Unit 24: Writing For Television and Video - Task 1 - Working as a Writer

Legal & Ethical Considerations

As a writer in the film industry, you are obliged to follow certain rules and stick to some limitations in your work. These limitations can come due to obeying the law or, the more complicated, ethical reasons. Legal issues include copyright, libel and censorship.

Copyright can protect any original ideas or creations a writer has. Writer's can apply for copyright and once they have it must be displayed on both the cover and the foot of each individual page in the script. Having this on your script tells the reader that you are the owner of this script and it cannot be copied or stolen. If writers don't properly copyright their work then there is nothing stopping another writer stealing the content.

Copyrighted work can be re-used or edited as long as the person doing so receives permission from the original creator. The official copyright website states: "If you include quoted passages, illustrations, images or other items in your work which are not of your own creation. It is important to ensure that you have permission to use these before any publication or sale. If permission is given as a personal agreement, (rather than a formal contractual or licensing agreement), you should still ensure that you have some documentation, signed by the owner of the work to prove that permission has indeed been given."

Using someone else's work without their permission is plagiarism. If a writer commits plagiarism the original creator of that work can take legal action which would most likely end up with the writer who plagiarised the work getting sued. Often many scripts can just be similar to another script. This means it can sometimes be hard to tell if the script has been plagiarized or not.

Censorship is the suppression of film content which may be considered harmful to audiences. There are often guidelines for Film & TV which state whether the content is suitable for certain audiences or not. The classifications followed are U, PG, 12A, 12, 15, 18 & R18. These classification guidelines protect certain groups of people viewing unsuitable content. For example, a 12 year old should not be allowed to view a 15 because it is given that rating since it is too mature for them. All films and television programs and even adverts have to be classified to protect viewers and to. Along with the rating there also usually comes a short description of the content such as violence or nudity. These descriptions let people to know exactly what it is the film before watching it. This can be helpful as some content may offend certain audiences, even if they were old enough to watch the film.

Watersheds are the point of time at which adult programs may be broadcast on TV. Programs which count as 'adult' include things containing violence, nudity, bad language etc. These programmes aren't allowed to be shown before the watershed, only programmes suitable for a family. The watershed in the UK is 9:00pm.

When writer's write their script they have to take the watershed into account. The content of their script will determine whether they are allowed to be shown before watershed or not. It has to be considered that if a show is shown after watershed then it could get less people watching it that if it was on before. This can effect what writers will put in their scripts.

Libel is a false statement about a person that does damage to that person's reputation in the public eye. It may also cause embarrassment or humiliation, or affect a person's ability to make a living. Writers must avoid presenting any living person in a negative light or making negative actions without evidence to support it.

Writers also have to avoid being bias when it comes to writing factual pieces about a real person or event. The views/opinions shared in the script need to be balanced. It would be unethical of the writer to give one point of view and not the other. However, depending on the message the writer is trying to give the viewer/reader, one point of view can be expressed more than the other but only because there is still both point of views shown. If the writer is focusing on one point of view more than the other they still have to be careful and make sure they do it in an unbiased way. If it was bias it could seem that the script was trying to force ideas onto the reader.

Current Practice For The Commissioning Of Scripts 

Commissioning scripts is a very complicated process. First off, every channel has its own commissioning body. So there is the BBC commissioning body and the Channel 4 commissioning body. These are some of the top channels in the country and the hardest to get a script produced by. If you were to pitch to a high up channel like BBC or  Channel 4 then you would need to know their preferences of program and their branding. For example the sort of programs the BBC produce are completely different to the kind of programs Channel 4 show. So you would need to know which channel your script is better suited. If it was more of an edgy story then Channel 4 might be the best option since that is what people think about a lot of their programming.

However, if you are starting out as a writer then the higher up companies might not be the best place to start. There are smaller independent companies such as Bedlam Productions Ltd. or Hat Trick Productions. These smaller companies would have much less demand so you could have a better chance of not just getting a pitch but have your script commissioned too. There may also be an independent director who would want to pick up your script.

Once a script is picked up it will begin to enter production. Throughout the production the writer has a lot of role stays very important. Before the actual production starts there is pre-production planning which basically informs everyone of what needs to be done before the script can enter production. Next, if the production company wants the writer to make any changes they have to until they believe it is fit to the standard they want and it fits the target audience. The director and producer often get involved and share their thoughts and ideas with the writer on what they think could change or what could stay the same. The director and producer both have more power than the writer so these decisions most likely won't be ignored. Once the final draft of the script is put into place the shooting script is written. This is the exact same script but with shots and camera angles added in for extra information. Page lock-down is the final stage before shooting. The script is completely finalized and agreed upon by everybody and production begins. A lot of changes can also happen after the script is finalized and during shooting depending if something is working or not. If a scene isn't working then it can be scrapped or changed to fit the needs of the production.

