Production Diary

19th September 2011

On the 19th, Dave put us into groups for his assignment which is to produce a VT which lasts up to 2 minutes which conjoins with Ricardo's assignment which is to produce a news package which shows a pre-recorded VT. As a group we started to gather research to produce a concept for our news package. After doing research we found our final concept which was Alcohol Awareness.

For the next lesson, we planned to do the following next:

• Program Proposal

26th September 2011

Today we started our Program Proposal, this was a team effort and a lot of team communication was needed, everybody had to pitch in their idea's to form this document. It was important that everybody had their say on this so that it was something everybody wanted to do and that they wasn't left out. As a team we worked very well and covered all of the program proposal brief.

For the next lesson, we planned to capture some footage on location.

3rd October 2011

Today we captured footage, we booked out a Sony V1 camera from the college and filled out a camera and location risk assessment so that we knew the risks and found it safe to film on location. We captured footage of bars nearby and anything alcohol related such as beer bottles etc. A variety of camera techniques was used such as a pull focus, tilt, panning etc. This makes the shots look very effective and will make the VT look more of a professional quality after it has been edited.

In the next lesson, we will want to start editing as a group as we decided to all take on the role of editing as we all found editing isn't our strongest attribute, so if we all pitch in and help with the editing because we all know basics of editing because we was given the tutorial of editing, it would be easier and more likely to finish in a better result than an individual edit.

10th October 2011

Firstly we had to run an capture the footage we filmed by keeping the DV tape inside the camera and plugging the camera into the computer and perform this act in Final Cut Pro. After the filmed was captured to the computer, it was automatically put into the library of Final Cut Pro so we could start on the editing. After todays session, we didn't finish all of the editing so in the next lesson we finish this edit off so that we can proceed with the group work.

17th October 2011

Today we had a slow start to the lesson, at around 1pm we started to carry on with the edit of the VT, we started to add transitions into the footage so that everything ran smoothly and professional, the transition that we used was cross dissolve. We decided to keep the style of the final VT by sticking to the same transition.

Next to do is the Running Order

24th October 2011

In this lesson, we need to do a running order for our news package so that we can start rehearsals. The running order shows information such as the cumulative time of the whole production, then the item title so you know whats happens during that time, then you have the item time so yo know how long that particular part of the show will be. The other informations shows what audio and graphics are used during that particular shot and it also shows what the item will be focusing on in the shot. This took a long time to produce as we had to decide on the schedule and think about the structure of the news package.

31st October 2011

Today we gave out production roles to our group, this was done fairly and asked who wanted to do what, and the way it went is that nobody wanted the same role so then there was no problem how it ended up. The role I had chose was Floor Manager, Kassem was the Director, Imogen is our producer and Mikael is our vision mixer. After we chose this we was given a check list of what tasks to complete in responsibility of our role. After this we planned to do interviews for the next lessons to students on campus for our alcohol awareness campaign, we then came up with possible questions to ask the interviewee and this was important so a lot of thought had to go into this. We came up with these questions to gain enough information for our news package and we was ready for our interviews for the next day.

7th November 2011

Today we hired the Sony V1 camera out to record our interviews, as we gathered the equipment such as tripods and everything, we asked students if they had time to take part in interviews for our assignment. Some students accepted and some declined for numerous reasons. We interviewed 3 different students asking the possible questions for the VT. We interviewed 3 people for the reasons that we had enough footage for the editing and that we gathered a variety of answers and scenarios. After the interviews we immediately started to add these interviews to our edit of our VT.

Sessions leading up to 11th January 2012

During these sessions I started my 1500 word essay for my written assignment. I also completed the tasks which I was responsible for in my role of Floor Manager, this included, Floor plan, Risk assessment, call sheet, contact list and signal pathway.

I also had an individual one on one tutorial with my tutor to track my progress and received a checklist to make sure I am on track with my assignment

11th January 2012

Today we did our rehearsals for our News Packages, during my role on floor manager, I think I did my job perfectly. As a group performance I think it went great and feel confident for our practical assessment. The studio was set up by everybody to make sure was in working order and when it was time for rehearsal for each group tasks were taken up again e.g. studio was cleared of any debris to make sure everything was safe, this was an example of a task for the floor manager role.

