DEADLINE FOR PRODUCTION WORK

The deadline for your Production module is Thursday 1st March.
Checklist to remind you is below.
If you want to see what last year's cohort did (and the previous five years) look at good candidates from our school here HERE


PLANNING POSTS:
Be sure to have completed your SHOT LIST
Your STORYBOARD
Evidence of LOCATION RECCES (if you did them)
Collages of PROPS, COSTUMES
Pinterest, ScoopIt or other collage / board on which you collected 'character types' or 'stereotypes'
Sketches
collages of visuals such as practice shoots
Making of props
Accounts of filmwork that has inspired you and that you plan to use yourself (with visual illustration)

CONSTRUCTION:
Your accounts of filming and editing with visual illustration. Aim to be analytical, not descriptive. These are not letters home. 

YOU MUST WRITE ABOUT WHAT YOU YOURSELF DID: "I took responsibility for being director / I was the cameraman during this scene." 
You get no marks for acting itself (but may well comment on how you directed the scene in which you also appeared).

• How is meaning made by camerawork (camera angle, camera movement, shot types), by sound, by editing and by mise-en-scène? (mise-en-scène includes location, costume, props, lighting)
• What production skills did you develop during this shoot and edit? Were there challenges (such as relating to sound)?
• What technologies did you use?  
• How are your production companyTwitter, FB posts? 
• Is your IDENT finished?
• Have you written a post that lists the FILM CREDITS that you plan to use, such as the actors' names, film title etc?
• Have you ready the black screen with white script that gives your centre number, your names and numbers? Look at last year's cohort (the link is above).  

YOUR BLOG:

• Have you put your candidate number on your blog next to your name? 
• Is your blog easy to read and do all the technologies open easily for the moderator? Spell checked? Used colour to make key terms pop? Exam work, that is not relevant to the moderator) is on a 'page' at the top, not on the main blogroll?
• Have you always used RESEARCH, PLANNING, CONSTRUCTION to indicate the flow of production?
  

CREATIVE CRITICAL REFLECTION: 
You need to use time out of class to complete the above as we need February to devote to the four-part CREATIVE CRITICAL REFLECTION which I will start with you in class.

CONSTRUCTION: FILMING

Ensure that you have ready and with you your call sheet for your shoots so that each group member knows the location, contact details and equipment. As usual, do not put identifying information on the public blog; keep those details for your group's eyes alone.

ROBOTICA

ONE BY ONE

TV DRAMA: BONES

Analyse how representation is created through camerawork, sound, editing and mise-en-scene in Bones Season 2, Episode 1

 

CREATING AN IDENT

WARNER BROS: THE LEGO MOVIE

We look at a case study of a Hollywood conglomerate and one of its most successful products, The Lego Movie (2014). You answer an exam essay question using this case study. Write about 2/3 of a page.
Q3. Evaluate the impact of media ownership on the media texts which get produced

 

VOICE OVERS USING QUICKTIME

FIRST ACTIVITY 
In class today, we learn how to create a video voice over. Use this format for either screen capture, video or for prepared visuals. Pre-prepare your stills OR have ready your video (say, of your recent bit of filming). The following works for Macs.
As practice, pick a film magazine to deconstruct and take 5 minutes to make notes on what you will say.

1. Quiet is essential so use the studio when it is empty (morning break, lunch, Thursday periods 3, 4, 5) so there is no background noise
2. Open Quicktime
3. File > new screen recording 
4. >Internal microphone
5. Click on your video, still photo or your PP
6. To start recording, press the red button (as below) which opens a white button (find this button at the very top right of your screen). Allow a few seconds lead-in time or your recording will be clipped.
7. Save as Quicktime 720 or 1080
8. Upload to YouTube for your blog
9. For PREP, use the skills learned in class to make a polished presentation voice over of your own and upload it to your blog. By next lesson.

SECOND ACTIVITY
Exam practice: we analyse the opening to the pilot episode of the US drama Travelers.

THIRD ACTIVITY 
Exam work: Disney buys Fox
We watch the BBC news presentation and note key terms as well as memorize trends such as disruption. For PREP: re-read this presentation. Master the key points for a test next lesson.
TEST Complete the blanks (copy / paste onto your blog)
1. ................... turned a single Australian newspaper he inherited from his father at the age of 21 into one of the world's largest news and film empires.
2. .................... is buying Fox's film and television studios, as well as its 39% stake in satellite broadcaster Sky.  Fox will form a news-focused company with its remaining assets.
3. ................ said the break-up makes sense amid new threats from online advertising and competitors who are ..........   ............. into homes via the internet. Andrew Neil states that the break-up of Murdoch's dynasty is a testament to the power of the disruptors  (Netflix, Amazon, Google, Apple and their streaming services) so that even Fox, an $80 billion dollar company, cannot withstand the trend. .........knows that even it is not big enough to secure its ambitions to stream entertainment, so it is acquiring the assets of Fox, so that it can combine all its assets, allowing it to go head to head with the boys from silicon valley.
4. For Andrew Neil, this changes the future of the ...... industry: he wonders what chance C4, C5, even ITV will have? How can even the BBC compete when ..........will spend $8 billion on content, twice the BBC's total income.
4. ............. will scoop up Fox's movie and television studios, regional sports network and international holdings, among other investments.   The move adds to ............'s back catalogue high-grossing films such as the original Star Wars movies, the Marvel superhero pictures, Avatar and Deadpool, as well as TV hits such as Modern Family and The Simpsons.  
5. The deal includes FX and National Geographic cable channels, and Fox's regional sports network in the US.The purchase also extends ...............'s global reach, adding media company Star India and Fox's interests in Sky plc and Tata Sky.
6. The new owner will also get majority control of the video streaming service ...., which is also partially owned by Comcast and Time Warner.
7. Why does the new owner want them?.......... already owns a vast array of news, film and leisure companies. But the media landscape is changing as technology companies like ............. and ............ attract customers to new ways of viewing. The new owner is investing heavily in online streaming platforms, as a way to counter a downturn in its pay-TV business and threats from these new rivals.
8. What is Fox keeping?

