Professional Practice: Meeting The Client and Location Scouting
Today I traveled to the guildhall museum to meet with my client. I arrived early and intended to use the time to scout out the museum. However they forgot to mention that the museum was closed on Monday's. I met with Melissa and we discussed what to do, I proceeded to ring the client and say we arrived early.
They were quite accommodating and led us in to the office early. We re introduced ourselves and the museum staff established themselves to us. They asked us why we chose this commission and what our aims were.
I explained that my aim was to tell a story, I wanted to bring to life not just the history of their exhibits but the impact they had on the world around them.
Before arriving, I had a brief look at the 100 objects but I hadn't decided which ones I wanted to film. They had the 100 objects listed in the office and we discussed which ones had the most potential or history, however they didn't want to influence us too much. After re examining the 100 objects, two that really jumped out at me were: The fire pump, and the Anglo Saxon sword.
I thouht they both had a big story surrounding them and would certainly have had a large impact on Kent. The fire pump certainly had a lot of potential as I could talk about the development of fire fighting in general as well as key events like the great fire of London which led to the development of such pumps. It also has an interesting history from what they said to me, having been donated to Rochester by a former mayor as part of a political campaign. Then after having seen regular use it has had some restoration work done on it. The scramasax is also interesting since it dates back to the 4th century and has both practical and symbolic use. There is also the opportunity to look at the impact Anglo Saxon Culture had on Kent. As the meeting continued we discussed possible shoot dates and spoke more about the aims and outcomes of the project. Then after this initial meeting we were taken on a tour of the museum so that we could RECCIE potential shooting locations, discuss the exhibits and look at some of those that weren't listed on the website. We were re-introduced to some of the museum staff and began to walk through. The first room featured quite a few of the objects we had been looking at including the Scramasax.
It was great to see these objects up close and personal and we could discuss with the museum staff about the practicality of filming them. We were talked through all of the objects in the first few rooms and learned more about their history and their direct impact/relation to the local area. Melissa and i made sure to take plenty of pictures for future reference and help us think about camera positioning.
We walked through a few of the rooms and I noted that we had a fair bit of space available (more than I expected). I then got to see the Fire Pump in person and heard from the staff about what had been restored and mended over the years. We also spoke about the practicality of filming it. They were happy to move it outside where we could have the space to film all its angles as well as get plenty of natural light. We continued to walk through the museum and the staff introduced us to some exhibits that weren't on the website/100 objects list, but could still make an interesting story and they might be able to arrange a different way of displaying our work if we chose one (but they weren't sure how practical it would be) These included model ships and fishing boats (reflecting on the fishing history in the river Medway); china dolls which were all made here in Rochester, several paintings and possessions of famous residents of Rochester (including Charles Dickens); and several other old objects.
The museum staff seemed passionate about all of the exhibits they had and suggested story lines or points of history we could compare or look at. Of course they did have their favorites that they were particularly keen on, however we had to consider what would make the most interesting story, and they were very respectful of this. Ultimately they explained that they are just there to guide and offer a hand, we are the experts and would have most of the creative control and they trusted our judgement, which was great to hear.
After the tour we went back to the office to discuss things further. We finalized our shoot days and planned a viewing of our rough and fine cuts. They said that they would mainly be looking at our cuts for the story they tell and their representation of the objects. While they respect our creative freedom, they have to think about the professional and positive reputation of the museum.
So while they may want to change a few shots they are happy to let us go in whatever direction wen want. It could be a silent art piece, an informative piece, a story telling piece etc. They also asked to see a basic script/shot list from us at some point which I started planning in my head. Overall today was very successful. I was able to scout the location and make an initial decision about what I want to film and how. The museum staff were very helpful and I look forward to working with them.
I went in to this project weighing my options carefully but knowing I either wanted to do work placement or commission. Placement was my first choice as there were some exciting opportunities available. After applying (unsuccessfully) for my first choice of work placement I was not deterred and attended Nathan Course's lecture eager to here what he had to say.
