As Live - Role Research

 Role Research

With our pitch being selected, I was made co-producer alongside Heather Wallbanks and Vicki Chrisofi. A producer holds a key role within the production. The producer liaises with the studio and the production and is the “governing force” (Kellison, 2008) behind the production. 

As there are three producers, my role will mainly be focused on the organisational side of things. Some of the responsibilities that I will be conducting will be things like creating call sheets, completing risk assessments, creating to do lists etc. (Screenskills, 2022). 

Producers are present throughout the whole process, from pre-production to production and usually have the overall say (Palmer, 2021). 

As producers, we will collaboratively be overseeing the interviews, locations and every other aspect of the production, including the cast and crew. The casting and locations will be key for our production, with both of them carrying the production (Glazier, 2022). With the theme of the show being camp, fun, outerspace, the location and cast will be key to letting the theme shine through. 

Being a producer, you have to learn to stand your ground whilst also organising a team and collaborating (Palmer, 2021). This is a skill that I will also look to develop throughout this project. I can often struggle to stand my ground when it comes to other people; however, within this project I will be taking on the responsibility of managing others in order to (hopefully) successfully bring the vision of “Cosmic Snatchers” (Potter and Wallbanks, 2022) to life. To achieve this, it will be important to ensure that there is “mutual trust, respect, humour, and a shared vision” (Kellison, 2008), which I will attempt to continue to establish throughout this project. 

Multitasking is an important feature of a producer as you’re often having to balance multiple tasks at once whilst thinking quick on your feet in order to solve issues that can arise throughout the whole process, from pre-production to post-production (Kellison, 2008). When producing our live show, it will be important to try and keep on top of things. From reading this, I have learnt that dedicating a certain amount of time to each task each day that needs to be completed, will ensure that I am able to successfully multitask (Glazier, 2022)

Ensuring that there is trust between the producers, cast, and crew is important in helping the production run smoothly. It is important to build a positive rapport and relationship between yourself, as producer, and everyone involved in the production. Due to the importance of this, it will be key to have at least one producer on set at all times and to keep in regular contact with everyone involved in the production (Kellison, 2008). This will enable a (hopefully) positive relationship with everyone involved in the production, display that the cast and crew can rely on the producers, and aid the smooth running of the production.

In addition to being a producer, I am also the production manager, which involves doing the admin for the production and means that I hold responsibility for the day-to-day running of the production (Screenskills, 2022). The role of a production manager is essentially to ensure that the production runs smoothly. In terms of this production, I will be managing things like the budget, helping the locations manager find the locations, aiding the casting team, ensuring that health and safety guidelines are adhered to etc. 

However stressful the role of producer and production manager may be, it is important that the process should also be enjoyed (Kellison, 2008). There is not a need for the producer to know how to do everything, which is why it is important to ensure that the producer has a reliable, talented team to do the jobs/help complete the jobs that the producers can’t (Kellison, 2008). When working on the As Live show, it will be important to ensure that the crew and cast work together in order to get the show to the best that it can possibly be.

Through researching the role of a producer and production manager, I feel as though I have a greater understanding of what the role entails and will use the research to develop my production skills both for this unit and in future projects. 

Bibliography:

Banijay. (2022) Shows: All Together Now. At: https://www.banijay.com/shows/#show-20 (Accessed 20/01/2022)

Banijay. (2022) Shows: Masterchef. At: https://www.banijay.com/shows/#show-18 (Accessed 20/01/2022) 

Glazier, J. (2022) ‘Pitch Feedback’ In: Pitch Feedback Meeting. University for the Creative Arts, Kent. 25/01/2022. (Accessed 25/01/2022)

Kellison, C. (2008) Producing for TV and New Media: A Real-World Approach for Producers. (2nd ed.) London: Taylor and Francis. At: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ucreative-ebooks/detail.action?docID=535177 (Accessed 20/01/2022)

Palmer, B. (2021) How to Become a Film or TV Producer in the UK. At: https://www.backstage.com/uk/magazine/article/how-to-become-a-film-or-tv-producer-in-the-uk-72775/ (Accessed 26/01/2022)

Pottre, E. and Wallbanks, H. (2022) Cosmic Snatchers Pitch. [Kent: University for the Creative Arts 25/01/2022].

