Researching into File Organisation Tools and Techniques

It is important to organise your files when working in the media industry since you are working with lots of different files. If the files aren’t organised so you are able to find what you need easily, it can make the job difficult.

Media files such as photos, videos and audio should be stored in separate folders. These folders can even be stored inside other folders which are named after the project title. It is important to save every file under a suitable name so you know what file it is.

File sizes can also be reduced so they don’t take up too much storage.  A file that is too large will also be too big to email or upload, meaning you can’t send people your work. To do this you can download editing programs such as Movavi for videos that convert the files into smaller formats.

Files should always be backed up multiple times onto a PC, USB sticks and even online storage such as One Drive, to ensure no work is lost.

Other important information such as referencing can also be organised using specific softwares. Examples of referencing websites include www.citethisforme.com, which helps you create a citations list and http://www.endnote.com, where you can download a program that helps you store and organise research and references.

Film Reviews in Newspapers/Magazines

Examples of movie reviews-

Empire- Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

Time Out- The Revenant (2016)

Slant- Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016)

The Guardian- The Good Dinosaur (2015) 

Each of the movie reviews has the same purpose; to inform the reader about the film, describe what happens and to give an overall opinion it. Each film review I have looked at has followed a similar structure. They begin with an introduction which gives the reader a brief overview of the film plot while describing the action and also introduces the main actor and what character they play. In a few of the reviews such as Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Revenant, the writer has also used the first paragraph to talk about the director and mention any other big movies they have directed which may make the reader want to see it.

In the second paragraph, the writers have described the plot in more detail, including information such as the setting, the hook, the problem and the solution. Once they have described the characters and the film itself, the writers have analysed everything they have written about and explained both the good and bad points in an unbiased way. For example in the review of The Good Dinosaur, they spoke about how good the animation is, although it is a mostly negative review.

The final paragraph includes their final opinion about the film to show what they personally think of it. The reviews I read also gave the movie a star rating, which means the reader can look at this to give them a first opinion on if they want to see the film or not. However, if a film has a low rating, the reader may want to know why and therefore read on.

The writers have used different techniques for their reviews, one being to make sure they target the movies audience in their review. For instance, in the review of The Good Dinosaur, the writer has kept the review short but has managed to give details about the film as well as good and bad points and their opinion. This is because the secondary audience is the parents, who will be reading the review quickly just to see if they want to take their children to see it. On the other hand, the review for Star Wars: The Force Awakens is very detailed and describes the story and each of characters in lots of detail. This is because the writer knows big fans of the franchise will want to know every detail about the film as they have been waiting a long time for the next part to be released.

Preparing a Script Proposal

TASK ONE:

An elevator pitch is a brief summary that is used to present an idea in a short space of time. The idea is to get a plan across in the same amount of time an elevator would take, for example thirty seconds to two minutes, the purpose being that it should be interesting enough to keep somebody’s attention for that amount of time. It also allows you to attempt to leave a memorable impression with the listener in just 6o seconds, meaning it is important to make the time count.

When making an elevator pitch, it is important to begin by introducing yourself to show your personality. According to Hyatt (2011), an elevator pitch is made up of four components. In scriptwriting pitches, the first element is your product name, in this case the title of the project and the genre.

The second part of the pitch should mention the main character and give a brief description about them. It should also mention their ambitions.

The third component of an elevator pitch is the conflict the character faces, while the last part describes how this problem is resolved.

Palmer (2012) mentions that writers can follow this formula when writing a short pitch: “My story is a (genre) called (title) about (hero) who wants (goal) despite (obstacle).”

An elevator pitch should be memorable, interesting and although it is only short, it should have been thought out properly.

TASK TWO:

Short pitch for my script idea so far-

My story is an action/sci-fi TV programme called The Vision. It is about a man who can make his visions come true and wants to use his ability to bring good to the world. He faces a dilemma when he has an unwanted vision that he cannot stop. He must try to stop it from really happening and eventually succeeds in saving the city thanks to his hard work.

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References:

Hyatt, M. (2011). The 4 Components of a Compelling Elevator Pitch. [online] Michael Hyatt. Available at: http://michaelhyatt.com/the-4-components-of-a-compelling-elevator-pitch.html [Accessed 3 Feb. 2016].

Palmer, S. (2012). Movie Pitch Case Study: How To Develop A Movie Pitch. [online] Good in a Room – Stephanie Palmer. Available at: http://goodinaroom.com/blog/how-to-develop-a-pitch-for-your-screenplay-a-case-study/ [Accessed 3 Feb. 2016].

