Unit 2 Revision

 Unit 2: Revision

Type of Product for Brief and Planning

The type of product you're making will have varying implications for the pre-production stage - An educational website will have different implications within the brief than a music video designed for teens. Regardless some pre-production stages will be similar.

Things that will appear on different briefs or would be appropriate to respond with would be examples like staff, resources, constraints like time or lack of staff/resources and funding.

Examples of what products would be asked to make:

• Interactive - Website, Game, App
• Print - Magazine, Newspaper, Advertising
• A/V - Film, TV show, Trailer, Advert, Radio Ad

Requirements - what are you being asked to make and what features will it include (I.E. an educational app that teaches 7-12 year old's about programming which features a vibrant color scheme).

Personnel - Staff/crew (job roles) are fundamental to making a product. Within your personnel you'd need to consider:

• How many people you need
• Job roles - producer, editor, director, graphic designer
• Skills
• Experience 

Questions could include - Identify a management tool that could be used to create a meeting. 

• Skype
• Zoom
• Teams

Sol is a video editor. List as many jobs/responsibilities someone may have as a video editor. 

• Video editing
• Audio editing/effects
• Special effects design
• Organizer - Footage log organization
• Experience in Adobe Premiere and Audition
• Computer experience
• Making sure colours/text appeals to audience
• Creating visuals and audio which match the product/brief

Research

Primary Research - Your own research - 

Takes more time and effort (takes more staff) but more reliable - can be difficult to access (if audience is children - safeguarding codes and permission from parents) 

• Questionnaire
• Focus Group - Asking a group people (with the same background as target audience) questions.
• Interview - Asking one person questions of the same background as target audience.
• Survey

Secondary Research - Research which already exists - 

Quick and accessible but could be outdated or contain misinformation/biased - could require to buy data

• Books
• Newspapers/magazines
• TV
• Internet (forums, articles and survey results)

Marketing and competitor research should be conducted.

Costs and Constraints

Example costs:

• Talent
• Skill
• In house staff
• Consumables - Film/lighting gels/batteries
• Power
• Locations
• Insurance
• Catering

Constraint examples:

• Time
• Budget
• Weather
• Staff
• Availability - Talent, location, resources

Regulation - What is overseen

Regulation Bodies

• ASA - Advertising Standards Authority - Adverts
• BBFC - British Board of Film Classification - Film
• PEGI - Pan European Gaming Information - Games
• OFCOM - Office of Communications - TV and Radio
• PRS - Performing Rights Society - Music
• IPSO - Independent Press Standards Organization - Magazine and Newspapers
• W3C - World Wide Web Consortium - The Internet

Relevant Facilities, Locations and Resources:

Dependent on the product, the locations, resources and facilities will differ. Based on the brief you will have to consider what you will need to make the product.

These will include:

Video

• Cameras
• Filming locations
• Actors
• Editing Software (Premiere Pro)

Print

• Camera
• Studio
• Editing Software (Photoshop)
• Models

Interactive

• Software (Unity)
• Computers
• Cloud Storage

Laws & Ethics

Laws are set in place by the government and must be followed.

Ethics are placed in morals and are dependent on an individuals morality. - Representations within media product being negative would be an ethical issue or representation of crime or provocative/inapropriate content. Working conditions are safe for all crew.

Health and safety laws - Risk Assessments Must be Taken (eye strain when working on computers or loose wires). 

PRS (performing rights society) - You cannot perform a piece of copyrighted media (e.g. a pub playing background music) without a PRS license. However, educational industries (I.E. schools) are exempt from this. 

• Copyright - To not use an intellectual property as your own to protect the creator.

• Defamation - Using an IP to tarnish it's reputation

• Libel - Writing about an IP within something like an article online or in a newspaper to tarnish its reputation

• Slander - Speaking about an IP to tarnish its reputation such as on the news or via video format

• Breach of Contract - Disobeying one of the agreed upon terms within a contract and therefore, breaching it

• Non-Disclosure Agreement - An agreement in which during any stage of a product's creation must not be discussed outside of those within the agreement and to establish any discretion within the contract.

