Documentary Unit\: Craig Hardy - The Real Comeback Kid

So Sam and I have finally finished and handed in our final edit for our documentary - 'Craig hardy - The Real Comeback Kid' 

We are really pleased with the outcome and are both frankly chuffed to bits with the comments we have received from so many people that have watched it! Thanks for the comments guys, its great to know when your work is appreciated! 

Check out the video! Please like and Share it on Youtube/ Facebook/ Twitter and get this out there!

Thanks! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HMZ1CPCv8k

Documentary Unit: Feedback & Advances

Today we had our Group-Crit session for our short practise documentary pieces that we produced a few weeks ago. I am really pleased with the feedback we received for our piece and overall, it is a nice piece of work.

We realised that some of the shots were a bit jumpy at times and that some of the cutaways could have been better placed in the edit. This was good to be told as this is something that we are now aware of for our real documentary commission piece.

Also, Sam and I have been finalising our script for our documentary commission piece and undertaking some research into figures for teenage pregnancy rates in Dagenham. Find out how we got on here on our blog...

http://daddyboxer.blogspot.co.uk/

On Set: Toerags

Yesterday I spent the day on set with the 2nd Years, filming Dean's Major Project 'Toerags'. I was an extra for some of the scenes and stood around watching the production team work together. This was good to watch, and was also good to work with the 2nd years and learn from them as their experience was obviously a great help when it comes to the filming on the day. 

Documentary: DaddyBoxer

For our Documentary piece, Sam Ellis and I have teamed up to produce a 10 minute documentary featuring Craig Hardy, a young boxer who's career was halted when he became a father. This is explained in further detail on our blog! Please click the link here and follow our blog and watch our progress as we produce our biggest piece yet!

daddyboxer.blogspot.com

Documentary: Practise Piece

Here is our final practise piece for our documentary! We are really pleased with our shots, cutaways and actuality footage. This has given us great experience at filming for documentaries and we all appreciate the difference when filming fact and fiction and how difficult this can be! Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rj4EiFwgpm0

Documentary Unit: Practise Filming

Last week, I spent the day with Neill Morris filming at 'Blake's Bistro' which is in Maidstone, Kent. We filmed footage for our practise documentary task. This footage included actuality, sequences and interviews which were to be edited into a short piece, focusing on business in the local area and the potential which it has. The filming went smoothly as we had already pre-planned everything that was going to be done, and the day went really well. We got plenty of nice shots for cutaways and establishing shots as well as nice actuality footage within the coffee shop. The people we worked with were professional and were very happy in the way in which we dealt with our filming and our said we represented the course very well. The piece has now been edited and is ready to be shown at our 'group crit' session on the 27th, and we are all happy with the finished piece!

And we even had time for a Coffee!

Direction Unit: My Final Piece

Heres the link to my final edit for my Direction Unit.

I'm happy with my shots and the way in which it looks. I think I've captured the tone and colour well and I'm pleased with the feedback I have received!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmNsORv1bqE

Direction Unit: Shooting

So today I have booked my equipment ready to shoot on friday! This will leave me the weekend. monday and tuesday morning to ensure that my 3 minute video is ready to be handed in and finish the Unit.

I have also confirmed with my actors that we are ready to shoot on Friday morning, which means the footage can be uploaded and ready to edit by friday morning. I know this is a very tight deadline but have the advantage of having editing software at home, meaning I can edit for as long or as often as i like, so that I'm happy with my final piece.

Acting Workshop with Steve Finn

Yesterday, we had our final workshop with Steve Finn, a television director. Steve also gives courses and training on acting and how to get a performance out of a non-professional actor or actress. 

In our workshop, we studied a scene and acted it out amongst ourselves in many different ways. This enabled us to open our eyes to the way in which we can adapt our work to what we have to work with. I learnt about using the camera to shape a performance correctly and how using objects and surroundings can make something appear so much more natural. 

I really thought that the workshop was worthwhile and was very valuable in terms of what we discussed. I also hope to use what I have seen and learnt and adapt it to my own pieces.

