Week Seven

INTERVIEW

In the studio this week I was on the opposite side of the camera. I, along with the producer from last week and the two performers were interviewed for a short music television themed segment. I wasn’t exactly comfortable or confident on screen. For the most part I prefer to be behind the scenes. I enjoy acting with a script but talking as myself tends to make me “corpse”, badly. We started off the session by learning two methods for coiling XLR cables. I was already familiar with the process through my day-job, but these techniques were very effective. I reckon I could coil cables as quickly as Forrest Gump assembles and disassembles his rifle.

What we did in studio today was only a small part of everything we as a production group worked on and accomplished since the last session. We had two days of shooting on location which went well. Although we did have some teething trouble to start. I didn’t check the equipment prior to bringing it to location. The battery was flat which initially hampered production. We shot as much as we could of the first verse scene. As we only had a small window in which to use the space available for shooting. We had to keep stopping to charge up the battery enough to finish filming the scene. If I had made sure to charge the battery beforehand, production would have gone a lot smoother.  Although it was in these instances of waiting around for the battery to charge that we talked about ideas. We attempted to do a vertigo shot but failed spectacularly. We were like the three stooges; the shot didn’t work but it did make for an excellent team building exercise.

 When the project was brought to me, I had never anticipated making a music video for a Dolly Parton song. I just felt that as a socially conscious male “artist” I didn’t feel comfortable with the concept of having the singers’ happiness being dependent upon a man. I pitched a bunch of ideas to the producer. One where Jolene would have been a mythic siren, luring men to their deaths at sea. That would have been a nightmare to film on location with the snow. Thankfully we went for a simpler option. Where the singer who is singing about Jolene is Jolene herself. We didn’t really flesh out the concept, we don’t know if the character is aware of the fact that she is “Jolene”. The point is that “Jolene” is a femme fatale who preys on men.

It was a bizarre concept and is undoubtedly one of the most twisted interpretations of a Dolly Parton song ever to be imagined. As well as directing I undertook a significant portion of the editing responsibilities. It was difficult syncing up availability. Thankfully we were able to network and share workflow as it progressed. I was able to piece together a number of rough-cuts which were evaluated and critiqued by the group. Reference points in the timeline where created where changes could be made. All in all, I’m pleased with the work we produced and look forward to our next production task…

Week Six

DIRECTINIG

The producer offered me the directing role and I accepted. It was difficult at first trying to function without my laptop. But the supplier guaranteed that it would arrive this week. I’m relived to say it did and only a day later then promised.

This time around I undertook a lot more responsibility behind the scenes. I chased up the producer for details of meetings with performers and script progress. I wanted all the nuts and bolts of the projected laid out in front of me. Things didn’t really unfold like that. We held a production meeting on Monday. Which I attend during my lunchbreak from work. Sadly, not everyone from the team could be in attendance but we made significant progress nonetheless.

I broke up the lyrics to the song Jolene and assigned different shots for each camera. I was hesitant to use the handheld camera in the studio set up. I mentioned my concerns to the producer. As I wanted to be cautious of breaking the 180-degree rule with two performers on stage. I would have been happy using just the three cameras, but I wanted to ensure that that was a role for everybody on the production team. 

Against my better judgement, I planned out a shot list including all four cameras. I though that if we had to use the handheld, then we might as well try and use them almost exclusively for close-up shots. The only reason to have a handheld camera is to utilize a range of motion not capable with a tripod.

On the day, we decided to keep camera two static, so it didn’t have or need an operator. What we should have done was scrapped camera four altogether. But hindsight is a disturbingly wonderful thing. The first two takes went well, despite a few communication errors. For example, I asked the floor manager to move the performers to stage but they didn’t hear or respond. The executive producer then asked me to ask them to move. As they were sat talking just off shot when they could just as easily be sat on scene chatting whilst we get all the equipment prepared. I already knew this and had already asked for them to be moved a few minutes before I myself was asked. After giving another prompt to the floor manager, the performers moved on scene. We made the two adjustments recommend by our producer and began rehearsing for a live broadcast.

The executive producer wanted to change most of the shots on camera four, opting for a wider angle which was beautifully composed framing one of the performers silhouettes in the background. Yet, all the combined changes to the shot list at the last minute effected our sense of rhythm and perhaps to some extent our confidence as well. We were running out of time and as such were not permitted to live broadcast directly. Instead, we, the production crew were relegated to the role of audience. Which as director is entirely my fault. 

Maybe I should have fought against changes and kept things exactly as we had rehearsed and gone through during the previous two takes. We were just developing a sense of rhythm in time with the music and the lyrics. Now we have the off-site shoot scheduled for Saturday with a second shoot in the recording studio booked for Tuesday morning. Hopefully the production and post-production work will go according to plan before Thursday’s session.