Legal Acts

• Freedom of information act (2000) - allow public access to information held by public authorities (not allowing public to see something declared for the public)

• Intellectual property rights - All use of product is beneficial for creator and prevents copyright for a given time.

• Data protection act - Controls how organizations can use your data.

• Copyright act (1988) - Fines or gives jail-time to any who breach intellectual property rights.

Client Briefs

• Standard - Informal agreement to work on a project

• Formal - Formal agreement with rules to work on a project/brief (scheduled meetings with client and producer to be professional)

• Tender - A client will put out an advert for production companies to come and work for; the brief contained within the ad. 

• Contractual - An agreed upon form which has rules that must be followed.

• Commissioned - Independent company hires for a project to create a proposal and conduct research

• Negotiated - Pitching your own ideas for a brief to a company which will be agreed upon and scrapped during discussion before anything is formally written 

Types of Planning Docs

Generic

• Mind map
• Mood-board
• Production Schedule

Specific

• Visualization Diagram - Print/static
• Storyboard - AV and interactive (anything moving)
• Set plan (TV, Moving Ad, Film)
• Wire frame - interactive/web
• Site map - Interactive/web
• Decision Tree - Interactive

Pre-Production Documentation

• Proposal - Outlining what your product is or will be to a client
• Production Schedule
• Call Sheet - Crew list
• SWOT analysis
• Asset Log - Log of items which you need or own
• Risk Assessment - Assessing/listing potential dangers in production - Activity-Risk-who is at risk-Measures in place-who fixes risk
• Storyboard
• Script
• Shooting Script
• Concept Art
• Character Design
• Visualization Diagram - Print or website
• Wireframe/flat plan
• Prototype
• Page mock up
• Set designs/Maquette
• Site map
• Permission and consent forms

Job Roles

• Project Manager - Staff member who keeps any project running to the given time and budget.

• (Graphic) Designer - Roles cover the visual design of the project.

• Coder/Programmer - Technical creators of interactive products who require a clear structure to work from alongside the designer.

• Producer - In TV/Film - Staff tasked with ensuring the production is on schedule: staff are hired, both are paid; funding is managed.

• Director - In TV/Film - Tasked with the creative direction of a piece: the director assesses production + development of the project from idea into finished piece.

• Director of photography/cinematography - Work under director to 'set up' shots + film sequences; also directing the start of the VFX, SFX, props, costumes and set teams (can be planned via set plan). This is to ensure the product looks right.

• Editor - In any media product, the editor will make decisions on the inclusion or omission of content. They're responsible for turning the planned production into reality using the given footage (log) or pictures/photos.

• Copywriter - The staff responsible for text in a production such as: advertising slogans, brochure or web page content; not a journalist.

The Revision 

Universal Pre-Production Planning Docs:

• Mind-Map - main node - sub node - satellite node

• Mood-board

• Production Schedule

• Treatment

• Risk assessment

• Budget 

Specific Pre-Production Docs

• Visualization Diagram - Print - location and lighting, text, font, colours

• Shoot Schedule - Print

• Equipment List - Asset List

• Set Plan - A/V

• Script - A/V and games - cast names and locations/actions

• Storyboard - A/V and Games

• Location Recce - A/V (Finding Locations)

• Location Release Forms - A/V

• Call Sheet - A/V (informs actors when and where they should be)

• Decision Tree - Games

• Level Design - Games

• Character Design - Games

• Test Plan - Games and Web

• Wire-Frame - Web - Map out navigation/features of web, give idea of function, before adding of graphic design. - Where images, buttons, features, videos,  layout, font types and colour.

• Site Map - Web - 3 sub-pages following 'home' - 1 content page 

• Asset List - Web

• Risk assessment (3-4 examples) - activity (photo shoot) - risk (loose wires) - who is at risk (photographer) - measures against risk (Tape down wires) - responsible for measures (Don Pedro) - measures in place (yes)

20 Mark Assessment Plan

• Analysis or evaluation
• Needs to present a balanced argument (I agree to this extent)
• If only 1 doc is mentioned, write down another as suggestion (alternative) 
• Write why documents are suited to jobs of team mentioned (production schedule useful for producer and why)

1. State your position (agree or disagree).
2. State one side of your argument (I.E. advantages/positive features or disadvantages/negative) and explain in relation to brief.
3. Identify the key features of the document (why are they good and why are they useful to the brief?).
4. What would your alternative pre-production document be? (Linked to product/brief)
5. Explain why document would be useful to included staff on brief.
6. Comparison + analysis: make judgements in comparison of documents
7. Conclusion: what opinion do you have? How do the documents fit and not fit the brief?

