What makes a good and/or bad producer.

It’s always strange to see the same and usual names on the front of the DVD, in trailers or even when simply recommending a friend to go see a certain movie because it was directed by or this actor is in it… I mean most do tend to do so, even me. However, we occasionally come across “from the producers of” and I notice many tend to stop and think about it for a second: who is that producer? What do they do?

I myself have reflected upon such notion once or twice, even though I knew of their existence but was unsure of how important they actually are during the production of a feature. As usual, I collected some information from various internet sources  and will now try to summarize who and what a [good] producer does and most importantly when!

To not confuse anyone (and me ahah), I’ll highlight the main points and write everything as a unique article; the sources from which I gathered my information will all be listed below under Links. 

Producers are the main focus of the production, it all starts from their approach to beginning a project! The road towards becoming a film producer is not that easy and it requires a certain knowledge in a wide range of “subjects”; I mainly associated words like budget, marketing, profit and so on to producers, which per se is actually right. They need to know how to market a film and keep within the given budget, they need to keep the team on track and manage time, turning “story ideas into profitable cinematic entertainment”. The producer is a team leader, a motivated individual who has knowledge regarding business and also creative aspects. He or she is the start!

It’s a long and hard road to walk down but, as for every job, it is always rewarding when you manage to carry out a great project. Who remembers the famous 6 thinking hats? Not all of you? That’s fine, it’s just to given an example of how producers work during the production of a film.

 

Preproduction.

 Even before pulling out cameras and calling the actors, you need an idea/script [obviously] and usually this is provided by the producer! They either  use a book or simply an idea they have in mind to present to a screenwriter or a director/studio; once the final script is completed and ready to be produced, it's then time to find the funding for your film and secure it (I would probably not enjoy this part ahahah). Then he/she brings together a great team! Yeah, they pick ‘the big names’ and along them mainly the whole production crew [again, not saying they are least important than “the big names”].

Then the producers need to find the right locations, secure the budget, schedule the production plan, take care of the legal responsibilities, then the shopping list… just joking on the last one ahah but seriously I think it’s the only thing left that they do not do (but you never know).

It’s pretty much the whole set up!

Production.  

The producer will always be lurking behind you! He/she needs to make sure everything goes as plan and help wherever needed, suggestions for the director, handling any problems (remember, you need to know how to work under pressure). He/she sounds like the big boss, “primary point of contact”!

Postproduction.

It’s like a never ending job for the producer once they start a project, they have the last say on the film and if necessary they can polish it. Even when the feature is finished and ready to hit the big screens, there is still so much work to do! Can’t have a finished film and not be able to show your audience, so the producer takes care of the marketing and distribution; he/she is like the living advertisement of a movie. “The producer gives an input […] making sure audiences know about the film and want to go see it”.

 

I know this is very schematic, but it’s essentially what a produce does (everything) and obviously depends what film you are producing that the work changes but let’s think about ; do producers really take care of (practically) everything? In many chases yes but have you ever noticed that there can be more than one producer? Such as executive, associate, co-producers and so on. In fact that will be the next post!

So hope this is useful and interesting and will see you next time with what makes a good and/or bad producer – part 2!

AG

Links

http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/movie-producer2.htm

http://www.creativeskillset.org/film/jobs/production/article_3876_1.asp

http://www.creativeskillset.org/uploads/pdf/asset_16992.pdf?1

http://www.tomcruise.com/blog/2010/11/05/how-to-become-movie-producer-guide/

Videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Knk3g-mOXAo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvljM7_c37w

The shorter the better.

When we think of films and the beginning of it all when referring to the work of the Lumière Brothers and Méliès, yes for different aspects regarding film making but essentially they introduced innovative elements. In relation to the “origin” of short films… well, briefly all films in the beginning were practically short and “imitated other entertainment media already in existence […]. So short was the norm”, (Dixon).

Probably it was also given by the fact that technology and equipment weren’t that advanced back then, however it began like that. Then the old tends to fade into darkness while the new shines in the spotlight; more feature length films were demanded.

Most shorts weren’t highly perceived and they began to fade with the coming of longer films, but this may be in the past as nowadays, also due to internet, making shorts is very popular and rewarding. Look at all the film festival which allow young people to stand out by producing shorts and even big film industry like Disney constantly make short films (watch the Paperman, adorable!).

Even ‘big names’ created shorter movies, some of which were then made into features, such as Tim Burton’s Vincent or Guillermo del Toro’s Geometria (another good director.. although weird, after watching Pan’s Labyrinth… ahahah).

But moreover… why even make a short? Tips from the BBC may enlighten us on this.

