Pre-Production Theory

ilm Script

As said by the BBC a film script is a "blueprint, a starting point in the production process rather than an end point in their own right." It is your project it is the written evidence of whatever film you are making it has detailed accounts of the different characters in the film and the actual events of the film. It is basically the backbone of your film it contains all the camera directions the shots that will take place the features of every characters positions,facial expressions, body language. it has the exact movements the camera will take and how the scene has been set out. Here is an exert of a script written by me I will be noting the different things it contains.

 

 

 

 

Here is a script I wrote. at the top is the location of the scene, so this says that the scene is outside (EXT.) and set at Acklam Hall at night this has already created a mental image to what the scene will look like. The script doesn't have any dialogue until halfway through, this is because the first paragraph is setting the mood and the tenseness that surrounds this piece as it builds up horror. further down the script also describes how the character says things whether he is shouting or panting. This shows that the first draft of a script is majorly important as is doesn't matter if its a bad write up there is bound to be ideas within it that can be developed into greater things. Also just to the right out of view is a 'note' this inserted by me tells of how the scene will be shot, the different camera angles that will be used and maybe the different shots that will be used.

Storyboarding 

Soryboarding is an essential part of making a film before you even make a storyboard you need to take some things into account for instance you need to evaluate your shots this means that as you plan each shot panel you must take some things into consideration like What is the location setting? Do you need any important props in the shot (vehicles etc)? Do you need camera movement in this shot and if so are you going to build a track for the camera to run on to follow characters or a vehicle? Is there any special lighting effects  you need? What is the angle of the shot? etc these things must be taken into consideration before making a storyboard. While you are making a storyboard you have to plan each different shot panel individually what size they are going to be then you need to show which characters are in that shot what props there is, what they are doing.Here is an example of a professional story board 

Here the storyboard details what happens in each shot and the camera movement as seen in the 3rd frame this storyboard shows incredible detail and planning I hope that one day I will have storyboarding skills like this, mine right now are barely recognisable with practise and practise I am sure I will be at least passable as I at least know the basic way of creating a storyboard I have used many resources such as this video as a guide on how to improve my storyboarding skills.

Risk Assessment

A risk assessment is a documented sheet that has many hypothetical situations in it that are designed to asses whether any serious injury or harm could potentially be caused by the film shoot you are doing whether the camera man trips over or they are hit by debris they all have to be assessed and have to have steps taken to prevent them from happening for example have a camera assistant that will guide the camera man back if needed so they will make sure the operator doesn't trip over and get injured. The risk assessment not only protects employees from and harm it also protects you as if you have taken the right precautions to avoid damage r serious injury there is a much less chance of you being sued as no one will be injured o hurt during the shoot. Here is an example of a film based risk assessment sheet.

 You can clearly see that many hazards were thought of and well prevented including protecting wildlife and abandoned objects like broken glass.

Script Breakdown

A script breakdown begins when you have the locked down script is handed to you and you are happy with the final out come. Once a script is locked any change to the story could whether small or large can severely impact the budget that you are running on. First of all you have to number each scene, to do this you have to place a number next to a slug line. According to http://www.filmmakingstuff.com/ a slug line is "The little line that explains where each scene takes place." Secondly you need to Highlight each element this is a big part of script breakdown this is because it helps you see the actual time it will take to shoot the scenes you want. The elements that are most commonly highlighted are things like Locations,characters,props ,wardrobe,special FX, this helps with the budget as each element will have a cost and/or a different constraint for example you might have a rented vehicle that can only be used for a certain amount of time as Thirdly you need to determine the shooting schedule, You can determine this by choosing the amount of pages from your script that you want to shoot a day for example you may decide to shoot for 3 days then have a day off then resume shooting. 

Here is an example of a script breakdown sheet it shows the different roles that will be taken up and the different elements that are contained within the script.

Film Budget

As said by Wikipedia "Film budgeting refers to the process by which a line producer, unit production manager, or filmmaker prepares a budget for a film production. This document, which could be over 150 pages long, is used to secure financing for and lead to pre-production and production of the film. Multiple drafts of the budget may be required to whittle down costs." Basically a film budget is a document set out which shows the different costs of the different parts of the different elements of your film for example it will show the different Equipment costs and the Cast and crew wages, it could also include the different music made by composers that you will use in your film for example The Led Zeppelin Song 'Whole Lotta Love' on the film Lords Of Dogtown cost the producers 3 Million dollars this shows the amount of money asked for an original artists song. The budget could also include the costs of visual effects and the studios that provide the programmes used for visual effects. Here is an example of a film budget that has taken into account all costs including the accommodation that will be provided for the cast and crew.