Drawing Questions (7/8)

1. Annotate - link to brief
2. Read the questions carefully (what pre-production doc, what requirements?)
3. Include 4-5 Technical Elements (conventions - Shot types on a storyboard or sub nodes on a mind-map)
4. Use whole space
5. Don't take too long

Target Audience Factors

 Target Audience Factors

Psychographics and Demographics

Psychographics - The psychological factors which affect an individuals perception of themselves; this affects their opinions, attitudes and interests/lifestyles. These are a factor for target audiences as media products can cater to the interests of people i.e. psychographics.

 Examples of psychographics would be:

• Mainstreamer (mainstream products)
• Explorer (different genres)
• Succeeder (believes they exceed in everything)
• Resigned (not working)
• Struggler (introverted)

Demographics - The physical attributes which affect a person such as age, gender, ethnicity, class and location therefore, their interests as a demographic are dictated by this. 

Examples of demographics would be:

• Socio-economic class
• Age
• Gender
• Ethnicity
• Psychographics
• Geographic location
• Sexuality
• Mainstream
• Niche

These are targeted because they make people what they are.

Your social grade (ABC1/C2DE) is determined by your disposable income and occupation. ABC1 audiences are targeted because they have enough disposable income to afford media products.

Legal and Ethical Issues

 Legal and Ethical Issues

Laws

• Copyright - To not steal intellectual properties and use them, claiming them as your own. Protection of intellectual property for user and creator for a set period of time.

• Defamation - To not use an intellectual property or brand and tarnish/defame its reputation

• Libel and Slander - Libel is written information (magazine or newspaper) which tarnishes something's reputation; Slander is verbal attacks (e.g. the news) against something, speaking ill of it. The law is the tarnishing of something's reputation due to misinformation

• Breach of Contract - Breaking one of the agreed upon terms within a contractual agreement.

• Non-Disclosure Agreements - A legally binding contract which establishes confidential agreements regarding the work within the contract. 

To Avoid Copyright Claims:

• Create all content from scratch - original designs, music, characters, narratives etc.

• Request Permission from copyright owner - can be free dependent on contexts but may cost dependent on project nature

• Use of copyright free/Creative Commons or public domain assets - are usable without permissions

Media Permissions - The Last of Us HBO

HBO will have had to acquire rights from Sony as they own The Last of Us game IP; this in addition to music rights from the game, other artists like Depeche Mode (Never Let me Down Again), Erasure (Chains of Love) and Fleetwood Mac (Coming Home to Stay). This is in addition to assets from the game (characters) like Joel, Ellie or the infected. Due to the recent release of The Last of Us game (in 2013).

How would contracts/Non-disclosure agreements affect pre-production?

Not disclosing anything about the product before production. Taking on contractors which have a proven track record to not leak or discuss the product before production. 

Moral Issues exist such as:

• Treatment of talent and staff

• depictions of social groups

• adhering to local customs if filming abroad 

Ethical Issues in:

• Production of a short film - Fair hours and pay for staff

• Creating a fashion magazine - Fair hours and pay for staff

• Initial programming of a game - Fair hours and pay for staff

LO2: Client Requirements

 LO2: Client Requirements

Different Client Briefs

• Formal - Professional (scheduled meetings with client and producer where client outlines requirements)

• Standard - Informal: could be a friend's request to work on something (client and producer will come to a verbal agreement, could be over the phone)

• Negotiated - Pitching your own ideas into the brief (editing the brief and adding your own terms). Aims and objectives will be agreed before anything is formally written down

• Contractual - Obliged to do what the client requests due to contractual agreement.

• Tender - Client will post an advert for what needs to be produced and production companies will respond. 

