Portfolio and Individual Goals

It is that time of the year to take stock in your work, this year, last year and also your Freshman year.

Respond to this blogspot with the following ideas:

1. Do you have a resume or bio you could include in a portfolio website?
2. Given that colleges normally look for 10-15 solid pieces of work in a portfolio, what media arts pieces have you created in MAP (or outside) would you feature (Make a list). Note what kind of files they are (are they images, movies, 2d, 3d or stop motion animation, photos, designs/logos/visuals, etc).
3. Write a short 1 paragraph (5-6 sentence) artist statement. An artist statement is a brief description of your goals, interests and achievements as an artist, and normally points to work in progress that support your interests. For example, you could say you are a filmmaker that enjoys working with fictional narrative and write about that. For now, this can be in draft format, and included in the blog.
4. Now that you have some ideas together, open Google drive. Look at the available apps and see 'google sites'. This week you will explore making a portfolio website using Google sites. 
5. Following your portfolio development, you will look at connecting to your portfolio using Linkedin.

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Start to think about your goals moving forward. Next week, when you have completed your portfolio and linked it to Linkedin, you will be given 2 final class weeks for planning your next media arts steps.  This will include making a short video note to next year's MAP teachers, and creating some possible outline ideas for summer media projects of your own ambition, and possible themes for next year's work.

Monday May 12th

Good Morning! Happy Monday.

Please write a blogspot response (in your comments field below, as normal) to the following question (individual response, 1 per person, this is not group response):

Reflect on the American Story project. Use at least 3 of the following reflective topics as a writing prompt:

1. How do you get from conception of an idea to a fully implemented quality movie? What are the steps along the way? What was successful for your? What improvements would you make if you had to do it again?
2. Like this year, this project has yielded extremely successful results in the past. What are the key ingredients in this project that draw student engagement, participation and desire to create a 'keeper' movie?
3. Regarding your project from this year, did you create what you would consider a 'keeper' film, something you would consider for a student portfolio? Why/why not? 
4. Is the American Story a unique story, or is it a shared story among all Americans and the world? As a writer/director of such work, who is your audience? Is it you and your friends? Is it Americans? Is it an age group within American society? Does your project extend interest to citizens of the world?
5. Why do the time honored traditions and industry standard tools such as script, shot sheet, storyboard, call sheet and schedules matter in the film, tv and video industries? What is the relationship between all of them? Why are they used? Are they all used for all productions?
6. Role play that you are directing your American Story project again, but this time, you are being paid by the hour to develop and deliver a product in a 3 week time-frame to air on a broadcast cable network. What are the first steps as a director you would do to prepare? How would you ensure success of the project?
7. If you are a student interested in applying to film school (any university), what have you learned from this American Story production experience that would be relevant to preparing a portfolio piece for application to a film program at a desirable university (this will require you to pinpoint a school, see what the 2013-14 admissions movie requirement was and use that as a starting point).
8. The most successful creative teams achieve what is called "Group Flow". This concept emerges from Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's work around individual creative flow (Prof. at Claremont College, studies collaborative and creative behavior). We see group flow within the most highly successful creative environments such as Pixar, Dreamworks, Google and others. Flow is described below. After you read the description of 'flow', do you desire to work in teams in which Flow occurs? Do you desire to create spaces for yourself in which you experience creative flow? How can you create environments and relationships within members of your group to promote healthy group flow and creativity?

A particular state of heightened consciousness. He (Csikzzentmihalyi) discovered that extremely creative people are at their peak when they experience ‘a unified flowing from one moment to the next, in which we feel in control of our actions, and in which there is little distinction between self and environment; between stimulus and response; or between past, present, and future.’”

American Story Film Narrative

Lukas, Shayan, Komdean, Yosh
Parsa, Andrew, Samie
Alec, Saha, Maddy, Teddy, Alex, Addison, Noah
Maddy, Rebecca
Kate, Gonzalo, Maddy, Nate, Reilly (and Ryan who also created story panels for several groups)
Mihir, Sydney, Samir, Kevin
Tony, Trung

Tuesday, April 29th

Blogspot group questions for today:

1. Look at your schedule (Smartsheet or Excel). Are you on schedule or not? (y/n)
2. If you have fallen off schedule, why did that happen, can you get back on task, or not?
3. How complete is your project? (give some detail here through your schedule, what tasks are complete, what still needs to be done). Share an updated schedule with me today.
4. What tasks in the schedule will you prioritize for today and Thursday?
5. How will the members of your group know what they are doing today/Thursday?
6. Does everyone have access to the schedule?

Update Smartsheet or Excel, and reshare with me today for 10 participation points in time/project management.

