X Marks the Spot

1.       The Classification Board is the Government Body which handles the classification of films and computer games alike. With deciding these classifications, they attempt to advise the current audience of the material they will be subject to. By advising the audience of these classifying elements, it allows them to comprehend why this film/computer game is classified. It helps the consumer make an informed decision of their viewing or playing.

The Board classifies internet sites referred by ACMA and video content developed by the ACMA for distribution over mobile phone networks. The Board also provides classifications to the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service in relation to the importation of publications, videos and computer games.

2.       The Board whilst determining the content’s classification must determine the balance between the right of an adult to view whatever he wants and the right of those who respectfully do not want to view the content and protecting children from the content.

The Classification Board must consider The Act and under ‘The Act’ the following matters must be taken into accounting whilst determining classification.

1. the standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults;
2. the literary, artistic or educational merit (if any) of the publication, film or computer game;
3. the general character of the publication, film or computer game, including whether it is of a medical, legal or scientific character;
4. the persons or class of persons to or amongst whom it is published or is intended or likely to be published.

For example, the Human Centipede was allowed classification due to the main character being a ‘monster’, but the sequel, Human Centipede 2 was refused classification due to the audience being positioned to express sympathy for the main character.

3.      Whilst deciding on the classification decision, the Classification Board must undergo the assessment of the impact of the content on the consumer. Consumer advice warns the audience about content that may scare, upset or have a strong impact. The Board usually provides these warnings for anything rated G or PG to advise that young children might be impacted by the content.

4.      Fallout 3 was censored initially in Australia due to having the drug Morphine, it was amended globally by having it renamed Med-X, issue was that it provided benefits to the character.

GTA IV was censored in Australia in 2008, prior to its release -

When picking up prostitutes, you are not able to select your 'service'. Like previous Australian Grand Theft Auto releases, all sexual animations have also been removed. The cars will simply lock-on to a rear view, and the car will bounce up and down.

Blood pools do not ooze out of victims bodies. In the uncut version, bloody footprints also appear when walking through blood pools and the same happens with bloody tire tracks when driving through them. This is not available in the Australian edit.

When characters are injured in the edited release, the injuries are of a lot less impact.

Since March 23, 2010, Rockstar was allowed to release a patch which changed all of the versions of GTA IV to be turned into the unaltered version.

Yes That's a Quadruple Barreled Shotgun.

Undead, directed and produced by brothers Peter and Michael Spierig, is an Australian zombie film containing elements of Action, Horror, Sci Fi and Comedy is about  ‘A quaint Australian fishing village is overcome by meteorites that turn its residents into the ravenous undead, leaving a small group of those unharmed to find a way out.’ Many problems were encountered during all production processes, including the budget and the effective use of post-production resources.

One of the struggles during the pre-production and production stage of Undead was the insufficient budget. Casting took 2 months during pre production, establishing how hard it was to fill the corret roles. On the first day of production both of the Spierig brothers claimed to have spent their entire budget on that one day. This proved a challenge, even with all the pre-production planning, but it was possible to overcome this roadblock throughout the production phase. They incorporated several cost saving techniques and ways of gathering enough resources, the budget was essentially what the family of the directors could provide so gaining more money seemed like an unimaginable scenario. They shot most scenes in only one or two takes due to the situation with the budget; they managed to gather free resources such as paint and shot the majority of the film in the single warehouse. This tested the persistence of the boys and the cast through the whole film, enduring terrible weather outside. Every interior location was a set, despite the budget of the sets being under $5,000. Most sets were acquired previously by the directors from working on advertisements, and taking the left-overs. Although this seemed like a task too difficult considering the budget difficulties were accompanied by illness from everyone else working on the film. The post production phase had just only begun.

The post production phase truly tested the will of the Spierig brothers in completing the film. Due to their spending of the budget, the boys were forced to take on the post production process themselves, working on outdated and their own personal computers which lacked the industry standard. They managed to complete the post production phase after 9 months working on their computers, battling with continuous hardware and software failures.

