Wooo!!

Good news Orange team!! Found a really interesting guy who has a tattoo all over his head! When I asked him the reason why he said 'When Im old I want people to look at me and say 'Wow that guy has a tattoo on his head' how cool is that' Anyway he sounds really interesting and could be a really good shot!
See you all next week!

Documentary Idea's

Early Thursday morning, the class started off talking about what documentaries each group had decided on creating. As our team decided to create a documentary about tattoos I found myself thinking about all the creative aspects that can go into the piece. I love documentaries about people, and my group has decided to do more of a human interest story about tattoos, the symbolism, the origins etc. So far James has put an ad on a tattoo forum looking for people who have interesting stories behind the tattoo. I will have to do a lot of research to find some interesting people, however I think if we find the right person this documentary can be great! I know we are all on the same page to make this piece as creative and visual as we possibly can, I also think that the music we choose will play a big part in pulling off this piece. I think my favourite part of Holly’s class however was getting to know Jess. Basically we all got teamed up with one classmate we did not know well and had about 20 minutes to find out interesting facts. Jess was full of surprises and was extremely easy to talk to. If I were to make a documentary about her I think I would focus it around her boarding school, mainly because I find the concept of boarding school very interesting as it is not a big thing in Canada. So yea if anyone ever has the chance to have a chat, Jess is extremely interesting!!!

Other then that Thursdays class wound down to Mike up selling massive readers and teaching us about FCP. I was a little disappointed as my movie wouldn't play in the computer he was using, and will upload it to DivShare shortly.

Bristol Fair Trade Fashion Show

Today I had the chance to enjoy a fashion show that my boyfriend Luke's sister was in. Eve is studying fashion in Filton College and had the task to create a dress using something around the house. The material Eve used to create her dress was a blue tarpaulin, some garden hose and some newspapers. The dress was extremely creative and turned out to be a complete show stopper.

A Magic Three Letter Word

The other day I sat down and got the chance to see the movie 'Yes Man'. A bit critical before the movie started I sat reluctantly and soon enough found myself enjoying the movie and laughing out loud. Yes I was one of those people!!
The movie to sum it up is about a man who joins a yes seminar/cult to try to better his life and current situation. It shows that by saying yes to things you wouldn't normally say yes to, good things can happen and you can start living your life.
I must admit I can be a bit of a No person at times. I know there are rules and boundaries when it comes to saying Yes, but lately I have tried to put the theory to test and actually see if by saying yes my life too will soon take off. So far out of it I have bought a GIANT rabbit, worked extra shifts at work which will be paid into my account shortly, and well that's it. I will get into a Yes phase more and more but with time slipping away and deadlines to be met, saying Yes isn't always as glamorous as Hollywood made it to be!

Story of my life!!

To make a very busy Friday stir into life:
1 load of laundry
1 load of laundry to be ironed
1 cake baked and decorated to perfection
1 trip to the pet shop to get rabbit food
3 slices of toast with one cup of hot tea for partner
1 rabbit hutch ready to be made
2 hours of homework you should have done the night before

Pre-heat life for 30 minutes and bake till explosion occurs.

OK so this is how I mainly felt today before Uni even started. I know they say women can multi task and though I stood up to that standard I felt like I might as well balance plates on sticks with the way I was running around. After finally getting to class however things seemed to settle down. Today Susan focused on treatments and how to create a proper pitch to keep the big man interested. With a few examples already on board, we each got into partners and chose three movies that we were interested in and Logged them which means putting one whole movie into a short zappy line, more or less explaining what the story is about, what to expect and so on. The main thing I learned when logging is that you never use a characters name or give the ending away.
As we are each working on a masterpiece my own being 'The Piano Tuner' we got the chance to come up with a log to share with the class. So here it is 'A blind man goes into a house to tune an old friends piano, as he is tuning he over hears a plan to commit murder and he alone is now the only one that can save the day.' Well OK it wasn't quite in those words but it was along them. I am really looking forward to writing this script. I have a feeling it will be a good 20 pages when I am done!!

TRI CASTER ... Need I say More?