Screenskills. (2022) Screenskills Production Coordinator Unscripted TV. At: https://www.screenskills.com/job-profiles/browse/unscripted-tv/production-managment/production-coordinator-unscripted-tv/ (Accessed 25/01/2022)

Screenskills. (2022) Screenskills Production Manager. At: https://www.screenskills.com/job-profiles/browse/unscripted-tv/production-managment/production-manager-unscripted-tv/ (Accessed 26/02/2022)

As Live - Analysis of a Studio Production Relevant to our Pitched Idea

 Jungle Run Analysis

When it came to researching shows for our pitch, (Jungle Run, 1999) was one of the shows that we looked at and took inspiration from. (Jungle Run, 1999) was a children’s game show set in a jungle and was broadcast on CITV between the years 1999-2006 (IMDB, 2022). The aim of the game was to complete a series of challenges, collecting monkeys that gave the contestants additional time for the final challenge. (Jungle Run, 1999) is considered as a game show rather than a quiz show due to the challenges within the show being “more physical” (Brown and Duthie, 2016). This holds relevancy with our pitched idea as our show is intended to be a game show with physical challenges throughout. Through studying the structure of Jungle Run, I have been able to gain a greater understanding of what a game show entails, which will be useful in informing the amount of challenges the contestants face, the dynamics between the talent, the use of a timer, and the use of world building within our concept. 

Fig. 1 Jungle Run Poster (1999) 

When watching the title sequence and introduction for the show, I took notice of the fact that they establish the location, the contestants, and the purpose of the game show. 

Lindley (2003) argues that “a game is a goal-directed and competitive activity within a framework of agreed rules”, (Jungle Run, 1999) is a prime example of this. Within the introduction, the audience are informed that the programme is a game show as the presenter states that there is a directed goal, “mission is to find your way to the temple of the Jungle King.. to retrieve his precious collection of sacred idols” (Jungle Run, 1999), and that the contestants are competing against the clock. When creating the concept for our show, this helped us to try and ensure that there was a direct goal that the contestants were trying to achieve. We decided upon the goal being the contestants wanting to escape from Planet Bundahs and make their way to their home planet. Through having an end goal, it gives the show a sense of purpose, drives the audience, and takes the audience along on a journey alongside the contestants (Glazier, 2022). 

Throughout the show there is a sense of jeopardy in terms of the contestants being trapped within the Temple of the Jungle King if they do not get out of the Temple before the time runs out. To aid this sense of jeopardy, a timer is displayed throughout the challenges and the host regularly reminds the contestants of the amount of time they have remaining. By having the host do this, it helps build the tension and increase the sense of jeopardy the contestants are in (Brown and Duthie, 2016). Through using a timer within the challenges in the idea for our show, it will hopefully build a sense of tension and jeopardy amongst both the audience and the contestants. Additionally, it should help to maintain the audience’s attention, keeping them engaged throughout the programme. 

The main goal of Jungle Run was to collect as many of the Jungle King’s statues and escape from the Jungle King’s Temple within the allotted time. The other challenges prior to the Jungle King’s Temple allowed for the contestants to gain more time within the temple through collecting as many monkey statues as possible. The host reminding the contestants that their time is slipping during each task has been done successfully within (Jungle Run, 1999). The host helps to build tension and helps the audience at home to root for the contestants (Brown and Duthie, 2016), which the host in (Jungle Run, 1999) does successfully. Whilst watching (Jungle Run, 1999) myself, I was on the edge of my seat rooting for the contestants to successfully complete the challenges and escape the Jungle King’s Temple. With this in mind, it is important that we select a host who is capable of helping to build the tension within the show, whilst also having some sort of chemistry with the contestants and the Gayliens (the two minion-type character in our show). 

 

As the show contains two minion-type characters called the Gayliens, we looked towards the relationship and character of the two monkeys within (Jungle Run, 1999). The way that they interacted with the contestants is similar to that of what we want for the Gayliens. The monkeys, Sid and Elvis, are incredibly mischievous and are there to prevent the contestants to successfully reach their goal of collecting the prizes. Both my peer Heather and I decided that we wanted the Gayliens to have similar personality traits to the monkeys in terms of their interaction with the contestants trying to stop them from completing their goal. However, upon discussion, it was decided upon that the Gayliens would speak rather than just make noises like the monkeys in Jungle Run. By having dialogue from the Gayliens, it will hopefully have a greater comedic effect upon the show (Glazier, 2022).

(Jungle Run, 1999) takes place in a different world in terms of it being set in a jungle with a fictional Jungle King. With our pitched idea being set on another planet, we thought that it was fitting to look into how the location was incorporated into the challenges. Each challenge within (Jungle Run, 1999) takes place inside different parts of the jungle and the challenge relates to the jungle theme. The location plays a big part in the look and feel of a show and can “add a specific authenticity and mood to the production” (Kellison, , 2008). By having Jungle Run set in a jungle set, it makes the show hold some sort of authenticity in terms of the audience holding somewhat of a belief that the show is taking place in an actual jungle and that the contestants are actually in jeopardy. The jungle set also ignites a sense of empathy towards the contestants within the audience with regards to the conditions they are suffering in and battling against. For example, jungles are often hot, dangerous places. So, the audience is vicariously experiencing some of what the contestants are enduring. Within our show, we will aim to build another world with the location and aim to dress it as though it is another planet, hopefully making the show appear more believable in terms of taking place on another planet. Set design will be a crucial aspect when thinking about our project.

Various shots are used throughout the duration of the show. The most common shots within the challenges appear to be reaction shots. By using reaction shots of the contestants, it allows for the audience’s emotions to be directed and sets the pace of the show (Deguzman, 2021). A dramatic build up is created as a result of the reaction shots of the contestants during the challenges as it shows how they’re feeling about taking part in the challenge and how they’re feeling about their team’s performance within the challenge. For example, in the Leopard Seals ​​(Jungle Run, 2006) episode, the close up reaction shot of the contestant Suzie, in the Lost Cave challenge, presents her as being fearful of going up against the swinging objects and displays her concentration in trying to complete the task. This allows for a sense of empathy to be created between the audience and the contestant, with the audience rooting for the contestant to win. It will be important to ensure that reactions shot are included within our show to increase the tension within the show and allow for the audience to feel as though they are being taken on a journey with the contestants. 

Fig. 2 Reaction shot of Suzie in the Lost Cave, Jungle Run (2006)

Within the show, the host played some role in terms of guiding the show and informing both the contestants and the audience the premise of the show and challenges. However, the show was focused more on the contestants and the completion of the challenges. Due to the contestants often not speaking, the host appeared to try and fill the silences with encouragement and informing them of the time remaining. With one of the characteristics of a television presenter being the “ability to get on and connect with people, young and old, from a variety of backgrounds” (gradIreland, 2022) it is important for the host to have a good relationship with the contestants. Throughout Jungle Run (1999), you get a sense that the host (Micahel Underwood) is a bit hostile towards the contestants and doesn’t particularly appear to hold much empathy towards them. For instance, during the Temple Wall challenge, he says “come on, you need to sort this out now” (Jungle Run and Michael Underwood, 2006) to the contestants when they’re trying to complete the challenge. With it being a children’s show and the host supposed to be there to support the contestants, it would be thought that Underwood would hold a greater sense of empathy towards the contestants. Despite the hostility, Underwood was good when it came to informing the audience about the contents of the challenges and filling in the gaps of silence. When thinking about the host for our show, it will be of utmost importance to ensure that the host has the ability to connect with both the contestants and the audience. The chemistry and banter between the host, gayliens, and contestants for our pitched show is a core element so with this in mind, it is a good idea for us to have some sort of chemistry test within the audition process. It is also key to ensure that the host is able to fill in the gaps of silence with banter and is able to improvise therefore, it will be something we will look out for throughout the audition process.

Through watching Jungle Run, I was able to get a sense of the structure of a physical game show as well as the dynamics between the contestants and the hosts, which helped in thinking about various aspects of our pitch like the location, the challenges, and the dynamic and chemistry between the contestants and hosts. 

Bibliography:

Brown, L. and Duthie, L. (2016) The TV Production Handbook. London: I.B. Tauris. At: https://www-bloomsburycollections-com.ucreative.idm.oclc.org/book/the-tv-studio-production-handbook/ch8-game-and-quiz-shows (Accessed 06/02/2022)

Deguzman, K. (2021) The Reaction Shot - Much More Than Essential Film Grammar. At: https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-a-reaction-shot-definition/ (Accessed 07/02/2022)

Fig. 1 IMDB (1999) Jungle Run Poster. [Photograph] At: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0488264/mediaviewer/rm4211604737/ (Accessed 06/02/2022)

Fig. 2 Reaction shot of Suzie in the Lost Cave, Jungle Run (2006) [Television Still, Youtube] In: Jungle Run, Leopard Seals. London: ITV.

Glazier, J. (2022) As Live lecture series. [Kent: University for the Creative Arts 11/01/2022].

GradIreland. (2022) Presenter, Radio and Television. At: https://gradireland.com/careers-advice/job-descriptions/presenter-radio-and-television#:~:text=Presenters%20act%20as%20the%20public,generally%20holding%20the%20show%20together. (Accessed 13/02/2022)

IMDB. (2022) Jungle Run TV Series 1999-2006. At: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0488264/ (Accessed 06/02/2022)

Kellison, C. (2008) Producing for TV and New Media: A Real-World Approach for Producers. (2nd ed.) London: Taylor and Francis. At: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ucreative-ebooks/detail.action?docID=535177 (Accessed 20/01/2022)

Lindley, C. (2003) Game Taxonomies: A High Level Framework for Game Analysis and Design. At: https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.477.905&rep=rep1&type=pdf (Accessed 06/02/2022)

Jungle Run (2006) [Television Programme] Youtube 2006. At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zRS9hqJzIg&ab_channel=JungleReRun (Accessed 15/01/2022)

Jungle Run: Leopard Seals (2006) [Television Programme] Youtube 2006. At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zRS9hqJzIg&ab_channel=JungleReRun (Accessed 15/01/2022)

As Live - Initial Ideas

 Initial Ideas

Having worked well together on previous projects, Heather Wallbanks and I decided to partner up and collaborate on the pitch for the As Live unit. 

Heather and I brought together and discussed our ideas that we had thought of within the unit briefing. It was discovered that both of us wanted to make a game show of some sorts. In the UK, game shows have always held a presence on British TV, with the earliest evidence of competitions/game shows in broadcasting thought to be 1926 (Holmes, 2008). With this in mind and our enjoyment of game shows, we decided upon pitching a game show. We wrote a list of potential game show ideas ranging from an outdoor obstacle course at a waterpark, to a scavenger hunt. We felt that with As Live being shot in March, the weather conditions might not be suitable and could put both cast and crew at risk, with maximum temperatures predicted to reach 13 degrees celsius in Kent (Accu Weather, 2022). A scavenger hunt was therefore more feasible. We thought about conducting it within a supermarket and getting the contestants to go around fetching items within a time limit however, we realised that the TV show ‘Supermarket Sweep’ uses this format through getting contestants to answer various questions and go around collecting items within a time limit (IMDB, 2022). It was also felt that a scavenger hunt probably wouldn’t be enough to stand alone for a half an hour live TV show and would start to lose the audience’s engagement if the whole 30 minute show was a scavenger hunt. As a result of this, we decided to have a few challenges for the contestants to partake in and the scavenger hunt be a segment within the show. 

Due to the popularity of Ru Paul’s drag race in the UK, “with the first series of Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK racking up over 12 million viewers” (Chakraverty, 2021), an increase of more than a third of members of the British public identifying as part of the LGBTQ+ community in four years (as of 2020), and a decrease in those identifying as heterosexual (Robinson, 2020), we felt that the idea to make our show LGBTQ+ friendly is current and also will aim to help others gain a bit more of an understanding of aspects of LGBTQ+ culture. With drag culture being current and popular partly due to Ru Paul’s drag race and partly due to changes in attitudes in society, with the UK being a more “diverse and tolerant society” (Government Equalities Office, 2022), we want our idea to be very glamorous and camp.

