CONSTRUCTION: SCRIPTWRITING

Use CELTX to present your script. It will look professional. Write a post with your script entitled CONSTRUCTION: SCRIPTWRITING. It will look something like this:

FILM INDUSTRY: CINEMA EXHIBITION

We read an article about the current state of cinema.

Main points:

• films including the new Bond, Top Gun: Maverick, and A Quiet Place Part II had their releases delayed; when one of the few blockbusters to get a cinema release this year, Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, did not set the box office alight.
• Cineworld, Britain’s biggest cinema chain, closed its screens until further notice
• Warner Bros announced last week that all its films, including Dune and The Matrix 4, would be shown on its HBO Max streaming service next year.
• Warner's move echoes Disney’s decision to release the live-action remake of Mulan and Pixar’s Soul on its streaming platform rather than in cinemas, and it challenges the convention that cinemas get a “window” — usually about three months — between a film arriving on screens and its release to television. 
• Warner Bros itself insisted that the switch was only temporary and that after a month of streaming the films would show only in cinemas. As Christopher Nolan has pointed out, it seems mainly to be a short-term marketing effort to draw attention to its new streaming service, HBO Max.
• Netflix spent a reported $17.3 billion this year alone on original content — and it does not seem to have hit box office numbers.
• 2018 was a record-breaking year for British cinema with more than 177 million ticket sales, and 2019 matched it. Two thirds of the population visited the cinema at some point last year and 45 per cent did so more than once a month (Mintel)
• Cinema performs an important role in terms of helping the public to filter films. Some analysts predict that streaming will herald a return to a version of the old studio system, where brands such as Disney, Netflix, and HBO Max will guide the public towards certain kinds of films.
• TV, VHS and illegal online downloading were all said to mean the end of cinema, but in the end all these things drove further interest in movies, educating successive generations of film-lovers, who then attended cinemas. 

PLANNING: CASTING

Write a post entitled PLANNING: CASTING

CASTING Note Examiner's report here Examples below and here in Piktochart, here in Slideshare

In your post, first draw a portrait (write / describe) of each character in your production. Then, underneath each of these, describe your casting decisions. Consider what presentational platform to use: Visme, Canva, SlideShare?

The recent release of the Examiner's Report threw up useful points, such as the good practice of including a post on casting. See their comment (in yellow) below beside an example from a student blog. You will present the casting with images, such as your casting of the character (and perhaps a stereotype character from a film?).

PLANNING: CREATE SHOT LIST

When you have completed your post on your Treatment and worked out your storyboard, the next step is to create a shot list, then call sheets for each shoot. (Info on call sheets below this.) 

A shot list helps you organize the order of your edit, so that you think of the whole narrative arc. 
Start a draft version. It may change during the edit. 
This is a group task so work together on one Word document. Some people find a collaborative document like Google Docs useful so that you can all access the same document.
Below is an example, made in Word, for the start of a 30 second TV commercial (open link) made for Young Enterprise.

Look at each line from left to right across. The first box SOUND: LOVE HOME BAKING? describes what we hear (such as dialogue, music), the second box VISION is what we see at the same time (live action), the third box ACTORS notes the actors needed, then look to the right for the props PROPS.

Then drop down to read the next shot. 

ROYALTY FREE MUSIC

 You could try sites like BenSound

CLASSWORK

 As the rains have come, it is not possible to film outside, but you can film in the media studio if you wish, or the drama area if you have booked this with the HOD drama.

Otherwise, please work on your blog posts such as your planning and construction posts.

Here is a checklist.

STORYBOARD

You can shoot your film opening on different occasions. Storyboard each shoot first. The method below uses movable Post-it notes so that you can re-arrange the order later and also so that different members of the group can take responsibility for different parts of the storyboard.

We consult the OCR AL Conference Weebly 2014 to see how Steve Thorne recommended approaching the business of creating a storyboard.

As you draw your storyboard, which is on paper with yellow PostIt notes, you save them in your group's folder in the classroom. The folder STAYS in the classroom so that it is safe and everyone can access it. 

CHARACTERS, SOCIAL GROUPS & STEREOTYPES

Post title: CHARACTERS & SOCIAL GROUPS

CHARACTERS The exam board ask us to consider social groups and stereotypes. Examples of this are in this post here, this post and here

Present this in Pinterest

Add some theoretical framework by referring to stereotyping and Stuart Hall

Examples of this are here and here  and here and here

By doing this properly now you can save yourself a lot of time when it comes to your evaluation (called the Creative Critical Reflection q.1)

PREP Post on your blog before the lesson on Friday 4 December.

FILM INDUSTRY: BLACK PANTHER CASE STUDY

BP case study from jennymann

Acknowledgements: Mark Dixon www.essentialmediatheory.com

After this lesson, open the PAGE on the Film Industry and pick out the exam questions that you think could be answered using this case study.