Firstly, the reason why you want to make any film is up to, there may be various and diverse reasons; me? It could be that mine is more sentimental. Love the work atmosphere, commitment and passion is what I use and I admit I’m kind off tired of books… I want to get my hands dirty! I don’t necessarily have to make my own film but only being part of the production of any sort of filmmaking activity makes me feel I’ve chosen the right path. Accounts or dissection? Mmmh, no.

Reading through the “BCC tips”, I realized that there approach is more technical, but appropriate (well, obviously). So we’re going to scan through what makes a good short, however by picking out the most relevant aspects, because in the end whether you make a short or feature, there are many elements that they both share and need. The introduction highlights my point of comparing short films with features but also states that most shorts are per se subjective (while feature length films are mainly to entertain the audience, does apply to most). Moving on, your first step is to come up with an original idea. Which we know, and the BBC suggests to watch other shorts in order to bare in mind what has been done already but you may want to recreate the same subject by using your own style. It’s got to be you. As we all know, a film without a good script won’t be as successful; this applies to any film you want to produce. With short films it may be a bit harder as you do not have as much ’story development’ as in a feature.

Even though you are producing a short, you should approach it as if it were a feature meaning that even if it is not a  Hollywood big budget [example] the quality of your film will need to stand out as much as your story.

The shorter the better! It is hard to keep a film short, maybe not for everyone (and if you have that gift I would be glad to work with you! No jokes!) but one thing I learned about writing a script (or even your film sometimes) is: CUT, CUT, CUT, CUT, CUT, REWRITE, REWRITE, REWRITE. Sometimes its painful ahah.

Best way to catch the audience’s attention is to have a strong beginning: “spark their interest in the story as quickly as you can”!

I should actually follow this myself but luckily I’ve taken part in some short productions and even though it was for a day or two, loved every bit of it! Working with a great team, getting an insight to what this may lead to and building up experience whatever it takes.

The thing is to start! Do anything but just do it, even find friends or class mates willing to take part and help.

Hopefully, this may be useful information for you all and watch as many short films as you can; now it’s so easy, you just need to click on Youtube or even MTV (music videos are great examples inspirations too!).

Good Luck!

AG

Links:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/film-life/7593291/The-long-history-of-short-films.html

http://theweek.com/article/index/238980/12-early-short-films-by-famous-hollywood-directors#bottom

http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/filmmaking/guide/introduction/why-make-a-short

http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/filmmaking/guide/introduction/what-makes-a-good-short

Video Links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QAI4B_2Mfc    - Paperman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KomTrxiY86g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pJCzHk0Jes      - Numb

What makes a good and/or bad Actor.

Welcome back! This is the second post for this new series, the first took in consideration the role of a Director and attempt to cover certain vital aspects which form this particular character.

This month’s post will highlight what make a good and/or bad actor! I will draw upon two particular articles which I found interesting and provide an overall insight to the world of what may make a great actor!

“What we don’t wanna do, is to be caught acting.”

                                                                 -  Morgan Freeman

If you want the audience to engage with your character you need to make it come to life, live it as if you were that person! Its no always easy to impersonate someone, whether it is a historical figure or ‘made-up’ character. It’s not an easy road either, it take a lot of practice and dedication, passion to want to initiate this career a long side more specific requirements.

I’ve always wanted to be an actress.. since I was a kid playing dress up with friends or Jurassic park at the playground ahah. However, to be someone you are not isn’t a piece of cake! And it doesn’t matter whether your character is a ‘good or bad guy’, if you manage to deliver that figure as someone real, as if you were that person then the play, TV series or film may be a success.

The first article will draw upon Dee Cannon’s 10 questions which provide the basis of an actor’s ‘acting technique’. First of all he states that an actor needs to become a three-dimensional character with a rich background and play that role as truthful as possible, we will begin from who am I? Cannon refers to our everyday life experiences which through time we live and treasure as part of who we are, what shapes the person we are in the present “allowing us just to be, to exist”. The character you have to play must be as real as possible therefore you must make it own as if you were to be that figure, knowing him/her as you know yourself, so when reading the script you can point out every little aspects that may give an insight to who you (your character) is and does. Subsequently, you need to do your research! How many times do we hear this? Well believe it or not research is so essential in many things we undertake everyday and as for acting, researching different elements that effect in any way your character are vital to making him/her come to life. One alternative ingredient is imagination! Such a powerful tool.

We then move onto where am I? which Cannon discusses that even surroundings or the geography influence the character’s being. When is it? Brings up the actor’s interest to know when his/her character is in action, from the stone age to nowadays. In terms of where have I just come from? we must always bare in mind what our character has being doing before entering the scene and not just simply step out and being to play the part. What do I want then refers to the character’s motivation, what he/she needs, “you should always have and objective”. Consequently to this question, following are why do I want it?, why do I want it now?, what will happen if I don’t get it now.