Nathan offered a fascinating and inspiring look in to the post production industry. it was also mentioned that he might have some work placement opportunities available. I spoke to him after the lecture about his work and inquired about a potential placement. He unfortunately was doubtful he'd be able to secure anything before Christmas.
After my second turn down I took some time to re evaluate my position. I thought very carefully about my next steps, I could continue emailing round to find a post production placement (as that is the area I want to go in to), but with our deadline drawing near I wasn't sure that was the best option.
I found myself with an itching urge to do some more creative work. I wanted to further prove what I was capable of while still building contacts. Commission was going to be my second choice anyway and after reviewing the Guildhall opportunity and watching previous students work, I became really inspired to follow up that opportunity.
I was full of creative ideas as to what I could make out of this project and was eager to put placement behind me and channel all my energy in to commission. I emailed Helen and Laura that same day explaining my change of heart.
After meeting with them we set up a meeting with the Guildhall, I look forward to getting started and producing more creative work.
Today we will be looking at intertextuality and authenticity.
Creating meaning: Study of media explores its ability to not only crrate a meaning from images put together, but how it helps the audience understand them and the world around them.
Julia Kristava first used the term intertextuality, theorizing that: Text does not exist in isolation but instead are naturally influenced by other works.
Therefore traces of other work are always present in new work.
It may include overt references (paying homage) or more subtle references (taking influence from other directors/writers).
Its not limited to adaptations of stories either, it can apply to entire genre's and genre conventions.
Intertextuality creates a far more complex and dynamic relationship between the audience and the media text.
What does this say about:
Our understanding of news content-what intertextual relationships are exploited?
Authenticity and Fact
Much of the debate around fiction and news is around authenticity and fact e.g. how reliable are they, how accurate is the medias portrayal in relation to the original.
Historical Accuracy- When translating a historical event or person in to an on screen story, you face challenges such as screen time, commercial demand, budget etc.
Quote from Tony Marchant- "We want to be historically accurate, but dramatically compelling at the same time".
In Garrows Law for example while they remained mostly true to the original story they had to change some scenarios, inflate some situations, and merge some characters in order to make it successful among audiences.
Adaptations of the past can become exercises in nostalgia.
Broadcasters may utalise classics as a source of adaptation to satisfy the public service remate. But with this comes strict challenges and rules designed to ensure it remains faithful to the original work.
A very interesting example of adaptation that changes situations to make it more interesting to audiences, while still staying faithful to the original themes, would be "Pride, Prejudice And Zombies".
It can refer to the mass presentation of an idea. It would have to homogenize the idea, value or product that it is trying to convey, so it can be understood by all cultures.
Globalizing has been made easier through advances in technology, and a greater understanding of other cultures.
Globalization considers the extent to which certain political economies "dominate" the world through the process by which global media organisations as "cultural transmitters".
Thus major media organisations on the world stage "drowned out" smaller regional outlets as they tend to follow this lead and effectively replicate their stance and mode of production.
In terms of news, accusations that US style journalism is homogenizing world news coverage, becoming missionaries.
Globalization can be regarded as positive or negative.
Part of the reason it is so big now is because media giants and advertisers want to sell their products/shows to as wide an audience as possible.
If something doesn't have wide enough appeal or exposure it wont succeed at globalization. It needs to be hard hitting or prime public opinion.
An example would be Live Aid in the 80's bringing attention to the famine in Ethiopia, but the crisis in Brazil didn't make global news as the coverage wasn't good enough to make people care.
Grenfall is another example of how successful globalization (making everyone care) can change minds.
CNN- has been accused of over doing there globalization. Turning every story in to a global issue with negative connotations that can cause us to be desensitized.
Of course global news can have positive connotations. It can highlight cultural issues or differences and encourage democracy.
Globalization can make the world feel smaller and more interconnected, which can be a good thing.
With globalization, especially in drama, we have to consider cultural appropriation. There is always the risk that even when making something for a global audience, the product will reflect the culture that made or adapted it. One example would be the film "Ghost in The Shell", although originally written in Japan it was bought and remade by America and such starred American actors. This ran the risk of alienating its original Japanese audience since it is now aimed at a global market.
Stuart Halls Reception Theory
Agenda Setting Theory
Agenda setting-Who is/isn't in the story?
-What about marginal opinions, are some opinions less represented than others?
-Who is to blame for this? (producers, executives, networks etc.)
Does this create a dominant perspective?
-you can choose any network, programme etc. but essentially they all may be present the same ideas. This could lead to the priming of public opinion, attempting to make them remember certain things and think a certain way. Particularly useful in the lead up to political elections.
Exercise: me/news story you are analysing? Is there really a diverse
global media economy or are certain ‘dominant’ players drowning
out other voices? If so how and why?
• Does cultural imperialism impact the storytelling and story selection
you are analysing? If so how? What case study/examples can you
find? What affect is it having on diversity and representation? What
examples of critical responses to media content (news/fiction
adaptation) can you find?
• Are there issues of cultural appropriation which impact the way in
which a story is viewed/presented either in news or through fiction
adaptation?
I would like to present the our finished video for the TV News Unit. I give you "Carology News (The Cost Of Motoring)". This unit has proved to be very insightful. I have learned a lot about the News industry and about myself during this unit. While there were some lows, they were far outnumbered by the highs and I am very pleased with the final product. Lets run through the project as a whole though.
Pre Production And Idea Development
In the beginning of this project we had plenty of ideas floating around, but nailing one down initially proved difficult. Andrew had an idea about the anniversary of the Beatles but he never took it anywhere. Cailan had ideas about Southern Rail and Ryan air, but access proved near impossible. I had a few ideas about charity events e.g. mcmillan coffee morning, Tesco marathon etc. but the dates of these events didn't fit well around the timetable. Alex had an idea about Brands Hatch that we all liked but getting access was a struggle. He did find one contact in Germany but there was a lot that could go wrong with this idea, and a very short space of time to shoot it in.
So as a group we decided to stay along the lines of motoring and to explore the future/future cost of motoring, and what effect electric cars are having.
Alex Cailan and myself put out the feelers nice and early, emailing many manufacturers and garages. However upon listening to Jo's advice Alex and I proceeded to phone up several places as well.
Although slow the early contacting process did appear promissing. Smart of maidstone were happy for us to film in there garage and said they'd try and arange an electric car for us to borrow.
We ran through our ideas with Jo at this point and she was very supportive. She said an interview with a car manufacturer could be to biassed or un interesting. We should interview an electric car owner or a third party who could offer a less biassed opinion.
This was where my skills came in useful. I contacted a number of mechanics and put out a plea on social media to find an electric car owner. I was able to get in touch with a friend of my dad's who had been driving electric cars for a number of years. So he would make a great interviewee and could offer expert opinions.
We began to work on a script over skype and worked well as a team. Everyone had their own section of the script to write, although sometimes there was some confusion as to who was writing what section, but this only helped us improve each others work.
We went through a few drafts as we met with both Helen and Joe, we focussed our angel to look at the viability of electric cars VS petrol. Things were all on track, but then a few days before shooting two things happened. Firstly Helen was worried we were to biased, then Smart told us they had sold the electric car they were going to lend us.
This put us in a very difficult situation and lead to a major script re-write and made us change the angle. We re-grouped that same day and discussed changing our angel to adapt to the changing situation.
We shifted our angel from the viability of electric cars, to "The cost of motoring". We decided to conduct a range test in a petrol car to see how much it would cost to run a car for 15 miles. Then we would look at the facts and compare the cost of this to electric.
Andrew was very useful here, contacting the Kent film office and helping us scout locations. Cailan got in touch with the council to inform tehm of our plans and check the leagality (which was fine).
Alex and myself were able to find a number of suitible locations to place cameras and PTC shots, with Andrew helping us plan some routes.
I also prepared some questions to ask my electric car enthusiast.
Everyone had a reasonably equal contribution here although ANdrew missed a few important meetings.
Shooting
We soon moved in to shooting our new script on "The Cost Of Motoring". I was the only one who attended every single shoot day
although most of the time other members had very valid reasons for missing a day.
Each day was productive in its own way.
Alex took on the role of the director which annoyed me at first since we hadn't discussed this as a group. However I came to realise it was for the best since he had the most knowledge of motoring, and had a clear vission of the shots he wanted.
Cailan was head of cinimatography, and although My skills lie in post production I filled in wherever I was needed. Sometimes I was a camera operator/assistant.
Sometimes I assited in directing but ocasionally got in the way of ALex so tried to back off. I also helped the presenters.
Our time was well manged on each day and we had a plethera of footage with 4/5 cameras at one point.
I felt we all made a valuable contribution here, Alex was a great director and producer, Cailan was very good on camera, and Andrew was useful.
The groupe were kind enough to let me use my own judgement and tools to get the best shots and we had a lot of useful angles.
I think we should have left a llittle more time or planned for pick up shots as we had to take an extra day to get some transitioning package shots that we missed.
Post Production
Post production was where I made most use of my skills and felt i made an incredibly valuable contribution to the team.
I edited almost all of the project (Alex helped once or twice as he had a clear vission of what he wanted and i wanted the best fot those section and let him have a bit of controll over the LIVE).
Alex was very respectful of my space as an editor and gave me time alone when I asked for it. This meant i didn't feel pressured or that he was watching over my shoulder.
He respected my decisions a lot of the time. yet we also clashed more than a few times. We both had very strong opinions of what we wanted and weren't always willing to listen to each other.
It didn't help that I don;t take criticism well and always assumed ALex was saying these things to spite me or beacuse he didn't appriciate me. In reality this was quite different and ALex only wanted the best for the project as I did. I learned to ask for and listen to his opinion more, and we were alaways able to reach a compramise.
I was pleased with my contribution, not just editing the whole project but also making every singel graphic which Helen really liked.
We took on board what Helen said at each cut viewing and were even able to re -film our Live piece tto make it more interesting. This was mainly me and ALex at this point but Cailan was a huge help by making our channel trailer and website.
Andrew kept making excuses as to why he couldn't come in and although he provided some sound support it took a lot of discussion before we got anywhere.
I was pleased with the background I made and that I was able to learn a new software in 2 hours. Ideally i would have liked to improve it furhter and have a propper disscussion about it with the group. but due to time restrictions we had to go with the second draft of the backdrop, which to be fair was still very strong.
Once again I felt my contribution to the group was very strong in all areas, especially post production. We were able to re arange the project, cutting down the package and inserting a new LIVE while still keeping the old one. We had time to fix all audio ssues that were mentioned, and colour correct shots.
Our Package and LIVE were a little bit long despite careful planning. While it wasn't ideal that we ran over, cutting it furhter would have reduced the streangth of the piece so we decided it best to leave it as is.
We were able to act on almost all of Helens advice, re arranging our piece, filming a new Live, obtaining footage from leads she gave us, Interviewing un biassed mechanics over the phone, making graphics to support facts, and referencing all our sources.
Overall we worked well as a team. Alex and myself and Cailan were a tightly knit unit.
However myself and ALex often had creative differences and would clash opinions, but only because we both wanted the best for the project. However we were always able to reach a compromise and pulled together as a team really well when it mattered. We also learnd to repsect each others space and roles.
I was happy to be the editor and learned a lot, especially about listening to others. This project taught us even more about team work. It made us think on our feet and taught us the value of being adaptable to change. While planning is important we also found that you have to be willing to change to the situation on the shoot day, due to access, weather etc. Key skills i picked up included: GFX (I made all the graphics for this project, and expanded my skills in after effects); Respect and Listening skills (i learned to respect other peoples opinions more); quick thinking (with such fast turn arounds i learned to adapt ideas on the spot).