Week Five

P.A. AGAIN

This week saw me assume the role of Production Assistant for a second time. We were tasked with shooting a cooking show. Were the presenter demonstrated how to make a banana sandwich.  The theme of the week remined me of the Charlie Sheen cooking show from Funny or Die.

Having been away for a week and without my laptop, I was unable to keep updated with my production group. It was even more difficult because I don’t have a smartphone, so only had intermittent access to the internet via devices I didn’t find to be very user friendly. (If you are interested in why I don’t have a smartphone, watch this film.) BLOOD COLTAN

  However, having already undertaken the role I felt confident in my ability to perform my responsibilities. This was the first instance where I believe that we all functioned as a truly effective team. We were all communicating effectively and everything for the most part ran quite smoothly.

Although, I did overstep my role limitations by asking the floor manager to rotate the bananas and bread so that they were positioned at an aesthetically pleasing angle. Proper professional etiquette dictates that I should have consulted the director for them to order the rotation or not. Which is a fair point. However, to quote Grace Hopper “it’s easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission”. The positioning of the bananas and bread made for poor shot composition. The director was busy consulting with the vision mixer regarding the as directed segment. The director and I had built up a constructive work flow and so, I believed that I acted with the directors’ authority in an effort to save time which was running short. I left the session feeling positive about the group dynamic we had created. I only hope that we will be able to sustain it for the coming weeks.

Week Four

Sadly, I missed this week’s class. It was my thirtieth birthday so had a milestone hanging around my neck so to speak. I had never been abroad before so, as my birthday fell during the primary school half-term I decided to book my first ever trip away. When I booked the trip, the timetable for semester two had not yet been published for student view. I knew before week one that I was going to miss week four. It’s difficult, juggling work, academics and family commitments. I needed some away to reflect. Admittedly it wasn’t the best time, but it was incredibly beneficial. Although completely unplanned I played team sports, like indoor football. Which if I’m honest I hadn’t played since I was a child. I was thrust well out of my comfort zone. I opted to go in goal and surprised myself by how much I threw myself into the game. There was a language barrier which made playing difficult, but I didn’t want to let my team down. I struggle interacting with people, largely to due with my autism and anxiety. I’m the type of person who walks out of his way to avoid saying good morning to people. Liking or disliking an individual is not the point, I most often dislike communicating itself and will avoid it where possible. This unexpected experience of playing football, made me want to try taking a more active role in the group dynamic for Creative Studio.

Week Three

NOTE FOR EXAMINERS CONSIDERATION

THE REASON WHY THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT GAP BETWEEN WEEK TWO AND WEEK THREE IS DUE TO BREAKDOWN AND REPLACEMENT OF MY DSA SUPPLIED LAPTOP. IT TOOK A LONG TIME TO PROCESS THE INSURANCE CLAIM, WHILST NO LOANER UNIT WAS SUPPLIED. BECAUSE I HAVE THREE CHILDREN AND WORK PART-TIME AROUND MY STUDIES I COULD NOT FIND SUFFICENT TIME TO UTILIZE THE LIBRARY COMPUTERS. THIS HAS BEEN THE FIRST OPPORTUNITY I HAVE HAD TO UPDATE MY BLOG SINCE REPLACEMENT LAPTOP ARRIVED.

AUTOCUE

I was assigned the role of autocue operator for our news themed production. I didn’t volunteer for the role, I was assigned it without any direct or indirect input from myself. However, I still undertook the responsibility with enthusiasm and dedication. Once the script was loaded onto my screen it became fun, learning how to effectively operate the autocue. The principal feature of the autocue is a little toggle, or wheel which allows for the autocue to scroll up or down at required speed. It is a small job, but the entire dynamic of the production in essence hinges upon the ability of the autocue to function properly. I as the operator had to get a sense of the speaking/reading rhythm of the presenter, as to not scroll to slow or too fast. If I scrolled too quickly the presenter would read to quickly rushing through the material as a result. To slow and the pace of the production script would fall apart. It was vital to keep a consistent rhythm in time with the presenter. To ensure that they were confident in delivering their performance to the best of their abilities.

This session reminded me of this scene from Anchor-man which in a comic way highlights the importance of the autocue in news broadcasting. The sabotaging of the autocue was a pivotal plot point in the film. Which demonstrates why a presenter cannot be unequivocally dependent upon the autocue. Whilst also drawing attention to the fact that the autocue operator must work to a high ethical standard but more importantly they must work in tandem with the presenter.