LSM Students Visit Elstree Film Studio’s.
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Author: Stephanie Grove
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Lincoln School of Media Special Event: Warner Brothers Visiting Professor, Eric Hartley Senat
//Faculty of Media, Humanities and Performance
Lincoln School of Media Special Event
EMMTEC Conference Centre, University of Lincoln
Tuesday 31 January, 2-9pm
No need to book.
Just turn up, either at 2pm or at 6pm
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Warner Brothers: An Illustrated History
By Visiting Professor Eric Hartley Senat Film Producer and former Senior Vice-President of WB
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2pm: Welcome and Introduction by Professor Brian Winston
PART 1:
Session 1: The Early Days: from Europe to America. From the Nicklodeon to Rin Tin Tin
Session 2: Sound comes to the movies …the studio system…and the stars: Bogart, Cagney, EG Robinson
Session 3: The Assembly line, Animation, Oscars, The War years, Casablanca and the invention of television
5-6pm: Break
PART 2:
Session 4: TV threatens the studios and the fight back. Censorship and the movies
Session 5: A new era – Kubrick, Harry Potter, the internet and beyond.
“These presentations are a unique combination of a number of approaches to talking about the cinema. There are memoirs and biographies, scholarly histories and film analyses and a growing — but pretty dry — literature based on the industry as a business. Rick combines all of these in a way that not only tells the story of a studio, looks at the films it made and asks how it reflected American life; he also enthusiastically explains how the business works, especially the impact of the personalities of the ‘suits’ on the creative process in a unique positive light. The result is to give the audience a multi-viewpoint understanding of Hollywood that they won’t have ever heard before.” … Professor Brian Winston
Professional Film Shoot Work Experience Opportunities in Lincolnshire
//‘Vigilante’
Project Description
Blueprint Film is a dynamic and vibrant film production company working to create innovative short films and feature films. With backing from the UK Film Council and Screen Yorkshire, Blueprint have produced three digital shorts, Invisible (2006), Vigilante (2008) and Scent (2009) which have all become international award winners and have screened at numerous prestigious film festivals worldwide. Blueprint: Film are now embarking on their first feature film based on their previous short ‘Vigilante’ and are looking for a number of students to support the project. The film will be shot locally in and around Lincoln city over 4 separate shoots, the first due to take place late Feb/early March. Work experience opportunities are offered on a purely voluntary basis although expenses will be provided for successful candidates.
A project briefing will be held on Weds 1 Feb at 3pm [on University campus, room tbc]
To apply for one of the opportunities below, please submit a CV and expression of interest (no more than 1 page of A4) advising which role you are applying for, why you would like to be involved in the project, what you could add to our team and your passion and interest in filmmaking. Candidates will then be shortlisted and invited to an interview to meet with the director and producer.
Deadline for applications is Fri 10 Feb at 4pm, directly to Producer Emily Bignell [contact details below]
Synopsis
Vigilante is a dark and satirical mockumentary set in the fictional village of Hewson. Local man Pep Williams has joined forces with the neighbourhood watch group in order to eradicate crime and anti-social behaviour for good. For a while at least it seems their efforts pay off, crime has been reduced to a record low and Pep has earned the praise and respect he so craves for. His success is short lived however, as Pep’s increasingly violent and untoward methodologies for controlling crime emerge and the villagers begin to turn, in the new serene and tranquil surroundings it seems that Pep is the only thing left to be afraid of. Ousted from neighbourhood watch and rejected by his community Pep is now an outcast. Desperate to return to glory, Pep will to go to any lengths to prove his worth and when whispers of a paedophile in Hewson surface, Pep at last has his opportunity. Surely, if he can track down and catch this vile monster then he will regain his rightful position as the hero of Hewson.
Opportunities
Production Assistant(s)
Production assistant would need to be available to work form our office at the terrace for a minimum of 1 day per week in the lead up to each shoot and will provide support directly to the producer. The role will include venue booking, compiling contracts, assisting with travel arrangements for cast and crew, equipment booking, press release and publicity.
Art Department Assistant
Sourcing and purchasing items for set, props and costume, assisting in set dressing, liaising with cast and production designer. Needs to be innovative and resourceful relishing the challenge of sourcing materials on a low budget. Will need to be available to support the production designer in the weeks leading up to each shoot, possibly for one day each week and evenings (to work from own base) and for the duration of the 4 day shoot.
