General Update

There are times in life when everything seems so busy that you can feel that you're never going to get on top of the amount of work. With deadlines drawing ever closer, other projects and favours taking up more time than expected, spending time working a job so there is enough money to keep everything moving along and with a previously quite social life becoming more vibrant I presently feel like I am fighting a loosing battle trying to manage my time in order to get everything done.

However now that we have been given our job roles for AS LIVE I am now in a position to come up with some form of plan to get all of the things that I need to do done.

The first item on the agenda is to get my fiction adaptation essay started and completed by the end of the weekend. I have withdrawn a number of books recommended on the reading list and I have been pushing through War Horse with the aim of being able to instantly recall relevant examples when writing the essay.

Following the completion of my essay I would very much like to complete the pre production stages of the fiction adaptation unit and progress swiftly onto the production. Having been out location scouting and having my one man cast confirmed it is more or less a case of pulling the storyboard together and arranging a time that will be possible to film.

On a similar note I have been working on an entry for a film making competition having already started production I would very much like to shoot the remainder of the short within the next couple of weeks.

At the same time as these elements coming together I would also like to crack on with the second essay. With two job roles for as live being promotion and editing I am unsure if my essay has to be focused on promotions or if i can focus on the editing element. I hope this is the case as i expect that there is more information and I will simply find the subject more interesting.

The last film making element that I need to turn my attention to is the promotional material that between Zee, Alex and I have to produce. I am hoping that as there is a number of decisions and planning that the production team will need to do before we can really get on that this gap with provide enough time to get the previous elements done or close to it.

If I manage to complete all of these elements to the standard that I want, alongside other elements of my life, without having a nervous breakdown I will consider it a success,

I will endeavour to keep this blog updated to keep a record of my progress.

Fiction Adaptation - Novel Selection

It’s easy to forget with so much focus on the AS LIVE unit at the moment that I have plenty of work to get done for the fiction adaption unit. One of the marked elements for this unit is the 2000 word essay addressing the statement “In adapting a novel the adaptor inevitably infringes the integrity of the original text - discuss with reference to at least one adaptation.”  Having a very limited literary knowledge I started with films and work backwards to those that I knew had originally been novels.

Those that have been following my blog for the last couple of months at least you will know that I had a particular like for Steven Spielberg’s recent film War Horse when I went to see it at the cinema. So I have been out and bought the Michael Morpurgo novel that is where the story originated and thankfully it is only 182 page so I should be able to struggle my way through it. So I have picked War Horse as my reference novel and film. However as many of you will be aware War Horse was also a play performed in the west end. Unfortunately at present I haven’t seen it portrayed on stage which I’m sure would have given an interesting element to my essay and although I am hoping to see the show in the future I don’t think that I will viably be able to before the essays due date.

I hope that this essay proves not to difficult but like so many things only time will tell.

AS LIVE - After the pitch

So after a fair amount of hours of waiting around thinking, wondering if I had done enough during the pitch to sway the decision of the panel, not knowing if the hours of research, planning, re-working of my idea and the overall stress of the past month and a bit had been worth it. So when I walked back into the base room to find out that it wasn’t the knowledge of the somewhat wasted effort that I and others had put in I’m sure I was the only person clapping with a heavy heart.

When I started trying to think of ideas I really struggled but when I came up with Live, Camera, Action show I really thought I was in with a shot alas it wasn’t to be. Although I’m sure Lauren’s idea was a worthy winner but the frustration of the level of effort that I put in is something that will pass and I will put my effort and attention into whatever job role that I am given I am hoping for the director’s chair but have a feeling that that will probably go to someone else as well. I know this blog entry is probably not the most fun to read but I hope that there may be an opportunity in the future where I may be able to see Live, Camera Action made.

