Evaluation
When Helen first started discussion the unit brief to us I went into immediate panic mode. I hadn't quite understood hat exactly it was we had to provide, but after she showed us videos from previous years it was pretty straight forward. For this unit we all went into four groups of four. My group include Rosie, Cheyenne and Saskia. To start off, we all came up with separate ideas to produce to Helen and then decided which one we felt would have more to talk about. Our ideas in summary was about the use of fur in fashion and how ethical it is, the origin of make up trends and drag queens, reporting only good news in Kent, and finally a haunted village in Kent. My idea was the one about reporting all the good things happening in Kent "Good News". Even though, I really liked my idea the majority of the events happening in Kent had been over summer or were happening over the period of presenting our ideas. Therefore, we couldn't really go with that idea as we wouldn't have enough to talk about. I also really liked Rosies idea about visiting haunted village in Kent, the only issue faced with this idea is that there is no solid proof of anything happening. In the end, we went with Cheyenne and Saskias idea of fashion and make-up.
After deciding on which idea we wanted to go with, we decided it would be best if we gave each other roles to split up the work evenly. my role was the sound of the video and the producer - so I got all the pre-production work ready. Rosies role was the director and Saskia and Cheyenne wanted to be the editors and do the graphics. We wrote the script as a group though. As I would like to do scriptwriting or producing in the future I liked having this role as it gave me the opportunity to have a taste of how producing a news segment is. But, a few years ago I had the chance to shadow a director of the news in Cyprus and I have come to conclusion that News is just not for me. Being the person I am I would prefer to work on a comedy set as I think it suits my personality a lot more.
After assigning each our roles, we went of separately and did thorough research in the topics we will talk about. The topics which we looked into was the use of fur in fashion and how many animals are killed to make one coat. We then looked at the origin of make up trends such as contouring and faded brows, which actually links into drag queens. From there we also researched the history of Drag Queens. For this part, it was fun researching these topics as you actually learn things that you didn't know about. We found it slightly challenging writing the script as we were not entirely sure how to start it off. We wanted it formal/educational but also conversational. We realised that we didn't quite manage that when it came to filming the presenter. Furthermore, we also wanted to do a different segment called 'This or That', which would have been something for the show to interact with the audience but showing them different options e.g. why use this Mac lipstick and not this organic lipstick? In the end we decided not to do this as it was an extra video, which we did not have time for.
On our original shoot day, where we were filming Rosie (presenter) and using the green screen it just wasn't working. When we watched back the footage, the script just seemed to formal, the green screen looked tacky and the lighting on Rosie was not right. Even though, this sent us back a bit by having to re-film I still learnt a lot from it. I learnt how to use the green screen, as we had to research on out own how to use it, using the new LED lights as well was much easier, but it also helped me to see where to place the lights when using the green screen for a shadow not to be created. On this shoot day as well, we filmed the promo for the news channels. Originally all four of us would have been included in the news package - Rosie the presenter, me doing a segment called 'this or that', cheyenne the live interview and Saskia Wilsons video. Therefore we thought we would it would a good idea for all of us to be in the video, but we were very unplanned and did not really know what we wanted to film exactly for this promo video. That day was extremely stressful as we were quite unprepared for what we were gonna do, but also we were not given stands for the lights so we had to rest them and support them on chairs to get the angle we wanted. I learnt a lot from that day and that was to check the equipment and make sure that all the parts are included in one bag, plan everything -have some sort of shot list so you know what you are going to have in the video.
For the second shoot day, it was easier to plan it as we were much more prepared. The only issue that we faced trying to plan both days was having a camera and day which they would be available. Although, this was not a major issue. After arranging the location at the studios we then had to book the rest of our locations which also faced a few issues. getting hold of the drag queen and the live interviewee was relatively easy as they are friends of Rosie and we managed to have them both on the same day. Originally though we wanted to interview Donna Ives who is the course leader for BA Fashion Design. When I was speaking to her through email she seemed excited and willing to participate, but when we spoke on the phone she had changed her mind as she didn't want to be on camera. Even though I was disappointed by this because the questions were designed for her, I did not panic as we could interview Amy on this subject who is just as enthusiastic about fashion. I did panic though when Donna had stop relying to my emails and my phone calls when it came to arranging a day and time to shoot in one of her workshops. It was 2 days before our shoot and I was calling anyone I could think of from reception to events manager of UCA until a tutor from fashion design answered Donnas phone. I explained to her that Donna had said it was okay for us to film on this day and until, so eventually this tutor had confirmed it was okay and said all we had to do was fill out a risk assessment (already done). After arranging our locations, cast and times we started to re-film with a much better idea of what we wanted to do. The shoot day for our presenter had zero problems and ran very smoothly. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for when we filmed the live interview. Due to a workshop happening it was very loud, so our sound quality is not good. We also only had one mic, and no long lead for the microphone so the sound levels on Amy (who was wearing the clip mic) are peaking, whilst the sound on myself and Irene are extremely low. Even though, we attempted to fix this in the edit, the sound is still unbalanced but it is still a learning experience, as next time we will check that a long lead has come in the camera bag for the microphone. Also, due to the room having many windows a lot of light was coming into the room, which threw off the white balance slightly making we look orange and have yellow hair. So although the live interview did not go as well as we had hoped, the package with Wilson could not have gone any better. Even though the area was a tight space it was still workable; we filmed Wilson putting on his make up fro different angles with 2 cameras (DSLR and PMW), the interviewed him and finally filmed a few cutaways. Overall, I was satisfied with the second attempt at filming as we were much more prepared, we had our set questions and our shot list.
