Uploading Footage and Having a Look Through

Yesterday afternoon (17th Dec), Molly and I came into uni to upload the footage we had filmed from Crosby onto the Macs in the editing suite. We had previously tried uploading the footage onto Avid as we had done before for the TV Studio performances. However we encountered a few problems as the footage wouldn't capture and with Molly having to leave a little earlier, we decided not to waste any time and move up to the final cut suite which I had a go at using for the first time since the newer version was installed earlier this year.
The format of Final Cut 10 seemed a lot more basic and fun to use in comparison with the older version, however the editing tools were slightly harder to find which set me back in terms of becoming familiar with the software. I plan to watch a few YouTube tutorials on the software to get a better sense of how it operates. Looking through the footage of the mum's interviews, the band's rehearsal and the reccee interviews with the band, I was happy with the way in which the sound was captured and how the shots were positioned. Being the one of three camera operators (me, Emma and Ceri switched between camera operating during the band's rehearsal), I was able to get a good range of shots of Ricky, including mid shots of him talking when he shares his ideas with the rest of the band members and extreme close ups of his mouth singing into the mic from a slightly lower angle which made the shot look quite effective. Likewise with filming shots of Dan, the keyboard player, I thought using shots of him listening to what the other band members have to say would look good as a visual when we incorporate voiceovers from the interviews. Again extreme close ups of Dan's hand on the keyboard zooming out to a close up of him playing the keyboard was shot as I believe it would work well as an establishing shot when discussing Dan's musical background. The footage came out a lot clearer than I originally expected and was even able to gather a few possible outtake shots of the mum's and the boys acting silly or laughing/talking amongst each other to include right at the end of the promotional video OR to add to the website.

Band Rehearsal and Reccee Interviews

On Friday evening (the 13th Dec) my group, excluding Molly, drove down to Crosby where band members Ricky and Felipe are based and where the band rehearse on most Fridays. We thought it'd be a good idea to film the band rehearsing both old and new songs to give us a better sense of how their group dynamic works when not performing. I was able to see how ideas were shared or disagreements were resolved within the band whilst they rehearsed. For example, Felipe, the drummer of the band, put across his opinion that his drumming went on for too long for part of the song which didn't quite fit the sound for the song and wanted to make that particular part shorter. Ricky, who is also Felipe's older brother agreed with the small issue Felipe had and was able to make the other band members aware of why it didn't fit in with the song they were rehearsing. Minor issues like these I saw were resolved fairly quickly and the band were able to continue rehearsing as normal, which I found quite desirable and made me like the band even more due to their mature way of dealing with issues, considering the fact that they are all under 21. The only issue we had was the amount of space we had to fit all 3 of us in the attic room, along with the band and the camera and tripod. Luckily enough this wasn't that much of an issue and we managed to get a good range of shots for each individual band member rehearsing.
Before we filmed the rehearsals, we found the perfect opportunity to gather some footage of the boys mum's (excluding Mike's mum as she wasn't present at the time). Esperanza (Ricky & Felipe's mum) and Sonia (Dan and Andres's mum) were more than happy to be filmed discussing the boys relationships with each other, how they have learnt to leave the boys to their own devices in terms of music and how their South American roots have or have not influenced their musical decisions. I, personally was very pleased with how the interviews with the boy's mums went as it gave us their perspective on how the boys work in a group and how they see their sons' future in music progressing. As they hadn't really had the opportunity to talk to a small group of people about Rangoon Sons, it came at an advantage for our own project due to the fact that they were able to re-live memories of South America and give us some anecdotes on their own experiences with the boys.
After the band's rehearsal we spent a good hour and a half doing reccee interviews with the boys themselves, both collectively and as individuals. With the reccee interviews our aim was to get a clearer sense of how they see each other and how they manage to balance both jobs, college, hockey and music on a regular basis. As I was filming the boys answer a few questions, I was able to think of more on the spot which I believe will give the audience and their fans a better understanding of who Rangoon Sons actually are as people and not simply musicians. The audio and visual footage gathered from the mums' interviews, the bands rehearsal and the reccee interviews with the band will be looked through thoroughly by myself, Molly and Emma next Tuesday (the 17th Dec) to pick out which parts worked well, which ones didn't and what we may need to re-shoot or rephrase when asking questions to make the interviews work more effectively for the finished piece.

Uploading Footage to PC's - Avid Suite

After a progress meeting with Alex and Camilla, me and Emma decided to go and upload the footage we had recorded of the band from the TV Studio last Friday onto a PC in the Avid suite. Unfortunately due to work commitments, Molly and Ceri couldn't join us to see the footage we had previously recorded. As we had footage on one master tape for the 'Jealousy' and 'Caught me Cold' performances along with the tape that we captured footage from the Z1 which was left to record whilst the band warmed up etc, it took a good few hours to upload the entirety of film we had.
Looking back at the footage, we noticed a couple of the recordings from both performances had a few out of focus shots, which we decided won't be used within the final piece as it won't make our final piece look as professional as it could look. However, as we have decided to cut away from the performances to create a better audience interest, the audio from the performances with out of focus shots can still be imposed within the piece whilst an interview is playing on screen. We also came across a few natural shots of the band and individual band members whilst they were warming up, which both me and Emma believed would create a nice visual when each band member is talking about their involvment in the band for example.

The performances themselves turned out pretty well, excluding the out of focus shots and a few shots that didn't match with the sound ie. a mid shot of Dan when Mike has a solo part or a close up of Andres's feet, which didn't work as well as I thought it may have when recording. Other than that, the majority of shots filmed worked well in accordance with the audio, especially the use of a 3 shot of the 3 singers, Ricky, Mike and Andres and close ups of Felipe (the drummer)'s hands whilst playing the drums.
I'll keep you posted on how filming the band's rehearsal goes Friday evening :)