TV Bibles

In scriptwriting, a bible is a document used to keep note of any information about a character, setting and any other important elements in the series. They are constantly updated with any new information about the character such as a story that has happened or any new relatives that they have met. The purpose of TV bibles is to keep note of information so writers can keep track of what has happened and in turn write realistic storylines.

Examples of TV Bibles-

1. Scrubs
2. Battlestar Galactica
3. Callan

The layout of most TV bible begins with a pitch that should be no more than one page. The pitch should include a strong log line to gain the attention of the reader followed by an overview for the whole TV series. It must then include a character bio for all of the characters in the series.

Understanding the Responsibilities and Obligations

TASK ONE:

Portrayal and representation of-

Race- A race is a group of people who share the same culture, history and language. They have certain characteristics that belong to them, such as skin colour. Including something about race in a script or piece of writing may affect a writer if it is something racist or unkind. For example, a scriptwriter must be careful if they cast a black person as a villain, since readers may be insulted and think they are discriminating that race.

Gender- Gender is the characteristics that differentiate masculinity and femininity. This includes behaviour, roles and expectations/activities in society. Writers shouldn’t include anything that could insult a gender in their work and should make sure they understand the difference between sex and gender.

Sexuality- Sexuality refers to somebody’s sexual preference. A writer could cause controversy when including sexuality in their scripts if they include anything that could insult somebody’s sexuality. They could say something bad about somebody’s sexual preference or just represent a sexuality in the wrong way and ruin a reputation.

Religion- Religion is a set of beliefs and worship to a god. There are different religious groups that believe in different things and worship other gods. Scriptwriters must make sure they represent religious beliefs appropriately and shouldn’t say anything that could damage their image, or turn the public against a certain religious group.

These factors are all very important things to consider when writing. If somebody’s gender, race, sexuality or religion is portrayed wrongly to offend the person, the writer can face action. For example, a writer can be sued for defamation, which is where a good reputation is damaged.

A recent example of defamation is where famous TV chat show host, Ellen DeGeneres made fun of real estate agent, Tit Pierce. She was given a lawsuit after making a joke about her name, referring to her as “Titty Pierce” in front of the live audience. According to an article by Zoe Shenton (2016) on the Mirror, Titi claimed she had “suffered stress, emotional distress, embarrassment, humiliation, anger, and other mental pain and suffering” after the remark. Ellen was sued by Tit for defamation, invasion of privacy and inflicting emotional stress on her. This example shows that something as simple as making fun of somebody’s name can get you in legal trouble. This means script writers must be careful when writing about somebody, as if they do something to ruin a good reputation they may be sued by the person.

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Connotations- A connotation is something that is associated with something else. For example, a roses have connotations of love. In scriptwriting a writer can use signs in their work to represent something or someone.

Alternative Readings- Alternative reading is different from any common interpretation, meaning it is something that has a different perspective.

These things can be interpreted differently by different groups. For example, a teddy bear could have connotations with fun and children. A child may look at it and want to play, whereas for somebody else such as an older person, they may be reminded of their childhood in a good or bad way or to them it may even be seen as something just for kids. Culture and history can also affect the way something is interpreted. For example, to most people a firework has connotations with fun, celebration and a new beginning. Alternatively, for somebody who lived through a war this could remind them of the sounds of the war, representing the bad things that they lived through.

TASK TWO:

Objectivity- To be objective means to not be biased. A person who is objective is not influenced by another person’s opinions, meaning they will not be prejudice. This could affect a writer as they must not force their opinions on anybody. A writer should be objective and not biased, so should keep their opinions objective.

Fairness- To be fair means to not discriminate and treat something equally.  A writer should treat people fairly, especially when including different groups such as gender or race in their work. An example of unfairness is the recent incident at the Oscars, when many people found it unfair that it was mainly white people who were nominated and receiving awards. This shows unfairness in the media industry and how powerful the public are when it comes to these issues. Everyone made it clear how much they disagreed with the choices made for the awards and it was shown on the news and social media.

Accuracy- Being accurate means doing something correctly. A writer should write accurately, especially if they are basing their work on something that actually happened. They should write realistically and accurately to make sure the story is being told truthfully, nothing is exaggerated and nobody’s reputation is being hurt.

Balance- When something is balanced it is equal and in terms of writing, unbiased. A writer’s work should be balanced to ensure they have a balanced and unbiased opinion, as readers do not like to have an opinion forced on them. When different sides of an opinion are given on the news, for example, both sides must be given an equal amount of time to get their point across. This makes sure the news aren’t seen as biased and giving more time to one side to change people’s opinions.

