Learning Development

I will take a lot a way from this module and i think that all of my skills have been improved to the point wherethere is a dramatic difference in the quality of work that i do.

This module made me feel like i wasnt at Uinersity and the tasks and work that i took on i took that mind frame with me ,i wasnt a student ,i was a paid professional ,i was being aaid and treated like one so my attitude and work should match that.

Whilst working on the Council job we were constantly under the eye of our client so there was necer any messing around pr any conduct not fitting to a paid professional.All tasks  and shoots were handled with care and with professional pride. The job was like any other time management was needed , punctuality and hard work. I tried to help in every aspect and always be working as standing a round would have looked unprofessional.If anything a sense of self confidence and pride has been learnt as we were not training to be in the media industry ,we were in it and this was noticeable in my work.

The CUEAFS filming ,this felt more like university than the other jobs mainly because it was representing them as a part of there society and working with a lecturer. I did learn to be more assertive and  to take control  which is something i usually leave to other members of my production team ,i learnt team management and leadership skills. Also my social skills helped and improved as i had to talk to a lot of strangers and get as much out of them as possible,that and create contacts i can possibly use in the future.

The Roles Royce filming i treated the same as the council and put myself forward as a professional but it taught me one skill that will be paramount in all my future productions,organisation and recording what has been done I will log all shots that i film in future as this was not done on the monday morning and it will prove a massive hinderence to the editor as the subject was complicated and something we know nothing about so this will put a delay on the finished project.

My ambition for this module was to enhance my skills technically and i believe i have ,i have learnt new cameras and lighting techniques on the rolls royce job and pushed my sound operating skills ,which were at level 0 to a very advance stage now as i did it on the rolls royce,udine,eastwinds film festival and the council job so i challenged myself and met that challenge. Apart from the technical skills that is something i will take a away with me the need to challenge yourself.Your never going to be good at everything and theres always things you will need to improve especially in an ever changing industry such as the media industry. I will challenge my self and push myself to learn more making me me a more attractive and hireable freelancer.

There are so many things that i will take from this module as it has molded me into a professional and my work will not be the same ,so many aspects are needed and buti feel i am a 100 steps closer than i was.

 

Professional film Diary Udine

CONTACTS I MADE AT UDINE AND PEOPLE I MET 

While i was over there i got a chance to interview many directors and meet a large range of freelance media practitioners.

The directors that i met and filmed interviews with were

LEE Jeong Beom Director of The man from no where 

KIM Min-suk Director of Haunters 

LI Weiran Director of Shama Town

I also got the chance of meeting Fredrick Ambroisine who is a freelance media practitioner mainly focusing in east Asian films ,he travels the world interviewing directors and storing these interviews until he can sell them or it is a lucrative time time to sell the interview and footage he has of them. He was an inspiration as he is a one man company and compressed what we did as a team to just him and did it too a high standared that he can sell this on.

I will keep in contact with Fred and rollow him online as he has many contacts on the film curcuit and sometimes needs crews so it would be a great experience to work with him and a valuable asset to tap.If i were to film another festival i would contact fred for advice and guidance on what to do and who to film and what i can do with that footage. Its another avenue i can look down in future to earn money.

Another contact i made was Nicola Cassanello who is a free lance photographer who travels the circuit and freelances for the festivals or takes pictures and then sells them on to local press,This is another avenue i haven’t thought of but if in future i decide to try he can help me get through the door. Also is an expert in the 5D which is a camera i am starting to use a lot so i also gained knowledge from him about the camera which helped during the week. You can never have too  many contacts even if it is not your direct chosen field ,he is in the industry and is a contact in an area that i don’t already have.

 

Professional Experience Blog Day 21

       

On day 21 of the udine festival it was the mot event full and best day of filming in my eyes. The cosplay was being held in the market square which is basically a professional look alike competition with a far eatern influence . I was the only film camera operator and Matt took stills on his slr and this was the most challenging aspect of the whole trip I had to push my self on to the cat walk and make sure i got good footage and shots as it would entered in to a competition at the end of the week.

Ipushed myself forward and told my self to ba assertive as its what was needed and what all others were doing and minding the pun “when in rome”.

I managed to get good footage and actually managed to take part in the editing process also which was very something i usually shy a way from but i wanted to try and learn as much from this experience and this was something else i could draw from it.

 

Professional Experience Diary Day 19-21

Udine Film Festival filming For CUEAFS

         

The next three days were all routined except a large event on the final day whicj  will discuus in a minute. I went ovver there as a camera man but ended up doing photography and sound as well ,this was ok because it gave me more to do and more to learn and work on . The days were split into 1 interview a day ,one panel and vox pops then any events that took place and then finishing with a late night of editing with David Hanna ,where i was there for emotional support only.

The first day was the only problematic day where the sound recorded on an interview was simply dreadful and editing was difficult because of it and the interview was no where near its full potential, After this i stepped in after words were said by Spencer Murphy and i took the Directing role and the interviews after i kept a close eye on the sound and the interviews . It taught me to step in and not hesitate,you cant be scared to step on other toes or upset them ,if a job needs to be done then do it .i will be more forward in future and be more hands on in future. I found directing for the rest of the week to be a great experience as i worked closely and learnt from Spencer as well as worked on my directing skills in unison with my technical, it pushed me forward and i appreciated the experience and it taught me a lot.

