I have linked my PMP pitch below:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1s9cWI92tL-IkoQNlh5BGruulnjdWMPW9tucRB0rmOpc/edit?usp=sharing
30 March 2017
Unit 4: Creative Media Production Management Project - Production Diary
19/03/17
My original plan for my Personal Management Project wasn't going to work out so, last minute, I had to come up with another idea. I went through other small ideas I'd had in the past, picked one and began to build a story around it.
The idea I picked was the idea of a character's conscience acting in a angel & devil on their shoulder kind of scenario.
I've attached a screenshot of my notes page of my brainstorming for my PMP.
21/03/17
Today I made my pitch for my new short film idea, 'Conscience'. I struggled to get the idea down in words which also made it more difficult for me to explain while pitching, but I think I managed to explain it as well as I could, maybe just maybe not as clearly as I have it in my mind.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1s9cWI92tL-IkoQNlh5BGruulnjdWMPW9tucRB0rmOpc/edit?usp=sharing
07/04/17
Today I came across a music video that might be the best thing my eyes have ever seen. The video was for 'HUMBLE.' by Kendrick Lamar. There are some very interesting visuals in the video that I would love to use as inspiration or even replicate in my short film.
The specific shots I really enjoyed in this video are shown below:
The camera/editing technique I'm hoping to replicate in my short film is the one on the right. The rapid cuts between slightly different positioned shots creates a very unique look and could definitely represent a characters mental struggle in the right context.
03/05/17
I am currently scouting location for my film. I need an office building to film in which is proving to be a difficult location to get permission to. When mentioning the location I needed to my mam she explained that she knows someone who owns offices and may be able to ask for a favour from them. She messaged the person, Joe, and he responded very positively and was happy to help however he could. I got his contact details to get in touch with him and discuss further.
12/05/17
Today I spoke to Joe for the second time about location. While he didn't have any of his own offices that I would be able to use for filming, he was happy to ask around his contacts whether anybody would be able to help. He got me in touch with Tim who said he had an office that we could film in during working hours. I just needed to ring Tim and discuss dates and times with him.
21/05/17
Today was the first shoot for my short film. I started my filming later than others due to my film not fitting any earlier on the shoot schedule. Two scenes were being filmed today and they were Scene 1 and Scene 5. These are both short scenes without dialogue so they were fairly quick to film, making the shoot a short one.
Scene 5 follows the protagonist, Chris (Dylann), at a bus stop concealing a gun while he waits to go to his ex-place of work. Chris is watched suspiciously by a man at the bus stop (Josh) who notices he is acting shady. Scene 1 is just the opening shot of the film which is Chris walking toward the camera.
Both Dylann & Josh were very easy to work with, both taking direction well and adapting their performances whenever they were asked to do something differently. They were both very professional for the full shoot and made the shoot very smooth.
Although I wrote and am producing the project, I decided to take on the role of Director of Photography instead of the more obvious role of Director. I believe I am much stronger in the camera role and I had a lot of visual ideas. Taylor took on the role of Director for my film, this was interesting to work with as I had very clear ideas for my film but had to let Taylor direct the actors and myself. However, as was the case with Taylor and I working together last year, it is a very collaborative working relationship where we bounce ideas off each other to create the best product we can. Jess was my Assistant Director, a role she is always great in. She made sure she took note of everything she needed to and kept everyone on track if anything began to slow down (which wasn't really the case anyway). Ben informed me the day before that he was too ill to attend the shoot but luckily there was no dialogue in the scene, so a boom mic was not necessary. If we had been filming a dialogue heavy scene, either Jess or Taylor would have had to double up on their role and boom operator.
22/05/17
Today was the second day of shooting. We planned to film Scene 3 and the Conscience cutaways. We successfully filmed all of Scene 3 that was planned however we did not film all of the Conscience cutaways which means we will have to do pick ups.
Other than not completing everything we had planned, the shoot went very well. Once again everyone worked professionally and we got things done at a good pace. Todays only actor was Dylann and despite having no other actors to work with he got on with his job and delivered good performances. We filmed at Danniella's flat for scene 3. As she was not on set we had to make sure we took care of the location and put everything we moved back where it came from. There were children's clothes and toys in the flat and some of it made it in shot so we had to move them before filming. There were also photos up on the wall which we had permission to move and did so.
Everyone was great in their role again. Jess was unable to attend the shoot due to prior commitments to another film. Instead, Chloe took on the role of 2nd AD and filled in for her job. Chloe was great and kept up with all the paperwork. We did not hear from Ben today and he did not arrive on time for filming, we were close to finish when he did. He said he did not see the call sheets but did arrive on time for Danniella's shoot.