Clearances

You have to have everything and everyone on your film cleared, This means you have written permission to use the object or the person that appears in your film. Actor: Any actor or contributor that has appeared in your film needs to have signed a clearance agreement Here is a basic example of a a actor or contributor clearance.

This shows that the contributor agrees that they have had the nature of their inclusion in the film explained to them  and they agree that they can be publicly used within the film and that they have not intentionally concealed any relevant facts from the film makers. Location clearances allow you to not only film the place where you are but it also allows you to rehearse there and take different stills that will be used to publicly advertise your film, The clearance will allow you to use the scenes filmed at the location for your film, it also makes it possible for you to alter the location whether Interior or exterior as long as your location manager has ensured that the location will be restored to its original state. Here is an example of what a location clearance should look like

Here it shows that whoever owns the land has agreed that they will allow the students of the media department to enter, film and exploit the location without liability or acknowledgment to the owners of the location.

Legal Considerations

Copyright: Copyright is a legal right that is given to the creator/creators of a piece of work that lets them protect their work from being replicated/stolen and also gives them the right to perform their work ( if it is a film or a play or the like) or display their work ( if it is in the form of a art piece whether online or out on the streets) The law gives them the right to sue for damages if their work has been stolen or used for someone else's financial gain. There is also limitations to copyright for example; Copyright law forbids you from making a copy of the work and giving it to someone else either friend of family member, making a copy for your own financial gain and renting/taking a copy of the work without asking or buying it.

Public Domain: The Public domain is the place where people's works whose copyright protection has expired because they are deceased go, it gives anyone who wants to use the work the right to because there is no more laws protecting it from just anyone using it a famous example of this would be the world of 'Sherlock' the world created by Arthur Conan Doyle went into the Public domain  in early 2000's because the law that gave Arthur Conan Doyle the only right to publish and display the work of Sherlock expired 75 years after his death(75 years is the wait time for things to go in to the public domain).

Creative Commons: Creative Commons is a Non profit organization they are the biggest contributor to helping expand the range of different works that other people can legally share and change. The Organization has released lots of copyright licenses.(They are called Creative Commons Licenses) That are completely free for the public the licenses allow anyone to use any piece of work that the organization makes available, the organization attracts thousands of up and coming artists that wither want to make use of the work that has been made available or to add their own work for use by other artists and people.

Insurance: The insurance that you take out on making a film is a huge legal consideration as if any hitch in production could be a huge legal hiccup as it could ruin the entire production of your film a good example of this would be the Terry Gilliam film The Man Who Killed Don Quixote during filming a flood washed away lots of the equipment that was necessary to film the project, this wouldn't have been so bad but Gilliam had trouble's acquiring insurance for the equipment but decided to go  ahead, the film had to shut down production because they couldn't afford the payments even though a few scene had already been shot. The lesson is clear that this could be the largest legal consideration that has to be taken into account as it can be absolutely devastating to a films production and could even have legal effects on your own personal life as if you have rented the equipment and you have not taken insurance out on it you would have to pay for it yourself  these ramifications are why filmmakers insure that they have taken out insurance.

Editing Theory

The Development of Video Editing

The very origins of cinema go all the way back to the work of Edweard Muybridge with his first film 'Horse In Motion' where he set up a a lot of cameras down a stretch and had the horse run down taking multiple photographs he did this to prove that at one point when a horse is galloping its feet all leave the ground at one point, he won the best as you can see, but making the the motion film peaked his interest and he would go on to produce more and more works of film through his life with examples like 'American Bison Cantering' However this was all done using a lot of different individual cameras The First 'Film' camera was actually invented in France by the Lumiere Brothers Auguste and Louis And at the same time in America by Thomas Edison. Lumiere Brothers:Were two french filmmakers credited to be the first film makers in history They They patented the cinematograph, which contrary to Edison's "peepshow" kinetoscope, the former allowed viewing by multiple parties at once, Their very first film, Sortie de l'usine Lumiere is widely considered as the first real motion picture in history.However the films that were made by the cameras invented by The Lumiere brother and Edison we NOT edited they were just a single shot from the same point of view throughout the most first and very famous example of this would be the Lumiere brother film 

Entrée d'un train en gare de la Ciotat  shown on the right an urban myth describes that when spectators saw the film for the first time some screamed in shock and terror for they had never seen such a sight.

