We are going to revisit CHANGES IN TECHNOLOGY as a topic today.
Remember we watched Keanu Reeves, "Side by Side" and you made some good notes (everything you'll need for an essay) for writing about the move from film to digital.
Today we are going to explore technological changes and what impact that has on the film indutstry. You need to be able to comment on CHANGES IN TECHNOLOGY AND HOW IT IMPACTS EVERY PART OF THE PRODUCTION PROCESS (production / post-production / distribution / exhibition / consumption)
This article from last week has a lot in it in terms of technological advancements / changes in technology that impact the film industry;
ACTIVITY #1: Due Thursday 27th August 6pm, posted on your blog
- Create around 5 slides of Keynote / Powerpoint on the above process of production.
- Include the following: Definition of cinema exhibition and outline changes to exhibition in the last 5 years.
- Define and use the following key terminology related to this process:
Multiplex, indépendant cinema, conglomerate, Big 5, festivals, film market, geographic location, opening weekend, prints, digital release, release patterns, schedule and box office figures.
- Outline the exhibition process of at least 2 of your case studies and give details as to how it was exhibited and the factors involved in the success or failure of these films.
We are going to move into Institutions and Audiences today!
Remember, you can get a question on ANY 2 of the following topics and you will answer 1 question;
1.The issues raised by media ownership and funding in contemporary media practice
(the Big 5, big budget films vs. smaller indi films, Hollywood bowing to China censorship demands,
2. the importance of cross-media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing
(technological impact on ability to have cross media convergence, ownership and how big corporates own companies through horizontal / vertical integration = benefit,
3. The technologies that have been introduced in recent years at the levels of production, distribution, marketing and at the point of consumption
(Side by Side doco on most recent move from film to digital, case study examples of all technologies used)
4. Proliferation of hardware & software / the significance of the spread of such technologies for institutions and audiences
(linked to the above - how does this change in technology affect / impact big budget Hollywood vs. Indi filmmakers in processes of filmmaking, how does it impact audiences - more choice (market saturated etc))
5. Audience - the ways in which the candidates’ own experiences of media consumption illustrate wider patterns and trends in audience behaviour(trends, Gen X, Y & Z / i-gen's, technological factors that influence trends (Netflix & decline in cinema numbers, what types of films are people watching and HOW (consumption))
6. the importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences
7. The issues raised in the targeting of national and local audiences by international or global institutions
ACTIVITY #1
Click here to read the article on DISTRIBUTION (The Art Of the Deal) and then answer the following questions;
1. What are the two different financial models that distribution agreements are based on?
2. Describe what they both entail.
3. What are ancillary rights?
4. What is the definition of the film's 'opening' and what factors are taken into account when making decisions about a film's opening?
5. What does it mean if a film has 'legs'? What factors might determine this?
6. At the time of this article, how many theatres were there across USA and where are they mostly located?
7. What role does a 'buyer' play and what are some of the terms they negotiate?
8. What are the 2 ways a theatre may release a movie? Explain how they work.
9. What is meant by a 'loss leader'?
ACTIVITY #2
Go to your case study notes on the 4 films you looked up information for. Check what information you have about your film's ditribution process.
Today we will watch this through one more time and discuss the elements of SOUND and EDITING for you to take notes.
On Thursday you will set aside a 45 minute block, just like you'd have in an exam and write out your essay. You'll need to post this on your blog for marking by Thursday 6pm.
In class today we are going to refresh our memory for how to structure a representation answer.
Remember, in your essay, you want to have a strong, clear argument which highlights who is being represented and how (what messages are we being given about certain groups)
THEN you want to fill your square blocks with notes on each of the 4 technical areas with evidence of HOW meaning is created with each area.
Another great breakdown of representation through the 7 core groups of society.