24/05/17
Today was shoot day 3. We had planned to film Scene 2 but due to location unavailability we were unable to do so. Instead, we decided to film the pick ups for the Conscience cutaways we didn't get yesterday. We still had the time scheduled that was planned for scene 2 so we had plenty of time to film. We finished ahead of schedule but this left us with time to make sure we had anything and try lines multiple times.
There were a few issues with the sound due to the air con in the room being very loud and the lights buzzing at certain times. Luckily because of the extra time we had time to wait for the buzzing to stop of to turn the lights off and let them cool down.
We got the rest of the conscience cutaways we didn't get yesterday so the conscience cutaways are now finished.
25/05/17
Today we filmed scene 6. This scene takes place in the toilets so we used the college toilets. I had used the toilets to film in for last years short films so I knew how to go about closing off the room to film in. However, while I did mention it to maintenance a week before, I struggled to speak to them again to confirm until today. While last minute, I was filming late and had done so before so maintenance were happy to help and allow us to close of the toilets.
We had to break a mirror as Dylann's character is supposed to punch and crack a mirror in the scene. The idea was that we would prop up the cracked mirror against the actual mirror for Dylann to look into. Unfortunately, despite planning out how we would break it before hand, the cracking was unsuccessful as the mirror broke and the glass didn't stay in place. This meant we had to work around this, having him look into the un cracked mirror and possibly cracking it in post. If this does not work, we may have to reshoot for the single shot of the cracked mirror.
Once again, everyone worked very professionally and we got the scene finished well before schedule.
09/06/17
After back and forth discussion between myself and Tim, we were unable to reach a date and time the office was available at the same time we were able to film. I had to inform him we would be unable to use the location but I thanked him for his help. Instead I will have to come up with another option for location. I spoke to the LRC staff about using one of the Learning Pods and I have managed, through Kelly, to get a the location from 2pm to 4pm on 16/06/17. Hopefully through the use of specific angles and set dressing I will be able to make the Pod look more like an office.
Evaluation
There many ups and downs to the PMP process for me but in the end I feel like it's often been a enjoyable, creative unit where we've been able to put out film making skills to the test. While not every aspect has been a total success, I've tried to make the best of every situation and do the best job of managing the project as I can.
When we first started the unit, I had multiple ideas and had to decide on one. I went through short phases of being set on each different idea however each idea I realised, logistically, wouldn't work for the PMP unit. I struggled with decided on a final idea and it wasn't until a couple of days before my pitch session that I finally decided on a completely new idea based on the idea that I wanted to experiment with lighting and use more experimental cinematography in my project. I decided on my idea, 'Conscience', a short film about a man who's good and bad conscience tries to dictate his life back and forth.
Organising the film shoots was problematic for me. By the time I could schedule my film after auditions and casting, most of the slots were filled. As I was also working on multiple other projects managed by other people, it became difficult to find spots when myself and everyone else in my crew was free. I did eventually find dates to film but they were a late start for the project. Due to actors availability and location availability there were a few shoots that had to be changed multiple times and shoots I didn't get scheduled until the very last minute. While the organisation of my shoots were not as smooth as I'd hoped it to be, I have eventually ended up with a fully organised schedule and I will get all the footage planned for my film.
The filming process was a great experience, which is the usual case on any unit. Being able to work collaboratively and experiment with new filming styles is always great and it's an enjoyable experience to create something like a professional film crew. There were only a couple of issues when filming and they were nothing that we could have helped. These problems have led to the project needed pickups for single shots which we will try to get but the film can manage without. Other than small issues, the filming process has been the best part of the PMP unit for me. Being able to work as DoP on all kinds of different projects with different people really tested me as a film maker and also allowed me to have a variation in filming styles.
The post production process started as soon as I got my first shoot finished. I realised the best way to go about editing my film was to edit as I finished each shoot and piece it together at the end. This was due to my shoots being spread out and scheduled all the way to the final filming week. Editing after the filming weeks were finished would not have been a good idea as there may not have been enough time. However I have had scenes fully edited while I have waited to film another, which is handy as I don't need to worry about getting the film completed in a rush.
Overall, the process has been a real learning experience where I've worked strongly in the practical work and pushed myself when working on the management of the project, something I've never thought was a strong point for me. This unit has proved management isn't my best skill but I am still very happy with the way the project is turning out and how I have acted in the management/producer role. I have been able to work as camera on many other projects this unit and this has been a comfortable place for me to be but I am glad that I have been put in a spot I don't work so comfortably as I've learnt that there is always space to learn more in different aspects of film making.
