ON THE SET

In today's lesson we learn what equipment we use and how to use it. 

We explore how to use the Canon cameras and Manfrotto tripods.

Cameras and tripods: In groups we pass the camera around and each of us practise how to handle the camera, 

insert the battery and memory card. When you pass the cameras around you should say 'yours' and 'mine' to avoid

 the risk of dropping it.  We learn how to set up a tripod and to 'bubble' it using the spirit level to help make

 the camera balanced and in focus. We explore the camera such as how to focus.  The exposure on the camera

 is adjusted by moving the dial up and down. 

White balance (WB): is the process of removing unrealistic colour casts, so that objects which appear white

 in person are rendered white in the photo. Proper camera white balance has to take into account

 the "colour temperature" of a light source, which refers to the relative warmth or coolness of white light. 

You adjust it by selecting the ‘WB’ on the camera, it will then come up with little pictures representing 

difference colour tones that are used in different lights which will give a more realistic effect.

180-degree rule: We learn about the 180 degree rule.  The 180-degree rule is a cinematography guideline 

that states that two characters in a scene should maintain the same left/right relationship to one another. 

When the camera passes over the invisible axis connecting the two subjects, it is called crossing the line 

and the shot becomes what is called a reverse angle.

On set: We then learn about the terminology that is used in the filming industry. 

The director shouts ‘Standby’ before filming a scene to ensure that everyone is ready 

and if they are, they reply ‘Standing by’. 

When the director shouts ‘rolling’, everyone on set must be quiet, then he /she shouts ‘action’ 

which tell the actors to start. After the shoot, the director has said the last ‘cut’, 

he / she will say ‘strike the kit’ which is the film crew's cue to pack away, 

put the batteries on charge and ensure that the footage is uploaded.

Good practice in editing: We are using Final Cut Pro and iMovie on the iMacs in the media studio. 

When uploading our footage, we should create a folder to keep the shots. 

These folders are called bins and the unedited footage from cameras are called rushes.

CONTINUITY EXERCISE

Aim: storyboard and film a brief conversation / confrontation between  two parties:

• draw and photograph the storyboard.
• establishing shot (= where the action takes place, to 'establish' it for the audience
• mid shot of character A already in place
• character B arrives, making a two-shot (a shot with two characters)
• a series of shot-reverse shots delivers the dialogue (over the shoulder shots that will be edited together in order)
• another two-shot
• bring the narrative to a close in any way that fits
• post the storyboard in a post entitled CONTINUITY EXERCISE
• edit and upload the shots.

ADVANCED PRODUCTION: TRAILER BRIEF

From this date onwards, year 12 students switch to their A2 Advanced Production and follow the guidelines on the class A2 blog. You have all created your A2 blogs and are aiming to complete all RESEARCH tasks by the end of the summer term 2020 ready to start the PLANNING and CONSTRUCTION elements in September 2020.

For groups tackling the Film Trailer Package

2018 A2 blogs HERE

1. You will be making two trailers (a teaser and a full theatrical trailer) as well as an individual film website and individual film poster. We start with the trailers. As usual, the work flow is: research, planning, construction and evaluation in that order. Separate marks are awarded for each stage as well as for each element of the production. The whole makes up 50% of this year's work and thus 25% of the whole AL. It is harder than the Foundation Production as you have more to create in order to achieve the same marks, which is why we start as soon as your Foundation Production is completed and this is why it is vital to complete your first year production work promptly. If you have anything to do on your first year's work, you should be doing this in your holidays now.

THERE ARE USEFUL RESOURCES BOTH IN THE FDA MATERIAL AND THE TEACHING TRAILERS RESOURCES: USE BOTH!

Start your research into trailers by working systematically though each element from the Teaching Trailers resource and The Film Distributors' Association(FDA) educational resources.

