SPP: Exhibition Ideas

COLLABORATION & NETWORKING

I feel that the themes of collaboration and networking would be effective for our final year exhibition. Multimedia is made up of various mediums and requires collaboration at all stages. I think that these two words represent the educational format of the subject and the industry that we all intend to enter. The image below is very simple and breaks down the idea visually.

Live Client: Shoot 5 - The Play Parade

Today was one of the most challenging shoots that I have experienced. To start off with we were a crew of 10 people and we had three cameras to cover the event. Fortunately the weather was on our side and it was not raining. I found that having detailed shot lists for each camera was very useful and ensured that the shots I required were captured. The day ran smoothly and on schedule. The crew members worked very hard and took initiative for the project as well as worked well as a team.

We all found ourselves racing up the roads of Radford and trying to keep up with the marching crowd of over 100 adults and children. The parade only lasted for approximately 20 minutes but that time was very tense busy and stressful. It was very difficult to direct 3 cameras at the same time and I had to trust the camera operators to achieve the objectives I had set out in the shot list. It was extremely beneficial to have 'spotters' helping the camera operators. They also made logs of the shots and time-codes which will simplify the editing process. Although I now have 3 hours worth of footage for only one event, I think that this will also give me a big choice of shot sizes and angles for the edit.

Delegation is a quality that comes with hard work and practise. Especially after being used to doing everything yourself, it is something I think I am developing quickly with the scale of this project and find that this is achieving better results. Audio Visual production requires a range of skills and requires the input of various people, creatively and practically. Having to co-ordinate 3 cameras was a useful exercide and I feel more confident in operating the equipment. In addition to this I have been working with the same crew members on a regular basis and we now have an understanding of the ways in which we work. The day brief at the begginning of the shoot was very important to me and I think it was essential to gather the crew and communicate my intentions for the day.

Overall I am pleased with the outcome of today and am looking forward for the next shoots as well as the editing stage.

Live Client: Shoot 3 & 4: An Evaluation

These two shoots were based at a new location: Radford Primary School. I found that signing release forms was the most challenging factor. In order to simplify the process I had written my own version of the release forms for parents. However it was still complicated to explain the project and obtain signatures from parents with time constraints. We were set up fairly early in the day, which resulted in extra crew members available to help with the release forms. I learned from this process that the paperwork involved in the filmmaking process is by far one of the most influential facors in the success of a smooth shoot. I had to ensure all the details were correct and in place, including risk assessments.

Shoot 3:
Camera: Sherrilyn Lombardelli
Sound: Matthew Robinson
Production Assisstant: Janet Chu

Shoot 4:
Camera 1: Sherrilyn Lombardelli
Sound 1: Diana Sabau
Camera 2: Alex Burton
Sound 2: Matthew Robinson
Production Stills: Tom Edson

We finished both days on schedule and captured the footage that was required. The weather was not pleasent and it was raining on both days. This made me consider the implications of this happening on the day of the Play Parade. It would be very difficult to get the shots I want with bad weather conditions!

Live Client: Shoot 2 - An Evaluation

Shoot 2 was very similar to shoot 1 where we tried to capture the office atmosphere at Playworks. Unfortunately it was not as busy as the week before but we still managed to get the shots I had outlined in the shot list.

For this shoot we also had Tome Edson present to take production stills, which is very useful for documenting the process of making the film. I found that as a crew we were very efficient as we were familiar with the location, characters and the style. In addition to this we had formed a working relationship from the shoot before and understood eachother. Furthermore we were more comfortable and confident with the equipment.

PRP: Artefact 2 - The Interview Questions

1. What was your route into your career?
2. What is your educational background? Do you think this has an influence on your career choice?
3. What did you find the most challenging when approaching a career in the creative/ technological industry?
4. Do you feel there is a shortage of women in the industry?
   
