The End of an Era for Green Gage Entertainment

So our hand in was yesterday and everything is completed, we had a final get together yesterday to double and triple check everything was OK and mix our sound. I'm really happy with the way our group worked together and I think that's why our piece has come out so well. Working with a group of boys I did think my opinion might of been ignored at times but it wasn't at all. They listened to my opinions, and ideas I had for the script and final editing were used. Matt and Sean did most of the editing however we were all together throughout the whole process, suggesting things that others may not have considered which I think worked really well. Also small things such as continuity in the piece, things I noticed they may not have thought of.

To begin with we had a lot of ideas on the recession and unemployment, firstly coming up with the idea of following an unemployed person who was struggling to get a job. However finding it near impossible to find a contributor and feeling that our piece was lacking something meant we came up with the idea of using myself as a student pondering my future in the media industry. This worked really well and gave the project a personal touch and an emotional journey to follow. It also relates well to all students in the university as we had Rob Mear's a lecturer at the uni and Don Foster Bath's local Lib Dem MP.

Today we had a final look at everyone projects to give feedback. This is a good exercise as it gives us an idea of what other people think of the project and things we could of changed or done differently. However we had really good feedback from the group and the only criticism they had was the angle at which Don Foster was filmed was the wrong side. But due to the room being very small and Don Foster being in a rush the day we were filming we had no choice but to film that way.

I think in future projects I wouldn't change much as I think everything went well. However we did loose our vox pops so I think labelling the tapes and logging our clips more carefully, so I would of changed that if I could. I also would of done a little more camera work and editing but overall I think the piece looks very professional and I'm really happy with the way our group worked together.

Lidl Love

So Lidl Love is finally finished. I'm happy with my final piece and really enjoyed filming with my Nan and Grandad. Because they were a little uneasy behind the camera at times I decided to leave it rolling in between takes, getting some really good outtakes. And they were so funny and I think portrayed my Nan and Grandad's relationship more than the actual 3 minute film that I decided to include them at the end which they were happy for me to do.

I had a few problems when shooting ( mainly them starring into the camera lens!! ) for example I wanted some shots of their lovely garden and my Grandad watering the flowers for cut aways but unfortunately some neighbours from up the street were very noisy so I couldn't use some of the footage. And although I did pick this up on the sound it was impossible to get them to be quiet so I just had to do the best I could with what I had. Another thing I think I needed to do was to shoot the cutaways for a longer period of time. For example shots of the flowers etc I didn't shoot for long enough so tried to slow them down on Final Cut but this can ruin the quality and make them look jumpy and uneasy on the eye. Another problem was lighting; as I filmed in the kitchen the light from outside appears to change the darkness of the picture as the sun goes in and out of the clouds. It's not a major problem and can be solved by colour correction on Final Cut. However I don't want to do too much to it because I don't want it to look unnatural.

But other than those few minor problems I really enjoyed making the project and am happy with my final piece.

Lighting Demo

I attended a lighting demo over the Easter break so thought I'd put up a few pictures from the day. I really enjoyed the demo because it was hands on and we were taught how to put up the lights and pack them back away as well as how to position them. We also were taught about 2 point lighting in which 2 lights are placed on the subject at different angles. This creates a shadow so depending on what kind of look you're going for usually a 3rd light is added, a key light, which fills the background. Or another way to fill the background would be to use a spot light which has a kind of iris which you can adjust to make the background look more interesting.

As well as the lighting demo I also attended a grip demo. Although we don't necessarily need the grip equipment just yet, I thought it would be a good idea to get a head start. This was also really hands on and we were able to set up the equipment, experiment with it, and then pack it away again. This will be useful for future film projects next year.

A day shooting with the Green Gagers

We were all out shooting on the 7Th and had a really productive day. Due to our previous error not recording sound during cutaways, we managed to re-shoot all of these and more. We also had our interview with Don Foster local Lib Dem at his office in Bath. This went really well and he gave some really good answers on advice and the future of Bath and Britain as a whole during this recession. The office wasn't that big but we managed to shoot the whole interview first just with Don Foster in the shot, and then after shooting the noddies and over the shoulder shots as we didn't have 2 Z1's. Although having booked a lighting demo for the group we unfortunately couldn't get in on it until after the interview, but the office was OK for light and after adjusting the iris and other settings on the Z1 we managed to bring the level up a bit. Don was very welcoming and although being in a rush and very busy still took the time out for us and wished us the best of luck for our documentary. I also remembered to make he had filled out all of the appropriate paperwork such as release forms and location agreements as this is important for our portfolio. Here are some other pictures from the day.