Throughout the whole commissioning process there are all sorts of jobs and positions surrounding it. Of course, there is the writer who comes up with the initial script. Working closely with the writer is the script editor. They give advice to the writer to make the script as successful as possible. Of course there is the Director, who takes the script and creates the visuals of the story. The Commissioning Editor decides if the idea will go into production or not, which is the biggest decision. Helping out the Commissioning Editor is the Executive Producer and the Editorial Assistant. They work by the side of the Commissioner to assure his needs are met and give support. The centrepiece of the whole production is the Producer. The Producer brings each department of the production together is involved in each of them.

Contracts & Employer Expectations

Being a writer in Film & TV is a job with a lot of responsibility. A writer is the person who creates the script and the script is what supports the entire production of a film or TV show. Without the script the production couldn't happen. A popular phrase is: “A bad movie can be made from a good screenplay, but not the other way round.”. This emphasises the importance of a screenwriter. It shows that without a good script to begin with, there is no way the finished production can work or be successful. A writer is completely crucial to the film making process.

To be a writer you have to be able to create original concepts and ideas, be able to write an entire screenplay from a simple idea and keep adding to the screenplay until it is as good as possible or the producers are happy with it. Also, writers have to be able to stay focused when they need to be because most writers work from home or at least work independently. Writers have deadlines to finish their scripts by and to meet that deadline they have to write so much per day. Without the right dedication and focus they won't achieve this which is why these are the traits needed by a writer.

Writers do not necessarily need qualifications for their job. All that is needed is a skill in writing. You could attempt to start writing without practise however it is beneficial to read previously successful scripts from the industry to get an idea what works and what you need to do in your own writing. There are also many books which you can read to give you tips and ideas for your scripts.

While some writers are issued to write scripts for a production many writers can write a script in their own time to sell it on. This means they have no deadline and are free to write whenever they want or need. These writers, when finished the script, will sell the rights onto a production company who then have the rights to produce the script themselves. Doing this doesn't guarantee the script will ever be made into a film or TV show but the writer does still get paid. Many writers sell their scripts and never hear of them again or they might even see them being made years later.

Another way to be employed as a writer in the film industry is pitching your idea to a production company. Doing this requires a lot confidence in your idea because you have to make the people you're pitching to see the greatness in the idea. If you aren't confident about the pitch then there is very little chance you will get it approved. 

Unit 30: Advertisement Production For Television - Task 4

Evaluation


This project was our advertising assignment 'It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas - The advertising industry'. For this assignment our group of 4 (Myself, Kane, Danniella & Jess) each had to make an Christmas advert for the same brand following the same theme.

We started completely from scratch. First we had to think of which brand we wanted to represent. As a group we agreed John Lewis would be the best choice because they had a very distinguishable style which we would have to replicate. John Lewis are known for the emotionally engaging, story driven adverts so we had to think of an emotionally engaging plot for our own adverts. My idea was to follow the point of view of a young boy who's dad leaves to go to the army and he misses Christmas for several years in a row. He always gets a present from his dad every year until one year he goes downstairs to see there is no present from his dad and he assumes the worst however his dad comes in surprising him. There were minor changes but I mostly stuck to this idea for the final product.Other people's ideas, however, did change. For example Jess' original idea would have been too complicated as it involved the protagonist magically making a whole town Christmas. We tried to make the advert easier to make so instead Jess had an idea of a sick person at Christmas and then the idea was mixed with the original and the new idea was someone magically decorating the house for a sick person at Christmas.

For inspiration for our adverts we went straight to previous John Lewis adverts. We didn't look at much else other than this. By watching this we got a good idea of how they are put together and it gave us a better understanding. We knew which type of music to use, how they tend to be filmed etc. This would make our adverts more authentic and more fitting to John Lewis.

I feel I've developed my skills very well during this project. On my advert shoot, we had to wait for the actor to arrive so we got on with filming the shots where we didn't need him. One of these shots was the zooming shot where the middle present stays still and the presents around it change (to show passage of time). While it seemed like a simple task we had to organise the presents in a way which would make make each shot look as different as possible. We also decided that it would be a good idea to clearly show that the character is getting older. To do this we had only childish wrapping paper on the presents in the first shot and as we progressed through the years we had an increasing amount of more mature wrapping paper until we had only mature wrapping paper. This was a large amount of detail for such a short scene in the advert. I feel I've learnt more about set design in this project and I now see that even the tiniest details matter. This was my first time directing (as I was DoP on the music video project) so once the actor arrived it was my first time having to really instruct an actor around. I had given tips when I was DoP but this time it was fully my responsibility. Not only did I have to instruct the actor, the actor was very young so it was even more challenging. I was also at some of Danniella's shoot as camera operator. This turned out to be a difficult process as well since almost none of the filming went to plan and we had to change what we wanted to do completely. However it turned out well in the end and we got some good, successful footage.