• Commissioned - Client hires an independent company to create a media product where they will conduct research and give a proposal to the client.

Similarities

• The client will request a company or another person to produce a piece of work for them in which requirements and timescale are discussed before production

• The producer will create a product for the client

• Working relationship between client and producer

• Tender and standard are more informal

• Commissioned and all others are dependent on relationship and reputation with companies/clients

Differences

• Each have different levels of formality between client and producer

• Tender is the only one where clients will send out a request that many companies can view and accept before interacting with the client

• Commissioned can target independent companies/producers and see new producers with clients

• Negotiated is the only brief which allows the producer to influence the client, completely opposing contractual which is the most strict

• Contractual requires (with evidence) for client and producer to follow what they have both agreed on (such as pay date)

Types of Requirements - COEI

1. Constraints - limitations (cost, legal, ethical, time)
2. Open - Freedom of ideas/decisions
3. Explicit - Clearly stated and must be met
4. Implicit - Implied/suggested 

• Requirement - To produce a social media app which targets an age demographic of 14-24 

• Implied/Interpretation - The colour scheme and layout will be more mature (low-key and streamlined like social media such as discord or instagram) to appeal to a teenage/young adult demographic

• Constraint - Deadline is the end of April

Analysis of Client Briefs

• Mind Map

• Mood board

• Blue-Sky Thinking

• Swot Analysis  (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the brief)

SWOT Analysis

• Strengths (Internal) - Staff for the project (that fulfil requirements), resources, clear target, audience
• Weaknesses (Internal) - Lack of needed staff, too wide target audience
• Opportunities (External) - Production company can grow to make other projects
• Threats (External) - Competitors and deadline being too short

Tender Brief

Strengths - Target audience is specific in disposable income, graphic designer for a design brief (staffing)

Weaknesses - Wide target audience (age and gender)

Opportunities - Allows Graphic Designer to expand and gain experience, tourism in South Wales

Threats - Competitive Market, Short deadline (2 weeks)

Planning Documents

 Planning Documents

Generic Planning Documents

• Production Schedule/Plan

• Call Sheet

• Equipment List

• Mood Board

• Gant Chart

• Visualization Diagram

Specific Planning Documents

• Shot plan (for photos)

• Storyboards

• Script

• Flow chart/diagram

Production Plan/Schedule

The spreadsheet is useful as it denotes what tasks need to be completed, when and how long they will take to give an overall brief of the whole product. However, these documents do not include imagery therefore, updates or other planning like visualisation diagrams will not apply to these documents. Furthermore, these can be shared via E-Mail to share to all others (and clients) working on the project and therefore, is useful to many members of a project, giving them the same benefit it does you.

Pre-Production Documents

Film

• Script
• Shooting plan
• Risk assessment
• Storyboard
• Call Sheet
• Shot Plan
• Editing Decisions
• Treatment 
• Recce Sheet
• Release and agreement form and Location release form
• Budget Plan
• Production Schedule
• Gant Chart
• Footage Log
• Requirements

Television

• Script
• Shooting plan
• Risk assessment
• Storyboard
• Call Sheet
• Shot Plan
• Editing Decisions
• Treatment 
• Recce Sheet
• Release and agreement form and Location release form
• Budget Plan
• Production Schedule
• Gant Chart
• Footage Log
• Requirements
• Equipment List

Radio

• Risk assessment
• Call Sheet
• Treatment 
• Recce Sheet
• Release and agreement form 
• Budget Plan
• Production Schedule
• Gant Chart
• Requirements 

Podcast

• Risk assessment
• Call Sheet
• Treatment 
• Recce Sheet
• Release and agreement form 
• Budget Plan
• Production Schedule
• Gant Chart
• Requirements 
• Loose script

Web Design

• Risk assessment
• Call Sheet
• Treatment 
• Recce Sheet
• Release and agreement form 
• Budget Plan
• Production Schedule
• Gant Chart
• Requirements 
• Wireframe

Print Design

• Risk assessment
• Call Sheet
• Treatment 
• Recce Sheet
• Release and agreement form 
• Budget Plan
• Production Schedule
• Gant Chart
• Requirements 