5. Do you feel that women multimedia creators are less well known and recognised? Why?
   
6. What do you think affects or influences the choices women make about their further education and career prospects?
7. What are your thoughts about women mentors or role models? Do you think that having a role model could influence and motivate aspiring artists? Do you think there is a lack of this in the UK?
8. Did you have a role model, mentor? Did anyone really influence you?
9. How do you think the profile of women in multimedia can be increased?
10. What factors influence, persuade, inspire and motivate you as a multimedia practitioner?
11. Do you think women take on roles that they are expected to by society? On a subconscious level?
12. Do you think women create their own barrier into the industry without realising?

These questions are subject to the answers given by the interviewees and are intended to lead to further conversation about the subject.

PRP: Artefact 2 - The Idea

After interviewing young women studying Multimedia I decided that I needed to interview Multimedia practitioners in the industry in order to broaden my understanding of my research. The questions will be based around a similar style to my first artefact, however they will be targeted to a different audience.

Considering the time constraints I have decided to approach women working in and around Nottingham so that they are accessible. I may not be able to capture a physical sound recording of the interviews as the interviewees may have other commitments. I aim to at least have a conversation with 5 women from different areas of Multimedia. This conversation may be face-to-face or over the phone.

I am hoping to collect information that is specifically related to the working environment and how this relates to women and multimedia. I feel that practitioners' and students' answers will resemble and differ and various ways.

PRP: An Interesting Statistic

I found an interesting website in which a blogger has commented that only 16% of the Games Industry are women. I found this is powerful statistic yet I was not surprised. I don't know any women that are recognised in the Games World. I am sure there are, but they are not publicised enough.

http://grandtextauto.org/2005/06/17/women-games/

This figure has been taken from Aleks Kritoski's paper 'Chicks and Joysticks: an Exploration of Women and Gaming' found at

http://mypages.surrey.ac.uk/psp1ak/publications.htm

Live Client: Shoot 1 - An Evaluation

Street Play Documentary: Shoot 1
Location: Playworks
Scenes 3 & 4: Rally Preparation at the Office
Time: 10:30 - 15:00

Crew:

• Director: Bindni Karia
• Camera Operator: Sherrilyn Lombardelli
• Sound Operator: Samantha Kirk
• Production Assistant: Diana Andreea-Sabau

Production for the Street Play documentary began today. I was really nervous yet very excited. We were very punctual and the whole shoot ran very smoothly accodring to the schedule. I found it extremely helpful to have time to test the equipment before we set out. Fortunately the crew arrived earlier than expected which meant that we had time to go through each piece of equipment.



I had decided to have a calm and planned approach to today's shoot and feel this worked very well. For example I spent almost an hour introducing the crew to all the characters at the Playworks office. I also allowed enough time to brief the crew on health and safety and describe exactly what I wanted to achieve from the shoot. This meant that we were all well prepared and less time was wasted in discussion as the shoot was taking place. We took our time to set up the equipment and to ensure that everything was connected correctly. It was very important to double check the format, ratio and mode on the camera.

I found that setting up the sound was the most challenging task. Samantha was very confident with the equipment. I have not been through the footage yet and am worried how the sound has been recorded. As a crew, we worked well as a team and I found that staying calm and focused was extremely beneficial when trying to capture shots on the move. As a bonus we captured everything that I had planned to in the shot list. However I decided not to take the shots outside due to continuity issues with the snowy weather.

PRP: Artefact 1 - The Evaluation

For my first artefact I carried out verbal interviews with 10 current Multimedia students from varying levels and pathways. I recorded these interviews in audio format. The questions were based around their reasons for studying Multimedia, their expectations of Multimedia, inspirations from role models in the industry, intimidation by technology, future career prospects and women’s expected roles and subjects.

From the test I discovered that Multimedia seems to be a continuation or follow on from subjects like Art, IT and Media. Students find that confidence is something that holds them back especially from furthering their knowledge in technical areas. They find that technology can be intimidating in certain situations. It was highlighted that men tend to pick things up quicker and this may be due to interest, i.e. women are just not interested in technology. They agreed that to a certain extent it is women’s attitudes and assumptions that sometimes limit them from prospering.

I found that majority of the students feel more comfortable when working around women and they are motivated or inspired by them. However when asked if they were influenced or inspired by a Multimedia practitioner in the industry only 30 % could quote a name.

