Chris Auty Masterclass
Chris Auty started his professional career as a film journalist, running the film department of Time Out. From 1984-85 he was European Editor of The Hollywood Reporter. In 1991–99, he was Managing Director of Jeremy Thomas’ Recorded Picture Company and served as a producer on several of its films. In 1999, he became a founding Board Member of the UK Film Council (The governing body responsible for all public funding of film in the UK). From 1999, Chris Auty became CEO of the Virgin-backed Film Consortium. In October 2001 Chris became Chief Executive of the group incorporating The Film Consortium- The Works Media Group plc (an AIM-listed company). Under his leadership the company developed its international rights business, and in 2005 successfully launched a new UK distribution subsidiary, which secured a home entertainment output deal with Universal Pictures UK which has released over 30 films to date. He is currently leading the Producing department at the NFTS which offers a diploma in entrepreneurial, that covers the fields of television, film, theater, music, publishing, games and online entertainment taught by executives from each industry.
In the session Chris Auty talked through what a producer is, why be a producer, how to become a producer and his experiences in the industry. I found Auty's talk very beneficial because I was able to gain an insight to what being a producer does and the work it evolves as I didn't know what a producer was before attending this session. Also he gave out information on NFTS London (National Film and Television School) which I didn't know anything about and didn't know it existed. His talk about this prompted me to carry out my own research on the school and see what master courses they do. I visited the website and had a look at what courses they offer, I'm not sure which course I'm interested in yet but its an option in keeping open for after I finish university.
http://nftsfilm-tv.ac.uk/
Chris Auty explained what is a producer? He describes a producer as a ring-master or ring-mistress who finances the film. The producer is also involved with the script, director and casting of the film. This was useful information for me as I didn't know what a directors was. After that he explains why you would want to be a producer. He says that it can be fun but at the same time it s intellectuality simulating as you have massive local engagement with places. Also by being a producer you get a sense of achievement and pride when finished, relationship with artists and you get to experience an incredible journey. Auty made the benefits of being a producer very rewarding and persuading. Next he explained how to become a producer and a better way to become one than how he got to become a producer, which was by being a film critic. He advised to go to film school (NFTS) and study there. Again I found this advice useful as he recommended going to film school if your thinking about having a career in the film industry and I hadn't come across film school until he mentioned it. Auty finished off by recommending films that show making a film. The films he suggested for us to watch was Get Shorty and Cock And Bull Story. I think I should watch these films as I'd like an insight on what its like to make a film in the industry and it would benefit me when I cone to make my own films.
The insiders: How To Get Ahead in TV
The insiders: How To Get Ahead in TV was all about how to get your foot in the door in the TV sector. In the session the answer to the question of how to get ahead in TV is answered by a panel of experienced industry professionals, the speakers include Laura Cotton (Script and development editor, Becoming Human), Eryl Phillips (Producer, Rondo Media) and Nick Goding (Producer, Shameless and Trolliled). Although I'm not too interested in TV unlike film I thought it would be be a good idea to attend because the industries are quite similar in some aspects and therefore I could learn something.
The session started off by the panel discussing how TV has changed as on-demand services have changed how we consume media and is beginning to change traditional methods. The genre of programmes on TV are also changing and its seems that reality TV is killing TV dramas. This was interesting to listen to as I had looked at this in depth for my A2 level media and I felt conformable with what they were discussing because I have good knowledge of this topic.
They then went on to discuss what you need to be successful in the industry. They emphasized that in the industry they look for people with huge amount of enthusiasm, hard working, multi-skilled, those who take opportunities, has experience in different areas be a team player, have a bunch of contacts and is good at networking. All theses points are something for me to take on-board in the next few years. I will defiantly be looking out for opportunities such as entering festivals and for work experience on sets either TV or film and get involved in more than one area as I think it would show how enthusiastic I am and I've got experience in different areas.
The panel also discussed, what makes a better director? They said that a better director is sympathetic with all areas of departments. Again some how has experience in all departments not just one area of a department. They also said someone who is willing to learn more or doesn't know how to do something and achieves it in a new way, which is better than the traditional way and that way then moves the industry forward. This tells me that I should always be on the look out on how to create something in a better way.
