For todays task, we got into pairs, wrote down a set of questions to ask each other and recorded interviews. The questions were mainly supposed to be about each others future plans, childhoods, viewpoints, our plans for our FMP’s, etc. I paired off with Amber and we managed to get our interviews finished within 20 minutes- we used our phones for recording instead of zoom mics so it was done fairly quickly.
As I had issues uploading my recording to Soundcloud, I uploaded it to PowerPoint instead (which I have linked above). In my interview, I asked my interviewee about her childhood, plans for University, future career plans and Final Major Project plans. I learnt a lot about her in just over four minutes of interviewing.
In today’s session, we were taught about lighting- how to set up different lighting sets, how to use different lights and what sort of lighting to use in particular scenes. We had to replicate three different effects using our own lighting, which were sitting in front of a fire, a TV and sitting in a car. As we ran out of time towards the end of the lesson, we only managed to film two- they are linked below.
For the first video we used a red coloured lighting gel in front of our main light and moved it back and forth, creating the flickering effect showed in the clip. This one was incredibly simple to do, yet had a very effective outcome. We tried a lot of other methods before this one, (different coloured gels, more/less lights etc.) and none of them worked quite as well.
For the second clip we used the same equipment as the previous video, but with an iPhone flashlight flickering on and off as well. I thought this produced the best outcome of the two as it was able to recreate the effect of someone watching TV very well.
I enjoyed this task as it gave me a better understanding of lighting in general and I’ll be able to take away some of this knowledge to use in future projects.
For my second case study, I have decided to carry out research on the British comedy series Uncle (2014). This sitcom consists of an immature man who is forced to bond with his sisters teenager. The series focuses on all the hilarious and inappropriate situations the pair end up getting in to together.
I will be researching three different aspects of the programme; Social, Political and Chronological.
Social
The entire series essentially revolves around one particular family, so family is a big theme in the series. Andy (the uncle) is always having to help out his sister and listen to her talk about her problems, even though they don’t always get along. I think the family in the programme perfectly portrays modern family life in today’s society- not being perfect in any way, but there for each other at the same time. Errol, the nephew of the uncle has to go through things many children do when it comes to family, e.g parents divorcing, family conflict, etc. Although the programme isn’t suitable for young children, I think many young people will be able to relate to the struggles Errol goes through throughout the series.
Another big theme in the show is relationships. Andy goes through many different romantic relationships after being left by the love of his life at the beginning of the series, and subsequently cannot seem to keep a long term relationship. This is something many people in the audience may have been through/can relate to. In my opinion, the reason the series is so popular is because many people of all ages can relate to at least one character in the programme.
Chronological
Throughout the series, there is a lot of visible character development for Errol, the nephew. Although his character is a typical “nerd” from the first series to the latest, the audience see’s him go through puberty and become a more confident teenager due to his uncle teaching him how to become more confident in himself. Some characters (e.g. Andy) don’t develop at all and stay the exact same from the first episode to the latest series. Some would argue that this was done purposely, and that the creators want these characters to stay as they are for humorous effect. Sam, Errol’s mum, has a rather moving character development, as the audience gets to see her overcome a drug addiction and become a stronger and better mother for her child.
Political
The series isn’t a particularly political one, although politics and political issues are mentioned occasionally, mainly by Errol as he is incredibly educated on the current state of the world. The programme is set in current time so the mention of topics such as Brexit, Donald Trump and Jeremy Corbyn is fairly frequent.
I found this article on how young people today need more education on politics, as from 2005 onwards, only 28% of 18-24 year olds have been voting in elections compared to 75% of over 65’s. I believe that Uncle promotes the idea of young people getting more involved in politics and becoming educated on the current and future state of their country and the world.
Target audience
Who are the target audience?
I believe the audience is people from ages 15-40. This is the general age range of the characters in the programme.
How do you know this?
