Vox pop task:
For this task we were required to record 1.00-1.30 minutes of audio vox pops with the intention of exploring a specific facet of ‘student life’ for this I and my partner decided to explore how students were settling in after starting university and how they had adjusted to living away from home. Before undertaking this task I was keen to keep in mind and follow the dictionary definition of ‘Vox Pop’ (coming from the Latin vox populi) ‘the voice of the people; popular opinion’.
One of the key purposes of audio vox pops is to collect a range of voices and opinions rather than very similar sentiments repeated and this was something that I took under careful consideration before recording. The exemplar of this was using a Greek student and how he found settling into university, even before recording I knew this would be different as not only has he moved to another city he had moved country thus providing another aspect. This notion is shared also by Melanie Grant ( BBC Radio 4) who emphasizes that one of the key elements of recording vox pops is to speak to a variety of people in order to get “different experiences and perspectives”.
Furthermore, in evaluation of this task, I would suggest that one of my strong points was in allowing my interviewees to express themselves rather than to cut short their response which would diminish the final artifact. However, whilst doing this I ensured that my questions were to the point to enable responses to be concise and focused rather than going off on tangents. On the other hand, I think that the manner in which I approached possible interviewees could be improved by asserting a more confident tone, which is certainly something that I would look to improve on in the future. One part of the task that I found a serious challenge, was the editing process using Audacity as it was the first time I had used it, however, I gradually found it easier after time once I became more familiar with the software.
On the most part I feel that this task was a success as I closely followed the principles of recording ‘audio vox pops’ and ascertained responses from my interviewees which closely supports the dictionary definition. However, there are obviously some things that I would ideally do differently next time, I would ask more follow up questions to retrieve a more informed response from my interviewees which would, in turn, produce a better-finished recording.
Photography task:
The photography task we were required to take six photos depicting a theme using a long exposure shot, silhouette, reflection, frame within a frame, forced perspective and shallow depth of field. The theme we went with was ‘emotion’.
Before we undertook this task we needed to carefully decipher which shots would be taken in which location. The first shot we took was the silhouette for this we decided that we would stand in front of a window with the rest of the room in darkness to adequately display this type of shot. I think this shot was one of the most successful of the six as it was easier to create with the setting that we chose as we simply could pick a dark and light background and then place the object in between.
Although I believe on the whole this task was a success there where certain challenges. One, in particular, was the ‘forced perspective’ shot in which we had to carefully position the camera to achieve our desired shot, this took a lot of trial and error as it was hugely dependent on somewhat uncontrollable objects such as cars, people walking past, however we compensated for this by allowing most time for this particular shot. One of the shots that was less challenging was ‘frame within a frame’ which was easier to do due to the fact that we could control our surroundings and more easily plan for any possible hitches, for this one we used one of the edit suites which proved hugely beneficial as it provided several different possibilities to help us frame the shot, in the end, we decided upon using the glass frame in the door and position the camera on the outside, this proved to be one of the stronger shots.
Although I believe this task was broadly successful there are a few things that if I was to attempt a task like this again in the future that I would ideally do differently. I think I could have planned each shot more carefully and researched techniques and styles of each shot to create a better outcome. I think further development f the theme ‘emotion’ was perhaps needed and how to show this more effectively and maybe use a different theme if necessary.
If we were to re-do this task I think we would improve our planning and more adequately choose which shots to take where and pick a theme that would accommodate those shots best.
Studio task:
The studio task consisted of two key parts firstly deciding what sort of show we here going to produce and the structure of this and then enacting this production in front of the cameras. My role in the initial phase was to research content that could be included in the show and the latterly once in the studio I was the floor manager which consisted of directing the hosts and camera operators once live on air, e.g which camera to face, countdown until on air, correspond with the director.
Before starting this task, I was quite confident because we had already gained experience working in the studio so my understanding of how the things worked was already there. In the preliminary phase of the task, the structuring of the show, researching was a particularly important part of the process of making the show as it required the right information to be provided for the director to use. The main focus of my research was to find an interviewee the one that we decided upon was Jess Popplewell from the charity SASH, who work to prevent youth homelessness across the country. After research of the charity and Jess herself, I devised five questions for the presenters to ask her during the show. In my role as the floor manager it was important to communicate directions from the gallery to the presenters and camera operators in the studio, however, I think that this was quite well done as we kept the hitches to a minimum. Helping me in my role as floor manager was the research I had carried out on the role “Used mainly in studio productions, floor managers are the directors’ men on the ground. They ensure presenters and guest meet their cues and the programme runs smoothly” (allaboutcareers.com).