Production Meeting to Discuss Ideas for Before & After Xmas Break

This afternoon our group met for a production meeting to discuss what ideas each of us had in mind for the remainder of the promo video for the band Rangoon Sons. A few of us liked the idea of cutting away from the performances we had filmed in the TV Studio last week, to keep viewers interested but also give them a good feel of the band's musical background. As the filming session for the beach had been cancelled last Sunday (1st Dec) we decided that the best time to film this would be after Christmas due to Ricky having work commitments and one of my group members going home for Christmas this weekend. The beach scene would have to be shot in the morning/afternoon as it gets dark at around 4pm and an evening shoot wouldn't fit our idea for the piece. We also decided on the title sequence being on the beach and the boys would write their band's name in the sand either with rocks/pebbles or carve the name with just their fingers to add a more personal effect than a simple title sequence created on After Effects.
As the boys enjoy playing hockey in their spare time, it was decided that we would film them playing, preferably training, not an actual game so the audience can see their personalities when they're not recording music. After we recieve the dates from the band for when they are free to film, my aim is to get a release form to allow us to film in the hockey area in which the boys play in, hopefully before Christmas depending on when we are given the dates. We might have to film in the evening if the band are training in the evening which won't be much trouble for me and Ceri as we are based in Liverpool, however my other group members may have to leave early as they live outside of the Merseyside borough.
The idea of booking a photography studio to allow the boys to draw sketches of each other whilst talking about their fellow band members is an idea we were given off one of our tutors, but I along with a couple of my other group members believed this idea would work really well add a bit more depth to the piece. If all goes to plan and the boys agree on this idea, Emma is going to book the studio before Christmas which will cost each of us £12.50 each for 2 hours of studio time, which we don't mind paying as it will hopefully spark audience interest.
With 4 out of 5 of the band members having South American roots, it was decided that we would interview their mums, using just voiceovers in the final piece to give us some information on their roots and their opinions of the boys involvement in the band. We will also be needing to set a date to film this particular segment once Andres gives us confirmation that their mums are fine to be filmed or have their voice recorded. This Friday will involve going to Ricky's house in Crosby where the boys rehearse in the evening, again to show the audience how their rehearsals pan out and what is involved during rehearsals. We will also be interviewing the boys individually and the sound captured from these interviews will be used over the sketching of each other segment to avoid talking heads.
With any band it is always useful to know where and how they found their interest in music and so with this in mind, the idea of using baby photo's within the final piece seemed like a good idea. We have asked for the baby photo's to be brought to Ricky's house in Crosby where we will either use photocopies or the actual photo's themselves with either green screen or rostrum camera in the New Year.
As the final piece is going to include a web component as well, we have been thinking of content to include in the website and we decided to try and get the band to talk about how and why they changed their name from 'Broken English' to 'Rangoon Sons' which will be included on either the 'About Us' or 'Explore' page.
We were informed that Mike, one of the vocalists, has a sister who is good at drawing so we were keen on the idea of her sketching up a logo for the band, something they have control over as obviously this is something that will stick with them and seperate them from any other Indie Rock band. Once we get this logo we will incorporate this onto the website with the hope that it provides a more professional and well thought out theme.

TV Studio - Filming the Performances

On Friday my group and I went into the TV Studio and helped the band set up their equipment for the 3 performances we were planning on filming throughout the day. As one of the band members, Dan had a keyboard exam in the morning we were a bit wary that he wouldn't make it in time for the first performance. However by 10:30 he arrived and we were able to carry on with our day as planned. Setting up the cameras in their appropriate positions and sticking the camera shots to the camera so we knew which shots we had to get ready were just a couple of the procedures we had to go through before filming. Molly filmed the song she wrote the camera script for first which was 'Jealousy', a more recent song from the band which is not on their EP. As Molly had written the script for this herself we collectively decided that she would vision mix for this performance and I would vision mix for 'Caught Me Cold' and switch between Camera 1. I found the shots quite easy to transition to and from as there weren't a large range of shots and I had made myself familar with the equipment and had trial runs of shots way before we began filming.
It took until after the lunch break at around 2:30pm to complete filming Jealousy as Mike, one of the main singers, forgot his lines a few times. However as a group we didn't let this affect our schedule too much and carried on filming when everyone was ready for another take. The band were very confident when filming them which made it a lot more easier for us to film and as we were left to our own devices we didn't feel as much pressure to get everything on point.
In the afternoon we left the equipment as it was in the morning and prepared ourselves to film the next performance of 'Caught Me Cold'. Whilst the band prepared themselves and got their voices warmed up, I went in the director's gallery to practise cutting from Cameras 1-3. My group members were slightly worried I would struggle to cut from one shot to another as my camera script involved more than twice the amount of shots than included in the 'Jealousy' performance and Molly had stated she had struggled cutting with just 25 shots. However I didn't have much trouble at all with the 60 shots I had to cut to and from but the only issue was having to do a few more takes with this performance as my group members complained they didn't have enough time to transition from one shot to another for a few of the shots which struck me to cut out a few shots or adjust the shots to an easier transition. The penultimate take that was shot went well, which I believe we will use for the final piece although a few shots weren't as planned on the camera script and were slightly adlibbed. The acoustic performance of Caught Me Cold was scrapped due to time constraints however we managed to finish in time to pack away all the equipment and get out of the studio before 5pm. I have kept hold of the tape that Elaine gave me after we finished filming which I will use today on a tape deck when me and my group have a production meeting to watch the performances and collectively decide which ones will work best for the final piece.

New Camera Script - Complete!

This evening I finally managed to finish writing up the new camera script for the band's performance of their 'Caught me Cold' song from their EP. As Alex advised me I should write my camera script up in a more professional way rather than the basic format Elaine from the TV Studio advised me on, I acted upon her advice and began writing the new script a few days ago. This task was quite time consuming due to the fact that there were around 65 shots in total and for each shot I was required to write the shot number, the camera which this shot would be recorded on, how the shot would be filmed and the appropriate lyrics for that shot. So you can imagine doing this 65 times, including the instrumental parts, was rather tedious! However it didn't take me that long to finish writing it up this evening and was able to post it into my group's Facebook group in which we inform each other of our individual progress and any issues we may have.
Here is a brief screen shot of my new and improved camera script;

Discussing Web Component & Ideas for Narrative

This afternoon myself, Ceri and Emma met with Ian to discuss the web component part of our assignment which will include band information, outtakes from filming, an explore page where the audience can view profiles of each band member and more obvious elements such as gig listings and Twitter and Facebook links. Our main concern was which website designer we would use which was discussed with Ian as he has the most knowledge on this sort of subject. He advised us that Wix would act as the best model for creating the website as it has more easier options for us to navigate through ie. finding the appropriate text without having the write the HTML code for each individual element. However he did want us to keep in mind that although Wix is the best model for us to use, it's longjevity is quite uncertain therefore he advised us to use Dreamweaver as a back up in case Wix closes down for example. We were quite worried that we would be marked down for using a website that provides us with templates for the website we wish to create however Ian informed us that this is not an issue to be stressing about as the content itself is the most important element. Therefore although the website needs to have a professional look and feel to it, the content of the website is primarily what we will be getting marked on.
Once we had our meeting with Ian, we had a brief production meeting where we discussed possible elements to go into the promotional video as at the minute there isn't a great deal of content. During our meeting with Ian he gave us the idea of each band member drawing a quick caricature or cartoon image of their fellow band member(s) to give us more of an insight into how they see each other. This sparked me to pitch the idea of a time lapse of each band member drawing one another, getting up and drawing the next one in order to add a bit of uniqueness to the promotional video. This element would be accompanied by voiceover sound whilst that band member draws their fellow band member to support their drawing.