“ You must have a life on stage, you must have a purpose for walking and talking, otherwise you are in danger of ‘just acting’, which is fake”.

                                                    -  Dee Cannon

Freeman and Cannon seem to have the same opinion! When acting you really need to be that person, forget who you are and enter another body. The final two questions are divided into how will I get what I want by doing what?, which is the point where Cannon suggests actioning your text, meaning that your script will be broke down into different parts according to a specific action; while also scoring your text in order to produce that given action as well as possible. The final question to consider what must I overcome? examines those inner and outer obstacles which affect the character in any way by making that role even more interesting, begin in constant collision with inner “demons”.

To conclude with Dee Cannon's ideas, he state correctly state that hard work, technique and good direction make a good actor but the audience mustn't see any of this, all we need to see is the great performance the actor has delivered, making his/her character real.

However, Jason Bennett also stresses that it is “wrong” to learn acting on the job and that acting classes would be the best path to take! Yes, you may possess enough talent but two- three lessons won't hurt ahah. I personally liked when he referred to, as well as having a vivid imagination, actors undertaking also voice and body training. Full gym of how to act!

“ Great actors of the last generation knew better. They knew that the advanced lessons can only be explored in great acting classes, not on the job”.

                                                                 - Jason Bennett

AG

See you next time with what makes a good and/or bad Producer!

Links

http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2009/may/09/character-building-great-actor

http://www.jbactors.com/actingreading/greatactingingredients.html

http://youtu.be/u8PxG5zvgOM

http://youtu.be/sANOOw_MeK0

Sticks and Stones may break my bones.

I went to see Fast and Furious 6 a few weeks ago and enjoyed seeing the characters back together. In terms of story well, I mean you mainly want to see the action, fast cars, explosions and so on.. so its a pretty basic storyline. As said we want to see the action.. well most of the female audience also something else (can’t deny it ahah); however, the action is usually good when credible.. I know its fiction but its not like we don’t have the technology now to make things seem a bit more real; unfortunately some are just way over the top.

Don’t get me wrong, I like the Fast and Furious films but in the last movie there was one particular seen where you’d laugh or say “what the hell” [*SPOILERS throughout the piece*]. The chase is getting even more tense, as Don tries to follow the tank on the bridge in order to save Letty.. and there Don flies out of his car right over the over side and catches her in mid air landing on a car on the opposite side of the bridge. Ok yeah, it doesn’t sound really good, that’s why you should watch it.

It did seem pretty unrealistic.. I mean nearly impossible! It is funny when you re-watch the scene. Probably an impossible stunt. I actually can’t imagine how they manage to do most of the film stunts in general and most really just show that you can fall down some stairs but still get back up, with maybe a few bruises. Just like the fighting scene in the underground metro between Letty and the female police officer.. wow they really fly down those stairs. I can’t even last much when playing with my little sister at the park LOL [clip 9]. However it is still satisfying watching the actual making of most stunts (see video).  The whole scene on the bridge with the tank is pretty amazing, the coordination, the precision you need to achieve the director’s vision.. I guess it is different acting while being in bed, sitting down or standing to begin on a moving car followed by a tank ahah.

But hey if you want a great movie effect you got to get your hands dirty... or cut, fractured and swollen. There is a good documentary on ‘film stunts’ written by William Kronick which gives an insight to the way stunts are per-se performed and guided. Its interesting to see how in various genres stunts differ in danger or effect, for example there is an introduction to comedies, westerns or how the ‘car chase scene’ has become a very recurrent stunt to pull off in certain movies.  It was actually used more due to the fact that you could come up with lots of different ways to articulate a ‘mind blowing stunt scene’ with cars. It must really be tough to be a stunt double, especially for comedies! The comedies where the character repeatedly falls or trips and even though you think “that must hurt”, at the same time you can’t help laughing; but then thinking that they are actually doing so for us (the audience), for our entertainment.. other than the fact that they do it for a living. Most of the stunt men/women interviewees admit that putting their life in danger or even just the feeling is what makes it fun, they’ve experience but know there will always be that one time when you do get hurt, some pretty bad but managing to get back on their feet and start again.

“I felt that if I wanted to make any big money that I was going to have to do something that would put my life on the line”.  -  Hal Needham

AG

Links

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgoJafeKo3w  Documentary

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DHO7rOltsI  Transporter 3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JZKEN_vpzY  Fast and Furious 6

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afEB9k2QXlU  The making F&F 6

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zrr3T4WTeQ Movie clips F&F 6 – clip 9

What makes a Good and/or Bad Director.