We have never had such a fast turn around and worked well to come together and make this project the best it could be. I am very pleased with the outcome, and our team work.
Today was the final day of editing before our project submission tomorrow. I headed in to the studios that morning to sort out the finishing touches and act on Helen's feedback. Alex very kindly let me work alone for a couple of hours like I asked, this meant I could get a head start and prepare some sequences ready for viewing and his opinion.
I used the morning to export some of the graphics Helen asked for like the map sequence. While that was running on one computer I made the most use of my time by using another computer to re arrange the shots in the Live like Helen asked.
Alex came in at this point and I showed him what I had done which he seemed happy with. He had done a little work on the Live to help me out already and I only made this stronger and was careful not to tamper too much.
After this i moved on to fixing some of the text effects I had prepared. While watching the "Gadget Show" for inspiration I was inspired by a shot they had done and attempted to re create it in my own style. Alex was apprehensive about the idea first but we were able to reach a compromise.
The next thing was to add a few effects and minor shot changes to the package. This included adding a map effect that Helen asked for. However Alex was never overly keen on this idea to begin with. This was one instance where we had major creative differences and had a falling out because of it.
I was really keen on the idea and had a vision in my head of how I wanted it to look. Alex didn't consider it very relevant and seemed to want to get rid of it. This is where I got very annoyed as I felt like Alex was trying to take control again, (stripping me of the one area of the project I felt made me special) and didn't appreciate my opinion, or the time and effort I had put in.
However the main problem was that neither of us were particularly willing to listen to the others opinion. Tensions were rising at this point due to stress and to avoid the argument escalating any further we sat apart for half an hour or so to work on other things. Alex updated hos blog while I prepared more graphics.
Once we had time to "cool off" I showed Alex the graphics I had made which he was pleased with. After this we tentatively re-approached the graphic that caused the argument. We were fortunately able to reach a compromise, Alex was happy for the Graphic to stay if it was placed the way he asked, and we were able to move on.
At this point I think Alex realized how I felt he was overstepping his boundaries, and for the rest of the day he was respectful of my decisions as an editor even if he personally didn't agree. This made me much happier and feel like I was valued.
I used the rest of the time to insert all the graphics I had prepared and Helen asked for which really boosted the project.
I had an animated graphic for when we are Live.
Title cards for each new person that appears.
I also made a graph and some animated text/pictures that back up and visually represent the facts Alex delivers in his new voice over.
Alex helped me to cut some of the shot lengths in the package like Helen asked, so more voice over and OOV/SOT could be used.
I placed appropriate images Alex sent me to match some of the commentary.
The final step was to balance out the audio levels like Helen asked and color correct some shots. I adjusted all the levels to centre around -6DB as well as making sure certain shots faded gently in to one another instead of violently jumping in volume. Meanwhile Alex ensured all our mono audio was made in to stereo.
It would have been nice to play around with some music, but since our sound engineer Andrew didn't seem to want to come in today it was difficult since the one track he sent me didn't really fit.
Alex stayed with me nearly to the end, but left to give me the space I needed to finish up some graphics work and re-arrange some shots, without feeling like he was peering over my shoulder. I also found a home for the footage of the old vs new electric car race Helen suggested we chase up.
Overall today was very productive, I am very pleased with the finished project I have put together, and despite an argument half way through the day, we ultimately worked efficiently as a team.
I will show the group the edit tomorrow in case they want to suggest any last minuet changes I missed.
I thouht they both had a big story surrounding them and would certainly have had a large impact on Kent. The fire pump certainly had a lot of potential as I could talk about the development of fire fighting in general as well as key events like the great fire of London which led to the development of such pumps. 
We were talked through all of the objects in the first few rooms and learned more about their history and their direct impact/relation to the local area. 
