Week 12 - Dance Show 2

Julia was too busy again to do a meeting for the pitch. I think it's mainly to do with the time of the year though as she has a lot of work around Christmas. I will gently remind her from time to time as this is actually the last official week of the work placement in this module. Next week I will already be back in for a final class before this needs to be handed in.

Instead, she did have more work experience for me with another dance show. This time it was filmed in the Beachcombe Holiday Park, which is a smaller venue than last time but we had three shows to film instead of just the one.

In comparison to last week, I felt a lot more useful. Perhaps it was due to the experience of the week before, so I now knew how to set things up by myself. We had the same setup to last week, with a three camera tricaster system and talk-back mics. I helped set this up as well as having the responsibility to tape all the cables down to make sure it was safe for the audience to walk over them. I also arrived before everyone else apart from Julia, which meant I was able to start setting up early on. Which is fortunate, as we had similar technical issues to last time: some temperamental connections with the cables.  Thankfully, we were again able to get them fixed a few minutes before the start of the show, but it was a bit close.

During the shows, I was on the wide shot camera again, but due to the nature of this show I was able to be a lot more creative with the camera movement. This made the day a lot more interesting to me too, as I wasn't just making sure the action stayed in the shot. Instead I got to pan and zoom in and out as occasion required.

By the third show, we had some technical issues again, but this time with the talk-back system. The mic going to my receiver wasn't working just as the show started, which meant I had no directions from the director for the whole show. Thankfully though, it happened on the third show, which meant I had a fairly good idea of what the director wanted from me. I made sure if ever I did move the camera that the movements were careful and slow just in case my camera was being used at the time.

I had a very enjoyable day, and again gained a lot of useful experience. I now feel more comfortable on a moving camera. I think Julia sees this, as she has asked for me to do it again next week. I was also pleased that I could set everything up OK too.

 

I am on the camera on the far left

Reflections on Week 12

I feel like these eight weeks have whizzed by. I've learned a lot from them however and enjoyed the experience immensely. I have no doubt the things I've learned during these eight weeks will serve me well throughout the rest of my career. I think one thing I've realised though is that one cannot have enough experience in this industry, as even though the basics will be the same, every job is different. No doubt I will continue learning even after these eight weeks as I continue on with Julia and my university course. I have now completed another SWOT analysis found in the "About Me" section of this blog, to showcase my progression from the start of the work placement to after its completion.

Week 11 - Dance Show

Firstly I'll just mention that within a day of that previous meeting, I finished off the (hopefully) last of the changes to the pitch and with Julia's rubber stamp of approval, it should be ready to be sent off to the commissioners.

This week we didn't have a meeting as Julia is pretty busy in the build up to Christmas, but it does mean more work experience opportunities for me! This week we were filming a dance show at the Grimsby Auditorium, which is a large venue with hundreds of seats. We spent three hours setting up a three camera tricaster system, as the cables had to stretch out to the far reaches of the room, meaning using multiple cables and connectors so the cables would reach from the cameras to the tricaster. The problem was that there were some technical difficulties and the image from the cameras were not coming cleanly through, sometimes turning blue or red or green. All the camera operators, including myself, had to go through these cables one by one to see which one was at fault.

In the end, one camera was fine from the beginning, one had a broken cable leading up to it which got replaced, and the last camera had a fault with the socket in the camera itself, but gave a good image signal if the cable was taped at a certain angle. The problem was that this camera would be moving, and the cable could easily become dislodged, so I suggested we switch cameras so the camera with the temperamental connection would be one the static wide shot. That way, the cable would be taped into place and the camera wouldn't have to move very often. This turned out to be a good solution and the equipment worked for the rest of the show.

The camera-ops were then given talk-back headsets so we could hear the directions from the director. I was on the static wide-shot.

Directing us for the show was Andy Harris from ITV. He used to work with Julia and she sometimes still hires him for bigger shoots. It was very interesting and great experience to be part of this team, as I got to see how people in these kinds of productions perform their roles.

It was also a good lesson about leaving enough time to set up the equipment in case anything goes wrong. In this case it did, but we had allowed ourselves enough time to still have everything ready before the performance started.

