Questions on the Production and Distribution of Shifty

Q1. Production - From your reading - what does production involve? What was the inspiration behind Shifty? What were the difficulties of working on a low budget film? How did the Film London Microwave scheme help Shifty get produced? Where does the Microwave scheme get its money from? What other films have received money from the Microwave scheme?

A. On one hand, production involves the ability to manage money. This requires the skills to be able to deal with money and use it wisely in order to get the best out of what you have. On the other hand, you have to be a good negotiator, you have to be good at dealing with people and great at charming your way into a deal. This could be for securing a location or even getting an actor. The inspiration for Shifty came from the writer/director's own experience. Creevy re-visited his home town in Essex one day to go to his old friends party. One thing led to another and they ended up buying some drugs off a dealer called Shifty. This is where the name came from. Creevy was amazed to find out that this drug dealer - who used to be a top student at the same college as he - had turned into one of the most prolific cocaine and crack-cocaine dealers in their town. There are many difficulties whilst working on a low budget film. One problem Ben Pugh talked about was having to suddenly change locations for a certain scene. After carefully checking with all the surrounding owners whether they could film there one resident changed his mind. He became very angry and threatened to call the police. The cast and crew had to fully relocate. Luckily having producer intuition, Ben Pugh's quick thinking led to an easy and smooth move. Other difficulties that can arise from a lack of money are not being able to get exactly what the director or writer wants. One incident was when Eran Creevy wanted to have lots of cats for one scene, he had to conjure up an idea that was as affective; he used stuffed cats instead. The Film London Microwave scheme helped Shifty get produced by providing £100,000 of funding for the film. The scheme gets its money from the BBC, LDA, UKFC and Skillset. Some of the other films that received money from the microwave scheme are: Strawberry Fields, Mum & Dad, and Analogue.

Q2. Distribution - How does a company like Metrodome 'distribute' a film? How did Metrodome find out about Shifty? What is one of the most important ways a low budget film can find a distributor? How did being part of the Microwave scheme help Shifty find a distributor? Where is Metrodome based? What difficulties did Metrodome come up against as they attempted to 'market' Shifty?

Shift - Genre

It is hard to pin point one particular genre for this film. A film with these qualities would be called a hybrid - a film that incorporates many different genres. The film is primarily about gangster and drug culture in London. Although this film is very dark, there are also comedic elements and notions of retribution within it. It is also a thriller, for there are some shocking and frightening scenes.

AS Media Homework - Unit 2 Section B - Careers in the Media - Skillset

1. What’s happened with employment on terrestrial TV?

The employment levels have decreased from 23,700 in 2004 to 20,800.

2. What does this suggest about the traditional TV industry?

It is becoming less popular.

3. What’s happening in the interactive media sector?

Although there was a small employment drop due to a decrease in the web and internet workforce, the interactive media sector is still the largest audio visual sector numbering 48,600.

4. Where is the industry predominantly based?

London and South East.

5. What’s the proportion of women working in the media? Where do most women work?

38% percent of women make up the workforce. Most women work in terrestrial TV.

In Skillset’s ‘Survey of the Audio Visual Industries' Workforce 2005’ it revealed that since 1990, more women have entered the industry than men, and more black or ethnic minorities have entered the industry than whites.

In a similar survey from 2003 it revealed that just under two-thirds of people working in the media are under 35, two-thirds of all people working in the media have a degree and a quarter of those have a degree in media. Only 46% of those working in the media earn over £30,000 a year.

6. What does this suggest about the media industry?

It suggests that the industry attracts educated young people, ethnic minorities and has predominantly more women. It also suggests that the average salaries in the media are below the national average.

7. What does it suggest about media representation?

The media is represented as a very glamorous, rich and british industry. This informations suggests that this representation is wrong.

Media Studies Homework 7/9/09

Audience - Collective group of people reading any media text.

Institution – An established organization or company, e.g. the BBC, that provides media content, whether for profit, public service or another motive. This involves you understanding of the media as a business, the relationship between institutions and the public and media as a form of power.

Q. Think about the number of ways you can ‘read’ something produced by the BBC?

TASK - Go to the Doctor Who website.

HYPERLINK "http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/s4/"http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/s4/

Q. How can you, as a member of an audience, 'engage with' or 'view' Doctor Who...? How many different forms of ‘media’ are offered?

A. It is very interactive; you can watch clips, read text, look at images, play games and also listen to pod casts. You can also create trailers and doctor who comics.

The name we give to this coming together of different ‘media’ is your third keyword:

Convergence - Hardware and software coming together across media, and companies coming together across similar boundaries. This makes the distinction between different types of media and different media industries increasingly dubious.

Q. How would you usually watch an episode of Doctor Who? TV, perhaps? Now think of the other ways you can watch an episode...

On BBC iplayer, on the Doctor Who website, on Youtube.

Q. What links these formats?

A. They’re all digital, your fourth keyword...

Digital technology has led to increasing uncertainty over how we define an audience, with general agreement that the notion of a large group of people, brought together by time, responding to a single text, is outdated and that audiences now are ‘fragmented’.

Key Points to remember...

In media studies we focus on ‘the contemporary’.

Q. What does this mean if, for example, we are to study the film industry in Britain?

A. You study the films that are out at the moment.

We are also keen to focus on convergence as a key agent of change.

Q. Why is it so important?

A. Because it’s one of the most important things that’s happening now.

Q. How does the film industry 'converge' with the Internet?

A. Many films now have a website or websites dedicated to that film where you are engaged through many different types of media. You can also watch films on the Internet on certain sites. There are also many pictures on the Internet that are published by a film and some unofficial ones too, and finally, you can read articles and reviews of a film.

Finally, we are interested in how things are changing.

Within the context of not only conv dicergence, but also ownership, technologies and globalisation.

More key words – ownership and technologies are pretty straightforward however…

Globalisation means - The shift in media distribution from local or national to international and the whole world at once. Culturally, describes the process of ‘sameness’ over the world, typified by the availability of McDonalds in most nations.

Case Study - Shifty. Unit 2 section B

Representation

Shifty is represented by Danny Mays, jason Flemyng and Riz Ahmed (Riz MC). Riz Ahmed plays a drug dealer called Shifty. The supplier of the drugs, Glen, is played by jason flemyng.

Institutions

The production companies are, Between the Eyes and Film London. The Film was distributed by Metrodome Distribution.

Audience

Young adults who are at the age where they decide to stay in education or leave it. The niche audience are mature adults.

Genre

Hybrid: Independent, action, comedy.

Ideology

The messages are that if you get involved in drugs it could either ruin your life or end up killing you, It is better to get a good education and a respected job.

My Media

TV - Doctor Who, Futurama, Family Guy, Qi.

Film - Broken Embraces, Moon, The Hangover, Coco Before Channel, Mesrine: Killer Instinct.

Internet - Facebook, Gmail, Apple, Yahoo, youtube.

Newspapers - The London Paper, The Guardian.

Radio - Radio 6, Virgin, Kiss, Xfm.

 

Bjork is not necessarily an actress but I think in this film she is very believable and deserved her Cannes award.

I like this trailer because the music is very good and it is also very action packed as well as remaining mysterious. I have yet to see the film though.