'Cutting it' Notes

'Cutting it' is a scene from a TV Drama which we have studied.

(Error on slideshare caused rest of pictures not to show up on presentation)

 

Editing

 

The shots at the start are very quick in transitions with a sharp cut. As the scene progresses the shots get longer to fit in with the mood. When the female character is in the consultants it moves to fades, to fit in with the music. The sound and imagery need to be complimentary for the editing between shots to be effective.  

 

When she is in the consultants it is broken up with shots of him at the cafe waiting for her. The suspense is broken up into blocks and the fades between shots implies time passing. Instead of having all the action in one sequence the spreading of it is very effective to the audience.

 

We think the ring was re-coloured by computing software because realistically a ring isn't that shiny and we believe it to be made to stand out with a small change in lighting focus. The slow motion effect makes the character seem futile and helpless. It also drags out the action of the event and to make it dramatic, (possibly too dramatic).
  

 

Mise en Scene

 

Within the scene the location consists of a equal balance of exterior and interior shots. The consultants office and taxi cab would of been filmed in the studio building, whereas the exterior shots would of taken place outside,(cafe, road and hospital).

The scattered flower pots once the female character is hit increases the sense of tragedy. The idea of them scattered symbolises death and destruction. The floral dress she also wears compliments the flowers. The shot with the ring is very memorable because it was focused on and made very effective. During the scene the characters wedding run was shown during times of uncertainty and emphasises its importance to the characters and the storyline.
Lighting was behind them in the taxi to symbolise they are going away from the light, some bad might happen. The only artificial light is that in the consultants, its unnatural which makes the consultant different from the characters - not being natural and excludes him so he isn't as important.

Sound

Verbal - Dialogue
Verbal - Emotions and thoughts are portrayed through dialogue. It is mixed in with the background noise and tends to be the main source of direction in the scene.

Soundtrack - natural, pauses, silence
Natural - The natural noises in the scene where mostly traffic, passersby and the characters. The accident with the swerving car has a very distinct sound effect. When the male character runs across the road his heart beat is slow and causing us to focus on him. The heart beat emphasises the panic and shock he is suffering, hoping his wife is alive as he runs across the road. The music is synchronised with the heart beat when he's running, (moral dilemma).  

Music scene - themes, stings, bridges and motifs
Music Scene - The consultant scene starts the build up of sad music and tension. The slow beat makes it dramatic but also predictable.  The song playing is a hidden message to the audience "remember what you see", a sad tone then fades out.

Ambient sound - Background noise
Ambient - The dialogue is louder than the diegectic sound of traffic. This sets the scene.

Camera Angles

The two shot shows them together sharing happiness between themselves allowing us to focus on them. In the taxi the shots alternate to who is speaking, when you focus on him talking u can see her in the shot, but when she is speaking you can't see him in the shot. Its only her which could be seen with a selfless meaning.  

Ring is symbolic, by showing that their marriage is important to the relationship and storyline.
 
When she is crying their are mixed emotions. You can't tell whether she has been given good news or bad news. This is hard for the audience to tell so keeps them in suspense for longer until she says "guess what?"

POV - Point of view is given from both characters. This gives a connection between the audience to allow them to see the action in their eyes and feel empathy for them and wanting her to be alive. The only part which is hand held is the running sequence to emphasise the distress and worry.
The ariel shot of them lying down on the ground, distances them from us.
 



 



Exhibition in the film industry

Exhibition

In 2007 the cinema attendance reached its highest point in 40 years, because of the blockbusters and quality of the films that came out around that time. For exhibitors piracy is the main problem for the film industry in the 21^st century, but in improving the industry is the digital projection system which is the next step up for cinemas. Cinemas have risen in cinema audiences from 1984 because of the new multiplex cinemas and a general rejuvenation of the industry for example raised seating and more cleaner and spacious environment.    

Location

 

In the early days of cinema, cinemas were built outside of the city centre because it was not economically beneficial as it was more expensive in the cities centre at that time. People also couldn’t get there. Now new cinemas are in the centre due to urbanisation. Audiences don’t mind driving because the location is accessible and with good parking and space.  Curzon cinemas are a small independent company and take many approaches to compete against the competition. Curzon show more specialised screenings as well as the block busters, things like art house films would be shown.

Audience

The ‘baby boomers’ of the 1970’s have become the most regular cinema goers. For a cinema to choose the films it has to do a survey in its location. It depends on the audience to confirm what film goes where. They book the film in advance 3-4 week ahead and then there is a review of that decision on the Monday after the opening weekend, to determine whether that was a good decision.

‘Mosaic profiling’ is looking at the ethnicity in the area. This then determines what films will be shown, so for example if a high concentration of the population in that area is of Turkish heritage then the cinema would show a Turkish film to attract them in. The brand of the cinema is not one of the priorities. 75% of people don’t pay attention to which cinema they’ve been to. The priorities for the cinema goers are the times, the film showing, access and the facilities. Those certain things determine on what cinema the customer will go to.                                             

Curzon cinemas differ between the major cinemas because it shows dependent, foreign films. Also to get the idea of it being a social event they put on events which are film related to widen the audience.