Production Planning

Due 4/24 (end class) for the following Aeries points:

1. Final Script (most have turned this in, but include revisions, shared with shsmap2013@gmail.com 20pts
2. Shot Sheet 10 pts
3. Project Schedule (Excel or Smartsheets) 10pts
• Planning
• Script
• Shot Sheet
• Storyboard
• etc
• Production
• Casting
• Read through/rehearsals
• Production shoots
• Dailies viewing (view when material is available-do you need to reshoot???)
• Audio, selection of any newsreel or other footage
• Post-Production
• Editing
• Effects compositing
• Audio sweetening
• etc
4. Call Sheet (for extra credit) 10pts

Thursday-Team Preparation

Please take this survey. Thank-you!

Spend the rest of the class period in your groups planning for your project.

Short exit reflection will ask you to jot down concerns or areas you need support.

Thanks!

Preparing for your shoot

AGENDA:

• Shot sheets
• Call Sheets
• Project and Time Management 

Preparing for the shoot, watch this movie!

SHOT SHEETS
See handouts with examples of shot sheets.

Please read the following excellent article about preparing for a production shoot.
This article is authored by Valentina Valentini, and follows a number of indie filmmakers, including Robert Ballo, Senior Lecturer at USCs Schools of Cinematic Arts.

As individuals please respond to the following questions in a google doc to share with me at shsmap2013@gmail.com (and with your team mates):

1. “With shot lists, it’s a creative give and take as to what each person feels they need in order to cover the scene effectively to tell the story,” explains Ballo. What do you think you personally need in order to execute a shot within a scene? Are you the kind of person that needs organization and likes working from lists in an organized manner? Are you someone who likes to work more creatively open-ended? Do you fall somewhere in between the two extremes?
2. “It’s about having the shot list ready with probably a little more than you need, and then it’s about being confident and flexible enough to deviate from that,” says Ballo. What benefit might a detailed shotlist provide? What is the risk if your team follows the shot list to strictly and does not allow for creative flexibility along the way?
3. How well do you think you know your script? Do you feel that you can visualize the story in your head, in a scene by scene fashion, or not?
4. Like Ballo, Liford believes that being prepared is key. “I usually always know what I need and want going into it,” he adds. “I think it’s a good idea to go into it all with a solid plan, because that gives you room to experiment.” Do you agree with Liford? Do you believe that as a student of film still learning the ropes that being overly prepared is beneficial?
5. What is your interpretation of Mollner's description of the Scorsese or Kubrick school of filmmaking? What is Mollner really saying? It appears he says he doesn't use floor plans, but he spends much time with the script to establish visual images in his head. What does his shot list consist of, or become, rather than just a 'list of shots'? Do you feel experienced enough to approach a project in this manner?

------Once finished with the self-analysis, discuss as a group differences you may have with each other over style. Do some members like organization, while other members may prefer a more free-style approach  with lots of flexibility? How will you reconcile your different approaches to project development? 

Read this linked article for a quick and simple explanation of blocking a shot. Discuss blocking your shots with your group. This requires you to determine shot type, camera angle, position and movement of actors, lighting, and stage set up with props. Take your most complex shot within a scene and discuss how you will block and stage the shot within your group. Be prepared to discuss your ideas with Mrs. L.

CALL SHEETS 
Look at these samples. 
Lost
James Bond
Roswell (Fox Television)
Template

Call sheets are an essential part of professional productions, Film, TV, Commercial, Music Videos etc. Based on looking at the example call sheets answer the following within your groups:

1. How do you think a Call Sheet benefits productions, both large and small? 
2. How is a call sheet different than a Shot List?
3. Discuss with your group if a call sheet would help you manage your production or not? List one way in which you might find a call sheet useful, you can use a provided sticky for idea collection and sharing.

SCHEDULE

Google App-watch demonstration. Director should start to fill out and finalize Thur, end of class. Share with group and teacher (shsmap2013@gmail.com).

Assignments due Thursday April 18th, end of period

1. Final script shared with me (shsmap2013@gmail.com)
2. Shot sheet-defining scenes, shot within scene, cam angle, movement, notes/comments (For our purposes, include location and actors in shot sheet if you do not intend to use a call sheet. If using a call sheet, you can put locations and actors in the call)
3. Storyboard panels for specific scenes
4. Call sheet-consider whether useful for your production. Create at least 1 call sheet, simple format, for some important aspect of your movie. (This could be the scene with inciting incident,  as example).
5. Schedule of production backward planning from Fishbowl. Include:

• Planning
• Production (all production shoots-break this down into as much detail as possible, listing all shoots required)
• Research, sourcing material to be used in movie
• Editing
• Effects or Animation (if needed)
• Audio editing
• Integration of audio
• Final Render
• Assign roles and dates work will be done.
• Identify days that are light and days that are heavier in terms of workload. What can be done on lighter days to keep the project moving forward.
• Every class period needs an assignment for each student in your group. If you cannot do this, there are too many people in your group.
• Assign dependencies (as in, editing is dependent upon what, what must the editor have to perform that job?)