My original plan for my Personal Management Project wasn't going to work out so, last minute, I had to come up with another idea. I went through other small ideas I'd had in the past, picked one and began to build a story around it.
The idea I picked was the idea of a character's conscience acting in a angel & devil on their shoulder kind of scenario.
I've attached a screenshot of my notes page of my brainstorming for my PMP.
21/03/17
Today I made my pitch for my new short film idea, 'Conscience'. I struggled to get the idea down in words which also made it more difficult for me to explain while pitching, but I think I managed to explain it as well as I could, maybe just maybe not as clearly as I have it in my mind.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1s9cWI92tL-IkoQNlh5BGruulnjdWMPW9tucRB0rmOpc/edit?usp=sharing
07/04/17
Today I came across a music video that might be the best thing my eyes have ever seen. The video was for 'HUMBLE.' by Kendrick Lamar. There are some very interesting visuals in the video that I would love to use as inspiration or even replicate in my short film.
The specific shots I really enjoyed in this video are shown below:
The camera/editing technique I'm hoping to replicate in my short film is the one on the right. The rapid cuts between slightly different positioned shots creates a very unique look and could definitely represent a characters mental struggle in the right context.
03/05/17
I am currently scouting location for my film. I need an office building to film in which is proving to be a difficult location to get permission to. When mentioning the location I needed to my mam she explained that she knows someone who owns offices and may be able to ask for a favour from them. She messaged the person, Joe, and he responded very positively and was happy to help however he could. I got his contact details to get in touch with him and discuss further.
12/05/17
Today I spoke to Joe for the second time about location. While he didn't have any of his own offices that I would be able to use for filming, he was happy to ask around his contacts whether anybody would be able to help. He got me in touch with Tim who said he had an office that we could film in during working hours. I just needed to ring Tim and discuss dates and times with him.
21/05/17
Today was the first shoot for my short film. I started my filming later than others due to my film not fitting any earlier on the shoot schedule. Two scenes were being filmed today and they were Scene 1 and Scene 5. These are both short scenes without dialogue so they were fairly quick to film, making the shoot a short one.
Scene 5 follows the protagonist, Chris (Dylann), at a bus stop concealing a gun while he waits to go to his ex-place of work. Chris is watched suspiciously by a man at the bus stop (Josh) who notices he is acting shady. Scene 1 is just the opening shot of the film which is Chris walking toward the camera.
Both Dylann & Josh were very easy to work with, both taking direction well and adapting their performances whenever they were asked to do something differently. They were both very professional for the full shoot and made the shoot very smooth.
Although I wrote and am producing the project, I decided to take on the role of Director of Photography instead of the more obvious role of Director. I believe I am much stronger in the camera role and I had a lot of visual ideas. Taylor took on the role of Director for my film, this was interesting to work with as I had very clear ideas for my film but had to let Taylor direct the actors and myself. However, as was the case with Taylor and I working together last year, it is a very collaborative working relationship where we bounce ideas off each other to create the best product we can. Jess was my Assistant Director, a role she is always great in. She made sure she took note of everything she needed to and kept everyone on track if anything began to slow down (which wasn't really the case anyway). Ben informed me the day before that he was too ill to attend the shoot but luckily there was no dialogue in the scene, so a boom mic was not necessary. If we had been filming a dialogue heavy scene, either Jess or Taylor would have had to double up on their role and boom operator.
22/05/17
Today was the second day of shooting. We planned to film Scene 3 and the Conscience cutaways. We successfully filmed all of Scene 3 that was planned however we did not film all of the Conscience cutaways which means we will have to do pick ups.
Other than not completing everything we had planned, the shoot went very well. Once again everyone worked professionally and we got things done at a good pace. Todays only actor was Dylann and despite having no other actors to work with he got on with his job and delivered good performances. We filmed at Danniella's flat for scene 3. As she was not on set we had to make sure we took care of the location and put everything we moved back where it came from. There were children's clothes and toys in the flat and some of it made it in shot so we had to move them before filming. There were also photos up on the wall which we had permission to move and did so.
Everyone was great in their role again. Jess was unable to attend the shoot due to prior commitments to another film. Instead, Chloe took on the role of 2nd AD and filled in for her job. Chloe was great and kept up with all the paperwork. We did not hear from Ben today and he did not arrive on time for filming, we were close to finish when he did. He said he did not see the call sheets but did arrive on time for Danniella's shoot.
24/05/17
There were a few issues with the sound due to the air con in the room being very loud and the lights buzzing at certain times. Luckily because of the extra time we had time to wait for the buzzing to stop of to turn the lights off and let them cool down.
