(MP3002) Individual Project Log

I final have a rough cut of my film. It has evolved again to be the story of Brian and Nick, the druid and the witch. I'm happy with the shape and direction the film has taken.

(MP3002) Individual Project Log

I'm in London to work on my documentary, According to Brian and it's day two of what I have decided to name the edit-a-thon! We spend all day sunday watching the assembly and discussing themes and where they fit. I want to keep this film simple. A portrait of Brian's life and some of the people in it. There will be themes woven into the film like spirituality, death, nature, relationships and Ghosts. Having done that we began to trim the assembly into a rough cut. The film now seems to almost be at the point of editing itself. Lines of dialogue suggesting cuts and scenes ordering themselves! Even though things are going really well I don't think the film will be of a festival standard by hand in day but at least i'll have a rough cut to submit and something to send the organizers of Sheffest. Hopefully the film will be complete by november, which is when the festival takes place.

(MP3001) Group Project - Meeting minutes

Production Meeting on 6th May 2009 Artswork Media -

Present - Kat, Adam, Freddie,Mike, Kirsty, Nic, Dani

Minutes - Dani - let me know if you need anything changed.

Nic - We are meeting to discuss event to showcase peoples work.
Freddie - the - best locations seems to be the Chapel venue - near the Lamb and Lion. - www.chapelarts.org - Audience would be invited group of people to view display of the works
Nic - Would people like to have a screening or spaces with films to watch in different spaces? I can have a conversation with you each introducing the films.
Kat - Some of the films are boring because the are commissioned works for specific purposes
Kirsty - we could have them in the background and have name badges
Dani - maybe the context form the conversations will help to reflect the diversity of work being made at AWM/
Freddie - the talking will break it up.
Mike - We could start the presentation with a promotional trailer
Kat - shots of the space working people intercut with showreel items.
Nic - You are all busy
Kat When will it be?
Freddie - Early June
Nic - There is a mini festival at the Chapel. A variety of events in one space - 16 May - mini festival - bands, multimedia, samba, new audio, manga factory, a greaty big melting put of funky jazz.
Nic - Does the venue have projection facilities?
Nic - What would be the value of doing something like this?
Mike - I would like industry professionals to see my work
Nic - target creative bath list and sws list as people in the area
Freddie - will ask contacts, should get exposure though uni.
Nic - Can we use goldbrick house? - Bath vs Bristol - we are bath based, but media professionals are mainly in Bristol
Nic - Watershed
Kirsty - Cube cinema 150 - 1000 pounds
Freddie - Is everyone leaning more to wards using a cinema.
Dani - what about a Bathspa band
Kat - Band from Bathspa - Kill it Kid, Boycon
Nic - I am not happy with the way the films are being screening
Mike - Explains the NFTS screening with program time table, and gave out diplomas. People came on stage.
Freddie - As long as it sticks with timetable
Mike - Food, then Screenings, then band then music
Nic - there is another way of doing this - We could screening things at AWM.We could use a second space next door, do BBQ outside on the decking. Can do music in space next door.
Mike who is cooking?
Nic the space next door is empty
Kat - two floor spaces open
Nic - How about three screenings during day and and evening in AWM?
Space opposite AWM too small.
Mike - What films do we have to show?

List of works to show -

Elana - 3 x 1.5 minutes
Ariel two shorts
Jona - ???
Kat 5 Mini micro bio shorts - 10m min
Noise - 10 minutes in all
Lloyd - minutes
Mike - 25 minutes
Fiends - 10 minutes
Kirsty 2 minute trailer for 'Squatters'
10 minutes event talk.


Freddie bottom line is a chance to showcase the work
Nic Chappel designed for bands. I am interested in it a s a marketing.
Freddie - can we show other work .
Kat I think its us
Freddie - why are we unique.
Nic People making a commitment to come and see us.
Fred 50 percent faculty.
Nic -there is no point of the doing it at 11am at the watershed.
Dani - how about tagging it on to the side of cinemfomation
Mike Media Tuesdays
Dani - thats a social event
Nic - spaces to see different things. Get baffles between eahc display.
Kat it would give it a more relaxed thing. Less scary.
Freddie - People can come and go at different times
The draw back would be people would not see your film
Nic - we would have a brosure, program, with the students in and info about the film.
There are people here who can come and see stuff
Freddie - we would have
Dani we would need headphones, where are there any.
Mike - at western - we had a station for each person, prizes and buffet.
Freddie -This site is a bit out the way.
Kat- think people would come,
Nic - my anxiety about the cube is that it says something different than some of our material. A bit of a gear change.
Essentially a lot of what you are doing is corporate work, where would I want to show my stuff, would I want to go to the cube. I would do it at the watershed rather the cube.
Freddie - of the Nokia stuff the attitude is that it is a party, but you have the opportunity to see thing while you are there.
Kirsty - the Boca bar event space - they would make money on the bar.
Freddie - the design of the boca bar.
Nic - we going for the event is the thin
Freddie we would like around 100 people , but our space will only hold around 50 people
Are people liking the 'art gallery' style event?
Nic - What are the dates for the event?
Dani - The UWE similar events last year where around June 10. Are you people going to have the time to do this after 27th May?
Freddie -we need to do this after we have had time to relax
Dani Putting on the event will not be relaxing, it will mean putting on the time
Mike - I can only put in 1 evening only.
Nic - this is not the right time to discuss this.
Nic - Freddie - you need to share this with other people. Can we do another Wednesday meeting.?
Kirsty - we have a deadline next weds. - fiction script writing.
Nic Freddie your obligation is to make sure everyone voices an opinion.

ACTIONS -

Freddie to write up options
Meeting 11am on 13th May
Decide on which space - Bocabar, AWM, Watershed, Cube, Chapel
Make Program
Material for display at event

Other business -

8th May - Student televisions Workshops at Barbican.
5 and 6 January Script factory Event.

(MP3003) Professional Practice - Don't Blink

"Don't Blink" is a seminar on the creative industry put together by Jake Shaw, CEO of Fire Factory one of the UK's leading production companies. Jakes no nonsense, hard hitting approach has been a hit all around the world and now it was our turn! The workshop was quick paced and I had to concentrate to keep up. Jake's belief is this, all our ideas are valid, but we must believe in our own worth! We must seize each opportunity that comes our way. "Don't Blink" says Jake or we'll miss an opportunity! The thing is though, everyone has to blink sometimes don't they? otherwise our eyes would dry up! But seriously though he does have a point as freelancers or even professionals looking for long term employment we need to focus our energy on our strengths an target specific employers. We need to know what we want and where we're going. There are many people in the media industry that will work for little or no money and if we don't want to be one of them we need to sell ourselves and our skills properly. The lecture was food for thought and got me thinking about my C.V and show reel. are they really good enough to help me get noticed. I'm not sure, maybe it's time I updated them both after all they are often the first thing a respective employer will request in any industry. If someone else's C.V impresses more than mine and I blink, I may miss an opportunity. Check out Jakes website here

(MP3003) Professional Practice - Commercial Radio

I worked in the commercial radio industry for almost five years. I began as many people do, at the bottom. I gained work experience at Star radio, photocopying documents and making tea. What I longed to do was production work and Del who presented the breakfast show was also production manager. Any production job to large for him was farmed out to group production in Bristol. I convinced Del to let me produce the breakfast promos so he could concentrate on other things. I became very skilled at using Cool edit, which was the software the station favoured for production. I was also send out to collect Vox pops for the news desk. At first I hated that job but I discovered I was a natural with the public. This is when I discovered my voice. As my confidence grew so too did my aspirations. I decided I wanted to try presenting and my first assignment was to do a movie segment on breakfast. This was great fun and I enjoyed the interaction between the two presenters, Gazza and Del and myself. I began doing overnight shifts, which is a rite of passage for most presenters. It was tiring but great fun. I would go on air at 2 am and finish at four. A lot of people say they got into radio by accident and this was certainly true for me. I’d been on nightshifts for a few months when I received a call from the station manager, one of the presenters had been in an accident and they needed cover. This was my big chance. Up until now I hadn’t been paid for my work. This was my first paying gig. I did well and started to cover more and more shifts until I was offered my own show on weekend breakfast. During this time I saw many staff come and go from the station. Star radio is considered something of a stepping-stone or launch pad to bigger and better things. That coupled with the low salaries meant that staff loyalty was non-existent. The sales department in particular seemed to suffer from this and despite managements best efforts they were unable to retain staff so although the on air team was strong the sales team was not. All this was at a time when commercial radio’s reach was falling, less and less people were tuning in and less people felt that radio was a viable medium for advertisement. The station made cut backs, staff were made redundant, asked to take pay cuts and people took on more than one role to make their positions within the company tenable. I didn’t escape this and found working at the station more and more stressful. I wasn’t enjoying presenting and hadn’t done any production for years and that was my first love. I weighed up all my options. My belief is that commercial radio is a dying medium. The internet will eventually take over from it completely and although I’m very grateful to Star radio for all the opportunities I’ve been given after a lot of soul searching I decided that it was time for me to leave the station and concentrate on my degree. I hope to marry up my skills as a project worker with my media skills and get into community based media projects with an emphasis on sound recording.