Interactive Design

• Risk assessment
• Call Sheet
• Treatment 
• Recce Sheet
• Release and agreement form 
• Budget Plan
• Production Schedule
• Gant Chart
• Requirements 

Job Roles in Media

 Unit 2 - Job Roles in Media

(Bold - Advertised in Sheffield)

• Film - Director, camera/audio crew, editor, graphic designer, sound, sfx and vfx editors, producer, cinematographers, art director, storyboard artists/concept artists, scriptwriter, marketing analyst, account manager, production manager, environmental artists, set designer, sound recordist, foley artists (sound), production assistant, script supervisor, event manager, risk manager

• Print + Design - models, editors, photographers, media researchers, journalists, art director, marketing analyst

• Interactive/Online Media - web designers, developers/programmers, art directors, play-tester, marketing analyst, character modeler, level designer

Script-Writer

The work of a scriptwriter is to create the narrative within a brief given for a media product (AV or Interactive). This writer will write the script used in the narrative including: character names and dialogue, locations and props. The average salary of a scriptwriter is upwards of £25,000 a year however, per script for a film, the writer may get 2-3% of the film's total revenue. Skills required are narrative/creative writing and English skills as well as media literacy in the understanding of realistic settings and props within a given budget or to make the product appeal to a specific target audience. Qualifications include English language as well as general creative writing skills. Employers for scriptwriters would be the interactive and AV industry. 

Storyboard Artist

A storyboard artist is required to follow the narrative set by the scriptwriter to create visual images that follow what has been written that the final product will use for reference in production. The salary of a storyboard artist is £40,000+ per year however, this is dependent on whatever company you are working for. Skills required would be drawing ability as well as art qualifications and an understanding of narrative theory and media knowledge (e.g. shot types, angles and their connotations, how the story will follow the narrative visually). Employers would include the AV and interactive industry.

Director

A director manages and choreographs each scene within an AV product, guiding actors and models and working to organize the production process of a product. The average salary of a director is £40,000 per year however, in the US (due to it's more thriving film industry) this can go up to $120,000 per year; also gaining a variable percentage cut. The skills required would be managerial and media skills with an understanding of how to work with and around any people (e.g. problem solving skills) to create the best effect possible in the filming of a product. Qualifications needed include: media, maths and English however, this can likely vary, especially with experience. The employers for directors are within the AV industry with few in Interactive and Print. 

LO1: Evaluating the factors that need to be considered when planning

Evaluating The Factors That Need to Be Considered When Planning

Pre-Production: the planning stage of a product. 

Factors that need to be considered when planning:

• Finances (Setting up potential sources of income to fund product)
• research/market and audience research
• Time
• Accessibility to required software/resources
• Feasibility
• The product itself (type of production) and what it must contain based off the brief
• Target audience and how to appeal to them
• Problems that may need to be worked around relating to the brief
• Employees/personnel to work on the product (e.g. directors, producers, crew)
• legal (e.g. copyright), ethical (morally correct) and regulatory issues with companies like Ofcom or the BBFC 

Finance

Revenue streams - where funding for the media product comes from. This could include: crowdfunding (e.g. Kickstarter).

An example of a crowdfunded product is Hollow Knight which had a target crowdfunding goal of $35,000 however, the team had stretch goals which went up to $85,000. The team reached up to $62,000 in funding from their Kickstarter campaign. This allowing for the game to be produced and include extra due to the additional funding. The campaign constantly including interaction between the developers and their funding groups, those who funded the project being gifted additional rewards by paying a monthly subscription.