We got the rest of the conscience cutaways we didn't get yesterday so the conscience cutaways are now finished.
25/05/17
Today we filmed scene 6. This scene takes place in the toilets so we used the college toilets. I had used the toilets to film in for last years short films so I knew how to go about closing off the room to film in. However, while I did mention it to maintenance a week before, I struggled to speak to them again to confirm until today. While last minute, I was filming late and had done so before so maintenance were happy to help and allow us to close of the toilets.
We had to break a mirror as Dylann's character is supposed to punch and crack a mirror in the scene. The idea was that we would prop up the cracked mirror against the actual mirror for Dylann to look into. Unfortunately, despite planning out how we would break it before hand, the cracking was unsuccessful as the mirror broke and the glass didn't stay in place. This meant we had to work around this, having him look into the un cracked mirror and possibly cracking it in post. If this does not work, we may have to reshoot for the single shot of the cracked mirror.
Once again, everyone worked very professionally and we got the scene finished well before schedule.
09/06/17
After back and forth discussion between myself and Tim, we were unable to reach a date and time the office was available at the same time we were able to film. I had to inform him we would be unable to use the location but I thanked him for his help. Instead I will have to come up with another option for location. I spoke to the LRC staff about using one of the Learning Pods and I have managed, through Kelly, to get a the location from 2pm to 4pm on 16/06/17. Hopefully through the use of specific angles and set dressing I will be able to make the Pod look more like an office.
Evaluation
There many ups and downs to the PMP process for me but in the end I feel like it's often been a enjoyable, creative unit where we've been able to put out film making skills to the test. While not every aspect has been a total success, I've tried to make the best of every situation and do the best job of managing the project as I can.
When we first started the unit, I had multiple ideas and had to decide on one. I went through short phases of being set on each different idea however each idea I realised, logistically, wouldn't work for the PMP unit. I struggled with decided on a final idea and it wasn't until a couple of days before my pitch session that I finally decided on a completely new idea based on the idea that I wanted to experiment with lighting and use more experimental cinematography in my project. I decided on my idea, 'Conscience', a short film about a man who's good and bad conscience tries to dictate his life back and forth.
Organising the film shoots was problematic for me. By the time I could schedule my film after auditions and casting, most of the slots were filled. As I was also working on multiple other projects managed by other people, it became difficult to find spots when myself and everyone else in my crew was free. I did eventually find dates to film but they were a late start for the project. Due to actors availability and location availability there were a few shoots that had to be changed multiple times and shoots I didn't get scheduled until the very last minute. While the organisation of my shoots were not as smooth as I'd hoped it to be, I have eventually ended up with a fully organised schedule and I will get all the footage planned for my film.
The filming process was a great experience, which is the usual case on any unit. Being able to work collaboratively and experiment with new filming styles is always great and it's an enjoyable experience to create something like a professional film crew. There were only a couple of issues when filming and they were nothing that we could have helped. These problems have led to the project needed pickups for single shots which we will try to get but the film can manage without. Other than small issues, the filming process has been the best part of the PMP unit for me. Being able to work as DoP on all kinds of different projects with different people really tested me as a film maker and also allowed me to have a variation in filming styles.
The post production process started as soon as I got my first shoot finished. I realised the best way to go about editing my film was to edit as I finished each shoot and piece it together at the end. This was due to my shoots being spread out and scheduled all the way to the final filming week. Editing after the filming weeks were finished would not have been a good idea as there may not have been enough time. However I have had scenes fully edited while I have waited to film another, which is handy as I don't need to worry about getting the film completed in a rush.
Overall, the process has been a real learning experience where I've worked strongly in the practical work and pushed myself when working on the management of the project, something I've never thought was a strong point for me. This unit has proved management isn't my best skill but I am still very happy with the way the project is turning out and how I have acted in the management/producer role. I have been able to work as camera on many other projects this unit and this has been a comfortable place for me to be but I am glad that I have been put in a spot I don't work so comfortably as I've learnt that there is always space to learn more in different aspects of film making.
29 March 2017
Unit 13: Multi Camera Techniques - Task 1 - Multi Camera Scenarios
The following is a link to my presentation on different multi camera scenarios and the uses of multi camera for different coverage.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1QL_j40BWQGkYLz-cfvBqJ0-sHzlPv3Ht0YPFqL7wehE/edit?usp=sharing
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1QL_j40BWQGkYLz-cfvBqJ0-sHzlPv3Ht0YPFqL7wehE/edit?usp=sharing
Unit 13: Multi Camera Techniques - Task 2 - Production Diary
17/02/17
We began the filming of the Ufilms Oscars Rundown with a group intro. We filmed this on the Thursday before our first official shooting week (beginning on the 20th). This shoot consisted of the entire group being on camera to welcome the audience and prepare them for the episodes in the coming weeks.
