Post 22: Film distribution

When distributing and marketing a film, there are many different types of ways which can be used to do so. Due to advancement in technology, with the internet etc it has meant it has become must easier for a film industry to market a new film to the specific target audience. Social media websites are a crucial way a film is distributed as the film industries can see exactly what is said about the film and how they could improve for next time. These social media sites make it easy not only for big rich industries but also make it easier for smaller films like my own to get out there and the word of mouth to be spread about it which helps it to become successful. The internet was first used by the film "blair witch project" which used to the internet to market and distribute the film which was a huge success making the film very successful even though it was a low budget film. As a result of this it has been used ever since.

Another way a film can be distributed is through film festivals, this a very good way to market short low budget films as it can spread the word of the film around making more people want to go and see it. The BFI offer film festivals for both large and small scale budget films, which sorts the different films into different categories meaning the audience can go and see many different films which helps the producers make a name for themselves. These festivals offer awards for the films which help the film to get recognised which helps market and distribute the film which hooks the audience into wanting to see the film. 

However, although the technology and film festivals may help in the distribution of a film; the most successful method of distribution is the WORD OF MOUTH as it could either make the film successful or can have an negative effect and make the film become very unpopular and not successful.

Post 21: Film funding

How are Short Films funded?

The UK film council was the original place a short film maker would look to for funding for their film. However this has now changed as the UK film council is closing and as a result of this the BFI are taking over and running the way Films are funded etc in the UK. The BFI also work closely with the National Lottery as they help film makers to gain funding from elsewhere. They BFI then helps the film makers film to be distributed and advertise.








 Local Councils


Other organisations such as a local council often invest money into a short film. From futher research it is said that they put money foward especially if the films deals with social dilemas or benefits the local community.

Charities

Another way short films are film are through the help of charities. A charity will usually fund a short film if the films contains within it, what the charity set out to do. For example the 'Wellcome Trust' a company who are the UK's largest medical research charity fund those films (also projects) which are inspired by biomedical science.

Post 20: Media language: mise en scene

Post 19: Media lanuage: sound

This is a key aspect of a film as it can change a scene drastically and make it more exciting. This is a main feature within a action film as it can hook the audience in. Within a film there are two types of sound:

1) Diegetic:

 This is a sound which can be heard within a film. What I mean by this is that the sound is visible on the screen, via the voices of the characters, musical instruments in the film, the noise by objects in the story etc.

2) Non-diegetic:


This is a sound source which is not visible on the screen and is usually inserted after filming in the editing stages. These sounds include, sound effects (very common in action films), narrator's commentary and mood music. This sound is source outside the story space.   The distinction between diegetic or non-diegetic sound depends on our understanding of the conventions of film viewing and listening.  We know of that certain sounds are represented as coming from the story world, while others are  represented as coming from outside the space of the story events.  A play with diegetic and non-diegetic conventions can be used to create ambiguity (horror), or to surprise the audience (comedy).

Post 18: Media language: editing

180 Degree rule

When filming the 180 degree rule is a basic guideline between the on-screen relationship between a character and another character or object within a scene.

An imaginary line called the axis connects the characters and by keeping the camera on one side of this axis for every shot in the scene, the first character will always be frame right of the second character, who is then always frame left of the first.

 If the camera passes over the axis, it is called crossing the line or jumping the line.

The diagram below shows this.

Shot-reverse-shot

Shot reverse shot is a film technique where one character is shown looking at another character and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character. Since the characters are shown facing in opposite directions, the viewer assumes that they are looking at each other.
Here's a helpful link for information and concept on shot-reverse-shot: 

get loads of information about shot-reverse-shot here 

Match-On-Action

This is when something happens in the scene then when there is a cut the same piece of action must also be going on. This is also an example of continuity editing and this is also very important in helping the audience understand exactly what is happening throughout.

Cut: This is putting two shots together. This is done by the editor in the finale stages before a film is released. Between sequences the cut marks a rapid transition between one time and space and another, but depending on the nature of the cut it will have different meanings.



Cross-cutting: Cutting between different sets of action that can be occurring simultaneously or at different times, (this term is used synonymously but somewhat incorrectly with parallel editing.) Cross-cutting is used to build suspense, or to show the relationship between the different sets of action.


Jump cut: Cut where there is no match between the two spliced shots. Within a sequence, or more particularly a scene, jump cuts give the effect of bad editing. 


Continuity cuts: These are cuts that take us seamlessly and logically from one sequence or scene to another. This is an unobtrusive cut that serves to move the narrative along.



Editing: Editing refers to how shots are put together to make up a film. Traditionally a film is made up of sequences or in some cases, as with avant-garde or art cinema, or again, of successive shots that are assembled in what is known as collision editing, or montage.


Fade in: A punctuation device. The screen is black at the beginning; gradually the image appears, brightening to full strength. The opposite happens in the fade out.

Post 17: Media language: camera

When creating a film the use of the camera and its shots are vital. Camera angles, shots etc all relate to how the film is shown to the audience; A close up focuses on the characters emotions and focuses on the actor, mid shot lets the audience see the actor and where they are, POV lets the audience see what the character sees.