Due to the contrast in size of the production, our productions in Term 4 will face different problems that the Spierig brothers did not have to encounter. One of these challenges we have with our production is the use of time in the shooting of the film, we have a very small window and we must use our assets to the best of their abilities, finding the correct location, actors, will also be difficult. The lack of understanding of editing technology might also be a hindrance, as most students aren’t familiar with the software. Although eventually with another preservation some of us will be able to accomplish what we sought out to produce.

The difficulties of pre-production, production and post production are constantly faced by directors and producers alike, whether they are as higher class as a Scorsese or just a student filming a short film. It is up to individual problematic skills and budget/resource efficiency skills on being able to complete a production and I believe that is the key to accomplishing a successful production in Term 4.

Roles in the Media

Video Producer

 Video Producing involves extensive work in the production of a film, roles such as:
 Being accountable for planning, developing, prioritising, and implementing a video production schedule, and scheduling instructors, finding locations, and managing budget. It also includes determining instructor’s equipment needs, finalising slide presentations, and create supporting graphics
 They are also responsible for managing  video productions including strategy for each production, setting daily schedules, editing, managing video production crew, hiring models, finding props
and to develop and maintain workflow processes.
They also take part in Director like roles which will include upholding and grow strong instructor relationships and take a floor director role, including coaching talent.
They make recommendations on post-production editing, and meet content and time constraints as well as execute and deliver final video, including sound and graphic effects

Cinema 4D Artist/Motion Graphics Editor

Responsible for the creative process of a production, must be innovative and creative enough to amaze the audience. Involves the use and experience in programs such as Adobe After Effects, CINEMA 4D and Final Cut Pro.

They will have to work closely with the design team to create visual look for the needed type of media, whether it be film, television etc. They are expected to create motion graphics in the programs which they are expected to work with.
Create 3D and 2D rendered elements from those programs, assemble renders in Final Cut Pro,
ensures all renders are queued up for end day and to ensure that backups are done.

They will be in constant contact with the VFX Supervisor, Producer, Editor and Sound Designer to ensure their vision is created and developed by the design team.

Script Supervisor

They ensure that, despite the fact that films are shot entirely out of script sequence, they eventually make continuous verbal and visual sense.  This entails checking on and keeping detailed records of dialogue, action, costumes, props and set design, so that when different takes and scenes are finally edited together, the fictional world of the film is not disrupted by continuity errors which may distract the audience.  Script Supervisors closely observe every shot filmed, and take extremely precise and detailed notes, in order to provide an authoritative reference point should any doubt arise about how a previous take or scene was filmed. They are heavily involved in the pre-production process.

They confirm with the Director on the goal of their production, during pre production they check the script for any errors and inconsistencies, they prepare estimated running times, and break down the script according to production requirements.  They develop story synopses and character breakdowns, and check the shooting schedule to ensure that all the required scenes are shot and adequately covered from all required angles, distances etc. Their goal is to enhance the continuity of the production and to continuously send notes to the editing/directing team in order to get the best results.

Gaffer

A gaffer in the production industry is an Electrician that can be head of the electrical department, responsible for the execution of the lighting plan for a production. Experienced gaffers can coordinate the entire job of lighting, given knowledge of the time of day and conditions to be portrayed, managing resources as broad as electrical generators, lights, cable, and manpower. Gaffers are responsible for knowing the appropriate color of gel to put on the lights or windows to achieve a variety of effects, such as transforming midday into a beautiful sunset.

They usually work for the DOP of the film or the Lighting Director in reference to television.

One of the Gaffers' key responsibilities is Health and Safety.  They conduct risk assessments and certify the electrical safety of the production, on larger scale productions there might be several gaffers.

Photo Retouching

A position which involves fast paced and efficient work, generally requires a lot of experience with the retouching of photography in Photoshop, a certain position wanted that I discovered on the internet required someone to have experience of retouching in the fashion industry where retouching is rampant. They retouch lighting and certain facial features in order to glamourise the product that is desired to be retouched, this is involved in the post production process of several media careers.