Finally they suggested ways that would be good to start off in the industry and an idea route. They began by saying to follow your heart and your interests is a good idea. They believe that studding a creative degree i.e a creative media degree as you learn how to use equipment, a chance to learn and play, learn how to work with actors, create a name for yourself on other platforms,to understand the academic skills and also university will give you maturity that other people who haven't gone to university don't have because you have learn't to live on your own. After hearing this I believe that I am on the right path to start off in the industry because I am at university and doing a range of the points made in this speech.
Terror in 20 seconds!
Terror in 20 seconds! was a competition by ffresh to attempt to make the scariest short film ever. Filmmakers we asked to submit an idea for an original horror short film as well an 20 seconds clip that gives the audience a flavor of what to expect. In the programme we attended the shortlisted films were screened where five filmmakers were invited to give a 5 minute presentation about their ideas in front of a panel of horror experts who had to make an decision of who will win and receive £500 towards making their full film. The panel of experts includes Jason Davitt (Artist, Screenwriter, Director, Editor), Gareth Bailey (Founder and director of Abertoir Horror Festival) and Nia Edwards- Behi (Assistant director of the Abertoir Horror Festival and contributing writer to Brutal as Hell). I thought attending this session will help me with creating horror, tension and suspense in my short film that I will have to make as part of my current assignment.
The first film to be shown was Talent Show 58 by Nathan Moore, about a nightmarish talent show.The film was in black and white and was quite abstract which was influenced by David Linch. Although I found the clip scary in one place and made me jump this wasn't my favourite clip of the session because I didn't find the narrative too interesting.
The second 20 second clip was Hollow by Karl Rees and Laura Vanstone, which was about a girl finding broken dolls. I liked this clip the best out of all of the others, as I thought the narrative was interesting and I was curious to see why the dolls were there and why was the girl finding them. I liked the props and mise en sene for the clip I thought it was effective and worked well with the genre. As I didn't see the awards show finale I didn't know which one won so I looked on the ffresh website and saw Hollow had won, so I was pleased that they will be getting the £500 to make their original horror film idea about an abandoned building with a dark past.I posted the 20 seconds clip for Hollow below.
The panel also discussed, what makes a better director? They said that a better director is sympathetic with all areas of departments. Again some how has experience in all departments not just one area of a department. They also said someone who is willing to learn more or doesn't know how to do something and achieves it in a new way, which is better than the traditional way and that way then moves the industry forward. This tells me that I should always be on the look out on how to create something in a better way.
Finally they suggested ways that would be good to start off in the industry and an idea route. They began by saying to follow your heart and your interests is a good idea. They believe that studding a creative degree i.e a creative media degree as you learn how to use equipment, a chance to learn and play, learn how to work with actors, create a name for yourself on other platforms,to understand the academic skills and also university will give you maturity that other people who haven't gone to university don't have because you have learn't to live on your own. After hearing this I believe that I am on the right path to start off in the industry because I am at university and doing a range of the points made in this speech.
Terror in 20 seconds!
The first film to be shown was Talent Show 58 by Nathan Moore, about a nightmarish talent show.The film was in black and white and was quite abstract which was influenced by David Linch. Although I found the clip scary in one place and made me jump this wasn't my favourite clip of the session because I didn't find the narrative too interesting.
The second 20 second clip was Hollow by Karl Rees and Laura Vanstone, which was about a girl finding broken dolls. I liked this clip the best out of all of the others, as I thought the narrative was interesting and I was curious to see why the dolls were there and why was the girl finding them. I liked the props and mise en sene for the clip I thought it was effective and worked well with the genre. As I didn't see the awards show finale I didn't know which one won so I looked on the ffresh website and saw Hollow had won, so I was pleased that they will be getting the £500 to make their original horror film idea about an abandoned building with a dark past.I posted the 20 seconds clip for Hollow below.
Textual harassment by Jarrad Owens was the third clip to be shown which is about digital stalking that puts the viewer in the middle of the action. It was influenced by reality as the filmmaker suffered from a similar situation. The full length film would be good because it could be used for bulling campaigns and raise awareness of this sort of theme.
After that the next clip to be shown was Bethany by Victoria Rodway based on her idea about a flesh eating plant that gives eternal youth in return. The filmmaker expressed that the influence for the film was from fairytales such as Snow White and Cinderella and features post-femmine body horror. I found this clip used some good special effects that added production values to the clip. I thought the clip was fascinating to watch because of the special effects.