1. Blog tidy-up (this means you click preview, go through your blog and make sure font size & colour are all legible, posts are in a consistent style with correct headings and ALL posts are linked to a label that is either Preliminary Task 1, Preliminary Task 2, Foundation Portfolio, Representation or Research)
2. I am giving you today as GRACE to get your CCR's in and spruced up and ready for me to mark tonight.
Here's what you need to check and tick off to be completed with this assignment:
1. Blog tool (a different blog tool for each question, EMBEDDED into your blog)
2. Answer each question thoroughly with details from areas you have studied (e.g. Distribution, don't just talk about what you could do, give examples of companies you may approach, talk about the distribution process and what sort of marketing campaign you'd use etc).
3. Visuals / images (make sure you include lots of photos & images)
4. Label it correctly - heading and label within your blog ('Foundation Portfolio CCR')
5. Presentation (how clearly is work laid out within your blog tool? If I can't read it or it's a whole lot of text pasted on a slide, it doesn't get you marks).
Thanks! I'm looking forward to getting these done, dusted and out of the way so we can focus on exams. please use this GRACE DAY as a day to get yourself sorted so you can hand in high quality work. Remember this was due last Wed so you should have been finished with it anyway.
PRESENTATION is important (check you have pictures/ photos / colours and that the writing and placement of graphics or backgrounds isn't distracting)
BLOG TOOLS - each question needs a DIFFERENT blog tool EMBEDDED into blog
Question 1 How does your product USE or CHALLENGE conventions? How does it represent social groups / issues?
(Think sound, lighting, narrative structure, editing, camera work, symbolism and iconography) - make a list of conventions used, are they conforming to the norm or challenging the normal thriller conventions? - This needs to be at least 5 slides with DETAILS and showing links to clips/ movies you used as inspiration. Do NOT just list things, EXPLAIN them, show photos of what you wanted to achieve as a convention and what you did achieve
Question 2 How does your product engage with audiences? How would you distribute it as a real media text?
(What effect does it have on audiences? What emotions do you evoke in audience members?) - Think about and comment on the following; - Who is your target audience (use demographics research we did in class - GEN Z/ i-gen content. - Why would this appeal to this audience range? - How are you going to distribute this product BASED ON what you know about your target audience? (Do they go to the cinema? What sort of marketing would you use? What examples of viral marketing would you try and copy? What platforms would you make this available on and how?) - characters (what characters did you choose to use? Can audiences identify with any of them? Are they scary / mysterious? Is there a vulnerable character that the audience sympathises with? - narrative - what sort of story line does your film have? Think about narrative structure - are there certain aspects of the story that are revealed at the end? Is there enigma in your story? Is there a cliffhanger? - point of view - is your film made from a certain point of view? - How does the thriller genre in general 'hook' or engage audiences? (do a bit of research) - What editing/ music choices have you used to build suspense and engage audiences?
Question 3 How have your PRODUCTION skills developed throughout the project? (pre-production, production and post-production. What have you learnt to do?
- comment on the learning process. What did you find hard? What did you enjoy doing? What was a challenge and - what were peer revision/ comments on your rough edit? What did they suggest you change? What did you end up changing? - what went well in the filming process that you'll do again? What will you do differently next time? Question 4 - How did you integrate technologies into this project? (Software, hardware and online)
- Photos! List photos, screenshots, videos and explanations of every website, software, Youtube tutorial, camera, sound gear/ microphone etc, you used to plan, write scripts, look up info on sound effects, convert Youtube music to MP3's, edit, after effects etc
Create an opening scene for any Thriller sub-genre of your choice. The opening sequence needs to set up a Thriller movie, introducing key characters and hinting at the story line ahead, setting up the plot that will unfold. It needs to have the following technical requirements;
It needs to follow the 180' Rule
Include shot-reverse-shot
Match on Action
Logo conceptualised and created by one of your group members
At least 2 Special FX from After Effects
2 - 2.5 mins long
Credits and title of the movie
Remember to think carefully about your sub-genre and try your hand at something new.