G.G.E

So with the 6th May looming Green Gage Entertainment are so far on track to hit the deadline. We have cutaways,an IV with Rob Mear's and are due to shoot IV with Don Foster local Lib Dem tomorrow which should give us some good material to use. We just need to sort montages of newspapers which we already have, and archive which is prooving to be a bit of a tough cookie to find. After that all that needs to be done is the recording of the VO.

The only real hiccup we have had so far is that we unfortunately forgot to record sound on some of our cutaways and shots of myself walking in and out of shot, figuring they would only be cutaways we completly forgot about sound. However we have the Z1 all day tomorrow so will shoot more then to replace the ones we can't use. What ever cutaways or establishing shots you use, you always need atmos, even if it's going to be laid under a VO or music it still needs to be there, and then you have the option to dip it or bring it back up during pauses you may need throughout your piece.

Here are our latest minutes.

Green Gage Entertainment

Meeting Minutes
02/04/09

Hannah,Sean,Rich

This week:

- After realising we hadn’t recorded sound on cutaways we arranged to shoot them again, including Hannah walking through Bath, Hannah walking into Rob Mears IV and out of IV.
- Need to shoot some sort of establishing shot with VO to introduce Hannah and the situation/topic of programme.
- Also need to book possible time in Publishing lab to take pictures of our newspapers to put into Final Cut.
- Need script for VO complete with facts etc. Sort in am of 7th April.



Dates to remember:
- 7th April Don Foster IV at 3.30pm
- 8th April lighting and grip demo for group 10am – 2pm
- 26th April we need a sound sync to hand in to Holly
- 30th April – rough cut
- 6th May – DUE IN 4PM!!!!

Grizzly Man

Grizzly Man (2005) is a documentary that focuses on amateur bear expert Timothy Treadwell. He ventured out to Alaska every year to study and live with the bears. He was killed, along with his girlfriend tragically by a rogue bear in 2003. Werner Herzog obtained the 100 hours of film that Timothy shot whilst out living among the dangerous species and created this documentary with it.

I think it was edited really well. With over 100 hours of footage, cutting it down must of been a very hard task. Some conventions of the documentary I thought were similar to Green Gage Entertainments project. Using archive and experts opinions, in a similar way Grizzly Man used footage of Timothy Treadwell's and then back to IVs with family and people he knew. The documentary built suspense and strangely made me want to see him being eaten at the end? However I was informed there was only an audio recording of this.

The pilot however gave a graphic description of what app reared to be a bear and a rib cage, where Timothy's camp was set up. The pilot would drop Timothy off and pick him every year.

It is evident from the footage that Timothy was suffering from a mental illness. Trying to do 8 takes of one shot, with a bandanna, without a bandanna, with a red hat, with a blue hat. Another part I remember clearly is one in which he begins a normal take, and then slanders the park service and government, stating he is the only one protecting the animals. With the commentary over the top it makes it an analysis of his behaviour. Here's a snippet of the video below. Unfortunately I cannot embed it so here's the link to clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlqSiP2WIuU&feature=related

Green Gage Entertainment

As Green Gage Entertainment we have decided to make a change on the angle of our documentary. With all the right content and contributors booked, we realised the documentary didn't have an emotional attachment or something to keep the viewer watching.

With that we thought of introducing an emotional story,which would make editing and linking our piece together much easier and flow better. I would be the student who can't get a job, and wants to find out why, so looks to her local MP and other experts to investigate the history of the last recession, the behaviour it caused within the British Society and if it's possible it could all happen again.

Having made this decision we all feel a lot more confident on how the final piece is going to look. Also after re-writing our script we have started to come up with the visuals we want and how the documentary will look from beginning to end.

Meeting Minutes

Green Gage Entertainment

Meeting Minutes
26/03/09

Hannah,Sean,Matt

Changes:

Now thinking about possible emotional personal journey – Hannah?
Raising question will she ever get a job as a student with unemployment hitting 2 million. Would help documentary flow better and make links easier from point to point. For example … I went to visit my local MP to find out what he has to say on the recession and unemployment. Hannah will then do VO’s etc linking the piece together and giving it more of a beginning, middle and end. All agreed on change.

