Hive Creative Business Programme: Communication Workshop

I attended the 3rd Hive Creative Business Programme workshop today. The theme was communication and we had discussions and participated in activities related to this subject. We had a guest speaker (Mark Denermare) who described the perfect pitch as:

"an appropriate, concise, evocative and authentic piece of communication"



http://www.lcsc.edu/library/ILI/Classes/bus_comm.htm

The delivery was targeted to make us think about communication in Creative Business aspects, however I felt that this clearly and directly linked to the film and documentary film industry. Communication is essential in all parts of the Multimedia Industry. I am acknowledging the importance of it even more as I work with my Live Client.

A pitch should be memorable and you should be able to make a good first impression. Your communication should espouse your values and the values of what you are selling. Your voice must resonate and you must get into tune with your audience in order to effectively communicate to them or even with them. The pitch must be appropriate, as there are different formats for different audiences.



http://www.ntu.ac.uk/hive/index.html

According to a survey carried out in the 1970's at the University of Pennsylvania USA by Dr Ray Birdwhistle communication is divided up into the following sections:

7% = words
38 % = confidence in your voice
55% = physiology - body language

The session ended with an activity that involved creating a brainstorm about myself - what I believe in, what my skills are, how I describe myself. With this we each tried to write a 40 word personal statement. This is what I came up with in the 5 minute time limit:

An effective communicator and a lover of people and places. Combined travel and industry experience to develop skills in detailed organisation. Culturally aware with a positive and collaborative approach to creative challenges. A responsible and professional working attitude with enthusiasm for learning new things.

It is still in the process and I think it still needs improving. Overall I thought the session was very motivational and will definitely help me in my projects.

Film Review: Slumdog Millionnaire

I watched Slumdog Millionnaire last week. I had heard and read many reviews about the film before hand and also seen interviews of Danny Boyle and Dev Patel. I had an idea of the plot and the story, I had also listened to the soundtrack many times.



I felt that the film was shot adventurously and the young actors were amazing. They were actually co directed by Loveleen Tandon. In addition to this I think the sound was one of the most influential aspects in creating the atmosphere, pace and anticipation in the film. A R Rehman has a distinctive style and I have always enjoyed his music. I particularly liked how various genres of music were used to add to the story. Such as the homage to classic Bollywood songs and also the remixes of EMI's songs. The lyrics emphasised and complimented what was happening visually on the screen.

In particular, I could relate to the scene where the young boys are making a living by selling products illegally on the public trains. I experienced this first hand whilst travelling on the trains in India and felt that the song that accompanied this scene was really well placed.

Although the film's story was predictable I think it was a great effort. I thought the sound was the best aspect of the film.

Multimedia Trip to London

We went to London yesterday to see the Indian Highway exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery. The exhibition was a lot smaller than I expected but very interesting. I really liked the collection of paintings by India's respected artist M.F. Husain, which depicts the history of India. I also visited the Tate Modern with a few friends. I did not have any expections and was amazed by some of the work showcased. I liked the piece 'Let a Thousand Roses Bloom' by Anslem Kiefer (2000) and also 'Thirty Pieces of Silver' by Cornelia Parker.

http://www.tate.org.uk/magazine/issue1/newacquisition.htm

http://kids.tate.org.uk/films/thirty-pieces-of-silver.shtm

ISIS Application

ISIS is a programme being offered to Women Film Makers from the Documentary Filmmaker’s Group. I had made an application to this programme which included a proposal for a 5 minute short film on a Human Rights subject.

I had chosen the subject of a child’s right to freely chosen play opportunities as this was an area I had already looked into for my Live Client project. The proposal included outlining a summary of the film, the structure, style and scenes that would be included. Unfortunately I was not successful and was not short listed for an interview. However the application was a big learning curve and improved my application skills as well as my CV.

I had worked on my CV extensively to make it more subject-specific and to show my multimedia skills, experience and qualifications. This was difficult and I did not realise how irrelevant many sections in my CV were. Overall I really enjoyed the application process and I am sure it will help me develop my skills in the SPP3 module.

Sheffield International Documentary Festival

On Thursday Atif and I went to Sheffield for the International Documentary Festival. We didn't actually see any screenings but attended the New Comer's Day held by the DFG (Documentary Film Group). I found the whole day an extremely useful and valuable experience. It opened my eyes to the Industry as well many other aspects of filmmaking that I didn't realise. The day included four 90 minute sessions led by industry professionals from the DFG, Current TV, and Channel 4 amongst others.



