If you have good command over two languages, there are employment opportunities in the subtitling work in the entertainment industry. Subtitling carries a movie from the audience of one language to that of another language. It is necessary to understand the AV medium and the arrangement of the scenes. Each shot is to be translated into one or two lines. There is a demand to translate the regional films into English. The festival circuit has made this necessary. Hindi films are being marketed abroad with English subtitles. The audiences are also getting used to appreciate the movies through subtitles. Subtitles enable the transport of the movies of one language and culture to another language and culture. A person translating into English must not exceed 38 words in one line while doing so. The lesser the words, the better. If you exceed 38 words, you have to start a new line, which again should not exceed 38 words. A movie’s subtitling gets done in 8-15 days. Sometimes, if the festival is close by, there are very short dead lines. A regional film fetches Rs. 30000 as remuneration whereas a Hindi movie fetches Rs. 100000. However, there is no hard and fast rule. The remuneration varies from project to project. It is necessary to indicate your availability to the concerned persons regarding this work.
Month: September 2014
Good News – Bad News Roller Coaster
Imagine you are travelling in a train. You check for your ticket in the pocket. It is not there. You search for it in your handbag.You get it. You get a sense of relief. Thus not finding the ticket in the first place was Bad News, followed by finding it which is Good News. This sequence gives a sense of relief, which would not have been there, had you found the ticket to begin with. At the time of relief, you are psychologically vulnerable—your cognitive resources to process bad news have been depleted. Your tendency to be loss-averse increases. Extend this situation to a car show room. There is an attractive advertised deal. The customer walks into the show room. He learns that the deal is not available on his selected model ( Bad News ). After some time and consultation, the salesman offers the deal on the model chosen by the customer, (Good News ).The salesman says an exception has been made just for you. You accept the deal as you do not want to lose the car. You negotiate with less vigour. Had you not been subjected to the bad news-good news sequence roller coaster in the first place, you would not have wound up the deal mostly on their terms.
Hindi Film Industry Dancers
The dancers accompanying the hero and heroine in Hindi film industry are trained dancers these days. They do back-up dancing. They were called extras formerly. They master various dance forms and take their profession seriously. Most of them are a part of a choreographer’s troupe. They pass a number of years in the profession before being a part of the troupe. Initially, they are paid a few hundreds per show. They are busy in practice and rehearsals. They hardly get the time to rest. In spite of hard work, they do not get recognition. They work hard and ultimately become choreographers. They become very close to the leading pair. These days their remuneration has improved—it varies between Rs. 15000 and Rs. 35000 depending on the level of expertise. They charge RS. 50000 to RS. 90000 per stage show and film.
They are given a health insurance. Some of them become assistants to choreographers. Some of them become administrators of dance companies.
Innovation Culture
According R.A. Mashlekar, the innovation culture must be promoted in India by believing that the ‘ I ‘ in India stands for ‘ innovation.’ Secondly, innovation must be directed to the national goal of, ‘ inclusive growth’ by creating an ‘access equality ‘ despite the ‘ income in equality.’ The Indian innovation must move quickly from mind to market place. There are bottlenecks here. ae must recognise that research labs need funding, and produce output. They thus convert money into knowledge. The real challenge comes after the research output is available again for conversion into money. Thus we have to create monetisable knowledge. The skills in patenting too must be mastered. Fourthly, we must recognise the innovative potential of each Indian. Fifthly, we must build a national innovative eco-system.
Sales Displays
Displays work at the level of the stores i. e. point-of-purchase ( POP ). These help move the merchandise and add to the ambience. Each display should contribute to the store image and must be consistent with its display policies.
A display brings about dealer involvement. It allows sales to take place anywhere in the store. It allows the organisation of product line. It improves brand identity. It is a good input for marketing research.
Principles of Display
A good display is one where the trade channels participate enthusiastically on account of some incentive. In a display, the customer must be brought closer to the product, so that he can physically inspect it, try it and feel it. A display attracts the customers to the retail outlets and builds up traffic. A package must be used strategically to enhance the effect of display. A display should be designed keeping in mind the outlet—say a neighbourhood store or a super market or a shopping plaza. Graphics and copy must be consistent with the advertising. A display should be easy to set up . Some companies provide pre-packed cartons, which unfold into a display. Timing of the display is also important, say Deepavali or Christmas. Product must be emphasised, and, it should not be dominated by the display.
Displays allow people to experience the product and to come closer to it. Packaged products come out of the package, say a perfume spray which must be sprinkled on the handkerchief or the body of the customer.
Public Relations – PR
PR is defined by the ( British ) Institute of Public Relations ( IPR ) as the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain good and mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics.
Planned and sustained effort implies that PR is organised as a campaign / programme and is a continuous activity. Its aim is to ensure that organisation is understood by others. Beyond understanding it achieves specific objectives which involve solving communication problems—converting negative attitudes into positive attitudes. It brings about change. Publics are those groups of people with whom an organisation communicates either internally or externally. Such groups could be community, employees—existing and potential, suppliers, investors, distributors, consumers and opinion leaders.
