2.1 Explain the working culture of the film industry

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

Cinematographer

The job of a cinematographer is to be in charge of all photography. They work with the director to manage the visuals. This could be adding effects to the visuals or brightness. The director must be there to approve of the visual editing the cinematographer has done. The cinematographer is also known as the director of photography. The purpose of the editing that the cinematographer does is to give the film its own unique aesthetic style. The cinematographer also controls the visual effect of a film

The cinematographer is responsible for taking into account what the director wants the shot to look like. The cinematographer must then be able to manage the camera and lighting crew to make any adjustments to get the right shot. To be a cinematographer, you would need a good eye for detail and may creative ideas. You also need to know about angles and light settings to be able to perfect a shot.

Editor

The job of an editor is to assemble different raw material including camera footage, audio, sound effects and graphics. After that, the material will need to be assembled and edited so that it is suitable for viewing. The editor works alongside the director to perfect the visuals and audio order and visual effects. The editing will be dine using high quality computer software which allows visuals and audio to be affected.

The responsibilities of an editor is to work to a brief which is given by the director. When given the brief, the editor will need to assemble the raw footage in order and begin editing the film in different sections. The editor will also need to decide which footage can be used before it is put in order. The director will tell the editor what footage is suitable and the editor will use their skills to fulfil the desires of the director and insure logical sequencing of the footage.

Film Director

Being a film director involves having a creative imagination and good organisation skills. A film director has complete control over the creative side of film making. The director is the person who knows exactly what the story is and also has some ideas of how they want certain sections to look. A film director is an essential part of making a film because they are able to help the people creating the film to understand how they want each section to look. The director works alongside each and every member of the production team and tell them how they need to do their job to make the film interesting to an audience. The film director will need to be at every shoot and oversee every stage of production.

A film director will be responsible for every aspect of production of a film. This means that a director will need to be able to dedicate lots of time to the film and be able to attend meetings. A director must be able to describe how they want the film to look, what the story is and what they want actors or producers to do. The speed and fluidity of the project relies on the organisation of the director which will require the ideas of the director to be clear and detailed.

2.3 Potential progression routes into the film industry and wider sector

Industry mindmap and future plans

Group Research

Learn

Universities give a number of courses that give that benefit your knowledge in film and TV, they provide in depth lessons on techniques while use the most modern of equipment.

The BFI can also give courses in the watershed and Christchurch studios, and also provides residentials in such department as animation, documentaries, sfx effects and short film construction where students can spend a number of days focused on developing skill and focusing on a project. Other sources of such as old vic theatre school, which produces articles about films.

Outside of education is a free alternative such as online tutorials from other experienced producers, which are most commonly based on websites such as YouTube and other educational websites.

Training is another way to learn in film, organisations like the BBC, channel 4 and ITV provide production apprenticeships. These areas may consist of a mentor to guide you through your training.

A completely independent route is learning through trial and error, many independent film makers that immediately start to make films often learn and develop from their past mistakes, this route is effective as it allows film creators to develop their own style  while creating a  sense of self reliance but can be very time consuming.

Master classes allow professionals from the industry to come and discuss their experiences within the industry to an audience, this is useful as it allows the viewer to engage with a lot more personal experience of what the film industry is like and how to break into it.

 

Network

Online Networking 

Online networking is becoming more and more prevalent and accessible, and can be a great opportunity to meet like-minded filmmakers, as well as source crew, cast and equipment. The BFI NETWORK offers online opportunities to network and advertises for BFI events. There are also a variety of local and national Facebook groups to network online as well. 

BFI Networking Opportunities – Events and Professional Development

https://network.bfi.org.uk/news-and-features 

Facebook Networking Groups

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/bristolunitedfilmmakers/

– Casting Calls

– Equipment for Sale

– Crew

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/bfifilmacademy/

https://www.facebook.com/bfifilmacademy/

https://www.facebook.com/BfiFilmAcademyBristol/

– group for national BFI alumni and members

– group for Bristol BFI members

– employment/training and network opportunities

https://www.facebook.com/creativeskillshub/

– opportunities for training and mentoring

Film Festivals – Volunteering

By volunteering at film festivals, it can be a great opportunity to meet other young aspiring filmmakers who are also volunteering, as well as potential opportunities to network with filmmakers who are attending the event to talk on panels or have their films screened.