Danniella, Kane and I were the main presenters for this piece. Our presentation was to speak about the upcoming Academy Awards and inform the audience that would be uploading videos. We had little preparation for this and had to quickly plan our script beforehand. While we spoke, the rest of the group gathered behind us and once everyone was in the shot, we all looked at a separate, higher camera and announced "The Ufilms Oscars Rundown".
The camera set up was one camera on a track in the centre which pulled back as we walked towards it and then we had a stationary camera held up high on the crane to get a wide shot of everyone on the set. This was used for our big final shot. The lighting we used was natural room lighting with a simple 2 light set up either side of the set to create a more professional look.
20/02/17
Today the first episode of The Ufilms Oscars Rundown was filmed. Rhys & Adam began the week with their old fashioned style episode about the history of the Academy Awards. For this shoot I was a camera operator for one of the cutaway shots/close ups. I also was in charge of the teleprompter which we put on the big screen prompt Adam & Rhys. While I wasn't Director of Photography therefore not in charge of all the cameras I still made an effort to check my shots white balance, gain etc. looked the same as the others and made suggestions on how things could be shot every now and then. However I made sure I wasn't trying to take charge of the shoot and left that to the actual DoP. Rhys and Adam did a great job in the presentation and they were very comedic which was their aim from the beginning. The shoot was fairly quick and easy.
The next shoot we did on this day was for Matthew & Danniella's Fashion episode. For this shoot I was mostly in charge of camera. I made sure each shot was framed correctly and all the settings were the same for each camera. I kept an eye on things such as making sure the boom mic didn't fall into shot. This was another successful shoot with very few issues. Danniella & Matthew worked incredibly well together and even entertained me when talking about fashion, which is difficult to do.
Finally, we shot Chloe's 'Iconic Oscar Moments' which was another straight forward shoot. This was the first solo presentation and Chloe did a great job of it. I was camera operator once again and was continuing the same responsibilities form previous shoots. There were a lot of takes filmed on this shoot due to getting lines wrong however this was just a case of remembering the lines and not a problem with Chloe presentation. Chloe's 'moments' were cut up into different scenes and were to be filmed separately. This meant there was a lot of stopping and starting which each camera operator needed to make sure they were filming at the right times. Once again, very few issues and another easy shoot to be done.
21/02/17
My first involvement in a shoot on this day was for Taylor & Ben's Music episode. The pair presented well together but this episode relied heavily on using the script which took a lot of getting used to before they got it right. I was, once again, camera operator, this time on the master shot. I followed the same responsibilities as usual, making sure the shot was perfect and keeping my eye out for anything being in shot which shouldn't be i.e. the boom mic. There were very few technical issues on this shoot and it was very easily completed.
Next I was involved in filming Matthew & Danniella's 2nd Fashion episode. This time the pair were presenting which Jess got her Make-Up done by a Make-Up student from the college, Callum. This shoot required an extra camera added to the usual 3 camera set up we'd been using and created a 4 camera set up. I was made camera operator on the newly added camera which covered Callum's close up. The reason for the extra camera is due to Callum's height, he is very tall and one camera wouldn't cover both him and Jess in the same way one camera was covered both Matthew & Danniella. Instead two separate close ups of Jess and Callum were used.
This was the first shoot we used 3 point lighting. Before this we had though we only had 2 working but we were able to get another. Before filming we had to find out a good placement as we had no obvious place to put it. I suggested having it point down from above the black backdrop we were using. I extended to light as far as it would go and had it lean over the backdrop and it worked as perfect back lighting for everyone in the shot while also being completely off camera. I also made sure the light did not actually touch the backdrop and left a large gap as lights heat up quickly and that would have been dangerous.
23/02/17
This was my first day of presenting my own episode of The Ufilms Oscars Rundown alongside my co-host Kane. This was the last episode of the week and the last instalment before the Oscars on the Sunday. Since we had a little extra time compared to a lot of people, I decided to make graphics which we could display on the TV and refer to when speaking on certain subjects. These graphics were to visualise the Award Category we were speaking about had the the Award title and the poster for each film nominated. This definitely added to the episode as it added something more interesting to look at for the audience, especially since the full episode was Kane & I sat across from each other simply talking.
