group participation

Contribution and Collaboration

Since we started forming groups from week 2, everyone managed to collaborate well with each member and share the same enthusiasm in planning and organising our seminar event. The collaborative process so far is great as everyone is keen in getting contacts from people in the industry. Everyone knows what needs to be done and the roles that each of us is assigned with during preparation and the seminar proper. Although there were some minor issues that we have encountered at this stage, things are running smoothly and as planned because of our open communication. It’s easier when the group is keeping up-to-date with everyone else so there are no confusions or problems. We are all aiming to deliver the seminar event well and the group is participating really well in making this happen.

Proactive Learning

Each member in the group has taken their responsibility especially in sending invitations to potential guest speakers. Initially, it seemed difficult to get everyone assigned into specific roles and get things organised within such a big group. But with everyone’s co-operation and active participation, we know who needs to be doing what.

Participation

The group still finds time to meet up and talk through our progress. Our facebook group, blog, and emails are really useful to get in contact with everyone as not all of us can attend the meetings at times.

Connections and Intersections

It might be too early to say but the group is working really well together. No big issues or problems. There are frustrations, yes, but these are part of the whole collaborative process. This is where we learn how to do things better and make the collaboration work. It’s not always easy to invite people and everyone makes allowances for it. But we are positive that we are able to organise the seminar event properly.

Links |

• Mad Man website: http://www.madman.com.au/actions/channel.do?method=view
• Melbourne Underground Film Festival [MUFF]: http://www.muff.com.au/

wk 6 progress

So far, we’ve only got two contacts from Mad Man. We must set up a ‘strict’ deadline by next week.  Our seminar’s fast approaching. (*pressure) But all will be good because we have the best group ever. We trust everyone’s pushing it to get people to come in.

Timeline

Thursday, 3/9/2009 | Group Meeting

• Finalize our guests list
• Organise Catering for the seminar
• Budget allocation for our ‘token’ for the guest speakers
• Finalize the overall organisation of the seminar including staging, presentation (intro videos) etc.
• Interview questions

Email to be sent out to MI2 steering committee and students list + flyers C/O Danica

Distribution

Film distribution involves launching and sustaining films in the marketplace.  Because the film business is product driven, Film Distributors must connect each film they release with the widest possible audience.  As every new title is distinctive and different, Distributors must be strategic and knowledgeable about promotion and publicity in order to entice audiences to see their films, utilising successful film release plans, created in collaboration with film production and/or studio company personnel, marketing teams, publicity departments and exhibitors (cinema operators).

http://www.skillset.org/film/jobs/distribution/article_4958_1.asp

Distributors must inform the widest possible audience about the films they release, in order to help filmmakers to realise their full potential. Any Distributor may compete for the rights to release a film, whether for cinema, terrestrial television, satellite, the VHS/DVD market, or another ancillary market.  On each film Distributors liaise with a variety of professionals, including filmmakers and producers, film sales agents, publicists, advertising agencies, graphic artists, etc., to sell the film to the media, marketing partners, exhibitors (cinema operators), and the public.  Distributors must create an entirely new film release plan for each project, as all films are different, and their unique selling points must be maximised.

http://www.skillset.org/film/jobs/distribution/article_4157_1.asp

Marketing and Publicity Managers oversee the creation and planning of films’ marketing campaigns, once Distributors have identified the target audiences and potential revenue.  Marketing campaigns should reach target audiences as efficiently and frequently as practicable, both before and during film releases.  Film projects are among the most eagerly anticipated products available to consumers, and as every film is different, every marketing campaign must also be unique.  Big budget films involving top stars usually spend more money on marketing and publicity because they have more production costs to recoup.

http://www.skillset.org/film/jobs/distribution/article_4153_1.asp

Film Publicists schedule and oversee press screenings, or press junkets in the case of bigger budget movies, as well as screenings for test audiences.  They must be knowledgeable and strategic; quick to follow-up with opinion makers such as print, TV, radio, and Internet critics; and adept at building the “buzz” surrounding each film while it is in the marketplace.