Once I'd completed my advert I showed it to a focus group. The response I got in the questionnaire was very positive which I was pleased with. The only negatives I did receive was the way I showed the passage of time with the time lapsed sky however I had nothing to replace this with so I couldn't change it completely. Instead I edited the colouring of the sky to see if it could fit more with the rest of the advert and hopefully it was successful.

When editing I had to put together the zooming out shot I mentioned earlier. I had never done this before and it was very experimental to me. Thankfully it came together nicely and looked exactly how I wanted it to. The cut's between the shots are smooth and there is no movement of the middle present.

One mistake I made directing was that I forgot to get a crucial shot. The shot I missed was the shot of the presents without the dad's gift in the centre to show the audience that it wasn't there. Without it the scene was very unclear. Because of the missing shot I had to take a shot with a present in it into Photoshop and edit the present out. I managed to do this and luckily nobody noticed to it fits well into the advert. However I will be much more careful in the future to make sure I have every shot

Overall I'm very happy with how my final piece turned out. I got to do everything I wanted with it and the response from people watching it has been great and all the reactions I wanted people to have, they had. I feel I very much captured the emotional engagement of an official John Lewis advert in my own.

Unit 30: Advertisement Production For Television - Task 1

Advert Analysis




John Lewis produced this advert for their 2015 #ManOnTheMoon campaign. The advert follows the story of a little girl who discovers a man living on the moon and proceeds to try and send presents to him. It follows the 'typical' John Lewis style in that it's only aim is to trigger an emotional response from the audience.

This advert is an anti-realist narrative as it very much shows something that doesn't happen every day. It is a very far fetched and unrealistic story. The genre is drama. This is very clear through the structure and the way the advert is filmed & edited. The shots/scenes are very slow paced and do not have any fast paced cutting between them. Camera angles also imply a dramatic style too. One shot in particular which stands out as dramatic is the close up of the old man's eyes. The way it was shown (i.e the detail, lighting etc.) made it a very emotional and saddening shot to look at.

The advert, similarly to many other John Lewis adverts, didn't show any product which the company offers (other than the telescope which became available after the advertisement's release). The only thing it advertises is simply the John Lewis brand itself. However this is seen as a controversial approach because many people believe that the content of the advert has nothing to do with the brand whatsoever. This is mostly true because the advert is just telling a story to entertain people and then showing the John Lewis logo at the end which will promote and make people remember the brand. Some people also think it is wrong for John Lewis to create an advert which takes advantage of people's emotions because they are manipulating them.

The advert was made in partnership with Age UK as a way to raise awareness about elderly people alone at Christmas. The tag line is 'Show Someone They're Loved This Christmas'. This can be seen as a very positive message and a good way share it because John Lewis was already an established brand before this advert. Audience have come to expect a John Lewis Christmas advert every year and because people know what to expect the video has over 23 million views on YouTube, never mind the people who saw it on TV. However, many people also saw this as a negative because, although John Lewis was a huge platform for Age UK, the charity side of the advert seemed to be minimal and there was nothing informing the viewers of the connection.

As I said before, John Lewis already had a reputation before this advert as they had released Christmas adverts every year since 2007. Each of these adverts have been similar as they all emotionally engage audiences. By now John Lewis are very aware of their target audience and can create adverts to suit them. Their target audience very much varies in age and there is no specific. The adverts are suited more to people who are more easily effected by media and advertisement as their aim is to get a response from the audience. It is also obviously suited to people who are going to be buying Christmas presents. John Lewis can be considered quite expensive so the advert is also more aimed at people who are willing to spend more money on Christmas.

The use of #ManOnTheMoon in the advert is a very good marketing technique by John Lewis as people will go straight to social media to talk about the advert. Giving them a hash tag means that most people talking about it will use it and that will lead to #ManOnTheMoon trending on sites like Facebook and Twitter. The hash tag has no link to John Lewis on its own but when people see it it will stand out and they will click on it to read more. When they do so they will see lots of statuses/tweets about the brand.

One of the most important parts of pre-production on advertisements is research. John Lewis would want to do all the research they can to make the best advert possible. The best place they could go would be BARB (Broadcasters' Audience Research Board). BARB is the central place for research when it comes to TV, they collect all the statistics and viewing ratings of TV every day for every UK channel. John Lewis would also do their own research, looking at previous adverts to see what has worked and what hasn't worked in the past and also getting people to take questionnaires about current advertising or gathering focus groups to get feedback.

Before being televised, this advert, like every other, will have had to be regulated by the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority). The ASA's work includes acting on complaints and checking the media to take action against misleading, harmful or offensive advertisements. This John Lewis advert did nothing to violate the rules however if it had it wouldn't be put on TV. Sometimes an advert can receive complaints after being aired or the ASA can notice that it is coming off offensive or harmful and can order the advertiser to take the ad down.

