Friday 28 November 2014

[PRODUCTION] - Editing 4

Editing 4

                                         Editing 4 on Make A Gif


Editing 4 - Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires

[PLANNING] Prop - Smoke Grenade

As said in our pitch, we wanted to incorporate a smoke effects into our music video (inspired by Tove Lo - Not On Drugs) so I began applying some research to find out where and how I could find something which is able to achieve the effect that we wanted. Trying to find something which had this type of effect was really difficult as the none of the members of the group knew where or how to find it. I also assumed that the college wouldn't have anything that could really help up.

I first came across some images on Tumblr showing photography projects which had the same style of smoke effect that I was looking for. From the photos, it showed that the people in the photos were holding a cylinder tube which the smoke comes our from and I slowly found out that they were called smoke grenades. The photos shows that it was safe to be in human contact with the smoke grenades and that it wouldn't harmful if anyone of us were to use the smoke. As you can see from the photos the smoke comes in different colours and comes our very clearly and gives of a very beautiful and euphoric effect which is exactly what we wanted to achieve in out music video.

























I didn't have any clue if there was any store in London which sold these smoke grenades so I began searching, I mostly found online websites like eBay, Amazon and www.airsoftworld.net but I didn't want to risk waiting for delivery to come through especially since we were on a tight schedule with our filming already. I soon came across website www.wolfarmouries.co.uk, the website states that it sold the smoke grenades which were only available to be sold in store, and when looking further into the website I figure out that they were based in Camden, London. This was perfect as I could personally go to Camden and buy the smoke grenades.



So planned a date to go and buy the smoke grenades which I then bought and tried out myself before I let the team used it. I wanted to see how long it would last for and how well the smoke came out on camera but also what colour worked best. When I was trying it out, something I learnt that the people in the shop never told me was that the grenades gave off a very strong smell when it is set off and that it last for 90 seconds which sound very short however when I was shooting I found out that actually it is a very long time in terms of filming and shooting. If used continuously it can definitely make you a little nauseous and also as you have to hold it for the whole 90 seconds, the longer you hold it the hotter it will get but luckily its isn't hot to a point where it's burning you, just still quite hot. Other things are the wired trigger that you pull to release the smoke it very difficult to pull, the wire is very thin and if not pulling it the correct way it can snap which then won't work anymore, this happened to me once when trying our the grenades, I was meant to pull towards me but I ended pulling it away which then caused it to snap. All of those things were the downfall of the smoke grenades but apart from those minor things the smoke grenade overall give off a really cool effect, works and looks great on camera. Here are some text shoots that of when I tried out the smoke grenades.


Thursday 27 November 2014

Being Yasmin Ally

After much reluctance in the beginning stages of the project, I have now become accustomed to playing our artist: Yasmin Ally! 
When we first started filming it was all quite bizarre and I found it hard to get into the role of the artist. In our second filming session in Wapping, I loosened up and found that playing Yasmin Ally was quite fun! I've enjoyed being in charge of the costumes that I wear as Yasmin and have found that social media has been the most supporting platform for Yasmin (some people even think she's real!)


Analysis of Original Video

Ellie Goulding's cover of High For This doesn't have an original video. Ellie is quoted to have said that this is because:

"The beautiful imagery created by the lyrics in the song cant be mimicked by a performance or visual interpretation"

Skills Audit

In the AS year I gained a lot of knowledge about media and the technology involved in different forms of media. I now find that the knowledge I gained in the AS year has changed my perspective on many different things such as television, the music industry etc.

Some of the most significant things I've learnt are:
- Operating the Mac's to their full potential
- Operating the cameras
- Using filming equipment, e.g. fig rig
- Mise en scene, sound, cinematography and editing

Copyright Clearance

As I did not contact any music labels concerning copyright clearance during the summer after AS finished, I decided to email different labels for copyright clearance of our 5 final song choices. This helped with making our final decision for the song we wanted to use.

Re-filming

In a recent editing session we discovered some problems that we was unaware of before.

