Sam Re-Submission

Task 4 - https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0Mi2vFkLL0pQ2NKS1R1M25OUk0/edit?usp=sharing

Flowchart - https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0Mi2vFkLL0pd0pWb1prbDZwSlE/edit?usp=sharing

Visulise Me Profile - http://vizualize.me/Jmander

Music Video Essay Re-Submission

Looking for a distinction: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0Mi2vFkLL0pelM2b3dHZm5TRXM/edit?usp=sharing

Multi Camera Set-Up

Multi camera set-ups are very important and useful, especially in news broadcast which is live the majority of the time.

Benefits:

• As it is live you need to act quick upon a mistake. If a mistake or problem occurs (for example a camera battery running out or the camera focussing on the wrong area) the person on the vision mixer can switch to another camera.
• It is quicker to edit with regards to continuity. Everything is captured at once so rather than stopping and filming from a different angle, the continuity will match with the camera from the other angle.
• Scenes can be shot quicker as there is no need to change the light or microphones. This is particularly useful for soaps and series such as Coronation Street or Benidorm.
• Different tones can be conveyed. For example, in Big Brother, you might want to change from a close up to a wide shot to get someone else's reaction in. For the news, you might want to change from a straight on shot to a side angle to get some graphics in.
• Engaging. Different angles would engage the audience, especially in shows such as Strictly Come Dancing and Britain's got Talent. This means you can see things from high up, close up and also the judges reaction.
• You can see more. In football matches you would want to see different players and also a birds-eye view of where the players are.

Disadvantages:

• You can't be as flexible. If you have several cameras focussing on one source the cameras might be looking at a wider background so you would need to keep that background clear of camera cables, lights e.t.c.
• Cost. The cost of purchasing more cameras and having more crew is more expensive than using one person to control one camera.
• Confusion. With a variety of different cameras and screens, it could be confusing for the vision mixer to decide which screen should be broadcast.
• Long set up. For a programme such as the news which is done daily, a multi camera set-up can take a long time to prepare. As news shows are pretty much always based in the same studio, this can actually be reduced.

It depends on what you are filming as to which set-up is best however I would say that a multi camera set-up is the best as you can get a scene filmed once from the different angles rather than several times and by moving the camera. For live shows and the news, this is also easier to cover up mistakes and to act as a backup. This I why I decided to use a multi-camera set up for my news programme. We could switch to another camera if a mistake occurred and it prevented us from moving the camera for when our host changed position.

Example:
Below are some screenshots from Britain's got Talent, a show which uses a multi camera set-up. The screenshots show the different camera angles. As BGT is an entertainment show, the different shot types help to keep the audience engaged.

This shot is used to show how scary it might be for the performer and it's reminding us that he is performing in front of the judges

This is a wide shot to show the performer

A medium shot showing us him doing hand expressions

A MCU of the hosts' reaction

A MCU of one of the judge's reaction

MCU.  - This is the common shot of who is performing along with the wide-angle shot

Wide shot showing the audience

CU of him talking to the camera

A wide show of the judges

Example of a TV Series
I chose Benidorm as the TV series, one that is shot in sunny Benidorm (as the name suggests….) A lot of shots are done in the sun so continuity is important. Benidorm is shot on multi camera however there is not as many as BGT. Shots like these are easier to do without getting cameras in the way.

A wide shot

A close up

Another close up

Filming would be in a set-up like this however with 3 cameras rather than 4

Primary and Secondary Research - Re-Submission

Primary research is research gathered directly from the person conducting the research. This would involve the researcher going out and directly obtaining the information. Primary research could be gathered by interviews, observation, surveys, trials and more. Primary research is a good type of research as you are directly getting the information so you know it's reliable. You can also get more of a sense of what you are researching. If you are speaking to an eye-witness of an event, you might be able to prompt them to remember certain details. A down side of this is that you can source the information is less ways. Rather than go online and see possibly hundreds of articles, you will need to go out and find it yourself. This could be inconvenient and it could cost you money.

To see an example of myself conducting primary research, see this link where I asked a rail commuter what they thought of price increases http://50173581.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/rail-fare-vt-updated.html

Secondary research is researched that has been collected by someone other than yourself. This would involve the researcher looking at existing data and sources including magazine and newspaper articles, online articles, letters, statements and more. Secondary research can be hugely beneficial as you can get a variety of information that you might not be able to get. For example CCTV footage. If you are researching on a past event then you would need secondary data for CCTV as you cannot fake it yourself. The cost is also lower. Getting a book out of the library or looking online won't cost you anything whereas travelling to see someone will. Despite this, you can't always say how accurate or reliable the research is. It might be from a source that doesn't seem that reliable or it might not be entirely accurate.

More on research - http://50173581.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/research.html


I have conducted research for several college assignments such as in my single camera drama, when I conducted secondary research to find out about hostage situations. In my news show assignment I conducted primary research by interviewing a man on the sea defences on Canvey Island. I found both of these methods useful as I liked the variety and both ways were more convenient. It would be harder to interview someone on a hostage situation and it might take time getting the procedure from the police.

Film Analysis

• Vladimir Propp

--31 stages of a film
--Set Characters

• Tzvetan Todorov

--Equilibrium (order)
--Disruption
--Resolution
--New Equilibrium
---The equilibrium in Jaws is starting off calm and leading up to a disruptive shark attack. After this, the order is restored with a quiet setting followed by a new equilibrium.

• Roland Barthes

--A number of codes that we can see in a narrative.
--Enigma Code - A narrative device that teases the audience by representing a puzzle or riddle to be solved. (Represented by the shark in Jaws as we can't guarantee at the start that it is a shark)
--Action Code - A narrative device by which a resolution in produced through action (Shown in Jaws by when they go out to get him but don't kill him until the end.) (http://www.slideshare.net/guest9e3b3b/narrative-theory-2104298)

• Sizmeund Freud

--Id - Desires and Pleasures (bad)
--Ego - Reality (In the middle)
--Superego - Moral, right and wrong (good)

• Levi Strauss

--A conflict between two parties or terms (Good against Evil, light dark)

Single Camera Drama Submission

Link to Short Film - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtqN-Rm49Hw&feature=youtu.be
Link to BTS - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFKFWRgA-9o
Link to Portfolio - https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0Mi2vFkLL0pZnJwQ3lwQS10dlU/edit?usp=sharing

NOTE: Copyright music is used in the BTS. For release of this professionally, I would remove the soundtrack and replace it with royalty free music.

Sound PDF - https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0Mi2vFkLL0pQWYwd1N5SWcxS28/edit?usp=sharing
Presentation - https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0Mi2vFkLL0pRUhRYWFaUjU1dmc/edit?usp=sharing

Note: The sound presentation content is to back up the sound work. Darren has the audio recording however the presentation is above.

It's done.....

Unit 8 Task 4 Submission

Submission Document

The Commissioning Process - UPDATED

An agent is a person who acts on behalf of someone else who usually has links and contacts with bigger companies and is the link between you and them. When you submit a script or proposal to them, they will pass it onto companies to try and sell it. You might need one however it's not essential as it depends on who you know and how you prefer to work. A pro for this is that you don't have to get that involved in the marketing of your work, someone else will handle it all however a con for this is that they take a percentage of the cost, usually being about 10-20%. I spoke to one director who said that he doesn't have an agent and is happy with that so that he receives more money. He went to say that having an agent might have been good at times however he doesn't have plans to get one soon. Website 'Writer Services' states the following for percentage rates - Domestic: 12.5%, Overseas: 15% and Performance rights: 12.5%.

You/your agent will then go to a commissioner to sell the idea.

The name of a BBC commissioner is Ben Stephenson who covers the drama and films section. You can also submit you ideas online by e-Commissioning which is designed to receive content ideas from TV and online content companies and producers. It is not a system for providing other goods or production services which is pretty much just submitting proposals online. When the commissioner receives it, they will look at the project and decide on whether the BBC should make it. They need to consider cost, popularity and success. Ben Stephenson has recently commissioned 'Life in Squares' a new BBC drama. 

If this doesn't work you might want to try a bigger company such as Warner Bros. This works by your work being read by someone who decides whether or not to make it, followed by a low level producer who will look at the submitted ones and then the person in charge of submitted plans, the director or creative acquisitions (or something similar) will pass it on to be made.

If an independent film company buys it they might ask for errors and omission insurance. Errors and Omission Insurance (also professional indemnity insurance) insures again damages incurred as a result of a claim covering trademark infringement, piracy and breach of confidentiality. If a independent film company purchase the film the writer may be invited onto the set however it depends on the production. After the script is written, the writers aren't usually involved that much as it is then down to the director.

One script writer said:

"I was very pleased when the production company had told me that the BBC have given the green light for my script to be made into a series. Although I cannot name the series, it is currently in production. It's very exciting to see characters coming to life and the story unveiling. I'm not on the set all the time hence I don't have input in design aspects however it is nice to observe the making of my script."

Sally Wainwright on Directing an Episode: (http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/writersroom/posts/Sally-Wainwright-on-her-new-series-for-BBC-One-Happy-Valley)

"It was brilliant; I’ve wanted to do it for years. It was really rewarding. It’s being involved, being there when it’s all happening, having those interesting conversations with everyone from the actors to the designers. As a writer you spend all the time by yourself going mad and then suddenly you’re in the best party on earth. I found it quite distressing going back to writing; it was like going into solitary confinement after you’d been to this fantastic do."

Adrian Hodges - The Musketeers - http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/writersroom/posts/The-Musketeers

"As Executive Producer and lead writer of the show, I had a very high level of creative control. This isn't quite the American show-runner model, which is hard to reproduce in a British context, but it is pretty close to it. Aside from writing four of the scripts and supervising the rest of the storylines and other episodes, including, at times some over-writing to ensure the tone and feel of the show was completely uniform, I was heavily involved in the creation of the look of the show, the costumes, the set design, the casting, the choice of directors and so on. This level of involvement is all about better collaboration at al levels, and making sure that everyone is committed to making the same show. I think this kind of role for the creator-writer is essential on any modern drama series, and I hope it happens more and more often in British television - certainly things seem to be heading in that direction and the BBC were more than supportive of the role I wanted in the show."

Terry Cafolla - The Whale - http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/writersroom/posts/The-Whale-Writing-and-researching-a-factual-drama


"I gave notes at all stages, not something that all writers always do in the UK system, but I think they should. Even if a note isn’t used, it’s good to have the discussion. We didn’t always agree but often the fruits of the disagreements got us to something we could all live with."