(MP3003) Professional Practice - Business Meeting

Business meeting at Artswork Media on monday 24th April 2009

Present
Nick Jeane, Lloyd Dunsieth, Adam Boyce, Elana Rose, Dan Hooper, Jona, Kat Davis, Ollie Kensington, Daniel Ashton, Mike Huck.
Minutes
Daniel Ashton is a senior lecturer in media journalism. He’s hoping to find out about the work we do here both in groups and one to one basis.
Liquid soap launch on Wednesday. There will be a live feed covering the event which can be accessed via the Artswork website.
Nick discussed the subject of film festivals in particular Sheffest.com, encounters and 4talent.
Steve May reminded us about the deadline for submissions, which is may 27th.
Jeremy Humphries will be holding a Master class on camera work on June 16th. His website is jeremyhumphries.com
Discussed schedule and format for a screening of our work. I suggested a program of events, which we could achieve by liaising with publishing at bath spa.
We will meet next wednesday at 11.30 am.

(MP3002) individual project

Today I met with my brother to discuss the film. We have decided on a title "the Glastonbury knome". I watched to film, which is now down to one and a half hours. I felt upon reflection that my idea to tell the story of the relationship between the two men, brian and nick isn't going to work well as I don't have enough footage of the two together. I have decided instead to make this film the story of brian and his eccentricities. Hence the title the Glastonbury knome. Our aim is to have the rough cut ready in 3 weeks time!

(MP3001) Group Project - Science Lab

Up and out of the house by 7.45 am I arrived at Bath Spa for 9 am. I was part of the Kat's film crew for the group project that she was leading on. We met outside newton and collected the kit from Ashton.


This was a 3 camera shoot. We had 3 Z1's and as there would be a v.o we decided after some discussion to use a boom mic and the onboard camera's.

The science lab was a fairly difficult location to film in. The natural light caused lens glare and when we lowered the blind's we had to make adjustments to the camera settings, the f-stop and white balance.




I filmed close ups on camera 3, with Kat on camera 2 and mike on the first camera. Once we had set up things moved fairly quickly after which, i shot some B-roll for cut-aways.

(MP3003) Professional Practice - interview

Here is the transcript from my interview with retired BBC Sound Man, Steve Taylor:

I got into sound recording through the NFTS although I must admit I had done years of sound in theatre and music before that, so file and TV was the only kind of sound work I hadn't done by then and it was really a matter of filling in the gaps.
What surprised me when I got into film school and the actual job is how simple the gear is, although it's not cheap, as it has to work perfectly all the time in all sorts of tricky situations. The format that's recorded on to has changed since I was doing it (we'd shoot either on timecoded DAT for film or into a Beta SP camera for TV), but the gear you use before you plug into that is basically the same- most sound recordists have one boom mic, two radio mics and a mixer. The boom mic is still as far as I know a Sennheiser MKH416, although there are others available; then you need a windshield for it (probably made by Rycote but Sennheiser make them too) and a boom (but if you're shooting drama you may need two for those wide shots you can't cover with a short boom). The radio mics in my day tended to be Microns or Audios, but since then I've discovered Sennheiser radios which are much better (in my opinion). The portable mixer still seems to be an SQN, made in the Isle of Man. SQNs are brilliant- they do exactly what you need, don't go wrong, don\t waste battery power, and have the most useful compressor (at least for TV recording) I have ever heard on anything. Even the VU meters seem to be more useful than they usually are on mixers. They cost about three grand or something which seems ridiculous for a four channel mixer but it's worth it when you're standing on a freezing beach doing an interview and not having to worry about the gear.
Since I haven't done this for years I don't know what the gear really costs these days but it's not hard to find out on the net, and bear in mind that I never actually owned all this kit myself- I usually hired it or worked for people who already had it. I bought myself a portable DAT machine and a mic or two for shooting pickups and stuff. Often on a documentary you'll end up with the cameraman off shooting mute GVs (general views) and cutaways (those close-ups of stuff you've already seen in the main footage) so then I'd be wandering around recording the sound of stuff we didn't get particularly clean the first time (background sounds, relevant things like church bells or machinery- editors like that kind of thing to play with) If I'd carried on any longer I would have bought all the proper kit but at the time it wasn't necessary. If you do own you own kit, you add a hire price for hiring it to the production as well as yourself- I've no idea what the going rate is these days.

(MP3003) Film Festival

From conception it has always been my intention to submit my documentary in the film festival circuit. Today I began researching which Documentary Film Festivals would be appropriate for submission of my film. There were many suitable festivals all over the world from the sun-dance documentary festival in california to festivals in our very own Bristol. The majority of festival submission dates had closed for this season leaving me no choice but to apply to those next year, although I have found two festivals that I'm going to submit to. Amsterdam International and Sheffest. Sheffest documentary festival is perhaps the biggest and best in the UK. I have registered as an applicant with them on their website. Submission closes on June 14th, which gives me plenty of time to get the film ready. My ultimate aim would be to sell the film to a film company or television channel but I also hope this film will raise my profile within the media industry - and - a win would look pretty good on my C.V!

(MP3004) Editing Pedestrians

I have finished editing Pedestrians! It proved a real challenge, some of the artifacts captured during the recording stage made mixing the drama quite difficult. In scene two the natural reverb of the space in which the recording was made muddied the speech and the reflections colored the sound. I tried the workaround suggested (double tracking and gating but found it difficult to mix the two because of the high noise floor on the original track. Using a touch of EQ I did eventually find a mix I was happy with. I also created the musical sting for Pedestrians, which I wanted to keep simple. This music was to be used to break up scenes, I wanted the music to be ironic, whimsical, slightly comical and melancholic. I achieved this using a four chord guitar riff. In scene five the noise floor was so high that the sounds of duvets and pillows being ruffled was inaudible unless I drove the level really high but this made the noise too obvious and didn't sound good so I dropped it from the scene. In the final scene it had been suggested that when phil goes to get coffee we should hear sounds of a coffee machine. However upon listening to the scene i felt this didn't work very well. The scene suggests Phil goes far enough away to get coffee that he surprises them when he returns as we hear George say ' Here he is now'. I did however include hospital background noise, which gave the scene an authentic feel. The final task was to record the foley for the fight scene. I was fairly limited with the equipment at my disposal but one of the good points of the scene being recorded in the toilet (mimicking a cell) is that it provides sound camouflage( DID I JUST COIN THAT TERM??). I set up a mic to record Dani the technical demonstrator at ArtWorks and myself wrestling, slap our legs and faces and even punching myself in the stomach! Do I need a risk assessment for that? Finally I had a few good foley effects which i overlaid into the scene. Over all I think it works well, If I was able to do it over again, despite I would want to be present at the recording stage even if I was just observing.

(MP3001) Midsummer nights dream

I have received an email from Kate Cross with details on the 2nd part of the brief, the Booker's trailer:

Dear Michael

Here with our suggested cut-ins for Midsummer Night’s Dream promotional showreel. The piece needs to be only a few minutes long…and we have chosen these extracts to give the viewer an insight into the style of production because obviously everyone knows the story. Does it jar a little if you have short extracts with sound? Just a thought….

