Curriculum Vitae

Commission & Distribution Log - Week 8 14/12/07

The presentation at WMC yesterday helped to cement the knowledge that i've gained about the distribution process. I have collected all the audio for my documentary and now need to script the points that weren't covered by my interviewee's. The main two points are rights and multi media. I spent the lesson researching these topics.

Group project

Hi bloggers, Mike here! Its been a busy week for me what with yesterday being not only the day of the WMC 07 but it was also the deadline for our group project. I spent every day this week editing the audio I collected and recording the script that Richee had written for the documentary. The interviews I had collected varied in quality but most weren't great due to the fact that they had been recorded on location. I managed to mask many of the artifacts created in the audio during recording with use of EQ and ambience taken from a library CD. I also had some difficulties with the script we had recorded, we had to make do with recording in a practice room that was very small( 9x4). The resulting audio was quite boxy but using EQ I filtered out most of the offending resonance frequencies leaving use with a usable script. I did feel however that the script would have benefited from a rewrite but due to time constraints this wasn't possible.

Reflection on the conference

Hey Mike here.It's the day after the conference and group presentation and the initial feedback from people has been really positive, people have said it was informative, professional and fun. I feel really pleased with our achievement. We managed the event well sticking to the time schedule and itinerary although we were flexible enough to be able to fit Ian down's offer of a quick Q&A before break without significantly effecting the timing of the event. I believe our flexibility was due to the commitment and work we put in during the planning stages of this event. I felt our group presentation was a success. I was fairly nervous when my turn came to take the stage but despite my anxieties I made a conscious effort to appear confident , something I have learnt during my time in radio, people need to be engaged by a speaker and people who lack confidence when speaking can find it difficult to hold the interest of a crowd. I also made use of an audio clip from karen partridge an interviewee from my documentary. This gave me time to check my notes and centre myself and I found as I relaxed I was able to be more much more spontaneous in my presentation.

My Commission & Distribution Presentation

Individual Project Log 8/12/07

Hi Mike Here. So over the weekend I began to record material for my documentary on Clifton suspension bridge...On saturday morning I set off to interview Ian Downs, a volunteer at the bridge. Although it was fairly quiet in the visitors center I still found the noise floor problematic at times. To combat this I had to hold the mic as close as possible to the interviewee as I could without making them feel uncomfortable! The interview went well and I recorded some useful information for the program. However the second part of my mornings field recordings wasn't as successful. It was cold, raining and windy which, I believe was at lease in part responsible for the publics lack of enthusiasm. Some people even waved me away when I approached them which, was a little demoralizing. Eventually I did get some usable vox pops but I will need to get more over the next few weeks. I thought that I might change location and perhaps record some vox pops in broadmead as there are no shortage of people there!

Group project - Interview with Trevor Jones

Hi, Mike here...So on tuesday morning I set off to Glastonbury to interview Trevor Jones, owner of Witch Craft LTD, Druid and Ley line enthusiast. I arrived at just after 11 o clock a time at which Trevor had assured me things would be quiet so we wouldn't be disturbed. That however wasn't the case. The shop was bustling with business and that presented a challenge. How to maximize Trevor's interview and minimize background noise...I set up my gear in a changing room located in the corner of the shop. When choosing which mike to use for the interview i had chosen one with a cardioid response pattern. This decision paid off because that combined with the changing room curtain minimized the noise floor and overspill from the shop.
The interview itself went very well. Trevor had an excellent radio voice and much knowledge on the subject of ley lines. I was very excited to find out from the interview that the main Ley line to run through Glastonbury is called the Michael line! Trevor is going to put me in contact with several experts who know more on the subject.