For our promo video we had a completely different idea of what we wanted originally. First, we wanted to have something similar to what the Kardashians promo video is like; all characters together with different shots and angles of the face. We wanted that but with no make up on to show the beauty of what you would look like with no make-up. But after the disastrous shoot day and the change of not having everyone on camera we came up with a better idea. We thought that for the promo which should have graphics. For this we filmed behind the scenes an included them in the graphics, in a way that there are tiles with footages/images of everyone and then it zooms out and becomes the logo, with Rosie discussing what our channel is with voice over.
We had 1 group meeting as a team to sit and watch the edit of the news channel where we all had the chance to put our opinions and inputs in. I liked the graphics which were made and the way it all came together. For graphics I would like to have a better understanding of how it is done, as I would like to use it in the future with some of my projects
I was also very worried about starting uni again, as i hadn't used a camera the whole summer and wasn't sure if I remembered how to handle it or set up the sound. Luckily, it is like riding a bike, you just remember. I am actually proud of my self when it came to using the sound as I have improved a lot since the first unit of year 1 where I knew absolutely nothing about sound. Even though I was not camera man I still observed and helped and could remember where everything was and how to set it up. I was also looking very forward to using green screen as it is something I have never done. Although it did not come out good on our project I am still amazed by the things after effects and green screen can do and I would like to use it in the future. I did my own research on green screen as we used it before our workshop, but I feel that I did not gain enough in the workshop because there were to many of us to have a go - it would have been better if we were split and then we could all have a go as well on the teleprompter, as I am not very confident in being able to use it.
I feel that with this unit I have learnt a lot with team work, research for news and pre-production. I am also proud of myself as I have matured with my work and handling different situations that are thrown my may. My next goal is to improve my skills in after effects, and hopefully this will be achieved by December with the next unit.
After deciding on which idea we wanted to go with, we decided it would be best if we gave each other roles to split up the work evenly. my role was the sound of the video and the producer - so I got all the pre-production work ready. Rosies role was the director and Saskia and Cheyenne wanted to be the editors and do the graphics. We wrote the script as a group though. As I would like to do scriptwriting or producing in the future I liked having this role as it gave me the opportunity to have a taste of how producing a news segment is. But, a few years ago I had the chance to shadow a director of the news in Cyprus and I have come to conclusion that News is just not for me. Being the person I am I would prefer to work on a comedy set as I think it suits my personality a lot more.
After assigning each our roles, we went of separately and did thorough research in the topics we will talk about. The topics which we looked into was the use of fur in fashion and how many animals are killed to make one coat. We then looked at the origin of make up trends such as contouring and faded brows, which actually links into drag queens. From there we also researched the history of Drag Queens. For this part, it was fun researching these topics as you actually learn things that you didn't know about. We found it slightly challenging writing the script as we were not entirely sure how to start it off. We wanted it formal/educational but also conversational. We realised that we didn't quite manage that when it came to filming the presenter. Furthermore, we also wanted to do a different segment called 'This or That', which would have been something for the show to interact with the audience but showing them different options e.g. why use this Mac lipstick and not this organic lipstick? In the end we decided not to do this as it was an extra video, which we did not have time for.
