Production Roles- Miss Miller

Production Roles

People need to be allocated specific roles when creating a film, so that it makes it easier for each member to focus on a specific element of the film and so that if one thing goes wrong within the sequence than only one person will have the responsibility. Also, people need to be allocated specific roles because different people will have different experience within different parts of the film. There are various roles within creating a film such as, producers, directors, actors, director of photography (cameraman), music producers, screenplay writer, MES Coordinators and editors. Producers are the main players in the filming industry. A producer will oversee each project from conception to completion and may also be involved in the marketing and distribution processes. Producers work closely with directors and other production staff on the shoot. The director positions each character within the frame in each scene and controls what is happening within the sequence. The director is simply the manager of the sequence. The role of the actors is to play the part/role of different characters within the sequence. The role of director of photography (cameraman) is to film the sequence using a sequence. Furthermore, the cameraman has to control the different camera shots and techniques and is responsible for these activities. The role of the music producers is to gather ideas for the different music to be used within the sequence and to control when and where these will be used within the sequence. The role of a screenplay writer is to create the narrative and story line for the sequence and to develop the initial idea into a well effective narrative. The role of the MES Coordinators is to decide on the costume+hair & make-up, iconography, lighting and setting. They will be in charge of what the characters need to where, what props will be used within the sequence, where the film is going to be set and what type of lighting will be included within the sequence. The role of editors is to edit the film once all the scenes have been filmed. They will need to be in charge of the different transitions between each frame and that speed of each scene. Also, they will need to be responsible of altering the sequence.


We decided on who would be doing what by the judgement of previous experience that we have had. We also allocated roles based on our different strengths with regards to our different techniques e.g Bettie is the most creative out of all member's therefore would be given the role of screenplay writer.

Me

As a group we decided that I would be responsible for the role of 'Director of photography' and 'MES Coordinators'. As a group, we decided that I would be the director of photography because I have had previous experience using camera's so the role of a cameraman would be ideal for the group. I have been allocated this role over the other members of my group as they have only a basic knowledge of cameras as they haven't had previous experience with cameras whereas I have so this role would be more suited towards me as I would be less likely to make mistakes and if I was to make mistakes they would be minimal. I am responsible for filming different scenes which make up the 2 minute sequence and to take charge of the condition of the camera. Within this role, I have successfully filmed our 2 minute sequence using a variety of different camera techniques and shots at various parts of the sequence. Also, I have positioned the camera within different parts of the forest so that there is a range of locations of the camera being used. This would make the filming/editing easier by having this specific job because my experience would help the filming process be faster as I would know what I'm doing. The editing will also be easier as I have a good knowledge of different camera techniques, I would know when and where to include techniques such as slow/fast editing and I could film specifically depending on what editing style I am going to use.

Also, as a group we decided that I would also take the responsibility of being MES Coordinator. We came to this conclusion, as we chose this role for me after I was assigned to director of photography so we thought that it would make sense as I would be the main person who is seeing the camera's viewpoint as I am filming everything, so based on my judgement on what look's good and what doesn't, I will be able to determine what mes en scene elements are better suited at different parts of the sequence. Also, the actors who are taking part in the sequence won't have the same perspective that I have as I would have a bigger range of view so my judgement would be better than theirs. Within my role, I have decided on the different costume, hair and make-up that each character would appear in so that immediately the audience have the ability to start building relationships with the characters based on what they're wearing. I have also decided on the different lighting and colours that are to be used throughout the atmosphere as they would help create different atmospheres. Also, because I am the person behind the camera work, I decided on the positioning of the characters and objects within the frame and stated where within the frame they would appear. Within the role, I have also decided on where the sequence would be set (setting) and what iconography is to be included within the sequence at various different parts. Furthermore, within the role, I also had the duty to decide what the characters facial expressions would be and what their body language would be which would help the audience determine what feelings the characters are experiencing, This will make the filming/editing easier by having this specific job because there would be a clear structure of what is being included within each frame so that it would be easier and faster to film. In terms of editing, we have a clear structure of the different elements included such as lighting which would help us when it comes to involving different types of filters on top of individual frames to adjust the colour.



