Day 7: Powerful Film Scripts, National Anthems, and the First Cinema in France.

Why is France the largest film producer in Europe?

It's all about a film's language. A film is usually classified by its original language. So, for instance, English-speaking movies can entertain and serve a vast audience, allowing their film production industries to develop considerably. Similarly, other languages groups like Arabic, Spanish and Chinese also have well-developed film industries. The same goes for the French, which also have a large population that consumes content in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Africa, and Canada. All these French-speaking communities and cultures enjoy watching French productions.

There are also historical reasons, cinema was born in France and invented by Louis and Auguste Lumiere. In addition, the first film studio was opened in France.

The third reason is that cinema has a rich state-backed fund. France supports and promotes French-speaking content on an international level. They push for French-language content in every sense; politically, economically, and culturally. The support for these policies comes from the fact that cinema is essential for maintaining and improving the strength of the French language, its culture, and the international community. As a culture, France was always oriented towards live performances, classical ballet, and many other fine arts. Therefore, cinema is considered a powerful and substantial art taken very seriously by French society.

All these reasons make cinema in France one of the largest in Europe.

What is the best way for an actor to inform the director that he has forgotten his lines of dialogue?

This is a beautiful question; I love it.

It happens pretty often, occurring not only with the lines but with props, wigs, and much other stuff. However, it's not the role of the actor or director to ensure these things. Instead, it's the role of someone responsible for the film's continuity. This position has many names, including the continuity supervisor, script supervisor, or the script.

Every feature, even a short film, has a person controlling the lines. So when someone forgets the exact lines, they give them a little bit of slack, and if they really need to check, they will step aside and check the original script to verify together.

How small can a crew be on a micro-budget documentary?

Let's count together. First, you need the subject; you need at least one person if it's a human. Then you need sound, a minimum of one person recording the sound. Next, you have a person that records the film, the director of photography. Then, number four, you can have an extra optional person that decides what to film and what not to film, especially important, for example, in nature shots. Then the director. These are five.

Finally, the most important person; the manager/producer. This person signs legal documents, takes care of logistic details like making sure that everyone has lunch, organizes transportation, and takes care of the crew.

So if some of these positions are shared by multiple people, the minimum would be three; director/producer, film/sound, and the human subject.

Is that an optimum number? No, it's always better to have roles with clear expectations. So it's better to have someone to drive, someone to take care of legalities, someone for paperwork, a gaffer to take care of the lights, and someone for logistics, food, props, etc.

Do documentary films have scripts?

Yes! They do. It is crucial to have a script; without one, there could not be any structure to the content filmed, and the focus of the aspects would be distracted in many directions. The filmmaker needs to know what to film based on an intimate knowledge of the subject. Believe it or not, reality tv is also scripted.

A script can be written about a true story, true reality, or about a fantasy, drama, or imagination.

A documentary, on the one hand, is based on reality, on a true story, and hard facts. But, on the other hand, it also has a script with a beginning, middle, and end like in a feature film. This creates a storyline that helps the watcher understand the film's message; without it, there wouldn't be much structure, and watching it would be complex or overwhelming to understand. It would most likely feel like a sequence of pictures, video, and sound without any coherent message.

But documentaries are not just news reports; the audience needs to know what to expect related to the topic. With a good script, a documentary can guide the viewer around the subject and show them the story's reality.

In Quebec, they filmed a nature segment where they just let the camera roll constantly. After tons of hours of footage, they then chose the best shots that had happened throughout the day. I watched a few of these and found them very difficult to watch; it felt like nothing was going anywhere. But these types of films do exist, and it had been a trending phenomenon for some time.

Can the national anthem be part of a movie or documentary?

Absolutely, why not. The most important point to remember is to secure the rights and license that grants you permission to use it. Even a national anthem has lyrics and a composition that someone created, so make sure every piece of music you use has a license and that you have permission to use that license in the movie. Accordingly, the lyrics, musicians, and conductors need to be paid for their music. That's why many film productions create their own music, called a film score. Creating original scores allows the filmmaker to avoid dealing with so many licenses and paperwork.

Sometimes the original creators of a song or piece of music, including a national anthem, are not alive to collect their royalties. However, contrary to what you may think, that they are just public property, that music is still owned by someone, and that person will still need to be paid for their royalties and given credit. This is standard and cannot be avoided.

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