Ben Rhydding filming: this week!

Lest any of you missed it, I've copied in an email sent this morning to you all:

We have 5 names for this: Rob, Harry, Ben, Melodie, Faye ... but these good folk were to get back to me with final details of what they plan to shoot and produce, and haven't, so there may be room for more.
A reminder of what this is about: http://asmedia0910.blogspot.com/2010/11/xmas-videomakers-needed.html
This is a cracking opportunity to boost your CV/UCAS and provide a great service to the local community
The first planned bit of filming is tomorrow; the Head of BenR summarised the dates:

Monday 13th December pm Dress Rehearsal
Tuesday 14th December 9am First Performance for parents
Wednesday 15th December pm Performance for our link school Lily croft
Thursday 16th December 5pm Last performance for parents.
I think the Wednesday afternoon performance would be the best to film because there shouldn't be such a big audience at that performance.

I need to know by the end of breaktime tomorrow who is doing what, and when.
What had been discussed (and needs to be finalised) is...
- filming a rehearsal
- trying to get some background material for extras (eg each kid giving their name and role; a few additional vox pops with some of the kids; the teacher organising it; backstage [before, during and after performance?]; jpg of any poster produced and any press articles; brief vox pops with some parents after the performance)
- going up at least twice to enable testing out camera positions and maybe separate sound recording
- gatting a list of all relevant names to include on the credits
designing a DVD sleeve, for which we need...
- photographs taking
- one producer needs to be agreed to co-ordinate all of this, with editing tasks (you can be both producer and editor) assigned - doesn't make sense for one person to try to editi everything if extras are produced

Whether its the 5 folk named or some new faces, can you pass on to me final details of who is doing what and when by the end of break tomorrow - better still, tell me before the assembly tomorrow (half of post-16 will be in there; if yours isn't one of those groups ask if you can head over to B hall, where I'll wait outside if possible)


I have them written down somewhere, but not in front of me - I'm missing Jessica, Conor O, and Hannah's emails so please forward and ask those 3 to email me so I can add them to my list if you are in contact


Good luck with your prep for the pitches!!!

Cheers
David Burrowes
Media Studies

Sign up for Parents Eve

This falls on Monday the 6th; the sign-up sheet is just inside the F6 door
Can those who are working on the Ben Rhydding nativity contact me by this same date (Mon 6th) with details of what you have planned, and who will be going where and when?! If this is only achievable by missing lessons, I need to know early to discuss whether this can be done, and to ensure any of you affected can flag this up well in advance with any subject teachers.

Xmas VideoMakers Needed

UPDATE, MON 22ND NOV: 
We now have 3 confirmed roles, following a lunchtime meeting: Rob to produce a sleeve, including still images provided by Harry; Faye to be part of the cinematography team, and also taking part in editing. Two more (Melodie and Ben) didn't show just now, but, subject to confirmation, will agree roles involving cinematography (Melodie?) and editing (Ben?), with one from these three (Faye, Mel., Ben) also acting as sound recordist
 
As mentioned in class, each year IGS Media students film the Ben Rhydding Primary School nativity play, which is then sold to parents of that school.
This year I'd like to push the boat out a little and present the school with a deluxe DVD! There are various roles you can volunteer for, detailed below, with the aim to create a DVD with the performance and at least one bonus/extra feature, perhaps of a rehearsal, each kid stating their role and who they are (or anything else the eventual video producers think up) PLUS a DVD sleeve.
This means we need the following roles filling (there can be some doubling up on this, eg filming and editing):

• cinematographers (maximum 3)
• sound recordist
• photographer
• sleeve designer
• editor/s
• one producer to co-ordinate all activities, hold meeting/s to discuss ideas/roles and make final decisions on what is filmed etc

This comes right at the end of term; we have always handed over the master DVD in January (or later!), but perhaps this could be sped up to December...
Note that there will not be lesson time on this; this is an extra-curricular project!
Key dates to consider before you declare an interest:

• Dress rehearsal 13^th December (pm)
• Performance for parents 14^th December (am)
• Production for their ‘twin school’ Lillycroft 15^th December (pm)
• Production for parents 16^th December (5.00pm)

If you are interested in volunteering for this, post a comment for this post stating clearly which position/s you want to fill. This is only open to AS Media students. Comments to this post are also the only means by which I will generate a list of names to pick from!!!

