The type of media we produced was a short film, short films are moving image production with a running time short enough to not be considered a feature film. The reason for our endeavor was a short film competition created by brief encounters called 'DepicT!'. The competition has been running since 1998 and showcases some of the world’s most talented emerging filmmakers. At first, we thought to do a comedy film, however upon realising that we were close to Halloween, we instead opted for a spookier theatrical take, our movie centred around the idea of Horror parody films, mainly the ‘Scary movie’ franchise crated by the Wayan brothers in the year 2000. The idea of making fun of cliché horror films encapsulated us, so we got to work.
The distribution side of things was
an easy and yet vastly influenced decision, YouTube is an open-source online video
sharing platform in which anyone can upload and contribute to, so evidently
there is a lot of nonsense on the platform. It is therefore key to make sure
you are uploading quality videos to avoid being drowned out by the rubbish, we
opted for YouTube as it is free, safe and an easy way to distribute our film.
What other types of moving image media products are there? What other distribution methods are there? Be sure to differentiate between products and platforms
Moving image media products come in all different forms, according to (www.archives.gov) types of moving image media including
motion pictures, theatrical releases, videos, shorts and news footage. Those
are some of only many examples of moving image media products, others include
trailers, outtakes, screen tests and so many more. The wide variety of these
products makes an entry into the market easily possible due to the many ways of
being introduced. Let’s examine one type of moving image product and look at
how it is distributed. A motion picture is a cinema film, over the years motion
pictures have been distributed in a variety of ways. For example, once films
have been in the cinema they will usually be released on DVD, Blu-ray, but back
in the 2000s, 90s and before, films were released on VHS which was the norm to
consume home media during that time. In modern times films are distributed
commonly on streaming platforms such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon video. Online
streaming services are rapidly overtaking physical media as the number one way
to consume moving image media.
Finances And Sources Of Funding
What sources of funding exist for film, television and other moving image productions? Give examples
Finance is the management of large amounts of money, especially by governments and large companies. Films are normally pieces of media that require allot of funding to get started, and although it is possible to produce a film completely from scratch without spending a penny, most films need several million pounds in budget to even have a chance to compete in today’s market. However there have been exceptions for example John Carpenter’s 1978 cult classic ‘Halloween’ with a measly $325,000 in budget. The film evidently exceeded its expectations and went onto be very successful, showing it can be done. Funding, according to (www.weareukfilm.com) usually can come from multiple sources including a combination of investors, tax credits, grants and other sources. However, this funding must firstly be secured, usually by sales agents and film producers normally at the beginning of a motion picture's development in order to ensure all costs required by the film are covered. Television is also funded, however this varies from channel to channel. BBC channels are funded by the UK public's TV license fee, which is a legal requirement under the 'communications act 2003'. For a short flick, such as the one i partook in, funding can be obtained through winning screenwriting contests, crowdfunding and family and friends. These are just some methods of funding for various moving image media.
Make a list of all the things you might have to spend money on for a moving image text
A budget is an estimate of income and expenditure for a set period of time. Crew wages, production design, live set and studio costs, costumes, accommodation for actors and crew, catering, transportation, promotion, special effects and even dog training are all things a movie budget is spent on.
What did you have to obtain for your Depict project?
A requirement by definition is a thing that is needed or wanted. For our depict project we did need some props that would help bring our film to life. These props include two Ghostface masks, these were crucial to our production as without them we would have no basis as to who our killer was based upon. We also needed a pizza box and pizza, this was because our joke at the end of the short would not land properly without these props. We also needed a set which was a house, this was easily provided by a member of our team. A microphone was also needed, we obtained this through borrowing it from college.
What is the makeup of a typical team for a moving image production in:
A short film?
Personnel by definition are people employed in an organisation or engaged in an organised undertaking. Short films have a short enough run time to miss the mark of a theatrical release, due to this fact, as according to (www.govtech.com)the crew in a short film is inherently smaller than a big budget motion picture. Normally, short films need the following roles to be filled: Assistant director, director of photography, 1st assistant camera, gaffer, sound recordist and a production assistant. As well as evidently the director, creators and writers of the project.
A television programme?
Television programmes are the crew can often seem allot larger as well. Crew members can include the executive producer, producers, directors, assistant directors, assistant producers, writers, production managers, floor managers, camera operators, audio operators, usually much higher in budget and production costs than short films, because of this the crew required for TV programmes can be much larger. Television productions are often frequently shot and produced, which is why e up artists and runners.
A Hollywood feature film?
Hollywood films are big budget massively produced flicks, with budgets in the hundreds of millions nowadays, you are going to need a solid, large and widely talented crew to produce films of this magnitude. On set a wide range of crew is needed to perform even small production steps in a Hollywood scale film. Crew ranges from story editors, writers, dialogue coaches, location managers, set designers, art directors, costume designers, line producers, cinematographers, camera operators, set dressers, make up artists, best boys, editors and gaffers
Explain how you allocated work in your very small group?