Bettie


Bettie has be assigned to different roles such as music producers and screenplay writer;

We decided to give Bettie the role of music producers as she tends to be more creative than us and enjoys her research into different types of music and sound effects. Also, she particular enjoys experimenting with different types of sound effects over the top of our sequence and coming to a conclusion of which sounds work the best and is better suited to different parts of the sequence. She was allocated this role instead of me and Kane because me and Kane enjoy more theoretical research whereas Bettie prefers more productive activities. Within this role, Bettie has researched into a number of different sound effects and music and experimented various sounds with our sequence at different parts and determined which ones worked the best and impacted the audience the most. Furthermore, she has also went back to previous research posts based on music and looked into different thriller films to see at what points certain sound effects would be played and also researched into what key elements they would create e.g tension. This would help make the filming/editing easier as she would know where the music and sound effects would be included so as the cameraman I would know how fast I should be doing certain camera techniques (panning, zooming in). This would also make the editing easier as we would be able to determine the pace of the scene (slow/fast) by how fast the music/sound is being played and at what exact moments they are occurring so when we edit we know where to involve certain editing techniques to make our sequence more successful

We have also assigned the role of screenplay writer to Bettie.This was because it was mainly her narrative that we decided to go ahead with so it would only be logical that she was screenplay writer because most of the narrative was her idea. Also, due to the fact that it was mostly her narrative, she would have more of a better understanding compared to myself and Kane. She would be better at developing the narrative as it would be more convenient for her to include more ideas that would make our sequence more successful. Within this role, Bettie has come up with the base narrative for our sequence in which she included the exact scenario that would be taking place however me and Kane have provided idea's to help and support her within her development. This would make the filming/ editing easier as we would have a clear structure of creating a storyboard in which we could follow to make our filming process faster. Furthermore, it would make the editing easier because Bettie would know at what points within the sequence, specific relationships are to be built between the audience and the characters so we could include different techniques within the editing process to support her relationship ideas.


Kane

As a group, we decided to allocate the role of Producer and Director to Kane;

We decided to assign Kane as the producer as he is generally a well organised person. He in comparison to me and Bettie, is more structured to organizing and arranging dates of when we are to film. Also, we found out that he is great at co coordinating and arranging for different people to appear within our sequence and is good for arranging people to come meet us so that we can film their scenes. He has the ability to create a well, structured schedule of different filming times and the days they are to be done. Furthermore, due to his past experience in media at GCSE we found that his skills in media work would be very useful within this role rather than either me or Bettie taking this role. Within this role, Kane has arranged different meetings and filming schedules of when we are to be filming and has arranged times that people outside our group can meet us to film. He has also covered all the elements within our film making sure that they are all appropriate and are suited towards a thriller genre. He has also ensured that our sequence is flowing properly, and that are elements are being used and created at the correct times and also ensure all of our timings are correct. This will make the filming/editing easier by Kane having this specific role as it will give me and Bettie the opportunity to focus on less as we then can concentrate on our roles. Furthermore, it would allow him to indicate where certain elements are too be used and created when we are both filming and editing as he would already have a clear structure which would then make it easier for both myself and Bettie.


We also decided to allocate the role of director to Kane as well. This was because he is more powerful and has a good stability when it comes to controlling the process than me and Bettie so we found that this would be an ideal role for him. Also, we found that he was very structured and good at ordering what is to be taking place in comparison to me and Bettie so this is a well suited role for him. He also has a clear mind of exactly how the sequence should flow and in what order the scenes should take place so we found that this would be ideal as the clear vision built a lot of confidence within the group. Within this role, Kane has ensured that our sequence is as successful as possible by making sure that all key elements have been created within the sequence, and that the positioning of the characters are all correct. He has also made sure that various relationships have been built between the characters and the audience by involving specific techniques at different points. He has also made sure that our sequence involves a wide range of techniques and conventions in order to make our sequence as thriller conventional as possible which would make our sequence more successful. This has made the filming/editing easier by him having this specific job as it makes it easier for the group as a whole especially for myself and Bettie as we can rely on someone within our group to take charge and power to make sure that our sequence is as successful as possible. In addition, me and Bettie know that someone in the group will use their vision and has the confidence to make it into a sequence and will make the general process easier and faster.



