X marks the spot! The classification Board

WHAT DOES THE BOARD DO?

The classification board classifies, or categorizes, all films and computer games created before they are available to the public. The board decides which category is appropriate for the material to be classified under and chooses what consumer advice needs to be provided with the classification marking (Markings include G, PG, M, MA 15+, R 18+ and X 18+). Consumer advice uses 6 elements; violence, nudity, sex, coarse language, themes and drug use to help the consumer decide whether the material is suitable for them, or their family to watch or play.

HOW IMPORTANT IS CONTEXT IN THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS?

Context plays a major role in determining the classification of a film or computer game. The board must take into consideration the situation of the film or computer game when determining the classification.  For example, the 1971 film The Clockwork Orange by Stanley Kubrick was banned in England, due to the level of violence and having a context of participating in violent behaviour for the fun of it and without consequences. If another film however, had a high level of violence but a different situation where violence is punished, that film may not be banned. This example demonstrates how context refers to the message the media product is sending to the audience, which largely establishes the classification of a film or computer game.

HOW IS IMPACT ASSESSED?

The classification board must also consider how the media product will impact upon, or affect the audience. When the board decides which category the film or game is classified under, the board must follow the Guidelines for the Classification of films and computer games and the Guidelines for the Classification of Publications legislation, which in detail describe the elements that guide classification decision making of the categories in more detail. Also, the board must follow the National Classification Scheme, which is a criteria developed by the board that commenced in January 1996 to assess a film, computer game or other media products.

RESEARCH SOME OF THE DESCISIONS THE BOARD HAS MADE IN RECENT YEARS. WHAT CONTENT HAS BEEN REFUSED CLASSIFICATION OR NEEDED TO BE DEMENDED?

Earlier this year, the classification board came to the decision that that Mortal Kombat computer game would be refused classification in Australia.  The board wrote that the game “depicts, expresses or otherwise deals with sex, violence , coarse language...drug misuse or addiction, crime, cruelty...revolting or abhorrent phenomena in such a way that they offend against the standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults to the extent that it should not be classified”.  The board came to this choice due to the graphic nature of the game, which they believe will promote adults to commit violence and crime in the community and is completely unsuitable for children to play or see.

UNDEAD: SHORT ESSAY RESPONSE.

The Making of UNDEAD illustrated the many challenges of film making.
Based on this text, what in your opinion proved to be the most challenging aspects of the production process. You are to discuss these challenges at each of the three stages of production.
You are also to discuss what challenges you envisage for your own production in Term 4.

The film, Undead, is an Australian horror/comedy about Zombies taking over a small fishing village after a meteorite shower.  The screenplay was written and directed by brothers Michael and Peter Spierig, who took on other various roles, including producer and editor during the production processes of the film, which overall took 2 and a half years. The making of the Undead explored all the challenges and difficulties the cast and crew had to overcome in order to create a successful film. The film budget in particular, was demonstrated to be the most difficult aspect to rise above.

 The film was entirely funded by the Spierig brothers and their family and friends, showing that early on in the development of the film; they were already battling with money troubles.  Due to budget restraints, every detail of the film had to be carefully planned out during the pre-production stage of Undead, which took over eight months to complete before principle photography began. The cautious planning demonstrates that there was no room for mistakes or trial and error, causing pressure and stress to organise every aspect of the film to a satisfactory level.

The production stage, which involved principle photography, took 41 days and began on August 6^th 2001. Unfortunately, the budget ran out on the first day of shooting due to creating interior locations from scratch and having to create hundreds of makeup effect appliances, which was a daunting and exhausting process which took 10 weeks to complete. However, budget restraints was not the only issue to overcome during the production stage, many members of the cast and crew became sick and unable to work due to working in extremely cold conditions and at night. This caused more money and time to be wasted. Once principle photography was completed, additional photography ran for 19 days, and because crew members were limited, shooting became a difficult and extremely long process. The most challenging aspect to overcome included shooting a car accident at night.

Post-production involved 8 months of constant work, cutting and editing the film using only Peter and Michael’s laptop. Overall, it was has been said that creating the visual effects was the most difficult obstacle to achieve , which was both a draining and frustrating procedure  for Michael and Peter, who were both the editors and sound designers for the film. 