 The Idea of different shot choices and multiple points of view and other things like following the action until the idea of 'editing in camera'. Editing In Camera is when the film is created shot by shot within the camera that means that the next shot is added by what you then film next,editing in camera also allowed the film makers to show more than just one point of view one of the earliest examples of a  film shot using edit within camera would be the 1903 film 'Life Of An American Firefighter' , even though it was created a hundred years ago editing in camera still exists as a way of film making today.
Editing in camera was a effective way of creating and editing a film but it still wasn't the best as it is quite difficult to finish a film using edit within camera because you would have to judge where where each and every shot starts and finishes this is just to hard to get 'perfectly' Therefore the early film makers needed to find a way to 'trim' their shots and to also be able to order their 'clips' so during the early days of movie production the idea of actually physically cutting up sections of the film clips then pasting them together in the right order was created for year this was done by hand with nothing more than a pair of scissors and a magnifying glass however in 1924 a man named Iwan Serrurier created the first mechanical editing machine he went on to found the 'Moviola' company a major step forward in modern editing the company still exists today, the Moviola machines revolutionised editing and allowed a much more sophisticated brand of cutting techniques to be developed, the technique of cutting a reassembling a film is called 'Linear editing' its name derives from the assembly of the clips one after another, from the 1920s till the end of World War II basically all film editing was done on Moviola editing decks until 1945 when a German company called Steenbeck who introduced their version of the editing deck, Steenbecks editing deck quickly became the standard machine used for editing films. Video Editing was the invention that instead of physically cutting the clips together.

Non Linear Editing Systems were first invented in the 1970's but not a single one was put to commercial use, then in 1989 the first professional NLE system was created when a company called "AVID" launched the Avid 1 media composer editing system, based on apple computer technology it was the first computer based system that turned the taped data into files the files could then be moved onto a 'timeline'. One of the major inventions that helped craft the NLE'S was the digital video camera, the change from linear to non linear editing was developed by the idea that the film/video could be transformed into digital information that basically copied it so they could alter the information without destroying the original version of the data this is now known as "Non Destructive Editing"

Soviet Montage Theory is a specific way of editing first pioneered by Sergei Eisenstein in the early 1920's fewer than thirty films were shot and executed in the style but the films lived on as masterpieces in soviet montage,One main characteristic of soviet montage films is the "Downplaying" of different individual characters for example single characters are shown as members of different social and economical classes and are representing the "stereotype" of that certain class whether rich or poor for example in Eisenstein's Film "Strike" there is only one character who is actually named in the entirety of the film. The technique to soviet montage is simple, "Juxtaposing" images during the edit, for example the camera would show a character looking at something out of shot then it would cut to whatever the thing was whether it was a giant ant or a killer baboon it would show an action they performed, then the shot would cut to show the reaction of the original person whether it was shock or amusement,this in basic was soviet montage, Eisenstein believed that montage could create an idea or other impact beyond what was onscreen, so two or more images edited together wold create a "third thing" a famous example of this would be the "Odessa Steps" sequence in Battleship Potemkin.(shown below)

 

Another example would be a more recent film (early 90's) Naked gun 2 and a 1/2 which has a soviet montage themed sex scene which is a more comical example but still a strong one.

Purposes Of Editing

We use editing for many different reasons one of these reasons is Storytelling, one of the simplest purposes of editing is effective storytelling this is achieved by controlling the audiences point of view with the different shots used within the film.
Genre is how the films style is used an example of a genre is Horror. Here in this film trailer you can clearly see the main themes/shots used for a film that fits within the horror genre.

In this trailer for the film 'The Conjuring' there are various shots used with the intention of scaring someone without giving away to much plot details, some of the main conventions of horror films are also shown, for example the jump scare scream is used this technique is in my opinion overused as a 'cheap scare' however it is one of the most obvious traits of a horror films which is why they used it to convey to the audience what genre of film it is.

