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Describe areas for development in your current knowledge, understanding and skills

What is your current knowledge and understanding of film?
Lighting and design

I can operate a light box, spot lights and program them, on many occasions at college for our stage shows I have produced lights and operated them through the show. I haven't been professionally trained however, when our college did the national theatre competition we went to our sister theatre in Sunderland, (The Sunderland Fire station) and the light technicians there taught me how to operate the bigger more complicate lighting that they provide.

Costume design

I have helped design and provide costumes for many of our college shows including The wizard of oz, where I worked with our college art department to organise and create the tin man's costume. I have also spent many days sat in the costume cupboard organising it, creating an easy but reliable way to help film makers and actors find what they need. On more than one occasion I have fully designed costumes for 20 characters, understanding how they act and their personalities to create the costumes.

Set design

I have helped on many occasions creating massive sets for our stage, creating props and set pieces which are also functional. I spent a weekend neat Christmas helping my tutor Kelly paint a full yellow brick road from the stage doors up and across the stage scaffolding.

Do you have specific areas of interest or skills in filmmaking?

at the moment yes, when I joined the BFI I also got accepted into a fan film for Marauders called momenti mori. In this production I have multiple roles, I have a role as an actor and I am also a lighting technician and a camera operator. I am also helping write the script for our pilot episode as it is to be a series, while creating script we decided that to make the money that we needed we would have to start our marketing journey and i got put in charge for that, I've created posts, Merch and our official logo.

What role(s) would you see yourself taking on your Academy film? What do you hope to gain from the BFI Film Academy?

i would really like to start my journey as a writer of screenplays, however I would also love to have a go at being a assistant director. I hope to gain important skills from completing the BFI course, although my main dream is to become an actor the creative industry is very competitive and you dint know where you will end up, so I want to become a very well rounded person with multiple skills.

How would you like to improve your skills or knowledge of film? Give reasons. Do you have plans to further study and work in film?

I would love to learn how to fully operate a camera but also know what the while crew will be doing when I'm an actor, it is also very helpful to be able to do anything and say yes! to every opportunity!

Take a role in the production of a short film

Production Design

What will you do in pre-production, production and post-production? What specific skills do you need?

Pre-production

Film reccee, Prop and Set gathering, breakdown of the script, walk round with the director and check they are happy with way it look

Production

Create the attic and hallway set.

Continuity

Gathering set pieces and props.

Making props (e.g. Kite)

Specific Skills

Know camera angles/lenses

Creative eye

Being able to make something out of nothing.

What equipment will you use?

Craft supplies

App with camera lenses to test how it looked.

Work closely with the camera operating team and have an understanding of how it looked on camera.

What documents will you use and how?

Risk assessment and safety plan when making the set, ensuring it is safe for actors (I.e. bulletin board as the attic roof not falling on actor!)

Shooting schedule - make sure everything is in place for the right scene at the right time.

What other resources are needed to make a film?
Include any planning and pre-production work you have been involved with.

script

storyboarding

shoot list

props list

props

camera equipment

lighting

sound equipment

What other resources are needed in your film production? (For example locations, actors and anything else you will need)

actors

coats for actors as filming outside

kite

permission to film in upstairs location

permissions from extras

Gain feedback on how you performed your role and share the feedback

Ask tutors and/or other Academy participants the questions below, you can write your answers, film them or record the audio

Can you tell me what I did well?
As a Production Designer, Ash worked tirelessly on their own production, leading a team brilliantly, transforming spaces and then ensuring that everything in the space was left exactly as it was found. Ash worked like a professional production designer.

They took initiative and supported every subsequent production, bringing in props and dressing sets with passion and flair.

Ash was also a great script secretary – not a role that everyone enjoyed - but they were always willing to take on the role. Their notes were clear and informative.

Ash contributed great ideas to the script without being precious about their ideas. They made the most of the production design masterclass and threw themselves into the location recce, ensuring that the locations served the story well.

What were the challenges and how did I deal with them? How did I work within my team?
Ash struggles to be in crowded spaces. They were able to manage it by dressing sets alone or in small groups.

Do you have any advice or areas for my development?
We would encourage Ash to speak out about their needs (re. working in crowded spaces) so that this does not become a barrier to successfully thriving in the industry.

Ash is actively involved in a number of productions and enjoys taking on new, ambitious challenges, so we are confident they will continue to grow and develop new skills and networks.

Review own technical skills and use of equipment

What did you do in your role?

For our film: The Kite

Created set for attic and hallway, having to come in early, to ensure that the set was made in time to follow the shooting schedule.

Took turns to be in charge of continuity throughout the shoot, especially upstairs with set, as there was a lot of boxes.

For other groups' film: Practical Jokes

Helped create the office set.

In charge of wig continuity.

: Anxiety

Actor and continuity.