Direction Unit: Finalising my Ideas

So, Ive finally finalised my idea for my Direction piece. My initial idea of a chase was scrapped after too much deliberating over my 'theme' word of 'Shelter'. 

My new idea incorporates the theme of shelter throughout the 3 minutes, and also gives you a sense of the story before what you see on the screen and what might happen after, thanks to the theme word. This will only work if I can portray it in a way in which the audience believes the story.

My Story....

A young, scruffy-looking man stumbles through the park, passing a lady who looks at him in disgust, carrying his beer can mumbling to himself. He reaches a bench, where he sits, and soon starts injecting himself with heroin. The man gets his fix, throws the needle onto the grass and sits in silence. He starts to slouch and grumble as the drugs enter his system. after a short while, the lady who passed him previously sees him slouched in a bad state, walks over to him and steps on the needle which pierces her through her shoe and into her foot. She takes it out and places it on the bench next to the man. The man comes round from his fix to see what has happened, only to realise that the lady is his mother who he hasn't spoken to in many years because of his drug abuse. After seeing that he has harmed his own mother, he picks up the syringe and throws it into the bin and walks away from the bench, upset and distraught, leaving his mother at the bench, now unwell.

The Idea of using drug abuse to "SHELTER" from society, family and everyday life is what I am trying to portray from the beginning of the piece, ending with the idea of seeking "SHELTER" from drug abuse to get your life back on track. I would like to focus on the 'throwing of the syringe' as this could have great value in my story to portray my theme in a more understandable way, and I am now thinking of different ways in which I could shoot these 'iconic' moments. I am also thinking about different ways in which I can film the 'shoe' shot, which incorporates my prop into my piece.

I visited the park for the second time yesterday to have a better look at locations for filming and to ensure the surroundings will work for my shots.

I have to finalise all of my ideas and confirm with my actors so that I am ready to film within the next week and a bit and start editing as soon as possible to enable me to push my theme throughout the piece.

Direction Unit: Initial Ideas

After our first week back at the studios, Ive started to gain a good idea of how I would like my Direction Unit episode to look. 

At first, I struggled with the theme word I had chosen. My problem was that I couldn't connect or link this with my prop. My theme word that I chose was 'Shelter' and my prop was 'Shoe'. When I first chose these words, I had lots of different ideas buzzing around in my head. My initial thought for the word 'Shelter' was to film in the rain. This is something that I have never tried or done before. The main problem with the using weather is obviously the time and date of filming. As I have a budget of £0 there is no way I could make this happen through effects to the style I would like to film it. So for me, this proved difficult to do. 

I have since then decided that I would like to base my episode around a chase. For my location, this is perfect! There are lots of different paths and winding walkways which would be great to film a chase scene in. When I did a little Location Recce to check out what was there and what areas we had to work with, I decided this would be a great place to film these scenes. 

So after deciding on my plot, I thought of characters. I have decided to use my two character limit and would like to use a male and a female. I haven't quite chosen how I want the characters to look, or agreed who will be my actors. This is my next task.

My female character will be chased and my male will be chasing. The theme word 'Shelter' was my main idea for the chase. My female character will take shelter from the male character and hide amongst the foliage. She will be loose her shoe and this may be a deadly mistake as this will lead the male character to her and to where she is hiding.

I will update my blog once I have developed my idea further with some images i would like to use to help with my decisions.

Story Telling Unit: The Meeting Trailer

So today I have submitted my final copy of My Script, Trailer, Storyboard and Synopsis. Im pleased with my trailer and have uploaded it to YouTube. Here's the link below to see the trailer! Let me know what you think!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWjOBWkpBP0&feature=youtu.be

As-Live: 'Unsigned Live'

Yesterday I worked with the 2nd Years on their AS-LIVE project 'Unsigned Live'. I was assigned the role of 'band runner' by the floor manager which meant that I was there to assist the band with anything they need. I was also stand in audience which was needed for some of the shots that the director wanted! I really enjoyed working in the studio and thought that it was really beneficial. Really looking forward to the real shoot for the 'Unsigned Live' project in May!

