Wednesday 15 December 2010

Final Week

Due to weather conditions equipment was unavailable and edit suites were unavailable to be used. This has led to the production falling behind schedule in terms of filming and editing.

However this week on the Monday night the group has focused and got the video into a nearly finished state. The edit suite was then booked for the Wednesday to finish the project in time for hand in. once the final product is handed in a copy will be delivered to the Hull community church to see if they are happy with the results or whether they require the video to edited further. This will be done as the client has the final say on the product and it will be made to there specifications.

Wednesday 1 December 2010

Week 8: Editing

Much progress has been made on the video product this week. The editing suite was booked for the Monday for the maximum amount of time available (9pm). This allowed the group to stay behind to begin editing the final video. After logging the footage from the interview of the previous week this allowed for editing to begin.

The editor is responsible for creating a video via editing raw footage combined with special effects, audio effects, titles, and dialogue. However one must remember the editor is a facilitator in what the director wants to see on the screen. This requires close communication between the two. The editor is also responsible for technically operating the editing software, having an understanding of formats used, and knowledge of editing techniques. This requires the editor to have a large skills base to fill the role. (prospect, 2010).

Some of the skills of an editor are outlined by Skillset (2010). Some of these being:

• Being creative under pressure – the editor is responsible for the product being finished in time, this will put pressure on the individual/s that can affect the creativity.
• Understand of narrative – understanding how the story will progress as the editor will have to assemble the story piece by piece. this also links in with the above of knowledge of editing techniques.
• Communication skills – the editor is one department, they will have to at some point engage with other departments in the production. This is where good communication skills come in. Being polite will also help in this aswell.
• Patience – editing a video can take many months’ even years depending on the type of film. This relates to long hours spent editing sequences and re-editing them. The editor has to be patient and not rush otherwise problems may occur.

Prospects. (2010) Film/video editor: Job description and activities [internet] Prospects. Available from: Propects [Accessed 1st of December 2010].

Skillset. (2010) Editing & Post Production [internet] Skillset. Available from: Skillset [Accessed 1st of December 2010].

Week 7: Better Organization

During this week much progress has been made during the industry practice module. On the Monday there was the final interview to be filmed for the project. This interview was with the head of the Hull Light House project which is key to the final video. However the group was disorganized in preparation for the interview in that no equipment had been booked for neither the interview nor any editing suites for logging the footage. Luckily there was some HD filming equipment available for the day but the equipment was damaged slightly which did affect the way in which the interview had to be filmed. Unfortunately there were no editing suites available for the logging the footage, this was booked for Friday of that week. The interview was done professionally along with the cutaways.

This reflects the disorganization of the group for the interview and how this affects the time management of the workload. By not arranging an editing suite for logging the footage straight after filming it meant that editing began later than expected. This has lost valuable time for the production as it is a waste of time that cannot be recovered in which work can be achieved.

This may be due to the group not setting short term goals, for example not setting the goal to organize the equipment a week in advance or a long term goal of assigning one person to take control of the equipment booking (Portsmouth, 2001). This could also be due to bad planning via the pre-production stage.

“During this stage, you’re organizing everything so that the production phase goes smoothly” Myer , 2008)

For future reference if given interview date weeks in advance equipment should be booked as soon as this information has been given. This will ensure that equipment is available and if it isn’t there is time to source it from some where else. Also this will give chance for other preparations such as paperwork.

Myers, I. (2008) Video Production – Part I - the Pre-production Stage [internet] Article base. Available from: article base [accessed 1st of December 2010].


Portsmouth University. (2001) Information and study skills: Managing time and workload [Internet] Portsmouth University. Available from: ports [accessed 21st of November]

Sunday 21 November 2010

Week 6:........Nothing

This week not much has been done for industry practice. Though there were little tiny things that I were done to help progress the production.

Firstly I was able to log the footage that had been filmed the week before. This is important as it saved doing paperwork later when this may have been rather awkward e.g. trying to find the original files when all the files have been moved and renamed.