Creating a links list

You'll have seen that most of my blogs include a variety of lists of hyperlinks for further reading and research on a range of topics. Your blogs will too!

So we're now going to add our first 'gadget', a links list.
Once you're logged in, bring up your blog, click on 'Design' (top right) then add a gadget (just above Blog Archive'). The image below shows the relevant add gadget tool on the right of my layout for this blog.

As you can see there are good number of gadgets!
A note of caution: don't go mad with these! Your blog should be attractive, multimedia, interactive ... but not featuring a Beyonce Knowles Calendar Gadget for instance (and, yes, there is just such a tool!). This blog is a showcase for your Media work, which can include some lighter aspects, but keep it appropriate!

We're looking for the Links Lists gadget; scroll down until you can see this, as above, then simply click on the plus sign.

Every time we do this we need to consider a title that makes it clear what this list is about; provide a clear description of each link, and also consider the order these appear - in this case I've opted for alphabetical order (so #1 will appear at the top). I've also decided that as I've already given an IMDB link I'd do a little more research and find another site that would help someone using my blog find out more. If you look at the links lists on my blogs there's often considerable info provided so that you have a clear idea what each is for without having to click through every one to find out. In this case I don't think too much text is required.
Look at the image below; I just have to click ADD LINK now, do this 4 more times and I have my 5 movies, at which point I click SAVE.

I don't want this to be the top item though - I want my blog archive to be easy to find - so I'll have to reposition this. Which is very easy! I hold the mouse button in, and drag the links list item down back below the archive tool, and drop it in. Simple!

Scroll through the AS Media blog and you'll see my example. Now your turn! Don't forget to click SAVE once you've reached the screen above, otherwise your links list will still appear above your blog archive etc!

Blogging task: Mon.11th Oct

With thanks to Charlie Dellar for spotting this, the reason we couldn't get the embed codes to work on Monday was down to one setting within your blogger accounts. Follow these steps, and you should see the Word doc finally appear:
(1) edit the post
(2) look to the bottom of the post editor frame, for 'Post Options'
(3) click on this and you'll see...
(4) Compose Settings. You need to ensure that... 
(5) 'Interpret typed HTML' is selected, and NOT 'Show HTML literally'


HTML is the code your browser uses to work out what font, colour, position etc to use; you'd only want to 'show HTML literally' in a post if you were actually teaching how to use HTML!
If it still seems as if your blog post is only showing the copied code try reloading the page (apple+R) - you'll often find this solves strange problems!


Lets remind ourselves of the ambitious task list for Friday's lesson:

OUTCOMES: By the end of today everyone should have...

1. Emailed me their blog's URL (the web address) so that...
2. I can become a follower of your blog
3. you will be following at least 1 fellow student's blog, as well as...
4. the AS Media, British Cinema, AS Coursework, horror, rom-com, semiotics and media lang, and UK TV Drama blogs
5. in addition to myself, you should yourself have at least 1 follower
6. created a post entitled: My Coursework Task, in which...
7. you copy/paste in the text from a January 2010 AS Coursework blog post which describes the tasks and how its marked; only copy as far as EVALUATION: 20%
8. add to this post your own summary of The Evaluation (you can copy/paste in the 7 questions) and how its all marked
9. now you'll embed a copy of the Word document that summarises the marks scheme; I'll guide you all through this
10. at this stage you'll set up a scribd.com account

Most of you have got as far as setting up the blog post entitled 'My Coursework Task'. The aim of this is to ensure you can swiftly and easily refresh your memory on what the coursework unit is all about; you're not being asked to evaluate something you haven't created yet as some of you seemed to think!!! You'll gain a lot from Media Studies, but not time travel alas! (Though give us time...)
Carry on now with finishing this; please don't start into the next section - look around and go over and assist anyone who hasn't finished yet!