Media Strategies Unit & Sound Unit

I've finally finished my first draft of my media strategies essay and its ready to hand in today for feedback! Ive not finished yet and hope that the feedback i get from it can help me improve it! I found writing the essay okay, just seems so long since I've written a formal piece of work and it took me a while to get into it, but once I'd written my introduction it all came flooding back!


Yesterday I went to London for the Day and really thought about my idea for my sound unit and my journey. Ive decide to focus my journey on my move out of London to Kent. I thought that this would be quite interesting to do but also quite challenging. As I can only use still images, I'd like to take some really nice images and photos from where I lived in London and contrast it to where I live now. I'd quite like to focus on the areas where I lived not specifically the houses and think that this could work well. Looking forward to getting my hands on a camera and getting Snap Happy!

Story Telling Unit; Uploading Footage

I arrived at the studios about 45 minutes ago and after some playing around and a hand from Simon, my clips are uploaded to my hard drive and are ready to be edited! I had to re-format my hard drive so that it would become compatible with my Final Cut documents using Mac, although I'd already saved Mac documents on it before! Now my Hard Drive is all Mac!

The clips look good and I'm really excited to start using them! I've chosen my music and have a good idea of how I want my trailer to look! I think I may just have time now for a coffee before I start my Sound Unit Workshop!  

Story Telling Unit: The Trailer

So today I finally finished my filming for my trailer! After my disaster over the holidays which was me accidentally deleting all of my previously filmed footage from my camera, Im really pleased with the filming that Ive done today!


Really looking forward to editing my trailer this week and next week as it's my first work I'll have completed using Final Cut! My filming today was shot within students halls, which went well! i had planned to do some filming outdoors but was unable to do this due to bad weather ALL day! But, just like with the hiccup with the footage before, all of these problems are helping me learn how difficult it can be sticking to schedules and left me to make quick decisions about what I was going to film differently if I could not stick to these schedules! 


I'm also really looking forward to the workshop tomorrow for our new sound unit! This looks like a great unit of work, but I'm sure this will be a lot harder than it seems, using only sound and not music to support just still images whilst portraying a story! Well.. looks like an early start for me in the morning so I can upload my footage and start editing before my workshop!

Storytelling: Camera Work

Today I pick up my camera so I can start filming! Cant wait to get this done now and crack on! My planning is coming together! I have planned to use this evening to give myself a little refresher on the Camera and this should get me ready for the morning so I can start filming!

I would like to get all my filming completed on Friday so that I can get editing as soon as I can!

Story-Telling Unit: Trailer planning

So... Theres only two days left for me to finish planning my trailer for 'The Meeting' Script! I'm Finalising all my arrangements for filming and getting into gear! Im really excited now and can't wait to get shooting. There are a few areas I've struggled with so far, like Location, and people to act in my trailer, but now I've finally sorted this all out and I'm ready to go! I pick up my camera on Thursday and should be able to have a play around and get to grips so I can brush up on my camera skills! 


Im also starring in another trailer for someone on the course tonight! This should be great fun and really useful for me to see how other people are focusing there trailers and how they are working on them! 


Finally, my storyboard should be complete by the end of this week! this is really exciting and it feels great to see all my work coming together! Bring on the weekend and lets get the Camera Rolling!

Story Telling Unit: Final Cut Pro

On friday, I attended a Final Cut Pro masterclass! This was the first time I had used Final Cut to make something serious, so this class was the perfect way for me to get to grips with it. Although I missed a class yesterday, today i tagged on with Tory and had a play about on Final Cut whilst she edited a trailer for 'Soft'.

To be honest, I'm still a bit phased by Final Cut at the minute, bit I know that after using this a few times, I'll get the hang of it! It's a really useful tool when editing and I cant wait to get into my projects and start using it in good detail!

Film Review: Rosemary's Baby

Last week I discovered the brilliant student resource that is the UCA Library. I decided to take out a few films to watch over the weekend whilst at home, and wanted to take out films that I'd never bothered to watch before but had always wanted to. One of these films was Rosemary's Baby. 