Courses:

Games Design:
RMIT University, Bachelor of Design (Games)
Provides focused skills, knowledge and theory for the development of creative vision and expression in interactive design and digital graphics design for the creative industries with specific emphasis on the gaming industry.
Students learn about game design and culture, interactive storytelling, cross-media entertainment and broader skills and knowledge required in the digital art and media industries.
Prerequisites: Units 3 and 4 + a study score of at least 30 in English (ESL) or at least 25 in any other English.

Graphic Design:
RMIT University, Diploma of Graphic Design
Develops skills and knowledge of students pursuing a career in graphic design. Graduates may be employed as graphic artists, Mac operators, and finished artists and may specialise in a number of fields including corporate design book and magazine layout, advertising and exhibition design.
Major studies: Design, Design (theory), Digital art and design, Graphic arts, Illustration and Typography.
Prerequisites: None.

We're Gonna Need a Bigger Blog.

1. The movie was inspired by the true events of a shark attack in Portland, Peter Benchley used it as inspiration to write a novel, from there they used the novel to create the film where Benchley was a screenwriter.

2. The scene where Brody's son was being saved by a man who was torn from the torso was deleted because it was deemed to gruesome for the movie and the scene was replaced.

3. They commissioned filming of Great White Sharks in the seas of South Australia. The experts over there didn't have big enough sharks so they used a smaller cage and a smaller actor to emulate the effect of the shark's monstrosity. The shark whilst filming got it's head caught and struggled endlessly, no one was in the cage so the makers of the film changed the script to fit that part into the final product.

4. The shark was seen as the top star, so they didn't need to cast any big names, instead they chose the better actors, Roy Scheider was cast whilst being at a party where he met Spielberg, Dreyfuss originally wanted to watch the movie, not be cast as he thought it would be difficult to shoot, but after seeing a previous perfomance of his that he thought was unsatisfactory he decided to join the cast.

5. They took several photos of different locations to decide where they would film, they decided to film a quiet resort in Massachusetts where the area was small enough where during filming in the sea, the coast wouldn't be visible to create a sense of alienation for the audience, that there was nowhere to go.

6. Actors were allowed to improvise on the script, Roy Scheider for example, after the first reveal of the shark, makes the comment "We're gonna need a bigger boat."

7. A composer compiles the score to a film, usually using an orchestra to assist him. Film wasn't very captivating without the music. John Williams was the composer. Under water sequences were taken into account as being most prevalent when it came to the score, a sense of suspense was created. 'Pirate music was used'. Slow music, with bass characterised the shark. The 'bom bom bom', represented an unstoppable attack. Could be easily altered, 'The best idea was the simplest one'. Wanted to use the music as a signal for the shark. When they didn't use music and the shark came out of nowhere it created a sense of fear as audience are accustomed to the signal. Combination of sound and image effected the memory. To quote Spielberg, "Responsible for half the success of the movie."

8. Test screening of the scene with the Bed Gardner head didn't get a reaction with the audience, so he spent $3,000 of his money in filming it again to create a more frightful scene.

9. Wanted to use camera at water level, at a human point of view. Also used a handheld camera technique, which proved rather effective and was ended up being used for the majority of the film.

10. Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual and audible media of a film to be used to convey information through the processes of correction, organisation, and other modifications in the film, performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete output. Verna Fields was the editor of Jaws. Known as 'Mother Cutter', cooked for the crew, told stories and more importantly cut the film. Never had enough film to cut, didn't do much until the final product where she worked hand in hand with Spielberg editing the film.

11. They were essentially overseeing the entire project and wanted to convey the interpretation of Jaws to the production, it was very tense as at times they thought their careers as producers would disintegrate if the film failed which seemed to be the likely outcome for a time.

12. Had to watch the final version of the film. During post production phase they arrange for distribution. The producer would also collect any Best Picture award rather then the director.