Whilst looking over some of our footage it had come to our attention that some of the shots were out of focus which wouldn't be such a big problem if these weren't the main shots that hold the whole video together. This is a bit of a  problem as we're nearing the deadline for our finish project but have only discovered this problem this week.



Tomorrow our group will attempt to re-film some of the unfocused shots and maybe 1 or 2 more base tracks in order to give us more options and ideas whilst editing.

Music Videos in AS

Music Videos: Summer, AS

  • First ever music video aired on MTV = Buggles: Video Killed the Radio Star
  • The basics of base track editing
  • Male Gaze
  • Laura Mulvey
  • Andrew Goodwin's theory

Monday 24 November 2014

[PRODUCTION] - Editing 3

Editing 3 

On Monday (24.11.2014) I only had one lesson in the morning and so that meant I was able to come to the editing suite to get some editing into play. After submitting our first rough cut, there was a lot of feedback from Louisa to work on, so I tired to make changes however felt that I needed to change the sequence completely as I was not happy with it. 

                                         Editing 3 on Make A Gif

I spent about 2 hrs putting together a sequence, but I kept the first sequence incase the rest of my group did not agree to it.

One of the highlights of this editing session, I would have to say was the Colour Separation of the shots with the smoke. We decided that we would want these shots Black and White with just the smoke in colour.

Steps For Colour Separation:

  1. Select the clip you want to work with 
  2. Go to effects, video filters then Colour Correction, the Colour Corrector 3-Way
  3. Then on the video, clip on the colour corrector 3-way Tab
  4. At the bottom clip the drop down arrow on Limit effect
  5.  Using the Eye Dropper, select the colour in the video which you want to separate i.e the colour of the smoke
  6. Invert the selection and take the saturation down. 
  7. Untick Sat and Luma
  8. Then slide the limit effect colour bar slightly until you have the clip how you want it. 

Sunday 23 November 2014

[PLANNING] - Test Shots for Digipak

Test Shots for Digipak

While at the studio (20.11.2014) we thought we'd try to get some shots of Yasmin Ally for the digipak. Here are some samples that we could consider. 

Skills Development


Production in A2

In participating in the production of a music video in A2 I've noticed that the method of production shares similarities and differences with that of the opening of a short film. Where in AS we gained most ideas and inspiration from other films which shared our genre, music videos have required a deeper form of research as we've developed key knowledge around theorists beliefs and thoroughly researched the origins of music videos and their background. In doing such concise research I have developed on different forms of media.



Locations
                                                                                  When selecting locations, we had to be to put a lot of thought into what locations would accommodate our concept and genre. This was similar to AS but was far more difficult because of weather conditions and a shorter span of time. What I've found from filming a music video is that we have adopted a far more pragmatic approach to location choosing; we haven't stuck to our original locations, instead as we've gone out to film we have come across suitable locations to maximise the amount of base tracks we have which could be beneficial to our final project. For example, on day 3 of filming, we visited blackwall to film in a tunnel and ended up filming in a walkway which was far more visually appealing and practical than our original decision.





Creating an Artist 
Creating a music artist has been one of the most significant differences between AS and A2. Where in AS we had no goal to create a significant persona to revolve around our production, producing a music video has required us to consider brand imaging factors. 
Filming
Whereas last year I worked behind the scenes when making the film opening, this year I'm on screen and I am finding it very enjoyable. I am grateful to have the opportunity to work on screen as it has boosted my confidence and also changed my outlook on filming and cinematography. I have also found that its fun to play around with body language, camera angles and costume when filming which something I acknowledged less last year.

Saturday 22 November 2014

Reflection [Motivation & Communication]



As a whole, our group has improved massively as we're finally starting to communicate. This has helped all of get more motivated about the project, although we do still have a lot of hard work to do and need to make sure our blogs stay up to date. Its all finally starting to come together! 

Ellie Goulding's Website & Synergy

Friday 21 November 2014

[PRODUCTION] - Filming Day 5

Chenny and Nicole carried out filming during this lesson while Nahida worked on the editing. We needed to speed the process up so we would have some sort of rough cut that our teacher can give us feedback.

We all moved back and forth from our filming location and editing suite to help one another out but to also ensure that we were part of all processes on the production. It was productive to the extent that we were able to multitask and get a lot done.


[REFLECTION] - Rough Cut 1 & Theory

Rough Cut 1 & Theory

CAROL VERNALLIS - 


  • The video cuts to the beat of the song
  • Breaks the rule of continuity
  • There's some obvious edits in the second verse where I added a cross fade effect, also added slow motion to the footage with the smoke and at the end of the video.
  • There are a lot of jump cuts
  • Camera movement in time with the song
  • And clear use of a lot of base tracks

ANDREW GOODWIN - 


  • Amplification of the lyrics through the use of smoke links to the being 'High' 
  • Repetition of clips throughout the video

LAURA MULVEY -

  • Achieves the male gaze - female in little clothing 
  • Artist portrays herself in a seductive and sexual way
  • Dismembering of the female - the beginning shots have focus on her legs. The high angle of artist bring focus on her cleavage. 

[PRODUCTION] - Rough Cut 1

Rough Cut 1 - 21/11/2014


Throughout our blog posts it's pretty clear that we did not get up to a good start. We were falling behind and lacking motivation. However, Nahida worked hard and fast to produce a messy rough cut that attempted to portray what we wanted with the guidance of Chenny and Nicole. This has truly motivated me (Nahida) to work my magic on the editing part of the production to pull together our music video to a very high professional standard. We had Louisa look through what I was able to get together and provide me with feedback which I really could work with and that has been able to give me a clearer vision for the final product as well as require the group to question some aspects of the video. 

Feedback: 
- As the singing started in the video we kept the artist anonymous which is what we wanted to do however there was shots before the 'ohh' where we had shots of the artists face so it was unclear. 
- There isn't a clear structure between the verse and chorus of the song as we had the first verse and chorus with the white room shots and then the second verse with outside shots. We need to come up with a clear structure so we can either:

  • Have inside shots for the verse and they were very strong and outside shots for the chorus 
  • Have inside shots of the white room for the first verse and the black room for the second verse and then the chorus could be the projection shots that blends the black and white 
THEY ARE BOTH GREAT IDEAS AND SO WE HAVE A DILEMMA.
- About a minute into the video there was a blacked out flash with the sound of the click which did not happen beforehand. - Unfortunately I did not add an edit to it but it just sort of happened but Louisa had told me to add it to the other clicks from before. 
- Louisa also gave another tip. The shots with Nicole near the lamp post worked well and she suggested we also add that specific sequence in reverse. 

We clearly still have a lot of work to do. 

[PRODUCTION] - Editing 2

Editing 2


Thursday 20 November 2014

[PRODUCTION] - Filming Day 4

Filming Day 4 - 20/11/2014


[PRODUCTION] - Day 4 Filming

Day 4 Filming - 20/11/2014

Today we set off to film as much as we good. Before going ahead to set a plan of all the locations we wanted to visit and what shots we want to get done. As Chenny had booked Work Rate Studios for 10-2 we decided it was wise to make that our first location. Also this white room held many of the key shots for our Music Video. We were very successful in using this space wisely and attempted to perfect our shots as much as we can so we don't have to book it out again. With the studio we hired the lights that they provide and well it added professionalism into our shots and just made them look pretty much amazing. We also managed to get our smoke shots with the smoke grenades outside the studio. This gained a lot of attention of passerbys and was so awkward, but we did was we could and again the shots we perfect. 

As we were so in the zone we filmed a lot and actually ran out of space on our memory cards even though they were empty to start with. We were on a roll and considering other filming sessions we were super proud of ourselves. We made our way back to college so we could save our footage onto a hard drive before continuing. 

Our next location was meant to be Greenwich Foot Tunnel, however that was too far and on our way to that location we found another foot tunnel near Blackwall DLR Station which we liked more and thought could be very effective to our video. We filmed a few bass tracks before our memory card kept saying 'insufficient space'. Also our battery was dying. At this moment we had another two locations planned as well which were, The Bubble Wrap Lights near London Bridge and Granary Square in Kings Cross. We were all also very tired and freezing cold. So we thought about whether these locations were necessary or whether we can film them another time. We decided that these shots weren't as key and so could be delayed. So we had departed for the day.

This was the first filming day where all the group members were presents. *Yay* 

I (Nahida) would like to thank each member for their hard work to make this filming day a productive one. We have some really good footage to work with. 






Wednesday 19 November 2014

[PLANNING] Communicating With The Group About Filming Schedule and Locations

As said in my reflection post, I said that my group lacked communication between each other so I have made sure to try and changed the way we communicate with each other. 'Whatsapp' is our main way form of communication with each other whilst we're not together. Right now even though I have tried to communicate with everyone more frequently but there is still a strong barrier that is surrounding us.


The gif here shows that I have tried to communicate with the entire group, I have left a long and details message to all of them which explains clearly what what is the plan for our next filming session (thursday 20th). I've made sure to keep everyone updated of times locations and ideas have come up while we haven't seen each other, I've also asked for everyone's best effort and hard work to be put into each meetup we have, as I know that it can be hard and tiresome especially for Nicole as she's the one performing, so I have asked for everyone bare with the the long hours and try to put 100% effort.

I and Nahida in particular have been speaking to each other regularly and separately, this is because I feel that she and I are seeing the project at a more serious level and so because of this I feel as though if  have any problems I am able ask her for a opinions and advice. We usually sort out the schedule together and check before hand with each other first when we have a suggestion to put forward to the team.

Evaluation Q1 (notes)

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[REFLECTION] Blogging Health Check 1

After have my first and second progress meeting with the Louisa, the progress showed that I'm currently working below my achieving grade. These grade honestly show that I haven't put much effort and dedicated myself to the project but also the team. After the serious chat with Louisa, it's motivated me to show my try potential as a media student and make sure that I get the highest grade possible for this project. I want to show that I and my group can produce a great piece of work worthy of our hard work and efforts. 

Reasons why I or my group has show lack of progress in our work. 

- One of the main reasons my team has show lack of work is because the lack of motivation we all have, we then feed of this lack of motivation is then fed off each other creating a bad aura within the group. 

- The other reason is that I left everything to the last minute when given any assignments to or blogging task to do. Saying that I'm going to do it on this  particular day but really never actually do any of it because I felt that I could be done simply and easily resulting me in delaying it until before the deadlines. 

- Our group also show a lack of communication, at first even though we eventually got each other's numbers we wouldn't completely contact each other frequently to try and discuss or plan the project. This was really difficult as it now shown in the amount of work we have produce so far. 

- For a while we we're all too nice and considerate of each other. No one was stern and straightforward with their opinions, making a clear point and sticking to it we were very 'whatever floats your boat' kind of way. Which is also why I think out storyboards where so complicated to organise and figure out. 

So now that I have been able to see what my weakness are, I now have to address those weaknesses. 
- I'm going to try and organise myself efficiently so that I'm able to keep track of what is going on in our group and record it in the blog.
- I'm also going to try and keep communicating with my group, keep their motivation spirit up. 
- Voice my opinions in a clear sense and make sure that we can all agree on something and stick to it. 

Tuesday 18 November 2014

Response To Cause For Concern

In my one to one with Louisa, we discussed my lack of consistent and up to standard blog posts due to my de-motivation and juggling college work as well as employment. We discussed my targets and how I can achieve them without overwhelming myself with the workload. 

Cause for Concern Details: 
Nicole has fallen very behind with her coursework blog. The work she is producing is inconsistent in the level of detail, standard and frequency and subsequently, I am very concerned that Nicole will not achieve a mark that reflects her ability in the subject.