To show how important the use of the camera in a film is i have looked at the film 'dark knight rises'.
As shown in the picture, The camera man has used a close up/medium shot on 'Banes' face shows his emotions and hooks the audience in to the film. In my own film i shall use this shot to show the characters in my films emotions.

The use of long shot in my film will be very important. As shown in the picture, the long shot puts emphasis on where the scene is and it gives the audience a clear understanding of the area where the character is. This will be important in my film because it will show the audience where the character is and will show a clear understanding of the location.

Post 16: representation of women

Below is a prezi of the representation of women in media:

Heres a link if the prezi isn't showing:

http://prezi.com/mzrmg_sgnn_4/the-representation-of-women-in-media/#

Post 15: Representation of men

Males throughout the years have been presented as being very strong and masculine. Characters such as James Bond, Jason Bourne etc showing their strength which is a common convention of a male in an action film. In the 70's and 90's characters such as Starsky and Hutch so the males being very masculine and in control.

The traditional stereotypes of men are listed below:

- Rugged features
- Moustache and stubble
- Rough and ready
- Violent
- General toughness 

 However like with females, society is changing and the common conventions of a male in media is changing. Although they still follow old conventions of male, new features have been created due to the changes in society.

The modern stereotypes of men are listed below:

- Smooth features
- Short hair
- Thoughtfulness
- Use of cosmetics and hair products
- Concern for appearance 
- A caring and gentle approach

Although in todays world the common conventions of males in media may have changed slightly, males are still presented as being strong and powerful and usually dominate the film unlike females. This is shown in action films as the majority of the protagonist characters are usually males, although sometimes it may be a female.

Post 14: Audience positioning

When an audience is watching a film, it is important for the position to be correct. The use of the camera means its places the audience in the film in order for the film to connect with the audience. This means that the shot size and the different angles are vital when filming.


Below are a list of the vital shots which place the audience in the film;

POV(point of view):

 The POV shot is a shot which places the audience into the eyes of the character and shows what the character is looking at. The point-of-view is an objective angle, but since it falls between the objective and subjective angle, it should be placed in a separate category and given special consideration. This shot could show danger which the character could be faced with. As a result of this it would feel as if the audience were in the film and were in danger. This is a very popular use of shot in most horror films as they get the audience hooked and scared.

 

This is from the film 'snatch', it shows how the characters are looking down on another character which makes the audience feel like they are the character being looked down on.

Shot reverse shot:

This is a film technique where one character is placed and shown to be facing/looking at another character, then the other character is shown to be looking back at the original first character. As a result of the characters facing opposite directions, the audience can only assume that they are looking at one another. This therefore places the audience close to the character meaning the audience are close to the situation. This presents realism and therefor hooks the audience in.

This techniques (shot reverse shot) is a common feature in most classic Hollywood style continuity editing.

Post 13: BBFC - classification

      The BBFC (the British Board of film Censors) was established in 1912. The BBFC was brought together as a way of Censoring Films if they were inappropriate and could cause a moral panic in society.  The BBFC is an independent company which must not be influenced by film industries with its decision’s; also they must not be influenced by anyone nor any media groups.
 

     The history of British film censorship has a lot to do with the social time as well as the cultural. For example films in the 1920’s such as “All quiet on the western front” were banned if they showed anything which show the mistakes by the government or anything which revolted the politicians at the time. In the 1950’s films were banned due to nudity as they presented a bad image of society at the time. As the times have changed and people’s attitudes have also changed, the BBFC may be much more lenient now or much tougher on other areas than it was 50+ years ago. However in the 1980’s the board changed their name from British Board of Film Censors to that of Film Classification so that it reflects the fact that classification plays a far larger part in the Board’s work than censorship. During this time the BBFC were also in charge of classifying videos for hire or purchase to view at home as well as in the cinema. This was due to advancement in technology and the release of the video tape. Both home videos and cinema versions of a film were given the same certificate, however not always as a home film may be given a higher certificate in order to protect children from viewing it at home as its easier to watch at home whereas at the cinema a child could be denied access at the cinema.

Post 12:audience

 Audience

Stuart Hall - audience research

Stuart Hall is a cultural theorist and is also the Professor of Sociology at the Open University. He studied the role of audience positioning in the interpretation of the mass media texts via loads of different types of social groups. He said that there are three different ways in which we might read a media text.  

 1. Dominant reading - This style of reader, reads the text the way the author intended it to be read,  so that the code seems natural and transparent. 

2. The negotiated reading – the reader partly believes the code and broadly accepts the preferred reading, but sometimes modifies it in a way which reflects their own position, experiences and interests. 

3. The oppositional reading – the readers social position places them in an oppositional relation to the dominant code. They reject the reading.

how do we measure media audiences?

New media

The internet is used in many different ways now a days in order to measure audiences, for example:
-Facebook, Twitter, myspace etc
-Views on Youtube and subscribers
-Forums which tell us whether the film is good or not etc.