PREP Write about a side of A4 using Black Panther as your case study. Email the essay to me by the end of Wednesday 2 December. (This work would form about a third to a half of an exam essay.)

June 2017 
‘Marketing is vital to the success of both established and new media products.’ To what extent do you agree with this statement in relation to the media area you have studied?

REPRESENTATION & STEREOTYPES

You have learned about representation and reception theory as proposed by Stuart Hall. This post will enable you to write more confidently about stereotypes and social groups in your own production as well as to prepare for next year's exam work on media and power.

Acknowledgement: Mark Dixon Media Theory for A Level (1990)

Material also accessed online at https://www.essentialmediatheory.com/hallrepresentation

THEORY: BINARY OPPOSITION & THE MALE GAZE

Earlier this week you studied many aspects of audience theory, ending with reception theory (Stuart Hall).

Today we look at why we might need to refer to Claude Levi-Strauss - both to understand how filmmakers structure narrative such as through binary opposition and, equally importantly, how we can use the concept to make our own film making rich and sophisticated. See the details here.

We also look at what Laura Mulvey termed the concept of 'the male gaze'.

When you create and evaluate your own productions, it may lend weight to your work to frame what you have done with some relevant theoretical frameworks, such as the use of binary oppositions:

JOHN BERGER: WAYS OF SEEING (1972)

AUDIENCE PROFILE

By Friday 20 November, please write up a post entitled PLANNING: AUDIENCE PROFILE (the collage)

You will then place this audience profile in a post like this one or this one PLANNING: MY TARGET AUDIENCE with these questions:

1. Who is my primary target audience?

2. What kind of films and television are they likely to prefer?

3. What platforms do they choose to watch films and where are they likely to see information about films?

4. What brands do they prefer?

5. What makes my film stand out from the competition?

6 . Why should my audience watch my film? For example:  Total Film / Empire / Cinema Scope / Slant / Sight and Sound says: Most powerful psychological thriller since Don't Look Now!

By next Wednesday 25 November, please complete and post a Slideshare entitled PLANNING: AUDIENCE THEORY like this example,  this example and this one 

Please see the email about your audience questionnaire:

This is from the Film Distributors Association and may help you decide questions for your Audience Questionnaire:

PLANNING TASKS

To show the development of your Foundation Production, you now start publishing PLANNING posts. Put the word PLANNING in caps before each of the following:

AUDIENCE QUESTIONNAIRE Consult this blog post

TREATMENT Examples here

MY TARGET AUDIENCE example of a post here,  here and here 

CHARACTERS The exam board ask us to consider social groups and stereotypes. Examples of this are in this post here, this post and here

LOCATION RECCE with photos like this

RISK ASSESSMENT Once you know exactly what you are doing, assess the risks in a Word Document like this one here

CASTING Note Examiner's report here Examples here in Piktochart, here in Slideshare

PROPS Present this as you see fit, such as like this. If you have to construct props

STORYBOARD Examples here  and here

SHOT LIST Example here and here

CALL SHEET Example here

AUDIENCE Theory Slideshare like this 

                                                                      ...........

CONSTRUCTION: SHOOTS Great fun to report on your shoots (and later on your edits), explaining the challenges

FILM INDUSTRY: HOW FILM TRAILERS PROMOTE FILMS

Yesterday you all completed two test questions, having studied any two of your case studies from this list: Captain Marvell, Sorry We Missed You, Bait, Roma

Q.1 Take one of your two case studies. Explain how its website promotes the film.

Q.2 Take your second case study. explain how its trailer promotes the film.

Today, we look at how the film trailers for each promote the film, examining the trailers in detail and making notes. Complete this work for each trailer by Thursday 19 November.

Captain Marvell trailer 1

Captain Marvell trailer 2

Captain Marvell 

Sorry We Missed You

Bait

Roma version 1

Roma

TV DRAMA: THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT

PREP Answer the question below, with detailed reference to specific examples from the extract only.

1   Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs representations using the following:

  • Camera shots, angles, movement and composition

  • Editing

  • Sound 

  • Mise-en-scene [50 marks] 

Tackle your analysis in the order of the scenes Please email the prep to me by Wednesday 18th November.

The Queen's Gambit (Season 1, Episode 2 Exchanges Netflix 2020) Beth Harmon is adopted from an Orphanage by a middle-class childless couple. Suddenly plunged into a confusing new life in suburbia, teenage Beth studies her classmates and hatches a plan to enter a chess tournament.

inpoint 33.27 "You're home late"- Alma (mother) ..."I was out walking" - Beth

Outpoint :"Beltik's the state champion"  Townes. 

"Which is which?"  Beth. 

"Sh!" Townes.

