Production Meeting - Lever Street

In todays lesson we all whent to the studio we would be filming at in the manchester college on lever street. We started off by taking pictures of the studio floor, the stage, lights, and any hazards which need to be stated so we can use later as part of our Pre-Production for the floor plan and risk assessment.

After a short break we had a short production meeting with the tutor of the bands we would be filming. in the meeting we disscussed any changes we need to make to the stage for example there were two large speakers at the front of the stage which would need to be moved as they would come in the shot when we would be doing a tracking shot with the dolly camera. We then discussed how many acts we would be filming on the day and we decided that we would be filming 4 acts on the first day, giving us an hour too film one act. We decided that we will interview the acts after they finish performing asking them questions regarding their thoughts about their performance and the filming which we will use inbetween the different acts.

And finally we all went down into the gallery room too get an insight of were we would be setting up the tri-caster act.

Evaluation Of Music Performance 1 (Peters work)

Camera:
Overall I think the filming went well and we did get some good shots. Here are some of the problems that we faced, when ever the director would cut too camera 2 the dolly would begin too move too get a tracking shot but almost every time was very unsmooth, and looked very unsteady and shaky. For example
at one point the camera is on a close up of the guitar and begins too zoom out but the zoom is not smooth and also the camera is on look so when the camera man tried to do a tracking shot it looked shaky and jumpy. The main problem I think was this because a lot of times you see the camera zooming out too fast or too slowly and sometimes both at once. For the future i think we need too do some practice shots too get use to the zoom on the cameras an also too take the cameras off lock. I think we all at one time left the camera on lock and just took a back seat. In the future we need too keep our concentration throughout and stand next too the cameras.

Director:
The problems we faced were due too lack of concentration and the problems we faced with the talk backs meant the camera men couldn't always hear what the director was asking of them. Also some times the dirctor gave very lil time to get the shot he wanted before he when live which meant you was live and still moving all over the place trying to get the shot.

For the future we need too make sure that all talkbacks are working too make sure there is no communication problems between the cameramen/women and the director. Also the director needs too be more clearer about what shots he wants and give the cameramen/women plenty of time too change the shot before their shot is live.

Vision Mixer:
Overall I think the vision mixer did a good a job and cut from shot to shot very well. He was never on one shot for too long. I think the vision mixer did a great job and put some good shots together.  

29/11/11 (Peters Work)

In todays lesson we took turns too go in groups of 5/6 into the vision mixing room were Collin would be showing us how too transfer the footage we record from the tricaster too the UStream website using lacier. I found it useful and will now know how too steam the footage when I am given the role to stream. Overall I picked up on the technique quickly. The only problem I faced was that at one point I forgot to stream on the tricaster which meant the footage wasn't showing on UStream as there was no connection/stream coming through.  

23/11/11 (Peters Work)

In todays lesson we had solo performances and in the afternoon a group performance. I dint have a job role in the morning so I just helped anyone that needed assistants.

In the afternoon I was given the role of camera man. I believe I did this role well and followed the different instructions given to me by the director very well and got the shots that the director asked from me. I would like to do more vision mixing working and believe I now know how to use the cameras and set it all up correctly.

14/11/11 - 1st Day Of Filming (Dave Gee's Work)

In todays lesson we was asked too finish any written work we had outstanding so that we could start filming. All the written work was done all that was needed was a script. A lot of time was wasted writing the script as not everyone was paying attention or being helpful. In the end Rebecca came up with a few questions that she could ask whilst me and Andy got together the equipment we need such as the camera, battery, tripod, and a mic.

Another problem that we faced was that we was told we could film the librarian at 1:15 but ended up missing her because the group came back late and one member still hadn't returned from break. We have now been asked too come back later.    

In the afternoon we was able too go down and film the librarian, i think this part of the session went well and smoothly and we worked fast and got the filming done before the end of the lesson. In next weeks lesson we will start editing and putting the footage together using Final Cut Pro.

Research & Structure Idea 17/10/11 (Dave Gee's Work)

In todays lesson we looked at finalizing which idea we will be looking at. As a group we decided to go with my idea which was to look at the history of the college. Once we had chosen our idea we discussed how we will be structuring our news piece. We decided that the news piece will start with a presenter introducing our news piece (History of college), and giving an overall view of what you can expect too see on the show. After the intro we will cut to our VT which will run for 30/40 sec which will be made up of clips and images showing the stages that built up to the college being built. over the footage and pictures we will have a voice-over explaining what you can see. And finally the show will end with a studio interview with the head of the college talking about how the college has progressed over the years he has been here.

Why we chose the idea we have chosen?
We chose this particular idea because it is an interesting topic to look at and there is plenty for us to talk about. There are problems that we could face for example we may find it difficult to find footage that tells the history but it is possible. If we do struggle to find VTs then we will over come the problem by making our own VTs. The research will give us a rough idea of the things we need to look at act.

Research
We are in the process of finding research and finding footage, and pictures that we can use in our VTs. For example Andy started looking for news articles and books from the library, Erin has started searching for information on the internet and I have start looking for pictures and footage that we can use.

We also interviewed one of the librarians who has been working in the colleges library for 22 years. She was able to tell us a few things for example that the college was given £9 million to invest in refurbishing the college as she quoted 'It was falling apart'. She also told us that the library that we now have once was a hall and what is now the canteen use to be the library. the college also had a gym which is no longer there and has been converted into a children's playing centre. We have also asked her for some books which she is having sent from another campus which will help us go in more depth on the history of the campus. We have been able to get quite a bit of useful information, all that we need now is to get the archive footage act.  

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41427

09/10/11 - Reco's Assignment

In todays lesson we received our first assignment from Reco. We discussed and when threw the assignment as a whole class so that we all know what we need to do for the assignment. The assignment is clear and I know what i need to do. I was the only one in from my group which meant i couldn't start the assignment because we need to discuss and decide what job roles we will be researching to make sure were not all working on the same thing.