Sound Assistant
The sound assistant will need to be available for the duration of each 4 day shoot, providing support to the sound team as required. They will be responsible for checking all stock, microphones and batteries and making sure that the sound department runs as smoothly as possible.
Editing Assistant
An assistant editor is needed for post production following each four day shoot, this position will be working from our office at the terrace, the candidate must be familiar with final cut pro. The assistant will be required to log footage for the editor with shot descriptions and any other important details, rename and organise clips as appropriate and remove unusable footage.
Runner(s)
Runner will need to be available for each shoot, to assist the crew and cast in any way deemed necessary. Not purely making tea we promise! We will be a very small crew so this role is likely to include elements of continuity, camera assist, art department and production assistant.
’Making-of’ Crew
A small group of up to 3 students are invited to make their own creative film to document the process of the making of Vigilante. This group will be required to attend meetings, conduct interviews with cast and crew and be available during each of the four shoot dates. Photography students also very welcome to work on this part of the project either as part of the crew or independently
Storyboard Artist
Details tbc
Emily Bignell
emily@blueprintfilm.co.uk
Producer
Blueprint: Film
The Terrace
Grantham St
Lincoln
LN2 1BD
07815 633549
www.blueprintfilm.co.uk
LSM Students are ‘Making History’!
//I’m Charlotte Plowright and I am a 3rd year student at the University of Lincoln, studying for a degree in Film, Television and Journalism. I was approached in the Summer of 2010 by fellow 3rd year Media Production student Lisa Rustage and the Head of the School of Media Dr Sarah Barrow to contribute to a media project, much like ‘‘Who Do You Think You Are’ for children’.
I knew it was an invaluable work experience opportunity so I hastily agreed. Little was I to know that the ‘Making History’ project would be the perfect opportunity to demonstrate our practical ability as well as our knowledge of production. Moreover, it was a chance to work for the voice of ‘The Cube’ and star of the latest ‘Batman’ films, Colin MacFarlane (pictured below).
We were invited for a number of meetings with Colin and the project co-ordinator for the Lincolnshire district, Sharon. The ‘Making History’ project was in its second phase of development, as it was the intention to make the project a nationwide venture. Children of all ages, who were in full-time education, were invited to research their family history and produce a documentary, recording their progression and discoveries.
Initially, our involvement was required to film a number of interviews for the ‘Making History’ project at the participating schools. It was encouraging for us, as students, that our knowledge and practical and professional skills were trusted for such a project. For this we were able to utilise the documentary-making skills, we had acquired during our first two years of our degree.
Following this, Lisa and I were asked to co-ordinate and develop a series of Media workshops, in which we would deliver the information and skills that the children may use to make their own documentaries. These workshops would be available for three separate Lincolnshire schools, Primary, Secondary and Sixth Form, over the course of a few months. Furthermore, we would provide further technical guidance during their productions.
Initially, this was an exciting but daunting prospect for us. Whilst still in education ourselves, we were responsible for teaching the skills that we had acquired within the previous two years and adapting the delivery of them for a range of ages and abilities. However, to remain professional and to serve as positive ambassadors the ‘Making History’ Project and also Lincoln School of Media, we researched liberally and delivered a number of workshops with confidence and guidance from the school staff.
We delivered the workshops progressively, starting with ‘Planning and Storyboarding’, leading to ‘Filming and Framing’ and finally ‘Post Production and Editing’. The children were engaged with both technical information and practical experience, in which we encouraged the student to use the cameras and editing software and implement the information that they had just received.
The experience was a lot of hard work but succeeded in providing us with the valuable knowledge and skills required for leading workshops as well as working within a team actually visiting children within school and learning how to encourage them to open up to camera. We both tried to deal with any complications with precision and professionalism, using advice from LSM staff.
Having completed the project we were invited to a presentation at the British Film Institute in London (shown above), in which all the children’s documentaries were showcased. It was a proud moment for us to see that the children had learnt from our workshops and implemented the skills that we’d taught them, to produce professional looking pieces that each one of them were proud of. It was a privilege to also be acknowledged in front of the entire cohort for our contribution. As the ‘Making History’ project continues to flourish and become a nationwide phenomenon, we know we were a large part of their initial journey.