POWER & THE MEDIA: BLACK LIVES MATTER

For our consideration when looking at representations, power and identity in the Film Industry

 

 

Black Lives Matter from jennymann

FILM INDUSTRY: SYNERGY & CONVERGENCE

We are studying the film industry and will use a range of case studies to illustrate our responses to exam questions. One such question could be on synergy and convergence. Synergy refers to where two or more products or organizations help each other, for example, the role of Disney's various arms (studios, TV) in promoting and selling Captain Marvell. Convergence is the interconnection between media, technology and communication, which often relies on digital technology. A convergent hub is needed (like a film website), where audiences can click through convergent links. Convergence and synergy are important in any film's promotion through the marketing campaign. In class, we look at the websites for our case studies and see how far  synergy and convergence played a role:

• Hollywood 'Big Six' studio - Disney Captain Marvell (2019)
• Ken Loach I, Daniel Blake (2016) and Sorry We Missed You (2019)
• Netflix - disruptor - Alfonso Cuaron Roma (2018)
• Indie film distributed by the BFI - Mark Jenkins Bait (2019)

PREP By Wednesday 11 November (next lesson) as discussed:

Pick two of these case studies (to start with) and get to know them. This means studying the film website and the trailer(s), opening the convergent links (to learn how Twitter, FB, Instagram etc. promoted the film), learning about any merchandising or other promo tools, researching the film itself to understand its audience, how successful it was at the box office, what its genre and USP was.

You will have to know the material well enough to answer a written question in class.

We also prepare other case studies for use in different questions:

• Disney Rogue One: Star Wars Story, director Gareth Edwards
• Working Title Legend (2016) director B. Helgeland

Disney is an example of a conglomerate

WHEN IT COMES to marketing, Disney has it almost too easy.

Just consider the past few weeks. The entertainment giant launched a Pixar clip where the characters personifying emotions in Inside Out react to the Star Wars trailer. ("I love this trailer!" Joy says.) On Disney-owned ABC, Good Morning America’s anchors revealed new Star Wars toys and dressed up as Star Wars characters with their very own recreated trailer. ("This is awesomeeee!" Jesse Palmer shouts.) The company has also released Star Wars clips during evening programming on ABC and ESPN.

For Disney, such cross-promotion—known in corporate-speak as synergy, where two or more divisions of a company increase value by working together—is business as usual. After all, the company owns not only one of the biggest film franchises ever but a major sports network and a major broadcast network, not to mention Pixar, which has made some of the most popular movies. With so many outlets available for promoting Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the question isn't "Where can I see more Star Wars?" but "Where can I not?"

Such synergy-driven advantage isn't new, and Disney is far from alone in exploiting it. Universal, for example, aggressively promoted Jurassic World—Chris Pratt appeared on NBC's The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, whose voice is heard in the film providing instructions to park-goers. (NBC and Universal are owned by Comcast.)

And, yes, Disney also gets an enormous boost from media coverage of the upcoming Star Wars film, including WIRED's latest cover. Fans on social media also play a role in fueling the growing hype.

But the unending promotion of Star Wars on Disney's platforms is a deliberate strategy by the company itself. In fact, Disney may well be the master of cross-promotion, a skill it honed with its iconic, family-friendly characters. Now its many corporate arms reach a uniquely vast array of audiences across the US and around the world. Even as upstarts like Netflix and BuzzFeed try to change how we consume entertainment, such traditional media power is hard to ignore—literally.

The basic concept of Synergy can be explained through this mathematical formula:

1+1=3

Whilst this may not make sense to mathematicians, in business it does, when we think of profit value. If you sell two separate products, for example a video game and a film, they could both do very well, giving you a profit of £200 million each.

However if the video game and film were linked, i.e. both Harry Potter projects, this is synergy because the profit value of each will be more, perhaps £300 million each. Therefore the product value of intertied products is

more

than the value of two separate products.

As film students, of course you do not have to worry about mathematics, but you do need to understand the importance of synergy for the industry and to be able to identify and discuss examples.

Jill Nelmes, in ‘An Introduction to Film Studies’ defines synergy strategy as:

Combined or related action by a group of individuals or corporations towards a common goal, the combined effect of which exceeds the sum of the individual efforts. (Nelmes, 1996: 42)

Synergy can come in a number of different forms:

Product Placement

Companies pay to feature their product in a film, which often leads to a deal in which the film’s protagonist or other characters are featured in their advertising campaigns.

Tie-ins

Promotional Partnerships, where the film or its characters will feature on existing products. This may be in the form of competitions.

Spin-Offs

Products based on the original, i.e. the Film. A film may be a spin-off of a television series, or a television series may be created as a spin-off of a film. We can also think of this as media convergence.

Pre-Existing Property

If a film is based on pre-existing material (for example a video game, novel or comic book) the pre-existing material is often re-released featuring imagery from the film on its cover, or a special edition is released in synch with the film’s scheduled cinematic release.