Our group was made up of 3 people, all with very diverse and useful abilities. We logically allocated jobs to those who naturally took an interest to a particular task. For example, I was rather interested in the mask side of things, so i took it upon myself to source and purchase them from the store. Danny is a very keen camera man, so he took it upon himself to record and shoot the film, making sure it looked sharp and clean. Being in a small group meant that the span of control withing the unit was very small, in fact non existent. No one was in charge of anyone and that allowed for a very relaxed and stress free production. Also another perk of being in a very small production unit is that everyone's opinions are taken into account and heavily considered, this meant that everyone felt like a major part of the team and was very satisfied with the outcome. This may not be the case with very large productions with often very narrow spans of control, the writers and directors mostly get the main say on decisions and ideas. It could be argued other crew members may be overlooked, having a small crew also cuts costs massively, and gives people more of a chance to try new skills.
Production isn't the only unit of a project's existence that is focused on, those in front of the camera evidently play a super vital role in ensuring the flick is a success. For example movie extras are often overlooked but in fact more than likely have acting experience and are more often than not passionate about the art of being on the big screen. Without partaking extras many movies would struggle to have any sense of realism or even atmosphere about them. Think of the 1997 heartfelt drama 'Titanic' which upon hitting our screens became the most popular and highest grossing film up until that point, the extras in that move had to work hard in ensuring their acting was believable enough to be on a sinking ship to certain death. As well as movie extras, editors are a vital part of post production, because without editors Hollywood blockbusters would have no music, no cuts, you would see the clapperboard on screen, everything would be there for the audience to see. This would ruin the experience, as well as the fact the film would be simply incoherent.
Time
What was your time frame and how well did you use the time you were given
Our short film was very well planned, shot and executed, all within a time frame of around 3 weeks. Me and my crew managed our time very sensibly, we spent the first week on pre production. We made sure everything was as sharp as it could be, and efficient enough to be thoroughly executed in production. We then spent the next week fully dedicated to production, we shot the film, sourced every prop we needed and executed production all in a week. I think that this taught us as a team that time and time management are to be respected within the film industry. On average, it takes about 871 days of production before a feature film lands in the cinema, with pre production taking on average 146 days.
What happens when you do not meet deadlines in the professional media industry?
Humans are not perfect, we all make mistakes. This applies to the media industry as well, production deadlines may not always be met. In a production, according to (www.ngproductionfilms.com) if a deadline is approaching, it is vital to keep your team informed, as it might not even be as big of a deal as you originally made it out to be. It is also important to own up to your mistakes, and be honest. Lying, shifting the blame and taking it the wrong way, will only result in your team leader potentially reassigning or firing you. In the film industry it may be wise to simply ask for help, as although this may seem daunting at first, may solve the problem quickly thus not damaging the production.
Did you meet deadlines set in class?
Although the prospect of fully editing, shooting and planning a short flick was originally very scary, my crew and I found it very easy to meet our deadline. However this was not due to a stroke of luck, we made sure we managed our time well enough to ensure we would meet the deadline. As not meeting the deadline would be a reflection of our efforts and attitudes towards our project which we had grown to love over the last few weeks. Meeting the deadline was the least of our worries, as we made sure we would not have to worry beforehand, given our time management skills.
Equipment/facilities
How do you obtain equipment in professional moving image productions?
Allot of top notch or even budget gear is required to produce a moving image production. It can start in the palm of your hand with just your smartphone, however here is a list of basic equipment that is needed for these productions.
A video camera, a tripod, a camera light, a three point lighting kit, a microphone, a boom pole and lenses.
But the real question is how do you obtain all of this equipment in order to start production?
According to (www.learnaboutfilm.com)Media facility houses are host to top class editors, camera crews, animators and so many more. These services are all for hire and can widely vary in price. The nearest media facility house is located half an hours drive away from Oxford, so quite far away from Great Yarmouth. 'The Hall' post production facility offers a wide range of services including editing, drone shots and in house radio. Due to the prestige nature and exclusivity of firms such as this one, a price for the services wasn't available on the website. A facility by definition is a place, amenity, or piece of equipment provided for a particular purpose, in this case, moving image production.
Normally websites such as Amazon are host to most of the equipment that is needed for professional productions. However if acquiring the funds in order to buy top notch equipment isn't a desirable option, camera and equipment rental websites exist, this opens doors to many amateur filmmakers.
What equipment was available to you for your depict project?
