Unit 1: Research techniques for the industry

1.1

Production Research

The most important factors of production research are personnel, equipment, costs and time. The personnel consists of who is the best employee for the job, whether it be the film crew or the talent. Concerning the film crew, the production team would hire specialists in areas which they felt needed professional attendance and superior quality compared to other parts of the production, for example camera operators or sound technicians. On the other side of the personnel, the talent is the most important aspect as they are the one’s being watched, to aid this perspective, talent scouts may be hired to find the best actors/actresses around. On the other half of production research, equipment and costs are also an imperative issue, regarding equipment, the production team must acquire the best apparatus possible to get the very best out of their media production, yet the costs also tie into this as equipment is mostly likely going to be costly. To solve this problem, the team must calculate when and for how long they will need the tools, that way they aren’t wasting money for when they don’t use it.

Unit 2: Pre-production techniques

These tables indicate the Pre and Post Prouction methods I have used across the duration of the course.

Understand Requirements for Production (P1, M1, D1)

Be able to obtain resources for Production (P1, M1, D1)

Be able to apply Production Logistics (P1, M1, D1)

Task Details

www.pgslearning.co.uk/media

Unit 7: Understanding the tv and film industries

Task 1: Technologies

As each day passes, studies are always being conducted into finding new technology. The media is one of the biggest conductors of the latest technology, therefore it will consequently have the greatest knock on effect.

The television industries use of technology ranges greatly: satellite, cable, HD, interactive and the Internet are all great services, which are available for television viewing.

‘New Media’ is a term, which refers to the use of electronic communication from the use of computer technology, examples of this include:

Websites, e-mail, DVD’s, mobile computing and many more.

It contrasts with the opposite term, ‘old media’, which still has the aim of communication, just a less modern approach to it, examples of this are mainly newspapers and magazines.

In terms of this technology effecting our viewing habits, it can be said that it has possibly taken a negative effect socially. This would be down to the fact that television can now be streamed on the Internet, therefore the usual family living room gathering to watch TV, would be no more. As well as this, watching television with others can also be seen as a social event, consequently this would also dissolve.

Despite this, television still manages to become an interactive event among all viewing audiences. Take the X-Factor for example, a show based on the cream of Britain’s singing talents of all ages and genders, yet when it comes to the Saturday night live performance programme, it is down to the television audience to decide who stays and who goes home. Another good example of this would be Big Brother. With the same concept of the X-Factor, the programme also bases the contestant’s fates on the decision of the viewers at home. This is a good source of income for the programmes, as the show is more or less run by the viewers.

To sum up the technologies of media today, it is clear to see that the developments currently taking place are ones, which will remain for the long term and certainly expand beyond. The fact that missed programmes are available to be watched again through the use of streaming over the Internet is an achievement in itself, as viewers are then able to keep up with all the drama and excitement in an addictive television series, as well as this, it allows people at work or on the go to view their favourite programmes at their own leisure. Continuing with television on the internet, concerning certain websites there will be a subscription fee to pay, yet with channels like E4 and the BBCi Player it is free of charge.

On the basis of service providers, the likes of Virgin and Sky are by far the most competitive on the market, whereas BBC1, BBC2, ITV1, Channel 4 and Channel 5 are the terrestrial channels which come with every television set to start with. But it is obviously the services that each provider actually provides that brings the key success. Sky and Virgin both lead in the act of innovating the best technology for television services, Sky+ with it’s ability to allow viewers to pause and rewind live or any other type of programme instantly, allowing the viewer to attend to urgent duties while not having to miss out on their favourite television series. Virgin on the other hand allows viewers to access a ‘On Demand’ feature, this lets the spectator find any programme they desire and watch it wether it’s scheduled or not. The outsider of service providers could be seen as Freeview, this is a digital TV service which allows customers to watch around 40 channels via their TV aerial, there are no subscription fees like Sky and Virgin, the only cost is the one off payment of the actual Freeview box, after that all you have to do is install it and watch away. Despite the competitive services, all thee providers have the trademark ‘Red Button’ service available to their customers, the incentive of this service is to allow viewers to access further information depending on the program that is being broadcasted at the time. For example it may show interviews with certain cast members, previews, reviews and much more content as well. Considering the uses and gratifications theory, it is a lot more relevant when taking into account the advances in technology today, as so much is being done to further develop current technologies it is second nature to show concern for it as it effects everyone in a particular way somehow.f