Pace and Rhythm- Pace is generally used when cutting it main functions are to control the tension in a certain scene faster paced movies are more likely to be action/horror based as they require either fast cuts to convey combat or a quick flash of a monster, Pace really engages the viewer into the film which is why it is a very effective editing tool because of the connection the audience feels to the film, this connection will help engross them into good quality film making.When editing Rhythm requires that the length of the different shots in a sequence vary, rhythm is also important because an audience will know when a film has no rhythm, this is potentially dangerous because the viewer will quickly become bored, bad rhythm is when a viewer is no longer engorged into the story, they forget about the world that you have created within your film and no longer care about the characters you have created.

Conventions of Editing
There are lots of Techniques used when filming and they each have their own effect on the audience most effects are used to engage the viewer a good film maker can see when they have a brilliant shot that will really captivate the audience. Continuity editing is THE most used style of editing post production its used to show logical steps the films is making in terms of a story line, there are a few techniques of continuity editing like the ESTABLISHING SHOT: this shot shows a very wide shot that ESTABLISHES where the scene is taking place the theory behind the shot is that the viewer would just get confused whenever the film cuts to a new scene and the actors are in a completely different place so it shows the space in which the next scene will take place, this shot can also be reused as a reestablishing shot if a sequence contains a complex set of cuts/ lot of cuts.
CROSS CUTTING is another technique of continuity editing it is used to help establish to points of view when action is taking place in the same place  In a cross-cut, the camera will cut away from one action to another action this creates the image that these two things are happening at the same time.
the 180 DEGREE RULE is one of the most basic rules of film making it is about when two things (ie actors) are on screen  there is an imaginary line between them that connects them on screen because it shows there maintained eye level, the 180 degree rule is nessacary because without it audiences could be confused as to the actual size of space where the characters are which would not make logical sense.
Cutting to a sound track is an editing method that combines the sequence with a pieces of Foley audio (this is audio added in post) to create a very effective sequence this piece of audio could be anything from a dark barking to a gunshot however the sound can even be a natural sound for example a phone ringing a cut will be made that shows the phone ringing then it will cut back to whatever was taking place before the interruption (this is cutting to the soundtrack in its simplest form) 
Dissolve is a technique used in post editing that shows a slow transition from an image into another the gradual change is a contrast to a regular cut which has no transition at all it just quickly changes. Here is a very short video showing the dissolve technique in action, it shows the slower transition from one flower to something else.

Music Video Assignment

The Purposes of a Music Video

Music Videos can have many purposes, they can be used as a great advertising tool or a shocking turn of character. An example of a turn of character would be the recent Miley Cyrus image turn that caused great publication and controversy, The Music video 'We Can't Stop' showed this shocking transformation that is speculated to be purposely done as to cause maximum publicity for her music, obviously the controversial music video was watched millions of times  in just a few days at this current moment the video has 506,110,134 views on YouTube this generates  her millions of dollars in advertising revenue and is overall a massive success, however her public image was some what stained as her former status as a role model for younger audiences was shattered as the video showed numerous drug references that showed them in a positive light whereas most should be anti-drug and promiscuous sexual references which glorified having guilt free sex with anyone this again obviously angered parents and peers as the majority of her fans are aged between 12 and 17. Above is the video in question I would say prepare yourself but it really wouldn't cut it.  

Music Videos can have other goals than just money and shock for instance they can be used to tell a story whether sad or funny, they can be used to express an artists feelings through the story told via a music video an example of a music video that is used to convey a feeling would be the music video to the song 'So Far Away' By Avenged Sevenfold. The reason the music video is displaying emotion is because it was originally written for someones dying relative but after the tragic death of the bands drummer it was released as a tribute to him, The music video features the four remaining members of the band playing in a studio and also driving a car through a neighborhood Throughout the video, flashbacks of the four play. They are shown as children playing in a garage, then teens playing and hanging out, and stealing alcohol from a store. There is a scene in the video in which a young Sullivan is depicted riding the handlebars of a bike being ridden by a young M. Shadows, kicking over a metal trash can on the street. During the bridge, a collection of photos and videos of the Rev play. It ends with a clip of the band members hugging, the song sad in its nature is amplified by the music video by 100% mainly because of the 'coming of age' story it tells.