Me and my group were lucky enough to be surrounded by brilliant equipment at our disposal due to the college we are in. We were able to borrow full 1080p Canon cameras, this allowed us to film in very high, crisp quality making for an overall nicer looking film. On top of this, we also borrowed a professional camera tripod to ensure our camera was still and shots looked professional. The fact we had all this equipment available at our fingertips was like a blanket of re-assurance, as we were almost level to professional filmmakers. This gave us the confidence to focus on planning and making sure our narrative was top notch, as we had a blanket of re-assurance when it came to pro grade equipment. We also borrowed a field mic recorder to ensure our audio was of the highest quality, we again borrowed this from our college, borrowing all our equipment allowed us to keep our costs down.
Locations: where did you film and how do you go about securing locations legally?
Luckily for me and my team, our film only required one or two locations. The most important location being a suburban home. One of our crew members offered to use their home for filming, which evidently took a huge weight of our shoulders. To legally secure our location, the member of our crew had to sign a redacted, (Personal details taken out) location consent form. This was to make sure that we would get in no legal trouble regarding her consent to use her home for
Our short film. The other location in which we filmed was in college. As all of us legally attended the educational institution, we did not deem it necessary to sign a location consent form. However looking back in retrospect, it may have been the way to go, as to make sure we stayed out of any legal trouble if in fact we weren’t allowed to legally record in college.
A location release is a form that grants permission to filmmakers to essentially film on any given property. These forms are usually used on any moving image media project where locations are used. We used a house to record as the movie we were basing “Un-scary movie” off was “scary movie” in this movie the first scene is set in a suburban house so we wanted to re create that feel. Else the movie wouldn’t feel as real and close to that franchise as we would have liked. A location recce is a production term used in many areas around the world, it refers to the pre filming visit to a location to determine if it is suitable for shooting. This task is normally carried out by the director of photography. Me and my group did not carry out a recce, because our crew member already pre determined that her home was a suitable enough location for our filming.
In terms of logistical issues, we didn’t really face any. This is due to the ease of our locations being easy to access and granted by the owners. Maybe in retrospect we could have been more adventurous about where we filmed, however this may have just created even more delays and interruptions to our perfectly met schedule.
Materials: In addition to crew, cast and equipment, what is needed to make a moving image text?
According to (www.learnaboutfilm.com)Costumes, accommodation, props, food and drink. In addition to all of the above, to make a moving image text, an editing software is needed. But more importantly, a good computer that can run the big editing softwares. A good solid computer is also important because it needs to be able to read sd cards and be quick enough to download and move around video files. Having to wait prolonged periods of time for certain things to load or start up again due to a crash is just wasted time in the film industry. This is due to the strict deadlines and time limits filmmakers often face. Other materials you will definitely need for a moving image text is a script, scripts are an essential material needed as they are the foundations to your project. They can be edited and changed, but a bare bones infrastructure is always needed as the basis for your moving image text. Without a script there’s essentially no backbone for your text. A budget is also a necessary piece of material, you will need a budget to carefully plan out how much money you and your crew will need to spend in order to produce your movie. Me and my crew used budgeting to our advantage, as we knew that spending too much money would be an unnecessary thing to do. This is because everything we needed we could acquire for a price within our constraints. When you are operating on a tight budget such as my group, budgeting is almost crucial in keeping track of what you are spending. Props are another essential material for a moving image text. Props make the movie feel like it is really in action. Without props movies and other moving image texts would feel empty and would struggle to drive forward a convincing narrative.
In terms of financial considerations, crews operating on a budget may not be able to afford an expensive computer or editing software. In this case it may be appropriate for an alternative such as their mobile phone. There are many editing apps that are preloaded onto most smartphones. Props can be made by hand if there is a financial constraint. Handmade props may look just as convincing and shows that real effort has been made in the production.
Legal issues
What legal considerations might there be when using certain materials in a media production?
In terms of legal considerations, according to (www.filmlifestyle.com) it’s vitally important that you have documented evidence that you have rights to use everything in the production, this includes props and costumes. One of the most prevalent issues in the film industry is scripts being used by someone who didn’t write them. In order to use a script that was not written by yourself, you will need to buy the rights to use that script. In our case, our script was written by us so we had full rights to use it and it’s contents. Designs and fonts are also something to take into consideration in the film industry. If a film features a London Underground map, this will usually need permission in order to use it. It’s also very important to not use any language or images that may be offensive towards certain religious groups as this could result in blasphemy. Also making any sort of allegations against a living person or figure could result in defamation. Although it may seem like common sense, make sure you stay safe on set and while filming, as any accidents or tragedies could result in a tidal wave of legal trouble coming your way.
Copyright
According to wikipedia, Copyright by definition is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy and distribute a creative work. Typically, copyright laws expire 50-100 years after a person has passed away. This is why Mozart and Beethoven’s works are free to use in any creative project. Copyright is a very important thing to take into account when creating any moving image media product. It has become engrained into popular culture and is here to stay. Copyrights can be granted by public law and are considered “territorial rights”. This means that copyright rules vary by country.
