Ideas for video projects

Documentary about college

montage of pictures about college

Film director

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Editing script
• Developing storyboards 
• Location & design decisions
• Gathering the cast
• Directing the main
• Working in post-production
• Make sure film is in budget
• Motivating team 

Pre-production - Producer, director 

Production - Producer, director, runner, talent 

Post-production - Producer, director, editor

The runner:

• A runner is an entry level position, a runners job varies from fetching and carrying items to making and handing out tea. 
• They act as general assistants, working under the direction of the producer and other production staff, to undertake whatever basic tasks are required are to ensure the smooth running of the production process
• There re no specific educational requirements for becoming a runner however a post graduate degree in television, multimedia and such would be relevant.
• Average starting salaries can range from approximately from £6.50 to £8.80, and work on a freelance basis 

Researcher:

• As a media researcher you would support the product by finding information on people and places
• There are no set of qualifications needed, although new media researchers have a degree level qualification
• Hours and starting salary vary. freelance researchers are usually paid a fee for each contract, there are usually gaps
• They are preferred to have practical experience

Editor:

• As a film or video editor, you'll be responsible for assembling recorded raw material into a finished product thats sustainable for broadcast
• standard office hours, but it will vary depending on production

Production manager:

• A production manager is involved with planning,coordination and control of manufacturing processes 
• A degree in business/management are preferred

Location manager:

• Location managers are responsible for making all the practical arrangements for film, television or photographic shoots taking place outside the studio
• most location managers work as a freelancers and are paid on a contract basis 
• Hours are variable as 

Sound recordist:

• Sound recordists record sound on location or in a studio usually synchronization with cameras, to enable highest quality, they monitor the quality throughout the production and work closely with the director
• You won't need qualifications to be a sound recordist. However, it is vital to show a strong interest in sound
• Salary can vary from £16,00 to £18,000

Sound assistant:

• Sound assistants do a lot of things from preparing or recording sessions such as setting up microphones to duplicate sound recordings 
• Degrees in communications technology/technician are helpful 
• Median annual wage is around £56,000. median hourly is around £27

Producer:

• Producers play an important role in the industry. A producer will oversee the project and may be involved in marketing and distribution processes
• The area of work is open to all graduates, the following subject at degree may increase your chances form broadcasting to communication and media studies. Skills such as confidence, creativity and leadership are welcome 
• Salaries can reach £40,000 to £55,000, £60,000 to £80,000
• work involves regular unsocial hours at weekends and in the evenings. Long hours spent in meetings

Production designer:

• Production designers are responsible for the visual concepts of the film. They realize a design for a set and work closely with the director and producer
• Production designer is not typically an entry level position
• Hours are very irregular and unsocial
• Art and design degrees relevant, skills such as, working independently and persistence welcomed 

Top ten grossing documentaries

1 Fahrenheit 9/11 

is a 2004 documentary by American filmmaker, director and a political commentator called Michael Moore. The film takes a critical look at the presidency of George Bush, the 'War on terror', and its coverage in the news media. The film is the highest grossing documentary of all time. 
Budget: $6 million
Box Office: $222.4 million
2 March of the Penguins
is a 2005 French nature documentary directed and co-written by Luc Jacquet, and co-produced by Bonne Pioche.The documentary depicts the yearly journey of the emperor penguins of Antartica. In autumn, all the penguins of breeding age  leave the ocean, their normal habitat, to walk inland to their ancestral breeding grounds.
Budget: $8 million
Box office: $127.4 million
3 Michael Jackson this is it
is a 2009 American Documentary directed by Kenny Ortega that documents Michael Jacksons rehearsals and preparation for his Concert at the time that was originally scheduled to start on July 13, 2009, but cancelled due to his unfortunate death eighteen days prior on June 25. The film consists of Jackson rehearsing musical numbers, directing his team, and additional behind-the-scenes footage including dancer auditions and costume design. The film's director confirmed that none of this footage was originally intended for release, but after Jackson's death it was agreed that the film be made. The footage was filmed in LA at the Staples centre and features a clip from the O2 arena in London where Jackson publicly announced the concert series.
Budget: $60 million
Box office: $261.2 million 
4 Sicko 
is a 2007 documentary film by American filmmaker Michael Moore. The film investigates healthcare in the US, focusing on its health insurance and the pharmaceutical industry. The movie compares the for-profit, non-universal U.S. system with the non-profit health care around the world systems of Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Cuba. This is the second time Michael Moore has been on this list
Budget: $9 million
Box Office: $36,088,109
5 An Inconvenient Truth 

is a 2006 documentary directed by Davis Guggenheim about former United States Vice President Al Gore's campaign to educate citizens about global warming via a comprehensive slide show that, by his own estimate made in the film, he has given more than a thousand times.

Premiering at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and opening in New York City and Los Angeles on May 24, 2006, the documentary was a critical and box-office success, winning two Academy Awards for Best Documentary Feature and Best Original Song.The film grossed $24 million in the U.S. and $26 million in the foreign box office, becoming the tenth highest grossing documentary film to date in the United States.
Budget: $1 million
Box Office: $49.7 million
6 Bowling for Columbine 

is a 2002 American documentary film written, produced, directed, and narrated by Michael Moore. The film explores what Moore suggests are the main causes for the Columbine High School massacre on April 20, 1999, and other acts of violence with guns. Moore focuses on the background and environment in which the massacre took place and some common public opinions and assumptions about related issues. The film also looks into the nature of violence in the United States.