Music videos have also been used to show an artists talent as a film maker or director and talent as an actor a good example of this purpose would be the music video to the song 'Bad Motherfucker'By Biting Elbows. The Music video is a amazing example of directing and synergy as the song was made to be a music video, front man Ilya Naishuller (Russian Born, Educated in England) shows off his directing talent as well as his vocal skills, the video has a perfect mix of directing and cinematography utilizing the use of a first person perspective via a GO PRO camera and an energetic and wild stuntman, the video also uses great special and visual effects, However the purpose of the music video is quite clever acting as a portfolio the Music video has allowed him to be able to go on to direct a feature length film using the same style of first person ultra violent action this in my opinion was the videos purpose all along as it got him the nick name of the 'Russian Tarantino' the video again propelled them into the spotlight gaining new fans every week, as of now the video has 25,604,874 views on YouTube.

Styles and Conventions of a Music Video      

There is lots of different styles of music videos some can tell a story, some can just playing showing off their skill sometimes they are used to convey a strong emotion that the band/artist is feeling, a big technique used in music videos is 'cutting to the beat' this is when a series of edits or cuts are employed in post to make the video so it and the music move as one. There is also a lot of conventions that can be found within music videos for example Allusion is where a music video is filmed so it makes it looks like something actually happened but it is actually just edited together nicely this is also used in films for example a car or plane crash, a music video might reference another artists dead or alive for whatever reason linking one artists to another is another convention of music videos, Lyrical interpretations is when the video has a scene that shows what the lyrics are actually saying for example in the music video 'Little Piece Of Heaven' the lyrics describe stabbing someone 'Fifty Fucking Times'(1:15) and ripping someones heart before their eyes(1:20)

the music video in turn shows the act of stabbing someone and ripping out their heart right before their eyes. 
There is some different styles of music videos for example there is a performance based style which is a music video that shows the actual arist(s) performing a live gig as a official video an example of this would be the music video 'This Means War' By Avenged Sevenfold the video plays off as a video that showcases the craziness of their fans in South America.
There is also the style of a more narrative music video which tells a story to the audience whether sad or fun an example would be the before mentioned 'Little Piece Of Heaven' which tells a story about dark love and err some not so nice stuff.Music Videos can also be surreal which guarantees them to be quirky and fun and sometimes silly although some can have a darker undertone. There is also the style of animated music videos, these types are becoming increasingly popular for an example I would refer you to 'Little Piece Of Heaven' as this music video is animated (thank god)it can make use of different angels and cinematography styles much more easily if a live action one had to make the same shots.
A one shot music video is quite unique in the sense that it can be hard to achieve as it might require some fast moving and camera trickery a well known one shot music video that made clever use of zoom is 'Imitation of Life' By R.E.M the video is unique because the video is just short loop of footage of a big pool party outside, and every couple of seconds the camera zooms into a little individual event that is taking place it shows that then zooms out to a wide shot then back into something else that is happening rinse and repeat for 4 mins. 

Planning And Producing a stop motion piece

The primary Idea for a stop motion animation production is a time-lapse. The main premise is a time-lapse showing the activities on a (Hopefully) sunny day, it would take up to a full day to do.

Examples of Time Lapses on various things including a beach:

Here is the type of time lapse I would be aiming to achieve

Here is a good example of a time-lapse however I feel this would be impossible to do within the given time parameters

This one is also a good example and a famous one of a woman documenting her daughters growth from 0-14 years old, obviously undoable as I don't A. have a young child and B. 14 years.




Upon further thought I have rethought  my idea and Have decided to go with a claymation piece the scene in question has yet to be properly planned out but here is a few examples of inspiration that comes to mind.

Lee Hardcastle has become renowned for adding horror and lots of Gore into his animated pieces, he even has a piece in the compilation film 'The ABC'S Of Death'. His style is something  I hope to mimic and pay homage to.

Here is a famous video that features his use of Over the top violence and Gore, the shock is obviously dumbed down by the fact it is claymation.

One of the two main ideas for a claymation piece was to recreate a film scene this can be a lot more difficult than an original idea as some intricate details might be extremely important, however I can base an original idea of something that has already been done for example I could pay homage to the reservoir dogs standoff scene with my own characters and creations. An idea I did have was to do a scene that takes inspiration from the standoff scene in reservoir dogs but my rendition would use my own creations. Here is the scene in question.

