Category: IMD002: Media Production Skills

https://vimeo.com/267861503

Contextualising Statement

In collaboration with a whole production team, I have created a live ten-minute news show. One of the most important aspects of this task was working well with a large team of people to think of a concept for a show and develop it to the point where it could be filmed live. It was essential that I was able to put across my own ideas while listening to the ideas of others so that, as a group, we could find one strong concept to build from. Collaboration was also important in working out aspects of the show such as timings and set design, as everybody’s input was considered so that we could make an interesting and well organised artefact at the end.

Another way in which I worked collaboratively in the production of this artefact was during the planning and filming of one of the VTs, during which I worked closely with a much smaller group. It was our responsibility to plan, film and edit this VT while consulting with both the director and producer to ensure that what we produced was in line with their vision for the final show. Despite there being some issues with sound in the first few attempts at filming, communicating our issues and ideas to each other meant that we were able to produce a high-quality VT suitable for the overall show that we were creating. All of this really developed my communication skills in a professional environment.

These skills became even more important during the live recording session when I took on the role of PA. As PA I personally had to communicate effectively with both the gallery and the studio, ensuring that everybody knew what was coming next and when so that the show ran smoothly. Although this was difficult at first in rehearsal due mainly to confidence, in the final live recording I was able to communicate effectively with my team, meaning we could keep timings right and even get the show back on track when the credits began rolling too early at the end. (Bermingham, Talbot – Smith, Symons and Angold – Stephens, 1975)

Health and safety had go be considered throughout the entire production of this artefact and going out into the public to film the VTs posed the most risks. As we were filming the public, it was important to remain polite and respectful at all times to avoid any anger towards us which was a potential hazard. It was also essential that consent was obtained from every contributor and that they were told exactly what we were filming for during this process. Filming on location also increased the risks posed by road traffic. However, these were easy hazards to avoid by simply filming on the pavement away from the roads, while still being considerate of pedestrians at the same time. Due to filming in January, it was also important to consider the potential hazard of weather. This meant making alternative plans if the weather prevented filming members of the public in the street. Although this was taken into consideration, the weather didn’t pose any risk in the end, so we could film as originally planned.

Reference List

Bermingham, A., Talbot – Smith, M., Symons, J. and Angold – Stephens, K. (1975) The Small Television Studio. London, Focal Press.

Contextualising Statement

This task required me to take six different photos all connected by a common theme and displaying different photography techniques. These techniques were frame within a frame, silhouette, reflection, long exposure, forced perspective and shallow depth of field. This was a difficult task to complete as I found it difficult to understand how to properly use the camera to achieve the required techniques. However, I was able to display the six techniques in my photographs in the end.

The majority of this task involved individual work, from planning to editing the photos. Before I could even begin production however, I had to decide on a theme to link my artefacts. This involved thinking of a range ideas that could potentially work and deciding whether I could actually achieve all of the required techniques with each theme. After much individual thought, I decided upon the theme of books. This is because, while I did have solid ideas on how to achieve the techniques with this theme, I thought that it would be a challenge for myself that I wanted to attempt.

One major way in which I had to work collaboratively during this task was with my shooting partner, who was also the subject of my photos. I had to ensure that I gave clear instructions so as to achieve the final effect that I envisioned in my planning. Although a lot of this fell to me getting the framing and the placement of the camera (Musburger and Kindem, 2009) correct, I also had to make sure that my subject knew how I wanted them positioned in the shot, which is where communication was crucial. Despite the fact that I was able to collaborate well with my subject, the difficulty that I faced in actually being able to achieve the six key techniques through framing and camera placement with my theme of books made this task much harder. Although my initial photographs didn’t turn out exactly as I had planned, the editing process (which I had to undertake individually) did help me to elevate them.

The most evident health and safety issue with this task was the fact that a lot of the shooting took place around York, a busy city. As a result, there were many potential hazards, such as roads, the public and even water as shooting did take place around the river. The hazard of water was even more evident due to flooding on the days of shooting. All of these were fairly easy to overcome. I stayed away from roads while actually taking my shots, avoided areas that were too busy as this was the best way to avoid bumping into members of the public or getting in the way and I remained behind a fence when near the flooded river. While it was unlikely that any of these hazards would actually cause harm, it was still very important that they were accounted for in the risk assessment.

Reference List

Musburger, R.B. and Kindem, G. (2009) Introduction to Media Production: The Path to Digital Media Production. Burlington, Focal Press.

https://www.instagram.com/emily.peersmedia/

Contextualising Statement

I have created a ‘season’s greeting’ video for Instagram along with several behind the scenes shots of the creation of the video. Before beginning production, I had to carry out some individual research into what is popular on Instagram, especially around Christmas time. Hinton and Hjorth describe social media as ‘fundamentally a participative medium’. Therefore, I thought that if I researched what was popular on this site, my artefact would be viewed and shared more by its users. After researching previous Christmas videos, I began planning several different ideas in mind maps and storyboards (photos of which would be used as my behind the scenes stills) until I decided what would be most appropriate to the brief. The process of individual research and planning enabled me to create an artefact that would be better received by those who use Instagram.

When it came to shoot the video portion of this task, it was important that I worked collaboratively with the subject of the video so that the end product was true to my vision for it. Therefore, it was ‘crucial to communicate’ (Bamford, 2012) during this task, just like in every production. While filming the video was a collaborative process, ensuring that I took good quality behind the scenes stills and that the completed video was up to a good standard fell to me as an individual. This means that it was my own responsibility to set up visually pleasing shots of the planning and production process and edit my footage together, resulting in a video that was up to good enough standards to be uploaded to Instagram. This was something that I found quite difficult as editing all of the shots together took a long time to get right.

As with every production, it was important to take health and safety into account despite there not being many hazards related to this task. The main challenge when it came to considering health and safety was the filming location. I chose to film in my own room on campus which was suitable for the video, however, it is quite small. This means that there was a higher risk of trips and falls as there was not much extra room to move around the furniture and equipment. To reduce the risk of such trips and falls, all furniture was pushed to the edges of the room, excluding the desk on which the wrapping was taking place which was in the centre. Another way in which risks were reduced was by ensuring that everyone in the room (i.e. myself and the subject of the video) knew where any cables were at all times and that they were kept organised, as they significantly increase the risk of trips. These actions meant that a safer workspace was created, making production much easier.

Overall, this task really helped to develop my ability to work both individually and collaboratively while considering health and safety. It also developed my ability to research a specific platform and create something suitable for that platform, which was Instagram in this case.

Reference List

Bamford, N. (2012) Directing Television: A Professional Survival Guide. London, Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 121 – 122.

Hinton, S. and Hjorth, I. (2013) Understanding Social Media. London, SAGE Publications Ltd. p. 54.

Contextualising Statement

For this task I, along with a small team of collaborators, created an interview in line with a brief given to us by a specific client. We had to conduct research on a subject, create questions based on the information that we needed to include, and film then edit a one-minute long interview for a candidate in the York St John Student Union elections. Another key aspect of this task was the use of the three-point lighting system, used to ensure that the subject of the interview was lit correctly in the on camera.

Before the production of this particular artefact could begin, research had to be carried out on the subject that we were to interview, Anna Gunby. ‘Production research is the process of finding elements from which a production is made up – primarily information’ (Chater, 2002). As there was only a short time to prepare for this task, my team had to work collaboratively to ensure that we carried out the relevant research in time, gathering enough information to formulate good questions for Anna. To do this, we all focused on information regarding certain questions that we had to include. For example, one person researched the roles that Anna had had before so that potential questions could be formulated around this topic. As a result of pooling this research together, the whole production team was fully aware of the subject and the questions that would be asked.

Another way in which the production team had to work collaboratively was in setting up the three-point lighting system (Willett, 2013). This involves the key light (the main source which creates shadows), the filler light (used to light the part of the subject that the key light can’t reach) and the backlight (which helps the subject stand out from the background). It was very difficult at first to correctly set up these three lights so that they complimented each other, creating the right balance of light for the interview. However, working together as a team allowed us to tweak the lighting and test new ways of setting this system up before Anna actually arrived. It was also important that we all collaborated with Anna to ensure that the lights were not too bright for her and that she felt comfortable throughout the interview.

Health and safety must be accounted for in every production. For this particular task there were not many hazards to identify but one major concern was the lighting kits used. The bulbs could get extremely hot and they had the potential to be too bright for people’s eyes. Therefore, it was important that everyone used the thick gloves when handling them and ‘striking’ was announced whenever they were turned on. This was important so as to avoid any burns or harm to the eyes on set. Another possible hazard was the use of cables which could result in trips and falls. In order to minimise the risk of this, the cables were kept tidy at all times and everyone was aware of where they were set up.

Reference List

Chater, K. (2002) Research for Media Production. Oxford, Focal Press. p. 14.

Willett, A. (2013) Media Production: A Practical Guide to Radio and TV. Oxon, Routledge. p. 117

Contextualising Statement

I have created an audio vox pop as one of my artefacts by interviewing a wide range of students on the York St John University campus. In the planning phase I individually had to choose a topic for the my own vox pop, relating to student life, and I chose the hardest thing about moving to University. I chose this topic as I thought it would be interesting, and I would be able to gather a range of varied answers, resulting in a better artefact.

During the production process on this task, I was conscious of ensuring that I always had the sound levels on the zoom H1 microphone set correctly. This meant resetting the levels with each individual contributor to my vox pop, something that I practiced getting right with my recording partner for the task before carrying out my interviews. Amanda Willett (2013) stated that ‘the critical thing is to get the distance between the microphone and the item you are recording right’, which is exactly why I had to collaborate well with the various contributors that I was recording, ensuring that they felt comfortable, while also getting this distance right. Willett stresses the importance of practice in order to make the best use of your own time, as well as that of your contributors, when carrying out tasks such as this. This is another reason why practice with the equipment was crucial.

One very important thing that I had to keep in mind when producing this audio vox pop was the music. Not only did I have to ensure that the music I used enhanced the overall product, I had to be careful to not break any copyright laws. In order to ensure that I was using music legally, I chose my backing track from Free Music Archive, a royalty free music site. I also made sure to attribute the music to the creator in my soundcloud description of the vox pop, stating the creator, track name and album name.

As all of the recording for task took place on campus, there were not many health and safety risks to take into account but ‘most accidents during filming happen because things are being done in a rush’ (Bamford, 2012). Therefore, I took time myself to think through everything that could go wrong or harm myself or others. The nature of this task being to only record audio also meant that there were no props involved that may have caused harm to myself or my contributors. The only real potential risk that could have been involved in the production of this task was agitated contributors, which can always pose a risk. However, all of my contributors were fellow students that I knew who volunteered to be questioned for the vox pop. Therefore, the risk of agitating the contributors was considerably lowered. Despite this, I still acknowledged the potential of that risk in my risk assessment prior to beginning the task, so I was prepared just in case it turned out that a contributor did react badly in any way as it is always a possibility.

Reference List

Bamford, N. (2012) Directing Television: A Professional Survival Guide. London, Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 60

Willett, A. (2013) Media Production: A Practical Guide to Radio and TV. Oxon, Routledge. p. 132