Aob 5

Script for pod cast focussing on the distribution of a documentary

Distribution

The documentary I am looking at in the process of distribution in this case is on ‘the reintroduction of capital punishment in the united kingdom’.

In recent news there has been various stories world-wide about the use of capital punishment, in one case, a man of British origin receiving the death penalty in China. Because this topic has been in the news as lately, it would seem a good opportunity to concentrate on the distribution of this documentary.

Podcast host: so how did you go about distributing this documentary?

Film maker: Firstly, the initial idea was outlined to promote an interest in the subject, it gave us an idea of how well a documentary on this controversial subject would come across to the public. The media itself can play an important roll in the distribution of a documentary – controversial stories can spur a public interest on an issue such as this. When this subject is at the centre of public debate, it is a prime opportunity to collect information on it.

Multiple distribution companies were chosen to help me in terms of advertisement to the intended audiences. One of which, was Metrodome-Distribution, an independent company not owned by the “big five”, renowned for the distribution of “left field documentaries”.

The broad spectrum of people intended as the audience of this documentary were reached in various ways. The audience itself consists of people who are interested in human-rights, people who are interested in law, people interested in the ethics of human euthanasia, those who are interested in the influence of foreign cultures influencing our own, and those who are generally drawn in by the grotesqueness of the theme. These peoples age range consists of older teenagers and adults of all ages.

Once the investor decided to purchase the rights on this documentary, the film itself was to be made and distributed as quickly as possible. Principle photography was carried out whilst publicity was still being carried out. The publicity itself was in digital form, such as trailers between similar feature films, website adds/banners, internet trailers, radio interviews and indeed pod casts. it was a also in posters, magazine articles, and town billboard posters. Some methods of distribution are more effective than others. As I mentioned before, the media itself can play a large part in this, as the feature-film itself may be a hot topic if strong public feeling is being discussed on the matter of capital punishment, although this form of advertisement positive or not could not be planned. Once the studio received this film, a licensing agreement was made with a distribution company.

It was then at the discretion of the distribution company how many ‘prints’ of this documentary was made. Potential buyers of this documentary were summoned to negotiate with the distribution companies on the terms of the ‘lease agreement’.

When the theatres received the ‘prints’ of this documentary, it is shown by them for a specified period of time. This is what is known as the engagement.

The distribution of the film continued after the film left the theatre. On receiving the ‘prints’ back from the theatres, the lease agreement was eventually terminated and a payment to the distribution company took place.

The film was then advertised as a documentary feature-film that could be purchased, for example, on DVD or internet viewing. It could be purchased in stores and on the internet.

Aob 6 - Legal and Ethical Constraints & Regulatory Bodies for the film industry

BBFC Report

Aob 2 - Documentary structure

Nick Broomfield - Concept of representation

When Broomfield includes anyone in his documentary, the very first thing he does is inform us of their relationship to the topic. Sometimes they may have little relevance, but it is always clear on the their relationship with the topic. In this case, the topic is either Kurt or Courtney. The interviewed person can be represented in how Broomfield chooses - in some cases, it would seem like certain information is either revealed or concealed to represent that character in this way. They often choose this for themselves, as certain information or knowledge they have may be concealed obviously on their part, representing them in a different way.

Nicks mode of interaction is often Informal, to get the most out of who he is interviewing. There are however, certain cases where he interacts with interviewees with more formality to suit the situation. For example, the American embassy.

Broomfield's footage

Aob3 - Film Language & Mode of Adress

Night Mail

Q's 1

In the opening of "Night Mail", the graphics used for the titles are very bold. they are formal, implying the subject content is a serious buisness, delivering englands mail. All the writing is in BLOCKED CAPITALS, echoing the importance, the postal-printed stamp type font.

the shots used in the opening few minutes of the clip vary. The first, is a mid shot. it establishes who is in the room and what they are doing. once this has been accomplished, the camera zooms in to the man on the phone. The next shot is that of a birds-eye view. it would have been filmed from an aircraft, flying in sync with the train over head. it films directly along the trains journey as the voiceover goes on to explain about the journy.

the next shot is an outdoor establishing shot - depicting a small railway station, showing us in the next shot we are inside it. this shot inside is a high-angled shot, filming from an angle over the the man as he works the leavers. Similarly, the next shot has an establishing-style shot as the last message is sent along the overhead wires. the camera pans along the wires, leading us into the next shot. this is inside the next station.