STAGE 4 OF YOUR BLOGGING ODYSSEY

By now you've examined a range of blogs; set one up; undertaken some initial posting tasks. We're going to do a little work to add a multimedia flavour to your blog right from the outset. You are partly marked on how multimedia and well-presented your blog is, so this is important!
Our basic aims here are to set up a links list and to create a blog post on this which includes images, hyperlinks and a YouTube video which can be played directly from your blog - now thats multimedia!

I'll set out the steps involved below; the 1st requires pen, paper and a little thought; you will then need to engage in a little research. You should be able to figure the design steps detailed for yourselves; have a try before you ask for any help on this - Blogger is designed to be easy to use if you apply a little thinking!

1. List your fave 5 movies of all time. These can be British, Hollywood, obscure Indie, tentpole blockbuster, moody Korean drama, or even Leningrad Cowboys Go America, one of those that might make my list!
2. Using IMDB if required, make a note of the director, year of release and budget (which won't always be provided; just give it where you can) plus UK+US box office totals.
3. In no more than 2 sentences, note why each is a favourite (yes, thats 2 sentences for each one!)
4. Write this up in a new post alliteratively entitled 'My 5 Fave Films'. Include the director's surname + year of release in brackets after each film title (you should do this in every post [and essay!] when you first mention a film; you don't have to do it twice in any post). Then add 'Bugdet: £xm' and 'UK box office: £xm' then 'US: $xm' (all figures to 1 decimal point) Type everything in BEFORE moving on to step 5
5. Work on the design and layout as follows:
6. Hit return after each Title (Bloggs, 2025), make them bold. Change the font so that it stands out. Make it large rather than normal size. Make it a hyperlink that takes you to the IMDB entry for the film
7. Put the budget and box office info into bold and the same font as the title; change the font colour
8. Now google for an image relevant to the movie; save it and then use blogger's picture upload tool (look for the icon of a framed picture!!!) to insert it into your post. As you do this 5 times you'll discover it can be fiddly keeping these in place, and will need to play around with size and positioning. This is easier with a PC - a right-click lets you choose a size for example - so you may find yourself tweaking this at home.
9. This next step you will - for the moment - have to do at home while YouTube remains blocked on student accounts in school. Find the trailer for your top movie on YouTube, check you've picked the highest resolution, find and copy the EMBED code. Press RETURN twice after your 2 sentences on this movie. Type in 'The trailer'. In the blank line above, paste in the embed code. You'll find whenever embedding any document/video it helps to ensure you've got a line below with some text; if you don't it can be tricky getting to do any additional typing!
10. Publish your post and see if you need to make any changes. Again, for the moment any YouTube clips will simply appear as blank space - they are still there, but simply not displayed because of the school filter. Finally, consider what else you could add to make your number one choice stand out - a bit more detail than your 2 sentences? Snippets from some reviews? (Try this - and experiment with the quote marks tool to see what this does) Info on more useful websites? Books on this? Films you'd compare it to? Aspects of the media language you especially admire? Target audience analysis?

ITS CRUCIAL YOU ALWAYS PROVIDE DETAILS OF WHERE YOU'VE FOUND INFORMATION, WHETHER ITS A REVIEW OR INSIGHT INTO THE PRODUCTION PROCESS - SO ALWAYS PROVIDE THE SOURCE OF YOUR INFORMATION!!!