Here is the infamous wide shot of all the characters involved in the standoff, they would all have to be created, as an interpretation I can say that the models are original as I cannot recreate the characters exactly so they will be my characters "acting" out the scene as a homage, I may however take snippets of dialogue from the scene and insert it into the animation.

Here is another shot, I can make the three main characters once because they maintain the same posture throughout the scene.

Here is the second last closeup of the scene the following one is of one of the other characters then a wide shot of the three characters shooting each other.

After this close up is the wide shot.

Upon further though I have decided that it should be shot using the cutout technique to animate the sequence. this will be achieved by printing out the characters and cutting them out, then during the dialogue and close ups when they are talking I can cut the mouths and move them to make it look like they are talking.
 Here is an example of cut out animation at work.

this is relatively easy to achieve within the time left for the assignment.

Here is a small version of the backdrop I am going to use for the cutout sequence.

Here is the folder that contains all the screen shots I will print off to help animate the cut out animation.

NOTE: This blog wont have any pictures of actual filming the animation as all of the paper has been disposed of

I will cut out the figures from the screen shots and cut the mouths in half so when there is dialogue it looks like they are talking

I began editing the animation in Adobe Premiere Pro, I created a simple title with a black background that explained what it is and what film.

After I exported the film from Istopmotion I opening a new project in premier pro and imported the film, I just added a simple fade in and out onto the titles to give it some effect.

Here is the effect control panel on premiere pro I added fades on both the end and starting titles.

Here is a sample of the audio editing done, This is 16 seconds of the 5 min standoff scene in Reservoir Dogs from 3:00-3:16 I added a mark in at 3:00 and a mark out at 3:16.

Here is the song I used to introduce the project along with the title card, As you can see I only used a small section of the song


Feedback

Personal Response
I think that overall the project I set out to do was achieved regardless of the quality and that was a cut out animated recreation of the standoff scene in Reservoir dogs. However I can see the obvious lack of quality as on my part the production was rushed and there was a lack of attention to the details which definitely brought the quality down. Overall I am still happy that I at least tried despite being my weak point, I can feel proud to at least have some work finished for this assignment.

Response To Feedback

Here I agree with the audio  not synching correctly, this would of been because of not watching the scene carefully while producing the animation and again yes I feel like the actual production of the animation was very rushed with it being completed within a 1hr session  however I do appreciate the comment on the use of sound, as I thought that using some of the films score would prove effective.

Here I do also agree with the the criticism that the cutting out of the characters could have been a lot better if I had taken the time to look over them or given myself time if the cutouts were not perfect, however as  I didn't do this the productions overall quality was lesser than what it could of been.

I am also pleased that the idea to use some of the films score was at least recognised and appreciated. 

Improvements 

Firstly I could of improved the overall quality of the animation by taking the time to look at how neat the cut outs looked or whether they needed to be improved, I feel if this was taken into account the quality of the production would of been increased. \

Secondly I could of improved the animation by watching the scene as I animated, this would of ensured that the scene from the film and the animation I produced would of been in synch down to the second, this would of definitely made the production better.

Thirdly I also believe I could of improved by actually setting myself a set amount of time to produce and animate it,normally it would take 2-4 sessions to perfect how the animation flows and looks, so I could of made sure to not waste time and waiting till later and then rushing it in 1 session, I would also choose a animating method that requires less handiwork as thats a big weak point for me.

Making Improvements

I think yes I would make these improvements based on the feedback I would look at the quality of the cutouts as a main change as here you can see how un neat they were as they were just thrown onto a  background of a abandoned warehouse.

So overall I think yes there is definite room for improvement but I do not have enough time to make these improvements but I would take them all into consideration next time

Factual Theory

Accuracy 

 Accuracy within a factual program is a top priority as the information that is in a factual documentary is required to be fact and public knowledge , this could be an issue for instance if you planned to do a documentary that involved some statistics you would have to have the latest possible stats you can get at the time of shooting if you didn’t  it could be pointed out that the facts/stats in the factual program are wrong and could degrade the piece of work you have produced this could lead to accusations that the audience has been misled, accuracy is also vital as a part of building and keeping a fan base/ recognition that defines you as a film maker. Also it is worth noting that accuracy is more important than speed , so you can create a rushed piece of factual programming but it may be lacking accuracy and it would definitely have an effect on the grade it achieved however if you took the time to dissect the information you were putting out there it would show the commitment and effort you put into making the factual program and it would eliminate any overlooked misinformed piece of fact.