Thursday’s class was very exciting as we all got on a mini bus and headed to a media expo in London. With a nice shiny badge hanging around my neck I was ready to go as I firstly grabbed myself a massive media bag at the front of the expo.
As I headed on my way one of the first things to actually catch my eye was something called The Tri Caster. To be honest many of my fellow uni mates found this just as interested and was defiantly pronounced the best stand of the day.

The Tri caster is a live virtual set, there is no need to rent a studio as the programming does everything. The examples shown were a lady standing to one side and a man to another and on the screen it showed them in two very different studios.
The Tri Caster uses a series of effects as well as 4 different levels of zoom. Different angles can be added by the program so there is no need to hire an expensive camera operator. With the use of the interface you can control all the transitions and angels yourself.

I also found it very interesting that the Tri Caster can create a double box feature which is used a lot when interviewing. I think it really adds to the effect of creating a real studio set.

With many other features, like using powerpoint with the technology I give this product a 10 out of 10 and would actually purchase it if I had the money.

Life is a script.... deal with it!

A man and his daughter were driving home when they see a hitchhiker on the side of the road, they pick the young girl up and ask where she lives, the girl points down the road and says about five miles that way. As they pull up to the girls house they turn around and notice she is gone. Curious about what had happened they walk up to her front door ring the bell and speak to the parents of the house explaining that they had just picked up a hitch hiker and described the girl in detail. With that the people of the house explain that that was there daughter and she was killed a few years ago and today was her birthday. Scared yet?? This short piece was given to our broadcasting class on Friday. As each of us took the story, we wrote out a script to what we had thought was said and done to create atmosphere as well as a proper storyline for this short piece. It took me ages to complete as there was so many different ways I could have gone. I think that is the great thing about script writing though, you can be in your own little world and create a scene with your own taste and you can control everything down to the last detail.

We also got the chance to see how one would present a script if given the chance to be in front of a director. By using simple steps we could create a short outline of who the story involved and what actually would happen painting the whole picture for whom ever would be listening.

I have found a good link to script writing so take a look if you can http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/filmnetwork/filmmakersguidewriting. I have got so many great ideas for my script that we will need to create for one of our projects! Funny enough, the story was created from an event that had happened to me. Stay tuned as I refuse to give any hints until all the bumps are smoothed out!

getting back to the buzz

OK so after a well deserved break I finally started back at university last week and have homework piled on me until may. Its funny how the little things in life can build up in my life which could actually make for a really good script if I was writing a documentary on my life.

as I'm not so much into the whole Big Brother thing, I recently sat down and was surprised to discover my favourite type of documentary revolved a lot around other peoples lives and what they got up to. I found myself fascinated by lifestyle documentaries and how people could let themselves not only become 27 stone, but also go on live TV and talk about how they got to the way they are. With the documentaries like 'You are what you eat' and 'Super size vs Super skinny' there was plenty to watch and keep me entertained until my brain grew numb.

Another Documentary I watched in full was called 'Here's Johnny' which was about a man who was diagnosed with MS. The thing I loved about this was that I could actually relate to a lot of what he was saying as I too suffer from an incurable disease. This documentary chose a style that focused around Johns comics and drawings. The drawings produced were very dark and angry, which reflected how he felt inside.

After watching a few different documentaries, I noticed that there was always a message that got across to the audience whether it was stop eating or you will die, or the heart warming truth that your not alone, and I think that it is an important for the audience to be able to relate to what they watch.

If you would like to view some of these programs I have watched please visit http://www.channel4.co.uk/ there are so many great documentaries ready to strike you with the stories that could change your life for the better!

The First Taste

So last Friday was a big day for myself. Not only was my first assessment organized, I also got a taste of what it could actually feel like being on air! For my assessment I had chosen to discuss the position of a PD, also known as producer/director. I had decided to present the information I had gathered as a traditional but fun news show. Throughout the piece I spoke of Nick White (who you can read about in my other blogs) and what a PD generally goes through when producing a new program.
The classroom was set up so there was a table each one of us could sit on. As Susan and Rob positioned me they had to stick a black box under my legs as my feet were dangling off the table. I felt as if I were a child sitting on a phone book at the dinner table, but was thinking that in a humorous way and took no offence to it. In front of me was a huge camera with a teleprompter in it. I had never used a teleprompter before but found ease while reading my script and tried smiling and speaking like the news presenters I have heard on the BBC exaggerating certain words to add colour. I found the lighting used was unbelievably bright but all in all everything looked extremely professional.

