downloaded. You can also ask musicians you may know to perform some music for your film or to recommend appropriate music.

Step 7: Jobs for the Director and/or Producer
A. Breakdown: After receiving the script from the scriptwriter, do a breakdown of the script. (See Wikipedia for a full description of how to do this.) This means that you take a copy of the script and divide it into scenes by drawing a horizontal line after each scene and labeling the scenes: Scene 1, Scene 2, etc. Then visualize the shots that will make up each scene, writing your notes about each shot and when it occurs in the margin of the script. After this, go through the script and make lists of all the materials and resources you will need to make the film: clothing, make up, props, special effects, music, etc.

B. Lists: Give the people in your group in charge of specific jobs – the production designer, the make up artist, the editor, the composer, etc. – the list of materials they will need to do their jobs. Then assign the job of acquiring these materials to the appropriate people in the group.

C. Shot List: Using the breakdown, the director should write a shot list. This means a list of all of the shots that will compose a scene. Do this for Scene 1, then Scene 2, etc, until you have listed all the shots you will be filming. Use the shot list to plan in detail how you will film each shot you need for your film.

D. Itinerary: Using the shot list, the producer should write an itinerary. This means that you make a filming schedule. Start by writing “Day 1,” the time you will start filming, and the location where you will be filming. Then list the scenes you will film in that location. Repeat the same information for each of the different locations where you will film until you have scheduled all the scenes that need to be filmed. Distribute the itinerary to the members of your group.

Step 8: Make a Shot List
It is a good idea to do all of the steps described above since they help the group to work in an organized way, but they do not need all need to be handed in to me. The director should turn in only the shot list to me by Tuesday, March 20.

Step 9: Film Your Movie
You should complete all the filming by Tuesday, April 10 and show the footage to me after class that day.

Step 10: Postproduction
Edit your film, do any postproduction work necessary, and put it on a DVD. Make copies for everyone in the group and for me. Circuito Cerrado on the first floor of the Nursing Building, can provide you with technical assistance with filming, editing, special effects, transferring the footage in your camera or computer onto a dvd, making multiple copies of dvds, etc. Make your appointments to work on your project early.can make multiple DVD copies for you for free. Clearly label all DVDs and DVD cases with the name of your film and all the members of your group.

Each group should write a justification for its film of at least 150 words: Explain what the characteristics of the film style or model you have chosen are. What particular films inspired you or gave you ideas for your film? How have you succeeded in incorporating the characteristics of the chosen style or model into the film you made? What do you consider particularly creative, interesting or successful about your film?

Each member of the group should write a personal contribution of at least 150 words: In what specific ways did you personally contribute to the film created by your group? What was your job: director? editor? cameraperson? actor? etc. Talk about specific ideas or work that really contributed to a good final product. Avoid vague statements that don’t really show that you did anything, such as “I went to all the meetings,” “I was available to work but no one called me,” or “Everybody did everything.”

Put the following items in a green folder labeled with the name of the film and the names of the people in the group: your film, the justification (1 per group), and the personal contributions (1 per person).

In class on Wednesday, April 28, you will be asked to fill out forms evaluating the work of the other members in your group and assigning a grade to each group member. These evaluation forms will be added to the folder for the group.

Turn the folder in and fill out the evaluation forms in class on Tuesday, May 1.

Step 11: Film Presentations
You will present your films on an evening during the final exam period together with the films made by students in CINE4015: Digital Videomaking.