Even though the making of Undead was a long, complicated and very exhausting film to create, with many challenges including budget problems, lack of resources and sickness, the movie turned out to become a successful, low budget Australian film in the horror genre. After investigating the challenges the crew of Undead had to overcome, I believe that lacking a reasonable budget and having little experience with visual and sound effects will be the most challenging phase for myself and my group to experience when completing our own production.  To rise above these issues and complete a successful movie, it will take a lot of hard work, determination and creativity from all members of the crew.

Investigating jobs/roles that are media related.

Reporter:

A reporter is one type of Journalist that creates articles or reports to publish and broadcast in the mass media. Reporters may work for newspapers, magazines, television, radio and the internet.

Their role is to collect information by attending press releases, having sources, witnessing events, searching public records and conducting interviews. This process occurs in the pre production stage.

The production stage of their job involves writing articles and/or filming a broadcast.

Courses/education: To qualify as a reporter in Australia, you may need a university degree in journalism.

Courses available include a bachelor of Communications (Journalism) at RMIT University.

The requirements needed to enter this course include:

-       A study score of at least 35 in unit 3 and 4 English.

-       An interview (only if short listed)

Graphic Designer:

Graphic designers create visual designs by constructing layouts for newspapers, magazines, websites and other publications. Graphic designers may also create logos, signs etc for various companies.

The responsibilities of a graphic designer are to firstly discuss with the client ideas for the product being designed, and then to gather information by researching the client. Graphic designers then create various sketches and layouts for the client and pitch to them their ideas and designs. Graphic designers need to be experienced in computer softwares to help construct their designs.

Courses/education:

To qualify as a graphic designer in Australia, you may need to complete a university degree in graphic design. RMIT offers a bachelor of design (communication design) that qualifies you to work in design. The duration of this course goes for 3 years (full time).

Requirements to enter this course include:

-       A study score of at least 30 in unit 3 and 4 English.

-       Also, an interview may need to take place where students need to prepare to folio of their previous work.

Photojournalist:

Photojournalism is a form of journalism that uses images to broadcast information to the mass media. Photojournalists may work all over the world and can work all in many different fields (sport, fashion, world events etc). Photojournalists may be employed to work for major newspapers or work freelance, meaning they sell their images.

Courses/education:

University degrees available to become a photojournalist include a bachelor of photography course at RMIT University. The course takes 3 years to complete (full time)

Requirements to enter this course include:

-       A study score of at least English in unit 3 and 4 english.

-       Interview and a folio may need to be prepared.

Makeup Artist:

In the media industry, makeup artists work with hair, makeup and special effects on anyone working on screen. Makeup artists may prepare makeup for new reporters/presenters, actors and anyone else on television and film.

Courses/education:

Victoria University offers a Diploma of Specialist makeup services that allows you to work in the film, television, fashion industries. The duration of this course is 1 year and the course is available at the city campus.

Advertising:

Advertisers work for various agencies, businesses, government and non-profit organisations to persuade and convince costumers and the public to buy certain products.

Courses/education:

RMIT offers a bachelor of communication (advertising) course at their city campus which takes 3 years to complete. This course allows you to work in the media, such as in film, television, newspapers, radio, magazines and etc.

Requirements to enter this course include:
-    A study score of at least 30 in unit 3 and 4 English.

Film Production Roles!

The Director of Photography; The director of photography, or the D.O.P, is in charge of all the camera and lighting crew on the set of a film. The D.O.P makes decisions with the director about framing scenes and the lighting. Usually, the director discusses how he/she would like the shot to look, and then the D.O.P decides what equipment, filters and lighting is best to capture that shot. The director of photography is involved in the production stage of the film.

The Sound Designer: The sound designer is involved with the post-production stage of the film, and it is their responsibility to be in charge of all the sound in the movie. The designer can simply work alongside the editor and director of the film to create the sound to there liking, or sometimes they have a creative license.

The Costume Designer: During the pre-production stage, it is the costume designers role to design, plan and organise the costumes and clothing worn by actors on film, regarding the fabrics, colours and sizes etc. They work closely with the director to interpret the characters personality and during the production stage, they are responsible for all the clothing worn by actors on screen.