Captions should read:

The egg/Shakespeare Unplugged Festival presents

A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Adapted from William Shakespeare’s original by Hattie Naylor
Director – Lee Lyford
Designer – Hayley Grindle
Music – Paul Dodgson
Lighting Design – Anselm Harrison

First produced in the egg and on tour to schools in February 2008 for the Shakespeare Unplugged Festival

For booking information contact kate.cross@theatreroyal.org.uk
01225 823435

Suitable for small to mid scale arts venues, aimed at children and adults aged 6+.

We may ask for further words, e.g. we may quote some of the script, but that bit will come next after we have seen the next cut.

Hope all this makes sense. Good Luck,



Kate Cross
Director - the egg
(Work Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays)
Theatre Royal Bath, Sawclose, Bath BA1 1ET
Tel: 01225 823435 Fax: 01225 444080
Box Office: 01225 448844
www.theatreroyal.org.uk

(MP3004) Editing Pedestrians

I've almost worked through the list of changes given to me by Lloyd, which if I'm honest seemed slightly over the top, but never the less I have done as he asked. I've worked very hard on this project to make up for the fact I was away during recording putting almost a weeks worth of work into it, if not more. I have locked down the arrangement and will be doing the final sound mix tomorrow. The only headache I have left is the fight in scene 3 as I have no fight sound effects, none were recorded in situ which is unfortunate as it would have been much more realistic than overlaying the sounds. I'll have to see if I can record a couple of the lads having a scuffle at paint-works tomorrow, Jona and Lloyd maybe?! Really anyone will do though!! Want a fight Nic??

(CS3003) Script Writing for Television

Last wednesday my step out line got work-shopped in class and guess what? I survived! What's more I learnt from and enjoyed the experience. When I wrote the step outline I was conscious that it was quite short (a page) and also that it lacked a clear direction. This was reflected in the feedback i received from the group, who felt that in parts my step outline was vague and could benefit from some development in areas. One part of the step outline that the group felt I could develop further was the story-line about the witches from stanton drew warning Brian off of holding a ceremony there. This story line alone could take up an episode and could even see Brian could do battle with the coven! It was also felt that the title of my script needed to be changed to something more fitting, some of the suggestions that came back were 'you runed (ruined) my life', 'ritual humiliation' and 'stand on ceremony'. Great suggestions I'm sure you agree! So in summary the group feel it's a great idea for a script and it is coming together it just needs more direction. Doug also added as a footnote that he felt the script almost felt as though it started somewhere in the middle of the story and would benefit from a beginning, if at least just to fill out the pages of which, there were few! Some good advice and lots for me to think about as I start work on my treatment!

(MP3003) Syncshare.com

Here's a video of the preentation from syncshare. you can check out their website here

(MP3002) individual project

I'm writing this blog entry as I sit on a coach bound for London! I love my iPhone. I'm attending my brothers graduation at NTFS. It's quite exciting. There will be many industry professionals at the event so it will be a good chance to network. The other purpose for my visit is to work on the rough edit of beyond the weird withy brother Lawrence. I spent yesterday on the assembly stage. I wanted to have something to show him so he could get an idea of what I'm trying to achieve with this film. Also this allows me to have some creative control on the edit rather than give Lawrence free rane over it. Right that's enough blogging for now I need the rest of my battery to listen to the prodigys new album!

(CS3003) Script Writing for Television - Pitch

I felt quite anxious about starting this module. My script writing abilities are fairly limited and I wasn't looking forward to producing a TV pilot due to the sheer amount of work thats involved. I decided to turn my documentary into a script so I wrote a pitch and pitched it to the class. I'm quite lucky in some respects as I've done several pitches in the past so I knew what to expect from the experience. I also brought along some visual aids, pictures from the shoot and recounted my experiences from the project. Doug felt that when pitching an idea based in reality its important that you make the panel aware of it. He also thought that because the idea was based on reality my passion for it shone through during the pitch.

Beyond the pale
Sitcom in a Mockumentry style following Student Paul Cowling, Druid Brian Conquer, his wife Jacquie and their lodger a Witch/Druid called Nick Oxbow and their preparations for the winter solstice. (Think last of the summer wine meets wicker man!).

Characters
Brian Conquer is a 60 something retired postal worker and arch druid. He drives a green robin reliant that he calls Felicity (happiness). He smokes like a chimney. He has health problems because of this. He’s married to Jacquie who’s his second wife. Brian is slight but has a huge character and seems very genuine. He’s passionate about his beliefs, which is infectious.

Jacquie Conquer in her late sixties is Brian’s wife is a retired nurse and a Witch and according to Brian she’s the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, which in supernatural terms makes her very powerful. Jacquie loves to dance although she has a bad back, which has given her a stoop. This prevents her from dancing too often.

Nick Oxbow is in his forties an unemployed bricklayer, who’s on the dole. He claims to be a witch and is Brian’s apprentice. He believes himself to be clairvoyant. He’s tall and surly. He takes himself very seriously. Socially he’s quite clumsy and doesn’t have many friends.

Paul Cowlings is a thirty something struggling ex addict and wiseass student. He’s Australian but he’s been living in this country for 10 years. He’s making a documentary on Brian and his friends. He’s got a very dry sense of humor. He gets on well with Brian but Nick is weary of him and doesn’t trust him.

(CS3003) Script Writing for Television-Step Outline

Here is my step outline for beyond the pale, which I found challenging to write. Especially writing in present tense!

Brian, Nick and Paul are in the pub discussing the project: a documentary about Brian’s life as a druid. Brian secretly hopes the film will become his legacy. Nick is suspicious of Paul’s motives and worries about being publicly ridiculed. Paul wants to expose them as being completely mad but appears sympathetic to them.
Nick refuses to be involved and hates the prospect of being filmed, but Brian blackmails him and says he will not continue his apprenticeship, unless he agrees to be part of the project. Resentfully, Nick agrees, but vows to make life as difficult as possible for them. He casts spells and concocts potions to delay the project.
Plans are set in motion to perform a ceremony at Stanton Drew, stone circle. Brian prepares for the event and collects materials from the woods to make magic tools.
Nick seeks revenge on Paul and Brian for blackmailing him into taking part in the film. He tells them that the local coven of Witches sent a warning not to perform a ceremony at Stanton Drew. Brian decides to call it off and makes the decision to perform the ceremony in his back garden. At the ceremony Brian hears Nick tell his girlfriend that he was responsible for the ceremony changing location.
Brian confronts Nick and relieves him of his apprenticeship. Paul’s beliefs about the Pagan way of life begin to change and he decides to ask Brian to take him on as his new apprentice.

(MP3004) Editing Pedestrians

So I finally managed to get the other group members together to listen to the rough edit of pedestrians. Here is a list of the feedback and points given to me by Lloyd.

Scene 1

1/ Needs pedestrians (the cast) walking sounds at the beginning of the drama.
2/ Existing walking sounds, needs to be louder in the mix.
3/ The movement of the sign needs to be louder
4/ Dialogue (page 5 line 10) “I’m fine” needs to be tightened up (silence before needs to be shortened) also the same process for (page 6 line 3) “No”.
5/ Electric window of police car is far too loud.
6/ Dialogue (page 7 line 9) “Well, I think you should know better don’t you” needs to be tightened up (silence before needs to be shortened) also the same process for (page 7 line 11) “Just get yourselves home”.
7/ Car driving off is far too loud and fades too quickly.
8/ Sign being picked up by John (after page 8 line 3) is far too quiet in the mix.
9/ Not enough walking on the street (John, George and Phil) (from page 8 line 6)
10/ Longer tail on the fade in of the returning police car
11/ Sign being dragged and hitting pavement (page 12, between line 4 and 5) needs to be louder (approximately +4 volume adjustment in Logic).
12/ Pissing on the floor sound effect needs to be present (page 12, between line 5 and 6), (suggested a bottle of water with a nozzle to be used to pour water on the floor and record)
13/ More prevalent fade out on police car effect.

