Comments for Jw48 http://jw48.wordpress.com What's wrong with the British Film Industry - not a blog, more a series of articles and polemics by Jonathan Williams, one-time media academic and the writer/producer of "Diary of a Bad Lad" Sat, 19 Dec 2009 23:24:38 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 Comment on Shocking Facts: Who’s who on the UK Film Council Board of Directors by Eurydice http://jw48.wordpress.com/shocking-facts-whos-who-on-the-uk-film-council-board-of-directors/#comment-526 Eurydice Sat, 19 Dec 2009 23:24:38 +0000 http://jw48.wordpress.com/?page_id=74#comment-526 OMG I just took the <a href="http://twilight-quiz.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">twilight quiz</a> and found out I'm Bella Swan! OMG I just took the twilight quiz and found out I’m Bella Swan!

]]> Comment on How many Business Link Advisers does it take to change a Light bulb? by How many Business Link Advisers does it take to change a Light … | Denmark News BaVaBa http://jw48.wordpress.com/2009/12/19/how-many-business-link-advisers-does-it-take-to-change-a-light-bulb/#comment-521 How many Business Link Advisers does it take to change a Light … | Denmark News BaVaBa Sat, 19 Dec 2009 18:38:19 +0000 http://jw48.wordpress.com/?p=205#comment-521 [...] reading here: How many Business Link Advisers does it take to change a Light … Share and [...] [...] reading here: How many Business Link Advisers does it take to change a Light … Share and [...]

]]> Comment on Read the government’s laughable ‘big brother’ response to the Campaign to Reform the VRA’s letter! by VRA Cloned…Government sees DVD censorship as public service to ensure legality « Melon Farmers Blog http://jw48.wordpress.com/2009/11/17/read-the-governments-laughable-big-brother-response-to-the-campaign-to-reform-the-vras-letter/#comment-354 VRA Cloned…Government sees DVD censorship as public service to ensure legality « Melon Farmers Blog Sun, 22 Nov 2009 09:47:14 +0000 http://jw48.wordpress.com/?p=193#comment-354 [...] to Jonathan Based on article from [...] [...] to Jonathan Based on article from [...]

]]> Comment on Lessons from The Butterfly Tattoo by Phil Hawkins http://jw48.wordpress.com/2009/06/13/lessons-from-the-butterfly-tattoo/#comment-30 Phil Hawkins Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:29:13 +0000 http://jw48.wordpress.com/2009/06/13/lessons-from-the-butterfly-tattoo/#comment-30 Thanks for the plug. I enjoy your blog! Phil Hawkins Director Thanks for the plug. I enjoy your blog!

Phil Hawkins
Director

]]> Comment on “When it comes to independent films, what’s the point of the BBFC?” by smartieartie http://jw48.wordpress.com/2009/07/03/%e2%80%9cwhen-it-comes-to-independent-films-what%e2%80%99s-the-point-of-the-bbfc%e2%80%9d/#comment-28 smartieartie Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:09:09 +0000 http://jw48.wordpress.com/?p=161#comment-28 Please Take 30 Seconds to Vote for a Film About Iranian Youth Millions of young Iranians are marching in the streets demanding their rights. Our film, CIRCUMSTANCE, is about the struggles and triumphs of Iran's youth. Support Iran's Amazing Youth, Get their stories told. Iran's Votes were ignored. Make yours count. Vote for CIRCUMSTANCE! Please click on the director's name, MARYAM KESHAVARZ/ CIRCUMSTANCE, and click five stars. The link is http://www.netflixfindyourvoice.com/. And they won't use your email for evil. The clip is a sample of my work from a short I directed that won the Jury Prize at Berlin. Spread the word . . . Deadline July 4th . . . Thank you! Please Take 30 Seconds to Vote for a Film About Iranian Youth

Millions of young Iranians are marching in the streets demanding their rights. Our film, CIRCUMSTANCE, is about the struggles and triumphs of Iran’s youth. Support Iran’s Amazing Youth, Get their stories told.

Iran’s Votes were ignored. Make yours count. Vote for CIRCUMSTANCE!