Have fun and remember to think smart, write down all your planning and log ALL changes, problems encountered and things learnt along the way for your CCR.
We need to research film company logos. Look up images and the history of their creation, and make observations on what seems to be involved in creating a company logo.
Provide example images and a strong paragraph describing your findings.
Apply this information to the design of your company's logo. Again, provide example images and a strong paragraph. You should have at least 5 and maximum 8 logos investigated on your blog and then additionally, your film production company logo too.
I suggest you start the logo investigation links in the research section of our class blog for some ideas.
PRESENTATION is important (check you have pictures/ photos / colours and that the writing and placement of graphics or backgrounds isn't distracting)
BLOG TOOLS - each question needs a DIFFERENT blog tool EMBEDDED into blog
Question 1
How does your product USE or CHALLENGE conventions? How does it represent social groups / issues?
(Think sound, lighting, narrative structure, editing, camera work, symbolism and iconography)
- make a list of conventions used, are they conforming to the norm or challenging the normal thriller conventions? - This needs to be at least 5 slides with DETAILS and showing links to clips/ movies you used as inspiration. Do NOT just list things, EXPLAIN them, show photos of what you wanted to achieve as a convention and what you did achieve
Question 2
How does your product engage with audiences? How would you distribute it as a real media text?
(What effect does it have on audiences? What emotions do you evoke in audience members?)
- Think about and comment on the following;
- Who is your target audience (use demographics research we did in class - GEN Z/ i-gen content.
- Why would this appeal to this audience range?
- How are you going to distribute this product BASED ON what you know about your target audience? (Do they go to the cinema? What sort of marketing would you use? What examples of viral marketing would you try and copy? What platforms would you make this available on and how?)
- characters (what characters did you choose to use? Can audiences identify with any of them? Are they scary / mysterious? Is there a vulnerable character that the audience sympathises with?
- narrative - what sort of story line does your film have? Think about narrative structure - are there certain aspects of the story that are revealed at the end? Is there enigma in your story? Is there a cliffhanger?
- point of view - is your film made from a certain point of view?
- How does the thriller genre in general 'hook' or engage audiences? (do a bit of research)
- What editing/ music choices have you used to build suspense and engage audiences?
Question 3
How have your PRODUCTION skills developed throughout the project? (pre-production, production and post-production. What have you learnt to do?
- comment on the learning process. What did you find hard? What did you enjoy doing? What was a challenge and
- what were peer revision/ comments on your rough edit? What did they suggest you change? What did you end up changing?
- what went well in the filming process that you'll do again? What will you do differently next time?
Question 4 - How did you integrate technologies into this project?
(Software, hardware and online)
- Photos! List photos, screenshots, videos and explanations of every website, software, Youtube tutorial, camera, sound gear/ microphone etc, you used to plan, write scripts, look up info on sound effects, convert Youtube music to MP3's, edit, after effects etc
This week, I'd like you to do an essay for exam practise on the following question;
"Technology has been rapidly evolving and this has meant significant changes to the film production process at every level. Outline these changes and discuss their impact on the film industry and what it means for audiences consuming the media produced."
You will need to use Side by Side as well as our class blog links to craft an essay outlining key changes to the film production process, including the following stages;
- production
- distribution
- marketing
- consumption
Plan for opening argument/ statement AND key points for discussion is due TOMORROW.
Here is a great article with a video about using music for effect in thrillers. Please add it to your own blogs and write a sentence explaining what you will try and do for your own short film opening.
This week your focus is getting your Preliminary Task 2 planning up to scratch.
You have completed a version of your planning, but I want you to take it to the next level in;
1. Presentation
- including youtube clips/ film opening examples / photos / nice layouts for text / headings and fonts and sizes that are standardised
- detail!!! Add in things like photos of the costumes / props / locations/ character types and explain why you've chosen things (rationale), what are you using as inspiration?
2. Fill in the gaps
- Now that you know what you're filming, who is acting for you?
- Where are you filming? Plan a reccie and go get some photos and shot ideas
- Create shot list and filming schedule / plan for the week/ day's you're filming
- Get go-ahead from anyone for filming locations that may need permission for
- Get plan B set-up (get photos of your plan B)
3. Add in a list of who is doing what in the beginning of your blog post and introduce your team
4. Create a 'mood board' post using the following as inspiration
Our LAST online work before we head back to school! Let's finish strong!!
This is something I want you to work on TODAY and you can have the weekend to finish it. These are due on Monday at media class.
Today you are going to write an essay on Cross-Media-Convergence and synergy.
Question: How do companies use cross-media-convergence and synergy to promote media products and to what extent does that cause a film to be successful?
To plan;
1. Come up with a topic sentence. A starting statement that encapsulates what you believe the answer to the question is.
2. Write down 4 - 5 bullet point sentences that encapsulate the MAIN POINTS you would use to argue this point.
3. Under each main bullet point, write in brackets what case study information from your own case study or your class case studies / research that will be relevant and add detail to your argument. I want you to explain / analyse/ comment on and include the following concepts;
1. Disney as a conglomerate - how does Disney have an advantage? (GIVE EXAMPLES of vertical & horizontal integration and how it uses synergy & CMC to promote films. How successful are those efforts? Give evidence with gross earnings for films (how well did they do?)
This paragraph can be split into at least 2 paragraphs. LOTS of examples needed here. Look up lots of businesses that Disney owns and how they use CMC for things like soundtracks / video games/ TV commercials run by their own TV networks / using famous stars to promote the films etc.
2. CMC and synergy limitations in smaller companies / indi filmmakers. Comment on rise of internet being a valuable tool that levels playing field a bit. What online tools can and do indi filmmakers use LOTS OF EXAMPLES HERE - Facebook fan pages likes/ follows? Hits on Youtube? other clever marketing campaigns??(The Dark Knight / What we Do In The Shadows examples) How has being able to be screened on Netflix and other VOD sites helped?
3. NZFC - how do NZ-made films benefit from CMC and synergy? (NZ government interested in tourism/ local economic growth / development of local talent). Comment on population and audience numbers in NZ vs. US for example. Give case study examples for your NZ film. Use example of The Hobit being used on Air NZ in-flight safety video. How many hits did that get on Youtube? How else can NZ government use CMC to promote films? Think TV etc.
4. Analysis. what is your opinion (based on research). How many people are seeing the big budget movies and how much of that success is based on marketing? What were marketing budgets for blockbuster and in comparison, how well did they do?
5. Impact of Internet and more specifically web 2.0 on CMC/ synergy extended info - how many people in NZ online? How many people globally? How many people on social media? How are films promoted via social media? give lots of examples. How else does the internet play a role in CMC / synergy? (the ability for audiences to INTERACT with the media!! Liking & sharing. Reviewing and documenting of social media that they're seeing the film. Creates HYPE and a buzz around a film's release. Gives companies ability to totally saturate our online activity with marketing for a film (in advertising as well as other ways of CMC).
I want you to answer the following essay question, using the points of interest below;
"To what extent does Media Ownership impact the success of a film."
Please(!!!) plan your essay like we discussed, before attempting to write it.
In your plan:
write a killer, clear, easy to understand opening sentence that sums up your position on the question.
write 4 - 5 solid points that you will expand on in each paragraph
write bullet points for case studies / facts / figures / quotes that you have for each paragraph to back up your points
use case study and research ALL THE WAY THROUGH
use terminology from class notes / glossary ALL THE WAY THROUGH
In your essay, cover the following
BASIC IDEAS
1. Hollywood's DOMINANCE over media industry
2 NZ's film industry situation - NZFC (compare & contrast issues for NZ film production competing with Hollywood)
3. Piracy as an issue for all
how is media ownership structured (conglomerates / Hollywood big 5 - who are they? / subsidiaries / Disney case study - what does Disney own? What are they worth? how much of our media are they actually making? )
contrast Hollywood with NZ film (who are NZFC? What films have they made in last year? What are NZFC driven by (what is their end goal) / what types of films are being made and why? )
How does the $ of ownership influence cross-media convergence / synergy opportunities? Does it influence how successfully a film is marketed?? (CASE STUDIES to back this up / 'What we do in the shadows' / Hollywood Blockbuster case study marketing strategies / Dark Knight Why So Serious marketing campaign / Cases that contrast how indi films struggle or NZ funded films struggle in comparison? maybe they don'y struggle? Maybe the internet has levelled the playing field? / Horizontal Integration & Vertical Integration - how does this benefit a film's success and give examples of both types of integration
benefits of big $ to spend in ALL stages of production? (use your brainstorm from Monday - e.g. being able to hire big stars which also helps in promoting film (give EXAMPLES), benefits of technical equipment and bigger budgets for things like sounds / special effects etc
impact of a big company vs indi film in things like distribution - how does big $ make a difference in distribution process? Think integration of companies and how that may affect a film being distributed. How much harder is it for a small indi film to get distributed vS. your Hollywood blockbuster?
Impact of big conglomerate on the TYPES of movies being made. What are top grossing movies of last year? Who made them? What types of movies are being produced and re-produced because they're popular? What happens to the original storyteller and stories that need to be told? How does Hollywood's domination of the market affect independent films or international films who want to get work out there?
Piracy - how does this affect people who own the media? Use case study examples and research you've done to talk about this
One of the stages of production is DISTRIBUTION and you need to know how this works, to be able to comment on it in an exam question.
Today's task is to research the DISTRIBUTION PROCESS using the following links and to collate your research in a blog post;
1. Outline the main concepts in each headlined paragraph. Make sure you have used and understand the meaning of the key phrases and terminology, such as 'Green Light', 'Ancillary' etc.
Today's research is going to be useful for any essay regarding ownership. We are going to look into the New Zealand Film Commission.
I want you to open your case study blog post and do some research on the NZFC and answer the following questions;
1. Who are the NZFC and what is their primary purpose?
2. What films have they funded in the last 5 years that did really well internationally?
3. What films have they funded in the last 5 years that you have seen or that you know have been popular?
4. What services do the NZFC offer to help NZ filmmakers in the production process? www.nzfilm.co.nz/new-zealand
Now I want you to consider the following question on a brainstorming page that you will title, "INSTITUTIONS (OWNERSHIP)".
Flick though this slideshow and make some notes but keep in mind this is British and we are focusing on the NZFC so mainly take the generalised points about ownership and what affect it has on a film being made.
"How does the status of the institution impact on how they engage with the major stages of production?"
(basically, how does it impact a film being made to have the backing of a massive conglomerate like Disney, as opposed to being a filmmaker from NZ wanting to make an indi film).
Write points for;
1. Production (getting funding / cast & crew / music for the film / technology & equipment)
2. Distribution / marketing ( actors promoting the film / vertical & horizontal integration / synergy & cross-media-convergence)
3. exhibition & exchange (the type of release you may have / the rights to the film / piracy)
One skill you need to learn is how to skim read. Research can be a long process but if you learn to skim read and pick out important points, it will go so much quicker!
The following are some interesting articles; one is about cross-media convergence in Disney and the rest are all about the film piracy issue.
You would use info from research in Question 1 for any question that speaks about the impact of ownership on a film (the fact that Disney CAN market the Avengers franchise the way it does, because of how massive it is) and also a question about cross-media convergence and synergy as marketing tools.
You would use info on piracy in most essays, this could be in one about audience trends, it could be used when talking about media ownership and the PROBLEM that piracy is (is it still a problem?), it could be used in a question about the rise of technology and how that has changed the film industry because now (thanks to the internet) we have piracy sites so easily accessible and available.