Bibliography:

Accuweather (2022) Weather for Kent in March 2022. At: https://www.accuweather.com/en/gb/maidstone/me14-1/march-weather/328972 (Accessed 20/01/2022)

Chakraverty, M. (2021) ‘Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK: ‘I spent five years plucking up the courage to try it out’’ In: iNews 12/01/2021. At: https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/rupauls-drag-race-uk-bbc3-series-two-start-date-contestants-826828

Government Equalities Office. (2018) National LGBT Survey. At: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/722314/GEO-LGBT-Survey-Report.pdf (Accessed 20/01/2022)

Holmes, S. (2008) The Quiz Show. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. At: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ucreative-ebooks/detail.action?docID=380401# (Accessed 20/01/2022)

IMDB (2022) Supermarket Sweep. At: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0180384/ (Accessed 20/01/2022)

Robinson, G. (2020) ‘Number of people who identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual at UK high’ In: The Guardian 06/03/2020. At: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/mar/06/number-people-identify-lesbian-gay-bisexual-uk-high

As Live - Unit Briefing

 Unit Briefing

The briefing for this unit is to pitch, develop, and create a 30-minute As Live Production Pilot (Glazier, 2022). 

The TV Pilot should be something that is new and current. It is often hard to come up with an idea for a TV show that hasn’t been done before so I will be trying to think about how I can put a “fresh spin” (Brown and Duthie, 2016) on an as live production for this unit. Furthermore, as the production is not taking place at within the studios at Maidstone Studios, the location will have to be found and will be done as either “an OB or a flyaway” (Glazier, 2022). When thinking about an idea for as live, the location will need to be carefully considered and taken into account, especially in terms of its viability and whether the budget would be able to cover it. 

With digital streaming becoming increasingly popular (Spilker and Colbjørnsen, 2020) and the fact that the as live show isn’t commissioned by a broadcaster, the show will be live streamed online. Through doing this, it is enabling us to keep up with technology and trends as well as mean it is easily accessible wherever you are in the world. 

Whilst contemplating upon ideas for the as live production, it will be important to keep three key things in mind in terms of the aims of the show. The show should inform, educate, and entertain the audience. In addition to this, ensuring that the concept of the show is viable also plays a crucial part (Glazier, 2022). Looking at current trends and seeing what the general public are interested in currently will hopefully allow myself to come up with a current and relevant show that will hopefully appeal to an audience. 

Communication is key within the media industry as well as in life in general. Through having clear and concise communication with the cast and crew, it will help the production run more smoothly and ensure that any decisions, particularly the quick, split-second decisions allow for a good execution of the production (Screenskills, 2022). The as live production will be multi-camera directed which will also mean that the director will have to clearly communicate their vision and instructions to the cast and crew (Screenskills, 2022).

With the show being multi-camera directed, it allows for the performance and everyone on screen to be captured (Glazier, 2022). This will hopefully allow for back-up shots to be available if anything goes wrong. Ensuring that there are multiple cameras capturing multiple shots on the as live production will be key. 

When developing ideas for the as live production, I will try and take all of this into consideration. 

Bibliography:

Brown, L. and Duthie, L. (2016) The TV Studio Production Handbook. (1st ed.) London: Bloomsbury. At: https://www-bloomsburycollections-com.ucreative.idm.oclc.org/book/the-tv-studio-production-handbook/ch1-introduction (Accessed 12/01/2022)

Glazier, J. (2022) As Live lecture series. [Kent: University for the Creative Arts 11/01/2022].

Screenskills. (2022) Screenskills Unscripted TV Producer. At: https://www.screenskills.com/job-profiles/browse/unscripted-tv/editorial/producer-unscripted-tv/ (Accessed 12/01/2022)

Screenskills. (2022) Screenskills Multi-Camera Director. At: https://www.screenskills.com/job-profiles/browse/unscripted-tv/editorial/multi-camera-director/ (Accessed 12/01/2022)

Spilker, H. and Colbjørnsen, T. (2020) ‘The dimensions of streaming: toward a typology of an evolving concept’ In: Sage Journals Media, Culture & Society 42 (7-8) pp.1210-1225. At: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0163443720904587 (Accessed 12/01/2022)

Fiction Adaptation - Evaluation

 Evaluation

The task for this unit was to adapt a sonnet into a short experimental film, which was a maximum of five minutes in length (Rymer, 2021). 

As this was a primarily individual unit, I took on the roles of Producer, Director, Editor, Camera Operator, and Covid-19 Supervisor. Directing is out of my comfort zone, so this was a challenge for me. I tried my best to communicate my vision with the cast and crew through a powerpoint presentation and verbal conversations. 