Ok, welcome everyone! This is going to be the first post of what I will call what makes a good and/or bad and associate it to a particular role within filmmaking. I’m pretty excited to do so and hopefully I’ll will fulfil this task; I’ll do my best in covering main aspects, drawing upon examples and obviously butting in with my opinions ahah. Just to point out, there are no right or wrong versions of what will make a good or bad role, it’s what each of us perceive and as we know we all account for things differently.

I’ll research certain aspects via internet and also would like to introduce some personal opinions, like interviews of people (maybe randomly pick someone on facebook ahah). Hope you’ll enjoy it and I’ll do my best.

Today’s post will be what makes a good and/or bad Director, but if it’s not or doesn’t seem to be covered in depth, no worries I can also expand with an alternative post!  

From a brief discussion by Ed Zwick and Morgan Freeman, the characteristics to associate to being a good director are: determination, knowing what you want, good casting agent and knows his/her role and sticks to it.

“I would have been very over determined”.

                                                                                                                      – Ed Zwick

There are so many things a Director needs to consider, it’s not just a name on the front/back of a DVD cover or magazine... it’s a big responsibility, where do we even start from? Obviously, this does not mean that any other role is less important or less efficient.

 I’m going to try and draw an outline of the main characteristics by reviewing my role as a Director for the documentary I previously [like ages ago] mentioned in a post; being as honest as possible, I will provide an insight to responsibilities and behaviours that a Director should assume.

First of all, whether producing a fiction, a documentary etc you need and idea [you don’t say – I know this is what most of you would think ahah]. The idea can be a story, an episode or event you would like to inform or simply amuse your audience with, for films in general (as many say) you hunger for a good script/story. Just by absorbing the films from one of my first year modules of Hollywood Classics, I realised how black and white or no special effects can deliver a fantastic movie simply by drawing you into the story – personally I really enjoyed Michael Curtiz’s Mildred Pierce (1945). 

Additionally, vision and originality are crucial aspects. The film is how you produce that good story in visual terms, how to convey to your audience certain massages, feelings, ideas. It will take a lot of practice, however some manage to distinguish themselves due to their way of showing – we know a Tarantino’s film from the violence and good dialogue or Michael Bay from explosions ahah. A director should have a clear vision in mind of how he/she wants to portray something but it does not limit itself there, a director should also be able to communicate his/her vision to the rest of the crew; if the actors do not understand what the director is looking for then it would be hard to fulfil the visual story.

Briefly, a director should have a “minimum” knowledge of the equipment he/she would like to use, where it is best to position lights in order to create a certain effect, how many shoots to take from different angels etc. But I’ve learnt that you always come across new things when actually on the field, during the filming of my documentary I learnt how to use the video camera [this sounds like I’ve never used one ahah] in many of its aspects; no more auto. The main thing is that technology is always evolving so we need to keep up to date with the development but determination, passion and enthusiasm are key ingredients.   

There is one very important point I would personally stress to work on: team work and preventing any hostility. In any work environment there will be people disagreeing with each other, discussions, horrible bosses (the film was hilarious ahah) or colleagues. If you encounter any of these its obviously not going to be a very nice atmosphere to work in and sometimes you can’t prevent it but you can try and also if it does happen, try to overcome such situations.  It’s something we always hear, even in school but at the end of the day it is so vital! I admit I didn’t apply this during my project, not that there were any discussions but still I took a different approach. In connection to this I should have firmly done what every Director should do: remind everyone of their role! Not by being bossy or a pain in the ... but by being direct and firm about it [big mistake I didn’t do]. You would think that everyone knows they have responsibilities and duties and that you wouldn’t need to tell them but if you have to, then yes remind them [not to the point where you turn red and steam starts coming out of your ears].

This is a general idea of how and what Directors should do, but obviously with time everyone will learn from different experiences and I do hope that any of you aspiring Directors may become successful because I do believe that every voice should be heard; yes there are those who distinguish themselves   but every effort made should be appreciated.

“I believe that a good director has to be sensitive […] to the strengths and weaknesses of the actors he or she is directing and be able to elicit a performance that will be in keeping with the character they are portraying. […] The Director should be able to direct his technical crew knowing if they are able to achieve his direction and vision and not push them to a state of uncooperation and resentment because of high handedness and arrogance and insensitivity to their feelings.'' 
                                                                                            - Chima Luke Okafor

See you next month with What Makes A Good and/or Bad Actor!