In my one to one, Louisa addressed the issue of my inconsistent and low standard work recently. This is partly caused by a lack motivation among my group in general which delayed our filming/production stages and left us behind on our work. Similarly, losing my phone and my laptop breaking during the entire half term meant that my group members could not contact me which delayed our production and with work taking up most of my time, I had no time to go to the library to keep up with blogging. Since then, I have started to slowly catch up on both production and blogging.

Targets for improvement:
Achieve a blog count of at least 60 by the review date
To complete all the missing planning posts and the synergy activity from the research stage
to upload and develop posts for the current production phase to show evidence of filming and editing

To improve frequency of posting to the blog - at least 3 times per week

[PRODUCTION] - Filming Day 3

Filming Day 3 - 18/11/2014


Today was the 3rd session held for filming. The plan was to work on projection shots and get more in as we liked the ones we got last time but thought we would need more. 

Unfortunately I was not part of this filming day due to other commitments (I had my driving test - & I passed *Insert celebration emoji*) however I took it upon myself to catch up with the group so I would know where to go from this point in our production. 

Looking at the message above it is clear that it was not successful and we really need to up our game. I keep saying we need to up our game, and I am giving 100% into this, but I don't feel this with all members of the group. We are highly lacking motivation and it's starting to bring my confidence in doing well down. 

Our next filming session is planned for Thursday and so there is so much work to get done. I'm working on a plan for the day to ensure we use our time and the equipment productively. We have so much to do in such little time, we can't be laid back anymore. 

[PLANNING] Downloading Blogger App

So I have now downloaded Blogger iPhone App onto my phone which means I can create post whilst on the go. This will become a more accessible and efficient way to keep the blog updated.

As part of trying to making my blog more frequent and consistent, this would be a very useful way for me to make quick and easy blog post while on the go or during a group filming session. It ensures that I won't forget anything as I can directly create a post whilst at the locations. 



Monday 17 November 2014

[PRODUCTION] Filming Day 3 - Unsuccessful

Unfortunately, filming on day 3 was a complete failure. I arrived late to the lesson and when I arrived Nicole and Yashima was already filming the projection shots that we had planned to filmed. I arrived about half an hour late, and during this time I expected Yashima and Nicole to have some kind of footage filmed but disappointingly they hadn't filmed much. Something on that day didn't seem to work out which made the progression of our filming progress on a really slow paste. 

We tried to be experimental with when filming this time, and so Nicole asked her male friend to come and shoot some scenes for us. As the song has a strong connotations of intimacy we thought that by shooting some shots with Yasmin being intimate with a male figure would bring a new sense of feeling into the music video. Disappointingly, they both found it hard to film as they both couldn't break the awkwardness which resulted in very ammature type of acting and a lot of time being wasted.



[RESEARCH] - Recent Video Releases

Recent Video Releases


Sunday 16 November 2014

[REFLECTION] - Organisation 2

Organisation 2

I decided that keeping notes of the things I have to do is useful and ensures that I get them done instead of forgetting about them. Also makes sure that I am up to date with all the blogs I have to post. Last time I created a handwritten list of the things I have to do. This time I downloaded an App onto my iPhone called, abcNotes. I layered post it notes on a colourful background (so it's not dull obviously and actually has my attention) and on each note I had a different blog post that I have to upload, alongside little notes to refer to when posting to ensure I include as much detail as possible. I then made this the wallpaper on the lock screen of my phone this way I am easily reminded everytime I pick up my phone which is basically 24/7. I found this to be effective and shall carry on this process with blogs to post each week. *The gif below shows the main steps I took while using this app*
abc notes on Make A Gif

Another way I have decided to organise myself is by downloading the blogger app onto my phone. This way I have faster access and can blog on the go, so  I can save notes onto a draft post while I'm making journeys to and from place and then later when I have access to a laptop I can expand on these notes and display them using different technologies.


Thus I am on top of every task and not falling behind, ensuring the highest marks possible.

[PLANNING] - Black Room Location

Black Room Location

Since the beginning of the project we had this idea of cross cutting between a black room and a white. We searched for such rooms everywhere and it was hard. Nicole suggested that we use the college drama studio for a black room and I was able to use a white wall from my house. We were able to book the drama studio on 6th November 2014, however as the main performer had other priorities, we had to reschedule. I've tried to remind everyone that we need to re-book, however I think I was unsuccessful as we don't yet have a date which we will be able to used it.  Later we were successfully able find a better white studio (Work Rate Studios - Bethnal Green http://www.workratestudio.com/ ) thanks to Chenny. *Details to be found on her posts about the location*

I then remembered that I have a black drama studio and can also black out the main hall at my old school (Mulberry School For Girls) and so thought I'd give it a shot in contacting my teacher and asking for permission to use the location. 


Unfortunately, they were not able to accommodate us and so we are back to looking for a black room. However as we don't have much time left to film, we may have to scrap this idea.

Friday 14 November 2014

[PRODUCTION] - Editing 1

Editing 1



[PLANNING] - Updated Production Schedule

Updated Production Schedule

[PLANNING] - Updated Locations

Updated Locations

Sunday 9 November 2014

Revision to Pitch & Final Decisions

Originally as a group we planned our first day of filming for the 2nd November however we stumbled a few problems such as members of the group not being able to attend the session because of reasonable reasons, not booking out the equipment in time for this date and also the weather made it impossible so we did not start filming until the 7th November.

Another change that was made was the amount base tracks that was filmed for the music video. In the beginning we decided on having a few base tracks (maybe around 5) however there has been a lot more base tracks than this filmed for our music video in order to make the editing process easier.


The last change that was made was the outfits. Originally we wanted our artist to have shots of her in all white and shots of her in all black however as time passed and filming went on the group decided it would be better if she wore different outfits in black for all the base tracks. 

[PRODUCTION] - Filming Day 2

Filming Day 2

*A word cloud to summarise the filming session. Created using ABCya.com*

Here's the link to the video I made about my experience on filming. Unfortunately it was letting me embed properly and the pictures, don't always load when viewing, but I need to expand my ict use. So far this is probably the worst one I've used as it was so slow and irritating. I would advise opening up the link separately to view properly. 

http://www.rawshorts.com/animations/M2RO0AnohXqQUX5_GhGi9Q


[PLANNING] Day 2 Filming


Day 2 Filming by Slidely Slideshow

Day 2 of filming had taken place, we began shoot on a Sunday and was able to shoot three locations. Two of which were in Wapping and the last was in King's Cross. The first location was the tunnel, like we planned. When we began filming it was a little awkward at first as we were in a public space meaning that there were going to be a lot of the public around us. We made sure that we'd give enough space for the public and be considerate of them as this was a public area that we were using. Nicole found it a little hard at the beginning to get into the role at the beginning as she felt a little silly since we were attracting slight attention but after the encouragement of me and Nahida she slowly got the flow of it and when she did she was able to do a really good job. The second location was really a spontaneous one as we hadn't planned on using it but as the weather was really good on that day and the view was really amazing we felt as though it would of been too much of a waste to not try and get any shots, Our last location was the most difficult as we all didn't know where it was, we had to ask around and use our phone to try find out where it was. When we arrived at the location it was already dark so we had to use the dedolights to film. The locations itself has small LED light which we thought would help but really it was still to dark for us to film. It was really to good lighting whilst filming as the camera has a difficult time trying to pick up the lighting so that meant that we has to do more of a mid to close up shot of Yasmin instead of a long shot. At the location there was also a water area which we thought would be really good to film Yasmin but as it would be really risky and dangerous for the equipment as we only used a slight portion of it. For this particular location I think that we would like to try filming there again this with a top light which hopefully would give the lighting we need as we really all felt that the location was a really good one


Saturday 8 November 2014

[REFLECTION] - Organisation 1

Organisation 1


One of the targets I set myself is to get organised and catch up with my blogs and another was to use more media technology to make my blog posts more appealing and not so dull with just text and a few images here and there.