The camera set-up for this shoot was different to other episodes which had been filmed so far. In this shoot Kane & I mostly spoke to each other rather than speak to camera so we had to set up the cameras to film a conversation. This meant we had a camera in the centre which filmed a wide shot (which was also our master shot) and then two cameras either side of the set which got mid shots of both me and Kane.
The lighting on this shoot was a 3 point lighting set up. Unfortunately, we had the three lights set up in the right positions but our back light broke just before our shoot. We had to improvise with the lighting and decided we would keep the fill & key light and instead use one of the rooms normal lights as a sort of back light substitute to help us stand out from the background. This wasn't ideal but it was all we had to work with.
The filming went on for a lot longer than we'd planned. Kane and I had decided to go unscripted to get a more natural presentation, simply using notes to prompt the conversation further. While we did achieve the presentation style we were aiming for, the shoot went on for over an hour with a huge amount of footage that, in the end, needed to be cut. Other than the lighting and timing issues, everything else on the shoot went great and we were able to present an episode we were happy with.
I did the floor/camera/lighting plan for this episode:
As we planned to use the TV in our episode, so we could have graphics to refer to and help our presentation, I had to design the graphics we would use. This took some time but we were able to do more with our presentation by including this. I gathered the posters for all the films in each category and made a slide show with a slide for each award.
24/02/17
On this day we continued to edit the predictions episode which we planned on uploading on Saturday 25th. Due to the large amount of footage we gathered, the edit took far longer than expected. We edited for 5 hours and were only able to achieve about 3/4 of the final product. We were unable to complete the edit in time and would need to continue the next day, having a last minute editing session before uploading it, hopefully, on the Saturday.
25/02/17
Today Kane & I managed to find a slot where we could complete the edit. Unfortunately we had many issues during this time with editing and were unable to complete the edit in time to upload it the same day. Instead we scheduled the upload for Sunday 26th which still worked as a pre-oscars episode.
WEEK 2:
27/02/17
This week, Kane & I started the week with out follow up video to our predictions, 'Our 2017 Oscars Reactions'. This filming was significantly different to our first shoot. While the camera and lighting situation stayed exactly the same, we were conscious that we needed to take less time filming due to issues with last weeks video. We also had almost no time to prepare and we were very on the spot in our presentation as we were reacting only 4 hours after the Oscars had ended. We had printed off the winners of each award and I had stayed up to watch the entire Academy Awards so I was able to offer a more in depth view on what had happened.
Thankfully, a lot had happened on the night of the Oscars, including a huge mix up on the announcement of the final award, which made a great talking point for Kane and I to have. We managed to cut filming down by a huge chunk of time compare to last weeks shoot, with this shoot taking only half an hour. We also got the entire thing in one take meaning we had a lot less work on the edit and we would be able to upload the video on the same day of filming.
We also came up with a last minute skit to open the episode based on the Best Picture mix up from the Oscars. For this we had Kane announce the wrong co-host and awkward ask me to come on instead afterwards. We thought this was a very funny and somewhat clever joke for anyone who had heard about the mix up.
We had a lot of sound issues on this shoot which was unfortunate as it went successfully in every other aspect. We used the tie mics to get a better, clearer sound quality for both of us however when editing we noticed that throughout the footage Kane's mic spikes and crackles making the sound almost impossible to listen to. Luckily we used a boom mic as back up which we ended up using for the majority of the episode. However, near the end to boom mic begins to make a scratch-like sound which we couldn't use. This meant out only choice was to use the tie mics and cut around the spiking/crackling. Other than the sound issues, the episode was a good quality instalment to the Ufilms Oscars Rundown series.
28/02/17
The first shoot of the second week was Adam & Rhys' episode. In this episode they parodied Wayne's World while talking about the details of the Oscars after parties. This was once again a very funny, comedic piece and they were much more natural than their first episode the week previous.
One huge change we made to our set up was the boom mics. After last weeks sound issues, I discussed possibilities about what could be changed and we had a few different ideas on what could be changed. One that we tried was to use 2 boom mics on either side of the set, both plugged in different channels on a single camera. These boom mics were also attached to mic stands which meant there was no need for a boom operator anymore. The sound was a huge improvement as you could hear both presenters clearly, something we'd struggled with achieving in previous shoots.
The camera set up was similar to their first episode, which was a basic 3 camera set up with a master shot and two close ups.
Next up was Taylor's Music episode, which he decided to follow up on presenting on his own. I was camera operator on the master shot of this. There was a slight issue in white balancing, which I hadn't checked properly, which I usually would have done but instead the shots colour changed slightly half way through which Taylor had to correct in post. Obviously this isn't ideal from a camera operator but this was really the only issue i'd had when operating camera since we began filming the Oscars Rundown.
