BFI library search

http://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web

Links to the BFI for your Small-scale Research Project

http://www.screenonline.org.uk/
https://www.youtube.com/BFIfilms

"Film Riot": film-making skills and tips

http://www.youtube.com/show/filmriot

This is a great YouTube resource if you want to develop your creative skills in film-making.

Useful resources for productions

http://www.mediacollege.com/

Video conversion software

This free to download software is useful for changing video file types.  With this you can change your .m2ts (HD) files into avi files so that they open in Movie Maker and Premiere Pro.
http://winff.org/html_new/downloads.html

FM3 Research Project - Referencing Tool

Use this tool to help you to get your references right for your annotated catalogue:
http://www.harvardgenerator.com/

FM2 - UK Film Policy Review 2011

Independent report update

The final report to Government by the independent Film Policy Review Panel and Summary report of responses to the Film Policy Review online consultation survey were published on 16 January 2012.

---

The eight strong panel, chaired by Lord Chris Smith, have set four principal objectives for the Review to address:

• Identify obstacles preventing the British film industry being more successful
• Determine how best to set policy directions for the increased Lottery funding
• Identify ways to develop and retain UK talent
• Increasing audience demand for film, including independent British film

Lord Smith and the panel welcome views from everyone involved in the business of getting British films made, sold and seen.


http://www.culture.gov.uk/images/publications/DCMS_film_policy_review_report-2012_update.pdf
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2012/jan/16/film-policy-review-uk
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2012/jan/17/british-film-industry-report-accent-youth
http://www.screendaily.com/news/uk-ireland/uk-industry-welcomes-film-policy-review-but-cautions-that-words-must-be-followed-by-action/5036542.article
http://www.screendaily.com/news/uk-ireland/uk-film-policy-review-encourages-joint-ventures-calls-for-more-lucrative-producer-recoupment-suggests-potential-sky-investment-legislation/5036530.article

Useful general film sites

http://www.findanyfilm.com/
http://www.imdb.com/
http://www.the-numbers.com/
http://sensesofcinema.com/
http://www.bbfc.co.uk/
http://film.britishcouncil.org/
http://www.empireonline.com/
http://www.dcm.co.uk/blog/category/caa-admissions/
http://www.screendaily.com/
http://www.mediadeskuk.eu/
http://www.bafta.org/
http://www.oscars.org/
http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/
http://www.screenonline.org.uk/index.html

FM2 British Screen Advisory Council

BSAC is a unique, independent industry funded, advisory body to government and policy makers at national and European level. Its membership embraces senior management from every sector of the audiovisual industry. The Council acts as a proactive body, identifying key issues of importance to the industry, in addition to responding to Government consultations.

http://www.bsac.uk.com/

FM2 Keep-up-to date with film industry news

Cue Entertainment is the UK home entertainment industry’s main trade magazine. It is published at the beginning of every month in print and daily on the web at www.cueentertainment.com where it receives between 100,000 to 120,000 hits a month. It features the latest news and charts on the market as well as features plus recruitment opportunities and price checking guides. It issues a weekly digital newsletter (1,400 readers) delivered straight to your email inbox as well as essential news flashes as and when news breaks. Circulation (publisher’s statement) is 7,100 copies supplied to all the major home entertainment retailers, rental outlets, wholesalers, distributors and duplicators.

http://www.screendaily.com Online version of the print magazine. Film industry news, movie reviews, feature articles, festival and awards coverage, production news, and special reports.

FM2 DVD - Trends relating to DVD and useful sites

Is DVD dying out? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1270704/DVD-sales-decline-likely-die-internet-Digiboxes-over.html#axzz2Klu1wC00
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/may/03/film-industry-turmoil-as-dvd-sales-drop
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-2013419/Blow-Hollywood-DVD-sales-fall-25-years-digital-download-growth-slows-cinema-goers-3D-movie-dwindles.html#axzz2Klunj9E7
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16416042

http://www.officialcharts.com/
Formerly Chart Information Network (CIN), was formed in 1998 and is a joint venture between BPI (British Phonographic Industry) and ERA (Entertainment Retailers Association, formerly known as BARD). The Official Charts Company is responsible for the commissioning, marketing, distribution and management of the UK's official music and video charts.
 

http://www.videostandards.org.uk/VSC/
Set up in 1989 as a non-profit-making body, to develop and oversee a code of practice and rules to promote high standards within the video industry. It now also embraces computer and video games. VSC has a complaints board and investigates alleged breaches of the rules.

http://www.ivf-video.org/index.php?category/Home
The IVF provides international representation for 14 national video associations and their members, publishers and distributors of pre-recorded video works. In cooperation with its member associations, the IVF lobbies international, EU and national legislative authorities.

