Preliminary task evaluation questions

1. What have you learnt by doing this exercise?

I have learnt I really do need to get better organized with planning for these things as twice now I have had to push back filming due to my actors becoming unavailable this happened twice but eventually on a Wednesday the second choices finally had a free period for us to film, I need to make sure that in future I plan better as this has made me very stressed about the work and was arguably putting me behind the rest. I also learnt more and more about editing on Final Cut Pro and now I am better on it, I also learnt more about directing, many times I would have to show the actors exactly what I wanted them to do, how to stand, how to talk and what emotion to show, they had both seen there character representation video and short summary of the story so they were not completely clueless about what they were doing. I also know if I had had more time spent on this video and editing it I am sure it could be better, I also have been given an idea on how much harder doing a final project will be and how much time one should have and spend on their video as due to difficult circumstances which led me to having not as much time as I would have liked to have spent editing and filming my own video.

2. What skills have you developed?

I think my director skills have definitely improved because several times I would have to get the actors to redo a shot because it just wasn’t what I wanted and I would act out exactly what I wanted. I want what is on film to look like how I pictured how it would look when I picture it in my head so if it is not I want to redo the shot a few more times to get as close as we can too my goal for the shot and in whole the film. I feel my editing skills on using Final Cut Pro have also improved. I started turning down the sound on the non-diegetic sound and turning up sound on scenes with dialogue in order to make it easier to hear the speakers. My editing skills also improved after I had to start editing down clips of the journey as from feedback I got it went on for a bit long so I was advised to trim some of the longer ones down. When doing this the music and cut parts when the non diegetic sound was quitter than the diegetic sound became messed up and in different places so I would have to work around this and move parts back together, at some point I even decided just to delete the non diegetic music proceed to edit all the longer clips and only once done that put the music back in and re-edit it around the newly edited clips.

3. What feedback have you received?

 I was advised to cut the music up so that in certain clips when there is dialogue I should lower the music and turn up the clips volume thus making it easier to hear the speakers but while still having the music in the background. I showed my other classmates and they told me they thought it was good or “very nice” by Stuart, they however only saw my final version in which I had edited down the journey clips but there was no more mention to them from my classmates so i assumed they had therefore been trimmed down enough I also showed my parents who said the same thing which is just to shorten some of the longer shots during the traveling scenes but other than that they said they also felt it was good. Other than this I have not actually gotten any other feedback, I have been told and do understand myself it is not brilliant for a final project but for a preliminary task project I am happy with it, I do feel there are things that could improve it however. My own feedback to myself would simply be the same as the rest of the feedback I got, edit down the longer travelling shots.

4. How would you improve your Preliminary Task?
Overall I am pleased with my preliminary task however there are some things I feel I could improve with it. These include things such as I would redo a few of the shots I took as several of them were not very high quality and also in several shots the acting was not that great like at the end when I did redo the shot a few times as I wanted character 1 to change the way she spoke and said "umm I think I might just wing it." While I preferred the one I put in the video to the rest I still feel if I had taken a few more there is a chance I could have gotten a better shot. In future I would also manage to improve tasks like this with better pre planning as I have said filming was postponed and also new actors had to be found which then also having changed genders made me need to change around a few character representations and parts of the story. If my original plan had gone to plan perhaps it would have been more relaxed and I could have spent more time on filming and editing which has a high chance my video could have been better.

Preliminary task

First draft:

I went back and further edited my original taking advice from viewers and produced my final draft:

choice of soundtrack

Higher by ta-ku (flume remix) it is a up beat joyful sounding song which I feel would be perfect for the opening credits and journey to the house from Raynes park. I personally feel it would fit the video perfectly. If the video goes on for longer than expected I have a few ideas of what I may use also to fill in the spaces, I have to make sure however they follow the same up beat happy theme as the other I d not want a change of tone in the video because of the song used. I need to use a song that adds a jolly feeling to the video as it is in the comedy genre so the music is important as depending what it is it can turn a shot serious or happy. So since I want my video to be non serious I will be using songs that sound up-lifting.

What's holding the UK film industry back?

What’s holding the UK film industry back?

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/3eea920c-1f55-11e0-8c1c-00144feab49a.html#axzz3E31fHdKA

Read through this essay and answer the following questions. Make any additional notes that you think are relevant.

1)   What was the state of Pinewood Studios’ activity in 2009? What is problematic about this? What is the “wider conundrum”?

Pinwood studios' activity in 2009 was not the best, in 2009 only one out of five films being made were financed and owned by Britain. The wider conundrum was that UK has yet to develop a self sustaining domestic film industry while having a long cinematic tradition.

2)   One of the early questions is “should film, straddling the commercial and cultural worlds, be subsidised for its artistic value, or left to commercial producers?” Outline your opinion on this.

I say left to commercial producers as they are more the experts in how they can gain more audience for the films through its use in commercials and advertisements, and with more viewers the film will gain more money

3)   How did the early US film studios ascend into dominance? (You will have to read several paragraphs and then bring the ideas together)

Entrepreneurs such as Adolph Zukor and Carl Laemmle who founded Paramount Pictures and Universal which had advantages over British counterparts which were swift integration of the disparate arms. This tactic gave the studious invest in great technology, sets and talent. Lammae also opened a ground-breaking film studio called "Universal City" which also had its own post office, blacksmith and two restaurants. 

4)   How does this compare with early efforts from British men like Boot and Rank? What are the explanations as to why their results differed?

With the US having a far greater population it was much easier for the US to sell movies with their bigger domestic audience. British studious such as Shepperton and Teddington, don't fund their own film projects anymore. Also since Hollywood studios made most money very easily in the domestic market alone they could then sell movies abroad cheaply. In 1927 ever 4/5 films shown in the UK were American, 4% were actually British. Nowadays  

5)   Explain how Britain’s shared language with the US is considered a hurdle. Consider what Thykier has to say on the matter.

Thykier says due to there not being a language barrier people can now no longer tell the difference between American and British films.

6)   Outline the issues with acquiring funding for films in the UK.

Only few movies that are made become big hits which makes investing in a movie a risky idea as it has a chance to backfire.

7)   How does the French system contrast from the UK system? What are the advantages/disadvantages of the French system? Do you think the UK should follow a similar model, and if so do you think it is feasible?

The UK government doesn't assist the industry as much as the French government. There are regulations in France that ensure the domestic market remains successful and popular however there are no such regulations in the UK. France also help ensure this by making sure most of the films in France are in French not English

8)   “If the aim was merely financial self-sufficiency, some might say the government should give up on funding film production, and instead try to boost what Britain already does quite profitably: acting as a service industry to international filmmakers, as exemplified by studios like Pinewood and the strong post-production sector based in London’s Soho.”

What are your thoughts on this?

I think it is a better option for Britain as the UK film industry has not been going very well so helping in being a service industry as it is a more profitable option for them

9)   In what way was the Film Council stuck “between a rock and a hard place”?

Because it was criticised for financing films that were claimed to be not entertaining enough

10)                 Why was the “golden era of British film” possible?

It was possible because the US influence was reduced at the star of the war and so it was a while before it was going well again. With a film enthusiast Churchill at the head of the government found its way into an enlightened for of support, which was the Ministry of information financed documentary production, gave arm-lengths support to commercial producers. However audiences needed both morale-boosting entertainment and information and they flocked to British films as well as Hollywood ones. With a public service blend with commercial enterprise, was forged in the special conditions of wartime it wouldn't last with a subsidy in the shape of the NFFC ahead, while the British cinema had never been so commercialy or artistically buoyant it was good while it lasted but would not last.

Preliminary task script

Untitled
By Max Cochrane

Ext. Fulham BW – Day

We watch a boy leave Fulham Broadway and approach the crossing, takes out his phone and calls his friend. 

It rings for a few seconds as the boy looks both ways and crosses the street.

Protagonist 1

“Hey, just left Fulham Broadway I’ll be around 5 minutes you got everything ready right?”

Int. Protagonist 2’s room – Day

 Protagonist 2

“Alright cool and yeah of course it is me, highly reliable aren't I, still don't see why you can't do this stuff by yourself tho, its not that hard to revise alone.”

Ext. Fulham BW – Day 1

"For me it is, I can never stay focused I get distracted like so easily, I'm rubbish at revising and I got to pass this test or else my teachers gonna kill me, then my dads gonna kill me and then my mums gonna kill me that doesn't sound fun to me."

Int. Protagonist 2's room - day

Protagonist 2

"You're rubbish at everything, just get your arse here and I'll see if I can accomplish a task harder than climbing mount everest, getting you to revise and hopefully pass this damn test"

Hangs up. 

Ext. Down the road of FBW – Day

He hangs up and continues walking down the road; the rest of his journey has music “higher” in the background with credits coming in.

He arrives at Protagonist 2’s house and rings the doorbell.

Protagonist 2 opens the door and Protagonist 1 enters.

Int. Protagonist 2's house - day

Protagonist 2

"Oh about time already thought you either got hit by a car or saw McDonalds, was thinking more the McDonalds to be honest."

Protagonist 1

"Oh shut up lets just get to work alright, I have to pass."

Protagonist 2

"Alright alright relax your tits boy lets get going then huh"

Protagonist 2 then shuts the door and the shot cuts to them both sitting on Protagonist 2's bed playing Xbox with revision material in-front of them.

Protagonist 2

"  

vid diary no.4

Use of external sound

For this I then took the audio from the soundbox and the video off the camera and put them both on FinalCutPro where I edited them together by matching the audio sound by comparing the sound waves. This managed to get rid of any background noise like other people talking and made it much easier to hear Matilda reading outloud. 

Final edited version: