Tutors Summary

Well done Josh and thank you for taking part in this years BFI Film Academy. This blog covers a true reflection of what you achieved.  You had a large involvement in the script development and worked really well in the team. You were always positive and listened but also gave great ideas. As the production week progressed you became more confident behind a professional camera.

You can find a rough copy of the film here:

https://vimeo.com/148244026

(A password for the film has been sent to you via an email)



Please do not share this yet on social media as this is still only a rough cut but feel free to show universities and other organisations or add it to your showreel.



Wishing you great success for the future

Spencer Whalen
MediaActive

1.1 - Outline the Culture of the film industry

What do you know about the working culture of the film industry?

The film industry has a time-consuming and very difficult working culture that is always worth it for the finished product that comes as a result of the hard work. In the industry, there are many people working in specific roles, though this also involves working together in order to create one cohesive vision. It involves working at high pressure for very long hours in order to reach a specific deadline and requires you to be very flexible in order to put full input into your work. You must be ready to drop everything at a moment's notice to fulfil your tasks when you are needed.

People will often need to move around substantially when working in the industry, particularly in projects with large budgets that require substantial crew members to work on-location across the country and sometimes all over the world. Furthermore when working in the industry, contracts are generally short-term and very often the work you will find is freelance.

What qualities do you need to work in the film industry?

In order to work effectively within the film industry you must possess a number of qualities and traits, that without will make it difficult for you to succeed. You must have determination and be confident in your own ability. Despite this, you still need to be prepared for failure and be willing to adapt your ideas and work if they are disapproved. Being able to work within a team is also very important, and requires an ability to get along with people and to listen to others. The film will most likely be a collaborative project so you have to be a team player in order to work efficiently, or nothing will get done. Opinions are appreciated, but you mustn't push them endlessly for your own personal gain.

Additionally, it is vital that you have good organisational skills. Without time management and punctuality, it will be an uphill battle to achieve anything and so you must be ready to plan in detail what you need to do for each step of the filmmaking process. Finally, you also need the ability to work under pressure and to deadlines. Stress is a given when working in the industry, but you must be able to keep it under control in order to meet your deadlines. If you feel you have all of these skills, you may be ready to work in the film industry. 

1.2 - Identify Time Management Skills

Why is time management important in the film industry?

There are a number of reasons that time management is very important in the film industry. One is that deadlines are common in the industry and so in order to finish your tasks on the production and meet the deadline you have to manage your time well. Also, there will be a number of people relying on you to do your job and often other jobs won't be able to begin without another being completed. Therefore, if you don't manage your time effectively and start missing deadlines you will do nothing but anger your fellow co-workers and create a bad reputation for yourself, as well as jeopardising the project's production.

Also, going overtime on a film production can lead to cost implications, i.e. going over budget. This  can lead to having a lack of money and can seriously hinder the film's production, making it very important to complete your tasks so that the film can be finished on time. Shooting on-location can also become a problem if it has to start late because shooting would likely have been organised around the weather and light conditions in order to fit specifications for the film.  If they are different from what it was for the planned shooting dates, it can result in further delays so that the film is shot in the right weather conditions.

Give at least 4 examples of good time management skills

• Self Discipline - This skill is vital in being able to control yourself whilst you are completing your tasks, so that you do not feel tempted to procrastinate. This allows you to manage your time more effectively by helping you stay focused.

• Punctuality - Important skill for being on-time, as being late can result in unnecessary delays that hinder the film's production as there is less time in that day to complete tasks. It is also important for helping you to complete tasks on time.

• Schedules and call sheets - Used in order to organise the crew of a production so that everyone knows where and when they are needed for work so that tasks can be completed efficiently and on-time. The call sheet then identifies who is 'on set' or should be there so any missing persons can be identified and called. 

• Using to do lists - Useful in order to set a number of tasks to be achieved within a day for example so that they can be organised so that they are all achieved efficiently. 
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1.3 - Describe the key aspects of health and safety when working on film productions

What needs to be considered in terms of health and safety when working on a film production?

There are a number of health and safety precautions that need to be taken into account when working on a film production. Risk Assessments must be carried out in order to make sure shooting locations for example, are safe to film scenes or carry out stunts in. If accidents do occur on-set once the risk assessments have been carried out, then they must be reported on so that no further difficulties with injury claims can be wrongfully filed. 

In terms of the set itself, equipment must be checked in order to make sure it is not hazardous and is safe for use. For example, the set should be checked for trip hazards from wires so that they can then be removed before work commences. Lighting is also potentially hazardous equipment that must be kept stable, under control in terms of heat and in full working order to avoid any electrical faults that could lead to fatal injuries. Lifting heavy equipment also needs to be considered as it can lead to longer-term injuries as well as short term ones, and so requires handling training. In terms of personal safety, it is easy to become fatigued when working long hours. This can lead to potentially dangerous mistakes to be made as a result of fatigue and so regular breaks should be taken. 

Stunts are one of the biggest potential pitfalls in health and safety and must be checked meticulously before being carried out on a film production. They have to be checked and tested multiple times to check they are viable. 

What can be put in place to ensure health and safety risks are minimized?

There are a number of measures that can be put in place to minimise health and safety risks. As mentioned previously, risk assessments should be carried out to reduce health and safety risks and check that a location is safe enough for filming. It is also important that regular breaks are given in order to give crew members time for relaxation as opposed to them being too exhausted to do their job properly, which could lead to accidents taking place. In the case of an injury occurring, it is important to have first aiders on hand in order to swiftly deal with these injuries, minor and major, so that the injuries do not get any worse. It also gives time for emergency services to reach the injured person if necessary. Following this, an accident report needs to be completed so that measures can be taken to ensure that a specific injury does not happen to any other members of the crew. 

Additionally, safety equipment should be installed to minimize health and safety risks. This is in order to prevent any malfunctions in filming equipment that could result in potential accidents and to keep everything as safe as is viably possible. Furthermore, all equipment on the set should be regularly checked by a certified official so that it is confirmed to be safe for use and again will not result in any accidents.

Upload an example of a risk assessment that would have been used in the production week.

One example of a risk assessment used in production week could be considering the risks that could arise from shooting on location as we did. We shot out in Colemere on several occasions during the week and with this came the potential implication of tripping, slipping and any other possible injuries that could come with the use of some heavy filming equipment. While the likelihood of this is low, the severity could be very high so this potential had to be controlled. One method of control was briefing us on safety precautions before filming began so that we were aware of any risks so that we could avoid them ourselves.  The location was also scouted and researched to make sure it was practical and safe for us to shoot on, for example, making sure it was flat and had suitable space for equipment. Also, when using the lights, heat resistant clothing was encouraged in order to make sure there was no risk of fire. 

1.4 - Explain how regulations may affect the use of copyright materials

How do regulations affect the use of copyright materials?

It is very important to remain aware of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988 when looking into using copyright materials in filmmaking. This legislation is very important as it reasserts the statutory right of copyright law for many mediums within creative industry, in the United Kingdom. Copyright itself is a law that grants the creator of an original work exclusive rights for its use and distribution - though there are exceptions to the law, such as fair use of works. The 1988 Act establishes that copyright lasts for 70 years after the death of the creator, or 70 years after the work was created or published.

These laws exist in order to protect the intellectual property of the creator and to make sure they receive fair credit on a commercial basis as well as a moral one. As a result of this regulation, production of film must gain signed approval or pay for the rights in order to use any necessary copyright materials from the creator or who owns the rights to the materials. If copyright materials are used without this approval it can land the film production in potentially severe legal trouble, so in filmmaking it is often easier to steer clear of copyrighted materials unless absolutely necessary.

1.5 - Identify materials that may be subject to copyright

What materials may be subject to copyright?

There are a great number of materials which could be involved in the film-making process that may be subject to copyright. One of these is literary materials for example, such as lyrics manuscripts, documents, newsletters and articles. Another is dramatic materials, which could include plays and dances which could be being replicated in a project and thus would require clearance for use.

Musical materials are probably the most prominent materials subject to copyright as recordings and scores are often wanted and re-used in film and television. Sometimes the songs used appear on soundtrack tie-ins to the film or TV show they were featured in. Other sound recordings such as sound effects may also be subject to copyright, though perhaps less extensively than musical materials.

Additionally, artistic materials may also be subject to copyright. This could include photos, paintings and architecture, along with technical drawings, logos and even maps. Even published editions, such as magazines and articles, can be subject to copyright. Finally, film itself can come under copyright legislation through broadcasts and programmes, perhaps more likely to have been aired on television.

How has copyright regulation affected your film production?

Copyright legislation has affected our film production in several ways, the most obvious being that we have needed to create all of our own content for the finished film. This included composing our own score using our own instruments and our own sound effects, some of which included a 'witch's cackle' and a 'cup smashing'. However, there is also plenty of copyright free content available for use if any of our own sound effects or score didn't come out as well as hoped. As long as you credit the source of this content - which can come from numerous sites, such as freesound.org or incompetech.com - it is free to use.

Fortunately, the folk stories revolving around the 'Mad Jack Mytton' figure that we have used as the story of our film production do avoid copyright regulation and are completely free for us to use to our liking. This is because the stories come from over 70 years ago, going past the point of copyright law's validity according to the 1988 Copyright and Patents Act and making the stories part of 'public domain'.

2.1 – 2.2 - Identify Key job roles and responsibilities in the film industry and describe the structure and interrelationship of the production department

Outline the key job roles on a film production

On a film production there are a number of key roles which are pivotal for the production to go ahead, as depicted in the diagram below:

In our own film production, we required less of the roles above due to the shorter nature of our project and our uses of animation for example. Generally, the roles were split up into four major groups - scriptwriting, filming, sound and production design - most of which we worked on collaboratively. For example, we all went out on-location and shot a variety of live action and stop-motion footage and the script received input from almost everyone. In post-production, the roles moved into a team of editors, the scriptwriting team to refine the film's dialogue and a team of musicians to record and compose a score.

A film's production can broadly be split into three main stages: pre-production, production and post-production, all of which feature a variety of key roles. In pre-production, one key role is the role of the 'Producer'. This includes those under the titles of producer, executive producer and even co-producer and these are the people who essentially ensure that the film is made. Producers are active through the entire process albeit perhaps most prominently in pre-production, as they organise and control tasks such as finding funding, crew and distributors, so that the film can be made. An executive producer plays less of an active role in the film's production technically but generally plays a significant financial or creative role which is pivotal in helping the film get made. Another key department is 'Story development' where the screenwriter, the script supervisor and - more prominently in animation - the storyboard artist work on creating the plot, characters and arc of the film to the stage where there is a shooting script and a detailed storyboard to set out an idea of the film's shots. The last pre-production roles come under the category of 'Director'. The director themselves oversee the overall creative process of the film, often working closely with the story development as well as everything else. Also in this category is the assistant directors, who help the director and keep the process running smoothly as well as the casting directors, who are responsible for selecting the correct actors for the characters in the film.

In the production stage of a film, production design, sound and cinematography become prominently involved. The production design team work towards creating an authentic setting and universe as specified by the director and in the script, for the film. Roles include: Set decorators and prop masters to furnish the sets and create suitable props that are realistic, creative and reliable for the film; costume designers to create suitable outfits for the actors that fit with the characters as well as being practical for filming multiple takes for days in; key make-up artists and hairstylists to plan makeup designs and any necessary prosthetic makeup for the actors as well as the chosen wigs or hairstyles for the actors so that they look natural and distinctive on camera. On the sound team, the sound designer is in charge of the film's overall sound whilst the sound mixer is responsible for all sound that is recorded on set through equipment such as microphones which can then be edited in post-production. The boom operator is the assistant of the sound mixer and is responsible for the placement and movement of microphones during filming. Finally, the cinematography team are who works on constructing each shot and scene to the will of the director. The cinematographer themselves decides on the framing and lighting of each shot to the guidance of the director, whilst the camera operator positions the camera with the direction of the cinematographer and shoots the footage. From this, he clapper loader operates the clapperboard at the beginning of each take and is in charge of organising the raw footage into an appropriate order before it is processed in preparation for post-production. In charge of the lighting design for the production is the gaffer, who is assisted by the 'best boy' of the production who deals with the logistics of organising the lighting equipment. Finally, the key grip is the chief lighting and rigging technician who is usually the head of set operations and works closely with the cinematography on getting the correct lighting. Another important factor of the production is the actors themselves who serve as the public faces of the film and are responsible for putting across the storytelling through acting.

The final stage of the film production is post-production, where film editing, sound editing and any visual effects needed are worked on. On the editing team is the main editor who, usually with the director, pulls the footage together into a coherent and consistent film. There are usually several supervising editors to help speed up the process, along with a titles designer who constructs any title sequences or credits on the film. On the sound editing team, the supervising editor is in charge of the post-production sound and working with the director and editor to meet their visions. The sound effects editor is responsible for editing all the sound effects on the film so they are polished, whilst the foley artist create all post-sync sound effects, e.g. footsteps, which may not have been good enough on the original audio and thus need to be recreated for a clear sound. After this, the musical supervisor works with the composer - who writes the film's musical score - and the editors to create and integrate the film's music into the film organically, as well as negotiating the rights for any other music used in the film. Finally, on the visual effects team, the visual effects supervisor is in charge of the VFX crew who works with the director to create the desired visuals, whilst the visual effects designer produces the effects needed digitally before they can be transposed and edited onto the film by the technical director. For any animation sequences, animators work on developing the movement and techniques that animate the specific objects or characters in the film.

Create a flowchart or mind map of how these roles interrelate

The flow chart below shows how all these roles may interrelate:

How have the different roles interrelated during your production?

In our own production, many of the different roles were interrelated all the way through the process as everyone must work together for a coherent film to be created. In the main production stages, the scriptwriting team which I was part of for much of the production, worked with every department in some form, for example the people working on filming / cinematography in the main production period required knowledge of each shot so that the footage could be filmed. The same went for the people working on sound who required a list of sounds from the script to be recorded. Furthermore it meant that the group could decide on which shots would be more suitable as live-action or as animation. It also meant that these departments could point out any potentially unfeasible shots or sounds so that those parts of the script could be rethought - although due to our use of animation this was a possibility that was avoided. This emphasizes how the whole project being able to function is more or less dependent on the story and script.

During production, there was also a lot of interrelations between the filming team and the production design team, who made many of the props needed for shooting on the film. The scriptwriting team first discussed their vision of the props and designs with the production team who then designed them ready for filming. These included such items as a pop-up book and a 'jester' like hat for the character of Mad Jack.

During post-production, there was further interrelations between the editing team and the scriptwriting team, where the editing team required a full complete script with confirmed and refined dialogue that could be placed into the film so they had an audio line to work with. Also, people working on the score discussed the tone and style the music should be in each scene of the film according to the script with the scriptwriters to make the score was appropriate for each scene of the film.