Balance

To keep a factual program balanced one must display fairness when discussing two sides to an argument by showing both sides to an argument you show that you have no bias as to whose side you are on you also have to comprehensively show each side so that you can avoid any complaints that you may receive, if your factual program isn’t  balanced  or doesn’t show all the relevant facts that relate to the topic at hand then viewers will juts not watch it they might also not watch another programmes you have as they could suspect that that show also has a level of unbalance. The only time it is acceptable to become biased  on your program is at the end of it when everyone of the relevant facts  has been acknowledged and talked about and all the relevant evidence has been put forward, then you can show a bias (providing that the evidence backs up your bias.) If you have shown that your bias is backed up by evidence the audience should not have a negative opinion of your bias, they should see that all the evidence points towards your bias.

Impartiality  
All factual programs should be impartial. This means that they do not take sides. By taking sides they could be offending certain viewers and can be hiding certain information from the public that they have a right to know. Being partial can be treating someone or thing differently to others of a similar variety. This would show that you favor them over others. In the media sectors you have to treat everyone the same this includes giving people the same types of opportunities that you would give someone else, a good example of being partial in a broadcast would be if whoever was presenting the program asked one person there opinion on something but didn't ask another what their opinion as well, the broadcaster would have to show both sides of the argument by asking the same questions to each party involved, therefore showing impartiality.

Objectivity 
Objectivity means there is no definitive bias, objectivity id based solely off facts and not opinions.
This is very important especially within factual programming as the consumer whom is watching your productions, expects to be getting information that is factually right, this means they can make truly informed  decisions on the topic. In most cases of factual programming there has to be a lack of bias because you don't want your audience to feel as is you are forcing something upon them as this could ruin their viewing leisure and they would lose interest, it gives the viewer a chance to have their own opinion on the program, this would useful to a producer as it shows them the mindset of the viewer and gives them an idea of what to produce and what not.

Subjectivity  
The opposite of Objectivity as this is based purely off opinion, this too can play a huge part in factual programming as it could decide whether the program is more objective or subjective, this also however depends on the topic of the factual program Some factual programs have a topic that the 
majority of people will have a strong opinion on and may not want to hear any other side to the topic, By agreeing with the vast majority the producer would be receiving a larger audience as it would appeal to them. However some people might want to hear the full arguments in the program as they feel it gives them the freedom to choose their opinion.

Opinion 

The opinion of a factual program can have a sever effect on the popularity.
This is because a producers opinion can decide what is included into a program and what isn't. If the producer has a strong opinion on the topic then they can edit it so that it portrays their opinion to the public. This is not always a good thing as there will always be some people who don't agree with their opinion but if it's the majority of people that don't then the feedback will most likely be negative. other peoples opinions also matter and should also be taken into account when producing a factual program, as they do not want to offend/insult anyone as this can have very negative implications form them and the production. It is a good  idea for a producer to research different opinions on different topics as an aide when creating a factual program 

Bias

Bias can hugely effect a Factual program. If the factual program is created with a bias nature then it can portray something or someone in a specifically negative or positive way. This is because the producer will be very opinionated to the topic and wants to portray their opinion across to their audience. Bias can sometimes persuade audiences who do not already have an opinion to then have the same opinion. This is because the audience might be talked in to thinking negatively or positively about something without actually knowing all the facts. This might be done to get more people on backing up someone or thing to show what they are doing is right. For example if there was a sports related factual program on then they may be bias as they are trying to persuade more people to support a certain team so they can benefit with more followers.

Codes And Conventions   

News Reader

A newsreader is a presenter of a news program that delivers the latest news to the country, they can either be a regional newsreader or a nationwide news reader, There are normally one or two presenters at a time this normally offers diversity for the station. The image above shows a normal set up for a newsreader sat behind a desk with prompts , they will be looking straight at the camera as if they were addressing their audience, looking at the auto que.  There is also general work things normally around the desk they are behind, like pens, tablets, mugs.

