second project brief

2^nd Project: Fiction

20% of Final Assessment (Total video part of module = 50%)

Guidance and notes are still relevant from Project One, but this time you will write, schedule, recce, prepare both a storyboard and shot list, shoot and edit a short drama, 3 to 5 minutes long. You will need to shoot lots of cover, pay great attention to camera placement, improving the quality of your recorded sound over the first project and constructing sequences that will edit together effectively. Also you may want to consider use of music (but not throughout), graphics (which can be very effective during a fiction piece to set the scene, identify characters, to establish that time has passed etc) and possibly voice-over.

The finished piece must contain at least one scene of sync dialogue and also at least one internal and one external location. It can be serious, a comedy, a mockumentary, a thriller or any fictional genre but it cannot be an MTV-style music video (ie shots cut non-sync over a music track)

You will need to give careful thought to who your actors are going to be. Use mates who are willing to be actors (especially if they are on the Performing Arts degree here) or, as a last resort, members of your own crew (this can be tricky though, they will have a lot to do on camera and sound, organising the shoot, organising props costumes, etc). Often students on the DMU Performing Arts degree are keen to acquire a showreel ie examples of their acting. But be very clear from the outset what their commitment will need to be in terms of availability and time.

Remember

• Fiction is about involving your audience and also about change. A good drama scene is one which is convincing and also where things are not the same at the end of the scene as they were at the beginning.