This 1968 Classic horror film directed by Roman Polanski, is a simple story about a couple, Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse, who move into a New York appartment and decide to have a baby. The story seems very basic and is slow-paced, however, in true Polanski style, the horror seeps through the drama towards the end of the film, as Rosemary discovers that the baby she gives birth to is actually a re-incarnation of the Devil. 

This film is said to have inspired other classic horrors such as The Exorcist and The Omen, which is believeable. These films bridged the gap between the early Hitchcock Horror Era, to the Modern Horror that we know today.

This adaptation of Ira Levin's Novel was very successful, and pushed boundaries in the world of film and the horror genre. Watching the film in 2012 and comparing it to how it would have been seen when it was first released in 1968, there is a vast difference concerning audience perception and technical ability.

There were certain scenes that really stood out to me in the film and scenes that I thought were really advanced fro the era in which this film was made. Polanski's dream scenes are quite unusual. There is a slight psychedelic feel to the movie and the use of characters alongside story line really push this throughout the movie.

I would say this film is worth a watch and would recommend it. I was pleasantly surprised and quite enjoyed it. Stick with it, it's a bit slow at first, but soon picks up and gets your mind whirling.

Story-Telling Unit: The Meeting - Idea, Pitch & Synopsis

Story Telling Unit

The Meeting

Idea;

Two friends meet after being split because they move away to University. The two inseparable friends both moved to completely different places and this film shows the build up to them re-uniting when one visits the other. The two characters will be shown within the days leading up to the meeting and the film will highlight the loneliness that can be felt when moving away from home. Although completely opposite characters, the two friends hold a close connection and the film will depict the excitement and anticipation of meeting up with someone who you are so close with, that you haven’t seen in a long time and have missed dearly.

Title; ‘My Same’

Setting;  City Location –Journeys to meet at the train station

                 Halls of Residence                    

Style; Comedic, Emotional, Ironic, Light-Hearted

Format; Set over a week (Each day leading up to the meeting)

My Same

Pitch

Focusing on the re-uniting of two best friends, ‘My Same’ is a short film with an emotional, yet comedic style, highlighting the isolation and loneliness of separation.      

Synopsis

  ‘My Same’ is a short film which focuses on the emotion and anticipation that is brought about by separation, and the excitement and agitation felt the re-uniting of two best friends.

 

  This film introduces ‘Ryan’ and ‘Jess’. These two best friends, who are inseparable, have both moved away to different places to study.

The emotion in this film runs alongside the comedic aspects concerning the communication between these two students in the days leading up to their meeting, where Ryan visits Jess. Spanned over a week, the unusual format and style introduces the characters to the audience in a light-hearted, yet realistic way.

  ‘My Same’ highlights the relationship between these young people who are total opposite characters.  Ryan, the some-what clumsy and unorganised stereotypical teenager, travels to meet Jess, the organised perfectionist. Both at the age of 19, these two characters have grown up in each others pockets, knowing each other better than anyone else.

  The film will also show the difference between the two, the way in which they now live, the lifestyle the lead and how they are total opposite in their personalities and character.

Using these two characters allows this film to depict the irony that exists between them and how two different  people can be so close and hold such a connection with one-another.

 

                       

Story Telling Unit - PIRANHA (Pre-Writing)

Title – Piranha

Genre – Drama

Idea –

‘Piranhas’ are the new generation of gold-diggers. These are women who take advantage of older, richer men for their money. Our film will highlight the issues connected to this and will show the effects this can have on the people concerned.

Characters –

Robert – City Banker, 50-60, boring, receding hairline, bulging waistline with a fat wallet. Going through a mid-life crisis (causing arguments between himself and his wife)

Christine – Robert’s wife. 50-60. Magazine editor, Writes for women’s magazine aimed at the older lady. Grey perm, dresses sophisticated but older than she is.

Vivienne – The ‘Piranha’. Robert’s secretary. Looking for an older rich man to take advantage of. 20-30. Blonde, big busted, takes the stereotype of the naughty secretary. Flirty, manipulative and ruthless.