In recent news, with the UK referendum being soon, a lot of articles have been said to be biased, with different writers, journalists and politicians said to be biased towards either remaining in the EU or exiting the EU. There has even been an example of bias seen on social media, after Facebook was criticised for having a “in favour of leaving the EU ” status update. According to McGoogan (2016) in her article for The Telegraph, Facebook removed the option that automatically came up. Facebook, however, denied the claims that were made about it being biased towards leaving the EU, claiming that “users’ results were influenced by what their friends were sharing”. Since Facebook is one of the biggest social media platforms, the status update was seen as influencing a lot of people’s opinions. People who work in the media industry, script writers in for example, need to make sure everything that is shown to the public is balanced so they cannot face any criticism.

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References:

McGoogan, C. (2016). Facebook removes pro-Brexit status update after being accused of bias. [online] The Telegraph. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2016/06/15/facebook-removes-pro-brexit-status-update-after-being-accused-of/ [Accessed 15 Jun. 2016].

Shenton, Z. (2016). Ellen DeGeneres chat show boob joke leads to defamation lawsuit. [online] mirror. Available at: http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/ellen-degeneres-chat-show-boob-8137474 [Accessed 15 Jun. 2016].

 

 

Character Development (Part 3)

A Day in the Life of a Dog-

It’s Monday morning, 7am and John has woken me up to go to this place he calls ‘work’. After a long weekend of walks in the park, I’m sad he has to leave me, but at least I get time to sleep in all day!

He gives me one of my favourite treats (I don’t know whether it’s guilt or bribery but I’m not complaining!) and walks out the door. As usual, I run to the window and stare outside, watching the car drive down our driveway and off onto the road. I wonder what it’s like at this ‘work’ place. Back onto the sofa I go to sleep until he’s back! It takes me a while to get comfortable and I dig around until I find the perfect spot. I curl up into a ball, it’s my favourite way too sleep! I only have to shut my eyes and then suddenly…

I’m running as fast as my legs will take me, I need to get the ball! Nothing can get in my way, no obstacles, no other dogs, no.. human?

I jump, my eyes open sharply. John is sitting next to me, laughing. I shuffle around to see he is holding something in his hand. My lead! “Walkies!” He calls as he hooks it onto my collar. It’s my favourite time of the day and my tail is wagging uncontrollably as I follow John out of the door. Today we’re taking a different route. Up the path we go, following it past the woods, round the school and up to the shops. “Fish and Chips”, the sign reads, and of course my tails begins to wag again. I know where we are.

John ties my lead up outside of the shop. “Wait there, I’ll be one second”, he smiles. While I wait, I see a figure in the distance. It gets closer and closer and I can see it running towards me, panting loudly. Another dog! It runs up to me, stops and begins to sniff me.

The door creaks and John comes out of the chip shop carrying a bag. I can’t stop sniffing it and my friend joins me. “Sandy! Come away” A voice calls and we turn our heads. The dog runs towards it. John unties me and we stroll back home.

The walk isn’t far, only ten minutes or so. Once we’re home it’s time to eat dinner. John puts a handful of chips in my dog bowl and I’m so excited, these are my favourites! I scoff them down in a matter of seconds.

Once dinner is done I curl back up on the sofa and John sits down next to me to watch TV. He always tells me “it’s a hard life being a dog” and I agree. I’ve had a very busy day!

Historical Characters-

4th August 2012, an important day for British runner, Mo Farah. 80,000 fans watch on inside the Olympic Stadium as he aims to win Gold for Great Britain in the 10,000m race. The athletes head to their places. Mo takes one deep breath. As soon as he hears the sound of the starting gun, he begins to run at a controlled pace.

In a matter of minutes he completes the first lap with to go 24 more to go. He can feel the energy from the crowd and it keeps him going. He paces himself for the first half of the race, unfazed by how many athletes were in front of him. But 18 minutes in, he picked up his pace and got himself to 5th place.

It took him a whole 27 minutes to make his way around the track using every bit of energy he had. He ran past his competitors, lap after lap, until he reached the 21st lap. Mo was now near the front with no intention of giving up. After years of training, he knows wining Olympic gold in his home country would be worthwhile. He paces himself through the final lap, adrenaline rushing through him until he finally crosses the finishing line. He falls to the ground and kisses it, while trying to catch his breath. He has just won gold for the 10,000m at the London Olympic Games. The fans roar and he cries in awe.

Ethical Guidelines

Ethical guidelines mean producers must be careful about what they include in a TV show/film. Therefore, they represent subjects in ways that won’t offend members of the public. For example, in the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines (BBC News, 2016), they state that topics such as religion are a significant part of people’s lives and they therefore take care to ensure nobody’s religious beliefs are degraded. Religious beliefs should be described accurately and shouldn’t be judged and producers are not allowed to use messages to persuade anybody to join a religion. Another subject that scriptwriters have to be cautious about is abortion. Topics like this are quite sensitive to some viewers so the writers and producers must make sure they present them in non biased ways.