Research Portfolio

For my research portfolio, I decided to watch a talk-show broadcasted on ITV in the daytime. The show is not a live broadcast, it is recorded, edited and then the show will be put on television to be broadcasted.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=1KMrJGz3EIg

After watching one of the shows of of Jeremy Kyle, I learnt that the show is a multi-cam production, I know this because there is  more than one camera being used whilst watching this particular extract. The cameras I counted was 5 camera set up around the studio to film this production. One camera is on a crane which is responsible for all the high angle shots and the wide shots and is located at the back of the studio. Another camera is located in the audience which is most likely handheld to make the shot realistic and show the audience reaction. The other three cameras are located at the front of the studio just behind the stage so that they can film the guests and the presenter of the show. One on these will mainly focus on the presenter which is jeremy kyle when he is speaking, the other two cameras will focus on the guests which are speaking. Whilst the wide shot camera which is located at the back of the studio, is being used, this is a safety shot which captures most of the talk show which allows the other camera to set up a shot which could include the next guest, people from the audience or even backstage. One of these cameras located at the front could possible be on a dolly so that it can pan left and right of the stage which covers more shots and angles of the studio. The way the cameras have been setup works as they all correspond together and capture everything when needed and not wasting a shot opportunity.

From watching this extract you can see that the guests and the presenter are using mini microphones which are attached to their clothes to capture the sound. This makes it easy for everyone to have more movement and freedom are the studio. This also prevent to use of a boom mic operator following everybody around the studio and being caught in the cameras and being shown in the broadcast as this would look very un-professional.

You can notice that the show needs a crew that consists of camera operators, floor manager(s), vision mixer, director and a presenter. These are vital and most multi-camera productions will need these crew members during any production. I also found out that they use these particular crew members and more by reading the credits at the end of the show, I will use the credits of the show as my reference.

Floor Plan:

Report

The roles I took responsibility for during the assessment days at Lever Street on days 10th January & 17th January were the following in correct order,

• Camera Operator
• Sound Operator
• Vision Mixer
• Floor Manager

These roles link to the rest of my production because in any other environment, the skills and experience which I have gained will need to be applied to the specific role. For example this could be inside broadcasting instead of outside where we will gain the skills. The camera operator role can be used in all environments in my rest of my production. 


There was other roles that I didn't get to work on and someone of these roles, I would have liked too such as the Director role. This role is really intense and has no room for error in as it plays a big part in any production. I would have liked to experience this role but because of popular demand of this role, there was chance of experiencing this role during the 8 acts. The other role I didn't take part in was the Online Network. The online network was mostly done by Josh Lloyd who is limited to specific jobs roles, when he was in control of different roles, I already had a role in which case I couldn't take on two roles to experience this specific role.


I think I played a vital part in the production as every role during the production was important and if the role was completed efficiently then noticeable errors in the broadcast would have shown. I also fixed certain errors so that the broadcast wasn't held back any longer than it was, I did some trial and error on the camera and found that the composite lead was not in a working state and informed the floor manager to tell the directer. This lead to a replacement composite cable and after this was connected, it was working perfectly and the problem was fixed. I was happy with solving this problem as it helped the overall production of the broadcast. During the role of camera operator, I ran into a problem of not knowing how to put the Panasonic P2 camera into 'Preset 3' this was a new camera to me and have never experienced the use of this camera before. As I wasn't the only one knowing how to change this setting of the camera, the director was getting frustrated because this setting was not being applied, I then was shown how to apply this setting and I have now taken note of how this apply this setting for future reference. The button is located at the front of the camera on the left hand side. This is the only difficulty I experience during any of the roles I took part in.


If I was to repeat this project, I would definitely try to make time more worthy as a lot of time was wasted in both weeks. A lot of time was lost during the setting up of the equipment and the testing. One way to help us all solve this problem as a team was to do more equipment rehearsal's and practice at our own studio of setting up the camera's, talkback's and broadcasting. This would have saved much more time. Another thing I would change if I could repeat this project is to change my attitude during the production. I felt that I had very low patience which lead to a poor working environment attitude towards the director and people around me. If this change was applied then the production could have probably worked a bit smoother and stop people feeling uncomfortable around me due to my poor attitude. Even though I had a bad attitude, I still kept a professional element about me and kept my behaviour at a good quality.

Practical Project Self Performance

I am happy with my performance throughout my project. If I was to grade myself, I would give myself a 'B' for my efforts and involvement, I think other members of my group project deserve much more credit as they worked really hard during my absence. I would give myself a higher grade if I was more punctual and had got involved in every role. To put into consideration that it was our first attempt at producing a VT, I think we gave a great effort as we had to do a lot of research to understand the meaning of a news package.  I think we worked well as a team and reached our goals which is why I gave myself 'B' I would also grade my team members the same or even higher.