Beach Scene Cancelled - Rescheduled for After Xmas

On Saturday my group member Ceri, who liases between the group and the band, informed us that we wouldn't be able to film on Sunday due to Ricky, one of the band members not being able to attend for reasons I am not aware of. This has delayed us quite significantly as Ricky isn't able to postpone for this Sunday either due to work commitments, therefore we have been forced to push the dates back for filming the beach scene till after the Christmas break. However we have set a date for the interviews which will be uploaded to the web component on Friday 13th December. The audio from these interviews will be used in the promotional video itself as we talk to the band about group dynamics, personalities of other band members and how they each individually contribute to the band. On the 13th of this month we will also be recording the boys rehearsing in Ricky's attic to use as footage for part of the promotional video, again with voiceovers and cut backs to the rehearsal to add a bit of range to that particular segment. I'll keep you posted on how this Friday's shoot goes for all 3 of the performances in the TV studio!

Progress Tutorial with Alex

After the tech meeting with Elaine and Kelly yesterday, my group excluding Emma had a short progress tutorial with Alex to update her on how our project is developing. We informed her of the first meeting we all had with the band, mine and Ceri's visit to the band in Formby where they performed a set at a small bar and the tech meeting which two of the band members (Mike and Andres) attended to familiarise themselves with how the TV Studio is layed out. Alex seemed rather pleased that we plan on filming this Sunday at Crosby beach where a couple of the band members reside to film shots of the beach, the band talking amongst themselves, walking along the beach etc. These shots will be primarily used at the beginning of the promotional video where we plan on using the sound of the Spanish speaking boys voices to accompany the shots and establish their identity and where they come from straight away, which sets them apart from any other boy band working at this present date. Alex did advise me and Molly however, to write the camera scripts we have produced in a more professional format as we initially went with the format technician Elaine advised us to produce which was more simple.
My next task then before next Friday is to write up the professional camera script and show Alex my completed script at our next progress tutorial. I have been provided with a template of how to write a professional camera script of one of my fellow group members which I will use to assist me in adjusting the script I have at the moment.

Tech Meeting with Elaine & Kelly

Yesterday (Wednesday 27th Nov) I attended the lighting workshop held by Mark and Ian who advised us on what equipment to use and how to use it when lighting a scene. I learnt that to avoid shadows from forming, it is sometimes best to use natural light but if this isn't possible then place the light almost behind the subject, whilst avoiding obstruction of the shot and use a reflector to add more warmth to the face. A handbook was provided by the tutors however there wasn't enough to go around so when I finally recieve my own handbook I will be looking over the pointers Mark gave us to assist me in directing the band's performance of Caught me Cold in the TV Studio next Friday.
The lighting workshop was then followed by a meeting with Elaine and Kelly down in the TV Studio as we needed to make them aware of what props we will be needing, our lighting requirements and how we will go about recording sound. The lighting for the performances was finalised and as stated in my previous blog posts, it was decided that we will be using orangey/yellows to light the performance to add a more Indie Rock element to the video. The only props we will be needing is a couch of some sort for the band to sit on whilst they perform the acoustic version of 'Caught me Cold' and possibly a metal sheet to put underneath the drumkit to prevent the floor of the TV Studio being scratched when we move the set around for the other performances. The band offered to bring in their own mics to next Fridays shoot as these are the mics they are most familiar with, however there may be a good chance they will also use the TV Studio mics in case of any technical issues that may occur during takes. Ambient sound will be used for the acoustic performance whilst a backing track will be played for the full performance of 'Caught me Cold' as Elaine suggested the overall sound comes out a lot better when the actual track is played over the video.

TV Studio - Camera Workshop/Production Meeting/Completion of Camera Script

Yesterday my group and I met with Elaine, the new technician who works in the TV Studio for a short camera refresher workshop. As we will be using the cameras to film two to three music performances of the band, it was essential we familiarised ourselves with the cameras again to prevent any delays or disruption on the day(s) of filming. We did encounter a few problems however because the band had sent Ceri, my fellow group member, a recording of two of the songs they wish to perform, however the sound was highly distorted. Luckily, the band informed us that they will be able to resolve this on the day as two members of the group have an A-Level in sound technology.

I decided to act as the vision mixer for one of the performances, and Molly will be switching roles with me when the day comes to film the acoustic performance, allowing us both to have a good attempt at camera operating and vision mixing. Ceri has opted to be the floor manager/camera operator whilst Emma has decided to work on camera only. Practising my vision mixing skills for a good 15-20 minutes allowed me to familiarise myself with the technology in the director's gallery and I realised how easy it was to cut from one shot to another by clicking the 'Cut' button then pressing the next camera I want to move on to next, which I believe is a good way of avoiding mistakes. On Wednesday we will be having a tech meeting with Elaine & Kelly who will want to know our specific requirements for the performances ie. lighting, props, the amount of mics, option of curtains etc.
On Tuesday I finally completed writing up the camera script for the song 'Caught me Cold' which a song off the band's EP. As I only had the chorus and instrumental sections to write shots for, I was able to complete the script within a short amount of time. For the chorus I found using close up's of whoever was singing at the time worked well in putting the viewer's focus on that particular person. Likewise with the final instrumental segment where bass guitar player Andres has plays a large part, I used medium close ups to establish the instrumental then followed that up with a medium long shot of the 3 band members on the left who are also playing instruments. This shot then zooms to a close-up of Ricky and Mike who are singing "ooooooohhhh" which plays alongside the instrumental, again putting the focus on the main band members at the time.
Alongside writing up the camera script, I was also put in charge of consulting my group members about what lighting will work best for the acoustic performance which we believe are orange and yellows to add a more Indie Rock vibe to the video. Along with the tech meeting we will be joined by the band who will be coming in to have a look at the studio and become familiar with the surroundings in order to make them more comfortable before we begin filming the music performances. I have decided to ask the band for confirmation on the positions in which they'll be standing/sitting for the performances along with ensuring no overly detailed/bright colours/heavy clothing are worn to avoid disruption whilst filming.
To ensure the band are happy with the narrative of the piece so far myself and the group have also decided to ask them if there is anything particular they would like to be included in the promotional video so along with ourselves, they are fully happy with the content we are going to produce for them.