Do you agree with the feedback? Give reasons for your answers.
I agree with the feedback, as i could see myself conducting my time, to ensure the sets were made on time. I do think i could've conducted the team better, as they did leave me, and if i had better leadership skills i would of been able to communicate the team more.

How well do you think you carried out your role in production? What were your strengths and what were your challenges?

Pleased with how it went.

If I had more time to get it sorted, would have been able source more props.

In post production, I can see there is a blank wall which I would have liked to have made more of.

My strengths are being able to work to a chosen timeframe, and finishing an end product. I think I am very resourceful.

In what ways did your technical filmmaking skills develop over the course of film production?

I've never made a film set before, I've only ever made theatre sets so transferring those skills has been interesting.

In a theatre piece, you have an entire stage to fill and you may have to be creative as pieces may have to work for many scenes. With film, you have to be more specific.

How far has your knowledge and understanding of film production developed?

Lighting and tech: learning about shadows and continuity within film. Making something look believable in sunlight and Night-time.

to ensure that you look through the different camera lenses, to see what is in shot otherwise it may make it difficult later on in the shoot day.

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Understand professional development opportunities within the film industry

Explain the working culture of the film industry

What is it like working in the film industry?

working in the industry can be a stressful but enjoyable time. hours can be long especially on shoot days were you have to create sets on the morning. often having to wake up early and being as the shoot location early hours of the morning. It can be extremely stressful being a set designer as sets have to be made in a short deadline, otherwise the shoot schedule runs over time and the project looses money. These early hour wake ups are all because of transport, many of the hours on a morning are spent on the bus. Car travel is a struggle as i cant drive, and especially when beginning in the industry its a struggle. Finding work in the industry can be very difficult, especially as a freelancer, work especially in the production side of film is rare to come across.

Working on set with a budget, is very stressful, i have to make creative ways to make a set that is believable. budgets can be very restricting, we had a 50 pound budget for our shoot, so being creative i asked everyone to being in props and set they think will be in an attic, or in a hallway.

What qualities do you need to work in the film industry?

when working in the industry you need certain qualities such as creativity as you have to be creative enough to solve problems quickly ans also to be able to create a 3D model of the script that you've been given.

You also have to be responsible because you can be left alone with no team to help you, and have to take responsibility over the set or camera work. If you don't take responsibility at times it can create massive issues and you can fall behind on work.

What have you learned about the working culture of the industry from masterclasses and working on your own film production?

The industry around production design especially is a nice but stressful place, it can be competitive at times, but everyone is willing to help you when you need specific prop or set pieces or are unsure on how to create that specific piece of set.

Describe a range of key job roles and responsibilities in the film industry.

Production Designer - creates the set, work closely with the director and first AD to ensure they can take what is on the script to make a realistic 3D model of the script.

Director - Directs the shoots, works closely with the producer and the first AD and the main actors.

First AD - Work closely with all the teams, and lead the shoot on a more practical basis, take care of actors, they call the shoot.

Script Secretary - in charge of continuity and write notes for the director. If director likes something, they write it down so they can share with editor later (i.e. a preferred shot) Can also relay continuity notes to actors.

Scriptwriter - Take prompt from producer and director, in pre-production they are people who take a story and bring it to life.

Outline the potential progression routes into the film industry and wider sector

Apprenticeships /work experience:

Candle and Bell

Sea and Sky

Smoggie Productions

Wander Films

Superkrush

Twenty Six 03

Blast Furnace

Freya Films

Shadowing opportunities with crew met through the BFI Academy Programme:

Scott Coulter, DoP

Kiri Nicholetts, Gaffer

Phil Quinton, Sound Recordist

John Noble, Production Designer

Maxy Bianco, Director

Entry-level jobs

Floor running

Production running

Camera trainee

Extra/background artist work

Studying at university

BA (Hons) Film, Television & Theatre Production degree at The Northern School of Art

Also Acting, Model Making & Visual FX, Costume Design and

Production Design Courses.

Film and TV Production, BA (Hons), Teesside University

Online opportunities (e.g. entering competitions, sharing work, networking)

DepicT! Festival competition

Northern Exposure short film night

ARC filmmakers

FilmHubNorth.org.uk

NE Screen Crew Academy

Film festivals

Search Film Freeway

Women X Film Festival, Darlington

Tees Valley International Film Festival, Stockton-on-Tees.

Sunderland Shorts Film Festival

Aesthetica Film Festival, York

Edinburgh International Film Festival

Encounters Film Festival, Bristol (with a particular emphasis on DepicT!)

London Short Film Festival/BFI Film Academy progression (residential courses, BAFIA mentoring and Future Skills)

Leeds Young Film Festival

Watersprite – Cambridge Student Film Festival

Personal Progression Plan

What areas/ specialisms in creative media would you like to work in?

