Job roles in the industry

Job roles in the industry

In this blog i will be talking about the different types of job roles in the Film & TV industry, there are 3 main departments in the industry; Management, Creative & Technological.

 

Management

 

Casting Director

There are a lot of different jobs that include a managerial role but i am going to talk about 3. The first one is a Casting Director, Casting Directors organise the casting of actors for all the roles in a film, they will work closely with the Director & Producer so they can get an understanding of the requirements needed. They will also arrange and conduct interviews for auditions, once the parts are cast, the Casting Director will then negotiate fees and contracts for the actors and act as a go-between the Director, the actors and their agents.

 

Producer

Producers have overall control on every aspect of a film's production, bringing together and approving the selection of the whole production team. Their main responsibility is to manage an environment in which the talents of the cast and crew can work comfortably.

 

Line Producer

The Line Producer is one of the first people to be employed on a film's production by the Producer and Executive Producers. Line Producers are hardly ever involved in the development of the project, but often play an important role in costing the production in order to provide investors with the confidence to invest in the project. As soon as the money has been raised, the Line Producer supervises the preparation of the film's budget, and the day-to-day planning and running of the production. Line Producers are usually employed on a freelance basis. They must expect to work long hours, though the role can be very good financially. Career advancement is based on their experience and reputation. If a Line Producer has a creative input to the production, he or she is often credited as a Co-producer.

 

Creative

 

Script Writer

Screenwriters are responsible for researching the story, developing the narrative, writing the screenplay, and delivering it in the required format to Development Executives. Screenwriters have great influence over the creative direction and emotional impact of the screenplay and the finished film. They are almost always freelancers who either pitch original ideas to Producers in the hope that they will be optioned or sold, or who are commissioned by a Producer to create a screenplay from a concept, true story, existing screenwork or literary work, such as a novel, play, comic book or short story.

 

Art Director

Art Directors act as project managers for the biggest department on any film which is the Art Department. They facilitate the Production Designer's creative vision for all the locations and sets. Art Directors are responsible for the Art Department budget and schedule of work, and help the Production Designer to maximise the money allocated to the department. Art Directors are usually requested by the Production Designer, and are responsible for the Assistant Art Director, the Draughtsman and all Construction personnel. Art Directors must find practical solutions to creative problems while simultaneously monitoring the budget. Many Art Directors work on television drama and commercials, as well as on films. The hours are long and the job can involve long periods working away from home. Art Directors work on a freelance basis.

 

Director

Directors are responsible for creatively translating the film's written script into actual images and sounds on the screen - he or she must visualise and define the style and structure of the film.

A Directors main duties include casting, script editing, shot composition, shot selection and editing.  While the practical aspects of filmmaking, such as finance and marketing, are left to the Producer, Directors must also always be aware of the constraints of the film's budget and schedule.

Technological

 

Editor

Editors work closely with the Director before shooting begins, deciding how to maximise the potential of the screenplay. On the first day of principal photography, Editors begin work in the cutting room (sometimes on location). During the post production period, the Editor and the Director work closely together, refining the assembly edit into the Director's Cut, which must be approved by the Producers, until they achieve picture lock or Fine Cut (when the Director and/or Executive Producer give final approval of the picture edit). Editors usually work in a supervisory role during the subsequent music and track laying, and sound mix.

 

Camera Operator

Camera Operators ensure that the camera and associated equipment are prepared for the required set-ups, always keeping alert for any last-minute changes. They must be able to multi-task, and to watch, listen and think on their feet while carrying out complex technical tasks. They liaise closely with the Director, fine-tuning the exact details of each shot, which often involves suggesting creative improvements or alternatives. They supervise the logistics of moving the camera, and oversee the Camera maintenance work carried out by the Focus Puller and the 2nd AC.

 

Re-recording Mixer

Re-Recording Mixers, formerly known as Dubbing Mixers, work with all the sound elements and mix them together to create the final soundtrack. They are primarily responsible for ensuring that film sound is correct both technically and stylistically. Re-Recording Mixers’ first task on films is usually mixing the soundtrack for audience previews. Typically, this involves an intense period of time spent in the dubbing studio, where the they work at large mixing consoles, mixing and smoothing out the sound, often adding a temporary music soundtrack prepared by the Music Editor. Re-Recording Mixers must work quickly, to extremely high standards

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Issues relating to factual programming for television

Issues relating to factual programming for television

 

 

If you are a filmmaker looking to make a factual programme there are many issues you will come across, in this blog i will be talking about these issues and how they can impact your work and also on how you can overcome these problems.

The first issue that i will be talking about is Accuracy & Balance. Accuracy is key in a documentary otherwise it then becomes Non-Fiction and no longer a documentary, to overcome this issue you need to make sure you have throughly researched your subject and that all your research is up to date because things can change in a matter of days! Programmes such as Nature of Britain on BBC need to be as accurate as possible with their information otherwise people will be watching something that they think is accurate when in fact the information is wrong.
 Balance, Impartiality is when the filmmaker has no specific viewpoint on the matter he/she is covering. Keeping an open mind is important for some filmmakers so they can get all points of view across to the audience.
 Objectivity is when a filmmaker forces an opinion onto the viewer so they have a certain mindset throughout the documentary, for some filmmakers documenteries are the best way to get their opinion across because they can so easily manipulate the audience into believing the filmmakers opinion.
 Subjectivity is similar to impartiality in the way that no specific opinion is shown to the viewer, for instance a short documentary called 'The Lift' this starts off as subjective because there is no opinion on the matter but as it goes on and the people involved are getting more comfortable with the camera being there they open up more about them and their lives so you as an audience develop your own opinion on the people involved.
 Bias is also very similar to having an opinion on a subject and forcing your point of view onto an audience.
 Representation is also key when making a factual project because you want your subject to feel comfortable with you, the crew and the subject overall. It's all about how you represent your subject and how they represent yourself. In Supersize Me they did try to give Mcdonalds a chance to represent themselves but they refused to comment but they did make healthier options on their menus and put down all the nutritional information on all the food packages which isn't a direct response to the actual documentary and because  this documentary is so one sided they felt like they had to represent themselves in a different way rather than just replying to the documentary. Supersize Me is probably one of the most bias documentary i think of because everyone featured in this documentary has a certain opinion on Mcdonalds.
The last one is privacy which is similar to representation because this is about the privacy of your subject, for instance if your subject does not want to talk about a paticular thing or not want things they have put online used they have the right to refuse to let you do that and you have to respect their privacy and work your way around it. There is a certain amount of privacy used in The Lift in the way that they can decide whether they want to talk or not but the camera is still there watching you so in that sense you have no privacy.




In my 3 minute wonder i have an opinion on my subject but i am going to approach this subject with an open mind and let the audience have there own opinion, i am going to let the representation of my subject be completely natural and let the subject represent itself. I don't really have an issue with privacy when concerned with the main subject because it's about an animal but when doing vox pops i will need to make sure the people i'm asking questions to are comfortable answering questions and having their face, voice or both being shown.

Multi-Camera Case Study

Multi-Camera Case Study

 

 

There are many shows which use the Multi-Camera format for a number of reasons, two common reasons for this are because it saves a lot of time rather than using single camera where a scene has to be redone a number of times but if a programme is a game show or a chat show its not really suitable to start it over and over again.
 

Studio Productions

Celebrity Juice

One example of a Multi-Cam production is game show Celebrity Juice, i would say this show uses around 8 cameras which would be more than likely vision mixed live which basically means edited whilst being recorded.

Multi Camera is used in this TV show because there are lots of different things going on at the same time and there are different reactions at the same time so using a Multi-Camera format ensures that all these various things going on. It also for practicality because it's shot infront of a live audience and if you keep shouting cut and changing shots to repeat a scene it loses that comedy value for both the audience and the contestants. Also one of the most obvious reasons it's vision mixed is because it's a TV show and the audience at home they don't want to be watching the show through one camera, also audio will come into this, the show will more than likely the contestants will have clip mics and these need to plug in somewhere and you can't have all 7 clip mics plugged into one camera. This show is also has a large shock factor and most things are unexpected so by using Multi-Cam you get genuine reactions. The visual style of this game show is the basic game show setup of one camera at the back, one on the presenter and maybe two each on the contenstants and maybe one on each side of the stage. The only problems that could of occured could of been the shots of the audience at the beggining of the show but they use ariel cameras that can move so they have quickly took care of that potential problem.

Alan Carr: Chatty Man

The second example is Alan Carr: Chatty Man. This programme is a chat show and uses round about 6 or 7 cameras, theres not as much movement as in Celebrity Juice so less cameras are used. They use Multi-Cam because it's an interview based show and to get the best interview possible it has to flow, there is also comedy thrown in so in the same way as Celebrity Juice they use Multi-Cam to capture the laughs from the audience and people watching at home. The visual style is quite simple. Alan Carr does a few minutes of stand up before he takes a seat so there is one camera already, then his first guest comes down again then the shot changes to his guest. There is also more than shot used throughout the interviews.

 

Live Events

 

Paramore at BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend 2013

One example of a live event is Paramore's performance at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend. These types of events need to be multi-camera for a few reasons, the first reason is because when bands and singers perform live they move around the stage, when there is more than one person performing on the stage there needs to be camera's on all members of the band. Another reason that this event is multi-camera is because BBC stream the event live from their website which also means the perfomance gets vision mixed. The BBC sometimes also show the event live on either BBC 1 or 2 so it needs to be filmed and if it was only filmed from one angle it would be really boring and you couldn't see different members of the band and also the crowd and another reason is that there is a screen on each side of the stage for the people at the very back who can't see the actual performers. I would say this event would use around 8 or 9 cameras covering this event. Two right at the front of the stage, one from the middle at the back, two ariel cameras which can cover the crowd reaction, two at the back of the stage that shows the drummer and guitarist at the back and one establishing shot which is from a long distance away from the stage. I like the mixing done in this event because when the band sing 'Let the Flames Begin & Outro' (from 23:43 to 29:58) the music kind of goes off the rails and gets really fast and they keep up with it by changing the shot every second or so which gives a good feel to the edit as a whole.

Sound and Picture

Sound & Picture

In this blog i will be talking about how sound in films and TV impact the mood and meaning to a scene or the film/TV programme as a whole. I will be using two examples.

 

 

Titanic

Everyone knows the iconic soundtrack of this blockbuster film. Non- Diegetic sound is first introduced into this film with the a woman singing a soft melody which goes perfevtly with what you are seeing on the screen. Another Non-Diegetic sound used in this film is the song 'My heart will go on' which was created by James Horner and written for and sang by Celine Dion. This song uses instruments such as flutes, acoustic guitars and a piano to create this soft, gentle and emotional sound with coincides with the feel of the film as a whole. Another example of Non-Diegetic sound is the scene where the ship is introduced, the music in this scene is happy and sounds almost hopeful with the violins to add a certain kind of grandness into the scene. When the older Rose is talking over a scene which younger Rose is in this is Non-Diegetic because it's almost a voice over of what your watching on screen, this happens a few times in the film.
 Diegetic sound is used a lot in this film, the very first scene is a example of Diegetic sound is the sound of a submarine with the screen showing a few seconds of a submarine until it eventually fades into the title Titanic. Another example of Diegetic sound is the scene in which Jack and Rose are at a party underdeck when music is being played. The music that is being played is very fast and rythmic which is totally the opposite to the music which Rose is used to such as the very stiff upper lipped violins, so when she does the Irish Jig it's all new and fast which is represented hugely in the sound. In the scene where Jack draws Rose you can hear the pencil skimming across the paper as he draws her, this is an example of Diegetic sound because it's a sound being made by an object in the scene. Anyone who has seen this scene will know it is an intense scene so not much music is added into it apart from the the instrumental of 'My heart will go on' quietly on in the background which eventually gets louder but it think this lack of music makes a huge impact on the scene, it highlights the fact that there is only them two in their own little bubble with no distraction then when the music fades in its a reminder of the softness of the scene because the music is also very soft and emotional which adds effect.
In the scenes which the older Rose is talking over another scene with the younger Rose i think this could also pass for Internal Diegetic sound because she's describing what she was feeling at that exact time so i think in a way it could pass for Internal, i think it boosts the story because she is quite young and thinks like everyone her age but because of her upbringing she is very stiff and it is almost forbidden for her to ask questions or have any curiosity about anything so it lets you into her mind at the time.

http://cli.ps/xwKU

This link takes you a clip of the flying scene from the Titanic and i feel like the music just carrys this whole scene in the way that the music is quite soft for probably one of the most romantic scene in the whole movie, plus the music feels almost weightless which goes together well with what your seeing on screen, especially the part where she is stood at the front of the ship with her arms open as if she is flying. They also highlighted the sound of the wind going past them to show how fast they are going and that's what it would sound like if you were actually flying.
Apocalypto
Apocalypto won an academy award for best soundtrack in 2006 and is composed by James Horner who also composed Titanic which also won an academy award for best sound. In this film James Horner switched from his usual style of orchestral music to a more foreign type of sound including instruments such as Swedish Bark trumpets and the Tromba Marina which is a triangular bowed string instrument. I feel like the Non-Diegetic sound is way more intense than the Diegetic sound. The obvious major Diegetic sound is the sound of the characters speaking which is present in every film except silent ones of course. The other Diegetic sound i picked up on was when the drums were being played and the tribe are dancing in the scenes before they are being captured.

Non-Diegetic sound features heavily in this film. It's first introduced right at the beggining of the film with an ambient sound playing when the screen is black, the shot eventually fades into a wilderness scene which then makes the scene Diegetic because you then see the boar running out of the bushes, the ambient sound creates a tense atmosphere so when the shot zooms into a bush it builds up into a moment where there is a bang on a drum in the same second that the boar runs out the bush which has a massive effect on the scene. Later on in the film there is another tense moment in the film which is hugely supported by Non-Diegetic sounds such as a man singing quietly over a drum which adds a bit of curiosity to the fact they have come across strangers. Another example of Non-Diegetic sound is the moment that the tribe are being told an old tale round the fire and a flute is being played in the background which adds a really ancient feel to the scene and draws you into the story and into the scene.
In the scene where Jaguar Paw (main character) is dreaming Non-Diegetic sound is used when the a fellow prisoner is holding his intestines. The sound used is a heartbeat quickening and getting louder as the scene progresses. I think this sound carries this scene because it gives what your seeing on screen a sense of feeling like danger is coming towards them at a fast pace and is coming closer and closer to them.

This clip is the chase scene where Jaguar Paw gets chased by a Black Jaguar and i think the sound used or not used rather is great for this scene, their is tribe music being played for a few seconds but then the sound drops to just a quiet ambient sound and the shot moves to a Black Jaguar cub roaring at him which creates a tense few seconds till you hear the massive roar of a fully grown Black Jaguar. When he is actually being chased Non-Diegetic sound appears again in the form of his heavy breathing whilst running, i think this goes amazingly well with the scene because it's highlighting his desperation to get away from the Jaguar.