Quantitative research

There are different Quantitative methods which are used to measure audiences. Below is a list of some that are used:
-Questionnaires (although not always reliable)
- Focus groups giving feedback


Qualitative  research
-Market research 
-Pilot testing
-Open questions to generate answers which can be interpreted in different ways.

Audience engagement 
This is how the audience engages in media and how the people react differently.

Audience Expectations 
This is the idea where audiences expect certain expectations of a particular genre. 

Audience Identification

This is when an audience feels connected to the media text as it directly links in with there life styles.

Audience Placement 
This is a way of which a producer targets a particular audience and make them feel as in its specifically for them.

Audience Research 
This is a vital part when making a successful film, as it will let the directors etc know exactly what their target audiences wants and doesn't want in a film. As a result of this quantitative research is used to find the info out via questionnaires etc. This process is used throughout the stages when making a film in order to be successful.

Unique Selling Point 
This is a unique way where is makes the audience want to go and watch the film, this makes a film unique to any other film.

Post 11: Script

SCENE 1 INT HEMEL HEMPSTEAD DAY

It’s a warm day and Jack and a friend called Mikey are on their way to Hemel Hempstead for the weekend. Jack’s dad (Peter) is a retired MI5 agent who was extremely good at his job and wanted by many organisations from around the world. Mikeys driving a black Vauxhall corsa Jacks giving dirrections.

Sound starts to play

Shot of car driving

Sound fades out

Mikey

Where are we?

Jack

I haven’t got a clue mate

Mikey

Bloody hell, I better go and ask down there

Jack

Fine I’ll stay here

Mikey

I’ll be back in a bit

Shot of Mikey walking off, shot fades

Shot of clock in car. Then a grey ford fiesta pulls up behind Jack’s car. Two rather large men (Pierre and Samuel) get out, grab Jack and put him the boot of the car before quickly speeding off.

Shot of car driving away. Jack is banging the boot.

Samuel

Shut up!

Shot of grey ford fiesta pulling up. Samuel and Pierre get Jack from the boot. Music starts to play. Shot then changes to Samuel and Pierre dragging Jack into a building. They then throw Jack to the floor.

Shot changes to Mikey sending a text to Jacks saying “I’m on my way back now”

Shot of Mikey walking back to his car

Mikey gets to his car, looks inside for Jack but he isn’t there.

       

                             Mikey

JACK!  

Shot fades

Shot changes to Jack tied to a chair with Samuel and Pierre stood beside him. The room is dark with a beam of light coming through the window.

Samuel starts to hit Jack’s face to wake him up

Samuel

Wake up

Jack wakes up

Samuel

What’s your name?

Jack

What’s it gotta do with you?

Pierre holds Jack’s shoulders

Pierre

You what?!

Samuel then punches Jack in the face

Samuel

I said what’s your name?!

Jack

Jack

Samuel

Jack... We’ve got a little Jackie boy here!

Pierre

I like the name Jack... I like the name Peter as well.

Samuel

Yeah I like the name Peter as well

Pierre

Do you know who Peter is?

Samuel

We want your dad!

Jack

Who’s that?

Samuel

Your dad!

Jack

I don’t know where he is

Shot fades

Music starts to play, shot of black Peugeot driving towards the camera. Car stops, Peter gets out and jumps green fence.

Shot of Peter running into building. Shot of Peter bursting into the room.

Peter

Give me my son back!

Samuel

We’ve been expecting you

Peter

We’ve got to do this the hard way!

Peter throws Samuel into the way. Jack kicks Pierre off his chair. Peter then unties Jack. They then continue to beat Samuel and Pierre the shot fades.

Shot of Mikey standing by his car. Music playing.

Mikey

Where you been?

Shot of Jack and Peter walking towards Mikey’s car, they get in then shot fades.

Credits

Post 10:Treatment for your film

Post 9:Film Development

Post 8:Film Language

 When creating a film there a 4 main themes which are vital when filming. These are :

• Editing
• Sound
• Mise en scene

Editing

This is a vital and one of the biggest roles when producing a film. Editing is a key way in which can change the way a film is made and can hook the audience into the film. Films such as Avatar have made huge amounts of money and is a major success due to the way it was produced and edited. Editing will be a vital part when I make my film, as editing is used in all action films through the adding of sound etc which makes the film more exciting meaning the audience will be hooked into it, resulting in high profit levels for the film industries. Also with the help of the camera and the cuts shots etc it makes the film more realistic and hooks the audience in.

Sound

This like editing is also a key aspect when creating a film. The music can either be non diegetic or diegetic, however it is the non-diegetic music which is the most effective one I believe. I believe this as it can depict how tense or exciting a scene within a film is. For examples in action films such as Fast and Furious the music used is fast and exciting which gets the audiences hooked into the film as they wish to see more and more. Fast music is perfect for action films as it represents the fast moving scenes within. However slower more calm music can be used in Rom Com films as it is better suited for the movie. Diegetic music is also important as it gives the film a more realistic fell to it and more believable.

Mise en scene

This is also a key aspect when filming a film. It sets the scene making it more realistic and believable which makes the audience feel like they are in the film, however if done in correctly in causes problems in the continuity and will be heavily critised and could cause the film to loose money and viewers.