The main characters in the programme range from young teenagers to adults in their 30’s/40’s. Uncle only ever airs after 9pm due to the watershed, so it is recommended those under 12 don’t watch it. This is due to the use of strong language and the frequent mention of adult topics.
Genre
What genre is it? The genre is Comedy.
What are some of the obvious, and not so obvious characteristics for the genre within the programme?
Although the show can be quite dark at times (mentions of death, suicide, drug use etc.) the humour is constantly flowing. Slapstick is something used in the programme, with the two main characters frequently getting themselves into funny situations that will either make the audience laugh or cringe (or both). Some jokes can be subtle, for example, sometimes Andy will make a subtle inappropriate joke around Errol that children won’t necessarily understand, but the adult viewers would.
Something else that indicates that this show isn’t exactly a serious one would be the fact that Andy will break into a song relevant to his current situation in every episode (he’s a musician, so in every episode, a spoof music video will play which emphasises his current mood or situation).
Linked above is my finished video complete with Foley sounds edited in in post-production.
Our short film was called “The Package” and consisted of two people meeting in a secret location to exchange an unknown package. For this project, we had to watch a scene from a film called “” and film our own short video based on the scene we had previously watched, with the main focus being the sound. We had to record sound separately to add in to the video in post-production.
Sounds we recorded on this day were the sounds of a generator, a phone texting and the sounds of footsteps on both concrete and grass.
I think we managed to create these sounds well, although some of them took a few tries to get right (due to background noises such as people walking past, wind interference etc.)
Today, I learnt how to edit green screen footage using Avid. As I wasn’t in college for the green screen filming session, I had to use someone else’s footage to edit. As I have previously struggled with Avid in general, I thought I’d have a lot of problems with this task, but it wasn’t as complicated as I thought it would be and I got the hang of it quickly.
Linked above is my completed green screen work.
Although this piece of work isn’t exactly “serious”, I enjoyed editing it and learning how to edit footage filmed with a green screen. I will definitely be using this in future projects.
The television programme I will be analysing is The IT Crowd (the first season). Aspects I will be researching and looking into will be political, social and chronological.
The IT Crowd is a British TV series which aired back in February of 2006 on Channel 4, starring Chris O’Dowd (Roy Trenneman), Richard Ayoade (Maurice Moss) and Katherine Parkinson (Jen Barber). It entails two very socially awkward IT technicians working (or not working, as the case may be) in the basement of Reynholm Industries, a top business company in London. Jen, a high aiming woman is given the job as their boss or “Relationship Manager” despite knowing absolutely nothing about IT. The series is based on the lives of the three employees as they awkwardly stumble through life, trying to achieve things such as relationships, popularity and acceptance; but getting nowhere. Hilarity ensues.
Political
-Political issues (e.g. sexism in the workplace, suicide)
The IT Crowd has a tendency to take serious world matters and issues and turn them comedic, as dark humour is something that is common in many films and television shows.
The first example of this is modern day sexism. A lot of workplace sexism takes place within the show, mainly from Douglas Reynholm (the boss) towards every female that works in the building. Although the sexist comments and actions are exaggerated for comedic effect, sexism is something that isn’t unusual in many places of work.
I carried out some research on sexism in the workplace from 2006-2013 (the time frame of which the show was running for). I found an article posted in 2006 about workplace sexism being on the rise in the UK. Statistics say 72% of women say they feel bullied or unfairly treated because of their gender. One quote from the Personnel Today article states, “a survey of 2,067 female employees by legal services firm Peninsula found that women in 2006 feel more victimised at the office than they did in 2002, when the survey was last carried out.”
Another example of dark topics being used for comedic effect in the series is when a character (Denholm Reynholm) takes his own life in Series 2, Episode 2. Although this is a tragic event, the show is able to make the situation comical using slapstick and a laughter track. I carried out more research on this topic, and I found out that suicide in the workplace (more specifically, multinational companies) is quite common. I found an article on this subject on a website called The Conversation, which included this interesting statement.