I also partly directed the shoot as I had to carry in a prop for Taylor in the final scene. Because of this, Jess (the current Director) and I had to swap roles for the final piece of filming. This meant I had to call for cameras to record, call Action and bring the prop on at the right cue. This took only a few takes and the shoot was finished.
01/03/17
This was our last day of filming episodes for The Ufilms Oscars Rundown. We had 2 more episodes to shoot before we had all the episodes ready to upload each day.
We started by filming Chloe's 2nd episode, 'Facts of the 2017 Oscars Winners'. This was a similar set up and filming process as her first episode. Chloe presented on her own, switching between cameras for certain lines. The piece was completely scripted and presented well. Chloe had her script on the table in front of her so it was important to keep it out of shot and not make it obvious she was checking it every now and then. As Chloe was talking to different cameras, the camera operators had to make sure they knew when to record at the correct time and know when Chloe was going to change camera as it was sometimes a reference point for her to know when to cut.
Next up was Jess' episode. This shoot was the first time since beginning The Ufilms Oscars Rundown that I wasn't operating camera (other than when I was presenting). It only took me 8 entire shoots to try a different role, impressive. For this shoot I took on the role of Director as I'd been hoping to try it during filming at some point. I was in charge of making sure all the cameras were recording at the correct times, letting Jess know if she needed to change anything she was doing and calling Action and Cut. I think I did a good job in the role and took control of the shoot well.
02/03/17
Today we filmed out last piece, the outro the the Ufilms Oscars Rundown. This was a piece to let the audience know that we were finished but we would also be uploading in the future. This was not as complicated of a shoot as the intro was. This time we used a single camera and positioned everyone so they were all in frame (except for Adam & Rhys, who kindly offered to keep the backdrop extension held up behind us). We took turns delivering lines and, similarly to the intro, ended with us all speaking in sync. This time it was us saying "Stay tuned" as a group.
16 March 2017
Unit 37: Presentation Techniques for Broadcasting - Task 1 - Part A
Over time, new coverage and presentation of news had a changed in a big way.
The first visual presentation of the news in the UK came from Pathe News in 1910. Before this, all news had been without visuals. Pathe News introduced the use of cameras to cover events. By doing this they were able to capture history defining moments such as Suffragette Emily Davison's death from jumping in front of the horse at the Epsom Derby & the Coronation of King George V.
Many people had never seen events such as these so being able to have visuals along with the news was something new and made more of an understanding for the audience. Also the visuals were an attraction to many people as, at the time, it was an incredible movement in technology. However being able to see tragic events such as the death of Emily Davison would be a shock to many people as there was no censor on what was shown when this was first introduced.
When the newsreels first began, they were silent, as were all films in that era. It wasn't until 1928 that sound was introduced into the news. Until then, the news was simply footage of events with text added over the top or in between shots. These newsreels were screened at cinemas twice a week where members of the public would pay to watch them. Each newsreel would last for about 4 minutes and update the audience on the news from that week.
In 1918, Pathe split and began two separate divisions, Film/Newsreels & Music. This was simply the first step towards what would be more divisions and separate shows covering different aspects. Different divisions continued to be made and by 1930 there were multiple shows such as Pathetone Weekly, Pathe Pictorial, The Gazette and Eve's Film Review, not to mention others.
In 1928, sound was introduced to the newsreels. This added a new level of information to the films and it added realism to them in a way that simply showing visuals didn't do. With the introduction of sound to these newsreels this also meant the shows could have presenters. At first the presenters were only used for voice over, replacing the overlaying text from previous newsreels. The presentation had to be very well spoken as there was no other aspect to it. It wasn't for a while that presenters would appear as a visual on TV. This was a trend that stuck and continues today. Having someone present the news makes it feel more direct to the audience.
It was in 1934 that the first real competition to Pathe News began, BBC News. BBC News was the first new show to be broadcast on television which made news more accessible and made less reason to go to the cinema to see the news. Pathe Newsreels continued until the 1950's when they were discontinued and no longer shown in cinemas in the UK. BBC News began to take over, however they weren't always a visual news show.
BBC News started as a radio show in 1922 and, despite a lot of negative criticism on the product, progressed it's way towards starting it's own news operation in 1934. This progression continued until 1948 when BBC News started their own Television Newsreel show which is when it became real competition to other news broadcasters. 2 years later a Children's Newsreel show was started and aired weekly.
Both these news shows continued for years, BBC still being on today and the children's newsreel progressed into Newsround in 1972, which also is still ongoing today.