Despite the technologies, it will always come down to the quality of the entertainment provided from the thousands of TV channels available. And with todays audiences becoming more and more fragmented, it makes television channels challenge of appealing to audiences even more difficult as there is so much choice available to them. As well as the above it’s also the fact that over the past 10 years there have been so many technological advances within the television industry, that those mass TV audiences of the past who always used to clutter into the front room on a saturday night are no more. In this day and age the consumer has a wide variety of entertainment alternatives. As an example the BBC has released its revolutionary iplayer.This web based service holds intergrated technology that allows the consumer to have television on demand via the internet.

All these advances have also had their perks for film makers too, the fact that they can promote their films online, as more and more film makers are being left without a distribution deal. Despite this independant challenge which they face, most aren’t picked up by distribution companies due to a lack of ‘production value’, it also comes down to the inexperience of technical training, schooling and other decisive factors.

Task 2: Case Study - Sky TV

BSkyB Corporate, the company which is associated with all the Sky products, is one of the few companies which are always trying to better themselves, always trying to create new media-based products which can take the service of entertainment to the next level, year after year Sky aspire to be the best within the television industry. Being one of the most inventive media companies in the business, they have become the architects of a wide range of high-quality contents, for example Sky+, allowing the viewer to pause and rewind live television, ensuring they don't miss a minute. Sky+ HD was also a first which was introduced by the mass television company, giving viewers with a High Definition television the chance to watch their favourite programmes in the most pristine visual quality. The competing companies of the BBC and ITV soon followed after realising the popularity which the feature had drawn.

The media aspect which Sky are fantastic at is always managing to expand on their line of products, with just under 10 million customers at their helm already, Sky are constantly creating new ways to draw more consumers in. Sky Multiroom, Sky Talk and Sky Broadband are prime examples, with the latter two being available to purchase in a entertainment/communications extravaganza package. This bundle sums up the companies ambition, as quoted on their website on the 'Our mission' section, the opening line reads 'We want to be first choice for entertainment and communications'.

Regarding the future of Sky and how it intends to further enhance it's products, one of their main projects are already up and running. Sky 3D is a new feature which allows owners of a Sky+ HD box and a 3D ready television to accomplish the ultimate viewing experience, with a greater sense of depth in viewing and giving viewers that 'as if you were there' experience, it puts Sky right ahead of all its competitors in terms of creative ability. The idea has already been tried and tested in a number of pubs across the UK, with a series of live sports games being broadcasted using the new technology, and a gathering of positive feedback gave the highly anticipated scheme the go ahead.

Task 3: Funding

Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) refers to broadcasting intended for the publics benefit rather than for the commercial companies benefit. Ofcom, the communications regulator, states that individual television and radio broadcasters conform in certain requirements as part of their permit to broadcast. 

All of the BBC's television and radio stations have a public service remit, including those that broadcast digitally. Additionally, all stations broadcast on terrestrial analogue television - the regional Channel 3 companies (the ITV Network), GMTV, Channel 4, S4C in Wales, and Five - are obliged to provide public service programming as they can be viewed freely almost anywhere nationwide. The recently introduced 'third tier' of approaching 200 Community Radio services are also specifically recognised by Ofcom as being providers of public service broadcasting output, delivered under the terms of the Community Radio Order 2004. Commercial radio also has nominal public service obligations. However, the requirements imposed for commercial radio are generally fewer, normally requiring only a minimum level of news.

Unit 21: Single camera techniques

Task 1: Use the links below to help you write a few paragraphs that answer the following questions:(P1, M1, D1)

Define the single camera format and the multiple camera format.

Multiple Camera Set-Up – The multi-camera setup has the cameras arranged to take all of the different shots of the scene.

Single Camera Set-Up - Single-camera setup generally employs just one camera.