“Workplace suicides are sharply on the rise internationally, with increasing numbers of employees choosing to take their own lives in the face of extreme pressures at work. Recent studies in the United States, Australia, Japan, South Korea, China, India and Taiwan all point to a steep rise in suicides in the context of a generalised deterioration in working conditions.” – Sarah Waters and Jenny Chan.
The article also stated that workplace suicides have been occurring mainly over the past 30 years.
Social
-Stereotypes
The IT Crowd uses a lot of stereotypes in order to make the show more humorous and possibly even more relatable for the viewers. The two IT consultants, Roy and Moss, who star in the show are the definition of awkward, basement dwelling IT “nerds” who’s social skills are practically non-existent. The common stereotype of IT workers being “lazy” is played on in the show as well, particularly in Season 1, Episode 4 where Roy gets a call to fix a computer and then proceeds to sit back and state, “it can wait”.
Another stereotype is that IT is a “mans” job and that women typically don’t know a lot about computers- something else that is played on a lot throughout the entire show. Jen, the IT Departments boss (or “Relationship Manager”) was given the job to manage the IT consultants at the start of the series even though she doesn’t have the slightest clue about anything computer related. This is shown in Series 3, Episode 4 when Roy and Moss convince Jen that the entire Internet is kept and managed in one little box (which they proceed to give to her as a joke, claiming they got it from Bill Gates).
I found an article on Technician Stereotypes on a website called Complex UK which lists a lot of typical stereotypes given to those working in IT. Many of the stereotypes listed are played on in the show, such as “No Girls”. This being said, some of the stereotypes are actually broken within the show, such as “needing to be a prodigy” or “good at coding” to be able to work in IT. The three main characters in this series demonstrate the fact that you do not need to be the next Einstein if you want to work in IT.
Chronological
The show was launched in 2006 and was brought to an end in 2013- but as most shows have the typical “beginning, middle and end” this show doesn’t “develop” as much. The characters are in the same place they were at the start of the series at the end- still in the same job, none of them have had a successful relationship and they are all generally stuck in the same life positions, despite having had a lot happen to them throughout the show. But although there aren’t necessarily any climactic expectations or large build ups throughout the series, there is a sense of wanting to know what happens next- I think many would agree that the series does get a lot better as the episodes go on.
I searched through some viewer reviews of The IT Crowd on IMDB and found one comment that I think backs my statement up nicely.
“The IT crowd” is an excellent comedy but requires the viewer to watch the second episode rather than base their judgement on the first episode then snub the entire series.
The first episode was a decent attempt to gain the viewers approval however, it was hyped far too much, which made the viewer think that “The IT Crowd” was the next best comedy. When the first episode ended, everyone was disappointed due to the lack of good jokes. There were moments in the first episode that somehow reminded me of the great mind of Graham Linehan who was the writer to “Father Ted” and “Black Books” due to random jokes such as the joke in the credits.
The second episode was almost redemption to the first as the cast and Graham Linehan ultimately revealed their true performance. It was almost surreal and had it’s connections to “Father Ted” equally weirdness. There was uncontrollable laughter in a lot of areas of the second episode such as the stress class which delivered powerful comedy that would even make “Father Ted” mediocre.” –Unknown.
This review of the overall show states that in the first episode, not a lot happened- at least not enough to draw in much of a following. But by the second episode, things turn around and you’re left wanting to continue watching and learning more about the lives of these three characters.
During the planning, filming and editing of my Final Major Project, I learnt a lot. I enjoyed the entire process, especially the actual filming (I have always enjoyed going out to film). The one thing I have learnt that I think will benefit me the most from this is the ability to improvise when something goes wrong during filming. I had to do this when we were filming as one of my actors couldn’t make it and I knew I needed to somehow manage to carry on filming, so I had to make my production work with only one actor- which I thought turned out to actually be quite successful in the end.