In terms of editing, the shot lengths depend on what is going on within them. the longest length shots are that of the train on its journey from over head, showing us how long it takes to travel from either destination. the shortest edited shot is that of the railway-station from outdoors, establishing where they are before they go indoors.

The function of the voiceover is simply to inform. it is said in an extremely sturn voice, implying the statements are fact. (" FOUR MILLION MILES EVERY YEAR, FIVE HUNDRED-MILLION LETTERS, EVERY YEAR." - at 2:59 duration )

Other sounds consist of diagetic sound - the train bouncing and screaching along. there is music at the beggining, fitting for a rail-themed film, with an four-note ostinato implying a train rolling on its journy.

Q's 2

Aob1

Lumiere Brothers

In the early film 'Exiting the Factory',there are no edits and the camera is stationary. there is a single shot used - an establishing shot, and this does not change throughout. There is no sound what so ever - the technology wasnt this advanced at that time. The camera would have been on a large tripod as it would not have been possible to hold it due to its weight. The clip is in greyscale as this was the only method of filming in that era.

Nanook of the North

'Nanook of the North', was an early documentory about the living in the Artic conditions. Shots used in this film generaly consist of establishing shots, and mid shots. There are no closeups. The is no voiceover or dieagenic sound, only the use of added music of an associated style to the region. There are Subtitles guiding us throughout to what is happening in the shots, with clip transitions, between the different scenes. It is now thought that in some shots what it shows is "fake", as the igloo would have been cut in half inorder to fit the camera insdide.

Etre et Avoir

In Etre et Avoir, there are a varied selection of shots used. The establishing shots are generally outside, mid shots and close-ups are used indoors for scenes with people and pets. Extreme Close-ups are used when we need to understand what is happening between the teacher and the pupils reactions.

The content of the shots consist of scene-setting landscapes, to empty classrooms with turtles wandering round. The dominant shots are mainly classmates and teachers learning or messing around,as that is what the film structure is based on.

There is Diagenic Sound, and the occasional featured piece of music, generally when clips are used of outside.

There are generally around 45 second long shots (or just shorter than a minute) , but there are many variations.

Dog-town and Z-boys

This documentary, in comparison to 'Etre et Avoir', is generally aimed at a younger, or at least a 'faster moving' audience, interested in surfing and skating.

The shots depict fast moving surfers, spinning skaters and a younger social niche. (although those being interviewed are of a later age, they were in their younger years the founders of these activities - as the documentary is aimed to illustrate how these sports evolved.)

Aileen - Life and Death of a Serial Killer

The documentary consists of two films, the first - 'The Selling Of a Serial Killer', and the second, which we study, 'Aileen - Life and Death of a Serial Killer' - which incorporates what happens in the what happens in the first film. The documentary is created by the same filmmaker who created 'Kurt and Courtney', Nick Broomfield. because of this,we can see similarities in the style of filmmaking. The film included archive footage of his first film, news flashes, and photographs from the case Nick's voice over explaining throughout.

The shots used throughout the opening 30 minutes film consist of mid close-ups during interviews, point of view shots when Nick is on the road, and finally extreme close-ups with Aileen herself, when he interviews her in the prison. These close-ups allow the audience to really stare into the eyes of the subject serial killer herself. The shots of Aileen include archived footage, or photos, until Nick finally meets her in the court room and interviews her afterwards.

The sound track Includes voice-over narration by nick Broomfield himself, and diagetic sound when Nick meets the various characters. Musical Soundtracks include ambient electronically-created A-tonal music that creates a discorded atmosphere, suitable for a documentary about serial killing. The ironically mis-fitting 'jolly' music played in the car with marijuana-smoking "Doctor Legal" shows just how twisted the case is as the documentory unfolds.

There are many variations in shot length, but generally the shots are left to the real-length of the interviews to show that they are un-edited when Aileen appears.