MY TARGET AUDIENCE & HOW I ENGAGED THEM

FIFTH TASK: You make an audience profile that demonstrates understanding of the fact that all products are targeted at specific audiences. You show that you know the target audience for your film by creating a profile of them. You then show how you engaged them through marketing strategies. You also write about your production itself: the ways in which the film diverts your audience and how the opening creates suspense /enigma, how the people in your film interest your audience, how its genre is signaled, thereby making it easier to understand. When reading this, do you recognise some of the strands of the uses and gratifications model of audience behaviour?

WHAT YOU WRITE
I needed to plan how to reach my target audience. Therefore, I needed to know who they are (factors that may be relevant include age, gender, ethnicity, social class), what their media needs are (so that I could produce a product that they will want) and how to reach them (to market my film). I will show how my research has shaped / influenced my planning. 

I started by investigating how brands define audiences in preparation for creating my own audience profile for my AS Foundation Production. 
For example, I saw how Bauer Media, NME and Sky defined audiences. This helped me profile my audience.
As part of distributing my film, I have devised marketing strategies, such as reaching out to my target audiences through a film website, Facebook page, Twitter page, Instagram and P&A (a film poster). (You include the relevant items for your production team)
In addition to profiling my audience, I worked out why they enjoy the genre. Why would they want to watch my film? What makes my film different from competing films ? How will my film appeal to the viewing needs of my target audience?

Who Is My Target Audience: Action Steps

1. Who is my primary target audience? For example: British, male and female 18-45+ who love thriller films, TV crime drama and psychological thrillers.
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? (food, clothing, media)

4. What makes my film stand out from the competition? For example:  Our film is about a war photographer who suffers from post-traumatic stress and kidnaps a child.

5. 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!

Time spent understanding my audience has helped me create a profile of my ideal audience member. This information was then useful when I created my marketing and distribution strategy.
 
My Audience Profile

Lewis Harland: audience profile for Out Of Sight 2012

Will Wright: audience profile for The Black Rose 2012

HOW WOULD MY PRODUCT BE DISTRIBUTED AS A REAL MEDIA TEXT?

As part of distributing my film, I have devised marketing strategies, such as reaching out to my target audiences through a film website, Facebook page, Twitter page, Instagram and P&A (a film poster). (You include the relevant items for your production team)
In addition to profiling my audience, I will work out why they enjoy the genre. Why would they want to watch my film? What makes my film different from competing films ? How will my film appeal to viewing needs of my target audience?

OUR MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTION STRATEGIES:
Here you put your film website, Facebook page, Twitter page, Instagram or P&A (a film poster). There is no need to create one each: give an account of what YOU individually made first and then copy the others from your production team.

MY RESEARCH INTO AUDIENCE PROFILING IS BELOW:

Some brands go further than merely have Twitter feeds: I also discovered how a really big budget can buy cross-platform integration of a film launch with an existing successful product that engages an established successful audience. In this example, Lionsgate's Nerve (2016) was linked to Celebrity Big Brother by Sky Media

"We all know young people are big users of social media, and therefore to truly engage with this audience, the use of a social platform was key within the campaign. Furthermore, reports show that 74% millennials, particularly 14 to 17-year-olds, regularly use smartphones during TV viewing*. A programme was needed to unite the target demographic by driving social media conversations.
Since its launch, Celebrity Big Brother has been the most talked about TV programme on Twitter, topping the Instar Social leader board as Twitter’s most-talked-about TV show during the 29 day series. Offering a strong teen audience on-air and mass social following online, Celebrity Big Brother provided the perfect platform for the ‘Nerve’ film launch."

"The integration of Lionsgate film ‘Nerve’ was a great success for Celebrity Big Brother, demonstrating a seamless brand integration. The high-pressure challenges of ‘Nerve’ the film translated well to challenges for the housemates. They launched the task just 2 days before the opening night of the film and successfully integrated the look and feel of the Nerve brand. This partnership demonstrates that, when executed well, promotional activity in Big Brother can enhance editorial and leverage for brand awareness in show.”