Scene 2

1/ The cell door sound far too loud in the mix.
2/ I suggested that the vocals (voices) in this scene are doubled up with one track much lower in the mix with heavy compression and the natural reverb tail on the voices gated. This done the same track should be equalised so that some more bass frequencies are brought out. Phase cancellation may be a problem if they are not position in juxtaposition exactly. This will be avoided if lined up correctly.
3/ Mattress sounds / seating in cell could be used to enhance the atmosphere of the script.
4/ Cell door lock sound wasn’t in the mix.
5/ Dialogue (page 19 line 1) “Settle down George” needs to be tightened up (silence before needs to be shortened)
6/ Movement of bodies as a fight ensues needs to be present in the mix.
7/ Cell lock far too loud.
8/ Dialogue (page 20 line 2) “I’m afraid they’re all full.” needs to be tightened up (silence before needs to be shortened
9/ Dialogue on page 20 line 3 needs to have the cell door hatch closing sound over lapping it. “There’s only one bed for god’s sake. This isn’t right. We can barely move in here.
10/ George’s dialogue (on page 22, lines 4 and 6) needs to be brought up in the mix slightly, to enhance his statements about his life. The level is just a little too quiet.

Scene 3

1/ Soft bed covers or duvet sounds need to be in the mix over the dialogue (page 24, line1) “Do you really have to go?”
2/ The actress who plays Alice stutters (12minites 45 seconds into the recording)
3/ Soft covers and duvet sounds need to be present to indicate movement within the scene.
4/ The dialogue on page 25 line 9 “Goodbye Phil” once finished needs to have a smoother cross fade into the next scene so that the noise floor is less noticeable in the mix.

Scene 4

1/ Shuffling sound of the holding cell mattress needs to be present (13minites into recording). Line 1 page 26 “Hey”.
2/ Prison cell door sound is far too loud in the audio mix.
3/ A shorter gap is needed (more silence removed) between line 9 and 10 on page 27. Less silence (on line 10 page 27) “Ok, time to go”. This will increase the tension slightly in the drama.

Scene 5

1/Traffic sounds far too loud (over all the dialogue) unable to hear footsteps on pavement.
2/ Telephone dialling and telephone voice too quiet (suggest +2-+3 volume increase in Logic)
3/ Traffic sound of a car passing by edit is too abrupt and needs to be faded out to seem like the car is passing by (15minites 48 seconds into the recording).
4/ Dialogue from page 31 line 4 “Right. We’ll walk it then.” needs to have footsteps (subtly) at that point to end scene. Then fade out.

Scene 6


2/Male footsteps walking away from scene and in the background stopping when coffee machine is reached (timing2-3 seconds. After line 2 page 33).
3/Coffee machine noise needs to be low in the background (atmosphere)
4/ Footsteps at the moment in the ruff cut seem too random.
5/ Page turn still present after page 34, line 9. (After “Clara”)
6/ Male footsteps running away should be present and faded into silence after line11 page 35. “Phil. Run!”

I will implement these changes then represent the program for the group to listen to.

(MP3003) Group Meeting Agenda

Email from Nic Jeune:

Hi all,

Agenda

Sync Share
Noise
Creative Bath
Café of ideas
Wells
HR
MPA
Web site
Entry cards


I have no time left on Monday for one to one but time on Tuesday apart from
11 - 12.30 and after 16.00

Best

Nic

(MP3002) Individual Project - Paper Edit

Here are some pictures of my initial paper assembly. I have a tendancy to get obsessed over detail and this is where i have found a paper edit helpful as it is very broad and doesnt deal with the artistic material but rather the footage itself as an asset, which I was able to group together in blocks.



This method of working has allowed me to take a step back so to speak and look at things from a different perspective. the yellow post its are scenes, the purple are questions asked in the film, the green extra scenes or themes and the orange are lines of dialogue central to the strucure.



This paper edit is a work in progress but for me a great way of clearing my head and helping me to see the bigger picture! The purple post it set up the documentary by asking a question "what is modern druidry?" and the idea of spending time with a druid, preparing for ceremony. The yellow post it scenes are grouped by content, that is to say, they link in someway. The orange are specific lines of dialogue that have an impact or link to new scenes.

Artswork Media Snow Day

(MP3001) Enterprise Project -Midsummer nights dream Project Brief

(MP3002) Preparing to edit

Arghh, what a frustrating day! When I started this project I was warned it could prove challenging especially when it came to the edit phase. This part of the process basically means I create a story from the raw footage that I have shot, and this is much harder than i thought it would be. Because of the nature of the film, that of an observational documentary, it cannot be pieced together in the same way that say a drama could be. There are no story boards or scenes although that being said one of todays task was to begin a paper edit. That involved me noting down the characters, themes and common threads of the material and organizing them into a structure. This doesn't sound too difficult but i have found it really hard work especially when you bear in mind not only has the story evolved but my competence as a film maker has improved too. As a result of this the quality of the footage and direction of the film has changed in terms of quality as time has progressed. Shots that I thought I had dialogue that I need to set up certain scenes I don't actually have. I seem to have this mental block when it comes to arranging the structure in that in my mind I see the film sequentially as i shot it but this isn't necessarily the best way to tell the story. In fact it doesn't make sense if told sequentially as some of the scenes weren't shot in order. I'm not sure whether this block is a result of my logical way of thinking or the tendency I have to become slightly obsessed about things being neat, tidy and ordered! Also my previous editing experience has been on drama's and music videos...

(MP3002) Individual Project - Photo Bucket

some photo's from the final days shoot.

(MP3002) That's a wrap!

So the big day arrived! It was with mixed feelings that I began the final day's shoot for my project. Part of me was relieved as I've been filming since November and fun as its been i felt glad to be nearing the finish line. Another part of me will miss it too, meeting interesting people, learning about different faiths and customs, seeing the countryside of somerset and although i don't like to admit it, i'll miss Brian - he's a good bloke. I think that its only natural when nearing the end of a project to reflect on how the experience has been. I have overcome technical frustrations, snow, gale-force winds, crew off sick and developed a good relationship with Brian and his friends which helped me gain their confidence with filming their lives.
I faced some difficult challenges with the the last day of the shoot. Firstly there were people at the ceremony whom i'd never met. I sensed their lack of trust and when I asked for their consent to film two of the women who seemed quite subversive began bargaining with me which left feeling quite uncomfortable an in a sense on my own, surrounded by strangers who didn't trust me. It was partly my fault though as i'd forgotten the consent forms which would have solved all the bargaining from the contributers as they are set contracts. Other than that though filming went well and for the first time we used a two camera set up so we could record some wide shots and get some footage which we appeared in too. I was also very happy with the sound too and having an extra camera meant we were able to capture more audio. We used a boom mike, a camera mounted shotgun mike and the clip mike attached to Brian's hat ( i learnt my lesson from last time!). Horror of horrors though, looking back at the footage from camera 1 it seems as though the lens has some dirt or something on it. I presumed Paul had cleaned the camera or would be aware if there was dirt on the lens, which he obviously wasn't and if I'm honest, this is my film and the buck has to stop with me. Its my responsibility to ensure all the kit is clean and working correctly before the shoot. That being said the footage is still usable and in fact the smudges on the lens aren't really visible in close up shots. I will be posting a do's and don't list very soon drawn up from my experiences over the last few months but as frustrating as it can be there is no substitute for learning from your own mistakes!

(MP3003) Business Link

Today David Green, an adviser from business link came to Artswork media to do a presentation on self employment. The presentation lasted two hours in which time David went through the requirements for starting your own business, from examining personality characteristics to formulating business plans. He encouraged us to invertory our strengths and weaknesses using tools like a SWOT analysis. He talked at length about the positive and negative about working for yourself, your earnings aren't capped, job satisfaction are plusses, whist long hours, no benefits and no floor on earnings can be negatives. David also talked about many of the roles involved in running a business, marketing, sales, financial, administration etc...He suggested that its helpful to be realistic about your skills and workload from the outset and to ask for help when its required. I spoke with Dave about my situation as a self employed free lance presenter, he offered me some 121's and agreed to follow up with a telephone call soon. I found his advise very helpful especially when thinking about offsetting tax and taking out business insurance. I recorded the seminar which, i will edit and put up on here soon.
Check out their website here

(MP3003) Professional Practice

where does the time go? It seems to have gone quickly for me anyhow, I'm nearing the end of my course and that means thinking
about my employment options. I think I'm in a fairly strong position, well strong as anyone can be in this financial climate. I have 5 years experience in broadcast and a degree in media (hopefully!). I have begun to put out feelers with some of my contacts. Amy Williams is an old school friend of mine who works for the BBC in networking services. We chatted on face-book (the way all business seems to be done nowadays!) and Amy told me that she'd be happy to help me with the process of applying for a job at the BBC (application forms) and that she would keep an ear to the ground for me and let me know if anything comes up. It's a promising start!