2. Start with THEORY pages and make a separate post for each of the What? Why? Who? How? Where? When? ( seven posts) plus The Role of the Distributor. Titles for each post: 
RESEARCH: THE ROLE OF THE DISTRIBUTOR
RESEARCH: WHY IS THE TRAILER MADE? WHAT IS A TRAILER?
RESEARCH: DIFFERENT KINDS OF TRAILERS Teaser, main trailer, TV spots, using graphics,  trailers in the digital age
RESEARCH: WHAT ARE THE FILM'S SELLING POINTS? DAN SKINNER ON USP
RESEARCH: WHO ARE THE TARGET AUDIENCE? There are several tasks to complete in this post, including Reaching You, Genre and Audience, The Hook and the Audience, Reaching the Target Audience, Marketability and Playability. Open the link & give an account of what you learn from Kezia William's presentation; complete & screenshot the questionnaire then complete all the tasks. You need only to pick 2 of the films (not all five) in task 4. LINK
RESEARCH: WHERE WILL THE FILM BE RELEASED? WHERE ARE TRAILERS SHOWN & HOW ARE THEY ADAPTED TO DIGITAL PLATFORMS?
RESEARCH: WHEN DO TRAILERS APPEAR? TEACHING TRAILERS LINK HERE
RESEARCH: HOW IS THE FILM MARKETED & PROMOTED? TEACHING TRAILERS LINK HERE

3. Ensure that you write fully on each of the questions, such as those below.

Why is the film trailer made?

4. Ensure that you introduce your analysis, by explaining what you watched and what you are trying to analyse. Remember the needs of your readers (the examiner and moderator). So when you are tackling the answer to the question below, write 'Before watching the actual trailers, I looked at the titles of three trailers in order to test my assumptions about films'. You are responding here to the questions "Based on just the titles, what clues are there about the content of the film? Try to say what exactly you are basing your ideas on. Is it the associations of a particular word or phrase? Is it knowledge of other films?"

5. Illustrate your analysis clearly, using screenshots:

6. Now move on to the next batch of 5 posts from the ANALYSIS section. Answer all questions thoughtfully. Illustrate clearly. You can use your own initiative to write fully and answer from your own experience. The aim is show 'articulate reflection'.

Titles of posts: RESEARCH: GENRE

RESEARCH: TRAILER CONVENTIONS

RESEARCH: TRAILER STRUCTURE

RESEARCH: SOUND IN TRAILERS

7. The next step is research into NARRATIVE with posts on introduction to narrative image, purpose and style. 

Post titles RESEARCH: NARRATIVE IMAGE

RESEARCH: PURPOSE & STYLE

8. Included here is a downloadable chart to assist you in the comparison of two trailers. 

Do this with your group, picking two trailers that are in the same genre that you yourselves would like to make, so that research is made as relevant as possible. Add hyperlinks and a screenshot of each trailer. Present the research on your blog in a separate post.

The definitions are included on the second page.

NARRATIVE THEORY

Today, some narrative theory for you. First, look at this short presentation on Todorov:
please watch the cartoon HERE which explains Todorov's narrative theory.
So, to summarise:

FILM INDUSTRY ASSESSMENT

To be posted early Friday morning.
Open book assessment. 
Start whenever you are ready. 
After an hour, change font colour.

Either
Assess the importance of marketing in the media of the area you have studied (2015)
Or

Analyse how media institutions are using different platforms to engage with their audiences (Specimen 2021)

Don't be put off by the wording: just write about the film industry.

When writing about AUDIENCES and TRENDS, identify age groups:
In the BBC's annual report, published yesterday (21.05.20), it said that Netflix has overtaken the BBC and ITV to become the biggest video provider for people aged 16 to 34. “The online-first behaviours that were once limited to younger audiences are on the rise amongst older audiences,” it adds.

Young prefer Netflix

The BBC concedes that it has been surpassed by Netflix, at least among younger viewers. It says that “over the last 12 months Netflix overtook the BBC and ITV to become the biggest video provider for 16-34s”.

It says that Spotify is now the most popular audio provider for this age group. Older audiences are also adopting streaming habits of younger users. However, the BBC still claims to account for 24 per cent of all video, audio and online time spent by the average British adult in a week, compared with 3 per cent for Netflix.

FILM INDUSTRY

Our case studies for 2021 and 2022

• Black Panther (read 'Marketing Black Panther' and 'the role of digital technology in marketing & consumption')
• Captain Marvell (film website & trailer link and our class blog link)
• I, Daniel Blake (2016) dir. Ken Loach (below) 
• Sorry We Missed You (2019) dir. Ken Loach (film website link)
• Emma (new case study) class blog post on Marketing Emma
• Roma (film trailer link and class blog link)
• Bait (website link and class blog link)

Model answers available on: 

• Analyse the techniques used to target different audiences in the media are you have studied.
• The role of digital technology in marketing and consumption
• Marketing Black Panther
• How important is cross-media convergence and synergy in the area that you have studied?
• Discuss the impact of funding on products
• 'Nowadays, everyone consumes media texts in the same way.' Discuss with reference to the media area you have studied.