Starting my Camera Script

Sorry for the delay on updating you about how I've been getting on with writing up my camera script, it's been a hectic few days! Last week, after listening to the song 'Caught Me Cold' by the band we are making a music promotional video for, Rangoon Sons, I started on writing up a shot for the acoustic performance we will be recording in the TV Studio.
The song is off their EP 'Come Back Home' and has a upbeat and Indie feel to the track which basically sums up the band's overall sound. The band chose this song themselves to perform acoustically in the studio, for reasons I am not fully aware of but I actually enjoyed listening to the track over and over again whilst writing up the shot list, even though I wouldn't usually listen to Indie music on a regular basis. Whilst carefully listening to the lyrics I found it relatively easy to think of shots that would best fit the upbeat rhythm of the song. For example when the lead singer, Mike is singing alone, I found it necessary not only to use close-ups and extreme close-ups on his mouth to the microphone, but also to use medium close-ups of Mike's hand on the guitar to add a bit of variety to the shots rather than a string of close-ups, long shots and pans to the singers' faces. To get a bit of inspiration for how an acoustic performance is best shot, I browsed through a range of YouTube videos such as 'Tracy Chapman - Fast Car (Boyce Avenue feat. Kina Grannis acoustic cover', 'Don't You Worry Child - Swedish House Mafia - Official Acoustic Music Video - Madilyn Bailey' & 'The Lumineers - Ho Hey (Acoustic) | Performance | On Air With Ryan Seacrest', all of which I managed to get a few shot ideas from. Extreme close ups of hands on drumkits for example work effectively during the instrumental segments and profile shots seem to work best when only one member of the band is singing for a certain part of the song as it puts the viewers focus on that person only.
I managed to complete around 80% of my shot list over the weekend which leaves me with just a couple areas such as the chorus and one other instrumental section to finish off before the end of the week in preparation for next Friday's performance. It is important that I also have this shot list finished before the end of the week so my fellow group members who are operating the cameras can familiarise themselves with the shots that relate to the particular camera they are operating.

Production Meeting - Tuesday 19th Nov 2013

This afternoon my group and I met up for a production meeting to discuss our individual progress so far in terms of the music promotional video we will be creating for Production Project. As I stated in my previous blog post, me and Ceri went to Formby on Friday evening to watch the band perform live. My next step now, is to complete the shot list for the acoustic performance the band will be performing in a few weeks time, however I aim to get this completed way before then as we have a meeting with our supervisor next week therefore I want to be fully prepared and most importantly, that will be another thing to tick off the list of things to do for the assignment.
I discussed with my group what lighting we think will look the most effective for an Indie Rock band such as Rangoon Sons and we all came to the conclusion that orange and yellows will probably work best due to the relaxed and cool effect these colours bring to Indie Rock bands. We have told the band specifically to avoid wearing overly bright colours, checkered shirts, polka dots, pin striped or any other material/design that will intefere with the quality of the shot. Therefore it was advised that they wear earth tone colours or solid colours and avoid wearing material that is too thick or having too many layers on due to the intensity of heat from the lighting in the studio. From previous meetings with the band I have a relatively good idea of what their style consists of which is mainly whites, dark blues and browns so I'm pretty sure we won't have many/any problems when it comes to costume intefering with the lighting.
I'll keep you posted on how I progress with my shot list/storyboard for the acoustic performance.

Watching the Band Perform - Friday 15th Nov 2013

On Friday evening, myself and Ceri travelled down to Formby on the train to watch our subjects, Rangoon Sons, perform at a small wine bar where they performed a 90 minute gig. As a group we believed it was absolutely vital that we watched the band perform in a natural setting in order for us to get a better sense of who they are and their confidence levels when they perform live. Unfortunately our fellow group members Emma and Mollie couldn't make the gig on Friday due to work commitments, however it was lucky that at least 2 of us got to see them live in action before their acoustic/full performance in the TV Studio at uni later this year.

The band were extremely confident whilst performing and myself and Ceri agreed that we had chosen the perfect band to base our promotional video on. Rangoon Sons have a cool yet engaging stage presence which is exactly what we need to make the performance segments of the promo video a professional looking piece.

We managed to get a free copy of their EP once they had finished performing so we could listen to their songs when necessary and most importantly to get a clearer understanding of the lyrics and message they like to get across in their music, which we found was mainly relationship based.

Take a look at a short video I filmed during one of their performances (the quality of the video isn't that great due to the dim lighting in the bar)

Our next step is to meet with the TV Studio technician Elaine who will be providing us with a camera refreshment session as it has been almost a year since myself or my group mates have worked with the larger cameras in the studio. This will be followed by a meeting with the band a couple days later when we show them the studio for the first time in order to make them more familiar and comfortable with the main place in which they will be filmed for performances.

Production Project - Rangoon Sons - First Meeting with the Band - Monday 11th Nov 2013

On Monday my group and I went to go and meet the band who we will be using as our subject for the Production Project module. Rangoon Sons are an up and coming Liverpudlian band, made up of 2 sets of brothers, 1 of which has a cousin who is the only fully Caucasian member. The group consists of Mike, Ricky (Ricardo), Fillipe, Dan and Andres who range between the ages of 16-20 and all (apart from Mike) have South American roots. We found this fact about the group quite interesting as there aren't many British bands that have majority of their group members come from different racial backgrounds. With this in mind it was decided that we would make their roots a relatively large part of the promo video, possibly using Andres and Dan (the main Spanish speaking members of the group) to show us how they wrote and produced the one Spanish song they have. Using a handycam we were able to gather footage of the band whilst we got to know them in a bar in Liverpool city centre. Asking them questions such as why they chose Rangoon Sons as their band name, who their musical influences are, what they like to do outside of music, all helped contribute to getting a better understanding of the group.
This evening me and Ceri will be watching the band perform live at a bar in Formby, i'll let you know how it goes!

Final Touches and A Critical Evaluation of My Final Piece

Before my presentation on the History of Halloween I needed to create my posters that would be handed in during the presentation for my tutors to scan the relevant QR Codes.
I decided to use a poster format for my final piece as I believe if it was to be further developed, this is the format I would choose due to the fact it would be relatively easy for me to stick posters up in around Liverpool, giving users more of an insight into the history of Halloween.