This experience taught me time management, good team skills ,creativity ,assertiveness ,camera skills ,great directing experience and helped in self confidence. so to say it was worth the money is an understatement. These skills are important in the industry that i am going in to and will be well remembered .

This year went so welll that i have been invited back next year to take part in the filming crew as well.

 

Professional Experience Diary Day 18

Udine Film Festival with the CUEAFS

Day 1

        

This was the professional experience placement that i was really looking forward to as it was in Ital which is a place ive always wanted to go,also it was a film festival and i havnt had a chance to experience one so on a non professional level this was the most attractive week out of the 20 days.

From the second we got of the plane it was go ,it was the end of  a 12 hour day and we were all tired but we got to the festival ,were given our press passes and we were then given an hour to find our hotels ,get changed in to our CUEAFS tops and head back to the theater to start filming,

We filmed the opening nights events and the first screening which was intense and i was intimidated about the amount of press that was there.Even though i was a member of the press i didn’t know where to put myself and where i was allowed so it was a fast learning curb to adapt to but by the end of the first hour i realized its dog eat dog and you do what you can ,hesitation meant you lost the shot which o was unwilling to do.

We headed down to the market square thinking our day was over but luckily i took my bag with the Cannon 5d and the slr with spare battery’s and cards as they were needed.

We didn’t realize the opening night continued in the market square as there were drummers ,martial artists and dancers all doing exhibitions.

       

I rushed in to start filming and this was a test of camera skill and nerve as there was over a thousand there and many photographers that didn’t mind pushing you out the way. i succeeded in getting some great footage that i am really proud of and we will definatley be using. I was surprised on how well i was able to work even though i lacked in sleep but this only fueled me and made me look forward to the next few days as i like to be busy.

 

Professional Experience Diary Day 13-17

Filming A Engineering Training Video For Rolls Royce

This job was given to myself and Blue Ridge Film Group by Steve Dawkins as we have all tried to create working relationships with our lecturers he knew that we had started our own company and are filming skills are at a high level.

The job that was offered tous was an engineering training video on stripping down a jet engine which isused to power turbines at an industrial level ,these engines Rolls Royce sell all over the world and there are only 3 people that know how to do this job so with out this dvd the information could be lost. The person who hired Coventry University is the same person who teaches on the engine and the person who would be presenting/stripping the engine on the DVD.His name was Tom and i do apologies but his last name is lost to me but he explained each section to the camera and gave a tutorial to those watching.

Being the first contract that was given to us by Steve Dawkins and the fact it is for a multi billion pound company there was a lot of pressure not to let either down. Steve has a long lasting working relationship with Tom and with Rolls Royce so we didn’t want to upset that relationship by producing shoddy work so taking what we learnt from the council job and everything else we learnt we focused from the second we got there.

Our first day there was a recce and a meet and greet my self Jim Peakman and Steve Ringrose went on this day even though Steve was not going to be able to film the project he would be editing so we thought it was important he got a comprehensive understanding of the project from Tom and get some previous footage to look at if possible.Also this gave him and us to see the area and engine that we would be filming so that it wouldn’t be completely foreign when it came to editing.

It gave myself and Jim a chance to recce the location and spot potential problems for when we were filming ,we all pointed out the lighting and sound.The room we were filming in is a large warehouse and it is surronded by windows so lighing would be an issue and we would have to keep track of it all day making sure we re white balances and checked iris and shutter speed constantly.Sound was also pointed out as there was an echo so we made the decision to use tie mics as it would cut out exterior sound.

Except this we had the decision of what equipment and crew we would use as other Blue Ridge Film Group members had prior engagements.I had recently worked with Mathew Riddle and saw that he was a hard worker and his filming was at high standard so we took him on for this project as a test to see whether we could use him in future.

We decided to Go with the Jvc 700 which i was looking forward to as it would push me technically and i would have to elarn a new camera which was the basis for my work experience. Now looking back i will use the JVC for many projects as it was a good camera and we were impressed with what we filmed.

Filming took four days ,Myself and Jim were the only members there for the full 4 days as Seve ringrose was away Steve Dawkins had to leave at some points dude to work commitments and Dave and Matt alternated daysThis gave me a sense pf professionalism and dedication to this project that i was there the whole time and managed to get a good repour going with Tom an also it made me feel more involved as i would have hated to lose time as this project moved quickly.

The four days went well and with out problems minus one which was the organization on the first day.Not doing a project like this before hindered us as we were used to slow shots and having a complete understanding of the information we are filming.This project was at far to grand a scale for us to understand so logging and recording the shots was important and we picked that up from Steve Dawkins which we then took on to the rest of the filming through out the day and the week. That was a steep learning curb on the organization of shots because it is something i havnt done before but will do on all shoots in future. This will make it easier for our editor as he wasnt present when filming and the information on the film is far to complicated for us.

This was a great learning experience and experience as a whole and i have taken a lot from it.we were happy to hear that steve and rolls royce were happy with the filming and that we are going to have many other opportunities  to work with them again and even though the pay is not high the value of having rolls royce on your cv is priceless and will help Blue Ridge Film Group as a whole and individually reputation wise and give us respect as professionals and not as students.