Back to the Gym, Work that Chest

Brief number 3: each group is to produce 1 x 1” sequence of actuality.

Mel wanted us to use one of our interviews from the previous week for a sequence of actuality. We decided that the only feasible option was to go back to the gym and film the manager doing a work out. We got him to demonstrate using machines that worked the chest area while explaining what he was doing. I was sound for this piece and I think it worked quite well but I found it quite hard to get his voice over the noise of the gym even though we got them to turn the music off. The final edit looked good but it was pointed out to us that majority of it is shot with the window behind the manager and this makes him look really dark. Next shoot we need to look out for light sources behind our contributors. 

Also during the feedback sessions we learnt that we had yet again misunderstood the brief! This was more of an instructional video that it was a documentation of actuality! Maybe next time we will get it right…

*Fart* “That just shows how much effort I have to put in!”

Second brief: Each group is to produce 3 x 1” Interviews using different techniques.

The Gym

For our ‘non-sync’ interview we decided to interview the guy that runs the gym on campus while showing footage shot around the gym. I did sound for this piece which turned out quite well because we did the interview in a small, quiet room away from the hustle and bustle of the gym. We also got another member of staff to demonstrate how to use kettle bells, while lifting a lot of weight he passed wind, which I heard great through the headphones, as hard as I tried to be professional and not laugh as soon as Melissa started, tears streaming down her face, I could hold it no longer. The final video worked pretty well I think, Jamie who had now joined our group did a good job on camera and editing it, however the fart did not make the cut, perhaps we should do a blooper reel?

Bees

I knew it wouldn’t be long for me to get us to do a film about bees! Some may say I have a slight obsession with our furry little pollinator friend but I would prefer to say I have a passion to help conserve them! For our traditional ‘off-camera’ one we interviewed Lindsay Leyden who set up the bee society on campus and is in the process of starting a charity called ‘bees before profit’. I was director, camera and editor for this one, looking back I think we should have shared the roles out a bit more evenly but over all the different interviews everyone had about the same amount of input. I was really happy with the outcome what with it being the first interview I had ever directed I think it was quite successful with content and was visually pleasing.

“Why do you like living by the sea?”

For our third interview we wanted to do a ‘vox pop’ piece but weren’t quite sure what we wanted to ask the public. So we decided we wanted to do it by the beach first and then came up with the idea of asking people why they like living by the sea. Vox pop turns out to be a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. We interviewed 4 people in total and reflecting on that I think we should have asked a lot more people as that would have made the edit a lot less troublesome. 2 of the people that we interviewed only wanted to audio so that also limited what we could so visually and one of the ladies that we filmed was very obviously uncomfortable being filmed and kept looking at the camera. As camera operator I tried to get as many cut aways and gvs as I could so that the edit would be made easier and I think that Melissa did a great job editing what was a very hard piece especially with the fact that she had to restart 3 times as avid kept messing up. Next time I attempt vox pop I will make sure we ask as many people as possible but I think for a first attempt we did quite well. 

“Natures Uglys”

I spent this weekend attending a Master class ran by Mark Fletcher an award-winning natural history filmmaker. It was great fun and I learnt so much. In groups we came up with ideas for wildlife programmes and then pitched them in front of Mark and the rest of the class. My group came up with the idea of a kids programme called “Natures Uglys”, looking at the ugliest endangered animals to give them a bit more media coverage as we have all seen many images of polar bears and cute pandas but the ugly creatures are just as important.

The next day we went out and shot something, we went to a farm and filmed really cute feral kittens! They were so adorable I loved it! In the afternoon before we all left Mark showed us a load of Nature documentaries including some he worked on and some that had not even been aired yet! I definitely got a lot out of the weekend and would love to attend some other master classes in the future.

Film, Film, Film

First brief: each production group must produce 3 x 1” films that have narrative but no dialogue.

Pumpkins

For our first film we came up with the idea of shooting someone carving a pumpkin, I was said person much to my annoyance! I really am not a fan of being filmed but I didn’t really have the confidence to say that I really didn’t want to be on camera and I also felt that there was a great deal of pressure to perform this week and I didn’t want to mess it up. Henry did camera which he did really well considering we were using a P2 that despite us setting all the switches to manual continued to auto focus. Melissa did the sound for this piece but we ended up just putting music to it because we ran out of time. Overall I think it worked ok for our first film but I wasn’t really happy with quality of light or just the quality of the P2 camera.

Disaster at swanpool!

I came up with the idea of filming someone dancing on the beach, I thought that this would look really visually pleasing, interesting and a bit different. I had booked out a 5D mkii but unfortunately I received a phone call from the photography stores shortly before we were due to shoot saying that the camera had broken and I couldn’t have it! This meant we had to use a P2 and by the time the dancers had arrived and we had got half way through the filming it was too dark for the P2 to handle so the footage was unusable. We then went to a car park with the dancers and tried to shoot a dance off but again it was far too dark and that footage was also void! So not a great day for shooting really, I was left feeling pretty annoyed and disheartened.

Library

Completely stumped for ideas we ended up choosing to film me (again!) getting a book out of the library because we thought this would be a relatively easy sequence to get. However there was quite a bit of paperwork entailed and we had to go once majority of the students had left. However as Henry had storyboarded what he wanted to shoot it went pretty smoothly. Now we had run out of time to film a complete 3^rd film but we will catch up and film another one before hand in.

After having our feedback session with Mel today we discovered that we had misunderstood the brief!

Note to self: Shoot factual for documentaries, not drama or movie footage!

The Beginning

This week was just mainly for us to settle in and find our feet really. I met and chatted with most of the people on the course and they all seem really lovely.  We had our first technical instruction (TI) sessions in camera, sound and editing. I got to use equipment and software that I had never used before! I found it very interesting and I learnt a great deal but at the same time slightly overwhelming. I was going to have to attempt to master all these new skills over the following weeks, exciting times to come…

MA TV Production

I have started a Masters in Television Production where I hope to acquire the skills I need to go into the television business while having copious amounts of fun of course! I am going to be keeping this blog updated with my current work including all the highs and the lows. I will look at all the problems we encounter and reflect on how I should do it differently next time!

Wish me luck…