Digital Camera  

With digital camera the amount of movies available will be unlimited. Cinemas will be able to screen sport events, live shows and have 3D. There are also schemes to have people vote on what they want to watch in the cinema when they get there.

Digital expands the audience and gives people extra options and more of a cinematic experience. Film directors can use 3D to their advantage and get more money from ticket sales. Curzon try to reach a bigger audience then the 25 – 45 age range by making an event around the film.

Cinemas are trying to make themselves differentiate to home entertainment. People like to go to the cinema to get out of the house and be sociable with friends and family. Sharing each other’s experiences and be more sociable. The size of the screen and the surround sound will enhance that feeling.   

Key Features of Drama's (Improved)

Soaps:

Never ending story lines 

(Emmerdale)

Cliffhangers are left at the end of episodes which continue over several episodes. It keeps the audience gripped to their seats and retained into finding out what happens next. Usually when one story line finishes another one begins. 

 

Multiple Plots and Characters 

Story lines are usually interwoven. Scenes move continuously between different characters and plots. For example, in Eastenders the scenes cut from characters in different scenarios and occasionally cross over. 
 
Moral nature of story lines 

The story lines connect and relate to the audience about day to day social issues like teenage pregnancy, drugs and homosexuality.   

 

Social and domestic settings 

(Eastenders)

e.g. shops, pubs, homes, street, hospital and car journey. Soaps are shot in day to day places.

Simplified characters 

for easy recognition and sometimes to the point of their being stereotypes. Simple characters allow the audience to easily follow their time line and possibly feel empathy for them.  

 

Fantasy Drama: 


Special Effects

(Merlin)

CGI is a common feature in Fantasy drama. One example is Merlin with the Dragons and magic being presented with CGI and special effects. This is also common with Science fiction as well, because they use it to produce mythical creatures and not real beings. 

 



Characters

Usually in a Fantasy drama the series are focused around one or two characters, who stereo-typically have some sort of special ability.

*Research

Merlin for example is based on legends (Knights of Camelot, King Arthur, sword in the stone etc). A fair amount of research is undergone to get the characters and plot line close to the legend. Lengends can also be used as a stepping stone for plot lines in the series. In Merlin they changed certain aspects of the lengend to please the audience and make it more interesting. This also happened with Robin Hood (BBC), but by series 3 it just got ridiculous.  


 

Youth/Issue Based Drama:

Locations

Most dramas aimed at young people are based around schools or youth events like festivals, clubs, parties etc. One example of a youth drama is Waterloo Road. Issue based dramas would be focused around the characters home, work and leisure time.

Characters & Issues




(Waterloo Road)

Characters tend to have personal issues and scenarios which can then be related to the targeted audiences, so teenage pregnancy, drugs, drink and abuse. If it is based around school the range of characters would be varied and they would represent real people by the way they act and stereotype. For example, the class clown, trouble maker, the goody-two shoes.

*Audience 

Youth dramas does suggest who it is aimed at from its genre. Young people - Twelve Year Olds, Teenagers, University Students. 
Where as issue based dramas would extend more to adults, but still focus on the young adults because of risks and certain personal, educational and environmental. It doesn't focus on the political side.

  

Crime/Medical Drama:



Locations



(The Bill)



Crime and medical dramas both have similar conventions. They are based to where there profession is either a hospital (Casualty) or a police station (The Bill). They focus around the base and is present in nearly every episode.

 

Storyline
 

 In these dramas they follow usually a policeman/doctor or the patient/civilian in need of help. Each episode or a set of episodes focuses around one main plot with loads of sub plots going on in the background. In most story lines there is a conflict between personal and professional life. Also ethical dilemmas and romantic relationships are also other key features to some plot lines.

*Technical/Professional Realism

In these types of dramas techinical jargon are used and lingo related to their occupation. This makes them more realistic. Research is put to use in medical and crime drama to set the right tone and get the correct information across. One example is the diseases common or rare in hositpals and then they will explain the symptons and try to medicate and solve the issue. Medical dramas are also very good at creating awareness of illnesses, such as Cancer which is a tender subject to the population. This is the same as Crime dramas to make awareness of illegal activites, what is right and wrong.

 

(Some features overlap in most dramas)

(*) Improvements

Campaign in the industry

The Campaign

Distributors find it hard to get there work to stand out because of the competition. They need there campaign to stand out from others to get recognition and made the MUST SEE film. The cast, film, playability, soundtrack, print and web campaigns are all components to formulate a plan. Synergy is important because it can be globally recognised and the marketing theme runs through each different campaign material. For example, Spiderman’s text is so well known it is used in most things it is associated with and no matter what country you’re from you know what it is.   

 Posters and Trailers:

 Posters can sell the genre and the content within one image. It is a print teaser because it shows you either the location or some of the major characters (famous actors?); this can be used as another selling point. If you have a huge Hollywood actor as the main focus in the films poster then people would be drawn to it if they like that certain actor. Posters also give basic need to know information on the date it is to be released.