Oliver and Jess – Robert and Christine’s children. Ages 15 & 17. In private education, looking to go to University. Under pressure from their parents to do well and succeed in their education.

Theme –

Piranha is a cautionary tale to warn potential victims about how these women work and the ways in which they operate. Vivienne has planned to lure in an already vulnerable Robert, away from his family life and home. Robert is taken by her charm and sees this opportunity as an easy way out from his hectic lifestyle. Little does he know, Vivienne is secretly only after his fortune. Robert leaves his wife and decides to file for a divorce so that he can marry his new lover. Christine and the children stay in the family home whilst Robert and Vivienne move in together. Vivienne plans to become pregnant and succeeds. After a year together and the birth of their child, the couple split and Robert finds himself having to pay at least £4,000 a year in support for the child which leaves him on his own, losing not only his lover but his wife and children as a result.

Setting –
• The Bank – Roberts Office
• The Family Home – Mayfair Town House
• Top London Hotel – This is where Robert and Vivienne retreat to after work
• Docklands Apartment – New Home of Robert and Vivienne after the divorce from Christine.

STORY TELLING UNIT - 'Spaced' - Synopsis

'Spaced' is a new thirty minute sitcom based on 5 distinct flatmates. the two main characters, Tim and Daisy bring a centre point to the series with other characters around them, building stories and getting themselves into some-what sticky situations. The series focuses on the progressive relationships that the characters build with one another, whether its romance or friendship. These relationships are not only focused on Tim and Daisy, but the other characters too.


Set in an urban, city location Tim and Daisy stumble upon each other and form a friendship. this leads to them moving in together, even if they do have to lie about being together as a couple. Other characters include Marsha, the laid-back land-lady, Mike, Tim's military mad best buddy and Brian, the slightly eccentric neighbour.


Centring on their everyday life adventures, the series takes references from pop-culture media and the easy-to-watch comedy format enables its audience to take their own views on how they percept the comedy aspects noted within the episodes. The realism created is also shadowed by the surreal feel and the Sci-fi elements referred to. Introducing the characters as individuals allows the series to build background history concerning each character without losing connections to the two main protagonists.


The situations that the characters find themselves in and the events of often unlucky and misfortunate decisions brings relevance to the present day lives of the audience, building relationships with not only the characters but the audience as well, meaning the audience have a greater sympathy for the characters and the situations they find themselves in. 


This steady paced, authentic new series combines drama, romance and slap-stick style antics aimed at the '20-something' audience adds a light-herted twist to everyday situations. The realism created is also shadowed by the surreal feel and the Sci-fi elements referred to. 

'Spaced' - The Pitch

'Spaced' is a new 30 minute sit-com about 5 distinct flatmates with an urban setting and a slapstick style, focusing on progressive relationships and life adventures

Life Project

Never in my life had I buttered bread to music until making our Life video! Though it seems stupid, we thought of an object that would last about 3 minutes, and we thought a 'sandwich!' We seriously underestimated how long 3 minutes was! Pretty sure after 45 seconds, we we're panicking! The video was planned but changes were made! Now we all know how difficult it is to end on an exact time limit aswell! Watching the other videos and how professional they were really impressed me and definitely would use in camera editing again and know that you can come up with some real good footage! Really looking forward to making the trailer and writing the script for our meeting project! Just want to get it underway! :)

My First Broadcast Media Blog

Hello, I'm Ashley! I'm starting Broadcast Media at UCA at the end of this month! Feels like I've been waiting forever to start and I'm really excited about it! I'm 20, from London but live on the Isle of Sheppey. Im moving to Maidstone although I live just down the road as I wanted to get the whole uni experience! I studied Media at A-Level and it's all I've ever wanted to do! I've spent the last few years playing around making short videos and getting to grips with different software and hope that the course will help me become an expert! :)I'm quite an outgoing person and I'm looking forward to meeting everyone on the course! This is my first blog ever so I don't really know what else to write apart from see you all in a few weeks! :)Bye!