In terms of pre-production, I enjoyed researching certain topics of interest and learning new things about subjects of interest that I didn’t know before. It took me a long time to work out what I originally wanted to film but once I had completed my research and worked out what my video was going to be, I felt excited and immediately began to plan it out as I was very eager to start the production. I watched multiple music videos and also relevant scenes from films (relevant to my project idea) to get inspiration for my video.
As I stated during my previous blog posts, I had a little mishap during filming where I had to improvise my entire story with only one actor instead of two- overall, I think that I did quite well with this, as my video still worked even with just one person. This was a relief because I was worried that without my second actor, my video would be completely ruined. It was also a relief to hear from one of my tutors that she thought my video was better with one person than what it would have been with two people. Apart from all this, my filming went smoothly and was completed within the space of one day, which I was very pleased with. I stuck with my planned locations and was pleased with how my shots turned out- the majority of them were exactly as I had planned (some were improvised, but still turned out well).
I personally think that post-production (editing) went smoothly as well. I learnt how to use certain effects (black and white, slow-mo) and also gained a better understanding of Avid in general. I didn’t have any major issues with editing, and whenever I struggled I received help from tutors which was incredibly useful as it taught me a lot and I appreciated the help.
Throughout this entire year, I have learnt so much- from certain camera shots (the difference and relevance of long shots, close ups, wide shots etc.) to how to record audio (and sync it up to footage in editing) to critical writing (evaluating our own work, looking at the good points and the bad points of it), I have learnt a wide variety of useful skills that will come in handy in the future. It was due to everything I have learnt this year that I managed to film my Final Major Project with such ease. One thing this year that I have majorly struggled with has been Avid- I have used a lot of editing softwares before but Avid has been something that I have never been particularly good at. Lately (whilst editing my FMP), I have gained some more understanding of the software as a whole but it is still something that I want to improve on next year.
Something I would like to do more of next year is script writing. I love writing so it is definitely a skill I would like to pick up on, and hopefully next year I will get more chances to write scripts for my projects.
Monday 30th May- I held a team meeting with my two actors to discuss when we would be filming, times to meet, where to meet etc. We looked through my storyboard so they both had a clear idea of what they’d be doing in my production and where we’d be going.
On the day of filming, I had a schedule of travelling times and how long we could film in each location for before we had to leave to travel to the next location (just for time keeping purposes). We kept to this schedule well as we were done with filming by 5pm when we had started at 11am. We met at 10:45am in Canterbury, began filming the shots we needed and were done by 12pm. We travelled to Ramsgate at 12:30 and finished our filming there to be done by 2pm. Overall, I think we managed our time well.
Pre-production materials(copied from 1.1)
Schedule
Budget
The only concern I have in terms of spending money is travel- I am going to have three other people with me helping me film and part of my video includes travelling from Canterbury to Ramsgate and then back to Canterbury- this will cost each person £5.50 as we will be travelling off peak (so it’s cheaper). Overall for the four of us that would come to £22 but each person has said they would be happy to pay £5.50 for travel.
My actors would be able to wear their own clothes (no costumes required) and I don’t need to buy anything extra for this video as it’s focusing on just the people and locations. So I’m setting my budget at £40 overall- so we have an extra £18 in case of emergencies.
Legal requirements
Although I am filming in Canterbury High Street, I won’t be filming in the general Whitefriars area so I’ll be filming in a public space with no permission needed.
I wanted to film in the train station and on the train but I realised that students are not legally allowed to film there for free and the fee is quite pricey (not something I can afford right now) so I decided that where my character was actually going to be getting on a train, I’m going to now imply that they got on the train (film them walking into the station from the outside, getting out their train ticket etc.) This way all my filming will still be fine to do and I won’t be breaking any rules.