The last clip to be shown was The Butcher by Tom Dolby and Rhys Davies. The film is based on a butcher whose prize winning sausages contains meat from an unsavory source, humans. I quite liked this idea because its different and has an inventive narrative. I like how its quite sinister and relates to the current horsemeat scandal in the media as it shows this is a quite realistic film.
New Welsh Talent
The speakers expressed like many people have in ffresh that you need to work as a team and not on your own in the industry as you can bring more ideas together and team work. By doing this you can meet new people and friends which will allow you to network and bring loyalty so you can work with these people again and give you opportunities in the future. Many Poole don't like sharing their ideas, however to succeed in the industry you should learn to share ideas and accept ideas of people, which will help create a good dp and writers. They also said that social networking is key for you to establish yourself. Twitter is a good place to start as you can build a brand for yourself and create your style. I didn't know this but I have good knowledge on how to use Twitter but now I know I can use this to advertise myself and get myself out there in the industry. I thought that it was very useful to know this. I learn't that you and represent yourself by getting an agent who is great for people in the TV and film industry or by a production house who is for music videos and adverts. Again I didn't know this and now knowing production houses specialise in music videos this is handy for me to know in the future when I'm trying to make it in the industry after university.They said if your looking to get into the music video industry then I should shoot loads of music videos as this will help me develop my own style and I should put these on my show-reel My show-reel would be important because I need a good one as I will show this when I go to interviews and employers would rather look at this than a CV. I learn't that if I was wanting to go into the music video industry then I should have a visual show-reel that is around 2 minutes long. This way employers can view it in their spare time and should be able to play one tablet, laptops or mobile devices so its easy for them to access. Finally the speakers went on to say that you have to grapth and it takes time to establish yourself and get where you want to be in the industry especially in TV. You should be humble to the task and perform jobs the best you can. The session ended with this quote "If anyone knows how the industry works, then their lying". I think this quote is right as its hard to get into the industry and if this wasn't hard then people would know how to get into the industry easily. Overall I found this session very beneficial to me and my future because I hardly knew anything about the music industry and I felt that I learned a lot.
It's My Shout
It's my shout is an award scheme that takes place each year, where trainees involved with the “It’s My Shout” Film/TV training scheme get free training as Actors, Set/ Costume Designers, Camera/Sound Technicians, Hair/Make-Up Artists, Grips, Assistant Directors, Production co-ordinators, Construction craft persons, Chaperones/Drivers and Runners and more. This training, provided on location alongside film professionals, gives individuals a step onto the ladder of the film/ TV/ Media industry and because all of the films they work on are commissioned and supported by industry companies, everyone involved have a broadcast quality film for their CVs or show reels at the end of production. This year is the 10th anniversary and in the session at ffresh we watched this years It's My Shout films. We watched six films called, Fetch, Dragon Chasers, Buddha Boy, Walk Or Fly, Telling Tales and The Mob. I thought all the films were very and they was commissioned by BBC Wales which I thought was significant because the BBC is big in the industry. After the session I had a chat with Victoria who was at the session and from It's My Shout. I asked her how to get involved as was interested to get experience in an department and network with new people and earn BBC credit. She gave us a business card and recommended that we go to the It's My Shout website to apply. Victoria also suggested that I should apply to be a assistant director after explaining a bit about myself. I think it would defiantly worth while applying and I am going to apply.
The link for the It's My Shout website http://www.itsmyshout.co.uk/
Overall I found ffresh very beneficial to me as most of the sessions related to my course and gave me plenty of advice for the future and how I can get started in the industry. I found the days inspiring and very interesting I will defiantly be attending next years ffresh festival.
Thank you for your informative post!!!
ReplyDeleteVillage Talkies a top-quality professional corporate video production company in Bangalore and also best explainer video company in Bangalore & animation video makers in Bangalore, Chennai, India & Maryland, Baltimore, USA provides Corporate & Brand films, Promotional, Marketing videos & Training videos, Product demo videos, Employee videos, Product video explainers, eLearning videos, 2d Animation, 3d Animation, Motion Graphics, Whiteboard Explainer videos Client Testimonial Videos, Video Presentation and more for all start-ups, industries, and corporate companies. From scripting to corporate video production services, explainer & 3d, 2d animation video production , our solutions are customized to your budget, timeline, and to meet the company goals and objectives.
As a best video production company in Bangalore, we produce quality and creative videos to our clients.