investigating film careers - ethel & ernest · tel rnest investigating film careers ......

Ethel & ErnestLearning Resource

Investigating Film Careers

ethelandernestthemovie.com

Investigating Film CareersEthel & Ernest

ethelandernestthemovie.com 2

Investigating Film Careers

Around 300 people worked on the animated feature Ethel & Ernest. This activity supports learners to work with the Ethel & Ernest behind the scenes videos to learn about the team who made this hand-drawn animated feature, and the varied opportunities in the film and animation industries.

Resources needed:• Crew biographies - Director, Producers, Art Director, Animation Director, Editor (in Cast

and Crew)

• Interview with Roger Mainwood, Director (in Video)

• Interview with Camilla Deakin, Producer (in Video)

• Interview with Robin Shaw, Art Director (in Video)

• Interview with Peter Dodd, Animation Director (in Video)

• Interview with Richard Overall, Editor (in Video)

• Interview with Andy McPherson, Animator (in Video)

• Interview with Iona Menzies, Junior Animation Assistant (in Video)

• Interview with Carl Davis, Composer (in Video)

• Foley, Richard Overall, Editor (in Video)

• Ethel & Ernest trailer (in Video)

• Job Roles in the Film Industry (below)

• Glossary (below)

• Access to the internet for pairs or small groups

Teacher instructions

1. Explain to students that they will be investigating the job roles necessary to complete an animated film like Ethel & Ernest. Ask students to consider who would have worked on a film like this as they watch the trailer. Play the Ethel & Ernest trailer.

2. Ask students to think about in pairs, and then share, what jobs had to be completed to complete an animated film like this, and build a class list.



3. Divide students into six groups and assign each group one of these roles: Foley Artist, Animator, Art Director, Director, Editor and Composer. Explain that each group’s task is to find out about that job role and create a two minute presentation to explain:

• What role does that person perform on a filmmaking project?• Who performed this role on Ethel & Ernest?• What skills does that person require to perform their job role?• What is the most interesting part of that job role and what is the most challenging aspect?

4. Provide students with access to the relevant interviews, biographies, Job Roles in the Film Industry sheet and the Glossary.

5. As part of each group’s presentation play the relevant interview or a clip from the interview, for all students to hear from the crew involved in making Ethel & Ernest.

6. Discuss with students which job roles in the film industry they are interested in and why, how they think making an animated film differs from completion of a live action film, and to consider which filmmaking projects they would prefer to work on and why.

For more activities to investigate careers in the film industry visit:intofilm.org/resources/102 and intofilm.org/resources/274

Resources available on the Ethel & Ernest website: ethelandernestthemovie.com



Job Roles in the Film Industry

A comprehensive list of careers and qualities needed for each role or department can be found at http://bit.ly/JobRolesCS.

Actor : brings their character to life, speaking and moving like them. Needs to be good at remembering lines and pretending to be somebody else.

Animation Director : has overall responsibility for the quality of the animation, for keeping the animation style and technique uniform, and for delivering consistent performances from the animation department.

Animator : creates many still images of characters that will appear to move when they are viewed one after the other. Animators may draw images, create them using materials like clay, or create images using computer software.

Art Director : decides on the overall look of the film, including the style of colours, props, costume and sets.

Boom Operator : controls the long arm that holds the microphone.

Camera Operator : operates and looks after all camera equipment.

Carpenter : builds, installs and removes wooden structures on film sets.

Composer : writes original music specifically to accompany the film that becomes part of the film’s soundtrack, alongside dialogue and sound effects.

Costume Designer : designing, creating and sourcing the characters’ costumes.

Director : creatively leads the film’s production.

Editor : edits all scenes together to create a finished film.

Film programmer : decides what films are screened in a cinema.

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Foley artist : recreates in a studio the sound effects heard in the film. Must be an excellent listener and imaginative with sound.

Gaffer : responsible for lighting on the set.

Inbetweener : produces the drawings between key poses drawn by the Animator, in order to complete the illusion of movement and action in the animation.

Junior Animator : works on secondary animation, such as crowd scenes and inanimate objects, under the supervision of a more senior Animator.

Location Manager : responsible for finding and securing locations to be used during filming.

Make-up and Hair artist/designer : designs and creates the make-up and hair for characters.

Modeling artist : creates 3D objects using digital modeling.

Producer : responsible for all aspects of a film’s production, including cast, crew and story.

PR Manager : a public relations manager’s job is mainly to work with journalists, to get good press coverage for a film so people will go and see it in cinemas.

Screenwriter : researches, develops and writes the script.

Storyboard Artist : illustrates the story, planning shots, and drawing storyboard panels to demonstrate the action and maintain continuity between the scenes of an animation.

Sound Recordist : recording sound on set, on location, and in the studio.

Voiceover artist : this person does not appear in front of the camera, they may provide the voice for an animated character or narrate a film.

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Glossary

Animation : animation creates the illusion of motion by presenting slightly different images quickly one after the other.

2D hand-drawn animation : each frame of the animation is drawn by hand. It used to be made using pens and pencils, these days software and equipment simulating a pencil and paper are used by the animator to draw the characters.

Animatic : an animated storyboard, cut together in editing equipment with the timing and pacing of the film, and often with temporary voice recordings and sound effects and music.

CGI : Computer Generated Imagery.

Compositing : putting together different visual elements to make a single image. For example an animated character will be placed onto a background.

Distribution : making films available for audiences to watch on different platforms including in cinemas, on television, on Blu-ray discs, and on the Internet.

Editing : selecting, cutting and combining shots in the film. Includes sound, visuals and music.

Exhibition : screening films for audiences to watch, ie in cinemas.

Foley : the reproduction of everyday sounds that are added to a film, eg breaking glass, doors being slammed, sound of footsteps etc. Named after the sound effects pioneer, Jack Foley. Genre : type of film, eg comedy, horror, science fiction.

Marketing : promoting a film to the media and audiences, ie through adverts and trailers.

Mixing : combining all of the sound recorded for the film by different people at different times, and making adjustments and changes so that it all has the correct final volume, length and speed.



Pitch : presenting a film idea to try and get money/support for making it.

Post-production : everything that happens to finish the film after it has been filmed or animated.

Pre-production : the ideas and planning that goes into the making of a film, before it is filmed or animated.

Production : the filming and all elements that take place at the same time, eg acting, lighting. Or in the case of animation, when the layouts and props are made, and the characters are animated.

Props : objects used in a film or animation to make the set and characters appear more realistic.

Shoot : the filming, as it takes place.

Soundtrack : music laid over the top of the moving images.

Stop motion animation : an animation technique to make objects appear to move on their own. Objects, such as clay characters, puppets (in fact, you can animate anything), are photographed and moved in very small amounts.

Storyboard : planning how to tell the story visually step-by-step using pictures, dialogue and text descriptions.

Vision : what you can see.

Visual effects (VFX) : digital effects created on the computer, which are added to the animation or the film footage that has been shot, eg rain, fire, explosions, monsters, zombies, animals etc.

investigating film careers - ethel & ernest · tel rnest investigating film careers ......

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