Cardiff Halloween Tattoo Bash

      So today, Mike, Tom and myself took a road trip to the Halloween Tattoo Bash in Cardiff. And. It. Was. AMAZING! The week before I had called them and spoken to a girl called Jess about access and filming. Sadly they told us we wouldn't be allowed to enter the convention as they already had other filming crews at the Convention on the day and there wouldn't be the room or access. 

      So very early this morning I got the bus to Bristol, to meet the boys and hop on the MegaBus to Cardiff for 10:45. We got there at around 11:10 and walked to the Millennium Stadium to set up outside the entrance. We decided that the best place to set up was just around the side from the main entrance so that we could catch the 'hype' of people arriving to the Convention and then at the end leaving so that we were near enough for me to ask them a few questions and a short interview. 

      After 30 minutes of setting up and preparing ourselves, two guys came out and asked us if we were the College students that had rang the other week about entering the convention. They said that last year students from another College had filmed the event but had sent the Convention Organisers no footage, which they weren't happy with. After a short talk and a little deliberation they decided to let us enter the convention for free on terms that we sent them any footage we got. This was great news as not only did it mean that we weren't stuck in the wind and rain all day but we got to walk around the event and film it as it was happening! 

      The event was brilliant! I cannot fault it. The people we so friendly in a way that all but 2 person I asked to interview said yes! They gave a variety of answers, in length, detail and quality but it means that we have a nice lot to sort through. Some stalls even had a little theme and by this I mean there was one stall of Tattooists on the first floor in the corner of the room all set up and called The Needle Asylum. 3 guys and 1 woman were dressed for the event in white coats, a wheelchair, heavy, smudged make-up , slings, bandages etc. The guy doing the tattoo was dressed in a top hat and smart attire. The girl he was tattooing was bound up in a straight jacket, sprawled on the chair with a gag ball in the mouth and a CD was playing constantly throughout the day with screams, moans and cries of terror. This really added to the mise-en-scene and overall feel of the convention. 

      Our bus back was at 3 pm so sadly we had to leave before the end of the event, but still had an amazing day and got some great footage from tattooists, people being tattooed and general people here for the convention. Monday morning we will go back into College and transfer the footage onto Photoshop ready for editing. 

Radio Stations

Demographics:  16-25 young adults. Male (roadshow). C2DE White British.

Psychographics: Rap, R'n'B music. Niché market. Gigs/Concerts. Celebrity interviews.

Demographics: Male teens. Sport interviews.

Psychographics: Big sports fans.

Demographics: Asian Community. Niché market. Interactive 20+

Psychographics: Asiam Culture. Bollywood. Mainly chat.

Demographics: Morning - younger. Afternoon - older, 'stay at home'. Broad.

Psychographics: 1980's mid morning. Mainstream. 50/50 music and chat. 

Demographics: Middle aged. Drama. Office workers. 

Psychographics: Sense of humour. 

Demographics: 22-44 Music Fans. 

Psychographics: Heavy music fans. 

Demographics: Broad, Worldwide. 100% talk. Interviews. Real-life situations.

Psychographics: Current affairs. Intellectual. 

Critical Approaches

Geo-demographics - Where you live. Profiling people based no where they live. Estimate the probable characteristics of people based on the pooled profile of all people living in a small area near a particular address. 

ACORN is the segmentation of the UK's population (postcodes and neighbourhoods) into 6 categories, 18 groups and 62 types, 3 of which are not private households. By analysing significant social factors and population behaviour, it provides precise information and in-depth understanding of the different types of people. 

Practice Filming...

      Today in our Documentary Group we did a short practice on filming, to get a feel for it. It really came in handy to go over how to set everything up and get a feel for filming in a small space, fitting all the equipment in and getting good shots. Overall it took about 45 minutes just to set up, after checking all the sound was right, setting up the tripods and both camera's and wiring it all up. 

      A few things we took from today is to always turn up an hour prior to filming time just to set up, so if we tell whoever we are filming a 3, let them know we will be arriving at 2 just to set up and run through everything! Also, when interviewing more than one person, always shoot the first person from the left when in the frame. 

      This will make the whole documentary flow better if the interview runs from left to right as it is natural because we humans read from left to right. Also, take a spare battery or 2 for the sound box...! We had to learn this the hard way sadly when we previously went out filming on The Pier and it ran out of charge. 