Evaluation

Throughout my project, I think all my objectives have been met. As taking part in different roles, I think I worked sufficiently to complete all tasks within the roles to meet these objectives. One of our goals was to complete a VT which lasts between 1 and 2 minutes long. As a group we got the footage needed and used editing software to put the footage together to create the footage. The interviews and general views was tied up into one video using Final Cut Pro. I think all of our involvement in this process of the goal was effective.


Another on of our goals was to complete all tasks within each role allocated. I think I met this goal because every task within the role I took on was completed. The only part of this goal I didn't meet was the Script Writing role for the reason I was absent. To make up for my absence I contributed idea's to the script and questions for the VT in time so that they could be considered and used for the interviews.


As a group, we ran into obsticles such as choosing a name for our production and this hindered a lot of our time as it was very time consuming. We managed to clear this obstacles and to carry on with our goals and come up with a name in the mean time. I think this was important to manage this obstacle like this as there was danger of our group falling behind on our work and producing our VT in time.


Overall as a team member, I would rate myself as an average member because I met my tasks and goals but I also let my group down with my absence but tried to make up for that time by contributing ideas afterwards. If I could back and re-do this project, I would definitely be more punctual so I could offer more help in my group. I would have tried to aim high than just reaching and complete goals, for example my our final edit of the VT more professional by using more effects and transitions. 

DONT COPY PEOPLES WORK

:@

Camera Risk Assessment

This Camera Risk Assessment was produced by our group.

Company Name- The Manchester College
Production Title- Alcohol Awareness Campaign	Production Date- 5th December 2011
Producer- Imogen Howkins	Director- Kassem Berraies
Date of Risk Assessment- 5th December 2011	Risk Assessment conducted by Kassem Berraies, Mikael Hasanzad, Luke Talbot, Imogen Howkins

Hazard	Persons who may be harmed	Property which may be damaged	Risk controls already in place	Risk Assessment (Low, Moderate, High, Extreme)	Further action required to control risk
Bad weather (rain, snow)	n/a	Camera	Weather was checked online on the bbc weather website	Low	Camera protection will be taken
Car accident	Crew + public	Camera	Drive safely at all times and wear seatbelts	Moderate	Open windows if driver feels tired
Liquids near camera	n/a	Camera	No bottled drinks or can drinks near the camera	Low	n/a
Building works	Crew	Camera	Stay away from any building works that may have falling objects	Low	n/a

Practical Project Production Roles

Throughout my project, I have taken on three different roles. One of these roles being a Researcher. The researcher role is quite straight forward. I took this role at the beginning of this project as the same as the rest of my team members in the group. After we had mind mapped initial ideas and came up with our main topic to focus on, we all started to research on Alcohol.  Most of our research was secondary research gathered from the internet. All the research gathered was referenced. I then started to research about news packages and make comments about them, these news packages were easy to find as their is a lot of them out there, I also researched about different Alcohol Awareness campaigns which again wasn't too hard to find. Overall as a Researcher, I think I did a very good job researching as well as the group. I didn't mind any difficulties during this role. One change I would make being a researcher is to try harder to gain primary research instead of secondary.

The second role I took part in was being a Camera Operator. I took this role when myself, kassem and mikael went on location to film some footage for our VT. Whilst we was on location, we filmed general views and used different techniques and shots such as; Panning, Tilting, Pull Focus, Overshoulder and close ups. These shots and techniques were very effective when it came to the editing process. I think throughout this project I was more hands off and gave more suggestions of different shots and techniques, rather than using the camera myself. I think if I was given this role again I would be more efficient and be more practical with the camera. As a camera operator and going on location, it was important to be aware of health and safety and produce a camera risk assessment. Everybody got involved producing the camera risk assessment.

My next role in the project was Editor. This role was shared with each member of the group as we all discussed Editing is not any of our strongest points. I think this role was a very enjoyable role because we got to put the footage we filmed together in our own creative style. After experiencing this role for this first time. I think the changes I would make is add a lot more techniques and use transitions appropriately to make the whole video look neat and tidy. I think I wasn't as effective as an Editor but I will bare this in mind and try to improve my editing skills for future experience.

