YR2 - WORK EXPERIENCE - ACROSS THE POND PART ONE

I was offered the chance to be part of the crew by my classmate Sam Simmons, whose boyfriend had flown all the way from the glitz and glamour of Los Angeles, to film here in the most super of mares, Weston.
At first I didn’t know what my role was to be, I was thinking it was going to be something basic, like running. Though, seeing how much of a dab hand I was with a camera in the past, Sam bumped me up to Stills Photographer, which was great! I didn’t have to worry about things the director wanted from me, I just had to take pictures and make the cast and crew look like they were being professional. It wasn’t going to be used in the film itself, just to document each day. I do have an interest in photography. I’m always taking photos, and have my own SLR camera, so this would not only be fun for me, but I was probably the most qualified there for the job, which made me feel a lot more professional and appreciated.
My first day was a really early one, so early I woke up as my housemates were returning from a night out. It wasn’t the best of starts to my day, having to get a train from Bristol, not knowing what I was going to be doing the rest of the day. The freezing temperatures didn’t help raise my mood. I arrived at Sam’s, had some breakfast, and met the rest of the crew. It was slightly weird being in a room with so many Americans, wearing my “Founding Fathers are Fairies” t-shirt was a big mistake!
After breakfast I was introduced to the camera I was going to be using, the Olympus E-410. I was really impressed by its fast shutter speed, its responsive auto-focus, and its great picture quality.

We headed off to our first filming location just after breakfast. The weather was really nice and sunny, not too warm though. I was glad to have a camera with a long zoom lens, it meant I could keep warm without being heard by the camera filming everything. I managed to get some great shots, the sun was lighting up the crews faces perfectly. Though being so far away from all the action meant people would come up to me and ask what we were filming, and to be honest, at first, i didn't know what to tell them, so i just went with "they're just a bunch of Americans filming some low budget film".














After finishing the filming at our first location, we moved on to our next. It was someplace in town, outside a small B&B. the problem with this location was the road going through it. This meant we had to block it off everytime we were going for a take, which didn't go down too well with some of the drivers. The main problem concerning myself was the sun being blocked out by the buildings, that mixed with the wind gave my hands a mild touch of frost bite.
Our last location of the day was in Westons bus depot. There weren't many shots to be had, but the use of a bus and some pain in the arse kids, held things up a bit. One of the bus drivers offered to help out and drive his bus through some of the shots, which was nice of him, considering he wasn't getting a penny for it, just his face on camera. Though half way through filming,


we came into contact with some of the filth that seem to roam Weston constantly. They hung around asking stupid questions, asking to be involved, making fun of some of the crew. I was truly embarrassed that these Americans got to meet the scum of British society. After a while they got bored and left, leaving us to film the remainder of the shots.


After finishing, we made our way back to sams to view the footage and look at the photos i had taken. Though i missed everything because i fell asleep as soon as i hit the sofa. It was a good first day. view all the photos of the cast and crew and each days progress by visiting:

http://picasaweb.google.com/acrossthepond.pilot

My Semester

Like most projects off mine this semester has had its highs and its lows. In this final Blog entry, I shall be explaining where and how I failed and succeeded in the semester. Unlike most of my reflective writing, I am determined to stay positive about how I’ve done.
This semester hasn’t really turned out how I wanted it to. It seemed like we had so much more stuff to complete than last semester. I’ve commented on my time management more than once in my Blog’s but it is the key reason for why my work is half the quality I’m capable of. I don’t really find the work much of a challenge it’s just finding the time and motivation to do it. In this last year I think I’ve matured enough to make sure this doesn’t happen again next year.
Another challenging aspect of this semester was working in a group. I like to be in control a lot of the time, but also don’t like to upset people within the group. This is why I struggled and sat-back in the idea building process. I didn’t like how we came up with the idea and didn’t have the heart to say to people their idea was crap. Of course there are upsides to every project, I didn’t have to do any of the paperwork. However because the idea we went with wasn’t my own I wasn’t allowed to direct which I think is where most of my strengths lie. If the same kind of situation occurs next year, I will suggest that the group appoints each member to a job that most suits them rather than everyone saying “I want to be director” “I want to be producer” that way everyone knows what they are doing and someone’s in charge keeping order.

I’ve always known that the theory side to a project wasn’t my forte however since working on the group project I do believe I have a number of skills when on location. I would love to see how I would get on with a group of people I was in charge of, I think I could be quite assertive if the job required me to be. I knew the practical side was where I was strongest before I even started this year however through the duration of this course and in this semester especially, I’ve found that I’m also quite confident in front of camera. The feedback I got from a meeting with my tutor recently backed my thoughts about heading towards a career in front of the camera rather than behind it. I hope to learn more techniques which will help me if I decide to choose this path. The lessons from the first semester about using body language to get the most out of an interviewee were very helpful.