Up to Date Broadcasting!

As broadcasting plays a huge role in our every day lives, it is important to know who's who in the industry and know what people do, after all, not every job can be as big as an executive director and what not. So far in this class I have been given several amazing opportunities to interview various people on their roles and career positions within the broadcasting and BBC industry. Unfortunately I missed the opportunity to interview Sanjida O'Connell the other day who is a top presenter for the BBC as well having a heavy hand in the news papers and magazines. She however holds the most exciting position in my mind. Sanjida is one of the presenters for the Natural World programs. She is the face of the program and delivers the information to the viewers in exciting ways.

I have also had the chance to interview a producer/director called Nicholas White, who is generally in charge of the over all look and feel of the program. I loved Nick as his energy and enthusiasm shown through as he spoke about his career. As the questions were flying, the greatest advice I got from Nick is to just help out, be as enthusiastic as you can and you will shine out from everyone around you. Nick commented on the assistants who are there to help carry equipment, provide information, make phone calls and think ahead of any problems the show may face. After working with many assistance's who were terrible, Nick smiled and told the class that you will always have people you do not like working with, however its how you deal with it that will make or break you on the show.

One of the first jobs I may come across when starting out will be a Researcher. Researchers have an incredible responsibility as they go to great lengths to find information about the chosen topic of the program. They dig up facts and provide references which is extremely important as plagiarism and copy right laws are really stricked. There are many more jobs I can list and even think of that belong on site when filming. However behind the scenes is just as important, as handing your work over to a bad editor can ruin your show. Mr Andy Netley was our first visitor. Andy is a freelance editor for the BBC and has worked on many programs like 'Amazon'. Andys job is to take all the clips and footage to the editing room and slowly work through the material with the producer/director cutting out undesirable material. After removing all the glitches, the program is ready and finished for a little while. Andy then hands over the project to the head execs to see if they like it, if it passes their inspections it is then given a time slot and aired on the BBC channels, however if the execs are not pleased with certain parts, the project must get re edited until it passes inspection. Andy again pointed out the stresses of other peoples views and opinions, however claims that the more people you can get along with, the further you will advance in the company.

Lastly Mr Paul Applebee who is one of the top cheeses 'Exec producer/director' for the BBC graced us with his kind natured personality and taught us all about the future and direction of the BBC and what it meant to be able to multi platform. After working with the BBC for 30 years Mr Applebee has been through it all, and had also given our very wonderful tutor Susan her first job as a researcher for the BBC.
I found it hard to resist asking a million questions as this man has seen it all, so I narrowed my questions down to three!

- Mr Applebee, how often do you take the ratings from BARB (Broadcasting, Audience Research Board) and what does it mean for a programs future?

The BARB ratings only work correctly if a program is put into a proper time slot. Anyone can turn a TV on, however if its not to their liking they may find themselves doing other things while the program is playing through. For example, if you played a children's program at night, the ratings would be so low many programs would lose money and probably drop off the air. I tend to look at the BARB ratings each day at 11am. The ratings are of 5000 people however are doubled and multiplied to get a massive rating which is never going to be that accurate. The best way I feel to get information for a program is actually asking people. People are more consistent then a machine.

- Mr Applebee, how does the BBC make money off multi platforming?

Although no one really has it right yet, multi platforming makes money by its advertising, use of programs, paper clicks and subscription.

-Mr Applebee, do you feel there will be more interactive job opportunities in the future for the BBC?

I believe you can probably earn a living from it. Since the newer programs are given smaller budgets you may find pilots viewed on the Internet first. There has been the same opportunities in broadcast media for the last 30 years. I believe you should embrace the future of the Internet and learn things like web design and delivery. Then you will be ahead of the game when these opportunities come up.

As Mr Applebee wrapped up, it was nice to hear that he is very much working for the people and not against them ending nicely in a quote 'People pay for quality, so that's what I will give them'.

Though we may not have any more speakers in for a while, I feel all of our guest speakers have inspired me creating a calm in my mind as I feel for once I am on the right path. As my direction is more in line with a presenter, I am happy to know which steps to take in the future to achieve that position as well as perhaps a producer/director as those rolls can help secure a spot in presenting as well!