It could be:  An element of characterisation or a relationship between characters  One (or more) of the themes from your play  Make sure that your idea is fresh and original.  Research the theme using secondary sources to gain a deeper and more complex understanding.

 Documentary  Mockumentary  Thriller  Romantic Comedy  Horror  Drama  Science Fiction  Make sure that you do some research into your genre.  Find out the common features in relation to: narrative style, plot, characters, themes etc.

 Come up with a basic storyline/plot for what will happen in your film  Think about how it relates back to the text studied in class  Make sure that you aren’t simply retelling the story- What original or new idea are you exploring?

 Who are your characters going to be?  What are they going to say?  How are they going to say it? E.g. formal, colloquial, accent  How can you explore your chosen ideas through dialogue?  Sometimes a character can be a mouthpiece for a particular idea e.g. the voice of reason

 Celtex is a free downloadable program that can help you to write scripts:  Think about character and plot development as you create your script  You can access famous scripts here, for guidance:

 What is going to happen in each scene?  What is going to be in the frame?  What kind of camera shots and angles will you use?  What kind of lighting will you use?  What will your characters wear/look like?  What kind of props will you use?

 An example of a storyboard

 You could draw, take photos or use clip-art to create a storyboard  Taking photographs is a good, quick way to get your images, and encourages a focus on framing.  Looking at comics and graphic novels are really useful for storyboarding.  The storyboard should include:  shot type  indication of dialogue  shot description.

 Who are your actors? Are they capable and reliable? When are they available?  Where will you film? More than one location?  What props and/or costumes will you use?  What equipment will you need? Lighting? Camera? Tripod?

 You will need a program to edit your film into a smoothly flowing sequence  Many students find that ‘imovie’ is easy to use  Adobe premier elements is another good program. It is available on most of the computers at Gungahlin College. There is a ‘how to guide’ available online too: elements-11/

You may want to add in:  Music and sound fx  Textual inserts e.g. credits, opening titles  Editing techniques- transitions, dissolves, fades etc.

 rized/making-a-short-film/ rized/making-a-short-film/

 Your use of film and camera techniques (in the same way that you would be marked on literary techniques in a story) e.g. If you wanted to make someone seem powerful and used a low angle  The quality of the ideas explored in your film- are they: Original? Relevant? Complex?  Your understanding of the chosen genre- if it’s supposed to be a horror movie and I’m laughing then it’s not a good thing

 Your class teacher will go through rationale writing with you in class My tips  Be concise- don’t waffle  Don’t talk about what you haven’t done  Use evidence from the text  Use ‘metalanguage’  Make sure you link your film back to your text