Although I did feel useful throughout the day, I did also feel like a bit of a third wheel overall, as I hadn't done anything like this before and I spent a lot of the time watching how it was done. I wish I could have been a bit more useful. Also, because I was on the static wide shot, it meant I didn't get much opportunity to experiment with different shots. All I ended up doing was making sure the cable didn't come out and also that the action stayed in the frame. I realise this is because it was my first time doing this kind of production, but I hope I will feel more of an integral part of the team next time!

The ECP team for the event

Me on the static cam

Vision mixer

After the show

Julia Thompson and Andy Harris

Reflections on Week 11

This week made me realise the importance of leaving enough time to set up should everything go wrong, which in this shoot it felt like it did. Had we arrived with only an hour to spare before the show, the equipment wouldn't have been ready, the show wouldn't have been recorded and we would've had a very angry client on our hands. As I'm not producer yet, I don't have to be the one making these decisions, but maybe in the future I will and I'll have to take this experience into account.

Week 10 - The Updated PowerPoint

Having made the changes as suggested, I went to the next production meeting with more confidence than last time. Overall, Julia was happy with how it turned out and this meeting was spent going through fine tuning suggestions. There is just a few more things I will work on this week, and then I will email the final draft back to Julia in readiness to send the pitch off to the BBC commissioners. Julia said she will organise who it is we will send the pitch to and work out how exactly to go about doing that for BBC.

This week I was also able to take part in a production for a corporate promo video. There is a local business in the outskirts of Grimsby that wanted ECP to make them a promo video, particularly showing off the production process in their factory. I got experience in being a runner for the day, but as there was also a professional cameraman there I was able to see how he went about his job. It was interesting and insightful to see how he directed people to get the shot he wanted. What impressed me was he clearly knew what he was doing and knew how to get the shots he wanted.

Watching Julia in the role of a producer was also interesting as this is perhaps the role I would want when I leave uni. The role of producer clearly requires good communication skills with the clients as well as the team. It also requires patience, as when people aren't co-operating as hoped, or if the production is a bit behind schedule, the producer is the one that needs to keep a level head.

My role as a runner included setting up equipment for the different scenes and carrying the equipment between sets. There was an awful lot of equipment as they used cameras, tripods, a track and dolly and three point lighting. I was able to set it all up no problem, as I've had experience with all this kind of equipment from uni.

Overall a very good experience and I'm glad I took part in it.

Reflections on Week 10

Although I was just the runner in this shoot, I still felt like it provided me with a wealth of experience. I have done promo videos in the past, but what stood out to me in this shoot was the professionalism of the crew. In previous shoots, I was working with students. In this shoot, I was working with industry professionals who knew what they were doing. I also felt like I was useful, as I was kept very busy setting things up and carrying equipment.

Another thing I like about this job is the connections and contacts you can make with clients. Doing promo videos a lot means you meet a lot of new people, and if you do a good job for them or stand out in some way, maybe they would be more likely to hire you for something in the future.

Week 9 - The PowerPoint

This week I spent about a day on the PowerPoint presentation using the notes I made from the discussion Julia and I had in the previous meeting. I had to do a lot of research for various things, so it took a lot longer than I was excepting.

I had to find stock photos of people that could represent the characters I was using. I also had to find breathe-taking images of space that would not only wow the commissioner, but also truly represent what could be seen in the episodes.

I would also admit that when it comes to page layout and presenting a message using visuals, that really is not a strength of mine. Some people really know how to layout a page to display information in a good, clear and concise way, for me it simply doesn't come as naturally. It took me a long to try and get the PowerPoint looking professional and interesting. It also didn't come as any surprise to me when I went for my next meeting with Julia that she changed a lot of what I had done.

To be fair, the basis of what I had produced so far was retained, but font sizes and colour changed, positions of pictures, picture choices, layout etc. I could also agree with most of the changes. I now have to polish up what we did in this meeting throughout the week and hopefully I'll have something even better to show Julia next week.