A recurring theme in John Lewis' Christmas adverts is the use of cover songs. Every year they use a cover of a song rather than the original. 2015's was a cover of Oasis' 'Half The World Away' sang by Aurora. Not only does this give the advert a unique sound, it also allows John Lewis and the cover artist to sell the song as their own, hopefully getting into the charts. The previous year's song got up to number 7 in the UK charts. Having a song in the charts gives people yet another indirect link to John Lewis, promoting the brand yet again.

Unit 24: Writing For Television and Video - Task 2 - Researching Your Own Story

THE INCIDENT

Content Research

Nathan's Death - I have looked into whether the way in which I kill off Nathan in the story would work in real life, to ensure the realism of my short film. I discovered that, as long as the shard of glass was big enough, being impaled in the neck would sever arteries causing Nathan to bleed out quickly.

Under Age Drinking - Since the characters in my story are only 16/17 I was unsure whether I could have them drinking alcohol. I looked into it and found nothing saying it wasn't allowed. But my script also has a negative message about under age drinking as Joe accidentally kills Nathan while drunk so that would hopefully make it more accessible.

Drunk Characters - I have looked into how drunk characters are acted and portrayed in film. It is a difficult thing to get right and would require the right dialogue and performance.

http://www.backstage.com/advice-for-actors/acting-teachers/playing-drunk/

Story Types

The Spider And The Fly
A person wants another person to do something. Lacking the influence or power to demand it, they seek to ensnare the other person, tricking them into compliance. They are successful and a new future is faced.

While it doesn't match it exactly, this story type is the closest to my own script because Nathan is trying to convince Joe to go to the party, which he does by convincing him he will talk to a girl. This does not cover the entire plot but it does cover the basics and matches it better than the other 9 story types do.

Unit 24: Writing For Television and Video - Task 2 - Researching Other People's Stories

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The Structure of 'Consequence'

This is a non-linear film so it does not follow the usual 3 act structure. The film has a circular narrative so the 3 acts in the film but are shown in a completely different order. The film opens with the new equilibrium of the story, Act 2. This is then followed by the equilibrium, Act 1. Then finishes with the disequilibrium, Act 3. Act 2 is actually continuous throughout the whole film, overlapped by the other parts of the story.

In order the acts would be:

Act 1 - 'The Senator' partakes in a deal, which is ripping off 'The Boss'. He believes that it has gone well but 'The Pilot' goes on to tell 'The Boss'.

Act 2 - 'The Boss' calls 'The Senator' to meet him. He gives a long speech explaining that he knows what he's done and how he should never try and rip him off. Then 2 girls working for him take 'The Senator' away.

Act 3 - The 2 girls, who have taken 'The Senator' into the woods, release him and force him to run for his life. They chase him, eventually catching him and shooting him in the head.

'Consequence' Characters

The characters in 'The Consequence' are very vague and do not have a lot of depth as it isn't needed to tell the story. It is a very story driven film.

The Boss - An overlord type character, in charge of everyone and everything.

The Senator - Thinks he is in charge and feels he has all the power. Does what he wants without caution. Leads to him getting in trouble with The Boss and killed. Ends up labelled 'The Fool'

The Boyfriend - Abusive boyfriend and drug addict. Also involved in the deal. He is the first to be killed by the girls. Ends up labelled 'The Addict'

The Pilot - Assists 'The Senator' in the drug deal, screws him over by telling 'The Boss'. Ends up labelled 'The Traitor'

'Memento' Script Analysis

This is the first page of the 'Memento' screenplay by Christopher Nolan. I've chose to analyse this script since its non-linear, like my short film script is. In the layout of this extract there are two clearly different fonts used for the narratives which take place in a non-linear order. This is something I think I could transfer over to my script to help make it clearer to the reader that it doesn't happen chronologically. This method could also make it easier for me to write the script. Also, something I have already used in my script, the script is clearly marked 'CUT TO:' whenever the scene changes. This, again, makes cuts between scenes easier to follow, especially when frequent.

The stage directions Nolan uses are very descriptive and paint a clear picture of the scene. Detail is used for the smallest things which makes it easier for the reader to see the scene how the writer pictures it. This is very helpful if the writer of the script isn't the one directing, which is often the case. (However this wasn't the case with 'Memento')

The use of dialogue is minimal on this page but what is used is set out in the typical way it would be in scripts; the name of the character in all capitals centred above and the dialogue underneath. The only difference is that the dialogue is a voice over, represented by '(V.O.)'. By marking the dialogue with this the reader instantly knows Leonard isn't actually speaking. Also, being able to write just 'V.O' makes it easier and quicker when writing the script.

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