The second thing that the group was able to do was to help edit the footage into a rough timeline. This footage was the only the interviews of two of the contributors though again it helped to save the work load of editing. Starting to edit as soon as possible is extremely important as editing can be an lengthy process which involve many hours of work, especially if special effects are being used.

“Time management and task management are closely linked and you are advised to try to strike a balance between the two”. (Portsmouth, 2001)

This talks about how one should organize their tasks and time to do them in. With few tasks to do on the production it means that there is a wealth of time to complete them though one should waste time in completing them.

“If you become too obsessed with time then you tend to think in terms of ‘hours put in’, rather than in terms of what you have achieved”. (Portsmouth, 2001)


If it were to happen that we spend hours completing one task then the production would lose momentum. This is why starting everything as soon as will help as this will reduce the number of tasks earlier to free up time for further development.

Portsmouth University. (2001) Information and study skills: Managing time and workload [Internet] Portsmouth University. Available from: ports [accessed 21st of November]

Saturday 6 November 2010

Week 5: A Meeting

Over this past week a lot of progress has been made with industry practice.

A meeting with the client had been booked for the Monday which was very important. It was in this meeting that me an my colleagues pitched to the client about the content we wanted to include in promotion video, but also about some of the legalities and how we would protect privacy of those who wanted to contribute to the final product (via interviews or personal backgrounds). The reason why we did speak about the legalities was to assure the client that we understood the sensitive nature of Lighthouse Project and that we are prepared to take the necessary precautions to protect the identities of those involved.

“8.2 Information which discloses the location of a person's home or family should not be revealed without permission, unless it is warranted.” (Ofcom, 2010, section 8 privacy)

The meeting had gone very well, so well that on Wednesday we were inform that the client had already arranged 2 interviews, one on Thursday and one of the 15th of November.

Though the first interview was very last minute, the group decided that it was best to do as we may not have had a second chance. Plus if we didn’t it may lead the client to question the group’s enthusiasm for the project.

“Be upbeat, positive and passionate about your idea. If you are not enthusiastic about the show, they won't be either.” (http://www.mahalo.com/how-to-pitch-a-tv-show, accessed 06/11/10)

Another problem encountered was that booking out equipment and editing suites was last minute. This could have caused the group to not go and film and miss the opportunity presented. Luckily however equipment was available to film with and an editing suite was available. For future reference it would be worth asking for more warning from clients (if possible) so that filming session can be better planned.

Thursday 4 November 2010

week 4: better late than never

A little late, but better late than never. Over the past week (25th – 31st of October) not much progress has been made for industry practice. This has been due to their being no initial meeting with the client which is slowing progress. Because of this we are unable to book equipment or avid suites.

However we have learned from the client that instead of them pitching an idea to us, they would us to pitch and idea to them instead. This will give the group more creative control of the final product. However this will require us to think carefully about the content and style of the video. Considering the sensitive nature of the subject the will have to be considerable focus on privacy of the contributors should they require it.

“8.7 If an individual or organization’s privacy is being infringed, and they ask that the filming, recording or live broadcast be stopped, the broadcaster should do so, unless it is warranted to continue.” (Ofcom, 2010, section 8 Privacy)

This may have to be addressed with pixilation of faces, false details, or altered voices. Also another area that should also be considered is fairness of the depiction of the Lighthouse project.

“7.9 Before broadcasting a factual programme, including programmes examining past events, broadcasters should take reasonable care to satisfy themselves that:
• material facts have not been presented, disregarded or omitted in a way that is unfair to an individual or organisation; and
• anyone whose omission could be unfair to an individual or organisation has been offered an opportunity to contribute.” (Ofcom, 2010, section 7 Fairness)

If facts and figures are to be used in the final product, they should come from the project itself otherwise misrepresentation will occur as the video will be representing the Lighthouse Project with facts that are not their own.

The aim for next week will be to have the initial meeting with the client and if possible organize filming dates.