Need:

- Atmos from street scenes.
- Log shots when we are next shooting – someone writes down time codes and description of shot. Next filming time 31st March Rob Mears.
- Music to use: so far, I predict a riot. To use over rioting archive and stills.
- Need to think about new title – discuss Tues.
- Book a lighting demo or everyone to go on – Sean email Karen
- Re – write script.

Green Gage Entertainment

Meeting Minutes

23/03/09

Rich,Hannah,Sean,Matt


What we now have:

- Filming for vox pops and some cut away footage done today. Release forms signed.
Have a few good vox pop answers to our questions and a variety as well. Need to shoot more cutaways on Panasonic – sort Thursday.
- Now have lots of newspaper on articles on unemployment/recession etc to use for cutaways and montages.
- Have questions for Don Foster interview on 7th April.
- Have a rough script of what we want and where. Will wait to see what interviews bring before we re-draft again.
- Some moving footage of riots and problems with recession.

For next week:

- Book all equipment needed for next few interviews.
- Questions for sociology lecture – to do with future of Britain and past recessions causing rioting and violence etc.
- Sort BNP speaker. He wants an audience but not really the angle we want – think about what we’re going to do to get him in a one on one interview.

Green Gage Entertainment

Green Gage Entertainment

Meeting Minutes

19/03/09

Rich,Hannah,Sean


What we need in the next 2 weeks:
-Questions for contributors - Everyone think of for next week.

-Script – We will work on after filming Monday

-Call sheet for filming – Hannah will do for Mondays filming

-Talk to local libraries about archive newspaper articles – Next week

-Check forecast for shooting on Monday – Done

-Print release forms for Monday – Hannah to edit and print

-Call contributors before we see them for the interview – Next week

Z1, Boom microphone and tripod are booked for Monday. Forecast is overcast but hopefully dry.

Montage to music

Here's a montage of images to music done on FCP. We had a screencast from Mike which I found really useful, especially when I couldn't remember how something was done, it was easy to rewind back to the chapter I needed. I chose a song by Moby to put it to because I though it fitted well with the sunset scenes and reflected the calm theme of them.

Green Gage Entertainment

So as you can see below by our minutes of our weekly production meetings, so far so good. We have a list of possible contributors, 2 of which we already have interviews set up for end of March/beginning of April. We also have a planned pre and post production timeline which so far we are sticking to.

Our idea is based around the question are we the British loosing our jobs to foreign immigrants? With a rise in BNP votes it seems more and more people think so as the recession hits Britain hard and unemployment is worse than ever. In 2008 the number of foreign workers went up by over 175,000, are statistics like these helping spark support for the National Front?

Archive footage will show the damaging effects the previous recession had on society and we will also talk to experts in sociology and economics, local lib dems and a member of the BNP to find out their opinion on the future of Britain. We will also be asking the public what they think through the use of vox pops. With narration our documentary will guide the viewer to form their own opinion.

Green Gage Entertainment

Green Gage Entertainment

Meeting Minutes
16/03/09


Rich, Hannah, Sean


Contributors found:

Danny Lake – X Leader of the Youth BNP. Student at Bath Uni.
Email sent: failed – search phonebook.

Nicholas Coombes – Local lib dem
Emailed. He suggested Don Foster – Local Bath MP.

Don Foster: Arranged interview for 07/04/09 3.30 at his office. Need questions.

BNP – emailed

Find a sociologist lecturer in the University for our Expert Interview. Go to reception and ask where they teach and contact details.

Lecturers:
- Professor Rob Mears Head of School Sociology
- Dr Alan Buckingham Sociology
- Dr Andy Smart Sociology
- Ms Rosemary McKechnie Sociology

All emailed today.

Next Monday meet at university 11.00am and drive into Bath to do Vox Pops. Book Z1 this week – Rich. Also visit Library in Bath to look for archive newspapers/ material.

Questions:
1. Do you think migrant workers effect the amount of jobs available to British workers?
2. Do you think Britain’s becoming a more Nationalistic country?


Also shoot cutaways of:
– Walking feet
- People walking through town
-Job Centre
-English flag?

Things to do:
Archive sources for everybody to look at (Sean emailed Matt):

- ITN Source
- BBC Motion Gallery
- CNN Image Source
- Huntley Film Archives

Think about script. Write next week. Also begin to plan production and shooting schedule.

Green Gage Entertainment


Meeting Minutes
12/03/09


Rich,Hannah,Sean,Matt



What’s done today:

- Proposal written

- Pitch is today – also written and allocated who’s to say what.


Meet on 16/03 at library 12pm – sort contributors and archive



Green Gage Entertainment

Meeting Minutes
05/03/09

Rich,Hannah,Sean,Matt


Research found:

Sean – facts and figures – BNP logos we can use in montages
Hannah – news paper articles – “The Polish dream turns sour”
Rich – The Times Online – “Don’t bank on a caring, sharing recession”
Can use as montage or narration material.
Now have:
· employment agencies in Baths contact details
· Our beginning, middle and end
· Our timeline for pre and post production

Need to:

- Call BNP, set up possible interview.
- Hannah + Sean – Find contributors in Bristol
- Rich + Matt – “ “ in Bath
- Figures on people coming in and out of the country
- Job numbers/ unemployment numbers
- Facts and Figures on other countries such as France etc
- BNP – their policy
- Archive of riots in last recession and old newspapers

Jobs:

Sean – riot archive
Matt – recent news footage on recession/employment
Rich – facts and figures/ contributors
Hannah – newspaper archive


Green Gage Entertainment


Meeting Minutes
25/02/09

Rich,Hannah,Sean,Matt


Research found:

-Article by Nick Lowles questioning If the recession is good news or the BNP.
-Trevor Phillips on how Britain could return to racism as the recession bites.
-Tyrone Times on more local fears of racism returning due to recession.
-Archive news articles from the BBC ‘ON THIS DAY’ online, about riots in 1977.
-More from BBC ‘ON THIS DAY’ online, teachers dies in riots.
-Article from the Guardian on La Pen’s National Front selling headquarters to a Chinese university.

Need to research now interviewees, archive footage, facts and figures, newspaper articles and decide on beginning middle and end.

Could possibly begin with archive and the comparison of the riots in the 1970’s to the riots happening again today. Also interviews with experts or local job centre owners/workers.


For next week:

All watch ‘The History o Nightmares’ 3 part series on Channel4.com. Look at structure, use of narration and archive footage.
Jobs to do:
Interviewees and contacts to speak to – Hannah
Facts, figures and archive – Sean
Story, beginning middle and end – Rich
More research and contacts – Matt

Also think about our timeline. How long for research? Shooting? Editing?

Next meeting: Thursday 5th March, 9am, Students Union.


Green Gage Entertainment


Meeting Minutes
19/02/09

Matt,Rich,Hannah,Sean


Possible ideas for documentary:

Accents – Regional accents – why do we have them?
Tattoos and piercing – what pitch or angle?
The homeless in Bath – homeless man kicked out of Bath
Unemployment - recession
Politics
Observational style doc – Alzheimer’s, anorexia, diabetes, OCD, disability



Final idea:

Unemployment

Could compare to past – the 70’s
National front
Older generations – their experiences of the recession – unemployment back then
Job centres – debate with Polish workers
Big companies going into recession – Zavvi
BNP – protests – would be good to film and interview.

For next week:

Everyone research Nationalist front, BNP and the future of employment. See what everyone comes back with at next meeting. Collect resources – newspaper clippings website links etc.

Green Gage Entertainment


Meeting Minutes
12/02/09

Rich,Hannah,Sean


Roles for the team:

Rich – Producer/director/camera assistant/production manager

Hannah – Researcher/AP/head production manager

Sean – Sound recordist/assistant editor/assistant production manager

Matt – Editor/camera man/assistant production manager


For next week:

Everyone think of ideas for documentary. Watch documentaries or influence, read papers internet etc. Meet up on Thursday 10am at library to discuss ideas.

Sean or Hannah to inform Matt about what is needed to be done.

BC1004 Writing for Broadcast Media

In our BC1004 module we have been set the task of writing a short film script. However I didn't realised there were so many steps you have to take before just sitting down to write the actual thing!

- First there's thinking of your idea ( which I found hard enough after thinking a little too big! )

- Writing a treatment. Effectively a break down of your film revealing stage by stage characters, their personalities, and how they change and develop through your story. As treatments are used to sell your story to a producer or agent they have to be kept short and precised, so no rambling.