RESEARCH QUESTION 1: Cross-Media Convergence and the Avengers Franchise (Disney)
Check out this link about the Avengers franchise and write some bullet point notes about how the franchise benefits from cross-media-convergence and some examples of it.
Read this article and write a few stats on the piracy problem worldwide. Jot down a couple of bullet points about what is happening with piracy and WHY.
RESEARCH QUESTION 3: Piracy in lockdown
Read this article and write some comments and stats about UK's consumption during lockdown.
Read this article and write a few points on US consumption during lockdown
RESEARCH QUESTION 4: Piracy in NZ
Read this article and write a few points about piracy trends in NZ over the past few years
RESEARCH QUESTION 5
1. how many times have your case study films been pirated? (write your findings in your case study blog post)
Today I'd like you to write your first Audiences and Institutions essay. Don't be too excited!!
You will have today's 1 hour lesson's worth of time.
Here's your essay question (straight out of an old exam, so it's likely you could get something along these lines in your pre-lims or end of year exams).
"How does your own experience of media consumption illustrate a wider pattern and trend of audience behaviour?"
Strategy
1. Write your statement out as the beginning of an introduction. What is the short answer to this questions?
Maybe it's,
"My own experience of media consumption, in many ways, demonstrates and mirrors current trends in audience behaviour."
or
"I have found that my media consumption really challenges the current media trends of how audiences in general are consuming media"
or
" I have found that web 2.0 has drastically impacted my own media consumption and this is evident in a greater, global audience trend of consumption too."
2. Use your notes from our last few class zoom sessions as points for each paragraph. Write a brainstorm of what you will include in this essay (roughly 5 - 6 paragraphs with information from our last few sessions).
3. This essay in particular is asking you to include details about your own media consumption. You can dedicate a paragraph to explaining how you consume media then make sure you COMPARE and CONTRAST to wider audience patterns.
4. Use some of your findings from your audience surveys in your essay to back up your points.
5. Use your case studies! This is really important. In ANY Audiences and Institutions essay, you will need to use information from your case study research somehow. This will be a great test to see that you have some information to contrast and talk about in relation to you big budget, Hollywood Blockbuster compared to a NZ film. What was the target audience? How did the way they released their film reflect audience behaviours? (for example, did they release
Mark allocations
10 marks: TERMINOLOGY (use the words I gave you and demonstrate that you understand what they mean, eg. fragmentation).
20 marks: Analysis/ Argument - how clearly do you understand the question and how strong is your main point? How well is it backed up by evidence? If you were in a court, arguinng your point of view, how much of a strong or convincing argument do you put forward?
20 marks: Examples - this is the details!! This is where you include not just terminology but definitions, not just random statements like 'people are not buying DVD's anymore', you will look up facts, stats and quotes to back up your statement. All that research you did on those links for homework will come in handy here as detailed examples for your main points.
Remember, in an exam, you will have 45 minutes to craft and write your essay. Initially, being your first one, this will take longer. But you should be aiming to be writing for an hour max IF you have all your information ready to use. If you are doing research as you write, it could take longer.
Today I want you to do some research into MARKETING strategies for your case study films.
I want you to add examples of SYNERGY and CROSS-MEDIA CONVERGENCE for how your films were marketed to their audience.
Did they use any marketing campaigns? Were they global? Were they successful? Did they use vertical integration in any cases?
Write a few bullet points for each case study movie.
ALSO, we are adding Disney to our case study list as an institution we study. I want you to write down a few key examples from our online class as well as add a few of your own to the list on how they successfully use synergy and cross-media convergence in marketing.
Here's the Disney video we checked out yesterday if you want to re-watch it to make some notes.