In evaluation of this task, I think that one of my strong points was the depth of research that I carried out and how this benefitted the overall production of the show. I made questions that I felt would provoke the best response from Jess and bring out information that people would be interested in hearing about most. However, although I think that my role as the floor manager was a success, I think we could have improved the dialogue between myself and the gallery to make the show run more smoothly.
On the whole I think that I carried my roles out with success and made an important contribution to the group, however if we where to do a task like this again I think I would hone in on and get a better understanding of each different element of the job of the floor manager to enable me to carry out this role more adequately.
Short Interview task:
In this task, our aim was to work in groups to film a short interview with a candidate for the upcoming university elections, with each member of the group assigned specific roles. My role along with another group member was to pick up our interviewee from the student’s union and to prepare them for the sort of questions they would be answering and to make sure that they were comfortable with the settings of the interview i.e where they were being interviewed. After the interview was done we were then required to edit the interview on the Premier software which would be a minute long and have subtitles as well as a graphic stating who the candidate is and what they were standing for.
After we had completed the filming of the interview and begun the editing, using Premier presented a serious challenge as it was the first time I had used software life that and therefore took some time getting used to, however after practice I gradually began to improve my understanding. Although the interview was considerably longer we were required to shorten it to only one-minute-long to follow the brief, this did prove a considerable challenge as I had to decipher which parts to cut and which to keep, although after watching it back I feel that I made the correct decisions.
Before starting this task, I think it would have been beneficial to research and improve my knowledge of the software in order to help produce a better finish. I think next time in the interviewing phase of the task I would have preferably a role in which I was interviewing someone as this is a role that I feel that I could be more effective in. However, I feel that I fulfilled the brief adequately in this task and learned valuable editing skills.
Video essay task:
For this task we were challenged with creating a video essay, which is ‘a video in which its maker analyzes or comments on a specific film or television related topic or theme.’ and we were to ‘demonstrate an analytical aspect film, television, media or journalism’. I decided to use an aspect of a written essay that I had produced for another module which focused on the notion that the mainstream media demonizes working class people.
Prior to starting this task, I undertook research and watched many previous video essays. One that I found particularly useful was the ‘Wes Anderson // Centered’ video which had a clear and concise point that it was trying to make. With this in mind, I wanted my video essay to be shorter than three minutes and quite clear in its objective this is an idea I wanted to take over to my essay.
In evaluation of this, I feel that it was highly beneficial using iMovie to create the video as it was software that I had used before so I was more used to the functions of everything within it. I used the application ‘Clip Grab’ which enabled me to find the most suitable clips to support my assertions, this application was also useful in that it doesn’t use copyrighted material which in turn ensured that I wasn’t either. One element of the task that I found initially a struggle was understanding how to shift my essay skills into conveying my point through visuals more than just written words (in an ordinary essay), but this is something that was helped by watching several video essays online which did help my understanding of how to portray the point through visuals.
On the most part, I think that this task was a success, however, something that I considered was whether or not to use text or voice-over narration. I thought both had the potential to be effective, however, I chose to go with text as I think that the clips that I used where better alongside textual explanation rather than a voice over as it provided a pause from the video element which I believe would engage viewers more. If I was to do this task again I would think about perhaps having a combination of text and a voice-overs and see how that worked and if it was more beneficial to my argument.
Health and Safety planning for tasks:
Prior to beginning each task, we were required to complete the necessary health and safety paperwork which requires you to evaluate what risks you may be taking and how you will compensate to minimize these.
“Risk assessment is a fundamental part of managing health and safety and helps you to identify hazards and control the risk they create for those involved in your production.” (hse.gov.uk)
The Photography task probably posed the biggest challenge in terms of health and safety requirements because we were shooting in more than one location which required a lot of additional and precise information before it could be signed off. Although health and safety planning can take the considerable time it is a fundamental element of working in a production environment as we learned early on in this module.