Privacy is important to the BBC and they state that they don’t infringe it unless there is a worthy reason. When reporting stories that involve distress or suffering, they must be accurate and respect the person’s dignity. Consent is needed before recording on private property, although in public places permission isn’t needed prior to recording. Consent is also needed from a parent or legal guardian when featuring children under 16 as they are seen as vulnerable. When recording secretly for news or entertainment, permission is needed from the person or their identity must be covered by blurring their face.

Producers shouldn’t be biased about any topics, since audiences don’t like having opinions forced upon them. It could also offend somebody is a biased comment was made about something like race or religion.

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References:

Bbc.co.uk. (2016). BBC – Guidelines – Editorial Guidelines. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/editorialguidelines/guidelines [Accessed 15 Jun. 2016].

Log Lines

A log line is a short summary of a film that gives the reader an insight into the plot. It is usually only one to two sentences long and should include a brief explanation of the film and shouldn’t give away the whole story. A log line is important when writing a script, as it means the reader can get a glimpse of the idea without having to read a whole script.

Important factors of a log line are descriptions about the main character/protagonist, their goal and the antagonist as well as the genre, setting and the hook. These must be described in just a sentence or two.

A long line must be intriguing but not too drawn out since it is the first look at your script. If the log line isn’t exciting enough, it will not make the reader consider looking at the entire script.

Examples of log lines-

Good- Two young lovers living in a ghetto defy their feuding families’ ban on marrying and plan an escape that propels them toward tragedy.

Bad- Two lovers plan to flee from their feuding families who forbid them to marry.

(scriptologist.com)

The first example shows an interesting log line that describes everything you need to know in a brief sentence. Although it is quite short, it is detailed as it describes the two lovers, stating that they are “young” which gives them a bit more personality. It also tells us where they flee, whereas the bad example doesn’t tell us any background information. Another way in which the first example is good is because it describes the hook and how they are ‘propelled towards tragedy’, unlike the bad example which doesn’t give away anything interesting that happens after they flee.

Bad- Independence Day: Aliens try to invade earth on Independence Day. (inktip.com)

I don’t think that this log line is interesting at all, as it doesn’t give any kind of description about the character, the setting, the hook and the resolution. It only tells us that aliens invade the ‘earth’ and doesn’t tell us where the film is set and it doesn’t tell us how anybody tries to stop the aliens.

Good- The Hangover: A Las Vegas-set comedy centred around three groomsmen who lose their about-to-be-wed buddy during their drunken misadventures, then must retrace their steps in order to find him. (elementsofcinema.com)

This log line is a lot more descriptive, while not being too drawn out. It informs the reader of who the film is about, three groomsmen, where it is set, LA and also tells us that the main plot point is about them losing their friend. It also tells us that they “must retrace their steps” in order to solve the problem.

Log line for my character development story–

A school teacher meets her new class for the first time, when she comes face to face with the class bully George, who she must help in order to bring her class together.

 

Character Development (Part 2)

Short story where my two characters meet-

It is September, a new start to the school year and Kate, an intelligent primary school teacher is yet to introduce herself to her new class. With a deep breath, she walks up to the classroom door. After 5 years of teaching, she still gets nervous every time she meets a new class. She strokes her gold bracelet, her symbol of luck that was given to her by her late grandmother. She swings open the door where 20 small children are waiting for her, some with huge smiles on their faces, others uninterested.

The classroom is bright and colourful with pictures and drawing allover the walls. After all, Kate would be teaching Year 1 children as apposed to Year 6. “This is Miss Penney!” exclaimed Mrs Collins, the classroom assistant. Kate smiled. “Hello class 6!”.

There are toys scattered allover the floor, although nearly every one of the twenty 6 year olds are engaged in what she is saying, all except one. George is the youngest and smallest in the class but despite this all of the children are scared of him. After a year of being bullied in his nursery school, he began to take his anger out on the other children.

The whole time Kate is speaking, George plays with all of the toys, not giving her any of his attention and throwing them around loudly. Kate’s talking comes to a sudden stop. She sighs. She walks over to George slowly and crouches down to his level. “Hello” she says. He lifts his head up and glares at her. “What’s your name?” she asks. His stare hasn’t moved at all. Kate pauses. “Why don’t you play with this at play time?” She asked, pointing to the toy car he has in his hands. With a loud scream, George throws the toy car angrily and it smashes against the wall. Katie gasps in shock and the rest of the children flightendly huddle towards her.

Scene in script form-