Selecting & using content for film productionCritical approaches

TodayWe will investigate how we, as film-makers:

• Select different content to use within our films

• use these different elements to create meaning, build tension, pace and narrative.

What different ‘content’ is a film made up of?What different elements do we use when producing, filming and editing a film?

• AUDIO: • Dialogue• Music• Sound effects• Atmospheres / ambient noise

• VISUAL:• Different types of footage (cutaways, interviews, archive footage in a news

piece)• Framing (close-up, mid-shot, long-shot, extreme-long shot etc…)• Camera movement • Colour correction • Titles & graphics (lower thirds, title sequences, motion graphic sequences)

What different content might you need for a typical TV news broadcast?

What different content might you need for a typical TV news broadcast?

• Titles for the intro• Actuality still photographs• Actuality audio• Title music • Studio footage of presenters• Graphics & lower thirds• Interview footage• Location report footage

What different elements did you choose to use for your short film last year?

What will dictate what content you need?The type of video will dictate what content you need to produce, find or source for your project.

A news piece will need very different elements compared to a stop motion animation.

What else will dictate the type of content you use?

The content you produce will depend on the needs of your audience.

Which of the following content is suitable for a children's adventure film, and which for an adult film

• Up-beat pop music• Dramatic, creepy synth score• Low key lighting• High key lighting• Bright colour scheme• Dark, grim colour scheme• Ye old Shakespearian English• Modern slang• Swear words • Gratuitious on screen violence• Mild peril

What impact does the films genre have on the selection of content we use?

What would you expect to see/hear in a horror film (its codes & conventions)?

Compare this to a kids film

The genre of the film will also dictate what elements you use & how you use them

Once we have selected the different content we need to produce / source for our production we need to decide how to use it.

The way we produce, use or edit our content will affect how the viewer responds to it.

As film-makers we should control how we use all of our content, whether it is through the filming, planning or editing stage.

The film ‘HERO’ is well known for its use of colour. How is colour used in this scene?

Jaws is a seminal horror thriller. How is audio used in this scene?

How are camera angles & movement used in this scene from End of Watch?

What makes film such a wonderful and powerful medium is how complex it is

Making a film is difficult precisely because it is multi-faceted; there are many different elements to it, and many different sides to its production and lots for you producers to think about.

It is also what makes it such a brilliant, engaging and thought-provoking medium.

Task 1Log onto Moodle and go to the critical approaches section.

Watch the 4 film scenes under “Week 3: how video producers select & use content” and complete task 1 in as much detail as you can.