I wanted this whole process to be collaborative and wanted to gain different perspectives with regards to how I could achieve the finished product. The cast and crew communicated their ideas with myself both before and throughout filming. Due to the sensitive nature of the topic being covered within the film (sexual assault), I also continually checked in with the cast and crew throughout to make sure that they were okay. 

As this unit was about experimenting, I found it hard to fully envision the whole sequence of the film and how I was going to put it together before I had filmed and edited it. This meant that creating a storyboard was a bit trickier. Despite this, I created an incredibly basic storyboard with some shots that I wanted to include.  As a result of this, I will aim to practice storyboarding or at least have a completed shot list so that I have a clearer idea of what I want/the shots I’m going to get when going into future projects. A storyboard will also allow me to clearly convey my ideas to the cast and crew and allow them to have a clear visualisation (Elemental Media, 2021) of the film. 

In terms of lighting, I used both artificial and natural lighting. When it came to the shots outside, I used the natural lighting of the sun to light the shots. We filmed outside at 12pm in the afternoon as this is the point when the sun is at its brightest point in the day (Elliott, 2017), meaning we could get a higher level of contrast within our shots. We had to work quite quickly outside due to the amount of hours of daylight in the winter being shorter. 

Figure. 1 Diagram of Natural Lighting Used for Fiction Adaptation (2021)

Figure. 2 Diagram of Artificial Lighting Used for Fiction Adaptation (2021)

When filming indoors in the bedroom, I had initially set up two lights either side of the bed, pointing diagonally at it, but I discovered that one light was enough to get the level of lighting that we wanted. I had the blinds over the window shut, the door to the bedroom shut, and a tungsten light to the right of the bed in the corner of the room. Having one tungsten light as a key light (low-key lighting), it enabled for the shots and photographs to hold a higher level of contrast and convey the character’s emotions (Hellerman, 2019) and the impact that the sexual assault had on them to the audience. 

A major problem that I encountered when filming was the fact that the actor, Charlotte Sparkes, texted me saying that she was unwell right as we were about to start our second day of filming.  In order to combat this issue, I remained calm and had a discussion with the crew as to what we wanted to do. We decided to go out and film some shots on Tooting Bec Common and see what we could get without Charlotte being there. 

I also came up with the idea of including drawings and/or animations within the film to create a  story that flowed and to bulk it out in place of the missing footage. Through doing this, I was able to overcome the fact that I hadn’t gathered all of the footage that I initially wanted and learnt how to work with what I already had and improvise. In addition to this, through exploring the use of the unconventional method of combining moving images, still images, and illustrations I was able to push the boundaries of conventional cinema and create an experimental film as a result (Kench, 2021).

After the first day of filming, I came to the conclusion that we would only need to film in three out of the six locations I had done risk assessments for as we had quite a lot of footage that I felt I could fit together already. 

One example of an illustration that I made for the film was a brain, which I drew and then cut out using a scalpel. I scanned it into my laptop and phone, using picsart to refine the edges. From there, I put the image into Adobe After Effects, keyed it, put it into black and white, and placed it onto a solid black background. After I had finished with it in Adobe After Effects, I then transferred it into Premiere Pro and placed text over the solid background.

Figure. 3 Hand Drawn Brain

Figure. 4 Hand Drawn Brain in Premiere Pro

In relation to the scale of the images within the film, I wanted to scale them down so that they had a solid black outline and were not taking up the whole screen. By creating a solid black frame/border around the image, it allows for the viewer to view the image without being too overwhelmed and struggling to know where to focus their attention (Kefalopoulos, 2018). In addition to this reasoning, I also drew inspiration on the sizing/framing of the still images from the “Wellow Project” (Waterman, 2020). I liked the way that Waterman had used black frame around the images within the films and wanted to incorporate this into my work. The border within my film also could be seen as a metaphor for separating the character’s memories from reality. When inputting the images into the sequence, I reduced their scale using the effects control panel. 

Figure. 5 Film Still of the actor standing in a street

Initially I wasn’t going to have any dialogue in the short film however, as I was editing, I felt that it could use some sort of dialogue to make the footage and shots that I had more effective. I decided to do a voice over for the film. When coming up with the script for the voice over, I wrote a notes page of all the potential things that I could say and the thoughts I had and tried to formulate them into a script. After editing each sequence, arranging and rearranging the footage in Premiere Pro, I recorded the voice over for each sequence. 