- I found some useful info or writing treatments on this website: http://www.writingtreatments.com/html/home.html. Another useful tip Susan gave us was this formula:

HEY! - Some element of the film has to capture our audiences attention.

YOU. - Something to involve the viewer, that draws them in on a personal level.

SEE? - Evidence you introduce to develop your subject and prove the point.

SO... - The conclusion you draw or point you make.

- Next step is to create a log line. A log line is a 1 or 2 sentence description that captures the unique and conflicting elements or your screenplay. The following n5 things need to be included: Protagonist, genre, innter conflict, outer conflict and climax. e.g A straight laced woman tragically looses her husband and recieves letters and gifts from beyond the grave in order to get over her grief and find herself again. - P.S I love you

- The step outline. The step outline is a sequence of your events within your story. The purpose of a step outline is to check and clarify the story by breaking it up into very brief scene descriptions.

Stay tuned for the next installment of writing a script!...

Lidl Love

For BC1005 one of our assignments is to create a short video 3-8 minutes long on whatever we may please. After researching a little on documentaries last week as I said in my previous blog I found this lovely little documentary on Mary and Reg. It immediately reminded me of my nan and grandad and inspired me to create a short documentary on them and their love of Lidl.

Having been through a few recessions they know first hand what it's like to ration and watch the pennies, therefore when Lidl's first started popping up all over the west country they were first in there to pick up their value for money fruit and veg. They also enjoyed the weekly changing display of random goods Lidl provided, such as ski wear, a surf board, nails or even loafers. Now some of these things you may be thinking are perfectly normal to have in a supermarket, but would you really expect to see surf boards down the same aisle as your fruit and veg?

However saying that, Lidl's care free, I'll put my stock anywhere thing I think I like, and Marlene and Don certainly do. Therefore I'd like to do a short doc on them and their weekly shop in Lidl. In contrast to that I would like to take them to Waitrose, and let them tally up their weekly shop there just to see the appauled reaction! They also have some very stern views on youngsters spending habits ( mine especially ) so maybe documenting this would also be interesting; the different attitudes towards managing money in the past and today. And remember, spend a little, save a little!

THE TRICASTER!!

On Thursday we paid a vist to the Broadcast Video Expo at Earls Court. Among the many fascinating new programmes, software and gadgets ( some of which I admit went over my head, expectidly) one that caught my eye was the TriCaster. Not only was the American presenter of the demo highly intriguing with his many praises for the amazing TriCaster system, with lines such as ... I used to use CD's and DVD's, now I don't, because I have the TriCaster... (or as some were saying...I used to have a life...but now I don't, because I have the TriCaster. And so the joke went on) the actual live demo did really interest me.

The TriCaster is used as portable live production by many of the big names such as Fox Sports,MTV,Sky News and the BBC. And claims to be the most complete, reliable and efficient system available for live production and web streaming; and don't forget "No matter where your live broadcast plans take you there is a TriCaster in the TriCaster family perfect for you".

Out of the several different applications each Tricaster in the family of Tricaster's has, the one that most intrigued me was the LiveSet which provides you with network style virtual sets. The LiveSet allows you to create the look of a professional set within a small space.

All you need is a green screen or blue backdrop, a simple camera set up and lights and you can be placed in a virtual sophisticated studio.The proprietary technology allows you to live switch between 6 camera angles and change distance from close up,midway and wide shot without having to touch your camera equipment. There are several different styles of sets that can be used for example midday report, world update and newsline.If your feeling creative you can also create your own background photography using LiveSet constructor which comes free to registered users. Here are some of the examples of the sets provided.

Primetime

Midday Report

Skybox

Here are some other pictures from the day...

This amazingly is all you need to shoot a 3DM film. I was amazed when the guy at the 3D Experience stand told me you could shoot a 3D film using your own pair of HD cameras. The only other accessory you need is a 3D CamBuddy Dual Monitor. Also 3D Experience are hoping to establish "g03dhd", the world's first steroescopic 3D High Definition commercial TV channel in 2009.

I thought the light looked cool.

Indiana Jones!

Chris and his new friend Indiana.

Chris again. Also managing to get in on every LCD monitor on the stand.

The best picture of Ciarian.