I wasn't involved in a role due to being absent. This role was Script Writer. Imogen, Kassem and Mikael created a script for the news package. I think they did a very good job on producing the script for the presenter and the guest  and was very effective. Although I was absent at the time, when I was next present, I did however give idea's on the script and produced some questions for the guests.

Research News Package

We decided to find key facts and information on Alcohol after we decided to base our news package on this specific topic. The following is just research for our news package which we have found. All the following is secondary research, because the research is secondary, I will add bibliography to my research.

According to the NHS, Binge drinking usually refers to drinking lots of alcohol in a short
space of time, or drinking to get drunk.

Although alcohol is a legal substance it does not mean that it cannot be harmful to you or
those around you. Alcohol acts as a depressant (a depressant is a drug that reduces the
function or activity of a specific part of the body or brain) lowering your inhibitions and giving
you a false sense of confidence. It also makes you less regretful of the things you do whilst
intoxicated. It also affects the nervous system; messages sent from various parts of the body
take longer to reach the brain and this will slow down your reaction time/reflexes.

This diagram shows all the areas of the body which are affected by consuming Alcohol over a long period of time.

All information was secondary research off a popular information-based website

http://www.aquarius.org.uk/aboutalcohol

The following research is based on various news packages found on the internet. I will be searching on www.YouTube.com to find following news packages which are different to my news package and a similar one to my news package. I will then be looking for a professional news package from respected news channels.

On the topic of research news packages, I found a news package which I liked on YouTube. The news package has focused on the idea of the rise in petrol price which targets a wide range audience as their is a high number of people on the roads.

The news package interviews a driver who is affected by the rise of price in petrol. The news package gives statistics of fuel prices.

Lower thirds are used when she starts the interview to introduce herself and the interviewee.

The news package uses a lot of general views which relate to the subject of the matter.

On this news package, the topic is about drink awareness which is very similar to our groups topic, I thought it would be a very good idea to watch this news package and make comments about the specific news package.

This particular news package contains a lot interview with different people. Each interview shows lower thirds once again to introduce the interviewee. I think the shots used in this news package could be a lot better during interviews and also certain general views. I also think the sound of the  voiceovers are too loud for the whole news package, after watching this news packaging and making these comments, I will bare these in mind for groups news package.

Risk Assessment

As my role as Floor Manager, it is in my job description to carry out a risk assessment to ensure that full safety is in order during the live show on set. During the risk assessment, I have to identify any hazards which are possible in the studio and then identify the risks possible within the hazard then find a way to prevent this risk or lower the risk state to a safety standard.

PRODUCTION RISK ASSESSMENT FORM
PRODUCTION TITLE: Alcohol Awareness News Pakage
PRODUCTION NO:                               1	Production Office Phone: 0800 068 8585
STUDIO DATES: 10/01/2012	FILMING/OB DATES: 10/01/2012
STUDIO ADDRESS: Fielden Campus Barlow Moor Road West Didsbury Manchester M20 2P	LOCATION ADDRESS: Fielden Campus Barlow Moor Road West Didsbury Manchester M20 2PQ
Unit Manager:  Imogen Howkins	Office Phone:  N/A	Mobile: N/A
Live broadcast of 8 music bands performing. In the intervals of the bands rigging up and then de-rigging, we will hold interviews the the next oncoming band. The whole production will last around 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Hazard Checklist

		Tick				Tick					Tick
1	Access/egress blocked/restricted	✔	18	Hazardous substances: chemicals/dust/ fumes/poisons/asbestos/battery acid etc./ waste disposal			35	Scenic/set materials - not fire retardant/ toxicity tested
2	Alcoholic drinks/hospitality		19	Heat/cold, extreme weather climate			36	Scenery manual handling difficulties
3	Animals/insects (wild, performing etc.)		20	Heavy loads on studio floor/rostra			37	Scenic materials: glass/polystyrene
4	Any special prop, tool etc., under the direct control of the presenter, artist etc.		21	L.P.G./bottled gases			38	Smoking on set/studio			✔
5	Audience safety/public/crowds/violence/ civil unrest		22	Lasers/other bright lights/strobes			39	Special ‘flying’/technical rigs
6	Compressed gas/cryogenics/low temperature		23	Lifting equipment, e.g. forklift LOLER			40	Special needs/children/elderly/disabled
7	Confined space/ tanks/mines/caves/ tunnels		24	Live electrical equipment		✔	41	Special visual effects: rain/snow/fire/ smoke/steam/dry ice/heat
8	Derelict buildings/dangerous structures/ isolation of services/waste control		25	Machinery proximity			42	Scenery/props storage on premises
9	Diving operations		26	Night operations			43	Stunts/dangerous activities/hazardous props
10	Explosives, pyrotechnics, fireworks		27	Noise/high sound levels		✔	44	Technocrane/camera cables/camera movement/special cable runs/scanners			✔
11	Falling objects	✔	28	Portable tools above 110v			45	Vehicles/motorcycles/speed
12	Fatigue/long hours/physical exertion/stress	✔	29	Practical flame/fires/flambeaux			46	Water/proximity to water/tanks
13	Fire Prevention/Evacuation Procedures	✔	30	Radiation - sources/equipment etc.			47	Weapons/knives/firearms
14	First Aid/Medical Requirements	✔	31	Recording/shooting outside of LWT studios/OBs/PSC			48	Work at height: zip-up/ladders/talascope etc.
15	Flammable materials: painting/spraying needed		32	Risk of infection			49	Working on grid/ ‘truss’ etc.
16	Flying/aircraft/balloons/parachutes		33	Scaffolds/rostra/decking/platforms/ practical staircase/walkways on set			50	Working/storage under seating
17	Freelance crews, scenic ops		34	Scenery/flats over 12 ft x 10 ft/non-standard shape/centre of gravity.  Flown from grid			51	Other
·     Identify which hazards are involved in the production and tick the appropriate box above. ·     State overleaf whether risks associated with each identified hazard is either high, medium or low. ·     Specify control measures to be adopted to reduce risk state to an acceptable level, and state the resulting risk factor. ·     Inform those persons exposed to any risk of the control measures to be adopted. ·     The form must be signed by the originator and the producer, and copied to:					Unit manager					Crew / Cast
					Head of Production
					HODs					H&S Advisor

Hazard Number + Identity of Persons Exposed	MAIN RISKS IDENTIFIED  (Describe risks and state if considered to be high (H), medium (M) or  low (L) before any controls are introduced.	EXISTING & ADDITIONAL CONTROLS TO MANAGE RISKS Include names of experts or contractors to be used. Indicate the risk state after control initiatives are introduced.(H/M/L) Specify who is to ensure the measures are implemented and that they are effective.		Final risk level is acceptable
1 + 13 – S + P	Risk could be fire exits could be blocked with equipment and this could be a High risk if there is a fire.	In the institute we have a health and safety officer present at all times which will be able to control these risks from happening using CCTV. With the health and safety officer present I would consider the risk to be a Low risk		✔
12 – S + P	I would consider this risk to be a Medium because this could potentially harm people involved and it could cause interruption in the broadcast.	To control this risk I would recommend regular breaks, this may not prevent this but will help to control it and the risk state after I would give a low risk		✔
44 - S	This risk is a High because trailing cables can lead to people tripping over the cable and also damaging the camera equipment.	To help prevent the risks involved, I would use cable tidy’s and cables mats to keep all cables on the floor and out of the way to cause these potential hazards, the risk state after would be Low		✔
27 – S + P	I could give the risk state a medium. The main risks involved are earring damage and sound travelling to other rooms.	To prevent this, earplugs could be given out to the staff to stop earring damage and soundproof could be used around the room to stop the sound travelling, the risk state after would be a Low or none at all		✔
24 – S + P	This is a High risk because exposure to live electric could cause death if electrocuted and also could damage other electric equipment or wiring around the studio.	To prevent this I would ask the healthy and safety officer to check the equipment beforehand if nothing will blow any electrical fuses and make sure all the equipment is safe and is not exposed to anybody, the risk state after would still be a Medium so signs and notices will be put up to make everybody involved aware.		✔
State whether persons ‘at risk’ are: Staff(S), Freelance(F), Contractor(C), Performer/Presenter(P), Public(U)
If necessary, continue on extra sheets			NUMBER OF ADDITIONAL SHEETS  ATTACHED
COMPLETED BY: (print) Luke Talbot                                                                     POSITION: Floor Manager SIGNATURE:                                               DATE: I am satisfied that the above constitutes a proper and adequate risk assessment in respect of this production. If any changes are made, the risk assessment will be reviewed.
PRODUCER:(print name) Imogen Howkins                                                                                                                                    SIGNATURE:                                                                              DATE: