DT in FILM

with Mr Curran

The world of film uses many of the skills and creativity that come from Design and Technology. From set building, special effects, costume design and graphics, it is an industry full of creative and talented people from a DT background. Using this file you will be able to study film from its early days through to the modern era. We will look behind the scenes and find out how a film is made, from the first spark of an idea through to the first night. The History of Film Film Studios - Dream Factories Behind the Scenes: Begin with a Story - The Idea and The Script Pre-Production - Start with the Director Storyboarding - The Sequence of Action Casting - The Actors Shooting - Principle Photography Special Effects - The Magic Post-Production - The Score Promotion - Advertising/Certification The Premiere The History of Film Film Genres Film or ‘movies’ first appeared in the late nineteenth century and were silent. Thriller One of the earliest films was made by the Lumiere brothers in France showing a train arriving at a station. This caused audiences to flee in terror as the train Drama approached on the screen! The ‘talkies’, films with sound first appeared in the Romance 1920's and became an extremely popular form of entertainment where people Adventure went to cinemas to be entertained and watch the latest news from around the Comedy world. The advent of colour film in the 1930's was another innovation that proved Fantasy popular at the time and soon would follow 3D, Surroundsound and IMAX screens. Horror Soon, actors and directors became some of the most famous people on the planet Science Fiction and the ‘Hollywood’ lifestyle would become the envy of the world. War To research: Who were the earliest film pioneers? Sporting Factual Documentary Western Animation Childrens Musical

Film clips: Train entering a station 1896 Trip to the Moon 1902 The Wizard of Oz 1939 Question: Can you name any famous film companies?

Film Studios - The Dream Factories Film studios provide the base for film production, a centre for SET building, CAMERAS, SOUND, LIGHTING, SPECIAL EFFECTS, COSTUMES, MAKE UP, and many other services needed to make a film. A film company may number several hundred people who will need to be fed, looked after and housed during a shoot that may last several months. Use the INTERNET MOVIE DATA BASE (IMDB) and WIKIPEDIA for information

Research topics: Find out about where your favourite films were made. Find out about PINEWOOD and SHEPPERTON studios in Britain and about MGM and WARNER BROTHERS studios in HOLLYWOOD, USA.

What is a SET, what does ON LOCATION mean? What are the MALTA film studios Did you know?...The British creative industries most famous for? generate £7bn of revenue each year What does a PRODUCER actually do? Behind the Scenes: The role of the Producer Begin with a Story - The Idea and The Script

Every film starts with an idea, an idea that could possibly interest an AUDIENCE and attract the attention of a film PRODUCTION COMPANY. Most films only get made because a PRODUCER thinks that it will make money and hopefully become a BLOCKBUSTER. Research - Find out the names and films of some famous film producers

Your idea will need to be interesting, not only to you but to a wider audience. Do you have a story that makes people think, makes them happy or sad, scared or angry? Is it true or fictional or more importantly, something that you care enough about to work on for a year or more?

Yes? - Then you may begin.

Preparation: Read scripts! - go on-line and download famous film scripts and read them. Read ‘How To’ books by script writers and simply watch your famourite films listening to the dialogue and studying the story.

Question - What are the THREE ACTS of a script, a CHARACTER ARC, a PROTAGONIST and an ANTAGONIST? What does JEOPARDY mean and why is it so important to a story?

What does a SCREENWRITER actually do? The Story Arc

A screenwriter will come up with interesting ideas and turn them into a film script. They will develop the main characters and take them through a journey that will involve many human emotions.

Set the SCENE and introduce your CHARACTERS What is the CONFLICT? Is it a THREAT or a SECRET? Who are the PROTAGONISTS and the ANTAGONISTS? Increase the TENSION until the big final showdown: The CLIMAX and the final RESOLUTION.

Think of a famous story like CINDERELLA and draw the story arc for it.

Film clips to watch:- Jaws (1975) Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) Dispicable Me (2012) Memorable Scenes - What makes them great?

Each SCENE in a film helps to tell the story. Some can give more information (EXPOSITION) or introduce a character. Some are always associated with certain films like the opening of every James Bond film.

Watch these scenes - what is it that makes them so memorable? Is it the script, the acting, the set, the lighting, the design?

Jaws - The Indianapolis scene Toy Story 2 - Woody gets mended Lawrence of Arabia - Persuading Auda Up - Carl and his wife’s dream Flight of The Phoenix - Starting the engine Ratatouille - The food critics review Railway Children - ‘My daddy, my daddy’. Use the INTERNET MOVIE DATA BASE (IMDB), YOU Do you have favourite scenes from films? Watch them TUBE and WIKIPEDIA for again and think about why they are so memorable. information

What does a DIRECTOR actually do? Pre-Production - Start with the Director A film crew can number several hundred people and a shoot last for several months. They all need the leadership of a DIRECTOR who has control (with the PRODUCERS) over all aspects of the film. Question - What famous directors do you know? Once the DIRECTOR is on board, then the rest of the crew is chosen :-

Director of Photography Casting Director Art Director Sound Department Lighting department Stunt Co-ordinator Location Manager Music Score Costume and Wardrobe Design Make Up Department Visual Effects Film clips to watch:- Opening and End credits Find out how these different roles contribute to the film. Use the INTERNET MOVIE reel from...... These are creative and talented people but they all need to DATA BASE (IMDB) and be managed and work as a team to create the finished film. WIKIPEDIA for information

Storyboarding - The Sequence of Action Once the film script has been developed and agreed on the Director and Art Director will work on the look of the film and the sequence (order) in which the scenes will be filmed. Using storyboard artists each shot will be visualised before it can be filmed. Small models of the sets will be made and any outdoor locations found. Props and costumes will also begin to take shape.