Encounters, Bristol

https://encounters-festival.org.uk/

 

Into Film, Nationwide (Youth Orientated)

https://www.intofilm.org/

BFI Future Film Festival, London (Youth Orientated with multiple networking events)

https://www.bfi.org.uk/education-research/education/bfi-future-film

Bristol Radical Film Festival, Bristol (Political Film Orientated)

http://www.brff.co.uk/

Film Bath, Bath

https://filmbath.org.uk/

BFI List of Film Festivals for Young People

https://www.bfi.org.uk/education-research/bfi-film-academy-scheme/film-festivals-young-filmmakers

Watershed List of Film Festivals in the South West

https://watershed.co.uk/filmhub/membership/film-festivals/

BFI London Film Festival, London

https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp

BFI Flare, London (LGBTQ+ orientated)

https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/flare/Online/

Networking Events

 

You can also attend specified networking events to meet other filmmakers and potential representatives of funding bodies.

 

Creative England – Be More Bristol

http://creativeengland.co.uk/events/be-more-bristol

Creative England Live

http://creativeengland.co.uk/events/creative-england-live-2018

Film London, Networking Events

http://filmlondon.org.uk/industry

Work

There are lots of different ways to get into the industry for you to you work.

entry level jobs :

There are many jobs at entry level which you can get into such as Floor Runner, Set Assistant, Floor Assistant, Assistant Directors and Script Writers. You can also have Work Experience such as work experience in production. There is many trainee jobs such as a department trainee, Camera Operators, Costume and Set designers. Another way to get into the film and media industry is through being Admin for a company.

production companies :

• BBC
• Doghouse studios
• Bottleyard
• Aardman
• Films at 59
• Omniproductions
• Icon Films
• Farmstudios
• Happy hour productions
• Humble bee films
• Off-the-fence production
• Silverback film

Post-production houses

• evolutions
• Doghouse studios
• Wounded buffalo
• Films at 59

Internships

internships are based on gaining experience. You can get internships at places such as RIFE, as well as emailing a variety and asking for things which are not advertised. These are available at lots of times throughout the  year – for example, summer internships. Internships as a post-production runner, with the company BAFTA for example as Production and with Women In Film And Tv are available to name a few. These can be valuable when applying for different positions and give you experience which you won’t get anywhere else.

Apprenticeships

You can get apprenticeships at many big name TV companies, such as BBC, Channel 4 and ITV. In BBC, the apprenticeships are split into 4 sections, Production, Technology, Journalism and Business, and you can then choose what you want to do amongst these choices. In addition, there are lots of apprenticeships in independent companies or doing things. like Digital Marketing and social media.

Create

In our group, we discussed the creative ways which our film could be shared and made and the different platforms that could be used to share our work. One of the things we thought about is how we could share our content using the media. Online networking has many different types of platforms which people are able to share their films and different types of media they have made such as YouTube and Vimeo. Facebook and Twitter are also good ways of sharing work which will get noticed by people. Creating an online page similar to a portfolio is also a good way of sharing lots of work at once.

Doing courses and getting contacts of people with a wide range of skills is also a good way that you can do well in the film industry. One way that this can be done is by doing courses such as the BFI and keeping in touch with people who are interested in similar things than you. This will allow you to use these people in projects or in later life.

We discussed how getting a kickstart helps funding and hiring equipment allows you to save money which helps when working in the media industry because it allows you to have more money and also gives you more options to spend money on your project to get it shown. Working at film festivals also allows you to get more money and gives you another option to get your work noticed.

When distributing your work there are many websites such as rife which share media created by people which helps them get noticed. Also attending film festivals let’s you feature your films and meet new people. Watching films is a good way to get inspiration for your work and also gives you ideas that other film makers have used, let’s you have your own opinions and use them in your own way.

Learning from Masterclasses