Please click on the director’s name, MARYAM KESHAVARZ/ CIRCUMSTANCE, and click five stars. The link is http://www.netflixfindyourvoice.com/. And they won’t use your email for evil. The clip is a sample of my work from a short I directed that won the Jury Prize at Berlin. Spread the word . . . Deadline July 4th . . . Thank you!

]]> Comment on When it comes to film, is Britain a colony? by Jonathan Williams http://jw48.wordpress.com/2009/04/25/when-it-comes-to-film-is-britain-a-colony/#comment-21 Jonathan Williams Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:20:01 +0000 http://jw48.wordpress.com/2009/04/25/when-it-comes-to-film-is-britain-a-colony/#comment-21 I think that the lack of protest is down to a number of factors. The explosion in film and media course in the 1980's was a direct product of Thatcher introducing 'market forces' into further and higher education; I've used the inverted commas quite deliberately as, before then, the needs of the labour market were a powerful force shaping courses and their provision. But Thatcher brought it a rather fatuous notion that 'students' were the 'market' for education, and that education should provide them with what they wanted regardless of employment prospects or anything else. Each individual student represented money, and so it was all about nothing more than recruitment and, equally significantly, retention. And so, fuelled by student demand, there was an explosion in film and media course. Of course this also meant that much of the staff were both inappropriately qualified and lacked practical experience. And the same was true for the more enterpreneurial who saw career opportunities for themselves writing syllabuses, setting exams, branding themselves as expert advisors and so on. But the others, the foot soldiers in all of this had no choice other than sell these courses, and once they'd recruited the students, keep hold of them. Hence, not only were staff ill-equipped to design and teach modules in such as the political economy of the media, they wouldn't want to either as ther whole house of cards would collapse around their ears. But such course did require an academic gloss and the solution was found in a mixture of French semiotic derivatives (impenetrable post-marxist/structuralist/textural/deconstructivist philosphy largely seen as a joke in most academic circles) or bizarre exercises in content analysis - for example I recently stumbled across an academic paper in which the authors had examined the average shot length in films by Terence Davies in order to see if they could ascertain an underlying rhetoric - complete with charts (how rigorous!) - which singularly failed to demonstrate anything (surprise, surprise). It's only when the students leave that they find that they have not been equipped to deal with the world which awaits them. Some are told that they will get nowhere unless they go to the NFS. Others are preyed upon by the pedlars of motivational snake oil (if you didn't make it you didn't try hard enough, so it's your fault; but we can offer you this massively expensive weekend course that'll teach you how...). And then of course, having not been taught anything about the UK Film Council, or their RSA's, or EU Media policy, or been asked to conduct any research into such as these for themselves, they are easily intimidated by the fear that raising any criticism means kissing goodbye to the funding which you actually weren't going to get anyway. But I think the last factor has been a lack of anyone giving any sort of a lead/of any organisation providing any sort of a focus. I think that the lack of protest is down to a number of factors. The explosion in film and media course in the 1980’s was a direct product of Thatcher introducing ‘market forces’ into further and higher education; I’ve used the inverted commas quite deliberately as, before then, the needs of the labour market were a powerful force shaping courses and their provision. But Thatcher brought it a rather fatuous notion that ’students’ were the ‘market’ for education, and that education should provide them with what they wanted regardless of employment prospects or anything else. Each individual student represented money, and so it was all about nothing more than recruitment and, equally significantly, retention. And so, fuelled by student demand, there was an explosion in film and media course.
Of course this also meant that much of the staff were both inappropriately qualified and lacked practical experience. And the same was true for the more enterpreneurial who saw career opportunities for themselves writing syllabuses, setting exams, branding themselves as expert advisors and so on. But the others, the foot soldiers in all of this had no choice other than sell these courses, and once they’d recruited the students, keep hold of them. Hence, not only were staff ill-equipped to design and teach modules in such as the political economy of the media, they wouldn’t want to either as ther whole house of cards would collapse around their ears. But such course did require an academic gloss and the solution was found in a mixture of French semiotic derivatives (impenetrable post-marxist/structuralist/textural/deconstructivist philosphy largely seen as a joke in most academic circles) or bizarre exercises in content analysis – for example I recently stumbled across an academic paper in which the authors had examined the average shot length in films by Terence Davies in order to see if they could ascertain an underlying rhetoric – complete with charts (how rigorous!) – which singularly failed to demonstrate anything (surprise, surprise).
It’s only when the students leave that they find that they have not been equipped to deal with the world which awaits them. Some are told that they will get nowhere unless they go to the NFS. Others are preyed upon by the pedlars of motivational snake oil (if you didn’t make it you didn’t try hard enough, so it’s your fault; but we can offer you this massively expensive weekend course that’ll teach you how…).
And then of course, having not been taught anything about the UK Film Council, or their RSA’s, or EU Media policy, or been asked to conduct any research into such as these for themselves, they are easily intimidated by the fear that raising any criticism means kissing goodbye to the funding which you actually weren’t going to get anyway.
But I think the last factor has been a lack of anyone giving any sort of a lead/of any organisation providing any sort of a focus.