Here is a link to skillset a great site with helpful advise for people starting out in the industry.

(MP3004) Editing Pedestrians

This morning I continued editing the group project, Pedestrians. Armed with a copy of the Script and a very strong black coffee
(late night last night!) I began work. I had hoped to save the project file to the xsan so others could access it but unfortunately pro-tools will not recognize network drives. For this reason I had to save the project locally. Today I continued the task of comp'ing together takes and removing paper rustles, this was made easy for me as the actors paused reading to turn pages allowing me room to make edits on the audio. Having done that I started working on the atmosphere and fx for scene 1,2 and 3. For the scene in which they leave the police station and walk in the street I decided to add the sound of rain. I feel the effect compounds their depression at having spent the night in the cells and the fact they're nursing hangovers! For the police station holding cell scene I have used a dripping tap effect to signify how damp and dingy the cell is. I'm also on the lookout for a prison door closing sound effect to use as a bridge in between scene 1 and 2. Today I recorded several foley effects for scene 5 which involved a mobile phone. Using the mbox and lapel mic ( I had to improvise as we don't have much in the way of mics) I set about recording a wrong number message and some keypad noises from my iphone. I was really pleased with the results! I have to make some decisions around the music for the play but as we have a meeting at artswork media tomorrow I will ask the guys what their thoughts are on the matter.

(MP3002) Individual Project Journal

I faced several challenges on the shoot this week, namely the fact that Paul was unable to attend. That added to the fact that stanton drew was a foot deep in snow made things difficult for me. My role in the filming is sound, which I am comfortable with - camera is one area i need to improve on. That said this was baptism of fire, of sorts and operating solo meant doing the sound and trying to maintain some control over Brian and Nick! I found filming in the snow, although something that is visually stunning on film, difficult to capture well as there seemed to be a fine powder mist all around us. Still at least white balance wasn't a problem! I had to make some compromises with some of the shots I wanted. It was impossible to film them walking from the front as walking backwards in the snow with no one to guide me and carrying £3000 worth of equipment just wasn't happening, I did try and tripped up on a mole hill! For that reason most of the shots were static or wide shots but this is ok, after all I only wanted a few minutes worth of footage. It was after we'd finished shooting that things started to get really interesting! We retired to the local pub, the druid arms. Brian and Nick felt the presents of some Spirits (not the alcoholic kind) in the pub! Nick went into a trance and brian began talking to the "entities" as he put it! I managed to capture some of this on film. All the locals in the pub seemed really open to Brian and Nick and asked that they return to continue their work as soon as they could. I had initially arranged with them to film the ceremony on friday 13th of february but Brian texted me to tell me a very close friend of his had passed away and that he is unsure as to when they will be able to shoot the final scenes so for now that is on hold.

(MP3003) Group Meeting Agenda

Here is a copy of the email that Nic sent out about mondays meeting

Given that a number of us live beyond the metropolis of Bath and Bristol and given the weather forecast for tomorrow afternoon and given that we do not want to camp at Unit 7.02 and given the bad weather of late and given that it is better to be safe than sorry, and many other givens I can think of...
I am moving Monday’s meeting to Wednesday. Can people indicate when would be good for them. I propose 11.00 am on Wednesday.

(MP3002) Slideshow

Here are some more pictures from the shoot for beyond the weird

(MP3004) Editing Pedestrians

When starting to edit a project such as pedestrians it's important to set up the file structure properly ( well it is for me!). I created folders on the xsan, protools/pedestrians. After I had opened the arrange I used workspace to import the raw audio in to the project. Rather unhelpfully the audio recorder used to capture the recording only allows numbering of tracks and not naming so I had to go through and listen to each track match it to the script, name and mark it. It was time consuming in part as I didnt know how many takes there were of each scene and they hadn't been recorded sequentially, which is understandable from a logistical point of view for the recordist. Once I had done that I dragged the audio files onto the arrange. This method automatically created the audio tracks required. I decided to follow Paul Dodgeson's template and created only 2 tracks for spoken word and 3 for fx. After this I arranged the audio files in sequence and began to top and tail them adding small fades where appropriate. The first scene requires fx of a sign being dragged on the pavement, which we had a field recording of. I comp'd parts of it together and consolidated the file giving it a unique file name. I then placed the file in the corresponding part of the scene. The second foley fx required was a car sequence, police car approaching, electric window opening, car starting, electric window closing, drive away. Using pre recorded effects from a sound library I created and mixed the sequence, which took some time to get right. I did find the control surface really useful for this task. With hindsight I think I may have got a little obsessed with editing fine detail rather than getting the program working as a whole first, that probably wasn't the best use of my time. Next week I will try to avoid falling into the same trap. After all finishing touches are added at the end of a project, not at the beginning!

(MP3002) Individual Project Journal

The two weeks that I was away put me behind schedule. I had planned to wrap filming at the end of January and begin the edit in February and although I have began capturing footage in into Final Cut I still haven't filmed all the footage I need. I still need to film the ceremony. After hearing how uncomfortable Brian's group were at the prospect of filming the ceremony at stanton drew I took the decision to allow them to film it where they want. I would like to go with Brian and Nick to Stanton Drew so that they can take me through what they would have done at the location. So I need to shoot for at least two more days, which sounds like no time but its a question of booking equipment and finding out when everyone is available. I hope to shoot this thursday. Paul will not be able to operate the camera due to prior commitments so I will have to do it myself.

(MP3001) Enterprise Project - White Board

The artswork white board where all live projects are maintained

(MP3001) Enterprise Project - Midsummer Nights Dream

Its been non stop since I got back from india. I completed the performance edit today. This project has been one of compromises. The footage was very bad quality. The phase "you can't polish a turd" comes to mind when thinking about the raw material we had to work with, but, polish a turd is exactly what we had to do! There were two problems with the footage, the first is the camera work that is shaky and uncoordinated. The second problem is the lighting, whilst it may have been appropriate for the performance, from a filming point of view its a nightmare. Shots appear washed out and grainy and in some the mids are blown out. Obviously there isn't much that we can do about shaky camera work other than try to cut around it but we were able to improve the colour using a three way colour corrector in final cut. It is a subtle effect but overall it is an improvement. We were able to bring out skin tones add some depth to the blacks and whiten whites. The overall effect it had on the film is that it looks sharper and more realistic.

Here's a tutorial on using the plug-in.

(MP3001) Enterprise Project - Midsummer Nights Dream

Having completed the final full length version of the performance I emailed Kate Cross:

Hi Kate,

Nic will drop off a dvd of the performance this afternoon. Please have a look at it and make some selections, which we'll go through together at our next meeting. When would be a suitable time for Kirsty and I to schedule a follow up meeting? Kirsty and I are pretty flexible so i'll leave the date up to you.

Many thanks,

Mike

(MP3003) Enterprise project - group meeting video 05/01/09

A clip from our first meeting of the new year...

(MP3004) Creative Writing Log 16/01/09

Right then, this will be my last blog entry for a couple of weeks as I'm off to india to recharge my batteries. Paul Dodgson (radio expert) came to Artswork to give us a lecture on producing radio plays.We record on the 19-20th of Jan. I will be away when the group record but as my role is that of Editor so my absence is not an issue. In fact it can be an advantage to come on to a project with a fresh pair of ears. Paul gave us these tips when considering radio plays:
90% of the success of a radio play can be dependent upon casting
There various ways to record effects. Lots like to record as many spot effects as possible during recording with actors or production staff or record totally dry and add effects in post.
Radio drama sounds at its best when there’s physicality to the acting in a play. It makes it more believable.
Try to record chronologically record over two days and keep actors on hand during these times.
The first thing to do is to read through script with actors just before we go into production.
Allocate an hour for the read through at start of day 1 and let them read through with out any direction.
It helps to have the writer on hand to answer questions that may arise. They can be a useful sounding board.
Map out a schedule for recording scenes perhaps even two hours per scene. In order to deal with the page turning noise decide if you want to record whole scene or break it in to chunks. Also actors only hold script from the scene they’re recording. Thicker paper can also cut down on noise as its less rustley.
It can be beneficial not to rehearse in advance as a read through can act as the same thing. Try not to have pre-conceived ideas as to what the play should sound like. Keep an open mind and let the actors do their thing. It is advantageous to schedule a break after a read though but bear in mind actors find it difficult to take direction from more than one person.
Team involved in recording are studio manager, broadcast assistant, Director / Producer. When spot effecting use same mic as actor and when monitoring do a dry take as well as a wet take. The voice though is very different when it’s behind a loud sound. Actors need to pitch up or adapt to location or environment.