For blogging purposes I'll often simply add 'source' in square brackets and provide the URL, eg, if I were to be blogging about Rupert Murdoch's 'evil plans to take over the world, by way of his Death Star, News Corporation,' I'd add [SOURCE: http://gothamist.com/2003/05/28/rupert_murdoch_is_evil.php] I might opt to provide an option to read more, showcasing the research I've done [You can read more at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/karl-frisch/fox-nation-the-seedy-unde_b_210574.html which specifically tackles Fox News, and find many more useful articles simply by googling 'murdoch is evil'!]


Read more on providing source details here - one that I prepared earlier! (an interextual reference for those of a non-teen age!)

Next up: creating a links list...

Recovering an unfinished post

Having discussed the festival at length we got about half way through Friday's task. We'll pick that up today, and start into some additional tasks.

First though: how do you edit a post to add to it/make changes?

Anytime you're about to log off, you have two options: PUBLISH POST or SAVE NOW.

If you publish you can go back and edit the post at any time, but whatever you've put in that post will now be visible on your blog. If you click 'save now' your post does not appear, but it is saved and can be seen by you alone in a list of your posts, enabling you to reopen it and finish it off before finally publishing it.

I'll save this post now and follow the steps to bring it back up to complete it...


This brings us to your current situation: you've started a blog post, but its not finished.
There are two ways we can resume working on it.
So long as you're logged in, you'll see a little pencil at the bottom of every post you've published on your blog. Clicking on this will bring your post up in the same window you see when you click 'new post' (the post editor).
So, I'll try that now...
Indeed, there it is, that little pencil (at the bottom of the post), which has brought me back into the post editor!





If I'd saved rather than published my unfinished post, its also simple. I can either click on the RETURN TO LIST OF POSTS which appears at the very bottom of the post editor screen, or I can go into my dashboard (the screen you see when you log in to blogger; clicking on the orange 'b' logo at the top left of the screen always takes you there too), find this blog and click on EDIT POSTS....



I then see a list of my posts and simply have to click on edit to resume work on this post. Notice its listed as DRAFT; when last editing this post I clicked on SAVE AS DRAFT instead of PUBLISH POST, meaning it would no longer be visible on the blog.


Now that I've gotten this far with this post, I've decided it makes more sense to publish this as a separate post on blog editing rather than also including instructions on today's lesson, so I'm simply going to delete the post title and type in something different - the title of the post you've been reading...

Blogging task: Friday 8th Oct lesson

Everyone has now set up a blog - well done!
With some practice you'll soon come to see what may now look like a very confusing, intimidating web tool as a simple to use, incredibly powerful aid to your Media work!!!

So today we will have a go at using some of the tools in blogger to begin getting used to how it works. Remember, this marks the start of your coursework, a path which hopefully will lead to many of you seeing your work on a cinema screen in October 2011, continuing the fine tradition of success Media Studies students have enjoyed!

OUTCOMES: By the end of today everyone should have...

1. Emailed me their blog's URL (the web address) so that...
2. I can become a follower of your blog
3. you will be following at least 1 fellow student's blog, as well as...
4. the AS Media, British Cinema, AS Coursework, horror, rom-com, semiotics and media lang, and UK TV Drama blogs
5. in addition to myself, you should yourself have at least 1 follower
6. created a post entitled: My Coursework Task, in which...
7. you copy/paste in the text from a January 2010 AS Coursework blog post which describes the tasks and how its marked; only copy as far as EVALUATION: 20%
8. add to this post your own summary of The Evaluation (you can copy/paste in the 7 questions) and how its all marked
9. now you'll embed a copy of the Word document that summarises the marks scheme; I'll guide you all through this
10. at this stage you'll set up a scribd.com account

If time allows, we'll also set up an account with slideshare.net and upload any PowerPoints from your film openings presentations

Creating your coursework blogs

Having looked at a variety of blogs and gained some sense of how they might be used, we will today be setting up individual blogs.
Remember, your coursework (including the Research and Planning, plus an Evaluation) are assessed directly by us, and the exam board, from this blog - including marks for the presentation of your work and the use of multimedia features!