Saturday 23 October 2010

Week 3: Meeting..........Maybe Not

For industry practice this week:

On Monday there was a meeting planned with the client to discuss the video product. However the client was unable to commit to the meeting due to organisational difficulties. However the client did inform Emmaline that they would prefer us to present a pitch for the video product. This now gives the group creative control of the video product. This process is similar to negotiating a film

“A film begins as an idea ‘pitched’ to a studio. It is conceived as an individual product and put together by a producer as a ‘package’ of a story, stars, and a director and crew.” (Branston, Stafford, 2006, p214)

This is similar because the group is now in a situation where we have to pitch the idea to the client (who in this case is the studio). The client will control whether we have permission to film locations or peoples, much in the way a studio will control whether a company can film in there space. And this control will be dependent on the pitch.

This pitch will be dependent on research of the nature of the product and the client. To contribute towards this I have volunteered to look at broadcasting standards that will relate to video product. These standards will effect how the product will be shot and edited but also whether the concept would be suitable for broadcasting.

“In many other countries, public service broadcasting refers to a system that is set up by law and generally financed by public funds (often a compulsory licence paid by households) and given a large degree of editorial and operating independence. The general rationale for such systems is that they should serve the public interest for such systems is that they should serve the public interest by meeting the important communication needs of society and its citizens, as decided and reviewed by the way of democratic political system.” (McQuail, 2005, p179)

To meet public interest following these broadcast codes will be important. These codes will also apply to the product because it deals with a sensitive topic of prostitution, drugs, and possibly crime. Therefore fairness, privacy, due impartiality, and protecting under 18’s (who may be involved or who may be viewing the product).

Sunday 17 October 2010

Week 2: Need Something Soon.........Please

This past week for industry practice has been rather eventful.

On Monday I contacted my friend at BP Andrew Carter-Fea. After speaking with him I found out that there may be some work that we could create for them. However my contact asked that a physical letter be sent to him giving the details of the module video. This letter was compiled on the Monday afternoon and sent on the Tuesday.

The letter contained my personal contacts (address, mobile number, and home number) and the production company email address. However upon writing this blog there has been no contact from BP of any kind.

However Emmaline has received a phone call on Tuesday from the community church centre that they are interested in a video product. With this in mind on Thursday Emmaline contacted the community church to arrange a meeting. This meeting was arranged for the following Monday at 1:00pm. I have not contacted BP just in case the community church cannot deliver.

Also realising that next week there is a mock presentation of the video product the group decided to begin piecing together a presentation. I was tasked with gathering some general research on the community churches lighthouse project from the following areas: http://www.community-house.co.uk/community/lighthouse http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/court_and_social/article402374.ece

Due to there being no details on the actual product much of the presentation was left unfinished. This presentation will be completed for next week.

Saturday 9 October 2010

Week 1: Starting Off

This past week the groups for industry practice have finally been agreed. I have been put into a group with Francesca and Emmaline. After this was complete the first item to discuss as a group was to find a client. This meeting was held on 04/10/10 and certain ideas were put forward, one being for the Hull Community Church.

The idea was put forward by Emmaline (due to her work with the church 2years earlier) as she had spoken with on of the managers there who was in charge of the lighthouse project (project designed to help prostitutes in hull to change). The manager expressed at the time an interest at creating a video product for the project. With this in mind the group got in contact with the church, however we are still waiting for a reply from them.

With this in mind I took it upon myself to contact other possible clients in case the community church does not get back to us.

Firstly I approached a company called saville audio visual. After contacting their hull branch I was given a contact for John Baxter (the head of their creative department). However I was told by him that they already create videos for themselves.

After this I looked through my list of contacts and realised I had one for a friend (who will be left unnamed) works in the media department in BP. However I have found that they are currently unavailable until 11/10/10.

Considering this week’s progress the targets for the end of next week (17/10/10) should be:

• Confirm a client
• Arrange a meeting with the client (as soon as possible)
• * If the above has been organised before end of week a schedule should be drawn up.