Kodak Awards- Popcorn Director

Popcorn director sounds like a fancy name for someone who works the counter in a cinema, but no, what I mean is that I am directing the popcorn themed advert, the original title of which was "cheeky handful" but our lectures refer to it as popcorn so that's what we have adopted. As I wrote a post last year about how to be a good director, instead I would like to write one about what I learnt from doing this.

So my main directing experience comes from Brush Stroke which I directed last year, this was very eye opening for me as it gave me my first real look at the job I want to do, well, here I am directing again so that gives you some idea of whether I enjoyed it or not. What I did learn was that it isn't always smooth sailing. Some shoots were immensely fun and flew by without a hitch and stress free, one such was the above one where it was fun, everyone worked well and the location was nice.

Others were not so fun, there were days when it was just miserable, morale was low, people were getting stressed and it just wasn't fun to be making this film, it happens. The above was the lowest of these times, we were filming in freezing conditions on a very windy day, sound was a nightmare and it started snowing, also on this day we were late and one of the actors went home, as a result of this we had to re plan and shoot the script on set. However, it was times like this I feel I learnt the most as it meant that I had the most direction to give as things didn't just fall into place.

Another thing that was new to me was working with actors that I didn't already know, this had mixed results, without naming anyone, in the interest of professionalism, some of the actors were a dream to work with and some where a nightmare. I worked with some who were very professional and some who I got along with very well and got good performances out of, this was good as when you have professional people who are receptive to what you're telling them it always makes directing easier.

However, like before, it was the bad times that made me learn more, I had one actor who wasn't very responsive to what I was telling him and also was often quite pushy in telling me how I should do things when it is in no way his job to tell me how to do mine. As a result of this I learned that at the end of the day I need to have more backbone and demanding of my actors and not settle for what they're giving me if I'm not happy. I did a lot of learning on that production and I look forward to benefitting and making things of a higher standard as a result, that's all for now, until next time.

Kodak: Job Role Producer

As you know from my previous post, I have been given the role of producer, this is a job I have never done before and as such I thought it would be a good idea to do some research into how I can do this job effectively and what makes a good producer.

Firstly I will look at what a film producer actually does. If we consult the Wikipedia, it has this to say:
"Film producers fill a variety of roles depending upon the type of producer. Either employed by a production company or independent, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting script, coordinating writing, directing and editing, and arranging financing."
Put simply then, a producer runs and organises the whole production, they are in charge of hiring, booking, scheduling, paperwork. Essentially the work of a producer can be boiled down to, all of the work that isn't creative and is vital for the creation of the film.

How to be a good producer and what qualities should a producer have:

• Well firstly and possibly the most key thing a producer needs to be is organised, if the producer isn't organised then how can the rest of the crew be. This is something I am going to have to work on as, with me working on two projects, it will be harder to stay on top of both of these jobs.
• A producer must also be a good leader, from working on other things as a director (another leading role) I know that again perhaps this needs working on, however, I do think that I have some leadership qualities that I can bring to this. It is important for a producer to be a good leader as they are essentially the boss of the film.
• Problem solving is also key, as in this role if something is going wrong then it is more often than not, up to you to fix it and quickly. This is a skill I do feel that I have and am good at, I have demonstrated this on many occasions and many films I have made.

I think that about wraps up my research on how to be a good producer and what a producer does so I will finish this post there, until next time.

Level 5: Kodak Awards Intro

Just a brief post to introduce the my latest module which happens to be the first of the year. This is the Nahemi Kodak Awards. Essentially we have to shoot and edit a 30 second advert on 16mm film for real clients that have sent us a brief. The companies were, Centrepoint (a charity for homeless people), Paperchase (a company who sell cards and stationary) and WeSwap (a kind of card used for the exchange of foreign currency). Of these three two were chosen to make an advert for based on individual pitches within our group, none of my ideas were chosen but I did get the role I wanted of director, the other role I got on a different advert was producer so I will have a lot of work on my plate but I am looking forward to throwing myself into it.

Level 5: Kodak Awards Intro

Just a brief post to introduce the my latest module which happens to be the first of the year. This is the Nahemi Kodak Awards. Essentially we have to shoot and edit a 30 second advert on 16mm film for real clients that have sent us a brief. The companies were, Centrepoint (a charity for homeless people), Paperchase (a company who sell cards and stationary) and WeSwap (a kind of card used for the exchange of foreign currency). Of these three two were chosen to make an advert for based on individual pitches within our group, none of my ideas were chosen but I did get the role I wanted of director, the other role I got on a different advert was producer so I will have a lot of work on my plate but I am looking forward to throwing myself into it.