FM2 Film Piracy - useful sites

http://www.allianceforip.co.uk/
Alliance for Intellectual Property
A group of concerned industries joined forces under the Alliance in 1999 to provide a single voice in the battle to combat counterfeiting and piracy. The members include the Anti-Counterfeiting Group, British Brands Group, Business Software Alliance, Anti Copying in Design, BARD, British Phonographic Industry, BVA, Copyright Licencing Agency, European Leisure Software Publishers Association, FACT, FAST (The Federation Against Software Theft) and Newspaper Licensing Agency.

http://www.fact-uk.org.u/k
The Federation Against Copyright Theft
FACT is the trade body committed to protecting the interests of the audio-visual industry in the fight against piracy and the increasing threat from online copyright theft. FACT works closely with Police services, Trading Standards, HM Revenue & Customs and most recently with the Department for Work and Pensions. FACT has a close association with other enforcement bodies such as the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA). FACT also has an important role in ensuring that the government and public understand the threat to the UK’s film, video and television industry and to the community at large from the growing threat of DVD and online piracy.

http://www.copyrightaware.co.uk/
The Industry Trust
The Industry Trust for Intellectual Property Awareness was established in 2004 to tackle the growing issue of film and TV copyright theft in the UK. Today it represents a wide range of companies from the British film and TV industry, including home entertainment, theatrical film distributors, DVD retail and rental companies and a variety of industry bodies and associated companies active in the sector.

FM2 - UK Film Distributors' Association

http://www.launchingfilms.com/
Film Distributors' Association
Film Distributors' Association Ltd. (FDA) is the trade body for theatrical film distributors in the UK – the companies that release films for UK cinema audiences. Originally established in London in 1915, FDA liaises and works with many individuals, companies and organisations. FDA's Council, or board, comprising a senior representative of each member company, normally meets six times a year and considers only matters of generic interest to film distributors.

http://www.culture.gov.uk/images/consultation_responses/FPR_FDA.pdf

FM2 Film Exhibition -The Cinema Exhibitors' Association

http://www.cinemauk.org.uk/

Cinema Exhibitors' Association Ltd The CEA represents the interests of well over 90 per cent of UK cinema operators by number and market share. The CEA membership includes single screen/owner managed sites as well as the largest circuit and multiplex operators. The CEA advocates on behalf of the UK cinema sector at international, national, regional and local level. This includes lobbying and working with Government at all levels, with other sectors of the film industry, particularly distribution, as well as working with others to promote the value of cinema to the wider public. In addition we provide advice and support to individual members on interpreting and adhering to legislation and regulation, and in dealing with day to day operational issues as appropriate.

Charles Gant

The host of the Film Futures day was film journalist, Charles Gant.  You can read some of his recent articles for The Guardian here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/charles-gant

"Tropes" in TV and Film

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HomePage

How to add video from DVDs into your research project presentation

First you need to download MakeMKV from here http://makemkv.com/ or use a PC in school that has the program pre-installed.

This is a very easy program to use and if you read the short instructions, you will know everything you need to http://www.makemkv.com/onlinehelp/

Basically, you are going to copy  the DVD (or parts of it) onto the hard drive of a PC, so that you can then edit sequences from the film in an editing program such as Moviemaker or Premiere Pro.

Rather than copy all the DVD (which takes up a lot of space on the hard drive) you can just copy the "titles" (sections of the DVD) that you need - these contain the "chapters" (or scenes) that you will use in your presentation.

Make sure you choose the destination folder for the video so that you can find it once the "conversion" (save) has taken place.

After you have saved the DVD titles to your hard drive, go the destination folder.  You will see that the video    is saved as a .mkv file.  You need to right click this file and rename it by changing the .mkv part to .mpg.

Now you should be able to import your .mpg file into an editing program and trim the sequences that you want for your presentation.  Bear in mind that if you try to import a complete film into your editing program in one go, it will probably crash it!  Whenever you are editing, remember to save regularly - editing uses a lot of RAM and programs frequently freeze.

Once you have finished editing, you can export ("Save to my computer" - Moviemaker) your clips into a format that will allow you to insert them into Powerpoint or Open Office Impress.  For example, if you edit in Moviemaker you can export your sequence as a DVI-AVI (PAL) file which will open in Powerpoint.  In Premiere Pro you could export as H.264, MPEG or WMV (Windows Media Video), all of which should open in Impress.  WMV should open in Powerpoint as it is a Microsoft file.

A good explanation of supported file formats in Impress can be found here http://www.tcaps.net/Portals/0/technology/training_docs/OpenOffice/ImpressVideo.pdf

To add video to Impress you need to "Insert" - "Movie and Sound".  Make sure that you save the video on to your memory stick and insert it from the memory stick, otherwise when you come to do your presentation the video will be missing.  When you save the presentation, save it as ODF Presentation (.odp).

To add video to Powerpoint, you need to "Insert" - "Movie".  With Powerpoint you can embed your videos in the presentation so that you don't have to carry separate video files with you - everything will be combined.    To do this, you first have to click on the 'Office button' in the top left of the screen.  Then hover your cursor over 'Publish' and choose 'Package for CD'.  A box appears; click on 'options'.  Check (tick) the 'linked files' option.  Click 'ok'.  Then click 'copy to folder'.  Choose your title and destination and click 'ok'.  Click 'yes' when you are questioned about linked files.  Click 'close' once the files have been combined into one and you are done!  You now have a single folder with your presentation and video.  When you open the folder and click on the Powerpoint file, it will have your video embedded in the presentation.

Good luck!  It may require a little trial and error, but you will get there if you persevere.

An example of an FM2 exam paper

http://www.wjec.co.uk/uploads/publications/5797.pdf

Film Production - examples of student films

http://www.youtube.com/user/wjecstudentspace?feature=watch

Screenplayology Site

http://www.screenplayology.com/

This site will help you with writing a screenplay.