Contacting Tattooists...

      Yesterday I sent a Facebook message to someone I know in College who is a Tattooist at a local Tattoo/Piercing shop in Weston-super-Mare called 'The Painted Dharma'. I got a reply from him today, sadly saying that he no longer worked there, but thought that the owner would be more than happy to help. So, I contacted him and the same night received a really positive reply. I've let Mike and Emma know about this and they were pretty excited! So we shall talk about it a little more tomorrow and carry on with our Pitch. 

Message I sent to Nikon, the guy I know from College.

Conversation with Brett Jenkin, Owner at The Painted Dharma who we hope to interview. 

We also contacted a mutual friends sister who has a fair few tattoos of her own and has agreed to be interviewed for us. So far we have told her we will be in contact after half term (Early November)

Message we sent to Tom's sister (a mutual friend)  who has a few tattoo's and is willing to be

 interviewed for our Documentary :)

Addicted to the Needle.

      I'm just on YouTube, looking around for various videos related to our tattoo and piercing documentary and I came across this - Addicted to the Needle

      What I really liked about this video was the intro, the first 40 seconds or so where various people talk about their love and their addiction for tattoos. This has become something that they need, as it often takes over a former love, or to create a memory. One person talks about the pain - "I've had 2 kids and in comparison, it's a walk in the park to get a tattoo", and another talks of the sound of the needle "The tattoo gun is definitely addictive, you hear it, you want it." These quotes are just amazing in showing how people get addicted to tattoos and how they believe that it's their body and they should be able to do what they like without fuss. 

Location Recce

      This week for our Documentary Homework we were asked to go out and do a location recce in preparation for filming our own documentary. Today I went to Bristol and thought of various places to do this homework. I really wanted to go somewhere where I had to talk to someone, to arrange permission for access into the building. As we were walking through the city centre, I remembered a little chapel I visited some 7 years ago and went inside for another look. I spoke to various people from guides, to caretakers, to those helping run it and got a lot of information on how possible it would be to do any filming there. Here is the sheet I filled out and hand in to my Tutor tomorrow. 

THE REMOTE SURVEY (RECCE)

LOCATION VISIT SHEET

Production title: Chapel amongst the Chaos
Production team: Miss President
Producer: Jules Newton
Client: Weston College
Date of survey: Saturday, 5th October 2013          Proposed filming date: 3rd November
Location: John Wesley's Chapel, The New Room, Brisol. (Oldest Methodist Building in the world)

Permission needed: (contact details)

Spoke to the caretaker about access. Some rooms are being re-furbished so there was limited access. Also spoke to the guides and the various people who are involved in running it.

Traffic problems:(how will you deal with sound/visuals from passing cars)

None.

Local conditions: (could the weather affect your filming in any way?)

Only if filming outside were to go ahead. Rooms are small, yet fairly light despite only one small window per. 

Intrusions: (passers-by, music, aeroplanes/trains, general interruptions to filming and audio)

Windows are old and single glazed which results in some outside noise coming from the town. Visitors would also have to be put off during filming. 

Continuity: (is anything about the location likely to change during the shoot or if you return to it to film more than once? E.g. roadworks in 1st shot/ gone in next,  poster on wall/gone in next shot)

None. Everything stays as it is due to visitors coming to look around.

Electricity/Lighting issues/Sound  (will you need an electricity supply and is there access to one? Is lighting adequate or does it need altering? What sort of sound equipment will you need?)

The Chapel is dark in some areas. The halls are small and the stairs a dark and steep. General lighting issues in an old building. However, electricity supplies are available, despite being limited. 

Set dressing: (does your set contain everything you want to show in your scene or will it need something else adding to it to have the impact you want?)

All there already. Possible alterations such as the removal of displays.

Welfare:(can your crew/talent get refreshments and use toilets, do they need to stay overnight near filming location?)

Located directly in the middle of town so ideal for staying close to location and any refreshments. Toilets are located on site.  

Parking/Public transport to location:

Would have to use either on-road parking or the NCP car park, located reasonably near to site. As for public transport, many buses run directly to Bristol, the bus stop is only a 10 minute walk away from the location. 