Audience Research. Please use the links below and answer the questions. Make a blog post under the AUDIENCE label and give it the heading; 'Audience Research'
Questions;
1. How many of the world's population are currently connected to the internet? (slide 6)
2. How many of the world's population are active social media users? (slide 6)
3. What are the top 5 social media sites used globally? (slide 10)
4. What two age-groups have the largest contingent of social media users? (slide 12)
5. What percentage of NZ's population are connected to the internet and what percentage have social media? (slide 15)
6. What are the top 3 devices used to consume media in NZ? (slide 18)
7. How many hours a day are NZ's watching/ streaming online TV services? (slide 19)
8. What percentage of internet users in NZ swatch videos online and what percentage stream content via the internet? (slide 28)
9. What are NZ's top 5 social media sites? (slide 33)
1. Who are considered 'i-gens' (page 3 )
2. In what ways are i-gens connected and using digital technology? (pg 4)
3. How would you describe the relationship with i-gens with the content of the media they are consuming? (Summarise page 5)
4. In what way does social media play a part in influencing i-gens activity in whether they watch a film or not? (p7)
5. List the emotional motivations that drive i-gens to watch movies at the cinemas and what in general do they like about it? (p8 & 10)
6. Comment on why i-gens opt to watch movies online at home (p 9)
7. What do the i-gens say is negative about the cinema experience? (p11)
8. Use page 13 to write a few sentences about how i-gens should be marketed to if you are trying to get them to watch your film
9. Use pages 14 - 19 to write a few points about the way i-gens prefer to engage with media and what they want out of a media consumption experience
(Representation - all homework essays on representation)
(Research - All Audiences & Institutions work - 4 case study films / research on audience trends with links / homework on audience surveys)
Planning put into 1 blog post
Homework for Wednesday completed (20 surveys completed and data put into presentation with graphs showing findings. Also some explanation and analysis, basically answering the question, 'what does your data show or what does your data mean in terms of what audience trends are'?
TIDY up your blogs. Anything with different fonts or colour backgrounds where we can't read things or posts that don't have a heading - fix it all and make it look nice. This will save a HUGE amount of time when we get to the end of the year and you need to fix EVERYTHING that doesn't look professional.
Thanks team!
Have the BEST weekend ahead. Really proud of you all and trusting that you're going to totally smash Media Studies this year!
Make some notes of important, relevant and useful information. Then complete the following task...
QUESTION:
How are the audience trends of media consumption being affected by the changing technology in society? How would this information affect marketing, distribution and exhibition for a film you were making? Give examples and statistics to back up your answer.
Create a blog post with the label 'CASE STUDIES' which you will be adding to weekly.
We are starting our research for CASE STUDIES as we will discuss in our class time. You are going to work on the following for Media Studies today.
Find a case study for research for the following;
1. A Hollywood Blockbuster
2. A NZ film
3. An independant/ Arthouse film
4. A Film that didn't perform as well as expected (We are all going to use 'The Interview')
Find out the following information
- Title and date of release
- Director
- Any A-list cast involved
- Budget
- release details (how was it released? In one country or worldwide at the same time? Did it go to film festival first or straight to DVD? Was it released in a few cinemas or massive release in all cinemas?)
- Opening weekend Box Office numbers (How well did it do in opening weekend)
- What platforms was it / is it available on? (DVD? Netflix? Streaming service? Did it air on TV? Movie Cinema?)
- reviews (What type of reception did the movie get? Any quotes from a good Rotten Tomato review that sort of sums up what people thought of it?_
Hi class For homework, you are going to conduct some surveys and the finished product is going to be due with all your findings, next Wednesday. As well as conducting this survey for your peers and family, you are going to complete one for yourself too. The Survey- Conduct a survey, with the goal of ascertaining film consumption patterns
Survey should involve at least 20 randomly selected people of different ages
Make it easy on yourself! Construct a chart that allows you to poll a small group simultaneously rather than one individual at a time!
Taking the survey should take between 2-5mins at most. Let people know that.