Smaller niche, art house or ‘indie’ films have less to spend, and must therefore employ considerable ingenuity in order to be noticed.  Work on a film’s marketing campaign may begin over a year prior to its release, but more usually the lead time is several months, during which the Marketing and Publicity Manager must promote the film’s visibility, and stimulate public interest.

http://www.skillset.org/film/jobs/distribution/article_4155_1.asp

work in progress

• The Video Industry in Australia

from Screen Australia: http://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/gtp/wvanalysis.html

• Cinema

from Screen Australia: http://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/gtp/cinema.html

• New Media Production in Australia

from Screen Australia: http://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/gtp/mpdcimultimedia.html

“The likelihood of online film distribution – direct from the studio to digitally equipped cinemas or via broadband cable to the home – may begin to challenge the production-distribution-exhibition chain of events that has held sway for almost a century. Instead of waiting for films to be ‘picked up’ by a local distributor in order to screen at a local cinema, film viewers will be able to directly determine when and where they watch any given title as soon as it is completed.”

Verhoeven, Deb. “Part Three: Industries – Film and Video.” The Media and Communications in Australia 2^nd Ed. Stuart Cunningham and Graeme Turner. Crows Nest NSW: Allen & Unwin, 2005, 153

Wk 4 : planning and work-in-progress

It was a bit disorganised not having everyone in the group present for this week’s seminar. But nevertheless we’ve pretty much covered the important bits of planning and working out each person’s role in the group from last week.

A few of use managed to come up with a list of criteria today as to how we want ourselves to be graded by our peers. And as a class, we’ve incorporated each group’s list to generate the overall criteria for the weekly seminar.

1. Presentation (visuals, staging, quality of information/relevance)
2. Organisation (overall presentation)
3. Guests (variety, relevance)
4. Discussion/Questions (well-researched, content)
5. Hosting (overall flow of the seminar)

Since we really didn’t have the chance to talk about the treatment for our seminar, some of us thought that it’ll be good to meet up again sometime next week to write up this brief/treatment before our class.

Tasks:

• Pitch/outline of seminar, including group name/title of seminar.
• Brief bios of each industry professional/speaker, plus a headshot of them (if possible) and links to any blogs or websites they may host that are relevant to the seminar topic.

first meeting

What our group wants to find out for a particular media industry is DISTRIBUTION of content. Essentially, we want to cover a number of aspects of distribution hence we divided the topic into three main areas: DVD, EXHIBITION and ONLINE.

Brainstorming companies/businesses under each area:

• DVD – Mad Man and Hopscotch
• EXHIBITIONS – Village Cinemas, Hoyts, Nova and Cameo
• ONLINE – Jib Jab and Ish Media

We have also assigned everyone in the group their specific tasks in contacting companies:

• DVD – Keshanee (Mad Man), Joe and Selwyn (Hopscotch)
• EXHIBITIONS – John (Nova), Connie, Lorraine, Cyndy and Jessica
• ONLINE – Steven, Toni and Soong Fee

Looking at the seminar proper, these are the roles for each group member:

• FILMING – Steven and Toni
• PHOTOS – John and Connie
• HOSTS – Keshanee and Joe
• STAGING/CATERING/USHERS – Jessica, Soong Fee, Cyndy and Lorraine

Seminar Schedule: WEEK 7, 11 SEPTEMBER 2009

Basically, this blog is where we document our journey in preparation for the seminar including the things we find out and learned during and after the collaborative process. Danica (speaking in the third person) is organising, managing, and ensuring that everyone’s doing their assigned tasks, is on the right track and meeting deadlines. It is Danica’s responsibility to relay all the collaborative work to the Media Industries 2 representatives.

Tasks to do:

1. Set up a Facebook group and Blog/General communication tool/Updates
2. Think about the approach that we want to take and important questions we want to find out from distributors or distribution companies
3. Begin contacting people from the industry/Booking/Scheduling
4. Weekly Collaborative meetings

Notes: It might be a good idea to produce a ‘show reel’ as an introduction to each area of distribution. Although this might be more applicable to the ONLINE distribution. Also, think about the idea on ‘video pirate’ – something that could be interesting and entertaining to include in the seminar. It’s a general fact and it might be an issue but we’ll see how we go and where it fits in the seminar.

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Same day where we were supposed to be discussing in class for the last half an hour seminar, our group decided to ‘meet up’ somewhere else outside Uni. It’s still a collaborative meeting though to get to know people we are going to work with in the group. (Wish you were there: Keshanee, Soong Fee, Cyndy and Jessica)

From left: Joe, John, Toni, Selwyn, Connie, Lorraine & Danica

From left: Steven, John, Joe, Toni, Selwyn, Connie & Lorraine

From left: Joe, John, Toni, Selwyn, Connie, Lorraine & Danica