results from questionnaire research

22 people managed to fill in a questionnaire, but i have summarized the answers as if it was out of 20.

• The majority of the people were middle aged and british.
• The most popular British film was between Harry Potter and Billy Elliott.
• 11 people thought that it was the actors that made the films british, 6 people thought they partly made it British and 3 thought it wasn’t down to them at all.
• Undoubtedly, the 2 things a film must have are British actors and a British location, everyone agreed.
• Everyone has watched between 1 and 4 films in the last year.
• A few people didnt fill out the optional section as they haven't watched Harry Potter, whereas the others had so they did fill it out.
• They thought the film was popular as the books were.
• They agreed that the accent's and location is what made it a British film for them.
• The cast choice was good because they matched up to that of the book.
• No one preferred British films to American films however, with the exception of one person who said that American films rely on special effects too much, whereas our storylines are a lot more ‘real'.

draft questions for my questionnaire

1. gender- male/female.
2. age group- 15-20, 21-25, 26-30, 31-35, 36-40, 41-45, 46-50, 51-55, 56-60, 60±
3. ethnic background.....list options here 

• What is your fav british film?... this is england, billy elliott, the queen, harry potter.. list more, and then leave an 'other' box, which allows them to type in another film if it hasnt been listed.
• Do British actors make the film british? yes-of course, partly, or no they do not.
• Which of these MUST a film have in order for it to be British (please select 2 of the following) British location, British actors, specific props i.e. fags. swearing and use of bad language, british sound track, a specific theme in it, i.e. gun crime
• How many British films would you say you have watched in the last year? 1-4, 5-9, 10-14, 15-19, 20±...

list of research (07/10/08)

List of research needed and why:


Primary sources:
Questionnaires- why?- This will cover specific points that we would like to address ourselves, and provides opportunity to get needed details.
Interviews- why?- This is even better than an interview, although a lot of people may not have time for one, an interview allows us to get specific and detailed answers about the research in question.
Internet message boards- why?- This is handy if we, ourselves, don’t have a lot of time, as we can just post a specific question on the internet and get world-wide opinion. Some, however, never get answered, or the public won’t take it seriously and will therefore post silly comments.
Own textual analysis- why?- This can include ‘note style’ and makes it easy to read if it needs going over, as its our own opinion and analysis of everything.

Secondary sources:
Printed publication- why?- Especially if it comes from a well know source, this information is extremely reliable…especially on film sites such as IMDB or from specific film/director sites, i.e. shanemeadows.com.
Biographical information (numbers,percentages ect)- why?- If the question has specific facts and figures to it, than biographical information is essential, and it HAS to be accurate.
Institutional details- why?- If the question is dealing with a specific film and its locating…i.e. The Green Mile and where it was filmed-prison- and then information about the set and whether it was in a studio or an actual prison.
Audience related- why?- Essential for the audiences point of view of the film; they’re thoughts and opinions.

multi-clip editing

sadly, i missed the last practical lesson....today however, i learnt a lot to with how to sync and multi-edit on Final cut pro...

I find it hard to get the exact places of each clip, however, i feel a lot more confident in terms of using all of the buttons and tools, such as the roll tool, or markers.

When its done it comes out really successful and saves so much time.

Hopefully i can use it in my own coursework production =)

learnt in practical lesson today (14/09/08)

Erm....in todays lesson we learnt about using more then one camera to film, and about the 180 degree rule, which means no two camera's can be opposite of eachother...they have to each sit on the opposite side of the middle line of eachother. We also went over the basics from last year...like the white test, and how to set up and use the camera and tri-pod. We are going to spend the next practical lesson learning how to edit two or three different video clips and linking them together. Ahh i missed the practical lessons...glad they are back!! =D

3 important things about research

• Bibliography is essencial for research....so try and create a little booklet filled with all of the references to our work. Like, if your information comes an internet source, then you should include the web address, whereas if its from a newspaper or book, then you should include the page numbers ect...
• You have to be aware of the problem areas surrounding your research...For example, if you are getting information from a person, don't just trust what they say to be correct; double check it for yourself.
  
• Finally, make sure your research data is recorded in a reliable and manageable way, so therefore you cannot confuse it or mix it up with anything else...

=)

inquiring question from an article.

The article:

George Clooney Plans to Film Story of Bin Laden's Driver

Actor's production company buys rights to story of capture and trial of driver Salim Hamdan

George Clooney, already one of Hollywood's leading liberal voices, has embarked on what may be one of his most controversial projects: the story of Osama bin Laden's driver.

Clooney's production company, Smokehouse, has bought the rights to a book about Salim Hamdan, an inmate at Guantánamo Bay who last week was sentenced to jail for his role in helping the al-Qaeda leader. The book, The Challenge, is by journalist Jonathan Mahler and tells the story of Hamdan's capture and trial, defended by a US navy lawyer, Lieutenant Commander Charles Swift. It has had a big critical success.

Last week Yemen-born Hamdan, who has already spent seven years in US custody, received a surprisingly light sentence of just five and a half years for being bin Laden's driver in Afghanistan. Prosecutors had billed the case as a key plank in the 'War on Terror', designed to show that terrorists could be dealt with by Guantánamo. They had described Hamdan as a member of bin Laden's inner circle who had knowledge of his terrorist plans.

Defense lawyers, however, portrayed him as a simple man who had taken a high-paying job in order to feed his family. A military jury seemed to agree with that assessment, clearing him of terrorist conspiracy charges, but finding him guilty of providing support to a terrorist.

The case became a cause célèbre on both sides of America's political divide. Supporters saw it as a chance to show Guantánamo was effectively and fairly dealing with terrorists. Critics, meanwhile, saw it as an abusive system that was using low-level prisoners as scapegoats.

Clooney is believed to be interested in playing the role of lawyer Swift and the case certainly has all the drama and tension of any fictional legal thriller. Aside from the terrorism and exotic locations, The Challenge describes Swift's battle as a classic case of a crusading 'little guy' winning against the odds. When he was first assigned Hamdan's case Swift was a relatively inexperienced, young military lawyer. Few expected him to mount much of a defence. But he led a team that took Hamdan's case to the Supreme Court and won. However, his work was not without cost, as he pushed the case so hard it cost him his marriage and saw him passed over for promotion.

But Swift did not stop. Last week, during Hamdan's sentencing, he appealed to the court to let him go back to his family in Yemen: something now seen as a possibility given the length of time he has served. 'The best chance for him to rehabilitate is to reunite with that family. He won't put them at risk again,' Swift said. In an ending that seems written for a movie, the military judge in the trial, Captain Keith Allred, even said in court that he hoped Hamdan would see his family soon.

(from The Guardian newspaper)

My inquiring question:

What types of emotion does production company Smokehouse hope to create, when deciding on the dialogue, props and mise-en-scene to this future film?

Which conventions did Clooney have, which made the director cast him for the role?

planning for success, my A2 Media studies production

1. Open Gantt
2. Add all possible tasks
3. Order them in time
4. Create major categories

• pre-production
• production
• post production

5. Shift tasks (up and down)
6. Order them by dragging
7. Drag the tasks to different lengths

My first blog