Tutors Summary

Well done Rebecca and thank you for taking part in this years BFI Film Academy. This blog covers a true reflection of what you achieved.  I think your animations skills developed during the production week as well as using all the live action kit. You were always polite and happy person and the film benefited from your creative input.

You can find a rough copy of the film here:

https://vimeo.com/148244026

(A password for the film has been sent to you via an email)



Please do not share this yet on social media as this is still only a rough cut but feel free to show universities and other organisations or add it to your showreel.



Wishing you great success for the future

Spencer Whalen
MediaActive

1.1 - Outline the Culture of the film industry

What do you know about the working culture of the film industry?
Culture is defined as the ideas, customs, values, behaviors, beliefs and attitudes shared by a group of people who are working towards a common goal. This requires extremely effective team with working skills for everyone concerned. There must be a very clear goal for the film, which is to produce the best film that can be made, within timescales and budgets.  This can encourage people with specific roles to work with others so that can complete their deadlines that have been set. This can produce lots of high pressure as there will be lots of long hours involved, so ways of dealing with stress are important to consider. Usually, if a film is taking place in a location which is not on the film company premises, everyone will be expected to have the flexibility to just drop everything at a moments notice, which in itself is stressful.

Whilst on this course I got to work in a team for many situations, discussing what we thought could and should happen.The film industry as a whole is a very fluid industry to work in as although deadlines have to be met and production costs have to be carefully worked around there is still room for artistic license and flexibility in timetabling is needed to account for people working on various projects at the same time.

The teamwork aspect is very important as many people in the industry work long hours and under extreme pressure to meet the deadlines. Freelance work is the most common and contracts are generally short term in nature with everyone needing to be able to try their hand at a number of different roles to get the job done on time. This leads to the workforce being extremely well trained in the long term  and able to do many types of work but can mean that staff work long hours  as well as being asked to travel all over the world sometimes at a moments notice. This can lead to a difficult home life balance  and can make things very stressful for both home and work relationships.

What qualities do you need to work in the film industry?

To survive in the industry you need to show initiative from the start and not be afraid to muck in help when needed. Getting along with people is a skill that is often underrated but being able to work under pressure whilst still being able to communicate effectively is very important especially in a small team. You also need to be very determined and even if you are insure of quite what you are doing you need to sound positive and be confident in your own ability to learn things as quickly as possible. It also needs someone who will be willing to ask for help if they are unsure about what to do as some things could be very dangerous or costly if they are done incorrectly; you also need to be prepared to fail and to learn from your mistakes. Time management is a major plus as keeping positive and meeting deadlines requires good organisational skills.

1.2 - Identify Time Management Skills

Why is time management important in the film industry?

Time management is an essential skill in working in the film industry as mentioned in my previous blog as deadlines are so important. Many people are relying on you to do your job and very often another aspect of the production will not be able to start without your task being finished. This can get particularly complicated if people are working in multiple jobs. If the film goes over the time schedule the costs rise dramatically putting more pressure on the film to make money. The weather and light conditionsare also  factors as it can considerable delay production if the conditions cannot be matched on a regular basis or if filming has to be re-shot and the weather and or light conditions have changed.

The key skills which need to be developed are:

·         Self discipline – time management is 99% self-discipline.

·         Punctuality – everyone needs to be on time

·         Schedules and call sheets – without them being kept up to date things will fall behind

·         Using to do lists – these need to be used but in a flexible manner so that they become a positive tool for all members of the cast and crew on the film, making them rigid and unobtainable can be negative a s a team building tool so care needs to be taken daily when drawing them up.

·         Prior preparation and planning- again effective planning means making sure that preparations are discussed with all members of the team before anything actually stars and then regularly updating these as circumstances and staff change and the production moves forward. Flexibility is the key whilst still keeping the timeline in mind at all times 

1.3 - Describe the key aspects of health and safety when working on film productions

What needs to be considered in terms of health and safety when working on a film production?

What can be put in place to ensure health and safety risks are minimized?

The Health and Safety at any workplace is always very important as everyone needs to comply with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. On a film production there are many aspects of the job which involve equipment and tasks which could be dangerous as well as there being a huge number of staff who could come into contact with hazards over a period of months so making sure everyone is aware and correctly trained is a big undertaking. The production company and the management are responsible overall, but everyone is responsible for their own safety and should act accordingly; if you are unsure or are untrained you should not be doing your task as accidents can cost both you and the film production time and money as well as being potentially life changing.

·         Risk Assessments- These should be done regularly to identify potential accidents and injuries, again flexibility is the key as staff and situations and equipment types change throughout the production

·         Accident Reporting- everyone should be aware of how to report and accident

·         Only authorised persons should be in these roles and only trained staff should be supervising them-Lighting (heat and electrics) , rigging and de-rigging, trip hazards of wires etc, stunts, lifting heavy equipment

·         Fatigue and long hours- these can cause many accidents so strict timetabling and the correct monitoring of overtime is needed by the managers of the production. Correct breaks need to be observed by all staff and managers as well as providing adequate food and drink

·         First Aid Kits must be on site at all times and be filled with the correct items for the area that they are involved with and the size of staff to be catered for. There should also be trained First Aiders on site at all times and if something is booked which could be potentially life-threatening more precautions need to be taken as well as informing the Emergency services about what you are doing and asking for advice and / or help.