Possible dates for filming:

October half term (26th - 3rd November)

Draw a sketch/ take a photo of your location indicating possible positions for cameras and a route map to the location

'Wesley Place' above the doors of the back entrance

Plaque outside the front of the building

John Wesley's Chapel

Bust of John Wesley

Tattoo/Piercing Addiction Documentary

      For our Documentary, Emma, Mike and myself will be looking into Tattoo's and Piercings around the Bristol and Weston area. We aim to look into whether people find it simply a form of body art, or if they find it an addiction. Today we assigned our job roles; Director and Producer- Emma, Camera Operator - Mike and Editor - Myself.

This link, from 'Psychology Today' talks about the views of tattoos and piercings being a form of self harm. It is quite a deep, full on piece, but I do like the view and the argument she tries to enforce. 

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-scarred-soul/200912/tattoos-and-piercings-self-injury

I also just watched the latest episode of 'My Tattoo Addiction'. Wow what an eye opener..!

My Tattoo Addiction is on TV this week ... 4seven 10:50pm Fri 4 Oct Season 1 Episode 2 of 3 The documentary hears from people whose love of body art has had a profound effect on the way they conduct their lives. Mark's many photo-realistic tattoos challenge accepted notions of taste, and Deke talks about his attempts to conceal one particular image from his girlfriend's parents. In Maguluf, reveller Liam tries to persuade other holiday-makers to brand themselves with his `burger nipple' design, while Joanne's tattoo of an ex-wife's name is a painful reminder of her previous life as a man See full details

Mike and I have been talking on Facebook about a few ideas we have gained from watching this. We aim to trigger emotion in our audience, in hope of finding someone with some sort of 'a story' behind their tattoos, so this means we must visit a variety of tattoo shops in various areas. I also mentioned the idea of the title for our documentary, something inspired by that of 'My Tattoo Addiction'. It is the 3 words of the title, 'tattooed' on 3 individual people. I guess I just like the irony.

Job Roles

Set Design

• Furnish a film set, excluding structural.
• Props: Action props, Pro props.
• Links to Pre-Production.

Key skills - attention to detail and historic knowledge for different set designs. Contacts for prop hire companies and warehouses.

Special Effects

• 2 types - Visual FX Editor and Special FX Co-ordinator. 
• VFX Editor - create special effects, animation and do visual clean-up for feature films and commercial.
• Special FX Co-ordinator - more hands on and used in higher budgeted films. Working with stunt-doubles or the actors doing their own acts and create the explosions, natural disasters, or general destruction that the Director wants.

Director

• Either commissions a script or writes one themselves.
• Always has a vision of the finished film.
• Pre-production rehearsals to check that the camera work is correct.
• High experience needed.

Camera Operator

• Told what to do by the Director.
• Begins at the end of Pre-Production.
• Decide where the best place is to position the camera for each shot.
• Start as a camera trainee/runner.
• Higher levels with a variety of cameras.

Storyboard Artist

• Put together a visual script for the Director and Camera crew.
• Translates screenplays or sequences into a series of illustrations.
• Create storyboards for the action and CGI scenes so that it is carefully planned.

Documentary

Editing

Key words

180' rule - The camera should remain one side of an imaginary line to enforce continuity.

Looking Space - The space in which a person (usually interviewee) is looking when talking to someone. It indicated the direction they are looking at another person, with shot reverse shot to show they are in conversation.

Real time - Streaming media the way it is.

Stretch time - Allows you to change the length of a selected piece of footage.

Compress time - Reduce the duration of time in a video.

Ellipsis - The removal, or shortening of elements of a narrative to speed up the action.

Cross cut - a type of moving image edit that involved a series of cutaways from one sequence of narrative to another taking place simultaneously.

Parallel editing - showing two or more scenes happening at the same time by cutting between them. 

Diegetic sound - sound generated within a film narrative.

Non-diegetic - outside the narrative.

Flashback - a scene which disrupts the chronological narrative by going backward in time to recall past events.

Sound bridge - When a scene begins with the carry-over sound from the previous scene before the new sound begins.

Montage - The process of selecting, editing and piecing together separate sections of film to form a continuous whole.

(http://www.slideshare.net/ecclestona/as-media-dictionary1)

Sound for Screen

Microphones

Key words:

Audio Recording - Sound recording. Variety of different recording environments. 

ADR - Additional Dialogue Recording. Re-dub for clarity if not clear enough.

Shot-gun Mic - Acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. Common for outdoor use.

Condenser Mic - Used for capturing high quality sound. 48V Phantom Power to operate.