(MP3002) individual Project Log 14 12/01/09

Here is a link to an interview with Louis Theroux and Michael Palin discussing some of the issues I have faced during the filming of my documentary including Moral, ethical and technical dilemmas....

Have a look

(MP3004) Creative Writing Log 12/01/09

Today I called Paul Dodgson, a radio guru that Steve May put us in touch with to guide us with our radio production module. The phone call was to confirm with Paul the time and location of his lecture but we also discussed its content. Paul questioned me on what we hoped to learn from him. I told him that we needed advice on which kit to use, location recording and guidance on taking a directorial role. His feeling was that the best approach would be a general overview on radio production. He also asked for some background information on us. The type of software we use to edit and our previous recording experience. Paul favours Pro Tools and Logic Pro and thought that our grounding in music technology would be a huge advantage.

(MP3001) Enterprise project - group meeting 12/01/09

This mornings minutes.

Group Meeting at Artswork Media 12/01/09

Present
Mike Huck, Dan Hooper, Jona Melton, Kirsty emery, Elana Rose, Kat Davis, Adam Boyce.
Apologies
Freddy Ritchie, Ariel Moreton.
Agenda for meeting:
• Group Meeting
• Steve Crenshaw from Bristol council here to talk about brief.
• Documentary over view.
• Individual Project update
• Group project update
Nic ran over requirements for the modules taken by some of the students here at Artswork Media.
Nic also mentioned involving business link and others who work in the industry in our personal development module. They would help us learn how to manage projects in a business sense.
It was also mentioned that we ought to begin looking for work in publications like Mandy. Working title is looking for applicants for their training program.
Steve Crenshaw from Bristol council involved in CitizenScape funded by e-participation stand. He is currently working on noise map for Bristol city. He requires video’s for their website. His hopes for the video are that it be left field to provoke interest in the project.
• Possibly similar to viral adverts.
• Flash games
• Layers
• 90-second bytes.
http://www.bristol.gov.uk
One of the goals of project is to create interest in community from the more deprived areas in Bristol particularly south of the city.
Deadline for project ASAP!
Jona mentioned the need for a brainstorm of ideas!
Action points for next week are to plan a schedule for this brief but unfortunately the group will have to do with out me as I will be on holiday in india!

(MP3002) Individual Project Log 19 07/01/09 - Shoot Journal

Now some people might think I've become slightly obsessed when it comes to my project and i'll be the first to admit I write a lot of blog entries, but I find it helps me clarify my thinking. Armed with our kit and a load of contributor forms Paul and I went to the Mitre Pub in glastonbury to film Brian's Moot (pagan for meeting). I wasn't sure what to expect, i didn't know whether there would be many people there or not. Brian hadn't said too much about it to me. It was suggested to me to place a notice at the entrance stating that we were filming the event and giving a brief synopsis of the project. The room in which the meeting was held was long and narrow. Not everyone is as comfortable in front of the camera as Brian so in order to be as unobtrusive as possible we set up the camera in the far corner of the room and placed the boom mic on a chair. There were five people at the meeting they all signed contributer forms but I could sense they didn't trust me. Brian hadn't at first it took time to build up. Nick, Brian's apprentice bought to the meeting an item that affected the project. He said he'd been in contact with the coven from Stanton Drew and that they didn't want us filming there! There ensued a lively debate between everyone on where we should have the ceremony if not at stanton drew. I got drawn in. I realize now that I was being quite stubborn about it, i was angry at Nick though as I felt he was hijacking the project. In my stubbornness and anger I couldn't see how genuinely uncomfortable they were at the prospect of filming at Stanton Drew. My behavior led them to believe that I wasn't taking them seriously as I found out when I watched back part of the tape where paul and I had left the room! This got me thinking. What did I think of their way of life, what was I hoping to find out, was I looking to ridicule them or present their beliefs in a balanced way? Add to this my fondness for Brian and I'm left with an ethical dilemma. I'm inclined to stick with my original treatment "an affectionate human interest film on Brian". He is a lovable eccentric, which is how i'll portray him. After all when a contributer signs a consent form what are they really consenting to and what are my responsibilities as a film maker to my contributors? And who would want to see a film where someone was ridiculed for half an hour. It would get pretty boring and I expect the viewer would draw the conclusion that I'm a bit of an asshole! That is not what I want. I called Brian to tell him I took his views and beliefs seriously and that I was happy for him and his friends to hold ceremony wherever they want, i don't want them to feel uncomfortable. After all if they pulled out i'd have no program.

(MP3004) Creative Writing Log 10/01/09

Last wednesday I was on a shoot for my group project and couldn't attend the meeting with Lloyd and Chris Jury. Having spoke with Steve May I was under the impression that we would record on the 15th of Jan, thus allowing me to take part in the project before leaving for my holiday. However due to previous commitments Chris Jury cannot make the 15th so Lloyd has arranged to record on the 19th or 20th. This leaves me in a difficult position, I need to find out exactly what is expected of me in order that I pass this module. If I'm required to be there for recording then we will need to ask Chris Jury to re arrange so we can record when I return from my holiday on the 1st of Feb. I will meet with the group tomorrow to discuss our options. Here is the email Lloyd sent to Chris Jury.

Hi Cris

It would be good to know your thoughts about this up and coming, group, radio drama.

Here are our suggestions for actors that we prefer thus far.

We would like to utilise your directorial experience and expertise in the selection process so if there are any actors that you think would be best served on the project then we would wish for them to be involved.

Here are our choices.

I hope you don’t mind me using a scale for 1-10 as an aid for the selection process.

If a 1-10 scoring system were allowed, I would score as follows-

Mark Hutchby 10
Kieran Haggerty 8/9
Cat Sparks 7
Melody Ashman7/8

All these actors are subject to your final selections and suggestions.

There is also an additional space in Tim Hufferdines script for another actor.
I’m still waiting for a version of the script in a word doc format to send via email.

All the very best

We all await your reply with eagerness and zeal!

Lloyd :0)

(MP3001) Enterprise project - group meeting agenda

Here is the agenda for next mondays meeting

Hi

On Monday we will kick off with a meeting at 10.15 and then break for coffee at 11.30. When we come back we will have Steve Crawshaw Programme Co - ordinator Air Environment Bristol City Council with us. I will ask Steve to lay out the brief in his own words and then we should aim for a general discussion around the subject. Before we break for lunch art 13.00 I would hope we had got to a point where we had a plan of action even if we did not yet know what the content is.

In the afternoon I intend to christen the new projector and look at a few documentaries. This comes out of discussions with a number of people about the filmmakers relationship to the subject, contributor, participant.

Finally I hope those people that have not given me an update on their projects will do so.

Best

Nic

(MP3002) Individual Project - Call Sheet

Here is a call sheet from the shoot.

(MP3002) Individual Project - David Charap

Through some of the contacts I have I was put in touch with a professional editor from NFTS. David Charap's credits include, In the Land of the Free..., Basho, My Summer of Love and Antony Gormley: Making Space. I asked David for some tips on editing documentaries and he went one better by sending me an editing schedule he'd devised complete with notes.