AS LIVE - The Pitch

Title: Live, Camera, Action

Format: 30 minute, As Live studio production

Channel: BBC1

Broadcaster: BBC

Target Audience: 15 - 50

Schedule:  Wednesday 8.30pm

Everyone enjoys sitting down in front of the television or going to the cinema popcorn in hand to watch the latest smash hit blockbuster film. No matter how many films are released audiences return time after time hoping to be reduced to tears, laughter or uncontrollable bursts of excitement. Not only does watching films remain a popular pastime but films are becoming vastly more impressive visually with every passing decade. These qualities are partly brought through the introduction of HD broadcasting and 3D films as well as improvements with equipment that enable films to be edited faster, shoot footage in different ways and adding to footage digitally. From an audiences point of view the takeover of dvd’s and blu-ray as the predominant forms of owning movies at home are more and more are accompanied by bonus ‘special features’ giving the audience an insight into how some elements of the films are achieved. For example how monsters are brought to the screen like ‘The Mummy’ in the 2001 film of the same name or how unbelievable car chases are achieved in films such as ‘James Bond Casino Royale’ from 2006. These features that are found on DVD’s, Blu-rays and online make the methods of film making interesting in itself.

However for those people that what to turn from film fans to film makers it is often a good place to start at the beginning with the basics. This is where the opening is for the idea Live, Camera, Action presenters will talk through to the audience some of the more basic filming techniques, sound recording, editing, lighting and more general filmmaking rules and tricks for those of us that can’t afford to send an Aston Martin rolling down the road. Because of the show being recorded in a television studio I have incorporated a few ideas that would give reason for an audience to be present and remain engaged.  These involvements would be very light hearted and bring a game incorporated element of the program. For example one segment that would call for involvement from is to select a member from the studio audience is that they would be put in front of a green screen and given props to aid them to act out famous / popular film scenes that the audience at home would be encouraged to see how many they could get right. Another option is potentially have a makeup artist turn one of the audience members from person to monster or appear like they’ve been severely beaten up. Because of being restricted with time I would suggest that the transformation from man/ woman to monster be recorded, edited and then posted on the shows dedicated website as extra footage for the multi platform elements required. With the program being focused on film making the logical inclusion of a guest seems fitting. I would like to approach local film makers / industry professionals that would be interviewed about recent or upcoming films that they have been part of the creation of. Having done a small amount on internet research I have found that there is an annual film festival in Kent that has run for the past 37 years which is I think a good place to start enquiring into local film makers. This would also create an opening for one of the VT packages visiting the set of the shoot or cutting some form of trailer from the film maker’s material. Continuing the tone of finding contributors I lead onto the handy man presenter. In the show there is planned a potential VT package segment that is intended to show how an element that is seen in big productions can be achieved and for a fraction of the price. Potentially to find someone that has the relevant skills to do the construction and still be interesting and engaging on screen I have considered approaching a member from the CAFT course knowing that we will be working with them. I also feel it would be also very fitting to add a film review section in which newly released films are reviewed considering it is a show about movies.

Live, Camera, Action is not going to appeal to everyone but with existing programs like Top Gear, The Gadget Show and Got To Dance which are all quite specialised still bringing in a wide audience in large numbers I think this show have the potential to do the same. I foresee this as it is made up of components proved successful in previous broadcasts for example reviews of films is currently restricted to the BBC on the long running Film program which reviews recent film releases, the revealing of secrets proved popular in the 90’s television show the masked magician and the interactive audience elements on shows such as Graham Norton with his big red chair bring light hearted elements that are relatively simple.

The following is a breakdown of the intended segments:

In the studio time

 - The presenters would introduce, close and link

 - The game segment - in front of green screen

 - Interview with local film maker

 - Film review 

 - Interview with makeup artist

 - Audience selection and makeup make over

VTs

 - Opening titles

 - Action/Horror film - Build up to the makeup make over

 - Build (improve home made films for cheap)

 - VT to accompany film maker interview

 - VT for film reviews

Camera knowledge

Having some between delivering my pitch and finding out which of the twelve pitches has been commissioned and due to some disappointing footage recorded for a side project in low light which has resulted in that infamous pain in the backside GRAIN!!! Now that I have invested in a DSLR of my own I thought I should really get a better understanding of how to capture impressive images and video. The first thing that I have done a little bit of internet research trying to get my head around the use and functions of aperture, shutter speed and ISO. 

