Speeches Assignment

BBC channels are increasingly cross promoting their programme content and for this assignment you will be producing a TV trailer for a series of radio programmes on Radio 4 called ‘Speeches’, about a selection of great speeches of the 20^th Century.

Radio 4 will be running this series of programmes, each focusing on an individual speech from the following list:-

·       Franklin D Roosevelt:  The only thing we have to fear is fear itself

·       Winston Churchill:  We shall fight them on the beaches

·       Harold Macmillan: The wind of change

·       Nelson Mandela: An ideal for which I’m prepared to die

·       Jawahharal Nahru: A tryst with destiny

·       John F Kennedy: Ask not what your country can do for you

·       Martin Luther King: I have a dream

·       Margaret Thatcher: The lady’s not for turning

·       Earl Spencer: The most hunted person of the modern age

The TV trailers will act as ‘teasers’ about the speeches by creating short films which use a combination of an excerpt of the speech accompanied by atmospheric, original footage and text graphics.  These films need to be 1 minute long (with a 5 second leeway in each direction).  You are not searching for original footage of the speech being delivered, and nor are you trying to film literal interpretations of what is being said, but rather you will devise, shoot edit and post produce a sequence of shots which add visual accompaniment to the words being spoken. This film will also feature text elements which are used to highlight words being spoken in the speech.  You can also use music and/or sound effects in your film. 

You must use research to find out more about these speeches, their importance and historical context, and a useful starting point is http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/series/greatspeeches.  You also need to look at and analyse films which will help inspire you.  Use this research to devise your ideas, develop sketches and/or photographs to help you choose styles and locations.  Fully storyboard your sequence, then keep a log of your progress on shooting, editing and post-production in your blog. 

The film must be finished by crit, then you can make any suggested changes between crit and submission.  Crit and an evaluation must be written up in your blog.