To organise myself I have created a list of blog posts that I still have to do and as I got them done I highlighted them off the list as well as my blogging checklist. This has been effective as I was able to successfully catch up with my blogs and have tried my best to put in as much detail as possible. 

To ensure I use more media technologies, I also made a list of all the possible softwares/apps I can use on my future blog posts. However one obstacle that I came across was that not all technologies allow me to embed them onto the blog and so I have to screenshot them in and it looks like I'm not using different media technologies, and so I have decided to underline the technologies I use next to the screenshot and explain why I was unable to embed them onto the blog.

Friday 7 November 2014

Reflection on Progress 2


In my first blog reflecting on my progress in media my 3 targets were:


1.            Go to workshop to learn how to use other forms of ICT.
2.            Include more information and research in my blogs
3.            Make sure my blogs make sense to the readers


Since then I have attended one workshop session and also have included a bit more information to my blogs and also made them clearer however even though I have done some of these things it has not been enough to make a huge difference to my blogs.


Two more targets that I am going to set for myself is that:


1.       I need to blog more often
2.       And use more ICT in my blogs



I am not impressed with myself and the amount of effort that I have been putting into my blogs so I would think my mark would remain at 13/20 which means I need to work a lot harder. 

[PRODUCTION] - Filming Day 1

Filming Day 1 - 7/11/2014

*make fullscreen before viewing to make more clear. pause at any slides if more time is needed to read*

[PRODUCTION] - Day 1 Filming

Day 1 Filming - 7/11/14





Chenny Bui's Slidely by Slidely Slideshow

So for day 1 filming it took place and it we had a shorted time then we would regularly which meant we had to try and get quiet good footage done in a short amount of time. We followed our projection theme that we agreed on so we then used a classroom and in that classroom we use the projector to achieve that effect we wanted to. When we found what we wanted to began to film. Here's a short clip from the artist and crew:

Wednesday 5 November 2014

[REFLECTION] - Blogging Health Check 1

Blogging Health Check 1


After reading this note on my progress so far in Media Studies, I am very disappointed with myself as I know personally that I am capable of much much more. But this has now motivated me to up my game and work 5 times harder than I did last year and also to leave my lazy behaviour behind if I want to achieve the grade I believe I deserve which is an A.

So far in this coursework it is apparent that I am not motivated to do well. I started this year off confident that I will do well and that I can definitely achieve the A grade that I want. However when it came down to the Pitch and working as a group this motivation and confidence went down the drain. This could be for a number of reasons;

  1. Firstly, I stepped out of my Lastmin.com phase and decided to work on my parts of the pitch as early as possible to make is easier for other members of the group, however I was not able to do some of my parts of the pitch without information from the others. This meant that I had to rush it and even take on other parts that where not assigned to me, which means I lacked adding as much detail as possible. And as I didn't really know anyone in my group it's been hard for me to step out of my shell and actually push them to do the work.
  2. Secondly, there was a lack of communication within our group, and we're all too nice to actually take charge when things are not working out. This is why the storyboard didn't really make sense to anyone, even myself as I had created it in a rush with whatever ideas I could come up with at 1am.
  3. Individually, we are all laid back so we don't feel the stress of getting down to do the work, or at some point's we are perfectionist and have this sort of fear that our product may not come out the way we want it to, hence why it's taken us time to do something i.e. filming.
  4. Lastly, (which I think was the major problem) is that we took our time to get down to filming. Every time we decided we would film we ended up cancelling as something came up and all members of the group were not available or we didn't know where would be filming or when. I think after we start filming there's a possibility that I will gain confidence in producing a masterpiece, but for now my confidence is really weak.  

TARGETS:

  • Organise myself to keep up to date with blogging (I am actually really surprised at how unorganised I am, usually I'm really organised with details.)
  • Tweak my part of the pitch blogs, by using different forms of ICT as there's a lot of posts with just text. 
  • Catch up on the missing blogs - See checklist on what is missing. 
  • Use more and a range of technology in the upcoming posts.