]]> Comment on When it comes to film, is Britain a colony? by faraldo http://jw48.wordpress.com/2009/04/25/when-it-comes-to-film-is-britain-a-colony/#comment-20 faraldo Sun, 31 May 2009 20:43:46 +0000 http://jw48.wordpress.com/2009/04/25/when-it-comes-to-film-is-britain-a-colony/#comment-20 Sadly, this is true. The answer however lies with British film-makers collectively organising to put forward a stronger defence for their indigenous film culture. This has not happened. Why not? The mystery is that with so many thousands of graduates from British acting, film and media courses that such protest has not occured - even when peoples careers in Britain depend on it. Why is this? Sadly, this is true.
The answer however lies with British film-makers collectively organising to put forward a stronger defence for their indigenous film culture.
This has not happened.
Why not?
The mystery is that with so many thousands of graduates from British acting, film and media courses that such protest has not occured – even when peoples careers in Britain depend on it.
Why is this?

]]> Comment on Vanity Executive Producing – Part Two by Jonathan Williams http://jw48.wordpress.com/2009/05/25/vanity-executive-producing-part-two/#comment-18 Jonathan Williams Thu, 28 May 2009 22:22:33 +0000 http://jw48.wordpress.com/?p=128#comment-18 Hi Richard, The one thing that the UK Film Council is good for is its research department. Just go to their website and click on research/box office etc. Unlike other sources much of the research data is however very badly presented and can make you wonder what it is they are trying to hide. But the box office figures are straightforward. The awards data bases can be a little difficult to navigate and the annual statistics are like wading through mud - by way of a contrast look at the data from the Danish Film Institutute. If only this was what we had in the UK. Be in touch. Best wishes Jon Hi Richard,

The one thing that the UK Film Council is good for is its research department. Just go to their website and click on research/box office etc. Unlike other sources much of the research data is however very badly presented and can make you wonder what it is they are trying to hide. But the box office figures are straightforward. The awards data bases can be a little difficult to navigate and the annual statistics are like wading through mud – by way of a contrast look at the data from the Danish Film Institutute. If only this was what we had in the UK. Be in touch. Best wishes Jon

]]> Comment on Vanity Executive Producing – Part Two by Richard http://jw48.wordpress.com/2009/05/25/vanity-executive-producing-part-two/#comment-17 Richard Thu, 28 May 2009 19:19:11 +0000 http://jw48.wordpress.com/?p=128#comment-17 Hi Jonathan - am curious where you got the Shifty b/o stats from? Many thanks. Hi Jonathan – am curious where you got the Shifty b/o stats from?

Many thanks.

]]> Comment on Some key points and suggestions on self-distribution by Jonathan Williams http://jw48.wordpress.com/2009/05/18/some-key-points-and-suggestions-on-self-distribution/#comment-15 Jonathan Williams Mon, 18 May 2009 11:41:25 +0000 http://jw48.wordpress.com/?p=115#comment-15 My pleasure My pleasure

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