When editing the film, I became stuck in terms of how I could develop it so that it was at a point where I was happy with it and it was complete. In order to develop my film further, I received feedback from both peers and two lecturers. 

The feedback I received from my peers was that the white noise and static within the film felt wrong and displaced. In addition to this, they suggested that upon the line “Sometimes, I feel like he’s so close to me, I can feel his breath on my neck again and again and again” I could have the word “again” appear on screen every time it is said within that line. As a result of this feedback, I added this over the top of the shot that I had decided to use for this line. 

The feedback that I received from the lecturers was to change the white noise and static that appears on screen to a more glitch like effect as the static is rather repetitive and “amateurish”. A couple of suggestions that were made in response to this were to have a glitch effect between the static and the clips, maybe have an image underneath the static, an ice effect could be overlaid on top of the clip/still image. In response to this feedback, I changed the static clip I used so that it looked more realistic and added some glitches in. 

Kat Sengstaken also suggested that I incorporate the number 45 that I had used in an earlier sequence into the still image that I had used for the line “Everyday things aren’t so normal anymore/ordinary anymore. I can be walking and he’s there”, which acts as though the person that assaulted the character is still with her in everything she does. Following this, I copied the sequence of 45s over the still image of the leaves, making them smaller and appear within the different areas of the leaves within the image. 

With regards to sound, I struggled with the consistency of the voice over and ensuring that there was no hum of the microphone within the voice over. Initially, I had recorded part of the voice over in my living room at home, which produced an audio quality that I liked however, as I didn’t record all of the voice over at home due to me going back to university and the fact that I hadn’t written all of the script at that point, the sound quality was inconsistent. I attempted recording the rest of the script in my bedroom at university, but as it had carpeted floors instead of the wooden one I have in my living room at home, the audio was vastly different. I also attempted recording the audio in the sound booth at university, but as the microphone I had used was omnidirectional (Merriam-Webster, 2021), the sound of people speaking in the background was picked up. As I have seen musical artists record music within their bathrooms, I tried this out. However, I found that it made the voice over echoey even with a denoise effect on Adobe Premiere Pro. Programme Director, Mike Rymer, and Lecturer, Sam Creamer, explained to me that when recording audio in a bathroom, the usual practice is to put things like blankets and towels up around the room to dampen the echo. They then advised that I use a directional mic as it only tends to pick up sound from one direction (Fox, 2021) and re-record the voice over in the sound booth to help dampen external noise (Creamer and Rymer, 2021). After re-recording the voice over using the finished script with a directional mic within the sound booth, I found the audio quality to be much better and more consistent than that of those I had previously recorded. Even though the sound quality was much better, I could still hear a slight hum, which I fixed using the noise reduction effect within Adobe Premiere Pro. Here is an example of what the audio sounded like before I re-recorded the voice over: https://youtu.be/xMIzQpT2TGs

 

In addition to the voice over, I received the feedback from Programme Director, Mike Rymer, that the film felt quite silent with solely just the voice over. We came to the collaborative conclusion that it would be best to input some ambient sound such as rain or wind, alongside the voice over. I looked online for some royalty free ambient sounds and decided upon wind, which I then put into the second audio channel on Adobe Premiere Pro. I decreased the gain of the wind so that it wasn’t taking over the sound of the voice over. 

Upon the line “but I know that my story isn’t done” (Impact, 2021), it was suggested by a peer that I have the wind fade out as the ending of the film holds some sense of positivity in terms of the character moving forward with their life and learning to trust again.

When further reflecting back upon my edit of the film, it is clear that it has a thematic/rhythmic montage (Matrix Education, 2021). I have cut the footage, still images, illustrations, and text together based on the words within the voice over, so that each visual displayed on screen matches with what is being said. Through doing this, it creates a clearer narrative within the film and connects what is going on visually with the message that is trying to be conveyed about the impact that sexual assault can have on people. 