Since Newsround was made specifically for children, to make news more accessible to the younger generation, it make sure every aspect of the show is aimed at that audience. This comes in the form of their logo and graphics, for example. These graphics are a lot less 'sophisticated' than the main BBC News and more bright and colourful to appeal to kids. On top of the Graphics, music is another aspect tailored towards the younger age group. The music is more upbeat than most mainstream news shows.
The presentation is very simplified compared to mainstream news. The the way the presenter speaks is aimed at children and is therefore slower and they use a more child like vocabulary to make the news understandable to kids.
As time went on Newsround continued and is still going today. It made it's way onto CBBC, the BBC channel designed for kids, in 2002. Many aspects of the show stayed the same such as brighter colours, more 'fun' graphics etc. One thing that does seem to change when you compare the 2014 broadcast to the 1972 broadcast is the presentation style. The presenter in the 2014 episode seems as if she is reporting for a normal news show rather than aiming her presentation towards kids. This could be because of a way in which the children who watch Newsround have progressed. Other than the presentation and updated graphics, the show follows the same format.
The first visual presentation of the news in the UK came from Pathe News in 1910. Before this, all news had been without visuals. Pathe News introduced the use of cameras to cover events. By doing this they were able to capture history defining moments such as Suffragette Emily Davison's death from jumping in front of the horse at the Epsom Derby & the Coronation of King George V.
Many people had never seen events such as these so being able to have visuals along with the news was something new and made more of an understanding for the audience. Also the visuals were an attraction to many people as, at the time, it was an incredible movement in technology. However being able to see tragic events such as the death of Emily Davison would be a shock to many people as there was no censor on what was shown when this was first introduced.
When the newsreels first began, they were silent, as were all films in that era. It wasn't until 1928 that sound was introduced into the news. Until then, the news was simply footage of events with text added over the top or in between shots. These newsreels were screened at cinemas twice a week where members of the public would pay to watch them. Each newsreel would last for about 4 minutes and update the audience on the news from that week.
In 1918, Pathe split and began two separate divisions, Film/Newsreels & Music. This was simply the first step towards what would be more divisions and separate shows covering different aspects. Different divisions continued to be made and by 1930 there were multiple shows such as Pathetone Weekly, Pathe Pictorial, The Gazette and Eve's Film Review, not to mention others.
In 1928, sound was introduced to the newsreels. This added a new level of information to the films and it added realism to them in a way that simply showing visuals didn't do. With the introduction of sound to these newsreels this also meant the shows could have presenters. At first the presenters were only used for voice over, replacing the overlaying text from previous newsreels. The presentation had to be very well spoken as there was no other aspect to it. It wasn't for a while that presenters would appear as a visual on TV. This was a trend that stuck and continues today. Having someone present the news makes it feel more direct to the audience.
It was in 1934 that the first real competition to Pathe News began, BBC News. BBC News was the first new show to be broadcast on television which made news more accessible and made less reason to go to the cinema to see the news. Pathe Newsreels continued until the 1950's when they were discontinued and no longer shown in cinemas in the UK. BBC News began to take over, however they weren't always a visual news show.
BBC News started as a radio show in 1922 and, despite a lot of negative criticism on the product, progressed it's way towards starting it's own news operation in 1934. This progression continued until 1948 when BBC News started their own Television Newsreel show which is when it became real competition to other news broadcasters. 2 years later a Children's Newsreel show was started and aired weekly.
Both these news shows continued for years, BBC still being on today and the children's newsreel progressed into Newsround in 1972, which also is still ongoing today.
Since Newsround was made specifically for children, to make news more accessible to the younger generation, it make sure every aspect of the show is aimed at that audience. This comes in the form of their logo and graphics, for example. These graphics are a lot less 'sophisticated' than the main BBC News and more bright and colourful to appeal to kids. On top of the Graphics, music is another aspect tailored towards the younger age group. The music is more upbeat than most mainstream news shows.
The presentation is very simplified compared to mainstream news. The the way the presenter speaks is aimed at children and is therefore slower and they use a more child like vocabulary to make the news understandable to kids.
As time went on Newsround continued and is still going today. It made it's way onto CBBC, the BBC channel designed for kids, in 2002. Many aspects of the show stayed the same such as brighter colours, more 'fun' graphics etc. One thing that does seem to change when you compare the 2014 broadcast to the 1972 broadcast is the presentation style. The presenter in the 2014 episode seems as if she is reporting for a normal news show rather than aiming her presentation towards kids. This could be because of a way in which the children who watch Newsround have progressed. Other than the presentation and updated graphics, the show follows the same format.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)