Bettie & Kane

We decided to allocate the role of actors towards Bettie and Kane. We used a few other people from outside our group to play the background characters however Bettie and Kane were the main focus. We decided to allocate this role towards these two as they are strong minded and have a great amount of confidence to have the ability to reveal emotions in front of a camera whereas I find that my personality tends to be very shy in front of a camera and that would be a weakness within our sequence so it would be more ideal to use confident people within our sequence. Within this role, Bettie and Kane will play the role of the two main actors. Bettie has played the role of the antagonist in which she kills Kane who is an innocent boy. They have taking this roles and displayed themselves as these characters so that the audience can see a clear contrast in the two different types of people.  This makes the filming/editing easier by them two having specific jobs as it allows us to elaborate and develop these two characters. Due to the fact that there are only 2 main characters, it give us the ability to have a bigger focus and attention on them. It gives us the opportunity to expand on the characteristics which would then help us determine what type of relationships are too be built with each character.


All of us

As a group, we decided that it would more ideal if we all contributed towards being editors. We decided this due to the fact that we all have different idea's and techniques that work well during different parts of the sequence. We are all as equally strong within this role as each other so there is no one in our group that should take complete control. Each of us are responsible for including and creating various editing techniques at different parts of the sequence depending on what the particular scenario is e.g montage for chase scene. Within this role, we all discussed where different techniques would be ideal and what type of impact they would have on the audience and how this would make our sequence more successful. We also experimented with different techniques to see what key elements would be produced and what type of impact they would create. Furthermore, we also experimented with what different relationships and feeling they would create within the audience. This made the filming/editing easier because we was working as a group with this role so it made it easier for us to create and develop ideas to make our sequence more successful. Furthermore, it relieved stress as no one was under pressure as editing techniques have to be exactly right in order for the sequence to be successful. When we were filming it also made it easier, as when we were filming we could discuss as a group where we think certain techniques should be included so that we could focus on the camera techniques to support the editing skills.


I believe that I did quite well in my allocated roles (director of photography and MES co coordinator) as I managed to film the sequence using various camera techniques that impact the audience and help build a better relationship with the characters. I also managed to successfully co-ordinate the MES elements as they all successfully was conventional towards a thriller genre. Also, the display within the frame was layed out and structured well, and also easily understandable for the audience which means they can build relationships with the characters. I also believe that Bettie done well within her allocated roles (music producer, screenplay writer and part of the actors) as she managed to successfully insert music and sound effects into our sequence which were conventional towards a thriller genre so they helped build key elements which then made our sequence more successful. Also, her creativity within the screenplay writer meant that we had a successful narrative to use within the sequence as a base and could develop by using different techniques to make the sequence more effective and give the audience the ability to start building relationships. Her role within the actors was excellent as she played the character of the antagonist who was successfully displayed and created various impacts on the audience. I believe that Kane done very well within his allocated roles (director, producer and part of the actors) as he was very well organised in arranging different filming schedules and organizing the group to film on different day. He also done very well in coordinating the group and giving the group members different roles. Furthermore, he direct commands towards the group showed that he had a clear vision of how he wanted the sequence to be displayed and that the flow of the sequence made it easier for the audience to understand the story line. Moreover, his role within the actors showed that he was dedicated and eager towards our project as he was prepared express an innocent character feelings in the sequence and display the fear he suffers of the antagonist. As a group, I believe we all done very well in the editing role as we researched into different techniques and experimented with them at different parts of the film. We managed to create various feelings and effects just by the way we edited the sequence and created numerous relationships between the audience and the characters. I find that if we were to do anything differently, we could do more roles as a group as the majority of the roles were allocated individually and the only one we done as a group was the editing. I find that we worked better as a group as we could get more feedback from our members and we also have the ability to develop any weak points which I find would make our sequence more successful as different areas within the sequence would have different impacts on the audience and would help them engage more within the sequence.