In order to conduct final checks on my film, I decided to screen it on a bigger scale using a projector in order to check that it was adaptable for screenings. I got lecturer Sam Creamer, to watch the film and provide me with any feedback. The feedback that I received from Sam was to input more of the glitch effect so that it is consistent and shows the commitment to an idea, and to add some sound effects with the still images so that there isn’t such a lull and the audiences’ attention is maintained. In response to this, I rewatched the film and added more of the glitch effect throughout the film, particularly when it came to the still images. By doing this, it gave a greater sense of fluidity throughout and helped make it seem as though I hadn’t just put the glitches in randomly without thinking about it. I also added sound effects like traffic, footsteps, and rustling leaves during the sequences with the still images. I tried to select sound effects that matched up with the words being said and the visuals on screen. One thing that Sam had suggested that didn’t work out after trying it, was to have the final still image slowly zooming in on screen. I keyframed and rescaled the still image and then played it to see how it looked. Sam and I both agreed that it worked better as a still image with a border around it. After replaying it again after making the changes, I also decided that the static visual lasted for too long a time period so, decreased the length of those clips. 

As soon as I had finished editing the film, I sent it over to the crew to see what they thought of it and whether there were any changes that they thought I could make. They expressed that they felt it was complete and that there were no more changes to be made. After receiving this feedback, I then exported the final video and uploaded it online. 

In the future, I will aim to carefully think about how I go about recording the audio so that it is consistent and I avoid external sounds.

Link to the fine cut:

https://youtu.be/Pwq0TgTdxa8

Bibliography:

Creamer, S. and Rymer, M. (2021) Fiction Adaptation Lecture Series. [Kent: University for the Creative Arts 10/12/2021]. 

Elliott, G. (2017) What is the Hottest Time of the Day?. At: https://sciencing.com/what-is-the-hottest-time-of-the-day-12572821.html (Accessed 04/12/2021)

Elemental Media. (2021) The Importance of Using Storyboards. At: https://www.elementalmedia.co.uk/the-importance-of-using-storyboards-video-production-malvern/ (Accessed 14/12/2021)

Fig.1 Diagram of Natural Lighting Used for Fiction Adaptation (2021) [Shot Designer, Screenshot] (Accessed 04/12/2021)

Fig. 2 Diagram of Artificial Lighting Used for Fiction Adaptation (2021) [Shot Designer, Screenshot] (Accessed 04/12/2021)

Fig. 3 Potter, E. (2021) Hand Drawn Brain. [Illustration] In possession of: the author: Rochester

Fig. 4 Hand Drawn Brain in Premiere Pro (2021) [Premier Pro, screen shot] (Accessed 04/12/2021)

Fig. 5 Film Still of the actor standing in a street (2021) [Premier Pro 

Fox, A. (2021) A Complete Guide to Directional Microphones (With Pictures). At: https://mynewmicrophone.com/a-complete-guide-to-directional-microphones-with-pictures/ (Accessed 11/12/2021)

Hellerman, J. (2019) Types of Film Lights (and How to Use Them). At: https://nofilmschool.com/types-of-film-lights (Accessed 12/12/2021)

Kefalopoulos, T. (2018) The philosophy behind image borders. At: https://www.teokefalopoulos.com/post/2018/08/09/the-philosophy-behind-image-borders (Accessed 11/12/2021)

Impact (2021) Directed by Niles-Ewen, G. , Parker, S. ,Potter, E. (2021) [Youtube] At: 

(Accessed 14/12/2021)

Kench, S. (2021) What is Experimental Film - History, Examples & Movements. At: https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-experimental-film-definition/ (Accessed 11/12/2021)

Matrix Education. (2021) Film Techniques: Montage | How to Analyse Film Step-by-Step. At: https://www.matrix.edu.au/film-techniques-montage/ (Accessed 12/12/2021)

Merriam-Webster. (2021) Merriam-Webster Dictionary: Definition of Omnidirectional. At: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/omnidirectional (Accessed 11/12/2021)

Rymer, M. (2021) Fiction Adaptation Lecture Series. [Kent: University for the Creative Arts 25/10/2021]. 

Waterman, S. (2020) From our mothers’s arms (2020) From the ‘Wellow’ project (2020) [Online Video] At: https://vimeo.com/445881835?embedded=true&source=video_title&owner=6704742 (Accessed 11/12/2021)

Waterman, S. (2020) Wellow (2020) From the ‘Wellow’ project (2020) [Online Video] At: https://vimeo.com/441845713# (Accessed 11/12/2021)