You do not have to apply or pay a fee for copyright protection, hence why there is no register of copyright worms in the uk
Copyright is automatically protected when you create
Sound and audio recordings
Broadcasts
Literary works
Film and television recordings
Copyright has been around since the 15th century, it is an effective way to battle against plagiarism, and it gives a creator an exclusive right to perform or redistribute his/her works. However some have criticised copyright over the years. It is argued that restricting third parties from performing or distributing the owners works is a bad thing, and that the limited duration of copyright is a major downside. As well as this some argue that copyright is non sustainable.
How did copyright affect your depict production?
Copyright affected my depict production quite heavily. We used music that came from Wes Craven’s 90s slasher classic “scream”, this meant that unfortunately once uploaded onto YouTube, our video was unfortunately not allowed to be aired publicly. Consequently we could only view the movie privately. We also used multiple sound effects in the movie such as “wazzaaappp” which came from the movie “scary movie”. Although copyright took its turn on us, we still enjoy watching the movie and think that it benefited from certain songs and copyright protected sounds within it. You could argue that if we had used royalty free for profit music and sound effects in our movie, it would have a more personal and individual feel to it, however I think that this is still the case despite the copyrighted music in the movie.
Clearance
Rights clearance is the process of licensing intellectual property for your own production. These can include film footage, music, consumer brands and logos. These all have to have a copyright license issued in order to be used by an individual.
Public liability insurance
Liability insurance is where coverage is provided for the needs of media clients who create or disseminate content. This includes broad protection for publishers and broadcasters who are at risk while distributing their content globally.
Completion guarantee/insurance
This guarantee is a pledge to the financiers of a film that the film will stick to the budget, be completed and distributed according to the deadlines set.
Regulation: what is a regulatory body and what do they do?
A regulatory body is a public organisation or government agency responsible for legally regulating aspects of human activity. Regulatory bodies are appointed by governments to establish national standards for qualifications and ensure consistent compliance with them.
The Office Of Communications, better known as Ofcom, is a regulator for the communications services that we use and rely on each day. Ofcom claims that it 'makes sure' consumers in the UK get the best broadband, home phone and mobile. Ofcom was initially established in 2002 under the Office of Communications Act 2002.
The BBC is regulated by Ofcom which issues an operating framework and an operating license for the BBC's UK services.
The British Board Of Film Classification, better known as the BBFC, is a non-governmental organisation who are responsible for the national classification and censorship of films exhibited at cinemas and video works and released on physical media. This organisation determines whether a film should be adult rated or kid rated, depending on the content and imagery within it.
Moving image products distributed via the internet
The new wave of on-demand services are regulated by a group called the association for television on demand. Their methods broadly mirror Ofcom, however, online videos are allot harder to regulate due to the simple fact they can be uploaded anywhere online at any time. Most sites have policies and rules in place, for example YouTube does not allow pornography, violence or dangerous illegal acts onto its website. Things that are already illegal in the UK such as blasphemy and racial hatred are still very much illegal online. Due to the fact that there is just so much content coming out, it is very hard to regulate online content. The UK government have decided to appoint Ofcom as the regulator for online harms in the UK. This means children and the vulnerable will have a much safer experience online. BBFC have also stated that they will be providing age ratings for 'video on demand' content and music videos.
From all of this i have learnt that regulations for moving image media content is a necessary and plausible thing, especially for young children and vulnerable people browsing the web or watching a movie. My depict project is very blurry in terms of its stature on regulation. We did not fully take into account who might be viewing our movie, in retrospect we should have chose our target audience and worked around it. But as our flick did not feature any adult content i think that we would be safe in a regulator's eyes.
What is a trade union?
A trade union is a group of employees join together with the goal of maintaining and improving their conditions of employment. Trade unions typically provide assistance and services to their members, they collectively bargain for better pay and conditions for all workers. Nearly 7 million people in the UK belong to a trade union. Unions help to organise workplace representatives who help union members with work related issues. Due to trade unions, life changing things such as national living wage and child labour being abolished have happened. Unions are important as they give everyday workers a voice and more importantly a choice and a chance to negotiate better conditions.
Producers Alliance for cinema and television, better known as PACT, is a UK trade association for independent content producers in the film industry. The organisation campaigns on issues of relevance including intellectual property, diversity and international issues.
BECTU, or the broadcasting, communications, entertainment and theatre union is a trade union with over 40,000 members supporting UK staff and freelancers working in the media and entertainment sectors. BECTU plays an important role of representing the basis of interest for the industry's workforce in broadcasting, film and other areas.
A trade association, also known as an industry trade group is a voluntary association of business firms typically organised on a geographical or industrial basis to promote and develop industrial and commercial within its sphere of operation. These associations provide its members the opportunity of networking, career development and advocacy.
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