The images below show my completed posters;

Overall, I believe my presentation went relatively well. I was able to discuss my initial plans of wanting to create a YouTube annotation to support an anti-racism campaign and how the idea deteriorated due to the lack of contributors. I then went on to discuss why I decided to use QR Codes as my back-up plan (easy to develop within a short amount of time) and what my new idea entailed. Deciding on the idea of using the History of Halloween as my basis for the project allowed me to share with others what I had found out about Halloween and therefore I tried to get my findings across in the most effective way possible through the use of QR Codes. This was shown through the various ways in which each of my QR Codes were formatted i.e. using kinetic typography to introduce the first QR Code, followed by a brief montage of people's answers to what they already know about Halloween, using still images to assist in telling the story of how Trick or Treating came about and talking heads to inform users of the brief history of Halloween.
After my tutors scanned a QR Code I was able to discuss why I had chose to use that particular format for the QR Code i.e. 'The Pumpkin' involved the use of still images which was synced with audio which I believed worked effectively rather than a big chunk of text which may cause boredom.
There are areas in which I could have improved on i.e. taking my own photographs to use in the picture montage QR Codes which would have added a more professional effect to the overall QR Code. I also believe that the Google Maps poster I created would have worked more effectively if I had somehow managed to record myself or someone else talking about each of the haunted locations using archive footage or still images. However, with the time that was given I thought linking each QR Code to a YouTube link would have provided users with a more insightful idea as to what each location holds using real life footage from people who have actually visited those locations.
Finally, I discussed my idea in terms of further development and explained how if I was to publish the posters they would be placed in and around Liverpool to give the general public a brief idea of how Halloween came about. Using my own voice for The Pumpkin and Fancy Dress QR Codes was another element I considered for further development as it would have made video clip seem more natural sounding.
I have enjoyed working on this module as I have learnt a lot more about software and the different ways in which media can be created, whether that be through Isadora, YouTube annotation or QR Codes. I was able to put the skills I have learnt over the 3 years to the test during the development of my final piece and was fairly happy with my finished project.

Completion of QR Codes!

 After a very long week of working on my final piece for the Creative Media Practice module, I have finally completed all 6 of my QR Codes. The footage I had filmed on a Panasonic Handycam last night was transferred to a PC so I could begin editing on Adobe Premiere this afternoon. As I didn't have much time to film last night and with the deadline drawing closer and closer the quality of the footage was not great, for example the lighting could have been of a higher standard. However, I did what I could with the time I had and therefore began to edit my footage this afternoon with the hope that my editing skills would improve the quality of the completed QR Code.

I began by focusing on the 2nd QR Code; A Brief History of Halloween which was a fairly short clip of around 20 seconds. As I wanted users to know what they would be watching I added a text element at the beginning of the clip to introduce the video along with adding an eerie sound effect to enhance the Halloween concept I had in mind. A dip to black and dither dissolve effect was added from the transition of the text to the first talking head to create a more spooky effect and again audio was sourced off the internet to be used as a backing track whilst the remainder of the clip played. After just under two hours of editing I finally completed the QR Code which was then added to my Prezi.

The final QR Code I worked on was based of the topic of 'Trick or Treating' and in similarity with the 'A Brief History...' QR Code, used a talking head to provide users with more information about how Trick or Treating came about. Again, a text element was used to introduce the clip along with audio and the completed sequence lasted for around 20 seconds. I did have a bit of trouble creating a composition that would fit the frame size of the recorded footage but with a little help off my peers I was able to find the suitable composition size of 1920 x 1080. After ensuring the QR Code worked successfully and linked to YouTube, I put the QR Code into my Prezi and had one last scan over to ensure I hadn't missed out any important information and everything worked according to plan.


The below images show my final 2 QR Codes;

And here is a link to my Prezi;

http://prezi.com/p_my09kka8ab/history-of-halloween/

Google Maps and Fancy Dress

Yesterday I got round to completing my last QR Code which was based around Google Maps. As I had trouble linking each location on the map to it's informative element, instead I decided to use the map as a seperate part of my final piece by creating a poster with each QR Code on it's relevant location therefore users would be able to scan the QR Code and watch a video that would give them more insight into the chosen haunted location. I believed using video's would be more interesting to watch than linking the QR Code to a chunk of text which I believe most people would get bored of after the first 2 or 3.
I then moved on to creating my 'Fancy Dress' QR Code which involved using still images and audio to create a picture montage with each image appearing on screen in accordance with what was being said on the audio clip. As QR Codes involve quickly scanning and gaining some sort of brief information, I specifically chose not to make my picture montage longer than 1 minute to avoid users becoming bored of the clip.
In the evening I was able to film for my last 2 QR Codes; 'A Brief History of Halloween' and 'Trick or Treat' which entailed a 'Did You Know?' involving me filming someone starting off the clip saying 'Did You Know...?' and then giving a bit of information on the history of Halloween. The same sort of format was also used for the Trick or Treat QR Code.

Here is my completed Google Maps including the QR Codes;

3 Down.. 3 More to Go!

Today I spent my time focusing on a QR Code that looks into how the Pumpkin became a part of Halloween. Using a range of images, I used Adobe Premiere to make a picture montage which was in sync with the audio I used from a text to audio converter. The audio basically gave a brief outline of how the Pumpkin evolved into a big part of Halloween and where it first originated. This task was fairly easy as I am more familiar with Adobe Premiere than I was before I started the whole project.
I then moved on to another QR Code which was based around Google Maps. This map (of the UK) would link to the most haunted places in the UK, involving 10 QR codes all of which link to individual Youtube videos, giving the user a better understanding of each location. I would have liked to have actually had a QR Code linking to the Google Maps with a pointer on each location then linking to a youtube video of each location. However due to external issues linked with the new Google Maps I wasn't able to make this possible, therefore I will be printing off the image of the map with each QR Code available to scan.

Here is a link to the Pumpkin QR Code;

OR

jump straight to the Youtube link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGIesLBzxt0

First QR Code COMPLETE

This afternoon I finally got round to completing my first QR Code which entailed the use of kinetic typography to introduce my video montage. Although it was quite time consuming to create the text using kinetic typography, I wanted to develop my skills and put them to the test, which I believe I achieved rather successfully. I used Adobe Premiere for the majority of editing the video montage but made use of After Effects to create the kinetic typography. I feel a lot more confident with both of these softwares after using them for the majority of the day and am quite pleased with the finished QR Code which has been published on YouTube, take a look!

OR

jump straight to the YouTube video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV-4w9eohEs 

Developing my Idea

On Friday I managed to record some footage for my first QR Code which entails asking people what they know about the history of Halloween. The idea I had in mind for this QR code was a montage sequence of people's reactions to my question in order to give a realistic impression that not many people do know the history of Halloween. From this my aim is to provide a brief history of Halloween either through kinetic typography or a link to an informative website.
I did  however encouter a few problems on Friday with After Effects once I had finished gathering my footage for the montage sequence. Due to the size of the files it was taking a very long time for the sequence to be rendered which in turn held me back quite a bit. After being advised by my tutor and peers to use Adobe Premiere to edit my sequence, I was able to speed up the editing process and my next step for this QR Code is to add kinetic typography before the sequence begins with the text saying 'How much do you know about the history of Halloween?'
By the end of today I hope to achieve becoming more familiar with kinetic typography as it is something I have only touched upon once during university therefore it might take a while and finish off around 3 out of 6 QR Codes.