I would like to act, but production design interests me too

Would you like to further study film / creative media?
I would.

What courses interest you? Give reasons
There is an acting courde Manchester Met film school that I will be applying to next year. Because if focuses mainly on screen acting, but I can helpout in production as well. Manchester is a good place for a creative too be thanks to a good theatre scene and Salford Media City.

Which local media companies would you be interested in working with? Give reasons

What are the options for making your own content
There are many options for making my own content, and the networks I have made on this course will help - I production designed all three films.

What would you make and how?
Anything! The more varied the better for me, for learning.

What are the options for funding and distribution? What networks will you join?
Therre is not much funding available but that can help me learn to design on a shoestring. Distribution is sending films to festivals and screening nights

What do you hope to gain from these networks? Are there other opportunities you are interested in? What are your next steps?
If we all work together on our films we should be able to all make the films we want to, either as learning experiences or because there are films we really want to make. The more of us who go forward the more films we make, the more chance we will get work

Learning from Masterclasses

(It’s worth briefing the industry speaker in terms of giving detail about their role and their personal progression.)

Industry Speaker:

Laura Degnan

1. They are a professional short film maker, which involves them meeting with clients and helping do interviews and create short scenes while operating a camera.

How did they start working in film/media?
they started in the industry by completing work experiences in the research department at hart Ryan factual production company, researching people or stories for documentaries
What have they done in their career?
1) A runner at Kudos film and Tv
2)A development assistant at Kudos Film and Tv
3)A freelance reader at the BBC (and for live theatre)
4)Development Executive at RS productions

2. What have you learnt about working in film/media?

3. What opportunities for your own progression have you found out about?

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Be able to develop effective working relationships with film production team members

What are the different teams in your production?

Production Design

Director

Camera Team

Acting Team

Sound

Lighting

Scriptwriter

How do they work together? For example, how did your team work together to prepare for the shoot? Also, during production and post-production?

Production design talked to camera team and sound and lighting. Making sure everything was in right place to make everyones jobs easier.

Sound had space to get mics in for actors.

Work with actors to make sure they were safe in the set.

Director working closely with actors

Scriptwriter working closely with all of the team to ensure what they visualised was correctly written.

Sound and lighting working closely with camera team on the shoot.

Why is it important that production teams work well together?

To ensure that you can make a film that everyone is proud of. To tell the story that we've created and give it justice.

Give an example of when your production team/s worked well together.

We had a challenge with the hallway scene. We had to work alongside the lighting team to see if we could remove the harsh light.

Work alongside the camera team to relocate the hallway scene to make it look realistic.

What can happen if there isn’t good teamwork?

Run out of time, end up rushing everything so then the final product is what you have envisioned.

Was there an example of when teamwork could have been better on your film production? How did this affect the production process?

Worked well together. However, there wasn't enough time in pre-production to get teams set up in each area.

Identify the qualities needed to work well with others

What are the most important qualities for working well as part of a film production team?

How did you show the following, give examples:

Good timekeeping
Being reliable
Sharing ideas

Good communication

Safe working

Describe how you worked with others collaboratively on your film production

How did you work with others in the crew?
Give an example of when you worked well with your team.

Were there any problems you needed to overcome? Give examples: How could you improve your ability to work with others?

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Understand film industry working practices and legislation

Demonstrate good health and safety practice when working on film productions

Why is health and safety important when working on film productions? What are some of the key safety issues relating to film production?

Nobody should ever be hurt on a film set. Also there are legal problems if people get hurt - we could be sued, or taken to court.

How did you apply good health and safety practice when making your film? Include your risk assessment and explain why this is important.

Risk assessment is invaluable to ensure the safety of cast and crew on a set. It means that all hazards are taken into account, and controls put in place. Sets can be hazardous, but they should never be dangerous. Some ideas for a film shoot can be rejected if a risk assessment proves that the hazards cannot be properly controlled.

Explain why copyright is important in the film industry

What is Copyright?

Copyright is a law that helps people who created things to protect their work (or IP) from plagiarism or theft by other people.

Why does copyright law exist?

To protect the creative work of people so it can't be stolen

What kind of work is covered by copyright?
Altypes of creative work - literature, images, music, art,

What might happen if you were to use copyrighted material in your film? How can you make sure not to infringe copyright law in your film?

We could be sued if we use copyright work in our films. If there is any doubt who owns an image/song/character we should research who might own it and get in touch with the rights owner. If that is not possible - don't use it

How has copyright law and other IP regulation affected your film production?

We had to use music created for use in short films

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Be able to review film productions

Review and critique at least one short film production

The Mug, Saskia Lerf & Elena Ramseier, Switzerland, 2022.

The story is about a girl who needs to write a story and spills a cup of coffee and it generates an idea.

The film doesn't have a very obvious underlying message, but when delving deeper into the film, and the choices of shots edited together, a message comes across to the audience, that the littlest thing can cause an entire story to be made.