I would say I’m quite the perfectionist which is good if I have plenty of time on a project. However this is why I take so long editing. I’ve got to grips with final cut pro and feel I’m as good as anyone else in the class, however unlike the rest, I spend too much time on minor bits that may contain the tiniest of glitches. I definitely need to learn more about the techniques of editing rather than what the software can do.

As much as i may complain, i am looking forward to what the second year has install for me. i think i smart enough to know where i went wrong this year and act upon it for the next. i still have alot to learn about the industry and think i have the ability to stand out from the rest of the class next year, maybe not with my writing but with my charactor.

Round up of the semester and year

This opening year of the course hasn’t really been a good one. There are many areas in which I, and no doubt the rest of our class, think this course have failed in….so bath spa and Weston college listen up and please act upon this Blog entry.

• Studio fees - when we first enrolled at the college we were told we had to pay “studio fees” these “fees” came to £80. Now, what I’m wondering is, why do the media students have to pay an extra £30 more than the music student at the same college considering they regularly visit studios in Bristol and attend plenty of workshops. From our £80, all we’ve seen are a couple of measly blank DVDs and two DV tapes, for £80! Where are you buying these from? Marks and Spenser’s! Last year the students were given hard drives, what’s changed in this last year for us not to get one?
• Learning - I’m a bit disappointed, to say the least, with what we’re being taught. I don’t think we’ve really learnt much this year. We’re being given assignments and told to get on with them. The college hired in an “expert”, Sacha Atkinson (http://www.sacha.me.uk). He thought he was there to teach us new things on editing. Unfortunately our studio fees don’t cover that, so instead he’s just there to support us with our work and wear dodgy clothes. I think he would make a great teacher and we could learn a lot from him, which is what I thought university was all about in the first place.

I know I’m being hard but this course is costing me just over £3000 and I don’t think, so far, it’s been worth the money. Its not all doom and gloom, there are some positives to come out of this year. The people I’ve met on the course, teachers and students. The skills I’ve gained in editing. The things I’ve learnt about myself. I started the course looking to move on into a career behind the camera, but after some of the exercises we’ve taken part in, in class, I may choose to change the direction of my career path.
I’ve found it quite hard to concentrate on my work this year because I’ve been living from home which can get very distracting when I’m supposed to be getting on with work. Next year I’ll be living closer to the college and will be making a lot more effort on keeping on top of my work.

note: its come to my attention that this blog may have come across in the wrong way concerning our teacher Sacha. i dont a problem with him at all (apart from his choice in clothing) its quite the opposite, i enjoyed his lessons thoroughly! and think the college would do well to find more teachers like him!

Filming 'Beach Body'

We started filming three weeks before our deadline, and even by this time I didn’t know what the story was about. Again I had to get stupidly early to get to Weston for 9:30am on the Saturday. When we arrived at our first location, we sat around for a bit, had a bite to eat, and then started. It was a scene about a family loading their stuff into a car and heading off to the beach. Of the whole day these few shots were the most time consuming.

I was the cameraman which I always enjoy doing, it means I can direct without the pressures being the director. It was fun but we weren’t getting much done in the little time we had. From there the shots were of the journey to the beach, not to long, mostly GV’s of the surroundings. The next location was sandy beach in Weston. The wind was so strong that capturing any kind of audio was going to be a challenge, however it did create a miniature sandstorm over the beach that looked mental. Sam had her son bring along some of his mates as extras, so the first shots we got done were with them in it. This way they wouldn’t be hanging around, getting in our way, however this did become a problem when it came to food…they stole mine and Tom’s chicken sandwiches Sam had made us. After they had gone we were left filming just the family doing beach holiday stuff. It soon became apparent that this film wasn’t going to win any awards, we were just trying to get through the shots as fast as we could. The day was a bit of a bore but I did enjoy having a lot of input towards the project, as bad as it may have turned out. I think we’re going to have to spend a lot of time editing to get this film looking half decent.
Even though I think the film will turn out to be total crap, it’s not a wasted project. This assignment can definitely to used as a learning curb, when you finish any film, its not all about the outcome but what you learn from it.