Project Development
Screenshots of different filming locations:
Location 1: Canterbury High Street
Location 2: Canterbury (near West station)
Location 3: Ramsgate
Location 4: Ramsgate beach
I think that overall, my production process was quite straightforward with not many issues involved. However, there was one main problem that occurred that I knew would be a challenge to overcome. On the day we were scheduled to meet to film, I unexpectedly had to go into work (I found this out the day before) so we had to plan to film on the next possible day. We then found out on the one day we had then planned, one of my actors also had to go into work- so my production would consist of just one actor. This was obviously a big problem but I knew I’d have to make it work regardless of a lack of crew. I asked a lot of people if they would be able to be my second actor on this particular day but no one could make it. The answer to this problem was simply to shoot the video as I would have normally, but have it focusing on just the one main character. In a way, it worked quite well- only having one character added an element of mystery to my story.
Other than this, the filming and post production (editing) went smoothly. For next time (if I were to do things differently) I would make sure I had backup actors for if a situation like this happened again.
Reflective writing
In this post, I talked about how I managed my project, my pre-production, how my filming went etc. I liked being able to look back and talk about my entire production went, as I think overall, it went quite well. I discussed problems that I faced when filming and how I managed to find solutions to overcome them- which was good because now I have these documented and written down, I know how to avoid or prevent these problems happening in the future when I am filming.
My project is a music video for the song Ten Tonne Skeleton by Royal Blood which entails a short and brief story about one mans paranoid journey.
List five strengths and five weaknesses in your final design
Five strengths in my final design:
The visuals were effective- I planned to go for a dramatic look and I achieved this.
The song worked well with the video- both dramatic and quite fast paced.
The acting in my video was good.
The locations helped with the general feel of the video- busy and fast at first, then more tranquil and quiet as the video slowed down slightly.
I liked a lot of the edits/cuts/effects in my final product.
Five weaknesses in my final design:
The video didn’t go quite as planned as my other main actor couldn’t make it- I had to improvise with only one actor.
Some of the editing isn’t exactly how I wanted it and I only realised this after I had exported it.
I didn’t film as many shots as I should have so I had to insert some of the same clips multiple times.
I think the story could have been told better/could have been stronger.
Some of the shots weren’t very relevant to the video and were just included because they helped with the aesthetic of the video.
Was there a theme for the design ideas? Can you describe it? Can you reference any influences here? – art movements, designers, media companies/campaigns etc.
The original theme/idea for my video was “chase”. I liked the idea of a chase scene (even if my finished video turned out to be more of a “psychological” chase) because I wanted to create something that was fast paced and dramatic- something that would keep the viewers interested right from the beginning. I have to say, I wasn’t influenced by many people/movements etc. The only influences I had were chase scenes from films that I watched in my researching period to get ideas. Two of my main influences were the chase scenes from District B13(2002) and Point Break (1991). I had previously seen these chase scenes from the films and they instantly sprung to mind when I first came up with my idea because I personally thought they were fantastic scenes. I watched them over again to look at the camera angles used. I knew my chase scene wouldn’t be as fast and crazy as these ones but they were still helpful influences.
What experiments and exploration did you do (what happens if). How did it affect your development?
I tried out some different shots whilst I was filming (close-ups, long shots, shots from different angles etc.) to see what would look best for my video. Unfortunately, I deleted all unused clips from my camera so I have no evidence of this. I also tried a POV shot (which I thought was risky as I personally think POV shots don’t always look very professional or impressive). As expected, I didn’t like the POV shot I tested out but I thought it would be better to try it out than not try at all.
Find a similar type of design publication – place it next to your own – what comparisons/difference can you identify?
I found this music video which I thought would be a good comparison with mine. The video features shots of one particular man who is clearly affected by something in a negative way/is feeling scared/upset. The video also includes flashbacks.
My video is very similar in the way that it also includes one man who is clearly not in a good state of mind. The first time you see the man’s face I was reminded of the start of my own video- they are similar in the character’s facial expression and also the camera angle.
The flashbacks also reminded me of my video- there aren’t any flashbacks in my video, but there are cuts that flash/flashing images which I thought were similar.
In terms of differences, the video isn’t quite as dark or dramatic as mine. This video is also centred around a love interest, whereas mine has no relations to the romantic genre. Also, the music is soft and happy- the music in my video is a lot heavier and more of a “rock” song.