Session 1: The ABC's (and XYZ's) of Getting into Television

Many things were covered in this session, below are a few of the ones I found really interesting:

• Access - knowing a character, having an amazing story. Relationships with the subject matter can be used as a USP (Unique Selling Point).
• Broadcasters: Channel 4 , BBC, Channel 5 - visit the commissioning sections on their websites for further information.
• Commissioning Editors - the people that give you the money - funding!
• Determination is key - you must keep going!
• Executive Producers are the first point of contact - their job is to help you pitch your idea and make it work. You must have trust between each other.
• Film Festivals are an excellent method to showcase your work - IDFA Amsterdam, HotDocs, South by South West, DocFest Sheffield.
• Knowledge - know what's on TV; be aware of the media on a day-to-day basis.
• Multi-skilling - learn to shoot yourself, have a high standard of aesthetics, and make sure you know about other areas of the filmmaking process.
• Pitching - have titles, pictures and most importantly a STORY. Tell them what they will see i.e. scenes, shots. Pitch to your friends first to test your idea.
• Rejection - is a part of the process, learn to accept and move on.
• Taster Tape - always a good idea when pitching, it shows you have already thought about it and shows what the film might look like as well as your skills as a filmmaker!

Session 2: Who Do You Think You Are?

This session was led by Olly Lambert (Documentary Film Maker), Peter Dale (Commissioning Editor) and Kerry McLeod (DFG).

• A commissioning editor looks for someone who can be their eyes and ears outside the building.
• The ability to hold a conversation or dialogue is key
• You must understand and watch TV and have a critical but positive take on it. This creates a common language which is reassuring.
• You must want to engage with the world - know what's going on
• You must have ideas but want them to be collaborative. You should have the ability to see that you are part of an industry.
• Find your voice and your distinct signature - what kind of films do YOU want to make?
• Smuggling - finding the balance between what you want to do and what the commissioning editor wants you to do

Session 3: Making the Most of the World Outside Broadcast

This session was led by Lisa Salem an independent film maker ('Walk LA With Me'), Danielle DiGiacomo (Head of Documentary Acquisitions at IndiePix), Kerry McLeod (DFG) and Isis Thompson (Student Film Maker). They covered the following points:

• Build an audience
• Use your audience to support your funding
• Outreach and distribution also costs money
• Look at the following artists who created their own funding: Franny Armstrong, Rob Greenwell, Liz Rosenthal, Tracy Rooster.
• Visit following websites:
• http://www.indiepixfilms.com/
• http://www.workbookproject.com/

Session 4: The Current TV Pitch

This session was a 'Mini Meet-Market' where six individuals were given the opportunity to pitch live to a panel of Current TV Executives. The winner received a commission from current TV for their documentary which would be part of their Crime Season in March 2009. I found this session very practically useful as I got to experience how pitches are made, what kind of feedback the panel gave and also how they came to deciding the winner. I found the following points very interesting:

• The pitch should include your idea, structure, style, characters, scenes and access
• Something visual to accompany the pitch is very useful and attractive
• Keep it short, concise, simple and clear
• Ensure you have a STORY!!!
• Know your subject - do the research
• Having unique access is a bonus

Independent Charity Work

I was approached by a friend who is organising a charity Fashion show in Leicester. She required some marketing material to advertise the event. I took this as an opportunity and did a mini client project with her. She gave me a brief with requirements and all the information that needed to be advertised to the target audience. She gave me the following details:

Even Name
Date and time
Location
What the event will include
Contact details
Logos
Colour theme: Cream and Red

From this brief and a few e-mail conversations I decided to produce an A3 poster design, an A6 Flyer and an A6 ticket design. In the beginning I gave her 6 options, 3 of them were according to her colour theme and in three of them I had added another colour to the theme – black. Below are a few of the options I gave her, she decided with design 2.

Design 1

Design 2

Design 3

Design 4

Design 5

Design 6


I developed her chosen idea into three promotional pieces: poster, flyer and ticket. Although the layout, design and theme were exactly the same on all three each one had slight differences to fulfil its purpose, for example, the ticket design had a small box to writ in ticket numbers and also detailed information on the address of the location. The poster and the flyer were very similar, below is the ticket and flyer designs that were sent to the printers.

Through this project I had built a relationship with the client, as this was voluntary I had to fit it in with my other commitments such as a part-time job and university. However my client understood my circumstances and was flexible about how quick I delivered the designs, even though she needed them urgently.