Onboard Condenser Mic - Useful for stereo. 

Studio Condenser Mic - Used for controlled environments.

 XLR Cable - Used to connect a mic to a recording device.

Critical App

      Today's lesson was spent with the class divided in two, one learning about BARB and the other about RAJAR. We then spent the remaining time of the lesson teaching the other half about what we had learnt. Here I have created two individual Prezi's about each one :)

Critical Approaches Brief

Assignment number and Title - Unit 6: Critical Approaches to Media Products
Assignment Title - How do Media Producers think about their audiences?
Assignment number - 1

Date of issue - 29th September 2013
Hand in date - 21st October 2o13, 4pm 

Assignment Task;

In the form of a sketchbook, preferably A4, examine these topics and display your findings and thoughts in your own style and words (typed). Use visual images from newspapers, magazines, websites etc. to reinforce your explanations and ensure your work is clear and detailed. Ensure you define all of the key concepts that have been explored this term. Be certain to cover the following:

• Definition of niche, mainstream and alternative. Use examples.
• Define demographic and psychographic. Use examples of Media Products that are aimed at both.
• Design the front cover of a magazine for a specific demographic/psychographic target audience. Explain who the audience is and justify your design choices and how they meet the needs of your target audience.
• Explain Selby's Psychographic Clusters. Use examples of advertising which would appeal to each group. Good/bad way of classifying audience?
• Explain the VAL's system. Use examples of media products to illustrate your understanding.
• Explain how audiences are segmented using Socio Economics. ABC1 C2DE.
• Define the term Stereotype. 
• Explain Geodemographics.
• Discuss how the BBC segments its audience and provide different types of radio stations for them. Use examples.
• What do BARB, RAJAR and NRS do? Give a brief outline and whether you believe this to be helpful to Media Producers when it comes to segmenting audiences.

Pre-Production and Research

      Lately we've been learning about various research techniques, involving Primary, Secondary, Qualitative and Quantitative. Here is a Prezi I have created as part of our homework to learn about the different research techniques :) 

Critical Approached L3

Defining Audiences

Key Terms:

Mainstream - wide audiences, big budget, large distribution channels.

Demographics - cannot be changed, age, gender, race.

Selby - idea of the psychographic clusters.

Alternative - one audience, doesn't follow traditional film-making rules.

ABC1 C2DE - social class, high or low.

Stereotype - assumptions made on a person or a group of people without knowledge.

Psychographics - personality, things that can change.

Segmentation - groups for audiences.

Socio-economic - social class.

Niche - low budget, narrow audience, specific demographics. 

VAL's - Values Attitudes Lifestyles

                My primary: Striver. My secondary: Maker

Sound for Screen L2

Today we added a little more to our work on Logic Pro, but used a reverberator to add depth for example to certain sound FX, making it sound more realistic. This is extremely useful when two characters in the clip fall off the cliff and we wish to make their fall sound realistic and tense.

Key words:

Leitmotif -  Short musical passage or theme you associate to a character.

There are some familiar one's we all know of;

Harry Potter Hedwig's Theme 

Pirates of the Caribbean

Star Wars

What we also looked at today and thought about was Sound. How much do sound actually add to a film? We then watched a clip from the Disney film 'Up', both with and without sound.  The difference between both clips is insane. The added depth, emotion, feeling, understanding and pace that is added when a musical score is involved truly adds to the film. It really is true when they say the film is lost without sound.  

Encounters Film Festival 2013!!

Encounters - 19th September 2013

Today we went to Encounters, the Short Film and Animation Festival in Bristol. We watched 'INT 3: The Human Factor'; a 1 hour 31 minute collaboration of 6 individual short films.

"The complexity of family ties, the comfort of friends, the thrill of fleeting encounters with complete strangers... From Portugal, France, Switzerland, Brazil, Australia and The Netherlands,

 the diverse and compelling short films in this programme chart the

 beauty, danger and elation of human relations."