What were the key areas of development in this project? – use your daily reflections to help you with this
Throughout this whole project I constantly developed my idea. As previously stated, I had to almost change my entire idea due to my second main actor not being there and I think my project was constantly developing from there. I developed my story into a new one (which I think I prefer to my previous story idea) and even tried out some camera shots and angles that I hadn’t previously planned to do. I wasn’t as confident with my idea at the start as I was when I had completed my filming, which I think definitely shows some development.
Review your proposal – what changed, what developments did you make, did you manage to complete everything you set out to?
Quite a lot changed from my proposal to my finished project. The one main change was that I didn’t have my other main actor in the film (due to unexpected personal reasons) so I had to improvise and film the same story I originally set out to film but with only one actor. Thankfully, I think I managed to make it work. As my story was originally about one person who thought someone was following them on their journey, I was able to transform my video into a “psychological” story- the character thought there was someone following him but really there was no one.
Other than this, I am sure I managed to complete all other aspects of my video. I still filmed in the same locations as planned and used (most of) the same shots as I had originally put on my storyboard (as well as some other unplanned and improvised shots).
In a way, I preferred my video with only one actor as I love “psychological” films and stories and the fact that that is what my video became in the end, is completely fine with me.
What did the client think of your concept? How did that make you feel?
The clients liked my concept. They approved of my idea and said that it would be a good video to see- this gave me a lot of confidence as I was a little bit nervous that they would want to change aspects of my concept/wouldn’t like my idea.
What could you adapt about the work produced to improve and develop it?
I think the main thing I could adapt would be my story. Although I feel I did develop my story, I feel I could have done more. I think I could have given it a better ending, as I slightly trailed off from the story towards the end and focused it more on dramatic visuals, which I feel could have been clearer (viewers may not be sure what is happening). I definitely could have improved my story by finding backup actors to play characters in my video to therefore have my story make more sense.
Is the final work appropriate for the needs of the client? Does it sufficiently answer their brief?
I think my final work is appropriate for the needs of the client. Thinking back to my proposal and what I originally said I was going to be filming, I think I followed through with this quite well. There were a few changes made from my original idea compared to my finished product (slight change in story, less actors than originally planned) but I think I managed to make it work. I filmed in the locations I said I would, used the song I was going to and I followed the story as much as I possibly could with only one actor involved.
Reflect on your pitch to the client; how did you feel about it before? Did it go better or worse than you expected? What was the feedback from the client/lecturer? What do you think you could improve next time?
My pitch went quite well, I got some very helpful feedback from the lecturers. I was slightly nervous to pitch beforehand but I was confident with my idea so I was convinced the clients would approve of my proposal. I was given ideas for my general storyline as feedback- as my story in my video is about someone who thinks they’re being followed, I was given ideas about who to cast as certain characters, shots to try out, video effects that could work (black and white, slow motion etc.). In terms of my written proposal, I was given feedback mainly on my synopsis (I was told to make it shorter and more “to the point). Next time, I will make sure to improve my written proposal- I will make it “snappy”, straight to the point and make sure my video synopsis sounds exiting and intriguing from the first sentence.
Feedback
I showed my Final Major Project to to the class and my lecturers and received some interesting feedback. It was pointed out to me that my story wasn’t too clear at the start due to my lack of main actors, but once I explained the story and what was meant to be going on, it all made sense to everyone. Jenni pointed out that if I really wanted there to be two actors in my story, I could have just filmed someone’s hand/legs/back and portrayed that as another character entirely- I didn’t have to show the face. I took this into consideration.
Also, I did have some positive feedback as well- a lot of people liked both my editing and the music I used.
TheOfficialJesusC (2013) District B13 – Parkour chase scene HD (david belle – founder of modern day freerunning). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wm9qvqzefds (Accessed: 21 June 2016).
hannahfarrellburkefilmandtelevision 