'Hope Dies Last' Beat Sheet.

Project Title: Hope Dies Last.

Genre: Short Drama.

Date: 30/04/2014.

1. Opening Image: 

The film starts with a series of shots, blurred and fast paced which will give the audience an idea of what happened before the events of the film, but it would still keep some form of mystery and confusion to these events which will be answered later in the film. This sequence will only last around twenty to thirty seconds, and will fade in with the title, and be almost like the title sequence of the film. Soon enough, when this sequence is over, the audience will realise that what they just watched was snippets from the protagonist's nightmare, and the main events of the film will begin with him waking from this nightmare, and therefore pulling the audience out of the dream world and into the reality of this film instead.

These shots will show clips of a war, although it is not yet stated what the war was about, or who won. It would then move on to shots of a land ravaged by famine and disease, and people leaving a City for some undescribed reason to live in the barren lands instead. There'll also be a shot of the main protagonist holding a young baby, but the second or two of happy footage would be interrupted by the same character holding a dying woman in his arms, who we assume would be his lover, a young girl standing by their side. I'm not completely sure yet, but then there may be some footage of the girl growing up to be about the age of eight or nine, and then another fight, in which masked armed forced forcibly take this girl away from the protagonist and another man in a firefight.

Accompanying this will be a number of sounds and voices, perhaps short sentences and words to help the audience understand this otherwise confusing sequence of clips before being pulled into the present time that the film is set in.

2. Theme Stated: 

I've not yet decided on the theme of the short film, and will decide on this at a slightly later date. I will possibly have it something to do with the control of the government over the people, or the importance of family and dedication to each other.

3. Set-Up: (0-1 minutes.)

Within this point of the film, the main protagonist and his brother will introduce the audience to the world that the film is set. More information about the clips we saw during the opening sequence will be revealed here, as well as a few more, less-important characters. The audience will learn about the main protagonist's daughter being kidnapped - which we saw during the opening - and their plans to get her back. They'll also learn that this is not an easy task, either. The brothers are injured, and getting the girl back will involve them infiltrating the oppressive government's headquarters, and with them being high priority targets as they were the first to rebel, and lead the others to join them, all eyes will be on them; both from the government and the other exiles/rebel forces. A number of other exiles/rebels will remind them of this, but the main protagonist will not seem to listen, completely focused on getting his daughter out of there before anything happens to her. He lost his lover, and he's not planning on losing his daughter too.

The 'six things' that need fixing with the main character and/or their world would be:
-The oppressive, controlling government.
-The people living in exile within barren lands for rebelling against the government.
-The brother's injuries from the previous fight.
-Retrieving the main protagonist's daughter.
-The citizens being controlled by the government, and brainwashed to believe the exiles are the 'bad guys'.
-The sixth thing I am still thinking about.

4. Catalyst: (1.2 minutes.)

The catalyst for this film is not completely decided on yet, but I was thinking about a video transmission sent to the main protagonist from the person working in the government who's main mission is to either catch the brothers, or kill them. It would be rather taunting, and show that they have the girl within the city and they state that they have a day to turn themselves in, or they will kill her. The main protagonist obviously is willing to lay down his life in exchange for his daughter's, but the other characters manage to just about convince him not to go rushing into the city without thinking.

5. Debate: (1.2-2.5 minutes.)

The debate within the film will be how they are going to get the girl back. Do they walk into the city empty handed and surrender their lives, risking the fact that they may be lying about letting the girl go? Or do they fight, and try to break her out of the city - a move that could easily get them killed, but then again, they have a chance to survive, whereas they would not with the other choice. The other characters convince the main character to choose the second option, and they begin planning and organising an attack against the government, asking others to help them - which many accept.

6. Break Into Two: (2.5 minutes.)

This is when the brothers - accompanied by a number of other exiles/rebel forces - head to the city. It shows some more of the world in which the film is set, and allows the audience to see how bad the lands are in which they have been exiled to, as well as the conditions of the city and how the citizens are forced to live - in a world with only black and white; no grey. The people that live there are barely in control of their own decisions and actions, and live limited lives although they are convinced otherwise.

7. B Story: (3 minutes.)

The brother of the main protagonist could easily be the B Story within the film. Although he's quite a main character himself, it could possibly be revealed that he promised the main protagonist's lover that if anything ever happened to her, he'd stop his brother from making any stupid or risky decisions - and that he plans to stick to this promise, which is why he was so against them surrendering to the government.

8. Fun And Games: (3-5.5 minutes.)

The main protagonists reach the government headquarters, and are already approached by a number of masked government forces. They manage to fight these forces, and either kill or knock them unconscious and take their uniforms/masks, allowing them access to the headquarters without being under too much suspicion. The rest of the exiles/rebels wait in hiding outside the building, waiting in case anything goes wrong and the two brothers need help.

9. Midpoint: (5.5 minutes.)

Whilst infiltrating the headquarters, the two brothers make a mistake by revealing their true identities to the girl when they find her. This is caught on cameras as they free her, and causes the government to raise the alarm. This sends forces out looking for them, and alerts the other exiles/rebels outside that things aren't quite going exactly to plan, with reinforcements being called in to help try and catch/kill the three of them before they have a chance to do anything.

10. Bad Guys Close In: (5.5-7.5 minutes.)

With the alarm raised, the brothers are forced to try and escape the building before they are overwhelmed by forces, which is a strong possibility at that point in time. With them being so far into the building, and the others having been waiting outside, they are currently on their own, and have to make sure to protect the girl too. This clearly turns out to be a difficult task, and the main protagonist tells the girl that if anything happens to him or his brother, she needs to keep running and not look back to meet up with the others who have promised to look after her for them.

The three almost make it to the exit of the headquarters where the others are holding the reinforcements outside at bay for them. The exit is in sight and it looks like they are going to make it, but a large group of reinforcements appear with the main villain from before, blocking their path. They manage to take cover, but with them aiming more for the main protagonist, he tells the girl to go with his brother and for them to split up, him drawing the villain's attention away from the girl, giving them more of a chance to escape. The brother completely disagrees with this, however, thinking that it is a risky decision - like he had promised he would not let him make - but the protagonist does not listen and heads the other way before his brother had a chance to stop him.

11. All Is Lost: (7.5 minutes.)

With the main protagonist drawing the villain's attention away from the other two, he finds himself cornered by the same villain from earlier who had sent him the video transmission. He manages to hold them off for a few moments, but is soon shot down by him, finding that he was completely at their mercy at that point in time.

12. Dark Night Of The Soul: (7.5-8.5 minutes.) 

His daughter catches sight of this and cries for him, alerting his brother to what was happening. Seeming torn by whether to help his brother like he had promised the protagonist's lover, or help get the girl to safety.

13. Break Into Three: (8.5 minutes.)

The brother of the main protagonist gets the girl out of the building, shutting the door behind her and forces it to stay shut, turning back to help his brother. Although she is not completely out of danger, she is no longer inside the building where the fight is going on, and still has a chance to run before the government forces catch up to her again.

14. Finale: (8.5-11 minutes.)

The brother shoots at the villain, but finds himself too late. Although he hits his target, the shot making the villain stumble, he was barely seconds away from saving his brother's life. Now overtaken by rage and guilt that he could not fulfil his promise to the protagonist's lover and keep him safe by not letting him take reckless decisions, he targets the villain, almost managing to kill him before he is shot down to by another one of the government forces, leaving the girl alone outside, watching the scene unfold within the building. The injured villain turns to the girl, demanding that the others get after her as she seems to be frozen in grief and fear. A van soon pulls up just outside the building, however, containing some of the exiles/rebels who pull her into the van to take her to safety before she was killed too.

15. Final Image: (11 minutes.)
Just like a few of the other points in the film, I'm not completely decided on what the final image of the film should be. It will definitely involve the girl back in the barren lands with the other exiles/rebels who now take care of her, but I'm considering making it so that she's a few years older, maybe fourteen or fifteen. I want to leave it open for the chance to continue the idea on, and make another film - or extend this one - in the future, so I was thinking having the girl being older and standing by two empty graves of her father and uncle, accompanied by a few other exiles/rebels. She could be standing by the graves with the sun setting in the background, not having to say anything, before clenching her fists and turning to walk away from the graves - walking into the camera to finish the film like she is planning on getting revenge for her dead family, although it is unclear how she would even do such a thing, which therefore leaves it open for something to continue the story on.

Short Drama Diary Entry (2).

Since my last diary entry, I have written up a proposal and begun some research into my short drama. I have also looked at Adobe After Effects and decided that I could easily use that to add effects into my film if I download free stock footage from places such as detonationfilms.com, or videoblocks.com. I'm not completely sure what I would need yet, however, but after my script and storyboards are completed, I would know exactly what I need and when. I could also use it for the titles sequence of my film, as well as perhaps colour correction as I am planning for my film to be rather dark to set the mood.

I've written up about a page of my script so far, but it is only the first draft and is no where near completed. My next focus will be on finishing up this script, and completing the research so that my film has some solid foundations and I can begin working on more detailed parts of the pre-production. I will then also be able to write the treatment up, and begin to look for locations that would be suitable for filming in.

I feel that the storyboard would be a little bit more difficult for me to complete as I am not a good artist, but hopefully I can either get someone to help me with it, or simply make it rough - so that it's not artistic, but anyone else that helps out on the film will be able to understand it and get a grasp of the ideas that I am trying to show them.

Adobe After Effects.

File > Import > File.
The imported files will appear in the Project window on the left side of the screen.

Any time files are imported to After Effects, it thinks of it as a footage item, even if it's a still image. It'll take almost any file format into the programme.


File > Import > File.
When importing photoshop images, choose 'Import As: Composition' to keep the layers intact. When the second box that comes up, choose 'Editable layer styles' and press okay.


If you highlight the file in the project window, a preview of the footage will appear in the top left hand corner of the window. Underneath that, the first number is the resolution (640 x 480 - American TV broadcast format). Then there's the time of the clip underneath it, the amount of frames per second (fps) and other technical details about the footage.

After Effects needs to know where the original files are to be able to open them within the programme, as it doesn't save a copy the clips in the programme itself. Therefore you need to export it to be able to view it somewhere else.


File > Save.
It saves it as an .aep (After Effects Project) file.


Drag the selected files into the dark grey box underneath where it says 'Source Name' to drag the files into the timeline.


Composition > Composition Settings.
Change the Preset to 'NTSC DV' and press okay to make the photoshop composition the same quality as American Broadcast definition.


The order of the files in the timeline affects what the project looks like, and works like layers just as Photoshop or Final Cut. The top layer is displayed above the layers below it.


Composition > Composition Settings.
Change the Duration of the the composition to the length of the video clip to make it simply play the footage and loop round again.


If you click 'Source Name', it will change to 'Layer Name' instead, as we are now considering them as Layers and not Sources.


At the top of the screen, there's a little tool bar that will change the mouse to be doing a different job than being a usual pointer. Just click the cursor button to change it back to normal.


To duplicate a layer, click the layer, go to the edit menu then press the duplicate option.


Pressing enter whilst highlighting a layer will allow you to change it's name.


Highlight a layer that you have duplicated, and then look on the right hand side of the screen for the 'Effects and Presents' window.

By clicking 'Radial Blur' under 'Blur & Sharpen' and dragging it onto the same duplicated layer, it will add that effect onto that layer.

In the top left in the Project window, it changes to be the settings of the effect, and you can change things like the centre point, and how extreme the blur is, for example.


If you click the little eye symbol to the left of a layer, it will hide it so that you can see the layers below it without having to adjust the order at all.


If you click the triangle to the left of a layer, it'll open up a submenu that says 'Transform'. To edit the properties of a layer, click the triangle to the left of that and the properties will appear. If you change the coordinates of 'Position', it'll move the layer to whatever coordinates you entered.

If you click a layer and press 'T', it'll bring up an option for Opacity and will make the image more or less transparent.


If you double clip a file, it'll open up another window for that composition on it's own.

If you open the layered photoshop file in this way, it displays the layers within it. To replace the text within this, you need to make it editable, so click the file with the text then go to Layer > Convert To Editable Text which will make it changeable.

If you select the 'T' (Horizontal Type Text) in the tool bar panel and then drag it over the text in the composition window. Make sure the playhead is on zero before editing text though, otherwise it will become animated by changing wherever the play point currently is.

Go over to Effects & Presets again, and type 'Bubble' into the search box at the top of the panel. Then drag 'Zoom - bubble' over the text that is in the composition window. It may disappear, but don't panic. If you then press space, the text becomes animated and will appear on the screen.

Once again you can change the effects settings in the timeline panel, and click the little arrow to the left again. If you change the Transition Completion, it'll finish doing the effect sooner or later. If you click on the timeline when doing this, and then change the transition completion to 100%, it'll change it to finish at that point in the footage.


To change back to the original timeline with all the layers, simply click the 'Comp 1' (or whatever it is named) above the list of layers. The edited text will now appear on the timeline along with the other layers.


The little mountains with the slider bar between them zooms the timeline in or out.

Job Roles in Television and Film Document.

Here is the finished document:

Click here.

List of Job Roles In Films.

Pre-Production.

Writer

Costume/Set/Creature/Movement Designers

Casting

Casting Assistant

Extras Casting

Extras Casting Assistant

Buyer

2nd Buyer

Set Designer

Storyboard Artist

Conceptual Artist

Art Apprentice

Location Scout

Assistant Costume Designer

Costume Illustrator

Costume Buyer

Props Buyer

Production.

Director

Producer

Director Of Photography

Visual Effects

Editor

Make-Up

Music

Associate Producers

First/Second Unit Director

Stunt Coordinator

Line Producer

Production Manager

1st/2nd/3rd Assistant Director

Location Manager

Assistant Location Manager

On Set Assistant Location Manager

Location Production Assistants

Production Coordinator

Assistant Production Coordinator

Travel Coordinator

Production Assistants

Production Secretary

Script Supervisor

Dialogue Coaches

Coaching & Choreography

Assistant Coach

Clapper

Camera Operator

1st/2nd Assistant Camera

B Camera Operator

1st/2nd Assistant B Camera

C Camera Operator

Camera Loader

Video Playback

Video Assistant

Stills Photographer

Art Director

1st/2nd/3rd Assistant Art Director

Art Department Coordinator

Sound Mixer

Boom Operator

Cable Man

Key Grip

Best Boy Grip

Dolly Grip

B-Cam Dolly Groups

Grip

Key Rigging Grip

Assistant Key Rigging Grip

Remote Head Operator

Giraffe Crane Operator

Wescam Operators

Gaffer

Best Boy Electric

Electrics

Rigging Electric

Best Boy Rigging Electric

Genny Operator

2nd Genny Operator

Balloon Tech

Special Effects Supervisor

Key Special Effects

Special Effects Technicians

Stunt Rigging

Prosthetics Makeup & Effects

Key Makeup Effects & Prosthetics

Key Sculptor

Sculptors

Art Department

Mold Department

Key Costumers

Costumers

Fabricators

On Set Artists

On Set Technicians

Animal Trainer

Key Make Up

1st/2nd/3rd Assistant Make Up

Key Hair

1st/2nd/3rd Assistant Hair

Costume Supervisor

Set Supervisor

Costume Truck Supervisor

Background Coordinator

Cutter

Breakdown Supervisor

Set Decorator

Lead Dresser

On Set Dresser

Set Dressers

Set Decoration Driver

Gun Wranglers

Property Master

Assistant Props

Construction Coordinator

Head Carpenter

Assistant Head Carpenter

Construction Accountant

Construction Assistant

On Set Carpenter

Key Scenic Painter

Assistant Scenic Painter

Head Painter

Scenic Painter

On Set Scenic

Pyro Technician

Key Special Effects On Set

Transportation Coordinator

Transportation Captain

Transportation Co-Captain

Unit Publicist

Personal Trainer

On Set Medic

Paramedics

Flight Coordinator

Helicopter

Pilots

Helicopter Painter/Mold

Craft Servers

Caterer

Picture Vehicle Coordinator

Head Driver

Picture Vehicle Captain

Drivers

Honeywagon

Rigging Electric Driver

Rigging Grip Driver

Special Effects Driver

Post Production.

Post Production Supervisor

1st Assistant Editor

Post Production Risk Manager

Post Production Coordinator

Post Production Assistant

Sound Editorial & Design

Supervising Sound Editor/Sound Designer

Dialogue & ADR Editor

1st Assistant Sound Editor

Sound Effect Editor

ADR Editor

Dialogue Editor

Temp Music & Conform Editor

2nd Assistant Sound Editor

Sound Editorial Manager

Music Editor

Foley Artists

Foley Recordist

Additional Foley Recordist

Assistant Foley Artist

Re Recording Mixers

Additional Re Recording Mixer

Re Recording Assistant

ADR Recording

ADR Recordist

Assistant ADR Recordist

Loop Group

Music Score Producer

Music Score Recorder

Music Score Mixer

Assistant Engineers

Assistant to Music Supervisor

Visual Effects Producer

Assistant Editor Visual Effects (Avid)

Assistant Editor Visual Effects (Film)

Visual Effects Production Assistant

Visual Effects Supervisor

Visual Effects Producer

Visual Effects Coordinator

Compositing Supervisor

CG Supervisor

VFX Compositors

3D Animators

Technical Supervisor

Motion Graphics

Operations Manager

Tape Operator

Systems Administration

In-House Accountant

Office Administrator

Digital Effects Supervisor

Assistant Digital Effects Supervisor

Onset Supervision

Production Manager

Assistant Production Manager

Coordinators

Creature Technical Supervisor

Creature Modeler

Additional Modelling

Creature Texture Artist

Lead Lighting/Rendering

Lighting/Rendering

Effects Animators

Creature Animators

Compositors

Research & Development

Support

VFX Supervisor

Executive VFX Producer

VFX Producer

CG Supervisor

3D Supervisor

3D Matchmoves

3D Animation, Lighting and Rendering

Visual Effects Producer

Visual Effect Supervisor

3D Modelling

Digital Matte Artists

Digital Compositors

VFX Editorial

Technical Support

Studio Manager

Technical Supervisor

Digital Compositor

Title Design

Design Producer

Assistant Producer

VFX Artist

Specter Colourist

Lead TD & 3D Artist

3D Artists

Arri Laser Operator

Lead Colourist

Graphics

Colourist

Line Producer

Digital Grading Assistant

Data Operator

Digital Lab Operators

Title Compositor

Film Mastering Engineer

FilmLight Conform

Film Scanning Supervisor

Film Scanning

Digital Optical Supervisor

Digital Opticals

Film Liaison

Film Grader

Continuity Script

Production Auditors

Product Placement

Film Management

Head of Distribution and Marketing

Production Counsel

Key Accountant

Accountants

1st Assistant Accountant

Crew Payroll

Cast/Non Res. Payroll

Key Terms For Television And Film.

Key Terms:

Single camera drama - A drama filmed with only one camera.

Multi camera drama - A drama filmed with more than one camera.

Conventional - It follows the conventions of what we expect.

Unconventional - It differs from the conventions of what we expect.

Format - Single camera drama is a type of format, as well as a television series,  a television serial, short film or a feature length film.

Feature film - Normally a film that runs for one and a half hours or longer.

Short film - A film that lasts less than 45 minutes long.

Narrative structure - It's a story and a plot.

The story - The events that happen during the film.

The plot - The order of the events (beginning, middle and end), and why/how these events happened.

Linear narrative - When the story is told in order from a to b, like a straight line and doesn't jump around. It's chronological.

Non-linear narrative - When the story jumps around from one time to another, like by using flash backs, and the time line is not in order.

Equilibrium - 'Boy meets girl.' The world is good and in harmony, there are no huge problems to worry about.

Disequilibrium - 'Boy loses girl.' Something changes and there is disorder. Aliens invade, for example.

Re-equilibrium - 'Boy wins girl back.' It all comes back together in order and the problems are solved. The aliens are defeated, for example. Sometimes a little disorder is left at the end so there is the option of making a sequel that leads on from the film.

News Programme Recording (4).

In today's news show recording, it was the final group, which consisted of Josh, Rory, Corey, Chris and Ashley in the production team. Once again, my job role was originally to be the runner, but I offered to set up and run the autocue for them seeing as I had done it for the last two weeks and they accepted the offer.

So, at the beginning of the lesson - after untangling some of the wires and leads - I moved the desk with the laptop on out of the way of the cameras and set up the autocue for the group. They gave me a USB with the show's script on it, and I copied it to the laptop before transferring the script to the autocue programme. This then gave me time to edit the script to make it easier for the presenters to read, and I also added prompts in for which camera they should be looking at when they speak, so they knew what to do without having to ask.

I continued to stay at the desk for the rest of the time in the television studio to allow the presenters to do a run through of the show whenever they wanted to rehearse, or in case one of the production team wanted something added/removed from the script.

There wasn't many issues with the show, unlike the others. With the exception of the cameras running out of battery mid way through, everything ran extremely smoothly. The VT clips all worked, and there were no issues with the cameras or the sound, and the only trouble with the lighting seems to be that one light that they wanted to work didn't, and so there was a bit of a shadow on one of the cast members from the camera at some times in the show when a presenter was standing up.

The final recording went extremely well. There wasn't any real problems, and it ran smoother than all of the other groups in my opinion, as well as looking really professional.

Short Drama Proposal.

South Essex College,

Luker Road,

Southend-On-Sea,

SS1 1ND.

The current working title for this project is "Hope Dies Last". The short, ten-minute drama will follow the story of two brothers who are trying to balance looking after the eldest's daughter with fighting against an oppressive government that took control shortly after a mass, global disaster. They struggle to do this, however, and soon find the young girl kidnapped by the government. The drama will follow the two, and a number of supporters, as they try to rescue the young girl, although soon realise that they have walked into something that they can not fight against, and all they really have left is hope that the daughter will survive the events that take place.

The intended audience would be a mix of teenagers and adults that are interested in action and/or science-fiction films that are based around an almost apocalyptic disaster, although it would also appeal to parents as they would understand the need they feel to protect their children. There are many themes of oppression and tyranny within the film, and also a sense that family ties are something that's extremely strong and cannot be broken easily.

I'm attempting to keep the production as low budget as possible. I already have a number of actors and crew members who are willing to help me out with the short film, and I can borrow camera, sound and lights rom the college, which means I will not have to pay for hiring out equipment. The only things I will really have to consider are transport, food/drink and locations, as I may possibly need to pay out for them.

I'm planning to keep the film rather dark and gloomy, with a number of flashbacks to help the audience understand what happened just before the events that take place in the film. The idea has a dark ending to it, with the two main characters dying unexpectedly, although the daughter just about manages to survive, so it's not a completely tragic ending. With the story being extremely character-driven, however, the audience should hopefully be affected greatly by the deaths of these two characters, as they will have grown to like them throughout the drama. They will still have something positive at the end of the film, however, as the girl will survive, and there will be hints that she will grow up with the other exiles of the film and become a symbol for hope just like the two brothers originally were. This could possibly lead on to a sequel at some point, but I've not yet planned for anything - I'm simply allowing myself to leave the possibility open.

Yours sincerely,

Nicola Sinclair.

Short Drama Diary Entry (1).

Today I spoke to Connor about my project for the ten minute, short drama that will be our next task in college. Although I have ideas, I did not go into detail about these with him as it is something quite close to me, and I want to make sure that I get it right.

The idea for my ten minute drama is something that has been in my mind for quite a few years now. It was originally inspired by a music video that was created in 2011, and although the story behind the music video is quite light-hearted and bright, my drama will be something of a much darker version of a similar storyline.

Although they are not identical to each other, both my short drama and the music video will have aspects of a post-apocalyptic scenario, where what remains of the world is run by a strict and controlling government, and anyone who steps foot out of line is killed, or forced into exile and hunted down. I'm planning to have my story follow two brothers who are on the run from this government, however they have been living like this for many years and therefore have become well-known to both the government and other exiles alike. This has made them a big target for the government, but also an inspiration and a role model to other exiles.

The main focus on this story, however, is the daughter of one of these brothers. Her mother, and his wife, was killed by the government a while ago, which has only made the family more determined not to live by the strict laws that have been laid down, and to try and somehow destroy this oppressing government. However, just a little while before the drama begins, the three become involved in a fight with forces from the government, and the daughter is kidnapped, although it is unsure what they are trying to use her for. The only thing that's for certain is that the father feels the need to get her back at any cost. This is all recapped through a flashback in a nightmare that the father has a few days - or maybe even a week - after these events happened.

The fight left the two brothers injured, however, and they need help from other exiles to even come close to getting the daughter back. Many advise the father to wait a little while - the government clearly aren't going to kill the girl any time soon, and they are in no condition to fight. He ignores this, however, and plans to go into the heart of the city and the government to get his daughter back.

That is the main focus of the drama - the two brother's attempt at a rescue mission. However, the mission is both a failure, and a success. They manage to free the daughter, but at the cost of their own lives, leaving her in the hands of the other exiles to raise and care for. With the story being extremely character driven, I plan for the deaths to come as a surprise to the audience, and hopefully play with their emotions towards the end of the film, having an ending that is something between a transcendent and a existential ending. They don't live, but it's not necessarily a tragic ending as their daughter survives, and that was the entire purpose of them infiltrating the city in the first place.


The only issues I feel like I would have for this is locations. I know the characters extremely well in my mind, so writing a script for the story would not be much of a problem for me in the slightest. Finding locations that suit the idea of the film that I can get permission to shoot on is a different problem, however. It would need to range from abandoned, run-down locations that look like something that would exist after a disaster, to a clean city/office environment that looks like something an oppressing government would have created. I'm currently unsure how I will get locations such as these, but I am planning to keep looking and try my hardest to get something that fits.

I already have a number of people who are familiar with the storyline, and have stated that they would be more than willing to be extras in the film - as both members of the government, and also some of the exiles. Because I am planning to have the 'bad guys' wearing masks that makes them all unidentifiable from each other, they would be able to double up as both the government and the exiles, which makes things a little simpler for me. All that I really need to focus on is getting actors for the main characters, as I need people that can pull off the roles well in a believable way. I am thinking of asking the acting department in the college to see if anybody is interested in taking any of the main roles in the drama.

The only other problem is fitting the story within ten minutes. I'm hoping that I'll be able to do so, but I know I'll need to sit down and properly plan the idea out and script/storyboard it so that I can see exactly how long it'll last, and how long it will take me to film and edit the drama.


With these issues aside, I'm pretty confident with my idea. Having something that I've been thinking about for years means that it's extremely familiar for me, and I know all details of it extremely well. I'm actually rather excited to finally be able to script it and make it into a short film, and I'm hoping that it will turn out decent.

Hank D. Greenlight Presentation Research.

1. Research how each of the companies are owned -
1. who can produce content for these companies, why might it matter to Hank?
2. Research how each of the companies are funded
1. where do the fund come from, how much is there available for film/tv
3. Present your findings
1. Include your research findings with references
2. Conclude which company you believe Hank should work with


1. Justify why he should opt for that company over another

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BBC.

1.

The BBC is a statutory corporation, and has no shareholders. It is a semi-autononomous public service broadcaster, and operates under a Royal Charter, and a Licence and Agreement from the Home Secretary. [1]

The BBC Trust, however, is the governing body of the BBC to make sure that it continues to exist to serve the public, and complete its mission of informing, educating and entertaining. The trust is led by the Chairman Lord Patten, and consists of 12 trustees. It’s the guardian of licence fee revenue, and of the public interest in the BBC. [3]

There are several television channels in the UK. BBC One and BBC Two are the main two channels where the majority of the more well-known television shows and films are shown, although there are also several digital only stations however, which include BBC Three, BBC Four, BBC News, BBC Parliament, CBBC and CBeebies. [1]

It is available to everyone in the United Kingdom as long as they have paid their TV license. It is also both the world's oldest, and the world's largest broadcasting organisation with around 23,000 staff members. [10]

i.

The BBC is made up of a horizontal ownership, and they believe that there is value in working alongside others. They feel that if they work together with external partners, it allows them to support the creative industry on a wider scale, and will also deliver more to audiences.

They have a history of working with partners, and has collaborated with a number of organisation on both television and radio projects. They look to provide partnership with a higher profile, and working with others is now a central part to their strategies. [4]

Partnerships include:

-YouView - ITV, Channel 4, Five, BT, TalkTalk and Arqiva - to create an open, internet-connected TV platform.

-The BBC Academy is partnered with Channel 4 and ITV on a number of programmes to encourage and improve diversity in the media industry. 

-Fast Train is a number of training and networking events for freelancers and indie film makers, also hosted by the BBC Academy in partnership with Skillset and others. This allows film makers to learn how to pitch ideas, co-commisioning and developing new ideas. [5]

The BBC also fund independent film makers to make projects, and provide different tariffs for different categories of programmes and films. For example, the indicative tariff range for daytime and low cost drama would be £50K - £500K per hour, but the indicative tariff range for a scripted comedy broadcast across the network would be £110K - £600K an hour. [6]

2.

It was created for the public and therefore the public pay for the channel to be broadcast. The annual television licence fee is charged to all British households, companies and organisations that use any type of equipment that can receive live television broadcasts. The cost of this is set annually by the British Government, and is agreed by Parliament, however, this year’s fee is generally £145.50 for a colour TV Licence, or £49.00 for a black and white TV Licence, and can be paid annually, or in smaller instalments throughout the year. [2]

They also receive World Service grants, and get profits from commercial operations  such as programme and format sales through a completely owned subsidiary called BBC Worldwide Ltd. They earn additional income by selling certain programme-making services through BBC Studios and Post Production Ltd., which used to be known as BBC Resources Ltd. The majority of the BBC’s book publishing activities were sold in 2011, however. [1]

i.

Funding for television and film on the BBC comes from a number of places, including the UK Film Council, the British Film Institute, national and regional screen agencies, local councils, charities, completion funding, production schemes and competitions, or even crowdfunding through projects and websites such as Kickstarter. [7]

In 2012/13, BBC Worldwide generated headline sales of £1,116m, of which all of the £156m profits were returned back to the BBC. [8] It also supported independent production companies by returning £90.9m to independent rights holders through upfront rights investments, profit shares and royalties. [9]

References.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC#Television

[2] http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/pay-for-your-tv-licence/payment-methods/how-would-you-like-to-pay-for-your-tv-licence-pay8/?WT.ac=banner_wtp1_pay

[3] http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/

[4] http://www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/insidethebbc/howwework/partnerships.html

[5] http://www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/insidethebbc/howwework/partnerships/media_industry.html

[6] http://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/tv/how-we-work/business-requirements/tariff-ranges.shtml

[7] http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/filmmaking/guide/before-you-start/funding

[8] http://www.bbcworldwide.com

[9] http://www.bbcworldwide.com/annual-review/annual-review-2013/chairman's-statement.aspx

[10] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC

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Sky.

1.

Sky is a public limited company who are the largest pay-TV broadcaster in the UK/Ireland, having over 10 million subscribers. Rupert Murdoch set up BSkyB (British Sky Broadcasting) in 1990, however he passed it onto his son, who then stepped down, and the CEO is now Jeremy Darroch. You can purchase shares in Sky, however, which makes it a public company. [1]

In 1989, it's said that the four channels available in the United Kingdom doubled to eight, and since then there's now hundreds and hundreds of channels, and Sky believes that they viewers would want to be able to choose from a wider range of channels and shows. [2]

i.

They believe that they need to commission shows that are different, and viewers cannot get from regular channels such as the BBC or ITV. They also like to commission shows that the style of is widely loved by viewers so that they can make a better one than other channels, and make more of it. They try to communicate with customers constantly to research what shows they want, when they want them and how much of each show they want so that they would continue to pay the subscription fee. They don't commission into slots, or have a tariff like most other broadcasters. [3]

Because of the subscription fees of their channel, they commission fewer projects, and don't take on every indie film maker who asks for a meeting with them. They look through the briefs of project ideas, and only consider ones when they feel that there is a strong sense of purpose for a project that they think a lot of people would love. They acknowledge any idea generally within 48 hours of it being sent in, and then give a formal acknowledgement within two weeks for non-scripted, and six weeks for scripted. If they like the ideas, they will arrange a meeting with the filmmaker to see whether or not they want to properly take on their idea(s). [3]

They also have something called Sky Academy Skills Studios, in which they want to inspire and raise the aspirations of young people through a free learning experience, where they can create their own TV reports using technology professionals use on a day to day basis. [5]

2.

They are a subscription business, and isn't run by advertising. [3] The price of a subscription to Sky is from £21.50 a month. Also, as from the 30th of June, 2013, the adjusted revenue was £3,751 million, and the investment into programming was £1,313 million. The adjusted operating profit was also £595 million. [4]

i.

They invest about £2 billion a year in their channels. [2]

References.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BSkyB

[2] https://corporate.sky.com/about_sky/what_we_do/our_content

[3] http://corporate.sky.com/about_sky/commissioning_ideas_submission/ideassubmission

[4] https://corporate.sky.com/about_sky/key_facts_and_figures

[5] https://corporate.sky.com/the_bigger_picture/inspiringaction/skyskillsstudios

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Netflix.

1.

Netflix is a publicly owned company that provides on-demand internet streaming media, available to people in parts of Europe, the Caribbean and both North and South America. In the third quarter of 2013, Netflix reported that they had a global total of 40.4 million subscribers. [1] Netflix can be run on games consoles, Blu-ray players, HDTVs, set top boxes, home theatre systems, smart phones and tablets, as long as they have a decent internet connection. [3]

i.

"If you are submitting a film for consideration: unfortunately, we do not accept or review unsolicited materials or ideas. For that reason, we will not consider any materials or ideas we receive that were not specifically requested by Netflix or submitted via an aggregator or established agent through the appropriate channels." [4]

2.

It costs about £5.99 a month to subscribe to Netflix, but you can have Netflix on up to six individual devices at one time. [2] 

i.

References.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netflix

[2] https://www.netflix.com/

[3] https://www.netflix.com/watch?locale=en-GB

[4] From an email I received from Netflix.

Hank D. Greenlite (Instant Smash Films) Presentation.

Here is the final presentation video:

Here is the powerpoint presentation:

Click here.


Here is the script:

Over the last few weeks, I have been researching three companies and how they are owned, funded and also how they distribute their products. These three companies are The BBC, Sky And Netflix.

Some things to consider before I go into more information about each of these companies are that:
-The BBC is the world’s oldest and largest broadcasting organisation, with around 23,000 staff members and several television channels in the United Kingdom which are available to anyone who has paid their television license.

-Sky is the largest Pay-TV broadcaster in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and has over ten million subscribers, with hundreds of channels available to choose from.

-Netflix is one of the biggest on-demand internet streaming providers, with 40.4 million subscribers around the world in the third quarter of 2013.

All three of these channels are owned in different ways, and have different ideas when it comes to new content for their viewers.

-The BBC is horizontally owned, and believes that there is value in working alongside others. Working together with external partners allows them to support the creative industry on a wider scale, as well as bringing more content to audiences. They also often fund independent film makers to make projects for their channels.

-Sky also appears to be horizontally owned, however they seem to be stricter on what projects they will take on for their channels because of the subscription fees, and they believe that they need to commission shows that viewers cannot get on other channels such as the BBC or ITV. Because of this, they commission fewer projects, and, in their own words they ‘don’t take on every indie film maker who asks for a meeting with them.’ They do look through project briefs, however, but only consider ones where they feel that there is potential.

-Netflix is vertically owned, and simply does not consider taking on independent film makers. In an email I sent to Netflix to try and research whether or not they would consider taking on films from smaller, and lesser known film companies, they stated that they ‘If you are submitting a film for consideration: unfortunately, (they) do not accept or review unsolicited materials or ideas. For that reason, (they) will not consider any materials or ideas that (they) receive that were not specifically requested by Netflix.’

Funding, however, comes from different places for each of the three companies.

-The BBC is mainly funded by the public through the television licence fee, which is charged to anybody - both households and companies - which use any type of equipment that can receive live television broadcasts. This fee is set annually by the British Government, and this year it will cost £145.50 for a colour TV licence, or £49.00 for a black and white TV Licence. However, they also receive world service grants, and get profits from commercial operations such as programme and format sales.

-Sky is generally funded by the subscription fees that viewers must pay for access to their channels. It is not run by advertising, as the cost of a subscription to Sky is from £21.50 a month, but depends on what channels the subscriber wants to view.

-Netflix is also run by subscription fees, as it costs about £5.99 a month to subscribe to Netflix, although you can have Netflix on up to six individual devices at once.

From all this funding they get, there are different amounts that the companies put back into television and film.

-In 2012/13, the BBC generated headline sales of £1,116 million, although returned £156 million in profits back to the BBC to continue showing films and television programmes. However, £90.9 million was returned to independent rights holders to support independent production companies.

-Sky invested around £2 billion a year into their channels from their operating profit of £595 million as of the 30th of June, 2013. It is uncertain how much of this is used to support independent film companies, however.

-Netflix recently took on $400 million in debt to produce original content for its subscribers, however it is unsure exactly how much Netflix usually spends on such things without taking on debt.

All three companies are different in terms of who can produce content for them. For example;

-The BBC believes that there is value in working with many others - both large companies and smaller, independent film makers. They believe that it allows the BBC to support the creative industry on a wider scale, as well as being able to deliver more content to audiences. They often fund independent film makers to create new content for their channels, and provide different tariffs for different categories of programmes and films. For example, the tariff range for daytime, and low cost dramas would be from £50,000 to £500,000 per hour, but the tariff range for a scripted comedy broadcast across the network would be £110,000 to £600,000 per hour, so it really ranges depending on what sort of content they are receiving.

-Sky does not take on as many independent filmmakers as the BBC does, and they are specific when choosing the programmes and films to broadcast on their channels. They often research into what content their customers want to see, and go from there - they don’t commission into slots, or have tariffs like the BBC and some other companies do. They do quickly look through briefs of projects, however, but do not take the idea any further unless they believe that there is a strong sense of purpose for the project, and think that many people would love it.

-Netflix, on the other hand, will neither review, nor accept materials or ideas that are not requested by them, or not submitted through an established agent. This means that they rarely take on independent film makers, or films/programmes that they are not specifically looking for at that time.

All three of these companies have their ups and downs to consider, so which one is best? Quickly recapping on the three companies, we can see that:

-The BBC is available to almost everyone in the UK and is the biggest broadcasting service in the world. It is also horizontally owned, and believed there is value in working alongside others, which is also why they fund independent film makers for producing new content for them.

-Sky, on the other hand, is only available to those who pay the monthly subscription fees, although they are also owned horizontally, but are not quite as spread out as the BBC which means that they only occasionally take on independent film makers if they believe that their idea has potential on their channels.

-Netflix is also only available to those paying the subscription fees, but they are a vertically owned company, unlike the other two. They are picky with the films and programmes they give to viewers, and because of this they only take on films that they request, and not ones that are submitted to them through independent film makers.

Overall, I personally feel that the best company format for Instant Smash Films would be the BBC. It reaches an extremely large audience across the world, and is available to almost everyone. It works closely with other film makers to help contribute to the creative industry, and allows independent film makers a chance to get their work seen if it is good. People do not have to pay a subscription fee to watch the BBC, and because of the way it is funded, almost all of their profits go back into showing television programmes and films. It is not as restricted as Sky or Netflix, and therefore shows an extremely wide range of programmes and films on their many channels, and that is why I feel that is the best company format for Instant Smash Films to take.

Documentary/News Programmes Essay.

The first BBC news broadcasts attempted to be completely impartial and unbiased way - not showing the presenter meant that they were unable to express their opinions through facial expressions. So many people had been used to radio beforehand, and were also worried that showing moving images as the news was read would distract the viewers from the audio, and so instead decided to show a newsreel footage at the end of the news. There was also background music as the stories were being read, which is something that is not used in modern news broadcasts. Interviews and graphics were still used in early broadcasts, however, although have developed over the years.

Overseas news reports still had to be sent back to England on an aircraft to be broadcast the next day, however. As news progressed, news broadcasts were displayed on camera instead of it simply being their voice. Reporters on the scene have always given a direct address, looking straight at the camera and talking to the viewers to make them feel closer to the news, and give them the feeling of interacting with the reports. Reporters always seem to wear clothes that match the location that they're in - for example, in the studio, they wear professional, smart clothes, however reporters on the scene in places such as war zones often wear more casual clothes.

As technology developed and improved, news reporters were able to broadcast live news reports from other countries, and show shocking news stories in which people had not been able to see in the full scale before. Events were able to unfold live on television in peoples' living rooms, putting them even closer to the action and events than ever before. However, in the modern days, the more extreme footage of deaths and killings seem to have been phased out slightly after people having somewhat of an outcry over the upsetting nature of the footage.

In the 1990s, 24 hour news channels became available, with more and more news available around the world to report on. The same kinds of stories such as disasters, wars, traditional events, sporting achievements and political news have always been broadcast on the news, even since it was first started. A mixture of graphics, a news reporter talking about the stories in the studio and reports from the scenes themselves became common. It became more and more common to have a montage of clips based on the news story with a voice over layered across the top, with the occasional cut away to a reporter speaking about the news to break it up.

Popular news programmes nowadays tend to be structured in a certain way, with a title sequence opening the show, before the presenters begin with a summary of the top news stories. Then, they go into the stories in more detail, starting with the most popular and biggest story, and go all the way down until they begin on the sports headlines, the weather, and then they tend to generally finish with a happy and light-hearted news story  to lighten the mood.

Most news programmes try not to be biased, as they are giving factual information that should not have an opinion. However, certain news companies - such as FOX News - appears to be extremely right-wing, and even goes to far to refuse to allow anyone to speak on the show if they do not follow their ideals.

When something is propaganda, however, instead of it being simply one side of an opinion, it is trying to get others to agree and influence their views on the subject. For example, once again, FOX News will only show stories that makes the right wing side of politics look better than the left, and they seem to be trying to make the population believe in their views and agree with them, without showing them the other side of things. For example, the majority of the time, they try to put Obama in a bad light, and make it seem like he is ruining America, and therefore the country should vote for Romney. 

When being a journalist, however, things are supposed to remain completely unbiased and only show the facts in a way that doesn't support one side of debates and arguments, and also doesn't convince people to agree/disagree with something simply because of the reporter's own views.

Bias can be created within the news by selecting certain stories to broadcast. By doing this, something can be made to seem better, or worse, depending on how much positive/negative press one broadcasting station gives a certain thing - such as FOX News making the right-wing parties seem glorious compared to other political parties, by allowing confident and attractive people represent the Republicans, whilst making unconfident and unattractive people represent the Democrats. This then shows the right-wing parties as being 'better' than the left-wing, and the audience tend to pick up on this and believe it, even when it may not be entirely true.

Headlines and captions can give a different light on a story, clearly showing an opinion on the story. For example, when most news stations reported on Nelson Mandela meeting the First Lady, Michelle Obama, they used headlines such as:

‘Mandela asks to meet Michelle Obama.’

However, FOX News clearly shows their views on Obama's political party, and clearly wants to put them in a bad light by using the headline:

‘Michelle Obama Snubbed in Africa, But Looking Forward to Private Safari.’

Anyone who only reads FOX News would think something completely different about the story than what is happening, and it is a form of propaganda because it is trying to get people to agree with their views rather than allowing people to make their own opinion on news stories.

Documentaries are often filmed in a number of different styles and ways according to what they are trying to show during the film. For example, expository documentaries, such as Planet Earth, or Blue Planet are designed to inform and educate people but the camera crew themselves are invisible to the audience, whereas during interactive/reflexive documentaries such as Bowling For Columbine or Louis Theroux's documentaries involve the film makers during the shots, and they usually aim to provoke reactions from the subjects and the audiences during the documentary itself rather than simply showing the facts.

However, there are some conventions that run throughout most documentaries. The majority of the time, facts and issues are focused on rather than a narrative, although occasionally - such as during documentaries that focus on something such as a musical band's journey to fame such as Life On The Murder Scene or The Filth And The Fury, they will have a slight narrative during the film. Most documentaries are non-fiction and are based on true events, with the exception of mockumentaries, like Spinal Tap, which parodies the ideas of normal documentaries to amuse the audience instead of displaying facts.

All the shots and footage used within the film is generally linked together in a way that keeps the viewer engaged and entertained, and both found and shot footage are often included to do so. For example, during the Bowling For Columbine documentary that we watched, Michael Moore used both footage that he went out and filmed, as well as clips from news programmes, adverts, television shows etc. A lot of interviews are used throughout this documentary, as well as during others that aren't completely fly-on-the-wall documentaries.

During most documentaries, voiceovers are used to explain to the audience the facts, or what is happening during the film, for example, Michael Moore uses voiceover through Bowling For Columbine to link together various facts and information, such as what happened on the morning of the shooting at Columbine. Also text can be used to relay these facts too. Text is mainly used to show locations, times and dates, although can be used to relay other information too, such as a translation of what people being interviewed are saying if the sound quality isn't terrific, like they do occasionally in Bowling For Columbine.

Depending on what is happening during different shots of the documentary, both digetic and non-digetic sound can be heard. Say there is a voiceover explaining the scenario on screen, for example, there is normally no digetic sound heard, although if it is an interview there can be. During Bowling For Columbine, there is a montage of footage, mainly involving terrorism, with the song 'What A Wonderful World' playing over the top of it, though this is used in an ironic way because clearly the images are not of a wonderful world. The music seems to be used satirically to point the finger at the American government's involvement in financing and training the terrorists themselves. Also, in the same documentary, phone recordings of people involved in the Columbine Massacre - such as teachers phoning 911 for help are played with a slight guitar playing in the background which makes the recordings seem more powerful and moving than they already are as it is more eerie that if they were played on their own. Meanwhile, in Louis Theroux's documentaries, he doesn't tend to play music over recordings, or during montages. Instead, he mainly has quirky and upbeat music as the introduction of the documentary, and also between interviews which both reflects his personality, and lightens the mood, because otherwise the footage and interviews being played would be extremely dark and serious for the style of the documentary that he is trying to create.

Documentaries are often filmed in a number of different styles and ways according to what they are trying to show during the film. For example, expository documentaries are designed to inform and educate people but the camera crew themselves are invisible to the audience, whereas during interactive/reflexive documentaries involve the film makers during the shots, and they usually aim to provoke reactions from the subjects and the audiences during the documentary itself rather than simply showing the facts.

However, there are some conventions that run throughout most documentaries. The majority of the time, facts and issues are focused on rather than a narrative, although occasionally - such as during documentaries that focus on something such as a musical band's journey to fame, they will have a slight narrative during the film. Most documentaries are non-fiction and are based on true events, with the exception of mockumentaries which parodies the ideas of normal documentaries to amuse the audience instead of displaying facts. Bowling For Columbine seemed to take a comedic approach to interest the audience whilst actually discussing very serious topics such as gun crime, the Columbine Massacre and biased media in America. 

All the shots and footage used within the film is generally linked together in a way that keeps the viewer engaged and entertained, and both found and shot footage are often included to do so. For example, during the Bowling For Columbine documentary that we watched, Michael Moore used both footage that he went out and filmed, as well as clips from news programmes, adverts, television shows etc. For example, during the interview with Charlton Heston (the head of the NRA) was footage that Michael Moore shot, but the 'Wonderful World' montage during the documentary was all footage from other people.

A lot of interviews are used throughout this documentary, as well as during others that aren't completely fly-on-the-wall documentaries. Also, during Bowling For Columbine, a single camera setup was used for most of the time, and this was because when going into public places such as supermarkets or streets, it would be extremely difficult for there to be a multi-camera setup as it would be too noticeable and take up too much space, especially in places where they were not really supposed to be filming. For example, the interview in K-Mart with the staff selling bullets that were used during the Columbine Massacre was shot with a single camera as it would be far too difficult to bring multiple cameras into the shop, where they were not supposed to be filming anyway.

During most documentaries, voiceovers are used to explain to the audience the facts, or what is happening during the film, and also text can be used to relay these facts too. Text is mainly used to show locations, times and dates, although can be used to relay other information too. Depending on what is happening during different shots of the documentary, both digetic and non-digetic sound can be heard. Say there is a voiceover explaining the scenario on screen, for example, there is normally no digetic sound heard, although if it is an interview there can be. The opening of Bowling For Columbine, where there was the voiceover about a 'typical day in America', which links the images together in a comical way that makes sense, because without the voiceover, the footage would make no sense. It is done in an ironic, yet informative way, and is used as an attack on America as well as intro ducting the rest of the documentary and the madness that goes on.

Documentaries, although factual, are often biased towards a certain opinion or another. It normally makes the documentary rather one-sided, and doesn't show the other side of arguments. During the Bowling For Columbine documentary, although he showed people telling the camera that they feel safer with a loaded gun in the house although they had never been attacked, the same person probably had enough security in and around their house to stop the threat of being attacked, yet they never asked people in the streets whether they had been attacked or not.