The Casting Director: The casting director works closely with the director and producer of the film in the pre-production process to choose the actors most suitable for the characters, this is done by inviting a wide range of actors to practice for the script, which is known as an audition. The casting director also negotiates the fees and contracts for the actors selected to be apart of the film and supervises the casting assistants, who assist the casting director in there work.

The Screenwriter:  The screenwriter works during the pre-production stage, but also has great influence on the finished product of the film. Screenwriters are usually freelance, and their responsibility is to write and develop narratives and screenplays. First of all, they develop ideas and pitch them to producers and when the producer approves of the idea, then they create a screenplay. Screen writers must be able to write a creative story under strict deadlines.

"Were gonna need a bigger boat!" The Making of Jaws!

Where did the idea of Jaws originate? How did it become a film? Who contributed to the screenplay? The idea of Jaws came from the Author Peter Benchley, who wrote the novel based on a story he read about a fisherman being attacked by a shark. Director Steven Spielberg showed interest in adapting the successful novel into a film. Peter Benchley, Carl Gottieb and Steven Spielberg all contributed to making the screenplay.

Why are particular scenes removed from the film? Particular scenes are removed from the film because the novel contained to much information and detail for a film to be exciting and interesting. Other reasons included shooting difficulties and scenes displayed too much violence.

During the production stage, what sort of footage did the producers commission in preparations for the film? How was the script changed? The producers commissioned to have real footage of sharks shot in Australia for the film. However, the script had to be slightly changed because they were unable to film a shark attacking the cage with a person inside it.

What was involved during the casting process? It was found that the shark was the number 1 star of the film, so the film makers decided against expensive movie stars and wanted to find new talent for the movie. Lorraine Gary was the first to be casted as Ellen Brody, Spielberg decided to cast her because he liked her previous performances in other films. Richard Dreyfuss was recommended to Spielberg by director George Lucas, and he was offered the role of shark expert Matt Hooper.  Spielberg met Roy Scheider at a party who displayed interest in the film and casted him as chief of police, Martin Brody.

What is location scouting? Why did Spielberg choose these locations? Location scouting is when a group of people look for possible locations to shoot a film. Jaws was filmed at Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts because Spielberg wanted a location near the ocean and so you were unable to see land when filming ocean shot scenes.
Describe how actors contributed to the production of jaws? The actors contributed to the production of Jaws by representing and interpreting the characters in the film. Roy Shielder also contributed to the production by improvising his own lines, for example "were gonna need a bigger boat!". Also the actors made suggestions to the film makers about filming.

What does a composer do? What considerations were taken into account when writing the music for jaws. The composer writes pieces of music for films and other productions.The considerations that were taken into account when John Williams wrote the music for Jaws was just lower key and high key notes that made the da da da da sound whenever the shark appeared, it is now a classic.

What is a D.O.P? How was the D.O.P involved in the production of Jaws? The director of photography supervises the filming of movie. For jaws, the D.O.P made special hand held cameras to shoot the film, which majority of the film was shot with.
What did Spielberg do as a result of test screenings? Steven Spielberg's first screening was held in a Dellas Shopping centre, and the test screening was a success, but Spielberg wanted to add another scare to the film. He needed to perfect the timing in the scene where a head pops up on screen so it was precise.
What does the editor do? Who was the editor on Jaws and what was her responsibility? An editor assembles raw film material into a finished product. The editor on jaws was Burn fields, her responsibility was to cut and edit the film given to her by Spielberg and turn it into a sequenced film.
Based on the documentary, what were the responsibilities of a producer? The producer is responsible for turning creative story ideas into a marketable film and is the person who gets studios to finance to project. The producer is actively involved with the film through out all the production stages.
What does the producer do once principle photography had finished? Once filming is complete, it is the producers responsibility to arrange the distribution of the film.
What did the production designer do on the film? The production designer is responsible for creating the overall visual look for the film/set to help tell the story to the audience.
What role do you think you have the skills to fulfill? I believe I have the skills and the interest to fulfill the role of the camera operator or the director of photography, I think that I will be able to operate the camera and take direction from the director.