Reflections on Week 9 

It seems I have found another weakness of mine, knowing how to creatively lay out a presentation. In this case though, I feel like this is a skill that can be learned, rather than a gift given at birth! I looked online for some inspiration to see how other people did it. I also took into account how Julia wanted it to look. I probably haven't cracked this skill just yet, but at least I know where to go to improve, and as I get more experience at it, I will have a better eye for it in the future.

Week 8 - Episode Summaries Completed

The meeting with my brother was very productive. We spent about half a day going through each episode and smoothing out the storyline for each one. I am now extremely happy with each episode summary and was pleased to be able to email them to Julia.

In the development meeting, Julia was also happy with the episode summaries. She said the only additional and essential thing we need before we go to the BBC3 pitch is making a PowerPoint presentation. The presentation needs to be concise and have a hook, and also be able to 'wow' the commissioner. Julia broke down what I would need to put into the PowerPoint in very precise details so I know what I need to work on now.


Reflections on Week 8

This week made me think about the importance of having contacts and connections in all different aspects of work life. One can simply not be a jack-of-all-trades. It's important to realise weaknesses, but also important to know those who can help out. In this case, I was glad to know my brother, who is studying creative writing and has always had a knack of storytelling. I know there will be other times in the future where I'm not so strong at something, but what will be the most important is having the contacts who would be ready to help out in that situation. I feel like this is especially the case in the TV and film industry.

Week 7 - Finalising the Episodes

During the week I worked on the other episode summary sheets. Unfortunately, I was only able to get four out of eight completed as I was struggling for ideas for the remaining four. I had researched all the facts, but was struggling to come up with a plot that didn't seem overly cliché.

In the development meeting with Julia, she was happy with the episodes I had completed so far. The four that were only half completed, she helped me brainstorm some plot ideas. By the end of the meeting, we had come up with some good ideas which I'll try and incorporate into plot outlines.

I also have asked for my brother's help with nailing down plot outlines for all the episodes as I feel even the ones I have completed could be improved. He is studying creative writing at a university level at the moment, and has a huge passion for stories so I'm hoping that he will help me structure a good story for each episode. I will speak to him in a few days.

I was also able to do some editing for Julia this week. She had a meeting during the morning and so I was able to use her MacBook while she was busy. I edited the footage we filmed while at the Business Hive Live business expo. This included cutting footage and motion graphics.


Reflections on Week 7

The thing I could have improved on this week is not leaving the episode summary sheets until late in the week. I assumed they would be easy to do, but actually it was a lot harder than I thought. I realise now that I am not the most creative person when it comes to storywritring. If I had realised I was struggling for ideas earlier in the week, I could have asked for my brother's help earlier and might have even been able to have a brainstorming session with him before my meeting with Julia. As it turned out, I went to the meeting with only four of the eight episode summaries completed. Julia though was understanding and helped brainstorm some ideas too. She is actually a very nice lady and seems genuinely interested in helping her crew out the best she can, which is nice to see in a boss.

Week 6 - Episode Development

This week I worked on one of the episode summary sheets. The episode summary sheets required me to research facts on the episode subject. I would then need to come up with a potential plot based on one or a few of those facts. The plot needs a conflict and then a resolution, which I gave several options for.

Julia was largely happy with my work this week and has tasked me to continue on with the rest of the episodes during the week, so that I'll have them completed by next week.

I was also meant to do some editing while the the Beehive Business Centre today but as East Coast Pictures don't have a MacBook spare I wasn't able to do any. Unfortunately I don't own a Mac myself, only a Windows based desktop computer at home which is incompatible with the software they use there - Final Cut 7.

Reflections on Week 6

It's a bit of a tricky situation to know when it's important to my career to invest in equipment or not. For me, I've always been against Apple products as I find them completely overpriced for what they do. Unfortunately, Final Cut only operates on Mac computers. So far I have gotten away with it as I have always used the equipment found at uni. The same applies to the camera equipment. There are occasions however, where I find myself needing a camera at short notice, or in this situation I could have done some editing if I owned a Mac. I don't feel I have the answer to this problem yet, as I have to weigh up the cost of the equipment to how useful it will be to me. The decision would be a lot easier if I had a lot of excess cash but sadly that is simply not a situation I am in right now!