Merchandise

Companies created products specifically for the film, for example toys, calendars, video games. These products not only help market the film, but the audience’s knowledge of the film brings their awareness to the merchandise. 

Vertical Integration

When distribution and some forms of exhibition are kept in-house, meaning other subsidiaries of the conglomerate (who owns the production company) distribute the film and create DVD releases of it.

We do not consider publicity (i.e. press appearances and interviews) as a form of synergy though.

Synergy is a common action of the multi-media conglomerates who own the Hollywood studios. Often they will incorporate products from their different subsidiaries. For example, one of their Studios will produce a film, one of their TV studios will create a spin-off series, and one of their games manufacturers will produce a game. This will benefit the conglomerate as their products will be cross-promoted by each other, multiplying the profits for the conglomerate. Remember conglomerates are horizontally and vertically integrated meaning they have several companies in a number of different multi-media fields, which allows them easy access to synergy opportunities.

Looking at the synergy of particular case studies allows us to analyse the structure of Hollywood, how major high concept releases get the funding and profit they do and how they are able to dominate, through their distribution campaigns, over independent films. It is an important facet of Hollywood because it enables the conglomerates to continually accumulate large sum of profit, thus enabling them to continue to make major releases and dominate over the global market.

Another key issue with synergy is that it is in part responsible for the repetitive nature of Hollywood films. To encourage corporate partnerships, merchandise deals and other pre-sales, enabling large budgets to be sought means the films Hollywood produce have to be viewed as low-risk by the partners.

Safe films are those which seem to be almost guaranteed to succeed (remember there are never any guarantees in the film industry!). Partners and investors will want to see evidence that similar films have done well in the recent market, that the directors and stars’ recent films have been profitable and any pre-existing property or clear genre conventions help this.

Therefore, if you look at your local cinema listings, or a film magazine like Empire and Total Film for upcoming releases, you will see there are many similarities between the major Hollywood films. Filmmaking at this level is a business and films have been potential for synergy, therefore more potential for profit if they are safe investments.

Whilst we often say a film’s profit is dictated by the opening weekend box office figures; in today’s global society film’s often make as much, if not more profit, from the longevity of the film’s brand as a presence in the public sphere - this happens through synergy.

So to sum up:

• Synergy is an important part of a film’s marketing campaign- making the public aware of the film’s existence.
• Synergy is an integral reason for the success of the major conglomerates, who own Hollywood, and for their dominance over independents worldwide.
• Synergy is also a key reason for the studio’s preference towards safe films, because the safer the investment the more likely it is that they will be able to attract corporate partnerships.
• The synergy opportunities developed for a film can often be more profitable than the film itself and keep the film brand in the public sphere constantly- ideal if the studios are planning a sequel, which is more than common in contemporary Hollywood!

FILM INDUSTRY + INDIVIDUAL AUDITS

Students who are up-to-date (I will tell you who) will work on the Film Industry exam preparation until everyone has caught up on late work.

Please pay attention to the introduction to this work so that you know what to do: use the class blog to study our case study films Sorry We Missed You, Roma, Bite, Captain Marvell. Any notes that you make go into the folder on your laptop (they are exam texts, not c/w).

The reminder: read your emails carefully and work through what is required while I see students individually.

HALF TERM CHECKLIST

Complete your Distribution collage with an account of what distribution is, how films are marketed and what you found out in your case study. This research will help you when you come to tackle CREATIVE CRITICAL REFLECTION 2: How would you distribute your film opening? Here is a good example.

1. Catch up on missing posts and any corrections that are needed.
2. Does your blog read clearly? Added images to posts? Have you picked out key terms in colour? Adjusted the side bar width? Ensured that your blog archive (right hand side) looks like mine so that it is easy for me to check? Are your images big / grouped? Does your cross column have your PAGES?
3. Have you finished editing your Tabletop and your Continuity Exercise, then added the video to your posts?
4. TITLE SEQUENCES post - see below

IN CLASS TODAY

Complete your Frank Ash comic presentation and post it.

Aim to pitch your film opening idea to me today.

OVER HALF TERM 

Complete this post:

Pick 2 title sequences from the Art of the Title site. Screenshot the image. Below the image, list the credits that appear. Title of your post: RESEARCH: TITLE SEQUENCES Here is an example and here is a second.

Complete this post:

Last year, media students planned their productions based on films that they believed their target audience would enjoy. They collated them in Scoop.it like this and this.

This is what their posts looked like: here

STORYTELLING: FRANK ASH

We watch the FutureLearn presentation by Frank Ash, creative consultant with the BBC, on digital storytelling. You then learn to use ComicLife to present what you have learned in comic format. Post it on your blog like this one.

Later, when you have decided on your own film treatment, you can add below your comic these two points:

• your TOPLINE
• your BIG QUESTION