Other revenue streams include:

• Corporate finance - investment from a corporation
• Sponsorship - Advertising another product within the product you're making
• Advertising - Trailers, posters, adverts etc. to make people aware of your product
• Franchising - Expanding your media product to other media

Industry and Job Roles - Audio Visual:

• Director - Directs people as to what they should do within the production e.g. expressions - managerial skills
• Actor - The person who plays the character/s within the product - acting ability
• Cameraman - The person who films the product - filming/camera skills
• Editor - The person who edits (cutting, changing audio or visual effects and cleaning up the film) - editing software skills
• Audio Recorder - The person who films/records the audio - audio knowledge/skills
• Writer/scriptwriter - The person who writes the narrative for the product - English/writing skills
• Advertiser - The person who gets the product known by audiences - Market Research/audience research
• make-up/costume artist - The person who is behind the actor's appearance in the product - art skills
• VFX artist - The person who is behind all the visual effects in a product - Adobe Premiere Skills
• SFX artist - the person behind all the sound/audio effects within a product - Adobe Audition Skills

Time Constraints

The production of a media product often requires a deadline to complete it; failure to meet this deadline can lead to project failure and therefore, financial loss. This means it's important to plan and find your resources within the timescale. These could include: crew, editors, equipment (cameras, microphones). 

In drawing questions: annotate!

Legal Issues and Ethical Issues

Legal Issue present in pre-production - copyright

• Freedom of Information Act 2000 - To allow public access to information held by public authorities. This is important as: it allows people to access information such as the news, allows public authorities (e.g. police) to access information, allows for people to access healthcare information like the NHS. Not adhering to this act results in a fine. This law would affect pre-production of a product by way of allowing for research into what your media product is about (if it was based off real events or required real world knowledge to make).

• Intellectual Property Rights - The legal rights given to the creator of a product for a given time period. This prevents copyright, all use of the product is beneficial to the creator (funds or credit) and the creator is free to use their product in whatever way they wish (within legal and ethical constraint). Not adhering to this can result in a fine or a sentence up to a maximum of ten years. This affects pre-production as you can't use someone else's Intellectual property in your own product.

• Data Protection Act - Controls how your personal information can be used by organizations and corporations/businesses. This is important as it prevents data breaches, stops vital information like banking credentials from being stolen and means organizations cannot commit identity theft with your information. Not adhering to this results in private claims for the extent of damages taken to the person. This affects pre-production as the people behind the product must fairly use the information of those involved in the product's creation. 

• Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 - This act protects the intellectual property of people. This is important as it allows for people to patent their work, this meaning that they gain profit and credit when their work is used. Creator's works cannot be stolen by way of copyright, giving them profit by use of their products; creator's will be given credit for their work. Not adhering to this law can result in a max fine of £5000 and/or 5/6 months imprisonment. This law affects pre-production as the creators would have to file for this law by way of copyrighting or patenting their product or not using other's IP's during creation (planning for the use of those IP's in pre-production).

Ethical Issues: Consequences

• Legal action against the organization
• Product being banned from sale
• Reputation of the organization
• Loss of finance

Regulatory Bodies - Companies which oversee and make rules for producers/other companies to follow

• ASA - Advertising Standards Authority - Adverts - 'zinger chicken salad ad'
• BBFC - British Board of Film Classification - Film - 'The Batman and Mrs.Doubtfire'
• PEGI - Pan European Game Information - Games - 'Manhunt'
• Ofcom - Office of Communications - TV and Radio - 'I'm a celebrity get me out of here'
• PRS - Performing Right Society Limited - Music - 'God Save the Queen by Sex Pistols due to crudeness'
• IPSO - Independent Press Standards Organisation - Print - 'Daily Mail as most complained about newspaper''
• W3C - World Wide Web Consortium - The Internet/World Wide Web - 'complaints to the regulatory body itself due to incorrectly blacklisting sites and lack of accessibility'. The site contains a page which demonstrates how to complain about an inaccessible website.

ASA Complained Ads - Tesco's Father Christmas Covid Passport (https://youtu.be/0P7QSCLtRwI?si=3TSAxlFDqb3DlX0k)

This advert was complained about due to the portrayal of racist stereotypes: this being a black family eating fried and jerk chicken together.

Booking.com (https://youtu.be/-XjQutgqW4Y)

This advert was banned due to it's insinuation of swearing, using the word 'booking' as a replacement for another word: the similarities however, made audiences believe the words were too close together, making it sound like the ad was actually swearing.

Constraints include lack of knowledge in staff, staffing (cost and knowledge), time, catering and equipment/resources and location (uncontrollable factors like weather). Resources are physical objects so knowledge would not be a resource.