East Budleigh: Football Finest

I was really gutted after finishing this documentary because it didn’t turn out like I wanted it to. I had intended for it to be quite funny using the footage of the manager, Viv, watching his team to contradict everything he says in his interviews, for example, (managers voice over)“as a manager, you’ve got to keep a cool head” then show him going mental and cursing at the game, pretty typical of this particular manager. It turns out Viv didn’t feel like being too vocal during this game, perfect timing for him to put a sock in it. It wasn’t just that, I had left myself with so little time to edit, I couldn’t add any kind of effects, filters, or music. I got some good shots and the football footage looked awesome in the rain, it’s just a shame I didn’t have more time to use it to its full potential. I also wanted to use some of the footage I got from the showers, blanking out the nudity with the players faces laid on top of it, which I think would have been quite funny. As the time I had drew to an end I had no other option but to arrange all the shots in order so it was presentable. In the end all that came of the documentary was a viewing of an average Saturday’s football match, ok if you really like to watch football, but it’s not got any story behind it and serves no purpose.

Filming of footballs finest

As always before filming, I was nervous. Nervous about not getting all the shots, nervous about getting in the way of the management or players, and most of all, nervous about what I looked liked to onlookers. I never get this nervous when playing. The day started early at East Budleigh’s recreational ground. I started filming the manager as he carried out his daily duties. I wasn’t too worried about getting in the managers way as he’s my dad. This meant that I could get him to do what ever I needed him to, anything from holding a pose to giving me the right answers to my questions. It was lucky he done these chores in the morning as it gave me time to go home after and fix the problems I was having with the crappy tripod. After sorting out the equipment, I made my way back to the football ground. It was a lot different now, people were starting to gather outside the clubhouse, asking me what I was up to. I wasn’t too rushed at this point, the only footage I needed were GV’s and cutaways. I got a bit of stick from the players as they came in because I was filming rather than playing. I think it would have been harder to film a team I wasn’t so familiar with, everyone involved in the club were very helpful with interviews and so on. When it came to the kick off, the heavens opened. There were puddles in the middle of the pitch. Obviously the camera wasn’t water proof, so to avoid breaking it I made this brilliant sheltering mechanism using a brolly, a belt, plenty of duck tape, and a cotton-bud. It was a touch of engineering genius. It didn’t make me look like the coolest fella on the pitch but it kept me dry.

(i apologise that the video is on its side, dont know how to change it, but you get the message)


At half time I waited in the changing room for the coach’s team talk, however I couldn’t stop the camera from steaming up, so I filmed the tea ladies, Peg and Pam, instead. Second time kicked off and I had gathered all the footage I needed so it was now just a case of filming the rest of the game. I had always thought it would be an amazing job to film football matches, and dreamt of one day filming at old Trafford itself. But I found it so hard not to get involved, at one stage the linesman made a shocker so I invited the ref over to look at the replay. I could never film united or England playing, I wouldn’t get anything on camera, I would be to busy cheering. It was so hard watching fellow players battling it out without me. I hate not playing football as it is, but to be watching it knowing I could play if I wanted to, was agony.

Radio Advert

For this project, we had to come up with a comical script for an advert on a random subject that we picked from a hat. I picked ‘golf course’. I didn’t know how the hell I was going to do it, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of an advert for a golf course before.
I tried to make it sound like one of the nationwide adverts, it didn’t really work.
My first draft turned out to be a bit to complicated, it took me another two drafts to get a finished script however I was the last one in the class to finish. This wasn’t because I particularly slow, but because I was so good at acting, everyone wanted me in their piece. After completing our scripts we had to go into the TV studio to read our scripts out to a camera so we could use it in our portfolio.
I didn’t enjoy this script writing exercise, and a lot of the other adverts turned out better than mine, which made me feel great! I did however enjoy taking part in other people’s pieces, I think I’m a natural at acting and making a tit out of myself.

My Finished script:

Int. A man is at the reception desk of a golf course talking to one of the employees.

Employee: Hello sir, welcome to Cranleigh golf and leisure club, how are you today?

Golfer: yeah fine, I was wondering if I could play golf today, if that’s alright

Employee: yeah that’s fine sir. Just have to get a few details off you if that’s ok

Golfer: yeah sure

Employee: Ok…. Do you know anybody currently at the club?

Golfer: No

Employee: Ok…. Have you ever played on a professional course such as this one?

Golfer: No

Employee: Right…. Are you married?

Golfer: Yes

Employee: Ok…. Right, let me just add this up a second… right so you’ve got the
Opportunity to meet new and influential people… the new experience of
Playing on a professional course… and one day of relief from the wife…
Right, ok, well here’s your receipt

Golfer: HOW MUCH?!!


V.O: Don’t let your hobby lump you with a hefty bill. Come play at East Devon golf club, where none of your experiences will end with a bogie.




Visit the website of the golf course that inspired the advert at: http://www.edgc.co.uk