The single-camera setup gives the director more control over each shot, but is more time consuming and expensive than multiple-camera. The choice of single-camera or multiple-camera setups is made separately from the choice of film or video. That is, either setup can be shot in either film or video. However, multiple-camera setups shot on video can be switched "live to tape" during the performance, while setups shot on film still require that the various camera angles be edited together later. The single-camera setup originally developed during the birth of the classical Hollywood cinema in the 1910s and has remained the standard mode of production in the cinema. In television, however, a multiple-camera setup is just as common.

Single Camera Example - In single-camera, if a scene cuts back and forth between actor A and actor B, the director will first point the camera towards A and shoot shots number 1, 3, 5, 7, and so on. Then they will point the camera toward B and do shots number 2, 4, 6, 8, and so on. In the post-production editing process, the shots will be assembled into their final order.

Multi Camera Example - Multiple-camera shooting would record a variety of angles of actors A and B simultaneously; the director would then have the choice of switching among the angles while the program is being recorded (or broadcast) or recording all shots and cutting them together in post-production.

When it comes to producing an actual visual production there is a lot of financial aspects to still be considered. Friday World for example, has to consider the expenses for all the equipment they use, with technology such as the Green Screen and sound mixing tools, the school is set a budget therefore all these media products have to be carefully calculated to make sure the necessary items are bought to fulfill the show's needs. Stada Media is a company which provides all the video production tools needed for anyone wanting to produce a video piece, they provide a 'rate card' to clarify the costs of all their services which they are able to offer:

FILMING: varies.

A typical days filming package includes one HD broadcast quality camera, one camera operator, basic sound and lighting kit. The camera is usually mounted on a professional fluid head tripod or hand held.

• Half - Day (i.e. 9am - 1pm) £215.00
• Full - Day (i.e. 9am - 5pm) £400.00
• 2x Full - Days £775.00
• 3x Full - Days £1,125.00
• 4x Full - Days £1,500.00
• 5x Full - Days £1,875.00

EDITING: £35.00 per hour.

The work flow of the editing process is determined by the amount of footage filmed and the duration of the finished video. For example, A typical half-day shoot could result in 90 minutes worth of video being filmed. To edit this footage into a 5 minute feature (with titles, music and voice over) would normally take 12 hours.

GRADING / THE 'LOOK' OF YOUR VIDEO: £60.00 per hour.

Whether it's the filmic, cinematic look, or special vignetting or blurring effects. The grading process can achieve that specific look you desire. We use the very latest in Colour technology, software used by the film and TV industry.

MOTION GRAPHICS: £35.00 per hour.

Adding fancy, fun, dynamic and captivating graphics to your video can seriously improve its effectiveness in delivering your key message.

EXTRAS:

• Music Track - £65.00
• Voice Over - £65.00
• Presenter - £175.00
• Script Writing - £55.00
• Green Screen - £525.00 (full day in a studio)

Task 2: Write a short paragraph explaining the difference between series, serials and single dramas. Write about 4 TV programmes from different genres and explain which category they fall into and why: (P1, M1, D1)

A serial is a part drama which may add up to 4 or 5 parts which are screened weekly at the same time typically, it's basically a short-run series with one title and one plot, sometimes there may be a sequel serial made sometimes as where it may be the end of the actual serial but the end of the program on a whole may still not be tied up, therefore concluding in another serial being made further down the line. A series is more like a long running tv show, for example Scrubs, which is a continual television series, is organised in 'season's' as the USA like to define it, as it tends to have from 6 up to 24 or more episodes within each 'season' or series, another successful example would be '24' as it's been one of america's longest and most thriving shows since it began back in 2001. Finally a single drama is a one off production which tends to be lenghtier than most daily programmes as it's a 'single drama', distinctively they have a tendancy to be around 2-3 hours long and are shown all in one night and sometimes may have a 20-30 minute news break inbetween.

Task 3 Based on a discussion of the three clips below this link and your own knowledge of film and television, use specific examples to explain where different narrative structures occur and why they are used: (P1 M1 D1)

The effect of a non-linear narrative throughout the Dallas series' is to enable the audience to get a deeper understanding of different story lines, this stretches the the interest in each episode as there tends to be an unfinished account from the previous episode, consequently enticing the viewer to return for the next installment. Non-linear narrative is a narrative technique which is sometimes used in literature, websites and other narratives, yet it is predominantly used within television and film. The method of a non-linear narrative is where events are portrayed out of chronological order and are usually dictated by set parameters within the media. It is often used to mimic the structure and recall of the human memory. Linear narrative is just the direct opposite to non-linear, with the events being in chronological order instead.

TASK 6: Recreate the classification table above and add an extra column and call it 'media consumption', in this section comment on the type of programming they would consume from TV and Radio in addition to commenting on newspaper's magazines and the internet.
Create a profile for someone of your own age but the opposite gender and write it as a separate paragraph underneath: (P1 M1 D1)

TASK 7: Write a report with screen-shots, detailing the equipment and software you will be using and how you intend to use it.

For our single-camera production we will be using a variety of media production tools to professionally create a media piece. The camera which will be used is a small handheld Panasonic camera, the model being a NV-GS230, as well as this we will be using a handheld voice recorder, the model is a Edirol R-09. Regarding the software, we will use Garageband to edit all the voiceovers to either add effect or simply edit the levels for a more natural sound, these edited audio clips can then be uploaded to the video software programme iMovie. After this all the clips filmed from our Panasonic camera will be uploaded to iMovie to be cut down and put together in a suitable order. This piece of software also allows us to add video effects to our various clips to enhance the quality of the overall video production.

The cast of the film included myself, Elliot Woods and Sally Cartmell. Sally played the character who was the best friend of Claire, the girl who died of a drug overdose. My character was Claire's boyfriend, who was the one who forced drugs onto her, finally Elliot played the drug dealer, the guy who supplied Louis the drugs which consequently contributed to Claire's death. Niamh Park wasn't actually involved in the film but she helped to record scenes where all 3 of our characters had to be involved in the same shot, apart from that the rest of the shooting was shared between the three of us.

The props we used were first of all a bag of sugar to represent the drugs that Elliot was providing Louis. We also used Sally's car as her character is on a revenge mission against the other two characters, Louis and Elliot, she accomplishes this by taking both their lives and also hers in the end in a car crash.

Task 8: Treatment.

The idea for our single camera film is based on a drug bust, the whole objective of the film is to show three different people who at first don’t appear to have a connection to one another, but when going into The idea for our single camera film is based on a drug bust, the whole objective of the film is to show three different people who at first don’t appear to have a connection to one another, but when going into more depth it is established that in fact they all have some sort of relation. The setting for our movie will be in a secluded area with very few cars and people around. The time of day will be late evening around 7oclock so that the lighting will be dusk. The time duration of our film is set to be around 2 minuets. The idea behind our film is a short single camera drama, which is based around drug abuse. All footage will be filmed on a hand held camera, there will be no characters speaking in the film but there will be voice over’s of each character sharing their views, There will be an acoustic style of music playing in the background to help establish the atmosphere as an eerie one.

1) Opening scene an establishing shot will be used to start the drama and help set the scene. Louis will then walk around a corner towards the camera, which will be at a long shot, walking out of shot and cutting to a medium shot of him walking towards the camera which will be tracking back signifying he’s on a journey. Louis’s voice over will start playing over the top as he is in shot.

2) It will then cut to a long shot of Elliot walking from the opposite side of the camera to show he is on a separate journey. Similar to Louis’s scene it will then cut to a medium shot of the camera tracking along side. Again as he comes into shot his voice over will start to help the audience establish his character.

3) We will then have a close up of car headlights turning on, and then it will cut to close up of Sally driving in the car, looking angry. Again sally’s voice over will start as she is in shot.

4) All three characters slowly make their way to the same point, a close up of transaction of the drugs.

5) Long shot of the car coming round the corner and then a blackout.

Task 10: Production Schedule.

Task 11: Health and safety.

Task 12: Production.

Unit 22: Multi-camera techniques

Task 1: Define Multi-camera techniques through a written report or an audio-visual presentation.

In television, the multi-camera format is used amongst sports programmes, soap operas, game shows, talk shows and most sitcoms. Where it may give the director less control over each shot, it is ultimately less time consuming. It saves editing time as there is no need to set up alternative camera angles for another shot due to the fact that there is already a multi-camera setup in place, so all the necessary angles are recorded, as well as this it allows multiple shots to be captured in one take without having to stop and start the footage like you would in a single-camera setup. It is because of this that daily soap operas like Eastenders and Coronation Street and also live television programmes, deem the multi-camera setup to be a technical necessity in the completion of their final product. 

In the actual process of shooting a scene, the director, assistant director and technical director all combine to create a 'line cut' which allows the technical director to switch the feed to numerous cameras. The camera which will be being recorded from at the exact time of shooting will have a 'tally light' displayed on it as an indication to the actors and fellow camera operators. The multi-camera setup has been a great success and it has a track record to prove it as mass media companies like the BBC and NBC, have used the setup for the majority of their live television programme since 1936 onwards. The main factor of multi-camera being chosen over a single-camera setup for live television programmes is the fact that in single camera, each shot is recorded in takes and various scenes have to be repeated out of sequence, so with it not being in a chronological order, it would be unsuitable for a live audience.

Task 2: Create a written report or an audio-visual commentary that explains the techniques used in the clips below. Comment on the following:

• Camera-angles
• Camera-movement (direction and speed)
• Transitions
• Video Effects
• Camera Positioning

Task 3: Produce a mind-map of ideas.

Task 4: Create a production table that can be accessed by the whole group.
Lighting and Set Design:

Equipment needed for broadcast:

• 2 Camera's.

• 2 Lights.

• 2 chairs.

• Talent.

• Personell.

• Backdrop.

• Slate vision Mixer.

• Sound Mixer.

• Live feed to hall and studio from gallery.

• Screen.

• Monitor in studio.

Task 5: Create a final shooting script and floor plan for your multi-camera programme.

Task 6: Complete the relevant risk assessment form.

Task 9: Evaluation.

Purpose -

I believe we achieved our purpose with our multi camera production, fulfilling the primary aim of entertaining our audience and secondly informing them also. The target audience which we had to provide our production to was teachers and also students, whom of which were aged 12-18. To create a bond with the audience, we included footage of both students and teachers around the school to make them feel involved in the production.

Audience -

Our target audience appeared to have enjoyed our broadcast, they assessed it by stating it brightened up their start to the day, as it was broadcasted to our audience just after morning lessons, this helped cheer up the students and prepare them for the rest of the day. This means they got our preferred reading, which shows our production was a success. The most favoured  part of our television broadcast by the audience was the ‘Lions or tigers?’ feature, as it included students and teachers. This was because it gave the students to see their teachers in an informal way and made the school setting more relaxed.

Representation issues -

Our production included both positive and negative messages. This is down to the fact that our secondary purpose was to inform, therefore when we included a documentary style drama about an eating disorder, it was important to get the message across to our audience as it a disease which tends to affect younger people, therefore it strongly concerned the majority of our audience. Despite this we also included positive messages, wether it be through our enthusiastic presenters or comedic 'Lions or Tigers?' feature. The location of our multi camera set-up was inside the school television studio, which already had a generic setup suitable for producing a television programme.

Issues:


We included a variety of camera shots throughout our production to keep the audience interested, as just one camera angle would have become repetitive and tedious. The variation of shots worked as with the audience being quite young, they would need a more motivational production to be entertained. There was just the one mistake throughout the film, this being when a microphone was left on for a few seconds, allowing the audience to hear instructions from the producer to the presenters.

Conventions/Narrative:


The quality of our live broadcast was very similar to that of a professional live show, as we had all the specialist equipment needed to produce a professional piece. For example, the transitions from presenters to feature films was extremely efficient, and also the fact that we alternated camera shots from showing both presenters to then providing a close up of just one prevented the live performance from becoming repetitive. Our program didn't have a specific narrative as it was a live morning/breakfast television production with two presenters at the helm of it.

Own Performance -

From my own personal performance, I gained both confidence and experience, as I was one of two presenters along with Elliot. I had to be confident when presenting to the audience, making sure everything I talked about both made sense and was suitable to broadcast to a live audience. I gained a greater understanding by working in a team, as everyone had to listen to one another so that the team could make important decisions together. Communication skills were also a massive factor, as the sound and vision mixing team had to negotiate with the camera operators and presenters via a single microphone. All in all I believe our production was a great success.