On our original shoot day, where we were filming Rosie (presenter) and using the green screen it just wasn't working. When we watched back the footage, the script just seemed to formal, the green screen looked tacky and the lighting on Rosie was not right. Even though, this sent us back a bit by having to re-film I still learnt a lot from it. I learnt how to use the green screen, as we had to research on out own how to use it, using the new LED lights as well was much easier, but it also helped me to see where to place the lights when using the green screen for a shadow not to be created. On this shoot day as well, we filmed the promo for the news channels. Originally all four of us would have been included in the news package - Rosie the presenter, me doing a segment called 'this or that', cheyenne the live interview and Saskia Wilsons video. Therefore we thought we would it would a good idea for all of us to be in the video, but we were very unplanned and did not really know what we wanted to film exactly for this promo video. That day was extremely stressful as we were quite unprepared for what we were gonna do, but also we were not given stands for the lights so we had to rest them and support them on chairs to get the angle we wanted. I learnt a lot from that day and that was to check the equipment and make sure that all the parts are included in one bag, plan everything -have some sort of shot list so you know what you are going to have in the video.
For the second shoot day, it was easier to plan it as we were much more prepared. The only issue that we faced trying to plan both days was having a camera and day which they would be available. Although, this was not a major issue. After arranging the location at the studios we then had to book the rest of our locations which also faced a few issues. getting hold of the drag queen and the live interviewee was relatively easy as they are friends of Rosie and we managed to have them both on the same day. Originally though we wanted to interview Donna Ives who is the course leader for BA Fashion Design. When I was speaking to her through email she seemed excited and willing to participate, but when we spoke on the phone she had changed her mind as she didn't want to be on camera. Even though I was disappointed by this because the questions were designed for her, I did not panic as we could interview Amy on this subject who is just as enthusiastic about fashion. I did panic though when Donna had stop relying to my emails and my phone calls when it came to arranging a day and time to shoot in one of her workshops. It was 2 days before our shoot and I was calling anyone I could think of from reception to events manager of UCA until a tutor from fashion design answered Donnas phone. I explained to her that Donna had said it was okay for us to film on this day and until, so eventually this tutor had confirmed it was okay and said all we had to do was fill out a risk assessment (already done). After arranging our locations, cast and times we started to re-film with a much better idea of what we wanted to do. The shoot day for our presenter had zero problems and ran very smoothly. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for when we filmed the live interview. Due to a workshop happening it was very loud, so our sound quality is not good. We also only had one mic, and no long lead for the microphone so the sound levels on Amy (who was wearing the clip mic) are peaking, whilst the sound on myself and Irene are extremely low. Even though, we attempted to fix this in the edit, the sound is still unbalanced but it is still a learning experience, as next time we will check that a long lead has come in the camera bag for the microphone. Also, due to the room having many windows a lot of light was coming into the room, which threw off the white balance slightly making we look orange and have yellow hair. So although the live interview did not go as well as we had hoped, the package with Wilson could not have gone any better. Even though the area was a tight space it was still workable; we filmed Wilson putting on his make up fro different angles with 2 cameras (DSLR and PMW), the interviewed him and finally filmed a few cutaways. Overall, I was satisfied with the second attempt at filming as we were much more prepared, we had our set questions and our shot list.
For our promo video we had a completely different idea of what we wanted originally. First, we wanted to have something similar to what the Kardashians promo video is like; all characters together with different shots and angles of the face. We wanted that but with no make up on to show the beauty of what you would look like with no make-up. But after the disastrous shoot day and the change of not having everyone on camera we came up with a better idea. We thought that for the promo which should have graphics. For this we filmed behind the scenes an included them in the graphics, in a way that there are tiles with footages/images of everyone and then it zooms out and becomes the logo, with Rosie discussing what our channel is with voice over.
We had 1 group meeting as a team to sit and watch the edit of the news channel where we all had the chance to put our opinions and inputs in. I liked the graphics which were made and the way it all came together. For graphics I would like to have a better understanding of how it is done, as I would like to use it in the future with some of my projects
I was also very worried about starting uni again, as i hadn't used a camera the whole summer and wasn't sure if I remembered how to handle it or set up the sound. Luckily, it is like riding a bike, you just remember. I am actually proud of my self when it came to using the sound as I have improved a lot since the first unit of year 1 where I knew absolutely nothing about sound. Even though I was not camera man I still observed and helped and could remember where everything was and how to set it up. I was also looking very forward to using green screen as it is something I have never done. Although it did not come out good on our project I am still amazed by the things after effects and green screen can do and I would like to use it in the future. I did my own research on green screen as we used it before our workshop, but I feel that I did not gain enough in the workshop because there were to many of us to have a go - it would have been better if we were split and then we could all have a go as well on the teleprompter, as I am not very confident in being able to use it.
I feel that with this unit I have learnt a lot with team work, research for news and pre-production. I am also proud of myself as I have matured with my work and handling different situations that are thrown my may. My next goal is to improve my skills in after effects, and hopefully this will be achieved by December with the next unit.
hi imogen - some good work here in your blog. it got more detailed and more involved as you went along. a good sense of your learning. well done! s
ReplyDeleteThank you Simon
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