By the end of this lesson, we should each have:

1. set up a blog!
2. named it correctly (eg G321 Smith John)
3. emailed the URL to me (so that myself and Mrs Morgan can become 'followers' of your blog!
4. changed your blog's time settings to GMT, so we know you're not slaving away at 4am!
5. changed the comment settings so that you can preview all comments before they appear on your blog (always publish any comments from myself or Mrs Morgan though!)
6. made a note of the URL of your blog plus log-in details
7. found one follower, and started following one other student's blog!

Because of issues with email, some of these may have to be completed at home.

Once back from the festival, we will work on some tasks to provide practice on the process of posting (plus help to understand what the coursework involves), and soon work on our first creative task which will generate some filmed footage to be uploaded....

Slideshow on media terms

Useful run through this of key media terms and concepts (from http://www.slideshare.net/mcmrbt/media-glossary):

Media Glossary

View more presentations from Rob McMinn.

Free book!

You can read an entire book free at http://oreilly.com/catalog/wemedia/book/index.csp. It looks at the blurring of the divide between news media and audience through the development of new media

Vote Rupert

Interesting feature from The Guardian, in which they asked for alternative political posters, this being one of them. See more at http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/gallery/2010/apr/26/election-2010-poster-politics?picture=361890219
[Lest you haven't worked it out, that is indeed Rupert murdoch, media magnate, pictured]

The Guardian is traditionally pro-Labour (though has been discussing backing the Lib-Dems this time) it should be noted. Roy Greenslade here (and many of the comments that follow) looks at The S*n's partisan coverage:

Somehow, I don't think The Sun favours a hung parliament. Front page: WELL HUNG.. AND SHAFTED with a merged picture of the faces of Nick Clegg and Gordon Brown (same copy online, but better headline: HUNG, DRAWN & THWARTED).
The inside spread article begins: "Nick Clegg was last night accused of setting the country on a collision course for political disaster by saddling us with a lame duck coalition government FOREVER."

Got the message? No? OK, here are extracts from the paper's leading article:

We need decisive economic leadership - which we WON'T get from a hung parliament. If the election produces chaotic deadlock, kiss goodbye to recovery...
Our futures rest on getting the economy right. That won't happen without a clear Conservative majority. A hung parliament, squabbling over every point, will be a disaster.

What's that? No-one reads Sun leaders? Fair enough, but I bet a good number read the caption accompanying the Page 3 girl.
So take heed of Becky's concern at the prospect of a hung parliament. "In legislatures with proportional representation," she says, (oh yes, she does) "minority or coalition government is often the norm. I'd hate to live in a country like Italy that has had 61 governments in 65 years - even if I do love Italian food."
And, for good measure, a left-field attack on Lib Dem law and order policy: No prison for Glitter under Libs: Fiends 'helped'
Surely, you've got the message now? Vote Tory - or else you'll be hung out to dry.

[The S*n is tagged as pornography by the school filter, so you can't click through to read the stories cited]

Media satire

You may have seen his (quite poor) Big Brother/zombie comedy on C4, or read his weekly column in ... The Guardian, and now he's back on TV highlighting the ludicrous patterns weaved by our news providers.
Very, very funny show (it is post-watershed, so expect some challenging material), and exceptionally useful for any Media student, covering ground we don't often get time to look at, and currently available to view on the iPlayer at http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00qbyth/Newswipe_Series_2_Episode_2/

Request for aud feedback on music vids

[have a look at the following if you wish...]

In order to help my students with an audience feedback task that I have set them this term, I'd be grateful if any members of this board community would encourage their students to have a look at the latest projects uploaded to our department YouTube site and to leave some constructive feedback on the music videos:

http://www.youtube.com/user/hurtwoodhousemedia

We are particularly interested in any feedback to the latest 15 music videos posted and happy to reciprocate by arranging for our students to comment on other centres' work if you would like to send me the details.