13. A production designer, in this being Joe Alves for Jaws, would collaborate with the director throughout the film, they were responsible for the overall look of the film. From special effects to stylists, to scenes etc they wanted to establish a unified visual experience. 

The role I believe would suit me most would be the Producer role, I'd love to be the one taking the risk and overseeing an entire production and the challenge that was brought upon with the spending of the film's budget.

Film Production Roles

Producer:
A producer in the film industry overwatches the project, they attempt to preserve the vision and integrity of the production. During the pre-production stage, they usually take a financial risk by supporting the film with their own monetary funds before the film itself is fully financed. They are involved in the production from it's beginnings to it's development, completion and delivery.
Their role through production includes coordinating, supervising and controlling major aspects of the project. This includes raising funds and hiring key roles such as the casting director or film director. They will also influence the hiring of other personnel.
During post-production, they arrange for distribution. The producer would also collect any Best Picture award rather then the director.


Composer:
The composer compiles the film score of the production, they usually enter the creative process towards the ending of the filming, usually around the time the film is being edited, although on some occasions, the composer will be on hand throughout the entire shooting. They first see the unpolished version of the film and from there they discuss possible wants and ideas with the director or/and producer of the film. The film will either require specific music to coincide with specific moments, known as 'spotting' whilst also attempting to sync the audio with the film. On occasions the developers will edit the film to fit the score.
Then the composer will go through the process of writing the score and then continue on with the actual orchestration of the score. It is then performed by an orchestra and conducted by either the composer or an arranged orchestrator.
Eventually the process of recording is reached and the orchestra performs in front of a large screen depicting the movie, which will result in the final product. Composers take a heavy involvement in the production, not so much in the post and pre like other roles.
Notable composers include: Ennio Morricone, John Williams and Hans Zimmer.


Distributor:
A Distributor is responsible for coordinating the distribution of the finished movie to exhibitors, as well as the sale of video, DVD, BluRay and other media on which the movie will be made available.
For theatrical distribution, they must work with the exhibitor and secure a written contract to be paid to the distributor by the exhibitor. They must also ensure enough film prints are to struck to service all contracted exhibitors on the contract based opening day and ensure the delivery to the theatre. Also, the distributor is responsible for ensuring a full line of film advertising material is available on each film which it believes will help the exhibitor attract the largest possible audience. If the film is handling an imported or foreign film, it may also be responsible for securing dubbing or subtitling of the film and securing censorship or other legal/organisational approval or rights for the exhibition of the film in that area.
Some distributors only handle the home video distribution or some sub-set of home video distribution such as DVD/BluRay. They must arrange the creation of the artwork of the film. They must also contract wholesalers who sell/ship the DVDs to retail and online stores and arrange for them to carry the DVD. The distributor will also place ads in magazines and online and send copies of the DVD to reviewers.
These means they are involved in the post production stage, not so much pre or the production, like the composer.


Graphics/Titles Designer:
The majority of Title Designers come from a graphic design background. They are involved nearing the end of the editing/post production process.  They discuss their ideas with the editor and director of the themes and ideas of the film that will ultimately influence the creation of opening titles, graphic captions, end cards and the end roller.  They may include the use of specially designed fonts, animated segments or live-action sequences. If they work for a company they will usually draw on the expertise of their colleagues. For example if animated sequences are required they will usually work with digital compositors. They will continue to work up and refine their ideas until they are approved and the digital artwork files can be composed with the film background.


Stage Manager:
The Stage Manager is the director’s right hand man during pre production They keep track of rehearsal schedules, scripts, props, and actors during the pre production process. Once production begins, the Stage Manager is in control of everything that happens throughout the whole project. The Stage Manager conducts each performance by calling cues. This means the Stage Manager follows the production in the prompt book and tells the light board operator and the sound board operator when to execute a cue. Each cue call begins with the word "standby" to indicate that an action is imminent and, in response, the technician who will perform the action acknowledges readiness to perform the action. At the appropriate time, the stage manager will prompt immediate execution of the action by saying "go". They are barely involved in the post production area of the film.