The image below shows what I have done so far in terms of editing my montage sequence;

Change of Plan

So I was supposed to be filming my anti-racism campaign video this afternoon, however due to other commitments, the actors I had originally planned to feature in my video unfortunately dropped out. As frustrating as this is, I have been left with no choice but to come up with an other idea as there is only one week left until the final piece has to be completed, therefore relying on others to help me out is no longer an option.
Instead of doing a YouTube annotation video I have decided to use QR Codes in order to make a factual piece on the history of Halloween seeing as it's that time of year again. I will be using videos and audio to assist me in producing each QR code to give people the opportunity to find out little bits about Halloween that they may not have known about before. Doing research on how the Pumpkin became one of the main factors contributing to Halloween and how trick or treating came about and evolved into a fun experience for families around the world to enjoy will be a few of the informative elements I will include in my project.
I am hoping to gather the majority of the information linking to my QR Codes today then in tomorrow's lecture record my peers as I ask them what they know about the history of Halloween and slowly piece my project together.

Developing my Idea

Today I spent a lot of my time writing up the script for my final production piece for Creative Media Practice. As I have decided to use anti-racism as the base of my YouTube annotation video I wanted to make the script as realistic as possible therefore occurances of very mild violence and strong language has been included to give the piece more of an edge and most importantly make viewers aware of the seriousness of racism.
I involved directions for the characters so when it comes to filming tomorrow everyone is aware of what they will be expected to do. However I am keeping in mind that the actors may want to improvise in order to give the video that extra bit of realism. To avoid any awkward situations or hostility between the actors, I will be introducing all the actors and ensuring they are working together on a friendly vibe before I begin filming.
I will keep you updated on how tomorrow's filming session goes, fingers crossed it all goes to plan.

Final Project Proposal

After thinking for a long while what my final project for the Creative Media Practice module was going to be, I managed to finally come up with an idea. The concept I have chosen to use is a YouTube annotation to assist me in producing a video that promotes anti-racism. As this issue is still an on-going problem within our society I wanted to make a video that engages users and reinforces the fact that violence doesn't solve anything and neither does ignoring the issue of racism. The chosen narrative will involve a group of young white males walking down the street and approaching a black male, the group mutter racist abuse to each other about the man which then leads to the viewers being given a choice; does the man say something to the boys or ignore them? If he decides to respond to the abuse they will end up in an altercation but this time a member of the group tries to stop the fight angering his friends who force him to make a decision "them or us?" If the viewers choose to ignore the abuse, will the same situation happen again? And does ignoring the situation always help? I'll keep you posted on how my idea progresses.

YouTube Annotation

As i wasn't in last Friday's lesson I had to catch up on what we had done, which was based around Youtube annotation. I am quite familiar with this concept as Youtube is something that i use on a regular basis so I was quite interested in getting to know how exactly i would be able to create a narrative through the notion of annotation. However as there wasn't much time for me to form a new group and plan and create a video clip, I observed how another group worked their way towards creating a narrative. The concept they had was very simple but effective as it involved entering a lift and giving viewers the choice to choose which floor they would go to, each floor opening a door into a totally different location than the last. Their locations included a mountain, a desert, a busy city and a field.

This inspired me to choose this format as my final production piece as I found the concept fairly easy, however I will have to familiarise myself with how to create an interactive video.

Completion of Isadora Piece

This morning we attempted to complete our Isadora composition however we encountered a few problems. As we decided to use still images, it was difficult to get each image to move exactly how we wanted to like it would with moving image. We had problems limiting the movement of the bat so it would only move at the top of the projector, even after asking our tutor, it was clear we weren't going to be able to complete the task with all our images moving how we intended them to move.
The candles behind the window were moving image therefore when we hovered our mouse over any of the candles, they would flicker as we hoped they would. It was difficult to source moving image for our particular theme as i personally searched YouTube for a family walking with a silhouette effect but was unfortunate in finding such clips. Overall i was happy with how our Isadora composition appeared but would have preferred for it to have gone how we intended as our idea was simple but effective for the Halloween theme. In future when using Isadora we will think more ahead in terms of what images we use, ensuring that they are moving image or film our own clips for the Isadora. From the tutorials it seemed that Isadora was fairly easy to use but this wasn't the case when using still images, as it made it a lot harder to give our composition the traditional Isadora effect.

Here are a couple images from our Isadora project...

Next Steps of Isadora Task

After our Production Project lecture, my group and i met to progress on our Isadora task which is due in tomorrow. Unfortunately we had a little trouble importing the images onto the 'stage' as the files were saved as 'png' not 'jpeg' meaning that a black background appeared after every image, leaving us confused and kind of lost. Luckily our tutors for this module were around this afternoon so we managed to get help and realised that we needed to set the opacity to 'transparent' in order for us to see the images visibly on screen. Not long after this we imported the rest of the images in their adequate position and so tomorrow just requires importing the remaining images and adding audio and some possible effects!

Isadora

In today's lecture we were taught about the concept of Isadora, a software named to realize the performances of Troika Rach, a media intensive dance company. Isadora allows users to manipulate images in many possible ways to create 'media intensive theatrical experiences' (Tronix), often in synchronisation to music as shown in concerts and nightclubs.

The link below shows an example of someone using the Isadora tool 'Projection Mask' to manipulate a single moving image...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Spd77d6yZ-s

Our brief involved deciding on a short interactive narrative experience allowing users to guide their exploration in traversing the narrative. A Halloween theme was set for the task and as a group we discussed a range of ideas to choose from. A few of our ideas involved trick or treating, with the user having control of knocking on the doors and placing the treats in the child's basket, along with a haunted house with eerie objects and people moving behind the windows accompanied by audio to enhance the narrative.
It was decided that we would go with the haunted house idea as we would have more elements to play around with such as bats, ghosts, a family walking into the driveway of the haunted house and a witch flying across the moon to add to the Halloween theme.

As my part of the research stage i gathered a range of images to use in Isadora in order to manipulate at a later date. I also gathered a few audio clips off freesound.org that were Halloween related such as a witch's cackle, a creaky gate opening and the sound of a baby crying in distress.
 Next week we will begin to create our Isadora composition as today was more about researching into the software and watching tutorials to become more familiar with how it worked. I will keep you posted on how we progress!

QR Codes

Today we began looking at the notion of QR Codes and how they can be used to tell a narrative. After being shown a few examples of how QR Codes can be really effective in storytelling, we were set a brief which asked us to 'concieve plan and build a narrative using a minimum of five QR Codes that can be placed in location and may link to either a Website URL, YouTube, Google Maps location, Twitter, Facebook etc...'. Me and my partner decided to go with the concept of a desktop narrative to tell the story of a young woman being attacked on her way home from a night out. We chose the concept of desktop narrative simply because going into town would have been very time consuming and using a desktop narrative would have saved a lot more time and given us more opportunity to work on preparing for our presentation.
Unfortunately Google maps wasn't allowing us to show a preview of the images we had found on the internet, which forced us to make a Prezi showing a map of where the attack on the woman happened. Each QR Code pointed to a different part of the map to indicate what happened at which area of Liverpool. The individual QR Codes were linked to my partner's FlickR account which was set up for the purpose of this task and showed the images in chronological order to tell a story.

Here is a link to the Prezi we created...
http://prezi.com/kabotwiu2hz_/copy-of-untitled-prezi/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

Editing & Presenting our Triptych

After yesterday's start on filming our Triptych, i decided to look through the clips we had filmed on my phone and see which ones were going to be useful for editing earlier on today which would make it easier to compose a Triptych sequence without wasting valuble editing time.
This morning we began editing on After Effects, which i usually really struggle with, however once our tutor had shown us how exactly to crop the clips together to create a Triptych effect, i realised this wasn't going to be a difficult task. My fellow group member Ceri did majority of the editing as she was more familiar with the software so took over in order to speed up time, which helped us in the long run as we were basically finished by 12:45, giving us over an hour to make any last minute changes. We had a little trouble adding credits to the Triptych as we couldn't figure out why the 'fill over stroke' setting wouldn't adjust in order to create a basic credit reel. It wasn't long before Ceri managed to fiddle around with the settings however, and our text went back to normal.
Then it was just a matter of rendering the clip and uploading it to YouTube, which was quite time-consuming but managed to upload in time for our presentation.
I was happy with the feedback given for the Triptych by both my tutors and peers but my tutor did mention to be wary of using uncopyrighted music to support our compositions which i will definitely take into consideration for our forthcoming tasks.


Take a look at our finished piece...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVsADgbmVMI

Triptych

Today commenced the first of 12 lectures for the Creative Media Practice module, held by Mark and Ian. We were introduced to the notion of Triptych which looks at an earlier form of screen narrative, also described as 'windows montage'. In basic terms, a Triptych is the mergence of two or more images/moving images shown on screen whether that be on television or online. In a sense, this allows audiences to focus on different narratives whilst still having a good idea of what else is going on on screen. The images to the left may give you a clearer understanding of what exactly a Triptych is.

It wasn't long before we were set our brief to complete over the next 2 days, which involved creating our own Triptych in groups of 3. After a short discussion with my fellow group members, it was decided that we would aim our focus on movement, with a simple narrative of 3 individuals moving around a building but emerging each individuals body parts within the triptych so it would show Person's 1 head, with the body of Person 2's upper body and the legs and feet of Person 3 in order to show a sense of creativity and common bond. All 3 individuals would be moving around the same place whilst we swapped the body parts at different points in the clip in order to keep the viewer interested and wondering how the Triptych would end. I will be posting images of our finished piece within the next 24 hours so stay tuned!
                                                  

Dissertation

For some reason the thought of dissertation writing hasn't scared me as much as i thought it would have. I think the preparation Keith gave us last year in our Digital Media Cultures module helped a lot in terms of settling my nerves and giving me aqequate preparation for what 3rd year had to offer. I haven't actually started writing anything up as of yet as i'm still deciding which subject area i want to go into but that won't take me long at all, especially as i've done a little reading on each subject already. The television industry is the main area i'm looking to research but i will keep you updated on what my final decision is!

WoW oh Wow..

Unluckily i missed the WoW session Liz Harrison was holding last Wednesday but a tutorial with the course leader enabled me to get all the details i needed for completing my WoW Bronze statement. Reading through the booklet i was given seemed a bit daunting at first, as it seemed like there were a lot of elements that had to go into such a small word count. However i managed to make a start and completed 3 of 8 points so let's hope i power through it over the next week or so so that's another task out of the way :)

Back for the Final Year!

So after 2 years of hard work, stresses, laughter, excitement and a whole lot of learning, I managed to bag myself a nice 2:1 at the end of last year which got me very prepared for!the forthcoming year.
The first lecture back, lead by course leader Sarah Haynes, focused on our Work Based Learning module in which we were told we would be writing a 4,000 word report, detailing our experiences at the company we worked for over the summer break.
I had managed to land a work experience opportunity at Lime Pictures, taking on the role of trainee 3rd assistant director on the set of Hollyoaks, making it the focus of my report.
So far i have made a start (which is always the hardest bit!) but I am trying to do at least 300-500 words each time i work on it, hopefully finishing it WAY before the deadline in March. Fingers crossed all goes to plan!

Alcohol Campaign - Step 2 & Final Blog of the Year

Today me and my team-mate for the Convergence Media Teamwork task, began on a Prezi highlighting our progress of the task so far. The Prezi showed a couple of the elements of the campaign such as a sign advertising in a sarcastic manner for effectiveness along with facts we have found about binge drinking. The prezi is unfinished at the moment but once i have submitted my report for Sarah's module, all of my focus will be put into this task. We plan on filming a short video clip next Thursday with the help of a few people off the course who will act in our film in order to spread awareness of binge drinking so hopefully all goes well and we get enough people to feature in the production. This is also my last blog entry of the year so let me just say this year has been a very challenging yet fun experience for me. With a fresh start last September in our new building i knew things were looking good and i'm really pleased with the way my grades have been looking so let's try and keep that up for the last couple of assignments!
See you in September for my final year and last ever blog!

Applied Media Research Report

I've managed to really get cracking on with my report the last couple weeks and i'm almost half way through. Initially the idea of having to write 3000 words overwhelmed me a little as i thought i wouldnt have enough content to write about. Luckily after a meeting with Sarah, i managed to get my head around what exactly it was i was going to discuss and how to structure my report. So far i have discussed why it is so difficult to make money within the media industry and how companies such as Spotify have found successful ways of making money in a world where downloading music for a price is extremely rare.
The discussion part of my essay looks at Mike Walsh, a futurist and keynote speaker and his concept of 'factory media' and consumer behaviour which have had a damaging effect on the traditional ways of selling media but positive effect on consumers, as they are paying close to nothing for media content such as music, Apps and even television.
I've got another 1000 words to go but it shouldn't take me too long as i know what i need to discuss! Wish me luck!

Alcohol Campaign - 1st Step

Last Thursday after a location based lecture, me and my team member began working on the first part of our Alcohol Abuse campaign. As we had been inspired by posters as shown in my previous blog relating to the task at hand ('Give me a glass in the face...') as they made audiences think more about their actions whilst out drinking alcohol, I thought this might work in our favour if we created similar sorts of posters to include in our own campaign. After sourcing a few images off the internet, i managed to put together a few ideas that we may just use in our final presentation;

I do think these pictures look rather professional, however i'm unsure of their effectiveness at this stage so will have to seek confirmation off my tutors as to whether the text or pictures themselves will work successfully as part of the campaign.
My team member also made a blackboard style sign, like one you would see outside a pub, again using the sarcasm yet serious technique as i did in my posters. Once i get hold of the picture i'll be sure to put it up!
The next stage in the process will be to film a short video clip of a young male who goes on a night out, giving users the choice to pick their own ending as part of our concentric narrative basis, which i personally believe will make our campaign more effective as there will be more choice for users to interact.

Lime Pictures

Now that i'm in my second year of University, i think it's very important for me to start looking for work experience within the media industry in order for me to come out of the degree with not only a qualification in Media Professional Studies, but also relevant work experience that will strengthen my chances of actually getting a job in the media much more likely. Last week we were emailed about placement opportunities at Lime Pictures for a 2 week experience so instantly i thought this is something that i'm very interested in and because the placement is paid, it motivated me even more to apply. Lime Pictures are offering roles such as 3rd Assistant Director, Camera, Sound, Runner, Lighting and Digital Media so i will be applying for at least 2 of these positions. Which ones, i'll tell you if i get it! I think this experience will be one to remember seeing as it would be my first look into the televison industry on a work based premise. Wish me luck!

Progress so far for Transmedia Activism Task

During our free time from lectures, me and my team member for the first Convergence Media Teamwork task thought it would be beneficial for us to come into uni and start working on the assessment. From the research we had gathered in the first session (shown below) we added some more facts and inspirational viral campaigns in hope that they would give us more of an idea of what elements are needed for a successful campaign.
From the research that i had found myself on alcohol abuse campaigns, i noticed that the still image aspect worked most successfully when putting audiences in the position where they feel concious about their actions. For example the image you see below with the male and female, says 'Give me a glass in the face, a six-inch scar and a bag of salted peanuts.' therefore creating a sense of sarcasm along with adding a serious element, as no one really wants a glass in their face or a six-inch scar. From this me and my team member decided it would be useful to use this sort of imagery in order to start off our campaign in the most effective way.

We eventually put all of the research we had both collated and collected into a Powerpoint, ready for the 5 minute progress presentation this coming Thursday. Details include what brief we have decided to go with, a list of links we have visited, videos we have watched and what our ideas are for our own campaign. The image above shows a few slides from the presentation.. so far it's looking good! I'll keep you posted :)

Submission of Team Report

Yesterday was a very stressful and long day! The final assignment for Digital Media Cultures had been set a few weeks back and involved the reading and knowledge from 5 different articles/books/journals in order to write up a dissertation synopsis. However, as the reading involved took a while to get through, we were left with little time to actually write up the 1000 words needed to complete the assignment. As i mentioned in my previous blog about this assignment, our topic was based on Globalization however, as this topic was relatively new to me as i hadn't chosen this topic to study in my first assignment, a lot more time was spent on making sure i grasped the concept of Globalization and what different authors/writers had to say about the issue.
Unfortunately it wasn't until the day of submission until i had got majority of the synopsis complete, therefore i would say that it was quite rushed and wasn't as clear as it could have been with more time spent on writing the report itself, rather than just reading.
Hopefully my mark for this assignment won't be affected too badly by the poor conclusion that was left till last minute and i scrape a 2:1! Wish me luck!

Transmedia Project

Last week we were set the brief for our first assignment of the Convergence Media Teamwork module. As we have been learning about the ins and outs of transmedia activism, narrative structures and storytelling, the brief has been split into two parts of which we can choose to complete one task.
The brief me and my team-mate have decided to go with is the Transmedia Activism one, which asks us to negotiate a theme/issue/cause in which we must explore alongside planning and creating a set of media assets and a structure of threads that allow users to participate in (collective action rather than passive consumption). My reasons for deciding to go with this task is because i believe i am more creative in terms of coming up with different ideas and 'assets' to pitch in a presentation rather than creating a story itself.

As the issue of drugs, whether that be smoking or alcohol, is one that is constantly in the news and media, my group member and i have decided to use this topic as the basis for our transmedia campaign. We have already started to mind-map and create vague ideas of what our campaign will involve which will include issues of pregnancy, binge drinking, age, gender and behaviour which i'm sure will grab the attention of anyone who sees our finished presentation/piece.

Globalization and Transmedia

The second and final assignment for Digital Media Cultures has been set and involves the task of working in a group of 4 to complete a 2000 word report. The report entails two parts; a dissertation synopsis and a literature review which will both be completed in pairs. As me and my group member Mollie have chosen to do the dissertation synopsis, it is required that we read 5 journal articles that relate to our chosen topic of Globalization, tied in with Transmedia.
The initial thought of having to write a dissertation synopsis overwhelmed me a little as i realised how quick time is passing by before I actually have to start preparing myself for what my dissertation question is going to be based upon. However, on the positive side i'm glad i have this task at hand as it puts me at an advantage as i will have a vague idea of what to expect when writing up my dissertation and what research i will have to endure. Readings such as Globalization, Development and The Mass Media and Here There and Everywhere have assisted me in making notes and gaining knowledge for the synopsis me and my partner will soon have to write up. I will keep you posted on how i get along!

Onteca Presentation

Yesterday my group and I finally presented our Prezi, answering the questions set by Onteca to my tutors. The build up to the presentation was a little difficult as me and my group struggled to balance out the work each individual would do in order to contribute to the task. It wasn't up until the final weeks building up to the presentation that we fully understood how to answer the questions and gather our data, which was carried out via questionnaires, focus groups and our own individual research at home.
I personally found gathering research for the presentation relatively easy as i had been attending each tutorial with Sarah and therefore had an idea of how to progress with my research each week. From the task i believe i learnt how to enhance my researching skills and how to confidently present findings in front of tutors, although i do believe i could have been a lot clearer in some of the points i had made.

Here are a few images taken from the presentation;

Completion of Beyond the Camera Report

Hey everyone, hope you all had a lovely Christmas break :) Just a quick update on where i'm at the moment with my work! Not long after Christmas i managed to wrap up my individual evaluative report for my Beyond the Camera module. The report was basically just an evaluation of the final project, a digital artefact we had produced as a group before we broke up for Christmas. I did struggle to keep the report concise however as i didn't want to seem too vague and not explain my reasons behind certain production decisions, therefore i managed to go over by about 100 hundred words which i hope won't have a damaging effect on my mark for the report, (fingers crossed!).

From the module i felt like i had learnt a significant amount in terms of software and working as a team, however i believe i could have learnt a lot more if i was working as an individual throughout the entirety of the module. This is because group work, as easy as it can be sometimes, isn't always beneficial especially when you have group members that aren't as motivated as you to get a good mark, having a knock on effect on my own determination and drive. Saying that, i am happy about the skills i have learnt from Beyond the Camera and i am glad that the module is over as i know that interactive media is definitely not my forte, nor an area of high interest of mine.