Trailer is the key selling point for most films. Film trailers set the tone and try to perceive the right impact to have on the audience. Within the short amount of time the concept of the film is portrayed to the audience. There are four main types of trailer; extremely long preview trailer, the teaser trailer, main trailer and the sustain trailer which is the short version of the trailer after the film has come out.

In trailers the perfect film trailer is said to have no voice over, this is because the visuals should do all the work to entice the audience to want to see it along with the soundtrack. Captions are commonly used in thrillers for suspense whereas voice overs would be found more likely in comedies.  When it comes to foreign films in the trailers they try not to show you the subtitles to cover up the fact it is a foreign film, because most people don’t want to read subtitles while watching a film.

TV trailer are different in the way the trailers are shorter and are cut down to 15 – 30 seconds. Films now have their own official websites and distribute viral video campaigns online to get publicity. Other features as quizzes and games related to the film also work this way. The only way you can get free publicity is from reviews from film critics. Depending on whether they enjoyed the film or not, you have to take the free publicity with a pinch of salt, because you want it to be good publicity not bad.

Tracking and success:

Tracking figures are released four weeks after the film is released. Advertisements are released six weeks before the film. This helps establish awareness and interest of the film. The word of mouth is the most efficient way of advertising. The word of mouth is a personal recommendation from a friend or family member.  By word of mouth you are more entitled to go and see it, if someone else says it’s good. Buzz is created for films from free preview screenings; this then positively impacts on the campaign.

The opening weekend of a film is the most important time for a film. Friday, Saturday and Sunday are the make and break moments of a new film. By Monday the film must have made the most money in the cinema to be financially successful.

 

Distribution in the industry

Distribution

The distributors job is to being the film to the movie marketplace and distinguish who’s going to watch it, what impact it will have and how are they going to distribute advertisements and publicity. Their target is to deliver the audience to the film and get seen by as many people as possible.

Marketing:

Distributors focus on the USP (Unique selling point) also known as the hook of the film. This is focused mainly the cast and the genre. The genre is crucial to identify the film for the audience.

Research:

The most frequent cinema goers are family groups and 15 – 25 year olds. The release date of a film is quite hard because depending on when it is release there will be competition. Blockbusters are shown around the summer time because that is when most people are enjoying their holidays and have a lot of leisure time.

Previews of the film are show to a select number of people and questionnaires are handed out to question people on their opinion of the film and general music taste. This then can be interpreted to come up with the perfect marketing hook for distributors. The budget spent on the marketing is worked out through guessing and experience. When making and releasing a film it’s a lot like gambling. Normally 25% - 30% of the budget is spent on marketing.

Publicity:

Publicity and advertising involves three sections:

 

1)      Advertising through the general media such as posters, flyers, TV and newspapers

2)      Production Cost – The cost it will take produce the advertisements

3)      Promotions – Premier of the film and big stars promoting it at conventions and festivals.

 

 

 

Production in the industry

Production
The producer is in the middle of everything. They get things together and move the project forwards. They protect the director. This includes the original idea, script and marketing development.  

The four blocks are:

-          Development

-          Raising money

-          Making it

-          Distribution

 

The Package and Script:

 The package is everything a film needs, a cast, production team, script and a budget. Actors and casting in a critical factor. Usually a script goes through 12 – 15 drafts. The developer and the screen writer work together to know what is important for the audience and try to relate it to them. A good script must care for the character and must be simple and consistent. The script is the foundation of a film.

Investment:

UK film producers go to television companies such as channel 4 or the BBC for funding, as well as asking the Regional film fund. It consists mainly of putting together a group of financers. For the typical film there would be 3 – 10 different companies involved in the same package. Co-production is when you get foreign companies to invest in your film. For UK films they usually investors are commonly from Germany. If you were to have just one investor this has a negative impact in which it means they have full control because they have invested all their money in you. For the best deal to work the companies who wish to invest must have the same vision otherwise you will have different ideas and the film production will just not work.  

Planning:

When shooting a film the producer and director will want to get the harder and trickier scenes out the way. They would have to plan schedules and a lot of prep will have to be done for it to run smoothly in shooting. The casting would be the next biggest step, because you need the right actors to do the right job and perform it well. The director’s right hand would be the semi-photographer, who is able to give their input to suggest improvements.

Budget: 

The budget is all based on investments. The budget is broken down into four sections; the cast, location, props and the extras. They count up what they are and analyse the information which would then come out to be there budget.

The above and below the line costs are very different. Above the costs is the creative talent package, script, producers, director, major actors and novel rights. Below the line is the pre-production shoot, the photography and designers.  

 Audience:

An executive producer always asks who will watch it and where it will be played to attract an audience. When a film it made a defined audience is put in mind. If it a $20million film then it must attract a $20million audience.

Marketing:

Marketing is considered a hidden cost because it isn’t thought about until after the film is made in the UK. The genre is important to the release date because it needs to fit in with the season. For example horror films would come out around Halloween time, festive films around Christmas and family films around the summer. To have a “Must See” film there has to be marketable stars. Big shot actors and directors are these types of marketable stars to pull in people. Hollywood is very different compared to the film industry. Before they can get a green light and commence filming they plan marketing from the start and have a release date ready.