I'm not sure how to describe the genre, its a very calm, homely film, with no specific action or event that happens within the time line of the short film. The sound within this film is used cleverly to show a progression in time, which later emphasises the struggle of creating a story.

various camera techniques were used including

What was the editing style?

Describe the setting/ location/ mise-en-scene.

Who is the film aimed at?

How did the film make you feel? Did it work well?
Would you recommend it?

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After each session answer these questions and include any photos taken:

Date:

1. What did you do? Shoot day 1. In advance of the shoot day, I created a prop list and sourced the props with my team. On the shoot day I came in early to set up the attic scene, as this required the most work. I coordinated a small team to photograph the space before emptying its contents and building it up again to look like a cramped attic space. Once I was happy with the look of the space, I started experimenting with turning a sterile hallway into a homely staircase.
2. What have you learnt?

I looked through my phone camera before dressing the rooms. However, once the camera arrived with very different lenses, the frame was very different and there were objects in the environment that made it clear we weren't in a real house. There were also lighting issues, because the ceiling lights in the community building would not switch off. We had to work quickly to remove items from the spaces and I was not totally happy with the final set dressing in the wide shot. I learned the importance of seeing a space through the camera - including the various angles - before dressing a space. I also learned that there are creative ways to deal with lighting issues, for examples taping over ceiling lights and bringing in practical lights.
3. How have you worked with others?

I coordinated a small team brilliantly. Together, we brought my ideas to a reality. I communicated clearly and we became a strong team.

4. What do you need to develop?

I am not confident working in crowded spaces and sometimes that limited what I was able to do. I believe that I am getting better at this and I will continue to chellenge myself.

OR Write or film your SHOOT DIARY for your portfolios.

Please include production photos, any behind the scenes footage, scripts, storyboards and other key production documents and a link to the finished film.

What was your role in pre-production and what did you do?

What was your role on the shoot?

Briefly explain what happened each day of shoot.
What equipment and skills did you need to apply to your role?

How well prepared do you feel we were for the shoot?

Explain. What changes had to be made and why?

Did you have any feedback or advice from tutors / others on set? In what ways did you improve your own knowledge and skills?

Who did you work with on set? How do you feel you worked with others on set?

What did you learn about how a film crew work together on a shoot?

Briefly explain how you followed good working practices for filmmaking? (Time management, health and safety, being reliable and coping with on set demands.)

Overall – How do you feel the shoot went? What went well/ didn’t go well? What would you improve on?

Stairway - originally going to have the hallway in the stairway, but when we finished the set dressing, couldn't find an angle that didn't have the emergency chair lift/ or huge light. Had to move the entire attic set, and shift it to the hallway scene.

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John Noble – John is a production designer who has worked on features and short films in the region. Production designers go through the script, work out what locations/props will be needed then source or make those elements, then put them together on the shoot day. He grew his network by putting himself out there, and being open to working with anyone who wanted to make a film, at all levels and now he is one of the main go-to designers in the region. He has worked on short films, pop videos, and features. He always makes sure he looks round the set twice – once before dressing with the director to learn how they want the set, which parts will be on screen etc then secondly after dressing with the director and DOP to make sure the whole set is dressed with no gaps.

Since then he has created many film sets, making something from nothing, using clever ways to create walls and statics, we saw him in action when he helped us create a set for the office film, using white Boards to build cubicles like in an office.

John Kirkbride – John has done many projects – worked for BBC, Paramount, Sub Pop records. He began his journey making short films and asking local bands if they wanted music vids making. He didn’t go to film school, he learned by doing, and meeting like-minded creative people in the region, and building a network. He works closely with one director, which means they have developed a good working relationship.

As an editor you assemble the film from everything that is shot during the production. John watches all the rushes so he knows what is available to him. He understands that he is there to make the film the director wants, not to show off his skills. He learns by watching films, and reading about filmmakers and editors whose work he enjoys.  Sometimes less is more – the editing style must adapt to the story being told. We learned the psychology of juxtaposing shots (Hitchcock was used as an example).

Laura Degnan is a director working in the region. She didn’t study film but worked as a runner at a London TV company in order to build a network of driven creative people. She came back to the region when it seemed the running work was not going to get her any further with her ambition of being a writer, and began to write and direct her own films. She looked at the credits of TV show made in the region and looked up crew members, then messaged them asking if they would like to help her make films. Many said yes.

We learned about shot types and camera moves, and the reasons for using each one. She showed us how to storyboard and create camera plans, and how to do scheduling and fill in call sheets.

We did a mock interview to demonstrate simple 3-point lighting.

She now mainly focuses on factual filmmaking, conducting interviews and filming events, and weaving these elements into films telling the stories of creative organisations in the region. There are many directions a career in filmmaking can go.