Any help in this would be much appreciated!

James Baker

Head of Media Studies, Hurtwood House

Library DVDs update

With the funds raised by selling 8 copies (so far) of the AS 2008-9 coursework DVD, I've ordered some additional DVDs for the library, primarily with the A2 exam topic of representation of Britishness in mind, but also for AS/A2 coursework ideas and the AS British Cinema exam question.
The latest additions (just ordered, so at least a week before they appear in the Lib) are:

Withnail & I
Danny Boyle Collection 3DVD: Sunshine/Beach/28 Days Later 
Hammer Collection: 5dvd The Devil Rides Out, Dracula: Prince Of Darkness, Quatermass And The Pit, The Nanny, + Frankenstein
Powell and Pressburger Box Set: A Matter Of Life And Death / The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp / I Know Where I'm Going

 This adds to the existing stock: a range of short film and music video compilations plus primarily Working Title and Warp Films/X movies (I need to double-check this list, especially the titles in upper case):

WORKING TITLE DVDs STOCKED

About a Boy
Ali G Indahouse The Movie
Atonement
Bridget Jones's Diary
Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason
CAPTAIN CORELLI’S MANDOLIN
Coen Brothers’ Collection 4DVD – Big Lebowski, Blood Simple, Hudsucker Proxy, Barton Fink (see this blog for an overview)
Definitely Maybe

ELIZABETH
ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE
Four Weddings and a Funeral
The Guru
Hot Fuzz SE 2DVD
Love Actually
The Matchmaker
Mickybo and Me
My Beautiful Laundrette
My Little Eye SE 2DVD
Notting Hill
Pride And Prejudice
Sense And Sensibility
Shaun of the Dead
Wish You Were Here

WARP FILMS/X DVDs STOCKED

A Room for Romeo Brass
Dead Man’s Shoes
Donkey Punch [kept in F6]
Twenty Four Seven
This Is England 2DVD

SOME ADDITIONAL DVDs STOCKED (bold = set in/about N.Ireland)

An American Werewolf in London
Angel
BBFC 2DVD
The Boxer
Breakfast on Pluto
Bullet Boy
The Crying Game SE
The Frighteners
Hidden Agenda
In the Name of the Father
Resurrection Man [in F6]
Shakespeare In Love [UNIVERSAL/MIRAMAX, not WT]

Several of these are directed by Neil Jordan, an Irish director who has frequently worked with the actor Stephen Rea, but who has also directed the likes of Tom Cruise in mainstream Hollywood flicks. Hidden Agenda is by Ken Loach, and these two much-respected director's varying representations of this corner of Britain make for an interesting contrast, and an especially useful bit of viewing for A2 students!


We still have some of the AS coursework DVDs for sale - your folks may be interested, you might even enjoy one yourselves! Any money raised from these will go directly to adding to the Library stock you are able to borrow for the grand Yorkshire fee of nowt!

Follow me please

I'll post coursework specific materials at http://asmediafilmopening.blogspot.com/, though will also continue to use this blog and update the British Cinema blog on an ongoing basis. You should be a follower of all 3 so that when you log into blogger (as you will be almost daily!!!) you can see (and click straight through to) any new postings from your 'Dashboard'.

Media Exam: Instructions if school closed

If the school is closed on Wednesday, there are slightly different arrangements for the AS Media exam: this will not be held in the sports hall. Instead the exam will take place in B Hall if the school is closed (otherwise there is no change to the original exam timetable).

UK TV Drama: Common stereotypes

You can use this to help brainstorm a simple table to ensure you're prepared to tackle any of the 7 areas of representation.
REPRESENTATIONS – COMMON STEREOTYPES

Torchwood semiotics practice

I've posted material on this at: http://repsexuality.blogspot.com/2010/01/from-dot-cotton-to-torchwood.html