PLAN FOR SIX WEEK DOCUMENTARY EDIT
(Written by David Charap)
WEEK ONE
Digitize and plan
Format DV/Digibeta/film. Ratio 16:9, 14:7, 4:3 Back up, cloning, reasonable risk, Logging, Aroll Broll Language, translation, transcripts
memory 20hrs capacity .
SELECT OUT material
Avid log and batch digitize advantages, disadvantages PREPARE NOTES Bins (characters, themes, locations) and labels Avoid obsession + tiny detail, avoid plunging in blindly, establish cutting room rapport
Target: no more than 20 hours rushes, close relationship in cutting room, understanding of film's themes and characters, lots of talking about strengths and weaknesses NOTES
First of all, do not take the time to subtitle the rushes. I would wait until you have a rough cut or a cut of about twice the length of your film. And, even then, you might just do short, rough translations so that anyone watching the film knows what is going on. My way would be to have a quick scan of the rushes and talk through the film with the director, maybe looking at certain scenes with him translating. Then, if possible, have him select maybe 10 hours to transcribe. Is there a lot of talking? From that transcription make a paper edit. While you do the first assembly, he can get on with transcribing additional material. Hopefully, by the time you get an assembly he will have transcribed everything that might be needed and you can add more scenes to the assembly. At various times during the edit, you might go back and look at material that had been deselected to see if there is anything useful either in terms of voice or image. Or ... don't do anything until he transcribes the whole film. If he really can do it in four days that isn't too long to wait. Then he can do a paper edit in a day and you can get on with the assembly. A rough paper edit should not take too long. And it will have to be rough because you will not make fine cuts for some time; the assembly and further edits will be in chunks until you come to terms with the content. You don't want to get hung up on transcribing a lot of material that has no chance of being in the film. On the other hand, as the editor, you want to know what's in the footage and be aware of every possibility for expanding the ideas the director puts forward.
WEEK TWO
Assemble and structure SELECT IN key elements Bin for leftovers Paper edit, overall feel, include duplicate scenes Beginning and End Refining purpose Avoid getting into editing issues but highlight key visual elements and start considering editing potential Establish Rules of the game, nature of film, necessary info Define cutting room etiquette establish private but open discussion
Target assembly of no more than 4 times anticipated final duration containing all the crucial ingredients, if necessary with a few odd elements tacked on not with a certain place
SCREENING & DISCUSSION What is this film about? What will make it compelling? What does it want the viewer to go away with? How will the film achieve this? What sort of a film is it? (tone, length, how it addresses the viewer) What should be its structure?
WEEK THREE
Towards a rough cut Get the structure right before obsessing about editing details Work systematically sequence by sequence; try to work fast enough to get a momentum and keep the whole film in your heads SELECT OUT superfluous, repetitious or inadequate sequences Start talking about music, rhythm, style only when appropriate
Target an edit that is around twice final length that flows logically but feels bloated, all relevant material should now be included and integrated and the shape of the film be clear
WEEK FOUR
The film is born SELECT IN only the elements of the edit that satisfy what should now be demanding criteria Work through the film considering visual language, rhythm, mood Do not be afraid to experiment with different versions Pay particular attention to opening and ending
Target an edit that might even make sense to an uninitiated viewer, it may still be lumpy but it should bear some resemblance to the final film.
SCREENING AND DISCUSSION Does the film make sense? What elements are missing/superfluous? Is it compelling? How can it be enhanced? What does it feel like to watch it and where are the danger areas? Has the cut fulfilled potential from rushes? What is the suitable duration?
WEEK FIVE
Towards a fine cut Address screening notes where possible and if not decide why not Iron out any structural adjustments Plan outstanding tasks, viewings etc. Discuss music, key sound or visual effects Work through film systematically concentrating on style and technique Erradicate any material that stands in the way of the film no matter how much you like it
Target a cut you can show to a friend, appropriate length, accurate translations if necessary, ideally pause for sleep reflection inspiration etc.
WEEK SIX
Fine cut Discuss post production timetable/requirements Integrate music/ effects Trim and tighten Consider opinions you respect Address technical faults Neaten sound tracks
Target a film that exceeds your own expectations that takes every viewer into an enthralling new world where most can hear what you set out to communicate

Although I don't intent to follow this schedule to the letter, I will use it, and Cross cultural Film making by Barrabash and Taylor as a framework and reference.

(MP3002) Individual Project - Notebook

I've kept a shoot journal in the form of a note book throughout my individual project. It contains things like notes on shots I want, sketches, lists, maps etc... Here are some pictures from it.

(MP3002) individual Project - trouble shooting kit

As you may have gathered sound has been a real issue for me on the shoot, the lapel mic in particular, a real bugbear! On the shoot last week despite my efforts to plan and trouble shoot it the lapel mic wasn't performing correctly. I called Dani Landau and arranged to take the kit into paint works to trouble shoot it with him, I was convinced i'd done everything possible but Dani was sure i'd missed something! When I arrived at paint works Dani and I set the kit up exactly as I had done on the shoot. Dani's suggestion was to work backwards and eliminate each possibility before moving on to the next. We ruled out the boom as the problem then we quickly ruled out interference from mobile devices and frequency issues, which left us with only one thing. Noise from clothes and Brian's beard. I was amazed at how I could have missed it but then I assumed that the mic was built to withstand that type of interference! Once we had sorted out the issues I'd been having with the sound we moved on to talk about logging and capturing and how to manage projects within final cut properly. I am notoriously messy so the information was very helpful to me.

(MP3001) group meeting 08/01/09

Today Kirsty and I met with Kate Cross from the EGG. It was our first meeting, I felt quite nervous. I was glad Kirsty was there to keep me calm! It seemed to be one thing after another, first the sat nav broke and then we had a nightmare parking, but we made it on time to the meeting. We sat down with Kate and discussed the project with her. I led the meeting and kirsty took notes. We asked Kate what she wanted from us in terms of a finished product was it for archival purpose, dvd or web. Kate went on to explain that she wanted a trailer lasting 10 minutes showing the best bits of the play. This would be a promotional tool to show to bookers and would feature cast and crew credits. Kate also wanted a full length version for archival. We agreed to have a rough cut ready for Kate by mid feb which we would watch together so she could choose the clips to include in the trailer. We also discussed the possibility of an ongoing relationship between artswork media and the egg. The projects we take on though are dependent on the whole group being in agreement and of course being signed off by Nic Jeune. As a whole though I felt the meeting went well.

(MP3002) individual Project Log 19 05/01/09 - Shoot Journal

Today Paul and I returned to Glastonbury for the first shoot of the new year. I'd had some issues with the sound, especially the clip mic, which had caused me lot of problems - crackle and interference! I decided to trouble shoot the kit so when Paul came over in the morning I pinned the clip mic to his Lapel and tested it out. It appeared to work fine. We checked the camera and, happy the kit all work fine we made our way to Brian's house. We intended to visit Trevor Jones at his shop, the Cats cradle but first we wanted to go back to Wearyall Hill to see if the thorn tree had blossomed.



Paul and I spent half an hour setting up the kit, which seemed to be working ok. I was on the Boom and Paul on Camera. I wore the headphones so I could monitor sound. This meant I had to stay very close to paul as the lead was very short. It worked to our advantage because when I asked a question Brian would look towards the camera rather than off to the left or right of shot. This makes it look as though I'm filming and that he's talking to me. I realized to my horror that I was still having problems with the Clip Mic, I was completely at a loss as i thought I'd fixed the problem and couldn't understand where the problem was coming from. It was demoralizing and added to that that Cats Cradle was shut and Trevor no where to be seen, I decided to wrap up the shoot for the day. I was really disappointed with the sound but luckily I'd recorded two channels of audio one on the clip and the boom on another and the sound from the boom had come out well! This way of working proved to be my saving grace. Had I used only the Clip mic none of the footage would have been usable. This would have been a shame as we had some beautiful shots.

(MP3001) enterprise project - group meeting 05/01/09

First day back after the new year. It was nice to see everyone again. We kicked off the morning by discussing the pro's and con's of the media industry. Why had we chosen follow the career paths that we had. This topic of conversation has come up often since I began my degree. The media industry is notoriously difficult to break into, and often badly paid! That is unless you are Chris Moyles or Jonathan Ross. It took me three years of unpaid work before I got a break in radio. I made tea, photocopied and went on lunch runs for ages before I came anywhere close to getting on air! And if you want to know what the money is like in commercial radio, tough I'm not telling you!



