There is a screening of Juan, I Forgot I Don’t Remember (Del Olvido Al No Me Acuerdo) at the Picturehouse on Wednesday 10th March at 5pm.

All AS Film students need to complete an evaluation for the  film sequence that you have made.

It needs to be 750 words and should be a reflective analysis of your individual contribution to the project.

You need to select the key features of your micro element and demonstrate how they make meaning(s) and aim to provoke response(s) in audiences.

You need to make references to other films that have influenced your work and include screen grabs to help illustrate your points.

Here are some questions that might help you:
How has the genre/sub genre that you have been working in influenced the decisions you have made?
How have you developed the narrative through you specific area of micro responsibility?
How did you work with other group members to develop the narrative, character and genre in your sequence?
In what way did you adapt and change your plans as you went?
How did you want the audience to respond to your micro aspect within the sequence you created?
What has the feedback you received told you about the successes and or problems with the decisions you made?
Have your technical skill enabled or hindered you making the creative choices you wanted to?

Use the following links are good examples from last year.

Example one – Very good with clear links to how sound links to the chosen genre.

Example two – Good use of other films to back up their points and to illustrate how their extract fitted into the genre

Example three – Good use of screen grabs to help back up points about the film extract

Example four – Clear explanation of how and why certain shot types were included and the desired impact on the audience

Hopefully you will remember Mark Wong coming in and talking about making films in 60 seconds. He has made the shortlist of the Empire competition again. Please vote for his entry which this year is Top Gun. You can vote here http://www.empireonline.com/awards2010/donein60seconds/

All groups need to have a rough cut of their work complete by the last lesson of the week. This should include some rough sound even if effects or colour correction needs to be added.

Jake Wynne, Director and Editor is coming in on Friday 26th March to talk about his work and to offer advice to groups making their short films and sequences. Jake has directed a number of music videos and adverts as well as working regularly as an editor, he has not long finished his first short film which is currently being supported by the British Council and being shown at Film Festivals around the world. You can view a trailer here http://jakewynne.powweb.com/didshortfilm2/.

There are some new films available for you to borrow in the LRC. These include the excellent French gangster film Mesrine which is in two parts, Sin Nombre a Mexican film, Thirst a Korean vampire film and Public Enemies, the Michael Mann film with Johnny Depp and Christian Bale. Please use the LRC to take out films and broaden your own viewing.

The deadline for both AS and A2 filming is Friday 12th February please make sure that you have filmed by this date.

The final AS deadline is Monday 8th March, by this date you should have finished and uploaded your video to youtube and also completed you individual reflective evaluation by this date.

The final A2 deadline is Monday 22nd March, by this date you will have finished your film and also completed the DVD evaluative commentary by this date.

These are the major themes and character types in Melodrama:

1. The ‘intruder-redeemer’ figure
2. The search for the ideal husband/father figure/lover by anxious children
3. The ambiguous function of marriage as both sexually liberating and also socially restricting
4. The household as the centre of social interaction, the household is often a middle class household

Other elements that are present in Melodramas include:

• Victimised heors
• Conflict between the generations, it is not always the young who rebel
• Superficial plots
• Hidden social criticism

A key part of your answer should be how the micro features used in a film can express the films wider messages and values. A key micro element in Melodrama is the mise-en-scene which is often loaded with significance. As mentioned above the centre of action in a Melodrama is often a middle class home which is filled with objects and decor that rather than liberate the characters it traps them. This is the case in both All That Heaven Allows and Far From Heaven where the central protagonist is trapped in a home that superficially seems to have the trappings of an aspirational society. This use of mise-en-scene contrasts with the characters state of mind which we discover through the use of mirrors and other framing devices which suggest both confinement and isolation in lonely worlds, this is the case when we see Cary’s face reflected in the TV bought by her son to keep her company as opposed to the company of the man she loves, Ron.

The use of colour is also central to All That Heaven Allows and Far From Heaven, in the former Cary wears a red dress which is considered by other women at the Country Club to be sexually aggressive. It is also used to help define both Ron and Raymond as men who are comfortable with nature as they are dressed in earthy colours that contrast to the grey colours of the suits worn by other men in the film.

If you would like any help with your revision please come and see Barney in the LRC at the following times:

Wednesday 6th 2.00 – 2.40pm
Friday 8th 11.00 – 11.40am

Tuesday 12th 9.30 -10.00am
Wednesday 13th 2.00 – 2.40pm
Friday 15th 11.00 – 11.40am

Tuesday 19th 9.30 – 10.00am
Wednesday 20th 2.00 – 2.40pm

Here are some links to reviews of Fight Club (Fincher 1999)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0137523/ – IMDB page on Fight Club, institutional information and audience reviews

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fight_Club_%28film%29 – Wikipedia page on Fight Club

http://www.foxmovies.com/fightclub/ – Official website of Fight Club

http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/m/fight_club/ – Review page of Fight Club at Rotten Tomatoes

http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=4523 – Review from Ain’t it Cool