So for those of you that aren’t clear with all of the functions either I have noted down the initial functions.

Aperture – also known as the iris

The lower the fstop number will result in more light coming into the camera. The lower the fstop number i.e. f1.8 will also bring with it a narrow focus area. For example if the subject is a persons face with a narrow focus the eye may appear sharp whilst the ears and or hair may appear soft and unfocused. On the opposite end of the scale with a high fstop number i.e. f22 will result with a wide focus range to shoot a landscape with everything in focus.

Shutter Speed

Like the aperture the shutter speed also affects the amount of light will get in. The shutter speed is also going to affect the appearance of motion in photographs. A fast shutter speed i.e. 1/2000^th of a second will freeze the motion with sharp clear images. A slow shutter speed i.e. 1/30^th of a second will let more light it over a longer period of time. Because the shutter is open for longer it is recommended that a tripod is used to avoid unwanted motion blur. However is ideal for giving the impression for wanted motion for photographing a running animal.

ISO

This is the built in light sensor in the camera. The lower the ISO number the lower the light sensor will pick up but the better the quality of the image will be. The higher the ISO number is the more light will come be picked up however this will result in my original problem of GRAIN.

I  hope this help with my issues and I hope it helps all of in the future. 

AS Live - Tutorial Review

Coming out of my tutorial today I think it would fair to say that I felt a bit down hearted and as a result I became a little despondent with my idea. Helen has said that my program has suffered because I took a big idea and then compressed it down in order for it to be achievable with the equipment, time and space that we would have available to us. Ironically because of this the elements that I was personally more appealed to pushing are the elements that Helen thought were weak and the elements that I wasn’t particularly attached to were the elements that she got most excited about.

However having had a few hours to mull over some of the points made during the tutorial I think that the amount of alterations needed to be made may be fewer than I had first thought with a tweaking method applied to the formula rather than a gutting and starting over situation. For example due to Helen highlighting that a majority of the audience will be aware of how green screens works I would consider loosing the VT package around the subject however retaining the audience participation element however increase the focus on the fun home competition side rather than making it a demonstration of how green screens work. Similarly the makeup segment is something I would like to keep however as Helen broke my idea down she compared it to the show about how magicians reveal magic tricks in as much as in Live, Camera, Action is a show that reveals the behind the scenes elements of movie making. So in addition to the VT set up, audience selection and audience member I would like to push to the behind the scenes crew to film the transformation of the audience member through make up which could be added onto the shows website as additional content.

The element that Helen seemed to respond to with the most enthusiasm was the interview segment in which the presenter/ presenters of the show would interview a local film maker about their in film which would be either in the process of being produced or recently completed film. The more I think about it the more I think this has the potential to be a strong part of the show and having done a small amount on internet research and I have found that there is an annual film festival in Kent that has run for the past 37 years which is I think a good place to start enquiring into local film makers. Continuing the tone of finding contributors I lead onto the handy man presenter. In a VT I have planned to show how an element that is seen in big productions can be achieved and for a fraction of the price. I was told to have a think about where we could potentially find someone that is relatively skilled enough to do the construction and still be interesting and engaging on screen. For this I have now considered knowing that we will be working with the CAFT course if we would be able to ask one of the members from that course to present and build for that segment.

These are the main areas that I discussed with Helen earlier today and I will endeavour to adapt my pitch for Thursday accordingly.  

AS LIVE - Studio Workshop

A few days ago we set up a small interview scene with three cameras covering the action. I had a go at directing with I found very enjoyable I would very much like to see how my attempt would have looked on screen. However when I came to edit the three cameras footage I found that nothing had been recorded of my attempt on camera one. So as an example I have cut the footage taken during Lauren Howard's turn in the directors chair.