Propaganda is the means of gaining support for an opinion, creed or belief. It concentrates on matters of heart and mind. These are spiritual, emotional or intellectual topics. Propaganda benefits the propagandist, but not necessarily the recipient. Propaganda may be used for good, bad or indifferent causes.
Publicity
Organisations have to do some public relations, a major portion of which is the media relations. Publicity is the coverage we get for our organisation and product range in the media. Media can cover our products in a favourable manner. This endorsement by third party, say a journalist or feature writer or an editor, carries more weight than direct advertising, which is paid for.
We can pass on our literature and press releases to the editors and talk show producers. We can also keep in touch with the trade publications. Our write-ups should have a hook which gives it news-value.
A company can think of building appropriate values in the product itself to make its publicity credible. Publicity and advertising must support each other.
A PR professional has to arrange press conferences, video releases and satellite feeds. Media tours of the plant and offices can be arranged. A presentation is the best way to get good coverage. Publicity is on the look out for topical ideas that can be linked with their product.
Sponsorships and special events having high visibility may be chosen by some companies as the central point of promotion to which other elements of promotion are tied up
Batman
Batman turned 75 in May, 2014. However, July 23 has been declared the Batman Day . It was created in May 1939 by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. It is the story of the wealthy Bruce Wayne by day who becomes a caped vigilante by night in Gotham City. Seven-decades-plus but Batman still swings in Gotham City. Batman overtook Superman in the 1990s. It got reinvented every 10 years. The Caped Crusader is one of pop culture’s most enduring icons. Batman edges the other super heroes when it comes to popularity. Christian Bale played the Dark knight and hung his boots recently. Ben Afleck has taken over . Blackman and Superman will again explode on the screen in a face-off in Batman V Superman: The Dawn of Justice in 2016. Zack Synder is the director. Batman is the most successful at the box office in the past 35 years. Some of the biggest Hollywood names have been associated with Batman films — George Clooney, Christian Bale, Michelle Pfeiffer, Uma Thurman, Danny De Vito, Val Kilmer. George Clooney starrer Batman and Robin (1997 ) was panned. It all started as a serial film in the 1940s. It has now become a successful franchise. Kevin Conroy was Batman’s voice for 12 years. Robin is Batman’s side kick.
How 3D Works ?
Human beings view the world stereoscopically. It means that the two eyes see slightly different images since they are separated by about six centimetres ( two and a half inches ). In 2D, there is a single flat image which means the two eyes see the same picture on the screen. In 3D image, one has to present a slightly different image to each eye.
Glass-based system: It works by having two lenses that each polarise the light in slightly different directions.
Red-and-Green Lenses: In glass-based system, the display has two simultaneous images, each with different polarisation. In red-and-green system, the images have red/green outlines.
Glass-free System: This is the current system. It uses thin lenses called lenticules or parallax barriers that send an image towards each eye.The 3D effect is limited and can be perceived only when the viewer is positioned in the narrow zone, so that the correct eye gets the correct image.
Princess Lei-style Holography: Here the characters leap out from the screen as Princess Leia did in that scene from Star Wars. This cannot be used for images displayed at a normal video rate, as the demands in pixel density are just too great.
Defractive Optics
These images can be watched from multiple angles even if the device such as cell-phones, tablets and watches are tilted. Other 3D technology use horizontal parallax—you see the 3D when you move your head left and right. In the defractive optics, you do full-parallax. The new ‘auto-stereoscopic multi view’ display uses a back light where the surface has been etched with tiny refractors. Each of these microscopic deflectors sends individual points of light in different directions. These individual pixels, put together, comprise different images sent to each eye ball.
Mannequins
A mannequin is a silent salesperson who neither argues nor throws tantrums. Garments displayed on mannequins sell faster. There are more mannequins in retail today than in the past. There is a 30 per cent growth in demand every year. The Spanish fashion brand Zara’s mannequins were eye – catching and stylish and found its way into India. These are imported in bulk or copied here and are called Zara mannequins. Mannequins were formerly voluptuous, but are now tall and chic. The faces are oval – shaped or sometimes they are headless. They used to come in various sizes, but have now been standardised – 5 feet 10 inch height with 34 – 24 – 36. vital stats for a female dummy and 6 feet with 38 – 32—38 for a male. Indian-made mannequins cost RS. 2500 – RS. 10,000 while imported ones cost anywhere between RS. 8000 – RS. 50,000. A modern full- bordered mannequin weighs around 10 kgs without a stand and 15 kgs with a stand. Domestic companies sell handmade fibre mannequins. Plastic dummies are imported from China. There are imports from Germany, Japan , Vietnam and France. Shop floor employees nick name the mannequins after their bosses, and ill-treat them to vent out their stress. Visual merchandisers expect the floor staff to respect the dignity of the mannequins while draping them.