·         The correct insurance for staff and equipment should also be obtained before production starts and it is often a good idea to get legal advice if the production has complicated stunts in or heavy equipment is being used.

·         All equipment should be checked on a regular basis and these checks need to be logged

·         Fire safety needs to be observed with everyone knowing where the evacuation points and assembly points are , where the fire equipment is, who are the fire wards for each shift/ area and how to report a fire or emergency; phones may need to be provided for this if the signal is poor on location

An example of a risk assessment is below, as well as two useful links on how to write them:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/filmmaking/guide/production/health-and-safety

http://www.hse.gov.uk/entertainment/theatre-tv/index.htm

1.4 - Explain how regulations may affect the use of copyright materials

How do regulations affect the use of copyright materials?

The Copyright Act 1911 

Copyright is a legal contract that grants the creator of an original work the rights to its distribution. This allows someone’s idea to be protected and so somebody else cannot take that idea and claim it to be their own. This could be through copying files illegally. If you produced the TV show or film, then you would normally obtain the rights to, or gain permission to use, the works required to make the production.

<p><a href="http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/copyright/p01_uk_copyright_law" title="UK Copyright Law">UK Copyright Law</a> fact sheet from the UK Copyright Service.</p>

1.5 - Identify materials that may be subject to copyright

What materials may be subject to copyright?

Materials subject to copyright could include:-

– Script
– The finished film
– Recorded music and music scores
– The use of sound, story or image during the production.                                                                        -  Literary (lyrics manuscripts, documents, newsletter, articles                                                                      - Dramatic (plays, dances)

- Artistic (Photos, paintings, architecture, technical drawings, maps, logos)

- Published Editions (magazines, articles)

- Sound Recordings

- Films (broadcasts and programmes)

How has copyright regulation affected your film production?

Our production was based on a story over 70 years old so that we would not be bound by the copyright legislation. We also created our own sounds and music effects or used copyright free content where we only needed to credit them in the final cut:  E.g. freesound.org

2.1 – 2.2 - Identify Key job roles and responsibilities in the film industry and describe the structure and interrelationship of the production department

Key job roles and responsibilities in the film industry

On the set, the director is mainly in charge of all the departments. The director must make sure that all the heads of departments know what they are doing. He/she interacts with all the departments. 

The key job roles are:
- The Producer, who is responsible for the whole film, from initial concept to final production and delivery to cinemas

- The Director, who is responsible for the overall look and style of the film. The Director ensures that the story is told, in a coherent way so that all elements come together for the final rushes.

- The writer generally provides the initial ideas for the film and works with the Producer and Director to develop it further, using film scripts and story boards.

- Director of Photography is the role which brings the story to life in terms of the images, lighting, angle of shots and helps to support the Director to work with the crew to ensure the best outcomes.

- Sound designers will manage and provide the audio images and devices which will complement both the story and its visual focus.

- Production Designers carry out a vital function in terms of designing the sets, props and costumes. In larger films, each of the functions mentioned will be the responsibility of different individuals and the Production Designer will manage all, to ensure that costumes and sets and so on, match the vision of the Producer and the Director.

- The Editor works with the raw footage to bring it together, using the best shots and incorporating sound and special effects.

- Actors will provide the focus of the storytelling and are those which are most in the public eye. The term ‘Actors’ can also embrace extras and stunt people, who contribute the excitement and atmosphere to a film, amongst other things.

- Backers – or those who provide finance are of course vital. They have to be persuaded that the film will make substantial returns on their investment, so a key role for the writer and producer is to persuade them that this is the case.

The whole film making process tends to be split into 5 main areas:

1. Idea and development
This stage involves thinking of the initial idea for the film. This could be from a unique perspective you want to share with the world or a specific theme that you want to create. You also need to think about the structure of the film you want to create- do you want the end of the story to be at the beginning of the film, or do you want it to be in chronological order? After the initial idea has been drafted a few times, a script needs to be written, thinking about characters, dialogues, sights and sounds.

2. Pre-Production
The Pre-production process includes preparing for the shoot such as choosing a location, casting, and planning to shoot the film in the most cost-effective way possible. A risk assessment must also take place to ensure a safe working environment. It is also worth while to plan a shot list to make shooting more effective and efficient on the day- plan which shots are going to be used to the cinematography and camera team are prepared.

3. Production
This is probably the largest stage of the film process. Here, the audio and visual aspects of the shoot are taken, the film crew work together to film the actors in character and the audio and sound effects of the film. This is when storyboarding during the pre-production proves to be essential, as it helps to ensure that the right things are being recorded with the right mood lighting and set design fits the theme of the film.

4. Post-Production

This stage includes editing all of the rushes that were gathered during the days of shooting. It is then up to the editors and director to choose the best scenes and sequences to create the image and story that was originally envisioned.

5. Distribution
This is when the film gets viewed by an audience. This starts with theatrical distribution and may eventually spread for home viewing e.g. DVD. Marketing also takes place here, such as producing a trailer for the film and having a premiere.