1. De Huid Voelt (Skin Feels)
2. 
   

   Cigano (Gypsy)
3. Faraways
4. Man Kann Nicht Alles Auf Einmal Tun, Aber Man Kann Alles Auf Einmal Lassen (You can't do everything at once, but you can leave everything at once)
5. Atlantic Avenue
6. A Onda Traz Vento Leva (Ebb & Flow)

Each short film was a masterpiece in itself, some of which were very heartfelt stories, closely related to the Director. At the end of the viewing we were permitted to vote for one. This was a rather tough decision, each film was so beautiful in it's own right, emotional and strong on story lines. Yet in the end I voted for 'Ebb & Flow'. This short film bought a tear to my eye because of it's beautiful story: a young deaf man from northeast Brazil who worked installing car stereos. We saw him in his day to day life and the taking care of his daughter, which showed the breaking of his heart as he struggled to communicate with her and she often rebelled against him, hurting him deeply yet without realizing. This in depth story became a journey and by the end we felt a bond had been built with him and for these reasons alone I decided to vote. 

Critical Approaches L2

Socio-economic status is an economic and sociological combined total measure of a person's work experience and of an individual's or family's economic and social position to others, based on income, education and occupation.

Primary and Secondary Research

A primary source is an original document containing first-hand information. It may be referred to as first-hand research. Methods include observation, experiments, interviews or questionnaires to obtain desired information. 

Common examples of primary sources are: 

• Diaries/Observations
• Interviews - email, in person, on phone.
• Letters
• Original works of art
• Photographs
• Works of Literature
• Questionnaires

A secondary source contains commentary on, or discussion about a primary source. Second hand data refers to data that may have been collected by another person and may or may not be directly related to the proposed idea.

The most important feature of secondary sources  is that they offer an interpretation of information gathered from primary sources.

Common examples of secondary sources are:

• Biographies
• Bibliographies
• Journal articles
• Newspaper articles
• Books
• Internet

Qualitative and Quantitative Data

Qualitative Research

• Number of responses is not important
• Ideas and opinions that people express are important
• Can be obtained from questionnaires if questions are 'open

Quantitative Research

• Produces audience figures for cinema/broadcasting
• Produces readership figures for print products
• Gives you numbers and reveals trends
• Can be obtained through the use of 'closed' questions

In this lesson, I worked with Amy and Lizzie to find out as much about the X Factor as possible, using these forms of research, but without the internet. Within the hour we had to create short surveys to distribute between students and teachers, put our heads together to gather any information we knew ourselves and make short phone calls to people out of our reach for further research. 

Documentary L4

Psychographic Clusters

TRENDIES - crave the admiration of their peers

EGOISTS - seek pleasure

PURITANS - wish to feel virtuous

INNOVATORS - wish to make their mark

REBELS - wish to remake their world in their own image

GROUPIES - just want to be accepted

DRIFTERS - not sure what they want

DROP-OUTS - shut commitments of any kind

TRADITIONALISTS - want things to stay as they are

UTOPIANS - want the world to be a better place

CYNICS - have to have something to complain about

COWBOYS - want easy money

Documentary L3

Modes & Formats

Today we learnt about the different modes and formats to Documentaries. They are;

Expository

Observational

Participatory

Performative

Reflexive

Docudrama

Expository

Addresses its audience directly.

Usually a narrator.

1930 ~ 'Voice of God' (to speak with authority)

Used for Scientific and and Natural History documentaries.

Observational 

Also known as 'direct camera'.

Like a 'fly on the wall'. No disruption to the scene.

Footage of people going about their daily business.

Participatory

Where the subject interact or converse with the crew.

Also known as 'Cinema Verite'.

Encounter between subject and crew can become a key elemenBt.

Performative

Film crew creates many of the events to be filmed by their own intervention or through events carried out for the sake of the film.

Reflexive

Brings the documentary itself into question.

Often deals with the difficulty of achieving a reliable balanced argument.

Often used to undermine corporations/political figures.

Poses moral dilemmas.

Docudrama

Features dramatized re-enactments of actual historical events.

Based on narrative and fiction.

Focuses on the facts of the events as they are known.

Some minor facts may be adjusted or embellished for the sake of enhancing the story.

Filming/Editing Bands L1

Camera

• Framing
• Angle
• Lens usage
• Movement
• Special kinds of shot

Types of Shots

• Establishing shot
• Wide shot
• Long shot
• 3/4 shot
• Mid shot
• Close up
• Extreme close-up
• High angle
• Low angle
• Canted angle
• Birdseye
• 2 shot
• P.O.V shot
• Reaction shot 
• Cutaway
• Insert
• Jump cut

Movements

• Pan
• Tilt
• Tracking (Dolly)