We also took a look at a project Paul is working on based on Critical Reflection. We basically give him anonymous feedback at the end of each session so he can evaluate and reflect in a way which has been hard for lecturers before. I believe it is a good idea because then the sessions can be tailored to the classes individual needs.
My Vlog came out looking quite nice, the editing was a much longer process than I had once thought originally, however I was pleased with the result. Next time if i were to do a project like this though, I would watch through every last piece of footage before deciding upon a time line.
The Specialist pathway module began badly for me, as I sliced my middle finger days before the first days practice, I consequently missed the first shoot, my finger kept getting worse over the next few days until I went back to the hospital and was told that the bandage was far too tight and that it may cause me distress over the next week or so. This resulted in me unfortunately missing a few of the crucial first film practices, however, when I came back, the production was nowhere near complete. I stepped in, first as floor manager and instantly spotted various problems in the production. Firstly, the notice board they were using to visualise the top ten looked awful on camera and simply wasn't working. I suggested we try using images on the vision mixer and wiping it to cover half the screen whilst the presenter spoke about the film. At first this was difficult as the JPEG files weren't formatted correctly but I insisted we continue trying it this way so that the vision mixer could get used to the changes. Soon after our first live try with Alex directing, as the current Director was absent. It was clear things weren't working and I offered to take the role of director to try and sort out the production. We had a talk about what wasn't working and what was and I decided that we needed to move camera 3 during the interview section to an over the shoulder shot, I also suggested we simplify the script for which camera the presenter was looking at, he was confused and in the first take I noticed various occasions in which he looked at the wrong camera or the wrong cut was made. I went about constructing a simple rule to follow during the top 10 section which we had the most trouble with. I told camera 2 to keep close up, camera 3 to keep a nice mid shot and camera 1 a long shot of the entire set, we would begin with a wide shot of the set when he is introducing the top 10, cutting to camera 2 when he is naming the film before the image came on. We would then cut out to the mid shot of camera 2 for the next film, then back to 3 etc. In the next rehearsal this change had a significant impact on the show, the cuts were more tight and it seemed everybody know what they were doing.
I have been thinking about my creative influences model and still havent come to a conclusion on who to look at for my project, I am looking for someone who took a route I would be looking at taking after university, which would be working free lance as an editor
On the day of the shoot, the Director was back, as I had missed the first few weeks I felt I should step down and let him reassume his position on the final day as he had studied the script for longer. I did however, alert him of the changes I had made, why I had made them and how it changed the production. He seemed happy with my contributions and I took the role of Time Keeper. We started off badly, being 1.45 behind after the first set of trailers, however I let the Director know the exact time we needed to cut to the breaks to get back on time and he told the presenter to wrap up the interview sooner than planned, the production came in just under 10 seconds too long which I believe to be a great success. I enjoyed this module, however I cant see myself going into live television after seeing the lack of creative headroom. the pressure would also be too intense on a daily basis.
My current brief is about Creative influences and taking a look at a possible path way to go down, I chose to do my piece on Jamal Edwards, the CEO of SBTV, it began as a small youtube channel and grew into a full empire. The videos were simple but Jamal knew there was a niche market to be exposed, I have been thinking the same recently and may look into my own projects outside of university focussing on a grass roots BMX and Skateboarding youtube channel.
Having completed these 2 modules it has made me think a lot more about my future and the type of work I actually want to get into when I leave, I have been looking back at my footage and also my previous education and feel that I want to work on a lifestyle project incorporating extreme sports and music. I plan to expand on an old project called Colect.
Today I got my brief to either choose to enter the Chevrolet competition or the Your Film competition hosted by Ridley Scott. The tagline 'Make it happen' on the chevrolet brief immediately caught my attention and I began thinking of ideas, I thought of dreams becoming reality and possible the thought of chasing a dream and achieving your wildest dreams. The make it happen also reminded me of Nikes just do it so my research was based around their adverts.
I chose to go with an animation piece as its something I havent tried before and thought it could work really nicely in this piece to give it a friendly, family drive I drew a basic character and chose to animate him chasing his dreams in a physical bubble. Animation was much easier than I had thought before, I enjoyed it and Im sure I will make a better job next time now I know how to.
In evaluation looking back, I like my work for the chevrolet brief and think that it fits it rather well, I particularly like the lighting and grain I have chosen to use to make it seem older.
I have just been given my final brief and its a final showreel, with my recent interest in starting my own skate and BMX brand I have chosen to use the showreel as a chance to make an advert for the company I wish to start.
Overall I think that the course went well, I enjoyed learning how to edit and also further my camera skills. I particularly enjoyed finding my own style towards the end of the course which is a minimalistic almost home movie style with an urban twist. I look forward to putting all of the skills learnt into practice.