AG

Link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sANOOw_MeK0

GREEN SCREENING: A STUDENT GUIDE

Green is the colour of aliens and illness, of accidental highlights and illicit vegetables. It creeps and sprouts, and bursts feverishly across the café table when nose etiquette is forgotten. It’s a colour you skirt gardens to avoid. Yet now that you’re required to complete a green-screen project, you’ve hardly seen anything else. As you resolve to think orange thoughts, a figure lumbers into your frame, plummeting forward and recoiling back as though fighting truculent legs. He clumsily flaunts a wholly green outfit. If you believed in signs, this would probably be one.

You reluctantly begin to plot: you know that you need a screen, preferably green. You know that screen needs to be lit evenly, that the object or person in front of that screen needs to be far enough forward that they can also be lit, separately. Most crucially, you need something to eliminate the green; you need to film surroundings away from your cocoon, your troubled friends and confused, unruly hair. Yet your imaginative capacity only extends as far as the pastry between your teeth, with which you’re currently having a rather intimate, and apologetic, love affair.  Minutes later, you’re piling swirling pastries on spongy hummocks and buttercream slopes, dribbling butterscotch on foaming cloud cover and a crumbling flapjack terrain. Masculine shrieks indicate the sighting of mice nearby. You begin to regret brainstorming on an empty stomach.  

In a daunting green screen studio, you attempt to replicate the lighting that you noted at the scene of your sugar land, positioning the camera as you positioned it there. You pretend to stumble across an edible landscape, in reality, absurdly, wobbling between green walls. To finish, After Effects is your tool of torture. You must combine your performance with the cake landscape, whilst adopting technical jargon such as ‘keying’, ‘screen gain’ and ‘GoodgodwhatthehellamIdoingwithmylife’. Filled with thoughts of failure, you crawl home to devour your mini roll mountain and think on it another day. Or never again.

SCRIPTWRITING: A STUDENT GUIDE

Now you’re stumped. You’ve skimmed through the books and articles and words of wisdom from wiser people, but all the theories are stretching you askew, pulling you away from the budding idea and towards the daunting prospect of narrative structure, character arcs and dramatic tension. In a fit of determined procrastination, you begin scraping the mold off the walls of your festering student kitchen, and lobotomizing the clock that taunts you with its self-assured ticking. The foreboding, guttural, and now rather ghostly, rhythm continues nonetheless. You proceed to scratch at the mold with the clock edge. Clearly your own narrative verges on ridiculous.

Settling at a desk, you ready yourself with a duvet cape and a teetering stack of snacks. You lament - in a Russian accent, to no one in particular - that this scriptwriting palaver is static and restrictive, and imagining the larger structure only makes your ideas feel smaller. As you are lingering uncertainty in the transitional state between child and adult, it seems irresponsible to expect yourself to be certain about structure, or anything, or to be able to apply order to the raging chaos of your thoughts.

So you don’t.

Lizards knit sofa cushions and nibble brunch on stone balconies, watching, as Swallows catapult golf balls across waterfalls and boastful clocks are dragged into obscure depths, whilst a couple in a Kayak battle over the ore and the navigation, and the last Oreo. Nonsensical scenarios accumulate and overlap, until a plausible tale emerges. Just by writing, you learn how to write. You forget the restraints and remember how to imagine. Structure becomes instinctual.
Perhaps you’re lazy and naïve. Perhaps you can’t think of any sound advice to post on your blog about the key to good scriptwriting. But you’re a student; you’re not supposed to know anything yet. At least until you’re a fully-fledged adult, you doubt you ever will.

Words of Wisdom from Wiser People:

‘You may go the long way round to get something good, but as long as you get something good it doesn’t matter - don’t be too harsh on yourself if it doesn’t come naturally and quickly’ - Jamie Thraves

‘If dialogue doesn’t have natural human patterns, then the freeness and openness of the acting immediately changes’ - Jamie Thraves

‘Forget the three act structure - All the manuals insist on a three act- structure. I think this is a useless model. It’s static’ - Frank Cottrell Boyce http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2008/jun/30/news.culture1

A book I would recommend for scriptwriters-
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Film-making-Alexander-Mackendrick/dp/0571211259

Tips from a scriptwriting workshop:

·      To build a basic plot, remember GOATS (Goal, Obstacle, Action, Tactics, Stakes)
·      Part of what we respond to in a film is its intelligence about human nature and behavior - if there is an artificial obstacle such as a bomb, the interest lies in how humans react.
·      From the start of a screenplay, rules should be set (about the genre of the film, it’s tone etc.) through the establishing description and dialogue, so that the viewer has expectations and these expectations can be broken.
·      Thinking firstly without dialogue is a good way to get a sense of the character before dialogue gets in the way.