PowerPoint resources:

• CIE Film
• Media Ownership and Distribution

I, Daniel Blake

Cultural capital refers to the cultural knowledge that helps us navigate society and makes us feel 'in the know'.

Marketing I, Daniel Blake here by Zenith Media

• Unlike Hollywood studio films which benefit from the synergy available from vertical distribution with its multiple platforms enhancing the distribution's advertising strategies, independent films in the UK film industry works on a smaller scale with different strategies across some similar platforms. A film like I, Daniel Blake, for example set out to appeal to audiences that valued social realism through grassroots marketing. The film's trailers were slower in pace and used tracking shots that followed the characters so that audiences got a 'real life' feel for the harsh realities of life for the troubled characters caught in the benefits system. The use of natural lighting and close-ups showed the characters' emotions and harnessed audience's sympathy. The trailer included praise by Variety and Time Out, lending it the approval of a trusted source. Social media played a part: its FB page had 70,000 likes and the Twitter page 12,500 followers and the hashtag #wearealldanielblake circulated on the internet. The Twitter page retweeted fan messages and reviews, promoting further engagement and making the film feel more personal.

• eOne distributed Ken Loach's I, Daniel Blake. eOne harnessed the news agenda via Trinity Mirror's titles to promote it, generating conversation around socio-political themes and positioning it as a must-see film. Typical to Ken Loach's style, I, Daniel Blake contains potent social messages. The challenge was to raise awareness of the release and encourage audiences to go to the cinema by aligning the film’s topical themes with current affairs. Knowing that the film would resonate with Trinity Mirror's editorial news agenda and left-leaning readership, Zenith and eOne embarked on a multi-platform campaign with the publisher. The plan involved giving the main character, Daniel Blake, a voice across Trinity Mirror's many platforms, in contrast to the film where he gets lost in the benefits system and feels his identity fading. In print, masthead and front cover takeovers captured the attention of readers and directed them to a one-off column 'My Britain' – based on the Mirror's weekly series 'Real Britain' – where the character Daniel Blake talked frankly about the issues raised in the film. Digital content included disruptive display advertising (this means experimental advertising tactics) to continue the theme across the publisher's multi-platform portfolio. In addition, the campaign also laid on preview screenings around the UK with Trinity Mirror's regional titles giving away 10,000 tickets. According to Trinity Mirror's reader research, nearly 60% of readers recalled seeing the features and said that they would see the film, making this a successful platform for this particular audience and film.
• The distributors used the 'platforming' method with a festival run prior to release including screening at Cannes with the accolade of the Palme d'Or positioned it as worthy; its premiere in Newcastle attended by Jeremy Corbyn (as opposed to London) gave the message that the film was authentic. It also had over 1,000 screenings in a grass roots marketing movement. Thus word of mouth was built up. A 'guerilla' projection campaign had quotes from the film beamed onto buildings in Newcastle as well as the House Of Commons to grab the attention of both news media and passers-by.

Sorry We Missed You

Film Website HERE

Links with The Mirror newspaper here:

Speaking exclusively to The Mirror for this special feature on the film, acclaimed director Loach told us: “We felt this family, the Turners, could be living on the next street to Daniel Blake in Newcastle.

“It’s the other set of people who are at the foodbank. It’s not capitalism failing, it’s capitalism working.”

To kick off our special investigation into zero hours contracts to mark the film’s release, we’ve spoken to a real-life courier named Patrick, who struggles with the same issues as the central character in the film. We've also interviewed director Ken Loach about how the film came about.

Awards here 
Cannes Film Festival nominee for Palme d'Or

BAFTA nominee Outstanding British film of the year

• Exposes a global issue: the vulnerabilities of people exploited in the gig economy
• Review by Peter Bradshaw The Guardian here
• Trailer here and here on IMDB
• Interview by Paul Laverty here: " Technology means that every minute of the drivers' life is dictated and monitored... the pressure is relentless. Carers are on zero hours contracts, like Abby in the film... There is massive economic injustice at the heart of our society now."
• SWMY Twitter

FILM INDUSTRY: ESSAY REVISION continued