This raised the question of whether there are women in high status roles within Multimedia and if there are, why are they unheard of or not publicised as much. In order to explore this further I will need to look into how current women practitioners began their career and what, or who supported them. I need to gain a deeper understanding of what women in the industry think of their representation and what can be done in order to improve this. Or what can encourage and inform more women Multimedia students about their particular prospects within the industry.

PRP: Artefact 1: - Quotes from Interviewees

The following are a series of quotes that I gathered from the interviews. This allowed me to describe my artefact test in detail at the presentation. The quotes also act as a form of analysed results.

“…how did they get that knowledge and I haven’t?”

“men are always seen as one above us…but I think its getting a lot better”

“we just couldn’t pick it up as quickly…don’t know whether that’s because lads spend more time on the computers as teenagers…”

“…we should learn to have a bit more confidence”

“it is the social aspect of it”

“I think there are a lot less women in the industry because they just don’t find it interesting”

“…learn what you know and improve on that”

“Women now, just generally across the board are becoming a lot more career minded and pushing the boundaries”

“Its interesting, its nice to work with women as well”

“Boys are more drawn to the subjects than girls, I don’t know why…”

“I should maybe know more and be more confident…if I’m with girls I feel more comfortable”

“Not really confident with the ‘tech’ side"

PRP: Artefact 1 - The Presentation

I did the presentation of my first artefact today. It was a useful and productive activity as it required me to fully analyse and understand my results before talking to my peers about them. The presentation also allowed me to recieve feedback from Simon and the other students in my group about how I can approach the next artefact.



It was an informal presentation and I used a powerpoint presentation to summarise my findings. The presentation prepared me to write the 300 word evaluation in a clear and concise format.

Live Cleint: Testing Equipment

I had a two hour session today to use and test the equipment that I intend to use on Friday's shoot. I am mainly concerned about capturing everything that the protagonist says as this is how the story of my documentary will be revealed. However I also need to capture the ambient sound and have control over the levels of each in the edit.

http://www.windovertheearth.com/VSoundDevices.html

As a result of conversations with academic staff and technicians I have decided to use a portable mixer and connect a radio mic and a K6 mic into two separate mic channels. I will pan each mic hard left and hard right and change the settings on the HD camera so that each mic records onto separate channels. Although this method will result in two mono tracks I will effectively have more control on the levels of the dialogue and the ambience.

http://www.toptech-tls.co.uk/Radio%20mics.htm

At first i found it extremely difficult and challenging to get my head around the equipment. All the cables and buttons. But I am really glad I had a test today rather than on the day of the shoot. Once I attempted to push the buttons and discover what each function does, I learned that it is quite logical and not as complicated as it looks. I have made noted but I hope that I can put all this into practise for the shoot. I will have far more assistance than I have ever had on a shoot and therefore I will have more support. Fingers crossed....technically!

Hive Creative Business Programme: Communication Workshop

I attended the 3rd Hive Creative Business Programme workshop today. The theme was communication and we had discussions and participated in activities related to this subject. We had a guest speaker (Mark Denermare) who described the perfect pitch as:

"an appropriate, concise, evocative and authentic piece of communication"



http://www.lcsc.edu/library/ILI/Classes/bus_comm.htm

The delivery was targeted to make us think about communication in Creative Business aspects, however I felt that this clearly and directly linked to the film and documentary film industry. Communication is essential in all parts of the Multimedia Industry. I am acknowledging the importance of it even more as I work with my Live Client.

A pitch should be memorable and you should be able to make a good first impression. Your communication should espouse your values and the values of what you are selling. Your voice must resonate and you must get into tune with your audience in order to effectively communicate to them or even with them. The pitch must be appropriate, as there are different formats for different audiences.



http://www.ntu.ac.uk/hive/index.html

According to a survey carried out in the 1970's at the University of Pennsylvania USA by Dr Ray Birdwhistle communication is divided up into the following sections:

7% = words
38 % = confidence in your voice
55% = physiology - body language

The session ended with an activity that involved creating a brainstorm about myself - what I believe in, what my skills are, how I describe myself. With this we each tried to write a 40 word personal statement. This is what I came up with in the 5 minute time limit:

An effective communicator and a lover of people and places. Combined travel and industry experience to develop skills in detailed organisation. Culturally aware with a positive and collaborative approach to creative challenges. A responsible and professional working attitude with enthusiasm for learning new things.

It is still in the process and I think it still needs improving. Overall I thought the session was very motivational and will definitely help me in my projects.

Film Review: Slumdog Millionnaire

I watched Slumdog Millionnaire last week. I had heard and read many reviews about the film before hand and also seen interviews of Danny Boyle and Dev Patel. I had an idea of the plot and the story, I had also listened to the soundtrack many times.



I felt that the film was shot adventurously and the young actors were amazing. They were actually co directed by Loveleen Tandon. In addition to this I think the sound was one of the most influential aspects in creating the atmosphere, pace and anticipation in the film. A R Rehman has a distinctive style and I have always enjoyed his music. I particularly liked how various genres of music were used to add to the story. Such as the homage to classic Bollywood songs and also the remixes of EMI's songs. The lyrics emphasised and complimented what was happening visually on the screen.

In particular, I could relate to the scene where the young boys are making a living by selling products illegally on the public trains. I experienced this first hand whilst travelling on the trains in India and felt that the song that accompanied this scene was really well placed.

Although the film's story was predictable I think it was a great effort. I thought the sound was the best aspect of the film.

PRP: Artefact 1 - The Test

I have carried out 10 interviews with current Multimedia students. They range from different years and different pathways. I have recorded each interview in audio format. I did not ask the same questions to each interviewee as their answers influenced the next question.

I found it interesting that each interviewee had drawn upon personal experiences to answer the questions however their response was similar in many ways. I am currently reflecting on the interviews and forming a method of representing the results as they are compiled.

As mentioned before, my aim is to find a common thread or a link to lead me to my next artefact.

Live Client: The Big Crew Meeting

Over the past three weeks I have been running what I call 'A Massive Recruitment Campaign' for people to get involved in my project. So far I have had exceptional response from the first year Multimedia Students. They seem very enthusiastic and willing to gain experience, which is nice to see. I think this form of collaboration is the way forward, they get the experience and I get a helping hand, it is a win-win situation.

http://www.incognita.com.au/

I have scheduled a pre-production meeting which is less technical and more of a 'prep-talk' before production begins. My aim is to increase enthusiasm between all the contributors and create a sense of passion for the film. I do not want them to think that they are working on my project but rather we are working on this project. Hopefully it will go well, I am quite nervous about it but also excited.

Live Client: Pre-production

The first day of my shooting schedule is very close and I feel like I have a million and one things to sort out:

• Location Release forms
• Shot lists
• Call Sheets
• Risk Assessments
• Floor Plans
• Talent Release forms
• Book and take out equipment (as well as confirm how to use some of it)

I found my way to the Fine Art department yesterday with the help of Owen. It was like I was visiting an unknown territory and everyone looked at me as though I was from a foreign country (Waverley - the city of Multimedia). However this adventure was worth it as I have got my hands on some pag lights which will improve the light source for my documentary.

http://www.creativevideo.co.uk

SPP: Graduate Job Application

I recently made an application to the Informa Media Academy programme. Informa plc is a leading Media organisation with activities spanning Publishing, Events and Performance improvement across a number of specialist market sectors. A FTSE-250 company with offices in 40+ countries, 150 businesses and over 10,000 high calibre people worldwide. Informa is the largest publicly-owned organiser of conferences and courses in the world with an output of over 10,000 events annually.

www.informa.com

The 12 month programme would be based in London and would cover experience in the following areas:

Editorial
Events Research
Reports
Data Forecasting

Although this is not directly linked to Audio-Visual Production I think that the skills I have gained on the Multimedia course can be effectively applied to this job role. After the 12 months I feel that the experience will allow me to develop skills that would allow me to pursue a career in Producing & Directing. The programme will give me awareness in an international marketplace and I will be able to learn new managerial and transferable skills.

The application and interview process is long, I am looking forward to see if my application progresses to the next stage.