Data for each person polled should include, but are not solely restricted to:
Age
Preferred genre
Estimated number of movies watched per year
Estimated number of times they watch those films at a cinema
Names of top three most frequented cinema establishments
Most recent movie seen
If film-watching normally takes place at home, do they generally:
Watch film from start to finish, no breaks
Watch film with short breaks (get water, answer door, etc)
Watch film with longer breaks (please specify break length and reason)
It could also be a good idea to find out about people's use of LightBox / Netflix / DVD / other forms of home-viewing, including illegal download. Make sure you collate your findings in some sort of graph / presentation all together so that we can compare it and analyse and use this data for essays on Audience Consumption in the future.
1. We're being more
intentional about the creation of suspense / tension through
use of specific filming techniques and conventions.
2. It's a good idea to get them to choose a
specific thriller sub-genre you want to try to reproduce. You can
reference your recent blog assignments on that to decide which conventions you
want to use. PT#2's mark will also take into account how good a job you
did at making an accurate representation of this sub-genre.
3. We're switching up roles! Whatever job you had
for PT #1
Second filming task brief-
·Two
characters
·Both
walk to a meeting place (together or separately is fine)
·An
object is given to or taken from one of the characters
·Short
chase sequence - resolved one way or the other!
·At
least two lines of dialogue
·A
"discovery" or "revelation" moment
·1
- 2 mins maximum length
Technical elements required:
·Use
at least one extreme-wide / establishing shot, one close-up (CU) andone
extreme close-up (ECU).
·Use
180-degree rule
·Use
shot-reverse-shot
·Use
match on action
·Use
Thriller conventions
·Consider
the Critical Reflection questions as you prepare for the main task!
·After
Effects! Explore this technology to decide what you will add into your version
of the edit..
All
the best! Remember to plan thoroughly, record all your decisions and changes.
Work with the end in mind. Lastly, get creative!
Here
is your checklist to work through. Some things you should ALL do, e.g. concept
treatment & storyboard) some things
only you will be responsible for (e.g. storyboard/ script)
Pre-Production
1. Brainstorm (all include a version of this, show record of ideas developing into final idea)
2. Concept – HERE is the link for the template of how to do this 3. Treatment - see link HEREfor template for how to do this
4.Storyboard (you can
either print the template off our class blog, left side under ‘film templates’
or if you don’t have a printer, draw up your own template to use). 5.Script & Talent
6. Shot List
7.Location / Setting (do
some research, find photos of the look you are after and places that could work
for setting. Find some movies with setting / location that you want to
replicate)
8.Props & costumes
(again, find examples of EVERY prop and costume you want to use. What other
movies have they used them in? What look and feel are you going for? What
colours are going to be symbolic? What props are going to be used in iconography?
Include lots of photos/ screenshots of movies and write about the ‘why’ you
would make this creative choice).
9. Film Schedules
10. Call Sheets
PRODUCTION
11.Lighting (you need a
lighting plan. Show you have done some research to find lighting styles you
like and want to replicate. Explain how you will get your desired effect). 10.Camera (in this you
include shot types and camera movement you want to explore and try out. Maybe it’s
things like dolly shot where you want
the camera moving or a high establishing shot? Get examples of what you want to
try replicate and look up/ plan creative ways to get this. For a dolly shot you
can put your camera on a wheelie chair, a tracking shot can be on a skateboard
etc. Get creative! Are you going to use lots of close-up’s? Are you going to
use lots of obstruction of vision in what you include in your shot? Whose point
of view is the story told from? 9.Sound – who is going to do this on the day? Then you all need to
start researching sound. What do you plan on including in your sound? Hat soundtracks
have you found? What sound effects? What movies or short films achieve what you
want to achieve in sound and how will you use them as inspiration?
10. Director / time keeper
POST-PRODUCTION
11.Editing – look up some
cool editing techniques like how to do a chase scene, how to do flashbacks, how
to do fast paced edits, how to create a disorientated feel via editing. Do some
research and have a clear idea of what you want to achieve with editing in this
short film opening
12. Logo - design, placement/ animation (track all stages of designs, revision drafts, issues, decisions and finished product as well as treatment explanation for the above).
