Session Plan for Creative Directors CREATIVE S SKETCHBOOK THIS SKETCHBOOK BELONGS TO: @OfficialSYP 1
WELCOME YOUNG CREATIVE If you re reading this, it means you ve accepted the We-CTV challenge and are well on your way to creating an anti-knife crime campaign. This is exciting stuff. You re now officially a Creative, charged with the duty of producing something that will change attitudes and save lives. This won t be an easy ride, though. Creative work is a tough grind, but with teamwork and some smart thinking, we know you can create a really great film. This pack is designed to give you a hand throughout the process. Your Group Leaders are here to help too, so be nice to them. They re now your Creative Directors and Creative Directors don t like lazy Creatives, so make sure you re on time and full of questions for Week One s Briefing. Good luck! 1
CONTENTS THE BRIEFING FIRST REVIEW SECOND REVIEW PRE- PRODUCTION STORYBOARDING FINAL REVIEW PRODUCTION PRODUCTION 2 EDITING PROMOTION & JUDGING EDITING 2 POST PRODUCTION PARTY 2
Briefings are a great time to listen and think about everything you ll need to do to complete the project. Maybe we should get a special pad for our scribbles? This will keep all our thoughts in one place. Good Creatives ask questions, so we should ask plenty. THE BRIEFING OK, we ve learned a lot about knife crime today. Once we re in our groups, we should start thinking about film ideas that would stop someone from carrying a knife. We get to watch videos too. Cool! Maybe you could watch some more on your own for a head start. What s good about the previous We-CTV films and what s bad about them? How can we do something better? 3
Ok, it s time to knuckle down and do some creative work. Do we have any ideas? We should tell them to our Creative Director to see what they think. Why would someone carry a knife? Try to put yourself in their shoes. If we get into their head, we can solve the problem more effectively. FIRST REVIEW We should fill a wall or idea board with loads of different concepts. Don t be scared to share your ideas. They don t have to be perfect. How could we persuade someone not to carry a knife? Imagine you re having a chat with them, what would you say? How can we turn these reasons into good film ideas? Keep at it! There s no right or wrong just yet, so get everything in your creative brain down on paper. Keep writing, talking, brainstorming and scribbling down everything that sounds good. 4
What would persuade you not to carry a knife? Your family? School? Your future? The Police? These answers might help you think of a great film idea. So, here we are at the second review. First thoughts should be out of your head and it s time to really get thinking. Test ideas on someone else. If they work on them, then you re on the right track. What sort of story do you want to tell? What would make it powerful? SECOND REVIEW What about our tagline? What does No Knives Better Lives mean to you? Keep creating and keep thinking. Sometimes an idea will come to you when you least expect it. What about a visual? We could do a film that just focuses on someone s face while we hear their thoughts. If you get stuck, use the Useful Links section on the SYP website for some inspiration. Could we focus on the consequences of carrying a knife - on the family, on the victim, on the carrier? 5
Remember, we need to film these ourselves, so which ones are simple but still powerful? Our Creative Director can help us pick too. That s what they re there for after all. We ve reached the end of the ideas process and hopefully you had fun coming up with all those ideas. Now we need to pick one or two favourites. FINAL REVIEW What actually happens in our story? What s the beginning, middle and end? Will everything be done in video? Our Creative Director will explain the different techniques available to us. If they haven t, just ask them. Our Creative Director is going to tell us about Storyboards, but before we start drawing, we need to think carefully about our idea. Use this time to carefully plan your film. We ll start drawing in the next session, so bring a sharp pencil and a sharper mind. What happens in each scene? Remember to keep it simple. The fewer locations and characters, the better. 6
To recap, Storyboards are how we imagine our story visually. Our Creative Director has shown us how they work and how they should look, so now it s time to start drawing them up. Keep them simple. We don t need camera angles or other technical stuff. All we need is a sketch of each scene in a box with some dialogue underneath. Dialogue is crucial, so take time to write each character s lines and test them by reading them aloud. Does it sound unnatural? If it does, then it probably is. STORYBOARDING If we re not, try again and again and again until everyone s happy. Storyboards are important, so don t rush them. Maybe each person in the group can do a board for the same idea? By the end of this session, the best artist in our group should draw up a finished Storyboard that we re all happy with. They don t have to be works of art. Stick figures will do just fine. 7
So we have our Storyboard and now we need to plan how to film it. Which locations should we film at? It s best to keep it local. If your film is set in a school, use your local school. If it s set in a park, use your local park. But be careful! We don t PRE - PRODUCTION want any background noise, so don t pick places at times when they re busy. Who s going to star in our We need a filming plan: something that tells us the film? A couple of people in the group must be keen to get in front of the camera! locations for each scene and the actors and props involved. Our Creative Director will show us what one looks like and help us to complete our own. If you don t fancy acting, don t worry. There ll be loads of other cool jobs on the shoot. Remember your coat and gloves for the next session because we ll be out in the field. Woo-hoo! 8
If you re an actor, you should probably focus on your performance and leave the technical stuff to someone else. Fancy being the camera operator? We re about to head into the field, but before we do, it s a good idea for everyone to have set roles. So have think about what you d like to do. Then you should know what makes a good shot and have steady hands too. Remember to get close to the action to pick up sound. PRODUCTION Think you make a good boss? Once you ve got your roles, pack up and move out. Good luck out there. Here s hoping you capture a really great film. Maybe you should be the Director? You ll be responsible for getting great performances from the actors and picking the best shots with your camera operator You don t have to stick to one job. If your Creative Director s in a good mood, they ll let everyone have a shot at everything, but it never hurts to be organised. How about being the Editor? You ll have absolute control in post-production, but it s a big responsibility. You ll need to be pretty smart in front of a computer. 9
So we re back at base after a long day in the field. We should review all our footage as a group. Did we get the shots we needed? PRODUCTION 2 When the group s happy, it s time to move on to the next section: Editing. Maybe something didn t work or didn t come out as well as we d hoped. No need to worry, because this session is all about picking up the stuff we missed. So if you want to get some more shots, pack up the kit bag and head back out. 10
With all our footage captured, we re back indoors and ready to edit our shots into a final film. Our Creative Director should already have some editing software set up for us. If you re the Editor, this is your time to shine. Use the Storyboard as a guide. You should stick to it as much as possible, but if new ways EDITING of doing things pop up, share them with your group. Editing is tough even for Editing takes time, so there s no rush. Take each scene as it comes and if you need more time, that s not a problem. Good luck, young computer wizard. the best and you ll come up against a lot of difficulties once you start. But don t get stressed; like any problem there s always a way around it. Remember to save your film at every stage, just incase the software crashes. If you re still stuck, call your Creative Director over. They might be able to Youtube is now your best buddy. If you type the name of your software and the name of your problem into the search bar, you ll get loads of tutorials to help you, e.g. How to fade out in imovie. understand the tutorial videos a little better. 11
This session is all about knuckling down and editing away. EDITING 2 If you re tired, you can always let someone else take over for a bit. If you re not the Editor, offer to have a shot or use Youtube and Google to study tutorial videos. A little research can help to create an even slicker film. You can do it! By the end of this session, we should have our completed film. But don t rush it. Editing is an important process that takes time, so take as much as you need. Only move onto next week s session when everyone is happy with the final edit. 12
You should be proud of yourself. This isn t an easy project and it takes a special type of Creative Team to complete it. But the hard work isn t done yet. If we want to change attitudes and We ve come so far, from coming up with initial ideas to shooting and editing our final campaign films. save lives, then we need to get our message out into the world. We need young people to see our films. PROMOTION & JUDGING Share, tweet, post and repost. After a week or so, it s job done and time to celebrate. Did someone say party? That means promotion. Upload your film to Youtube and then make noise about it on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Reddit etc. Has your Creative Director told you if this is a competition with voting? If so, good luck and we hope you win it. If it s not a competition, you can still see how many views you can gather on Youtube. You probably know all about these, but do you know how to get the best out of them? Your Creative Director can give you some tips on how to get the best results online. 13
We did it! We completed the We-CTV challenge and tackled the issue of knife crime head on. Throughout all the ups and downs, you managed to spread a positive message into the world and do something really worthwhile. You ve proved yourself as a fine Creative. It s time to celebrate, so let s do something fun. Share your ideas for a celebration with your Creative Director and the rest of the group. POST PRODUCTION PARTY If the project was run as a Take pride in what you ve done and tell your friends and family all about We-CTV. There s a form included which you can use to tell us if you enjoyed the project and how we can make it better. competition, the votes have probably been counted and the winner announced. Remember, winning isn t the most important thing. What s important is what you ve achieved and how you ve contributed to your community and country. If you really got a taste for advertising, get in touch with the Scottish Youth Parliament and they ll put you in contact with a real agency that might be able to help you out one day! 14
Help us make the project even better. Complete this form and send it to: By Post: We-CTV Programme Scottish Youth Parliament Gordon Lamb House 3 Jackson s Entry Edinburgh EH8 8PJ By Email: info@syp.org.uk We-CTV Feedback Form - Creatives Are you: Male Female How old are you? Under 16 16 18 19 21 22 25 Over 25 Where did you carry out your We-CTV project? (please provide a postcode) Postcode How would you rate the following aspects of the We-CTV project? (Please tick the relevant box) Information about the We-CTV project Information about knife crime Layout of the Creatives Sketchbook Content of the Creatives Sketchbook very poor poor ok good very good What was your favourite part of the project? 15
Back of the Form.
What was the most challenging part of the project? How could we make the We-CTV project even better? What is the most useful thing you ve learned? Would you recommend the project to a friend, and why? 16
NOTES 17
Session Plan for Creative Directors 2 The Scottish Youth Parliament is a company incorporated under the Companies Act in Scotland (registered number SC227548) and a charity registered in Scotland No: SC032662