Field Reporter 

A field reporter is someone who is talking about a headline story in the "field" the field being the location at where the headline is taking place, they will be talking about any new developments and interviewing witnesses and experts to try and find out what happened and what their options are on the event/story. Normally field reporters don't have a dress code as such, they normally are dressed for their location, so if they are in a cold location they will be wearing clothes that will keep them warm. There is a level of danger of being a field reporter as they are the ones who are sent out into war zones to report on them and talk to those effected.

Interviewing  

Interviews are important in the news as it allows the audience to get more personal information on a headline. In an interview, the people related to the headline will be asked questions, these can range from their opinions on something or straight facts. The people interviewed can be people who have something to say about a headline or the headline could be about this person. An example is if a political party has announced a change then the leader of the party could be interviewed and a member of the public with a strong opinion of the change could be interviewed. Interviews are often done in a place that is convenient for the person being interviewed. This also gives the audience some extra information about the person as they will be able to gather some from the area. Interviews are good for giving the general public more personal information. This is useful as the public would not usually be able to find this out and therefore would be more interested in watching it.

Experts And Witnesses  
Experts and witnesses can be very effective in news. They can give more unknown information to a subject that can make it much more interesting for the audience. An expert is good because they can provide facts that most people don't know about and in turn can also provide explanations to questions raised by the topic. A witness is just as useful as they can give a story of what they have seen to give the audience a visual on an event that has taken place it depends on the story what type of person you want to talk to, if it was a crime a witness would be better as they would have intimate details of the crime as they were there, whereas an expert would have knowledge of past events or scientific news reports.

Report Structure
Most factual programs are set out the same way  this is because of the most effective techniques are used the most and everyone is most familiar with them so they constantly using them. Normally it will start off with a introduction, this gives the main basic points of the news story's to come, this  is usually filmed inside a studio but if the report is being made by a field reporter in the field about something to to with that location then they might introduce it from there this is effective as it gives the audience some context behind why they are there, during the report they may show some graphical statistics that help the audience understand the news report and what it means for example they may show how many kids have school lunches in the UK every year if the report pertains to school lunches. After the introduction tot he news report there may be an interview with someone there for example they may interview some kids about their school lunches gaining their opinions on what they think about them.

Realism Documentary
A realism documentary is a form of documentary that is based on facts and the truth. Everything they show is entirely accurate. The aim behind a realism documentary is to show an audience the full truth behind real life events and people. This engages viewers as they can learn a lot from these forms of documentary. A lot of the time nature is the main topic of a realism documentary, this is because you can make an incredibly factually correct piece of factual programming on nature with just an email to an expert on the different aspects of nature, they can also be focused on someone and their life but this isn't really common as it would be quite boring just following someones life day to day not showing anything, however a day to day life of a insect would be much more interesting to us a humans as wer don't live that kind of life.

Dramatisation in documentaries
Dramatisation is when a documentary will show acted pieces in between the usual interviews. This is done for effect as it gives the viewers a visual as to what is being discussed in the  documentary. This is often done in documentaries that are based on historical events. This is because depending on when the event happened there is likely no film footage of it to display in the documentary and therefore a reenactment is required. Experts can define what the actual event would have been like so the producer can make a clip of the actors showing the audience what happened. This also helps make the documentary more interesting as it could show scenes of action, drama and other genres. Another popular use for dramatisation is in crime documentaries. Crimes are often reenacted in documentaries to show the audience what took place. This is useful as the person involved in the crime can not always explain the event good enough so that the audience can get a visual and also just watching the person speak about the event can get boring to watch whereas the crime acted out would be entertaining.


Narritivisation in documentaries
Narritivisation is another effect used in documentaries. This is when found footage and still images are used to help give the audience a visual. This is helpful as the viewers can get a much more accurate representation of an event as the clips being showed are from when it actually took place. These are more often used in documentaries that are based on recent events. This is because there is often footage of the event that can be used. There are many documentaries that have been made on 9/11. This a good example of when narritivisation is used. There is a lot of footage of 9/11 so people watching a documentary on it can see exactly what happened. This is useful as it lets the viewer become more involved in the documentary which in turn would make it more entertaining to watch.