For our recent 161MC we had to develop a TV show and a website to go alongside it. The website had to both fit the feel of our show and function like any other magazine show website. Things we chose to add to our website include: a mini game, a competition for comic con tickets, articles about all things geeky and bios and pictures of our presenter team. Overall, I’m happy with the way our website presents itself, what do you think of it?
http://abbiegailhewitt.wix.com/geek-week-tv
As part of our second week of 161MC we were given a number of useful resources to read and look into as part of our self development in creating impact in media.
During this week we took a look at the Independent Filmmaker and his methods and trials in the modern digital era. Since the birth of the internet filmmakers have had a whole wealth of new and exciting prospects open to them in pre-production, production and post-production. Perhaps the most important development has been in the means of distribution. In one of our readings this week ‘Playing the Crowd: A Survey of Production, Distribution and Promotion for Indie Filmmakers’ by Alex Barrett highlights five key ways in which indie filmmakers have began to distribute their work against the standard model:
Online Screening Sites: YouTube, Vimeo, OpenIndie.
Brand Sponsorship and Advertising: Whereby a film is streamed for free on a site but a majority of revenue generated from that sites banners goes the filmmaker
VODO: Short for Voluntary Donation offers the viewers the both watch and share the film at their own will with a donation option available to the artist.
Hybrid Distribution: This allows a filmmaker to put their film to an audience whilst retaining the rights to it. Sites such as IndieFlix allow for this and offer 70% share of total net profit from dvd sales and downloads.
Mobile Devices: A film made specifically for small screen devices facilitated by sites such as MoFilm and Zzizzi which offer a 50/50 split on profits.
Whilst I think a lot of these distribution options are effective, perhaps negating Mobile Devices with the now readily available apps that allow you to view fullscreen films on a mobile phone more readily now, I prefer to show my films through sites such as YouTube and Vimeo, more so the latter, as I feel this reaches the largest target audience and as a unknown filmmaker it is more important to develop a following than to make money. As I feel more confident I would like to start a website to watch my films on and introduce a donation box and optional DVDs for sale.
We were then given an article on BFI ‘Life Just Is: A Filmmaker’s Journal’ which was a publishing of a journal kept by the aforementioned Alex Barret and his progression from University graduate to debuting his first feature film only aged 28 called Life Just Is. I found this to be a really interesting read for its reflection of inner thinkings that don’t seem to be too different from that of my own. For me, reading this really encouraged me to strengthen my quality of self reflection and the need to keep a constant check on my own thoughts at any given time. In particular a rather poinient moment in the journal for me took place on the 30th August as it was a moment that I can relate to:
“I now feel like it’s never going to happen and I’m thoroughly depressed. The whole thing has spiralled out of control and I feel like it’s me that’s lost the control. I’m starting to think that I’m working with people who don’t understand the intention, the point, of the whole thing. The whole thing is just fucked beyond belief. I feel like giving up, but I know I won’t.”
I think what this shows to us as independent filmmakers is that even though we do feel like this from time to time, we are not as alone as we feel at that given moment. We surround ourselves with creative minded individuals to create beautiful works of art through moving image and yet when it doesn’t seem to be going well we feel like it is only us who feels that way, when in actuality every creative minded individual can relate to that feeling of hopelessness.
Related Task Blogs:
https://grantsnaithyr1.wordpress.com/2015/01/18/the-big-pitch/
For the second part of my assigned task we were now asked to consider the digital footprint of another professional media practitioner and how they represent themselves. So to do this I decided to pick a favourite director of mine in James Gunn from such films as ‘Super’ and most recently ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’.
On what sites do they present themselves on the internet?
So James Gunn has a Facebook page which he operates himself and posts fairly often to it as you may have seen I posted a quote of advise to fellow filmmakers from James Gunn on my blog a month back. He also operates a Twitter page on which some of his posts are the same as on Facebook however he appears to use this more regularly than Facebook, whether this is because her recognises the rising popularity of Twitter for following celebrities or whether this is just because of ease I am unsure. He has his own website ( http://jamesgunn.com ) which I only just discovered since starting writing this blog and can I say it is eye catching and intriguing. The opening header of his website says “the official website of filmmaker james gunn for shit outside the norm”. This particularly struck me as a website is a means of advertisement to potential employees, and although James Gunn is now a big name surely this was still a resource for potential employers. However it is in keeping with his relaxed and casual display of self throughout all media outlets.
What kind of images do they use and do they brand themselves?
So with James Gunn having recently released hit sensation Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy it is clear that James Gunn has since been branding himself as a Marvel fanatic by posting images not only about his hit film but also others related to the MCU such as this image of Daredevil in his early black costume sporting the line “For those among you complaining about Daredevil’s initial costume in the series may I remind you of this…”
Considering Gunn is signed on to direct Guardians of the Galaxy 2 it is within reason that he would show support to Marvel so as to keep employers happy, however nothing about James Gunn’s appearance on the internet appears out of synch with him being interested in things such as comics and so it could simply be a very real appearance of himself.
Do they give interviews?
Yes, Yes he does and I have seen some interviews with Mr.Gunn that have been a delight to watch. Here is one where he discusses writing and it really captures the laid back approach of James Gunn to his media professional career. It is a really interesting watch not just because it shows us what he is really like but also because it is an eye opener to just what the industry is like these days and what it takes to be successful as a writer.
The Journey Begins 