The pro's of working in media are things like contacts, reputation and technology. Technology such as the internet has led to a creative explosion. Websites like youtube give film makers like me the opportunity to showcase work to millions. I personally have made some great contacts through work experience and my job at Star Radio. UKRD have a good reputation as does Bath Spa. I work hard and have some great qualities, I have a good reputation. Of course there are cons to the media industry.Recession, Competition, Relocation. We are in a global economic recession and as a result the industry is shrinking. People are tightening heir belts. Jobs within the industry are notoriously scarce. There's a lot of competition out there. And, the jobs there are seem to be in london, which means relocation.
We also discussed group projects. I gave the group an update on the EGG project. I'm still waiting for Phil Purves to return my call. I emailed him this morning re: our meeting on thursday. Hopefully he'll get back to me soon, i'd like to meet before I go on holiday. We also talked about a new brief for bristol council here's the email detailing the project.

Video introduction to Environmental Noise and Citizenscape

The Brief:

A short (~10 minute) video, formatted for the web to encourage citizens to contribute to a website (online forums, blogs, wiki's) which is focussed on the issue of traffic noise. By using the website and generating content, citizens have an opportunity to help to reduce traffic noise as the website will be used to help develop an action plan. One way of drawing people to the site is to ask them to think about their favourite quiet space and to use put a marker on an online map and then upload multimedia to the map, e.g. a vox pop of them explaining why they like the park. This is being developed at the moment. A similar approach has been used at www.bristolstreets.com for the cycle survey.
The target audience at the moment is "hard to reach" communities in South Bristol, especially around Knowle West.


The video needs to convey the key messages while being engaging and fun.

Key messages:

* Traffic noise is widespread, annoying and unhealthy
* People can use the website to help reduce traffic noise in their area
* People can find out about traffic noise issues on the site - legal, health, science and how new developments in Bristol will affect noise
* People can see how noisy it is where they live by looking at the noise map for Bristol
* People can influence decisions that affect their area, especially on green space and transport

My last conversation is that as it is a film that plays on opening the new website it may be more interesting to have three X 90 second films in rotation/

Best

Nic

We threw around some initial ideas and agreed to discuss it at length when more members of the group are present. We also got an update from Nic on the website, which still isn't ready and proberbly wont be for at least another week or two. I filmed the meeting and will post a short clip soon.

(MP3004) Creative Writing Log 05/01/09

Nic is always telling me how important it is to take every opportunity to network. On friday night I was at a wedding reception. We'd just eaten a lovely meal and the entertainment had arrived. An irish dancing band with a caller! I was quite content to sit and watch but the caller asked for more participants. I was paired up with a woman called Tiffany. We danced for a while then out of breath and in need of a drink we sat down and started chatting. Tiffany told me she was a director. She directed dramas for a theatre company based in Devon. I explained the creative writing module and the radio drama I was working on. I asked if she had any tips on how to direct because as a producer I would be called upon to manage and direct the actors in the play. I got her email address and have written some questions for her. Here is the email that i sent.

Hello Tiffany,

It was lovely to meet you the other day. I hope you enjoyed yourself at the wedding. I had a lovely time! I was really interested
to hear about your career and was hoping you'd be able to answer some questions for me as we discussed, which may help me with a project I'm working on at the moment ( producing a radio drama). With your permission I'd like to publish your Q&A interview on my blog. Could you also include your full name and the company you work for.


Q.1 What in your opinion are the most important assets for a successful director to possess?



Q.2 What are the most important things to consider when directing a drama/play?



Q.3 How long have you been a director and what was your career path?



Q.4 What was the single most important piece of advice you were given when you set out to become a director?



Q.5 how do you view the changing face of the industry, what are your thoughts on the current media climate. Is it affecting you?. e.g digital media, internet...


I look forward to hearing from you. Also thanks for the dance the other night, I had a lot of fun!


yours,


Mike

I have chosen questions that I feel will best help us as a group with our task of producing the radio play. As soon as I receive a reply i will post it on my blog! It's funny, you never know when you'll meet someone who can be of assistance to you in some way!

(MP3004) creative Writing Log 06/01/09

After the meeting at Artswork media I met with Adam & Lloyd to discuss the radio play. It seems as though or us there is some confusion as to where we would record, what equipment we'd use, Who our actors would be and which script we would pick to produce. I decided to call Steve May to get some support and guidance. His suggestion, for reasons of practicality was to go ahead and choose the script we wanted to work with and which was most "do-able" or as he called it "the art of the possible". We have chosen "Pedestrians" by Tim Hufferdine. Its set in the UK on a busy road. This is an achievable location an opposed to San- Fransico in the play I had chosen, "suicidal Tendency, which in hindsight would be difficult to produce. Time is in short supply and we need to get organized. Steve gave me the number for Paul Dodgson and recommended that we contact him and give him a brief outline of the script so that he may advise us on where to shoot and what equipment to use. I have left a message with Chris Jury from PLARM asking him to put us in contact with some of his students so we can use them as actors in the play. Unfortunately I'm unable to attend Rachel's Lecture tomorrow as I'm filming my individual project. However, Lloyd and Adam have agreed to chase up Paul and Chris as they will be in university that day.

(MP3004) creative Writing Log 05/01/09

Here is my interview with director Tiffany Strawson, in full.

Q.1 What in your opinion are the most important assets for a successful director to possess?

In my case, a van!
Plus all the usual things any creative professional needs, like an apple mac and a mobile phone!
But these are all tangiable, hand held things and the greatest asset I think actually is more of a personal nature, for example a list of creative colleagues and peers, for stimulus, inspiration and support - and contracts! 'And it helps if they are also friends built up along the way!
In addition to this it certianly helps to have emotional and domestic support and a patient bunch of mates (who you never get to spend enough time with!)

Q.2 What are the most important things to consider when directing a drama/play?

The exact answer to this would totally depend on the nature of the piece, the venue, the group I was working with including the cast obviously and the theme/ subject/ context. 'A variety of different contexts. So half of the answer is very much about the creative explosions that happen to the individuals and the 'group' and the other half of the answer is about the boring limitations and managemnet of any project; like the time line and the budget, because ultimately the show will go up!

Q.3 How long have you been a director and what was your career path?

I've been directing in combination with performing and workshop facilitation for about 16 years and I came into it quite randomly but quite orgaincally. I graduated from uni having done a theatre degree, and worked festivals and all sorts of other stuff voluntarily for a couple of years gaining real experience of all the stuff they didn't teach me in college. Then at a time when many of my peers were tiring of the sheer bloody hard work of free lancing and the uncertianty of it all and were side stepping into more secure jobs, I seemed to be going deeper into my practice and dedicating myself to not ever earining any real money at all! This included travelling around the world chasing masked theatre traditions and doing an MA along the way and working all over the country chasing the work. However it's all seemed to have balanced itself out now, and whilst I can honestly say I'm not a huge earner, I do make a comfortable living and I'm my own boss and I do the work I love and that's priceless.

Q.4 What was the single most important piece of advice you were given when you set out to become a director?

How I came to arrive at a 'successful' job as a director was pure fluke really and of course is very fragile and could all change tomorrow. Plus I never really 'set out' in an ambitious way to direct, so I was never really advised to do anything specific. In fact, at various times I was encouraged to change track completely and seek something that may be more secure or stable, so perhaps it's better to answer by saying what advise I would give which would be:
to always follow your instincts, and that a feeling is never wrong but there to be explored to the full.
Don't worry about not knowing.
Find out what you enjoy and refine enjoying it better.

Q.5 how do you view the changing face of the industry, what are your thoughts on the current media climate. Is it affecting you?. e.g digital media, internet...

my first love will always be the moving body on stage and live performance, however in terms of other practices digital media is a major part of our cultural and it's very exciting to collaborate with film makers, DJs and VJs in the creation of live performance. Why not? It opens up the potential for really exciting possibilities. I don't see why the two things can't exist in perfect harmony with each other. With the advent of technologie, we just have more toys and resources to play with, so long as there's a balance, this need not compromise the artist integrity of the work and the stage craft and the tools, talents and skills that the performers bring to the performance.

The arts are suffering massively right now because of all the funding restrictions and the advent of the Olympics, so this is a major negative impact on the industry. In other cultures artists are really celebrated and are considered important but here very few artists actually make any significant contribution to the ecconomy so in this air of capitalism, we're not really valued as we should be, or recognised. However with any shift in one direction, there is then a counter shift and I feel that somehow in this vacuum of finances, some brilliantly exciting work will emerge. This is my hope anyway. Although we all need to make a living, I think it's important for artists to not be solely guided by whats available fundingwise and to just make art works regardless and in revolt to the current political climate.