Research - Using the internet: find storyboards for famous film sequences and see how closely they resemble the final scenes in the film. Film clips to watch:- Who builds the sets and designs Storyboarding for the the famous costumes? train fight on Spiderman 2 What does an ACTOR actually do? Casting - The Actors

Casting the right actor for the right part is the job of the Casting Director. Get this wrong and the whole film could fall apart. Certain actors are known for playing similar parts - Tom Cruise: action films, Will Ferrell: comedy films etc, but the best actors tend to be able to perform in which ever genre they are in.

Question: Who are your favourite actors and why? Is it the type of films they appear in or is it their skill as an actor.

Research: How do actors train? Why are some paid so much money? Who has starred in the most films? What is a Character Actor?

Extras: Sometimes a film will require crowd scenes involving hundreds and sometimes thousands of people. What is an Extra and how do you become one. Do you know anyone who has appeared as an extra in a film? Shooting - Principle Photography

You have a script, a director and crew, you have raised enough money from INVESTORS, built the sets, scouted the locations and cast the actors. Now you need to bring all of that together for several months and begin to film your story.

Some small, cheap and independant films can be shot in weeks (or even days) and go on to become successful. More expensive films with budgets in the region of over £100 million can take months, ‘Spectre took two years of my life to make from beginning even several years to shoot. to end’ Sam Mendes - Director Research: Find out about how long it takes to make a film, about budgets and which films make money and which films ‘flop’. Find out about the films - Heavens Gate and Cleopatra and why they were so infamous. Which films have made the most money and which films have cost the most to make.

If any of your favourite DVD/Blu ray have extra features - cast interviews, set reports, behind the scenes footage, deleted scenes etc, watch them for an insight into the world of film making Film clips to watch:- Behind the scenes extras Question: What does SFX stand for? on DVD / Blu Ray films

Special Effects - The Magic of SFX From the earliest films (Trip to the Moon) directors have had to call on the services of special effects technicians. From miniature models, animation and lighting through to explosions and stunts, effects have made the impossible seem possible.

Film genre’s such as science fiction, horror and historical films will always require effects, from the physical (explosions) or as CGI (computer generated images). What is green screen?

Research - Watch the following film clips and talk through which shots or scenes required any SFX:

The Matrix - 1999 Raise the Titanic - 1980 Fury - 2014 Avatar - 2009 The Man with the Golden Gun - 1974 Film clips to watch:- Raise The Titanic, Question - Which films have amazed you with their special effects and which ones Fury, Matrix, Avatar, completely fooled you into thinking that what you were seeing was real? James Bond How do you film in the mountains of India without actually going there? Filming in far off countries costs a lot of money. Many films that look as if they were filmed abroad were actually filmed in studios using clever special effects. Look at the scene below from the British film ‘Black Narcissus’ which was set in a monastery at the top of a mountain in the Indian Himalayas.

This part of the screen was painted on a sheet of glass This part of the and lined up in front screen was filmed of the camera as the at a studio in west scene with the actor London on a set was filmed. It is known and with an actor as a Matte Painting ringing the bell.

This is the split line following the edge of the cliff and along the side of the bell tower.

Post-Production - The Score Music is essential to any film but what should the film score do? Music can enhance a scene, built tension, tug on the heart strings as well as scare the wits out of us. Think how different the music is when used in war, romance, comedy, horror and historical films to name a few.

Research : Find out about the following film composers and the films they have scored:

John Williams - Star Wars, ET, Jaws, Indiana Jones etc John Barry - James Bond, Zulu, Dances With Wolves etc Danny Elfman - Beetlejuice, Batman, Simpsons etc Tom Newman - Lemony Snicket, Skyfall, Spectre etc Ennio Morrecone - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly westerns

Which film music do you like? Who wrote it and which orchestra was Film clips to watch:- used to record it? Can you get it on CD or download? Battle of Britain, James Bond Theme, Question: How is a film advertised? Despicable Me, Frozen, Promotion - Advertising/Certification Even before a film is finished the art department will be working on poster designs, cinema trailers, merchandise and generally, how to get the film noticed.

Research - look at your favourite film posters. What makes the poster attract your attention: font, colours, images, layout? A film like Spectre may have as many as twenty different versions of its poster for the different countries the film is shown in. Try to find the different versions. Do you own any film merchandise?

Certification: Before a film can be shown to the public it has to be shown to certification boards in each country who then decide which age group it is suitable for. Occasionally a film might have to have some scenes cut in order to be shown in a certain country. This is known as censorship.

Look at the website for the BRITISH BOARD of FILM CLASSIFICATION and find out what they do. The Premiere And finally...... After all that effort, all the blood, sweat and tears, the tantrums, the fights, the delays and the money running out - you have a FILM! Enjoy the first night - the PREMIER - with the world’s press invited together with other VIPs. You cross your fingers and hope for good newspaper / online reviews and probably the best advert of all - word of mouth - where people tell each other that it's a good film.

So, get dressed up, arrive in style, walk down the red carpet and throw a few poses for the flash bulbs of the press. You may be on the front of the papers tomorrow!

Oh.. just one last thing. You’ve got to think up another great story now and start all over again! Love film? Try these magazines and websites for all your favoutite films.

Magazines:- EMPIRE TOTAL FILM PREMIERE

Websites:- IMDB - Internet Movie Database Wikipedia Movielocations.com Reel Streets MGM Warner Brothers Columbia Paramount

Visits: Leavesden Studios - Harry Potter Experience