A critical and commercial success, the film brought Moore international attention as a rising filmmaker and won numerous awards, including the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, the Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary Feature, at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival,and the César Award for Best Foreign Film. The film is considered one of the greatest documentary films of all-time.
Budget: $4 million
Box office: $58 million
7 Madonna: Truth or Dare 
is a 1991 American documentary the life of American singer-songwriter Madonna during her 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour. The film was generally well received by critics and was successful at the box office, at that point becoming the highest-grossing documentary of all time with a worldwide gross of $29,012,935. It was screened out of competition at the 1991.
Budget: $4.5 million
Box office: $29,012,935
8 Religious 
Commentator-comic Bill Maher plays devil's advocate with religion as he talks to believers about their faith. Traveling around the world, Maher examines the tenets of Christianity, Judaism and Islam and raises questions about homosexuality, proof of Christ's existence, Jewish Sabbath laws, violent Muslim extremists.
Budget: $2.5 million
Box office: $13.4 million
9 Winged Migration
Winged migration is about the journey of birds throughout their migration. It is directed by Jacques Perrin,Jacques Claud, Michel Debats
Budget: $23.6 million
Box office: $52.8 million
10 Super Size Me 
is a 2004 American documentary directed by and starring Morgan Spurlock, an American independent filmmaker. Spurlock's film follows a 30-day period from February 1 to March 2, 2003, during which he ate only McDonald's food. The film documents this lifestyle's drastic effect on Spurlock's physical and psychological well-being, and explores the fast food industry's corporate influence, including how it encourages poor nutrition for its own profit.

Spurlock ate at McDonald's restaurants three times per day, eating every item on the chain's menu at least once. Spurlock consumed an average of 5,000 kcal  per day during the experiment. An intake of around 2,500 kcal within a healthy balanced diet is more generally recommended for a man to maintain his weight.

The reason for Spurlock's investigation was the increasing spread of obesity throughout U.S. society, which the Surgeon General declared "epidemic", and the lawsuit brought against McDonald's on behalf of two overweight girls, who, it was alleged, became obese as a result of eating McDonald's food.

The documentary was nominated for an Academy Award for Documentary Feature.

Budget: $65,000

Box office: $22,233,808

Pre-Production video ideas

• Advert for this course
• 30 second-1 minute trailer/film
• Music video
• Documentary
• Promo
• Montage 
• Short drama 

Whiteboard animation task

We got a task to create a stop motion animation. We did this by taking photos individually, then we had to edit our photos into a stop motion, we used IMovie software to edit them together.

Why did you choose this idea?

The idea me and my partner Connor chose was a football animation were there was a printed out ball kicked between two drawn stickmen, who were standing in front of printed out goals. We chose the idea we did because the football theme fit stop motion. It also gave us the chance to print out some of our needed items, this gave our animation a unique twist. The idea was a simple one, which was also unique this is why we chose it. We could also use the stick figures legs to kick the printed out ball which is an easy motion to use. It was simple as it was just moving his leg slightly to kick the ball. This meant when drawing and taking photos of our animation we didn’t run into many stumbling blocks. This was appealing as we never done stop motion before. This meant our first time doing stop motion would be learning the basics. It also meant that it was enjoyable as we didn’t complicate it too much. We were also on a timed limit so it was best for a simpler idea, the reason we chose the idea we did was it was simple and made our first top motion enjoyable.

If you were going to carry out this task again what would you do different?

There is a couple of things I would change about my animation. First, I would change the length of my animation and take more photos so my animation would be longer, as it is a bit short in length. Secondly, I would make the quality of my animation on a whole a bit better. I would take more care in the execution of the photos to make sure there isn’t any mistakes in them. This would make the animation more appealing and make it a better viewing for people reviewing my animation. I would also change the football theme of my animation as a couple of other groups in the class also did football. I would change it to a more unique theme. Thirdly, I would add music to my animation this would make the animation more entertaining, it would also make the animation unique and give it an upbeat factor.

How can this task be improved?

A way of improving the task is to make my animation longer and also have a bit more going on in the animation instead of stick figures kicking a ball, this would make it exciting to watch. I would also add some type of music to my animation, which would make it entertaining and not plain and a bit boring. It could also be improved the few mistakes in the animation were ironed out. This would make the animation more professional and better to watch.

Overall, I think for the first time doing stop motion and editing it my animation was simple enough 

Whiteboard task

• Stickmen playing football
• First camera shot will be of both the stickmen standing still with the ball between them
• The next shot will be them passing the ball between them
• When they score it comes on the screen saying GOAL!!! (this will be close up)
• Then goes back to the stickmen playing
• This continue will continue for a while taking photographs for every movement (even if its a slight movement) 

Sound key terms

Sound key terms 

• Diegesis 
• Atmos effect
• Score (music)
• Diegetic (Sound) - What the characters can hear 
• Non-diegetic -(Text, voiceover for a 3rd person)
• Volume control - The control of how quiet or how loud sound is. This is to set or emphasize mood/atmosphere.
• Crescendo
• Tempo
• Pitch
• Dialogue

- Speech,language and accents

• Mode of address 
• Direct address
• Voiceover 
• Ambient sound 
• Sound bridging (part of continuity editing)
• Sound perspective 
• Sound effects 

- Naturalistic vs unnaturalistic

- Foley

• Synchronous
• Asynchronous
• Incidental music
• Sound motifs
• Parallel sound 
• Contrapuntal sound 

The purpose of thrilling music is to build tension up and then have a climax (Jump scare)

The purpose of heroic music is to give the audience hope that something good will happenand also a feel good moment

Diegetic sound 

Diegetic sound is any sound that has originated from source within the film's world. Diegetic sound can be on screen and/or off screen depending on whatever its source is in the frame or outside the frame.

Non-Diegetic sound

Sound whose source is neither visible on the screen or has been implied to be present in the action, narrator's commentary (only 3rd person). sound effects which are added for dramatic effect. Score.